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Americans prepare to vote with worries in mind

As the economy continues its roller coaster ride, more and more Americans are worried about the direction in which the country is moving. With election day coming quickly, voters are likely to have their concerns in mind when they head to the polls.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, often used as a bellwether for the nation’s overall economic health, has dropped considerably over the course of just the past few weeks. Voters could be looking to the presidential candidates for reassurance that the country will end up back on track.

Major economic issues that the candidates have been forced to address include unemployment and the housing crisis. The unemployment rate for the year of 2007 was 4.7 percent. In September 2008, however, it reached 6.1 percent, the highest it has been since 2003.

Many Americans worry that the slowdown already gripping the financial industry will spread to other sectors.

This compounds the worries of those struggling to pay their mortgages. The resetting of adjustable rate mortgages, in particular, can make it difficult for some households to pay on time. If a home enters foreclosure, the buyer loses all of the initial investment.

The Mortgage Bankers’ National Delinquency Survey reports that for the first quarter of 2008, the delinquency rate reached almost 6.5 percent of all outstanding loans. With an increasing number of Americans worrying about paying their bills, they could voice their concerns in the voting booths on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

--Bridget O'Sullivan

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Starbucks goes for the gold with new perks card

Starbucks is rolling out golden savings this holiday season. A Starbucks dollar menu? Not quite.

USAToday reports that Starbucks is introducing a "Starbucks Gold Card" that will be available on November 4. The card, costing $25, will offer 10% off most purchases and is aimed at Starbucks best customers. Michael Silverstein, Senior Partner at Boston Consulting Group says "It takes their best customers and makes them feel coddled and cared about."

Same store sales at Starbucks dropped 6% for its fiscal fourth quarter ending September 30. 600 stores have closed, 1000 employees have been laid off, and a first quarter loss of $6.7 million was reported for the quarter ending June 30.

Starbucks will remain a premium brand, however, this holiday season the focus is on staying in the reach of most consumers.

For the first time, the approach at Starbucks is "Costco comparable," offering five $20 gift cards for $80. Gifts are cheaper this year as well. CEO Howard Schultz adds, "We revamped holiday from soup to nuts."

CDs, for example, will be sold at $12.95 instead of $14.95, and there will be tables with gifts under $10.

Click here for the USA Today article.

Books to read your kids during financial crisis

As hard times hit, our children must deal with our stress, anxiety and anger. Over what? Money.

Now is the time to introduce books to our children that portray times that were worse. Reading about others who survived during rough conditions is a great coping device.

Erica S. Perl of Slate.com writes of when she was a child, "One of the ways I coped was by burying my nose in books and discovering kids who had it worse than I did."

For example, Laura Ingalls' father who repeatedly hitches up the wagon to bring his family to the middle of nowhere. Or Matilda, who discovers her only friend Miss Honey lives in poverty.

Reading is a free endeavor and an incredible learning tool.

Here's a list of five books recommended for children during tough times:

Five Little Peppers and How They Grew
Little House on The Prairie
Ramona and Her Father
Tight Times
Homecoming

Or visit Slate.com for great kid's books on financial ruin.

Increase in heating oil aid in Mass.

Home heating oil aid will nearly double across the U.S.

The Bush Administration has released $5.1 billion in heating assistance to the states, helping millions of families heat their homes this winter. The heating aid was included as a stopgap budget bill that Congress passed and President Bush signed.

Massachusetts will receive $213 million in federal fuel assistance as its share of the $5.1 billion appropriated by Congress.

Release of the funds, targeted to help the state's low-income households pay for their winter heating bills, was jointly announced Friday, Oct. 17 by Sens. Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry.

The Associated Press reports that the slumping economy and high energy costs are leaving millions unable to afford heat this winter. Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass. says, "The double whammy of rising costs and economic uncertainty is hitting local consumers hard. With this increase in funding, hopefully no one in Massachusetts should have to make a heat-or-eat decision this winter."

According to the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association, the heating aid will be able to help two million families more than originally expected. The funding is incredibly helpful in Mass., where the cold winters and high oil heat usage is prone to high energy costs.

Senior citizens and low income families will certainly benefit, keeping warm at an affordable cost.

Click here for more information on how you get help with your winter heating bill.

Hybrid buses to save money for MBTA

MBTA is stepping up its efforts of becoming more environment friendly. Come Q1 of 2009, 123 buses belonging to the MBTA would be retrofitted with the proprietary Mini-Hybrid Thermal System. These are being built by Engineered Machined Products, Inc. (EMP), leaders in advanced thermal management and oil management products for variety of transportation needs.

The retrofitted buses are expected to become more fuel efficient and control emissions. The piggy bank at the cash-strapped MBTA is sure to swell in the long run. The savings are in the region of 3 to 14%, fuel saved would be in the region of 300 to 1400 gallons per bus, annually. With the current fuel cost, this would easily translate to annual savings of $1,000 to $4,900 per bus.

Apart from MBTA, the two other transportation bodies who availing the services of EMP are TriMet in Portland, Oregon and MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) in Atlanta, Georgia.

MBTA is going green and saving green ($) too! Kudos to them.

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Gas prices drop faster than drivers can fill 'er up

Gas prices are falling rapidly. Can Massachusetts drivers keep up?

Mass. gas prices are falling so fast, drivers may be confused about what a "good deal" is these days. In Jamaica Plain, Hatoff's station is currently selling gas for $2.69. Whoa! That's nothing compared to July's $4.09.

Eric Esteves, a gasoline bargain hunter, tells the Boston Globe: "The last time I got gas, it was like $3.39 and that came down from $3.47." Even a bargain hunter like Esteves is unaware of the current price.

