Consumer Confidential: Google Music, iTunes Match, no-job majors

Here's your West-End-girls Wednesday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

-- Google has learned to sing. The searchmeister is entering the online music market with a new service that will let users store songs online and listen to tracks on multiple devices. Google has expanded into music, television and movies to bolster sales of devices running its Android mobile software. The company is also seeking rights for its Google+ social-network users to share music with each other. On the eve of the debut, Google reached an agreement with Sony’s music unit. Universal and EMI have already signed on. Songs will cost 99 cents to $1.29, though Google may offer discounts. (Bloomberg)

-- Not to be outdone, Apple has rolled out a new iTunes Match service. For $24.99, iTunes account holders can store their entire iTunes library, plus songs from their CDs, in the cloud that is the Internet. The library contents are then available to listen to on computers and iOS devices, including iPhones. The program differs from Google Music and Amazon Cloud Player because iTunes Match isn't based on uploading your music then listening to it via a Web-based player that streams your songs. Instead, it determines which songs in your collection are available in the iTunes Store, which boasts some 20 million songs. The program automatically adds these songs to iCloud. Songs that aren't in iTunes can be uploaded by the user. (Lifehacker)

-- Not all college majors are created equal -- at least when it comes to giving you a leg up in the job market. College majors with high unemployment rates include a variety of psychology degrees, fine arts and architecture, according to Census statistics. Here are the Top 10 majors (or should that be Bottom 10?) for not getting a job: Clinical psychology (19.5% unemployment rate), miscellaneous fine arts (16.2%), U.S. history (15.1%), library science (15%), military technologies (10.9%), educational psychology (10.9%), architecture (10.6%), industrial and organizational psychology (10.4%), miscellaneous psychology (10.3%), linguistics and comparative literature (10.2%). (MarketWatch)

-- David Lazarus

Photo: Google is launching a new music service to compete with Apple's iTunes. Credit: Ralph Orlowski / Getty Images

 

Consumer Confidential: MyFord upgrade, wealth gap widens

Here's your I-melt-with-you Monday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

— Ford is getting some upgrades. Ford Motor, stung by falling quality ratings because of its glitch-prone MyFord Touch system, is planning a major fix that it hopes will fix the problems. Early next year, Ford is sending flash drives with a software upgrade to approximately 250,000 U.S. customers with MyFord Touch and MyLincoln Touch, the equivalent system in Ford's luxury Lincoln brand. Owners can do the upgrade themselves in about 45 minutes, or dealers will do it for free. Ford is still deciding how it will offer the upgrade to 200,000 buyers outside of the U.S. MyFord Touch, which debuted last year on the Ford Edge, replaces traditional dashboard knobs and buttons with a touch screen. Drivers control climate, navigation, entertainment, phone calls and other functions using touch or voice commands.

— The wealth gap between young and old is widening. The typical U.S. household headed by a person age 65 or older has a net worth 47 times greater than a household headed by someone under 35, according to an analysis of census data. Although people typically accumulate assets as they age, that ratio is now more than double what it was in 2005 and nearly five times the 10-to-1 disparity a quarter-century ago. The analysis reflects the impact of the economic downturn, which has hit young adults particularly hard. More are pursuing college or advanced degrees, taking on debt as they wait for the job market to recover.

— David Lazarus

 

Consumer Confidential: Apple battery fix, pet-food warning

Here's your thunder-road Thursday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

-- Apple says a fix is in the works for its gadgets' battery woes. The company says there's a problem with its latest mobile operating system that is shortening the battery life of iPhones, iPads and iPods that use the software. A small number of customers have reported lower-than-expected battery life on devices running on the company's iOS 5 operating system. Apple says it's found bugs in the program and will release a software update to address them in a few weeks. The latest iPhone, the 4S, comes with iOS 5. Other devices that can be upgraded to run the software: the iPhone 3GS or 4, iPads and an iPod Touch released in September 2009 or later.

-- Some yucky but important tips: The Food and Drug Administration is warning pet owners that they can get sick from their loved one's food. The agency says it's increasing inspections of dry pet food and pet treats from distributors, wholesalers and retailers. There have been numerous recalls of pet food tainted by salmonella and other contaminants in recent years. While humans usually get salmonella poisoning by eating contaminated food, it's also possible to pick up the disease by handling contaminated pet food. In January 2006, at least 70 people were sickened by salmonella-tainted pet food from a Pennsylvania plant. Government officials say you should wash their hands after feeding your pet. Also, only purchase products (canned or bagged) with no visible signs of damage to the packaging, such as dents, tears or discolorations.

