EU CONSUMERS RIGHT TO JUSTICE VERSUS BIG BUSINESS MANIPULATIONS

Don’t let big business rob EU consumers of their right to justice 

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 https://www.euronews.com/2018/12/04/don-t-let-big-business-rob-eu-consumers-of-their-right-to-justice-view

The Internet - Net Neutrality is dead for Americans: Net Neutrality Repeal Is Official. Here’s How That Could Affect You - by Keith Collins

It’s official. The Federal Communications Commission’s repeal of net neutrality rules, which had required internet service providers to offer equal access to all web content, took effect on Monday.

The  rules, enacted by the administration of President Barack Obama in 2015 prohibited internet providers from charging more for certain content or from giving preferential treatment to certain websites.

After the commission voted to repeal the rules in December, it faced a public outcry, legal challenges from state attorneys general and public interest groups, and a push by Democratic lawmakers to overturn the decision. 

The opponents argued that the repeal would open the door for service providers to censor content online or charge additional fees for better service — something that could hurt small companies — and several states have taken steps to impose the rules on a local level.

Still,the repeal was a big win for Ajit Pai, the F.C.C.’s chairman, who has long opposed the regulations, saying they impeded innovation. He once said they were based on “hypothetical harms and hysterical prophecies of doom.”

Read more: Net Neutrality Repeal Is Official. Here’s How That Could Affect You. - The New YorkTimes

Mega Media Data Control: AT&T Time Warner could be a costly disaster for US consumers

How is that even possible, you might ask? After all, AOL’s $164-billion takeover of Time Warner still stands as one of the worst deals of all time and for good reason.

But at least the combination of Time Warner’s media and cable assets with AOL’s online business was theoretically about trying to become part of the future of media and entertainment. Its influence was already waning at the time, but AOL had a foot in the emerging world of the Internet, and theoretically some knowledge about how it worked.

The collapse of that merger had more to do with a clash of cultures (something Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes was a part of) than it did any kind of inherent strategic error in the combination itself, although there’s no question that AOL was wildly overvalued.

When we look at AT&T and Time Warner, it feels like a deal that is being driven by a vision of the past, not the future. It seems like a desperation move by both, an admission that they don’t really know what else to do, except try to get larger and hope everything works out for the best. And AT&T is paying a huge price for an uncertain outcome.

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Banking Industry: Best Credit Cards 2014

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 Read  more: Best Credit Cards | 2014

Organic foods: Millennials Like 'Organic'—Even if They Have No Idea What It Means - Joe Pinsker

To be labeled "organic" in the U.S., a product must comply with a set of environmentally-friendly standards laid out by the United States Department of Agriculture. For the purposes of a consumer, it's easiest to define organic produce by what it isn't: genetically engineered, grown in synthetic soil or with certain pesticides, or allowed to be in contact with "sewage sludge." Organic livestock adheres to similar guidelines, with the additional provision that antibiotics and growth hormones weren't given to the animals.

But, going beyond those basic restrictions, the term "organic" has developed a remarkably benevolent aura in the mind of the consumer. After surveying 300 shoppers who were, for the most part, under the age of 35, the consultancy BFG recently found that 70 percent purchased organic foods, even though only 20 percent actually had any confidence that they could define organic. More than half were "concerned, but confused" about the words used to classify their groceries. BFG's CEO, Kevin Meany, described these young shoppers to Fast Company thusly: "They desire honesty. They want to believe."

300 respondents may seem like a small sample size, but the behavior-knowledge rift is large, and it's backed up by previous research. Some Canadians surveyed in a 2013 study thought that "local" and "organic" denoted the same thing, which suggests that meanings of these two terms have mushed together into a nebulous notion of goodness. That goodness, apparently, suffuses products with the right label. Participants in a study published last year estimated cookies to have 24 percent fewer calories when they were labeled organic. "Organic" cookies were also perceived to be more nutritious. (In reality, organic foods aren't any healthier than other foods in a nutritional sense—it's just that their lack of chemicals is probably healthier in the long run.)

Once a food is cast in the glow of the word organic, consumers will be more willing to pay a premium for it. Those cookies that were estimated to have fewer calories were also valued at a higher price than unlabeled cookies. Potato chips, another food examined in that study, took on a 23 percent premium when labeled "organic." Another study, this one from 2007, indicated that the more affordable an organic product was, the less likely it was to be perceived as nutritious. When people are shopping for organic foods, they apparently take high price tags as evidence that something's worth purchasing.

