We don’t know about you, but the first think we think of when someone says “Chippendales Dancers,” is Chris Farley in nothing but a bow tie, shirt cuffs and spandex pants. And yet, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, that isn’t enough to trademark male revue’s signature outfits. [More]
Government Policy
SEC: Stock Market "Flash Crash" Caused By Single $4.1B Sale
By 10.1.10
Officials today announced they can trace May’s stock market flash crash to a single transaction. On May 6, 2010, at 2:32 pm, Waddell & Reed Financial of Kansas initiated the sale of 75,000 E-Mini Standard & Poor’s 500 futures contracts. A sale of this size, about $4.1 billion worth, would usually happen over five hours, but instead the trading algorithms sold them within 20 minutes “without regard to price or time.” At 2:42 pm, markets starting plunging 5% in five minutes. [More]
Deduct Costs Of Stinky Chinese Drywall From Your Taxes
By 10.1.10
You can get some money if your home was ruined by defective Chinese drywall that emitted nasty-ass sulfuric fumes. The IRS yesterday said that homeowners could treat the damages to both their homes and appliances as a casualty loss and deduct it from their taxes. [More]
Senate Passes Bill Banning Loud Commercials
By 10.1.10
Everyone hates loud commercials, which is why Senate Republicans and Democracts were able to agree on something and Wednesday unanimously passed a bill banning them. The bill would require commercials to be broadcast at the same sound level as the programs they’re interrupting. [More]
Fisher-Price Recalls Millions Of Toys, High Chairs, Trikes, Oh My!
By 9.30.10
Apparently aiming to become the Toyota of the kiddie products industry, Fisher-Price has issued four different recalls today, covering dozens of products and millions of units. So if you have a young kid, you’ll probably want to at least scan the list. [More]
FDA Does Spit-Take Over Mouthwash Labels Saying They Fight Gum Disease
By 9.29.10
The FDA just smacked the taste out of the mouths of Johnson & Johnson, Walgreens and CVS over advertising that their mouthwash fights gum disease, without having science to prove it. [More]
Bad News Cal Bears Ditch Baseball, Rugby, Two Other Sports
By 9.29.10
If you happen to be a fan of the Cal-Berkeley baseball team, enjoy this baseball season, because in all likelihood it’s the team’s last. [More]
Without Receipts, Some Are Losing Money When They Return Recalled Similac
By 9.28.10
Jeff says since his local grocery stores put Similac on sale, his daughter hasn’t been able to get the full price back for the recalled Similac she returned because she doesn’t have her receipts. Without proof that she bought it before it went on sale, they will only refund her the sale price. “Who saves grocery receipts?” he writes. “My daughter was out $40 with everything she returned and repurchased a different product.” [More]
Tell The FCC To Nix The NBC Comcast Deal
By 9.28.10
If you don’t want Comcast to own NBC, you can use this handy dandy online petition Consumers Union put together for you to tell the FCC. As the agency continue to mull over the deal, perhaps your opinion may help sway theirs. But why might Kabletown owning the peacock be bad for consumers? [More]
Al Franken Wants To Put An End To Abuse By Debt Collectors
By 9.28.10
A few months after Minnesota Senator Al Franken convinced the FTC to look into the practice of debt collectors having arrest warrants issued for people with less than $100 in debt, the former SNL star announced that he will be introducing legislation to put an end to some of the collection industry’s more abusive practices. [More]
139,500 Hyundai Sonatas Recalled
By 9.28.10
Hyundai recalled 139,500 model year 2011 Sonatas this Sunday because of a steering issue. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTHSA) said that on some of the cars, the steering column intermediate shaft universal joint connections were not put together correctly, or were too loose, which could make the car hard or impossible to steer. [More]
Do We Need A Little Inflation To Get The Economy Moving?
By 9.28.10
Inflation is good, at the right time, and in moderate amounts. Like adding just a smidge during a recession when there’s a lot of people in debt. Knowing that prices will rise, some consumers and businesses are prodded to crack open their pocketbooks. The value of debts drop, easing the burden on strapped borrowers. Having used up a lot of options already, the Fed could slightly raise its inflation target and let prices slowly rise over the next few years, but they’re unlikely to announce anything remotely close to that in their meeting this week. Namely because people really really really hate inflation. Why is that? [More]
Maryland Judge Says It's OK To Record Traffic Stops
By 9.28.10
A Maryland motorcycle rider who recorded his confrontation with a traffic cop had the right to do so, a county judge ruled. [More]
Idaho Man Arrested For Taking Upskirt Pics At Walmart
By 9.28.10
Boise, Idaho police arrested a man for “video voyeurism” at Walmart. His offense was cruising the aisles and snapping shots under women’s skirts. [More]
FTC Says POM Wonderful Not So Great
By 9.28.10
The FTC wants to see some proof that the pomegranate ingredients in POM Wonderful’s products can actually treat heart disease, prostate cancer, and erectile dysfunction, which is what the company says in marketing and packaging materials. [More]
NY Bar Rules It's Ethical For Lawyers To Scour Facebook For Damaging Info
By 9.27.10
The New York Bar Association has decreed that it’s okay for lawyers to troll through Facebook and other social media sites for damaging info on their opposition. There is an important caveat, though. It’s only ethical if the info is publicly available. “Friending” someone for the purpose of accessing data the person only makes available to their “friends” is not kosher, nor is it cool to ask someone else to do it for you. [More]
Recall Issued For Lobster Poo Because It Might Be Peanuty
By 9.24.10
Why anyone would buy candy called “Lobster Poo” is beyond our understanding. But we do know why the novelty food product is being recalled — there might be peanuts in that poo. [More]