The Boston Globe reports the waning demand tied to recession fears has caused the value of crude oil to significantly decrease. Today, crude oil has dropped to a 14-month low of $69.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. This is due to worries about decreased demand and increased U.S. Inventory.

Click here for the complete article.

Financial meltdown hits higher education

As news about the economy continues to be bleak, even major universities are finding themselves scaling back. The ivory towers tend to be immune to small changes in economic conditions, but as incomes shrink, donations decrease and financial aid applications increase.

With the price of private school tuition barely within reach of many families even in good times, but as the economy slows, the burden seems increasingly hard to bear. Lower family incomes, rising inflation, and dips in the stock market could mean that many college funds may not go as far as parents originally planned.

Home equity lines of credit, an increasingly common way to pay tuition bills, are now no longer an option for many families. As home values fall, the cash does not exist to take out.

With the state of the economy in mind, colleges are planning to make changes to their budgets for the upcoming year. According to an Associated Press report by Justin Pope, schools such as Boston University are putting a hold on development projects.

Though private universities will have to work through the challenges of receiving fewer donations and fielding more requests for financial aid, public schools are also likely to have to reevaluate their spending decisions.

With incomes likely to be lower and aid programs more necessary, state governments will be forced to take a hard look at their budgets. Funding for state schools could be high on the list of items that get scaled back in the upcoming year.

Click here for the complete article.

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BusinessWeek ranks Boston as recession resistant

BusinessWeek ranks Boston No. 6 on a list of the best cities for riding out a recession.

Heralding the Hub's variety of resilient industries--including education, health and legal jobs--the list suggests that Bostonians armed with a 42.5% share of jobs in industries considered strong are in a good position to survive the financial meltdown.

The report cites Boston's world-class universities including Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (not to mention Boston University, Northeastern and Suffolk) as an additional asset.

However, the city is at risk with its slew of finance, retail and hospitality jobs.

Click here for the BusinessWeek list.

If NSTAR is green then why so much paper?

NSTAR's green program may not be so green after all.

A customer who enrolled in NSTAR's green-energy program reports that the company is continually sending her paper and unnecessary resources in the mail.

Although she wants to help the environment, she's rethinking her choice about the green program enrollment. According to blogger Chokmah, she writes: "...This weekend I got a flag and letter thanking me for going green. Gee, I wonder how many thank you for going green mailings they sent out? Think about it..."

The NSTAR green-energy program does support the development of renewable energy resources in the region. The program helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel consumption and helps to increase the sustainability of the renewable industry.

But why so much wasted paper?

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Artist unveils her 'Zero Dollar Bill'

The next time you see a George Washington in your purse, check for the denomination. It could just be a "Zero Dollar Bill."

New York artist Laura Gilbert is venting her anger at Wall Street by printing limited edition $0 bills (there are about 10,000 of them). She was distributing it to Armani-clad executives in Manhattan. The Washington Post report mentions that she would like to "confront them with my art."

The lady who pulled her money from the stock market as early as August 2007, is miffed at the plight of others who have lost their lives savings. She quips, "I was trying to think of the best way to respond artistically to this mess."

Finally, art comes to the rescue.

US injects $250 billion in financial institutions

In an effort to get capital flowing from the government’s $750 billion bailout plan, Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson called together the executives of nine of the country’s largest banks for a meeting in Washington.

He announced his plan for the government to buy up a number of shares from each bank. The government is also planning to guarantee and insure more commercial debts and deposits.

Is it a $250 billion band-aid? Perhaps.

According to the plan, the more capital a bank has and the more secure it perceives certain risks to be, the more growth is facilitated. If the market for credit grinds to a halt because institutions are not lending or because they choose to hoard their resources, the more likely the economy will remain stagnant.

"I don’t think there was any banker in that room who was going to look us in the eye and say they had too much capital," Mr. Paulson says in a phone interview with The New York Times in reference to Monday’s meeting with bank executives.

Some of the institutions represent at the meeting are suffering more seriously than others from the current sub-prime mortgage situation. Executives from the less-affected banks reportedly objected to the new plan initially. Others disapproved of the new guidelines related to executive compensation packages.

Ultimately, in a matter of just a few hours, all nine banks had signed on to the agreement. The effects of the deal are unlikely to be seen immediately, however, because it will take time for the newly injected capital to translate into more accessible credit and more growth.

Click here for the complete article.

--Bridget O'Sullivan

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Home lighting could go wireless

Scientists at Boston University are working on a new, energy-efficient way to deliver your home’s wireless internet access. By transmitting information from a router through power lines straight to household lamps, LED bulbs could transmit connection information using patterns of light that people cannot see.

In the same way that remote controls also use undetectable patterns of light, LiveScience reports that LED bulbs could communicate wireless connection information. One of the challenges, however, is that LED bulbs have not completely replaced incandescent bulbs in many households. Though they last longer and are more energy efficient, the price of one LED bulb is considerably higher than a regular light bulb.

Traditional wireless connections currently use radio waves to communicate, but as more and more people use the internet constantly, the radio frequency, or bandwith, becomes crowded and slow. Communicating with light could provide a speedy alternative.

Researchers are also seeking to apply the principles of communicating with light to other fields. Using LED brake lights, it could be possible for cars to “talk” to each other. If one car hits a serious pothole and registers the jolt, it would send out a signal and the cars behind it would know to be on the lookout. In addition, LED traffic lights could inform drivers of how many seconds they have before a light turns green.

Both the computer and automotive industries are hoping to see products using LED technology on the market in the next few years.

Thomas Little, a computer engineer at Boston University, tells LiveScience that “an aggressive partner could have something out on market within a year."

Click here for the complete article.

--Bridget O'Sullivan

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