Grumpy Editor

HIGHER INTEREST RATES LOOM ON SAVINGS ACCOUNTS…BUT NOT SOON

Not widely touted, there may be better days ahead via higher interest rates for those with savings in banks, sees Grumpy Editor, following the Federal Reserve raising its key short-term interest rate by a quarter point last Wednesday, citing a brighter economic outlook.

It won’t be soon.  But as competition for deposits heats up, banks will have to lift rates as customers seek better deals in parking their cash.

Most banks now pay from zero to about a slim 0.50 percent on savings accounts. Certificates of deposit pay slightly higher rates, depending on the term.

The Fed is on track to make three rate increases this year and three next year.  That would place its key rate at around 3.25 percent, compared to the current 1.5 to 1.75 percent. That’s still low by historical standards but it marks the central bank’s fourth rate increase in a year.

"We're trying to take that middle ground" on rate hikes, boosting rates enough to head off an eventual spike in inflation without derailing the economic expansion, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said at a news conference. 

Newspaper advertising departments should welcome the upcoming action because financial institutions will be forced to take out ads promoting their rates.

The three largest U.S. banks --- JP Morgan Chase & Co., Bank of America and Wells Fargo & Co. --- have added more than $2.4 trillion in domestic deposits over the past decade.  That’s a 180 percent increase since 2008, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of regulatory data.

Still, savings account rates, for example, will be well below prior years that saw payouts as high as 18 percent during the Jimmy Carter years and 3 percent going way back to the 1950s.

 

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NEW MEDICARE CARDS DETER ID THEFT.  New Medicare cards --- with randomly assigned numbers replacing Social Security numbers in efforts to deter identity theft --- will be distributed to several states starting next week and continue through year end.

NO SMOKING WHILE WALKING ON NEW YORK CITY SIDEWALKS?  New York City Councilman Peter Koo frowns on folks puffing on cigarettes while walking on city sidewalks and is preparing a bill that would make it a misdemeanor to walk while smoking, likely punishable by a $50 fine.

L.A. TIMES BUSINESS EDITOR RECEIVES AWARD.  Los Angeles Times business editor Kimi Yoshino, overseeing about 30 reporters and editors, is named Los Angeles Press Club’s 2018 Presidents Awardee for Impact on Media.

UNIVERSITY SEEKS TO CUT 13 MAJORS…INCLUDING ENGLISH.  The University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point is weighing a plan to eliminate 13 majors including English, philosophy, history and Spanish, focusing on programs that have "clear career pathways,” such as marketing, management, graphic design and computer information systems.

FASTER CHECKOUT LOOMS AT STORES.  Checking out at stores and other places via credit cards will be faster starting April 30.  That's when major credit card networks no longer will require customers' signatures for transactions. 

 

MISTAKES WITH FLYING DOGS TRIGGERS PR PROBLEM FOR UNITED AIRLINES

United Airlines has a major public relations problem on its hands following a dog's death in an overhead bin last Monday followed by wrong-way flying mistakes with other dogs during the week, notes Grumpy Editor.

On Tuesday, a German Shepherd wound up in Japan after he was supposed to fly to Kansas.  Sent to the Kansas destination was a Great Dane that was slated to travel to Japan.  

Another canine on Thursday was wrongfully loaded onto a flight from Newark, N. J. to St. Louis.  The pet was supposed to fly from Newark to Akron, Ohio. 

But the incident that brought loud cries from dog lovers was the death of a French bulldog on a Houston-to-New York flight. 

A flight attendant told its owners to put the dog, in its carrier, in an overhead bin. A United spokesman said the passenger told the flight attendant there was a dog in the carrier, but the attendant "did not hear or understand her, and did not knowingly place the dog in the overhead bin."

Associated Press said passengers reported they heard barking during the flight and did not know the dog had died until the plane landed at LaGuardia Airport.

United called it "a tragic accident that should never have occurred, as pets should never be placed in the overhead bin."

The airline on Friday said "to prevent this from happening again, by April we will issue bright colored bag tags to customers traveling with in-cabin pets.”