-- David Lazarus

Photo: Apple says a fix is on the way for a battery-sapping software glitch. Credit: Henrik Kettunen / Bloomberg

 

Consumer Confidential: Cellphone taxes, 401(k) matches, beer sales

Here's your watching-the-detectives Wednesday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

--At least your cellphone bill may hold steady. The House has approved a five-year freeze on any new state and local taxes imposed on cellphones and other wireless services, including wireless broadband access. The voice vote reflected a consensus that new taxes on wireless mobile services have far outpaced average sales taxes on other items and have become a deterrent to the spread of wireless broadband technology. Wireless customers reportedly now pay 16.3% in taxes and fees, more than double the average rate of 7.4% on other goods and services. The bill prohibits state and local governments from imposing so-called discriminatory taxes on mobile services, providers or cellphones for five years.

--Some more good news: Most of the companies that either suspended or reduced their 401(k) matches during the economic downturn have reinstated them, according to business consultant Towers Watson. An analysis of 260 mid- to large-sized companies shows that 75% of those that took the step to cut costs have restored their match. Among those, about 74% are continuing the match at the previous level. About 23% brought matches back at a lower rate. Among these companies, the reinstated match was slightly more than half of their original contribution. Just 3% restored matches at a higher rate. I wonder what companies those are.

--But here's a sign that times are still tough: We're not chugging as much brewski. MillerCoors, the country's second-largest brewer, says its third-quarter net income fell 14.1% due to a weak economy, low consumer spending and higher commodity costs. The combined U.S. operations of SABMiller and Molson Coors Brewing, which make Miller and Coors brand beers, said underlying net income in the July-September quarter slipped to $286.9 million, while net sales were down 2.5% at $1.965 billion. The brewer has a U.S. beer market share of nearly 30%, behind Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev's share of almost 50%. So do your bit for the economy and hoist a few.

-- David Lazarus

Photo: Lawmakers want to hold cellphone taxes steady for five years. Credit: Jason Alden / Bloomberg

Consumer Confidential: Cell bill shock. BlackBerry. iPhone sales.

Here's your mama-told-me-not-to-come Monday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

-- As my colleague Jim Puzzanghera reported in Monday's paper, wireless companies will finally make it easier for customers to avoid sky-high bills. AT&T, Verizon and other major cellphone providers have agreed with U.S. regulators to begin sending alerts to customers who are approaching monthly voice, text or data limits. The aim is to help them avoid hefty additional charges that cause what consumer advocates call bill shock. Under the voluntary industry guidelines, companies also will send alerts when customers exceed their plans' limits and are subject to overage charges. Customers traveling abroad will be warned that they are about to incur often pricey international roaming fees. The companies  agreed to be customer-friendly only after federal officials made clear that new regulations would be imposed if they didn't.

 -- Speaking of cellphones, BlackBerry customers are being offered some free apps to keep them from fleeing the service after nasty outages last week. Research in Motion says the apps, worth more than $100, will be made available over the coming weeks on BlackBerry App World. They include iSpeech Translator, Bejeweled and Texas Hold'em Poker 2. The offer runs until the end of the year. Research in Motion also will offer its enterprise customers a month of free technical support. Last week's blackout interrupted email and Internet services for tens of millions of users globally and left company leaders apologizing profusely.

-- One last wireless news item (giving me the hat trick): Apple says it sold more than 4 million units of the new iPhone model in three days. It's selling more than twice as fast as the previous model did when it launched last year. Apple and its phone company partners started selling the iPhone 4S on Friday in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Britain. That's two more launch countries than last year. There are also more phone companies selling the phone. In the U.S., Sprint Nextel is the new carrier. When Apple launched the iPhone 4 last year, it sold 1.7 million in the first three days.

-- David Lazarus

Photo: Cellphone "bill shock" could be become less frequent. Credit: Randi Lynn Beach / For The Times

 

Consumer Confidential: Wireless devices, rich shoppers, stroller recall

 
Here's your be-true-to-your-school Tuesday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

-- You know how New Zealand is supposed to have more sheep than people? Well, there are now more wireless devices being used in the United States than there are Americans, and we've doubled the amount of Internet data traffic we generate on smartphones, according to the trade group CTIA. The number of mobile devices rose 9% in the first six months of 2011 to 327.6 million -- more than the 315 million people living in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Wireless network data traffic rose 111% during the same period. How is this possible? Many adults have more than one wireless device. Beam me up, Scotty.

-- At least someone is shopping. Wealthy families with discretionary income of at least $250,000 plan to boost holiday shopping by 7% from last year to an average $2,708, according to a survey by Hanson Group and American Express. Those pulling down less than a quarter-million bucks plan to scale back their purchases, the survey finds. But the rich are clearly feeling flush. Maybe they'll want a few more wireless devices.

