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"Gas Prices" is issue #4 in the free "GOOD Sheets" series from GOOD and Starbucks. Each issue focuses on one topic, and unfolds from a square about the size of a CD case into a large graphic that explores the topic in stats, pics, and captions.

This week's topic is the price of gas, while last week's was immigration. Tomorrow a new one hits the stores on "The State of America's Schools."

"Getting Gas" [GOOD]

The Ponemon study indicates that most airport laptop losses occur at the security checkpoints or at the departure gates, where it's easy to leave things behind. More than 70 percent of business travelers say they feel rushed when trying to get on their flights, and 69 percent said they are usually carrying too many items while trying to catch their flights.

Los Angeles's LAX reported more laptop losses than any other airport, about 1,200 per week. Most of the airports said they generally keep the laptops for some period of times, then destroy them if they are unclaimed.

Sixty-five percent of the business travelers admit that they do not take steps to protect the confidential information contained on their laptops when traveling on business, according to the study. Forty-two percent say they don't back up their data before going on a trip. Fewer than 20 percent of respondents said they have whole disk encryption or file encryption on their machines.

Interestingly, only 1 percent of the respondents admitted personally losing a laptop computer. However, 84 percent say they know someone who has lost a laptop while traveling on business.

The UK's The Real Hustle shows how security checkpoints offer thieves an unrivaled opportunity to poach laptops from unsuspecting travelers:

Next time you travel, keep an eye and hand on your laptop. And don't be ashamed to admit if it's stolen. Clearly, you're not alone.

Laptop Losses Total 12,000 Per Week at US Airports [Dark Reading]
The Real Hustle - The Airport X-Ray Steal [YouTube]
(AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

"[Business travelers will] push back big time," said Mike Boyd, a Colorado-based aviation consultant. "It's one thing to simply raise fares. It's quite another to do it by imposing restrictions that appear to make it harder to conveniently fly."

Major carriers scrapped most minimum-stay rules - put in place largely to discourage big-budget corporate travelers from snatching up the cheapest seats - at the start of the decade, although United and other airlines recently started bringing the overnight rules back piecemeal.

Friday's changes are far more sweeping because they also apply to highly competitive routes where United goes head-to-head against lower-cost rivals such as Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways.

"What we did this week was almost across the board," [United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski] said. "At the end of the day, it's all about improving our profit as we combat these record high fuel prices."

We previously suggested that travelers evade overnight requirements by buying back-to-back one-way fares, which can be cheaper than a round-trip ticket with a hotel stay.

In related news, United also raised the price of one-way tickets.

United Airlines to require minimum stays from Oct. [The Canadian Press]
PREVIOUSLY: Airlines Revive Hated Minimum Stay Fares
(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

John doesn't know how the account was opened without his permission, but the former bank manager did have the relevant information needed to open an account. John writes:

We are a startup company that is currently out doing a Series B raise in order to commercialize a product we have in-licensed. The bank manager from our current bank left to join Wachovia. We were always happy with his service and we were not surprised when he contacted us and tried to get us to switch our banking to Wachovia. We indicated that the current timing was not good due to our financing. What we did not know was that he took upon himself to open an account for the company "in order to ensure certain money rates". Boy were we surprised when we got a $12 fee for being below the minimum balance requirements. We joked that as a startup it was nice to know that our "future bank" would be more than happy to take our last $12 as a fee. We contacted our banker friend and he said he would close the account. We are now up to $24.05 in fees and a collection agency has called. Needless to say Wachovia will not be getting our business.

(Photo: epicharmus)

That's certainly how it worked out for Hyman. Soon after declining Starbucks's buyout offer, Hyman received the expected news that the company was opening up next to one of his stores. But instead of panicking, he decided to call his friend Jim Stewart, founder of the Seattle's Best Coffee chain, to find out what really happens when a Starbucks opens nearby. "You're going to love it," Stewart reported. "They'll do all of your marketing for you, and your sales will soar." The prediction came true: Each new Starbucks store created a local buzz, drawing new converts to the latte-drinking fold. When the lines at Starbucks grew beyond the point of reason, these converts started venturing out—and, Look! There was another coffeehouse right next-door! Hyman's new neighbor boosted his sales so much that he decided to turn the tactic around and start targeting Starbucks. "We bought a Chinese restaurant right next to one of their stores and converted it, and by God, it was doing $1 million a year right away," he said.

P.S. Starbucks is awesome. Playstation is awesome. Nintendo is awesome. Apple is awesome. Microsoft is awesome. Dunkin' Donuts is awesome. Just wanted to prime the comments a little before we head into the weekend.

"Don't Fear Starbucks" [Slate]
(Photo: rudolf_schuba)

They also picked Hasbro's Easy-Bake Oven, which we mentioned here but incorrectly reported as a basic recall that wasn't a big deal. Turns out it happened twice and one case involved a partial amputation of a kid's finger.

In February, Hasbro announces a recall of nearly one million Easy-Bake Ovens after 29 children get their fingers stuck inside, some suffering severe burns. Five months later, the company is forced to reissue the recall after receiving reports on 249 additional incidents, 77 involving burns, including one that required a partial finger amputation.

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