 

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RUSSIANS TARGET U.S. AVIATION SYSTEM.  Russian hackers penetrated the U.S. civilian aviation system early last year, part of a broad assault on the nation’s sensitive infrastructure, according to a consortium designed to protect the industry, but it had limited impact, reports Bloomberg Businessweek.

MEDIA CONCERNED ON GETTING STORY FIRST.  Most Americans (62 percent) still think the media are obsessed with getting the story first, when they think they should be focused on getting it right, finds a Rasmussen Reports survey. 

NEWSPAPER STAFF CUTS CONTINUE.   The Denver Post is cutting 30 people from its newsroom, one-third of the paper's staff.  Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune newsroom also is hit by a round of layoffs of an undetermined number of staffers.  Spokeswoman Marisa Kollias says the newspaper “is reshaping its newsroom and making important steps in an ongoing effort to become more a digital enterprise.”

PLASTIC FOUND IN BOTTLED WATER.  The world's leading brands of bottled water are contaminated with tiny plastic particles that are likely seeping in during the packaging process, finds a major study across nine countries. Plastic is identified in 93 percent of the samples. Health risks remain unknown, but the World Health Organization is looking into it, reports Fortune.

MEREDITH SEEKS TO SELL RECENTLY ACQUIRED TITLES.  Meredith Corp. has hired advisers to explore the sale of recently acquired  Time, Fortune, Money and Sports Illustrated magazines. Meredith sees the  titles attracting mostly male readership, thus not playing to its core strength in women’s magazines, which include Better Homes & Gardens, Family Circle and Martha Stewart Living. 

GO EASY ON INTEREST RATES URGED.  Larry Kudlow, President Donald Trump's new chief economic adviser, urges the Federal Reserve not to raise interest rates too much. "Growth is not inflationary. Just let it rip, for heaven's sake," he points out.

 

 

TWO MINUTES OF TV COMMERCIALS PER HOUR TARGET OF FOX

Good news for TV watchers who grumble over heavy interruptions via abundant commercials cluttering programs:  Fox Network Group is aiming to slice its television spots time to only two minutes an hour, notes Grumpy Editor.

The goal to accomplish this is by 2020. Accomplishing this would be a significant change heartily welcomed by TV watchers. 

Current commercials per hour now average a little over 13 minutes on broadcast TV --- just short of one quarter hour, according to Nielsen.  On cable TV, it’s a bit more, 16 minutes.

To compensate for the revenue drop, it means charging more for advertisers to get messages beamed.

Inspiration for the reduction in ad pitches is attributed to ad-free streaming platforms such as  Amazon and Netflix.

 

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HIGH PRICE TAG FOR DOORS.  Doors to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's office are getting a $138,670 upgrade with installation set for summer.  The Interior Department says it is necessary to replace old doors that are in "disrepair" and attributes the high cost to the historical nature of the building while noting current doors from a hallway to the sixth floor office do not lock.

 

NAVY PLANS TO MODERNIZE SUPER HORNETS AIRCRAFT FLEET.  Boeing is being called on to modernize the Navy’s F/A-18 Super Hornets to extend their life by at least a decade and improve cockpit, communication and fuel systems.

 

MORE WOMEN READERS SOUGHT.  London-based The Economist, a weekly aiming to attract more readers, is targeting women — an underrepresented demographic in its audience. Less than 30 percent of its 1.4 million print and digital subscribers are women, finds the publisher. The publication started in 1843.

 

BAY STATE HATES GUNS, BUT PRODUCES THEM.   Massachusetts, which has strict gun-control laws and the lowest shooting-death rate, also accounts for one fourth of the 11.9 million guns produced each year, centered around Springfield.

 

EVENING NEWSCASTS TARGET TRUMP.  A Media Research Center analysis of ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts in January and February finds 10 times more negative comments about President Donald Trump than positive statements as the ongoing Russia investigation swamps all other topics.  In the study, MRC analysts looked at 505 evening news stories that mentioned the President or his administration and tallied out of 851 total minutes of airtime devoted to the administration, the networks spent almost one-fourth of it (204 minutes) on the Russia investigation, eclipsing other major topics such as the economy, immigration reform and the gun debate.