Read more: Millennials Like 'Organic'—Even if They Have No Idea What It Means - The Atlantic

Sea Food: 91 percent of US seafood comes from abroad.

Set against the backdrop of the larger American food system, the seafood deficit, is, well, fishy. Many of the US most important landfoods are trending in the opposite direction. Corn, anybody? Plenty of it — surpluses of it, in fact. Beef? Enough domestic production to supply every American with around eighty pounds a year — five times the national per capita rate of seafood consumption.

Meanwhile, the paucity of domestic fish and shellfish in our markets and in our diets continues even as foreign seafood floods in at a tremendous rate. In the last half century American seafood imports have increased by a staggering 1,476 percent.

It gets fishier still. While 91 percent of the seafood Americans eat is foreign, a third of the seafood Americans catch gets sold to foreigners. By and large the fish and shellfish we are sending abroad are wild while the seafood we are importing is very often farmed. Two hundred million pounds of wild Alaska salmon, a half billion pounds of pollock, cod, and other fish-and-chips-type species, a half billion pounds of squid, scallops, lobsters, and other shellfish is, every year, being sent abroad, more and more often to Asia; untold tons of omega-3-rich seafood are leaving our shores to help other countries lower their rates of heart disease, raise their cognitive abilities, and lengthen their life expectancy.

American consumers suffer from a deficit of American fi sh, but someone out there somewhere is eating our lunch.

How did we land ourselves in such a confoundingly American catch?

Read more: American catch: The fight for our local seafood | GreenBiz.com

US Poll: 50% Consumers and Investors Agree U.S. In Recession

According to a Rasmussen Poll fifty percent (50%) in the US, both consumers and investors, believe the country is in a recession. However, 30% of consumer and 37% of investors disagree.

Read more: Rasmussen Consumer Index - Rasmussen Reports™

Banking Industry - Canada: Ottawa alters rules for consumer complaints about banks

The federal government is moving to streamline the process under which Canadians can file formal complaints about their banks, and setting up a new system of oversight for the industry.

In a series of proposed rules unveiled Friday, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said the government is moving to help consumers resolve disputes in a more timely, impartial and transparent manner.

“Today’s sweeping new rules will give more power to consumers looking to resolve a dispute with their bank by creating a stronger, more independent consumer complaint system," Flaherty said.

Read more: Ottawa alters rules for consumer complaints about banks

Europe: Easter shoppers hit by egg-streme price hikes

Europe is in the grip of the usual Easter craze as eggs become the focus of everyone’s attention. However this year’s egg fever is like no other before. Eggs – be they normal or chocolate – have seen an unprecedented rise in price.

­There’s nothing unusual in egg prices soaring at Easter. However, this year eggs are almost 80% (76.5) more expensive than last season, according to the Wall Street Journal. Supply is failing to meet demand as many producers have simply halted their egg production. It all has to do with new European Union rules requiring larger cages for battery hens. European Union member states were given until the beginning of this year to switch from using small cages to new ones with more space, bedding and perches. As a result, there are fewer eggs on the market. While some producers are in the middle of upgrading their facilities, others have simply chosen to leave the business rather than pay for the luxurious comfort of their hens.

Eastern European countries have suffered the most. Many customers in poorer economies think the regulation has taken fighting for the animal rights a tad far. There are those who now go across borders to build up their stocks of eggs for Easter – for example in Poland the price is 40% less than in neighboring countries. So going abroad to buy several hundred eggs for a family is nothing out of the ordinary these days.

However, egg-hunting across borders doesn’t solve the problem of chocolate eggs, which are another Easter essential. These too have become more expensive almost everywhere. For example, in Great Britain chocolate treats have become almost 200% more expensive than last year, according to the local newspaper Daily Mail.

For more: Easter shoppers hit by egg-streme price hikes — RT

Food Labelling: UK MP Paice calls for more honest labelling

On a visit to Melton Mowbray, home of one of Britains most iconic protected foods, the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie, Mr Paice, UK MP for South East Cambridgeshire said he wanted to see improved country of origin labelling, particularly for meat and dairy products where confusion can most easily occur.

Jim Paice said: It is a priority for the Government to ensure that food labelling is as clear as it could be. Im therefore calling on the industry to work with us to ensure that people can be confident about the origin of the products they buy.

