Starwatch Consumer | Southwest to keep its no-fee policy, but AirTran unit ...
18.05.12
Southwest Airlines Co., the only major U.S. carrier without bag-check and rebooking fees, will keep those charges at its AirTran Airways unit into 2014, three years after the two combined. That’s the target date to fully integrate AirTran into its Dallas-based parent, and the fees will stay in place until then, Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly said Thursday.</p><p><span class="subhead">Alfa Romeo to return to U.S.</p><p></span>Fiat’s Alfa Romeo division took a step closer to its return to the U.S. after registering the brand of its 4C compact sports car, the unit’s first model targeted for sale in the country in almost 20 years. The 4C, which will be built starting in May 2013, will begin deliveries in Europe in the second half of next year.Fiat Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne said recently that that the 4C will go on sale in North America by the end of 2013. </p><p><span class="subhead">Hospital infections</span></p><p>Infections of central-line catheters used to medicate hospital patients have fallen by a third since the U.S. government set reduction goals in 2009, said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.The decrease, part of an initiative to cut such infections in half by 2013, has saved 1,250 lives and about $82 million in health spending, Sebelius said at an event Thursday. Reducing the infections to save money and lives is “low-hanging fruit,” she said.</p><p><span class="subhead">Mortgage rates rise</span></p><p>Mortgage rates rose for the first time in four weeks. The average rate for a 30-year mortgage climbed to 3.9 percent this week from 3.88 percent, Freddie Mac said .The average 15-year rate rose to 3.13 percent from 3.11 percent.</p><p><span class="subhead">Home sales decline in March</p><p></span>Americans bought fewer previously owned homes in March, a reminder that the housing market remains weak. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that home sales fell 2.6 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.48 million. That followed a revised 4.6 million sold in February. </p><p><span class="subhead">Diabetes drug warning</span></p><p>A consumer advocacy group is calling on government regulators to withdraw a diabetes drug from Novo Nordisk, saying the injectable medication raises the risk of thyroid cancer, pancreatitis and kidney failure. </p><p>Public Citizen sent a petition to the Food and Drug Administration saying the risks of Victoza far outweigh its benefits as a diabetes drug, a crowded field that includes nearly a dozen similar medications. </p><p>Citing internal agency documents, the group notes that FDA approved the drug in 2010 against the recommendation of three staff scientists.
Source: Kansas City Star
As weather gets biblical, insurers go missing
18.05.12
As weather disasters strike with more frequency, homeowners first get hit with the destruction or total loss of property. Many are then hit with the unexpected loss of homeowners insurance policies as insurance companies re-evaluate their financial liabilities.
After a tornado ripped through Springfield, Massachusetts, last year, R. Paula Lazzari's home was badly damaged. The retired teacher found broken windows, missing siding and a damaged roof. Her insurer offered to fund repairs for one broken window and some of the siding. It took nine months -- and mediation services from an independent adjuster and the Massachusetts Division of Insurance -- to get her bills paid, according to the parties involved.
In this era of unpredictable weather patterns, Lazzari's case is not unique. Insurance companies are raising rates, cutting coverage, balking at some payouts and generally shifting more expense and liability to homeowners, according to reports from the industry and its critics.
Source: msnbc.com
Today's COTD is the Audi TT RS Coupe! Plain and simple, it's a gorgeous car.