 

TOP CITIES FOR EARLY RISERS FOR WORK.  A Census Bureau survey from 2009 to 2015 to determine key locations of early risers finds top cities where commuters leave for work before 5 a.m. include:  Elkhart-Goshen, Indiana: 13.3 percent; Pascagoula, Mississippi: 11.9 percent; El Centro, California and Stockton-Lodi, California: 11 percent; Hammond, Louisiana: 10.9 percent, and Merced, California: 10.1 percent.

 

U.S. SET TO OVERTAKE RUSSIA IN OIL PRODUCTION.  Within five years the U.S. is aiming to overtake Russia as the world’s largest oil producer with 12.1 million barrels a day, predicts the International Energy Agency.

 

WORKPLACE DRUG TESTS FADING.  As the job market tightens and more states legalize marijuana, a growing number of American employers is dropping drug tests as hiring prerequisites, notes Bloomberg.  With employers accepting drug use more, testing is no longer worth the expense.

MOST AMERICANS RATTLED ABOUT GOING TO DENTIST

Scarier than Halloween for many Americans, especially millennials, is going to the dentist, even for an annual cleaning, according to researchers at Hello Products, a dental care startup, notes Grumpy Editor.

Polling 2,000 U.S. adults on their oral hygiene habits, a study reveals sitting in a dentist’s chair was a phobia for most respondents.

Overall, 62 percent of adults surveyed say that are too spooked to visit a dentist’s office. Especially freightened are millennials.  Millennials are more likely than those over 55 to create excuses to avoid regular dental checkups (56 percent to 36 percent, respectively), unearths the survey that also finds only three in 10 millennials brush their teeth once a day, and admit they’ve gone two or three days on average without brushing.

Yet, 56 percent of millennials express fear or anxiety over losing teeth, despite possessing slovenly dental habits. 

It’s crucial to take the right steps every day to maintain a healthy mouth,” reminds Craig Dubitsky, Hello Products’ founder. “This involves using effective oral care products, as well as being mindful of your daily habits.”

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

TRUMP PEPPERS SPEECH WITH ONE LINERS.  At Saturday’s annual Gridiron Dinner, President Donald Trump ends his speech (containing many one-liners), with:  "I just want to say this, this is one of the best times I've had with the media — this might be the most fun I've had since watching your faces on election night.”

U.S. OIL OUTPUT HITS RECORD.  While media focus on rising gasoline prices, U.S. crude oil production shatters a 47-year record in November and retreats slightly in December, reports the U.S. Energy Department.  Oil output rises to 10.057 million barrels per day in November while December production edges lower to 9.949 million barrels per day.  Output has surged for several years, stemming from the shale boom, pushing the U.S. past Saudi Arabia among top producers. Only Russia has greater daily oil output.  Gasoline prices almost always rise in March as more drivers hit the road and refiners conduct maintenance.

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE REACHES RECORD. Despite stock market volatility in recent days, the U.S. Consumer Confidence Index hit its highest level — 130.8 last month, passing the 128.6 mark set in December, 2000. This compares to the lowest point of 25.3 reached in February, 2009 during the Great Recession.

CONSUMER FRAUD CLIMBS.  The Federal Trade Commission’s annual report of top U.S. consumer complaints notes Americans were defrauded of $905 million in 2017, $63 million more than in the prior year.  Debt collection fraud tops the list for the third year in a row, followed by identity theft and tax fraud.   Most scammers ask for money over the phone.  Top states for fraud in 2017:  Florida, Georgia and Nevada. 

PBS GEARS UP FOR CONSERVATIVE TALK SHOW.  Columnist Michael Gerson and commentator Amy Holmes are teaming to start a conservative-oriented talk show on PBS.  “In Principle” will air Friday nights starting April 13.  After an eight-week run, PBS will decide on continuing the program. Hosts plan to interview two guests per show, aiming for an in-depth discussion on issues and their formative political experiences. 

MILITARY PARADE LIKELY AROUND VETERANS DAY.  The Pentagopn is moving ahead with plans for a military parade around Veterans Day (Nov. 11), possibly in conjunction with the World War I centennial commemoration.

ADVANCED WEATHER EYE IN SKY LAUNCHES.  NASA launches one of the most advanced weather satellites, focusing on the western U.S.  It will provide crisp images of storms, wildfires, floods, mudlslides and other events.