Ive written to food industry leaders to emphasise that we want clarity and transparency for the consumers, who want to make a choice based on the origin of their food particularly if they believe they are buying British.

For more: Paice calls for more honest labelling | webnewswire.com

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One third of people feel guilty if they treat themselves and half prefer logos on their luxury goods

"Synovate's CEO for the UK and luxury research expert, Jill Telford, said people have an odd relationship with luxury. 'Some of us feel we deserve it and revel in unabashed luxury. Some indulge in it but feel they maybe should not have. Some cannot afford it, but want it. And for many, it's simply not even a consideration... the basics in life are tough enough to obtain. 'Of course a recession makes luxury retail even more challenging. Selling things that arguably people do not need during a time when many are at least morally forced to examine their spending patterns makes for interesting times."

The FINANCIAL - One third of people feel guilty if they treat themselves and half prefer logos on their luxury goods:

Washington Post/Associated Press:US Consumers: Shoppers, small businesses planning to spend less - by Tari Arbel

For the complete report from the washingtonpost.com click on this link

A third of U.S. adults said they would spend less this year than they did in 2008 on gifts, while 49 percent would spend about the same amount, according to a Consumer Reports poll on holiday shopping. Meanwhile, almost two-thirds of respondents said they were planning to "cut back" on total holiday expenses, which include travel plans, presents and holiday decorations. More Americans are also "regifting," or passing on a gift they got to someone else - 36 percent of adults this year say they've done so, compared with 31 percent last year and 24 percent in 2007. The survey polled 1,000 U.S. adults from Oct. 15-18.

It its worth noting, though, that Americans who plan to spend less doesn't always do so. The survey found that of those Americans who made a budget for last year's holiday gift buying, 44 percent spent more than they had intended. The poll also said 6 percent of adults still carry holiday debt from last year, unchanged from last year. If extrapolated to the broader population of the country, that implies 13.5 million consumers are still carrying debt from last year's holidays.

Alternet/EU-Digest: "Junk food is killing us slowly and the food industry is the pusher" - by Arun Gupta

For the complete report from AlterNet click on this link

"Junk food is killing us slowly and the food industry is the pusher" - by Arun Gupta

"For years I wondered why I craved Doritos. I knew the Nacho Cheese powder, which coats your fingers in day-glo orange deliciousness, was one component, as were the fatty, salty chips that crackle and melt into a pleasing mass as you crunch them. I figured there was a dollop of nostalgia in the mix, but an ingredient was still missing in my understanding. Then I read a spate of articles about "umami," designated the fifth taste, along with sweet, sour, salty, and bitter, means "deliciousness" in Japanese and is described as "a meaty, savory, satisfying taste." Behind the enigma of the lure of junk food to even the most refined palettes in the world, are the wonders of food science. That science, in the service of industrial capitalism, has hooked on us a food system that is destroying our health with obesity-related diseases. And that food system is based on a system of factory farming at one end, which churns out cheap, taxpayer-subsidized commodities like corn, vegetable oil and sweeteners, and the giant food processors at the other, like Frito-Lay, that take these commodities and concoct them into endless forms of addictive junk foods.

By the mid-1990s, according to rural sociologist Philip McMichael, 80 percent of farm subsidies in Western countries went to "the largest 20 percent of (corporate) farms, rendering small farmers increasingly vulnerable to the vicissitudes of a deregulated (and increasingly privately managed) global market for agricultural products."

The Age: World Economy - More US consumer worries as Germany boosts hopes

For the complete report from the Age click on this link

World Economy - More US consumer worries as Germany boosts hopes

Talk of another US stimulus plan and data showing American consumers falling behind on their bills underscored worries about the global economy on Tuesday, overshadowing an upturn in German manufacturing orders that provided a glimmer of hope. Soaring US unemployment and a shrinking economy drove delinquencies on credit-card debt and home equity loans to all-time highs in the first quarter, the American Bankers Association said.

Data showed orders in Germany, Europe's largest economy, rose at the strongest monthly pace in nearly two years in May, but economists said the yearly comparison would remain weak for some time yet.