-- Heads up: Hundreds of thousands of popular B.O.B. jogging strollers are being recalled because of choking concerns. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says the backing on an embroidered logo patch on the stroller's canopy can come loose. CPSC says the firm has received six reports of children mouthing a detached patch backing. Two cases involved choking and gagging. Consumers need to remove the patch before they can use the stroller. The recall involves more than 411,000 single and double jogging strollers in the United States and 27,000 in Canada.

-- David Lazarus

Photo: The ubiquity of cellphones means there are now more wireless devices in the U.S. than people. Credit: Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times

 

Consumer Confidential: Starbucks goes solo, Lego booms, Nook soars

Here's your tell-it-to-the-Marines Tuesday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

-- Starbucks thinks single-serve coffee will be a growing part of our busy future. The company says Starbucks coffee in pods designed for Keurig coffee makers will be available at grocery stores and specialty retailers beginning in November. Many coffee companies have started to concentrate on the single-serve coffee pods that are brewed at home because it's a fast-growing business. Starbucks hopes to build its K-cup deal into a business worth more than $1 billion. The Keurig coffee system is made and sold by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. The companies announced their partnership in March. The Starbucks packages of K-cups will come in 10-pod, 16-pod and 54-pod packs in flavors such as Breakfast Blend, Pike Place Roast, House Blend, Sumatra and French Roast.

-- Hard economic times worldwide mean boom times in Lego Land. The Danish toy maker says its first-half profit rose a hefty 32% as its new products, such as Lego Ninjago, sold above expectations and it continued to gain market share. Lego says that besides its Ninjago line, new sets like Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter were also selling better than expected. Classic products like Lego City and Lego Star Wars are also generating strong revenues. Lego says it saw double-digit sales growth in all its markets of more than 130 countries during the first half of 2011 (except in Japan, which suffered during the aftermath of the March earthquake and tsunami). And I can see why: This is a just plain cool toy.

-- Don't write off bookstores just yet. Barnes & Noble says it narrowed its net loss in its fiscal first quarter as sales of its Nook e-book reader and e-books helped offset lower sales of physical book. The company also sounded a positive note about the holidays, saying traffic will benefit from the fact that its chief rival, Borders Group, will be shuttered by then. Traditional booksellers like Barnes & Noble are facing tough competition from online retailers and discount stores. But the company has invested heavily in its e-book reader to combat this, a strategy that seems to be gaining traction.

-- David Lazarus

Photo: Starbucks sees frothy days ahead for single-serve coffee. Credit: Mark Lennihan / Associated Press

 

Consumer Confidential: Spending, Banana Republic, Apple TV

Here's your hey-Mickey Monday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

--We're shopping. Maybe not a whole lot, but we are shopping. Consumer spending rebounded in July as people bought more cars and other long-lasting items. Spending was up 0.8% over the month, the strongest increase in five months, following a revised 0.1% fall in June, according to the Commerce Department. July's boost was stronger than the 0.5% rise economists had expected. Adjusted for inflation, spending rose 0.5%. Consumption is a critical driver of U.S. economic growth, accounting for about two-thirds of gross domestic product, so July's rebound strikes a positive note for the beleaguered recovery -- that is, if we keep shopping through the second half of the year.

--How do you say "Banana Republic" in French? Gap Inc. plans to open its first Banana Republic store in France in early December. The clothing company, whose other brands include Old Navy and its namesake, says the store will be in Paris on the chic Avenue des Champs Elysees. Gap says the store is part of its international growth strategy. "With loyal customers across Europe, both in our stores and online, we are confident that Banana Republic's proposition of affordable luxury will resonate well with Parisian customers," said Stephen Sunnucks, president of Gap's international division. Last week, Gap also announced that it plans to open stores in Vietnam and Guam. Do they wear khakis in Guam?

--Is there an Apple TV in your future? The website VentureBeat reports that "Apple is almost certainly working on a digital television based on its iOS operating system, according to multiple sources in Silicon Valley." An Apple TV would allow people to do many things with their televisions they can't do now. The most important of these would probably be the ability to run Apple apps. This would permit consumers to download applications from Apple's store, which has hundreds of thousands of products. The Apple TV would allow people to switch from Facebook to Google to their calendars all on one device in the living room. The big question for me: Will you have to touch the screen to change channels?

-- David Lazarus

Photo: Gap Inc. says it will open a Banana Republic store in Paris. Credit: Jae C. Hong / Associated Press