US Credit Crises - NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo takes action on protecting the consumer against collection agencies

EU-Digest

US Credit Crises - NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo takes action on protecting the consumer against collection agencies

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo Wednesday announced that his office had closed a collection agency in the state and said that nearly 20 other accounts receivable management firms had been subpoenaed to provide additional information about their collection practices. The announcements were part of what Cuomo called a “statewide inquiry into debt collection companies.” Cuomo’s office said in a press release that it had obtained a court order against Lamont Cooper and two debt collection firms he owns that operated in the state: Emanee Development, Inc. and Dial Tech LLC. The order stipulates that the companies will shut down and Cooper will be forced to pay restitution to consumers statewide. Cooper and his companies are permanently barred from engaging in the debt collection business and acting as brokers that buy and resell portfolios of consumer debt. The attorney general alleged that Cooper’s companies told debtors that they were criminals, threatened lawsuits and arrest, engaged in third party disclosure, and other violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). “At a time when New York families are already struggling with unprecedented levels of debt, unscrupulous collection agencies add salt to an open wound,” said Attorney General Cuomo in a press release. “Using fear and intimidation to take advantage of individuals facing debt is a shameful and illegal scare tactic. This judgment is the first step in this Office’s expanding investigation into debt collectors that violate the rights of consumers and operate outside of the law.” Cuomo also said that he has subpoenaed nearly 20 companies and law firms operating as debt collectors throughout the state.

Cuomo said that the probe of debt collection practices will include activities that are illegal under state and federal law, including fraudulent threats of criminal prosecution, harassing phone calls to consumers and their families, friends and employers, bringing lawsuits against and/or reporting consumers to credit reporting agencies without verifying that the consumer being targeted actually owes the debt, and failing to disclose that a caller is working for a debt collector.

USA Today: "US Consumer - still living in a dream world" - Lower gas prices send buyers after big cars again - by Chris Woodyard

For the complete report from USATODAY.com click on this link

"US Consumer - still living in a dream world" - Lower gas prices send buyers after big cars again - by Chris Woodyard

Gyrating gas prices are playing havoc on auto industry planners, who've been adding small cars to their lineups, even as customers are showing more interest again in bigger vehicles. New Chrysler small cars expected from a deal with Italy's Fiat hatched last week won't arrive for up to two years, says Chrysler President Jim Press, but even if they were showing up now, it wouldn't matter much. Press says the company's full-size Dodge Durango SUV is in the shortest supply among all the vehicles sold by Chrysler. Yet the automaker decided last year when gas prices were high to phase out the product out of fear buyers would shun it. The turnabout "shows the fickleness of the market," says Press, speaking after a J.D. Power and Associates conference here for auto dealers.

Note EU-Digest: The above report also shows that most US consumers are still living in a dream world.

Christian Science Monitor: Consumers close their wallets - by Ron Scherer

For the complete report from the csmonitor.com click on this link

The economic Meltdown: Consumers close their wallets - by Ron Scherer

Retail sales plunge a record 2.8 percent in October, suggesting a dismal outlook for holiday spending.

With only a few weeks to go before the holiday season officially kicks off, retailers are saying this is the worst consumer environment since World War II. Big box retailers are fighting for survival, department stores are preparing massive promotions, and some stores are asking manufacturers to take back their products even before Thanksgiving. An unenthusiastic consumer has wide ramifications for the US economy because 70 percent of the nation's production of goods and services is oriented toward consumption. Economists are lowering their estimates for economic growth for this year, expecting a sharp contraction of at least 3 percent in the fourth quarter. By early December, some observers think the Federal Reserve will be forced to lower interest rates to below 1 percent for the first time since the Eisenhower administration. "Horrific is the best word to describe what's going on out there," says Fred Dickson, chief investment strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Ore.

Who can blame consumers for putting on their slippers and watching football games? The volatile stock market seems to have a black cloud over it. Home prices have yet to bottom out. Pink slips are proliferating. And, the credit card companies want payment even while the ink dries on your statement.

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eGov monitor - Consumers at the heart of EU Competition Policy

For the complete report from eGov monitor click on this link

Consumers at the heart of EU Competition Policy

Defending consumers' interests is at the heart of the Commission's competition policy. In concrete terms: competition gives citizens better goods and services, and ensures businesses have more opportunities to sell them. In the last year there have been some good examples – from Microsoft's dramatically reduced royalty rates, to wins for Telefonica and Mastercard customers. In fact, we calculate that the direct future customer savings resulting from our cartel, antitrust, liberalisation and merger cases in 2007 alone, is at least 13.8 billion euros. About 30 euros in the pocket for each of Europe's 500 million citizens. And then there are obvious deterrent effects we cannot put a price on. Another thing we can't yet put a price on is justice.