March 09, 2010

A recent Kansas State University study found that the availability of supermarkets -- rather than the lack of them --increased the risk of obesity for low-income women living in small cities. This suggests that policies to increase healthful eating behaviors might need to be tailored based on geographic location. K-State researchers studied the availability of food stores for low-income women in Kansas to see whether there was a link to obesity. The findings showed that limited availability of grocery stores did not contribute to an increased risk of obesity in metropolitan or rural areas, but it was associated with an increased risk of obesity in micropolitan areas in Kansas, defined as cities with fewer than 40,000 people. Full release.

Despite the extension of the 2009 homebuyer's tax credit to April 30, 2010, and low home prices, potential buyers need to carefully examine their finances before taking the plunge. "Many people are able to benefit from this tax credit, but that does not always mean buying is a good option for them," said Lindsay Alston, a credit counsellor with CESI Debt Solutions. "You have to look closely at your income to see if the numbers work." A key rule for homebuyers to remember is that your mortgage, including the principal, interest, taxes, association fees and insurance should never exceed 30 percent of your gross income. Full release.

One cause of the rampant international hospital-infection epidemic may be the "inadvertent exposure" of hospital housekeepers and transporters to antibiotic-resistant "Superbugs" such as MRSA, says TeleTracking Technologies CEO Anthony Sanzo (www.teletracking.com). Sanzo, a former health system CEO, was commenting on a recently-released study which suggests that many of the 48,000 hospital-acquired pneumonia and sepsis deaths recorded nationwide in 2006 might have been avoided with better infection control. A study by Extending the Cure and published in The Archives of Internal Medicine said pneumonia and sepsis, which can be caused by drug-resistant microbes such as MRSA, increased U.S. healthcare costs by $8.1 billion that year due to protracted hospital stays and treatment. Full release.

According to new America THINKS survey results from HNTB Corporation, Americans are clamoring most for aviation infrastructure improvements that will make them feel safer. "As our aviation infrastructure priorities are debated and future funding questioned on Capitol Hill, it's crucial to look at what matters most to the nation's air travelers," said Paul Yarossi, president of HNTB Holdings Ltd. "Clearly, the majority of Americans say safety and security is of utmost importance to them." Full release.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) crude oil production rose to 29.31 million barrels per day (b/d) in February, an increase of 60,000 (b/d) from an estimated January level of 29.25 million b/d, according to a just-released Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials and analysts. Excluding Iraq, which does not participate in the oil producing group's production agreements, output from the 11 members bound by quotas (OPEC-11), under a 24.845 million b/d collective target, dipped by 10,000 b/d to 26.75 million b/d in February. Full release.

Americans for Tax Reform today sent a letter to President Obama asking him to clarify whether or not the 2.9 percent surtax on "unearned income" applies to capital gains. If Obama's tax increase does fall on capital gains, the marginal tax rate on capital gains will eventually rise to 22.9 percent from today's level of 15 percent. Full release.

Despite an inward focus on domestic issues like healthcare and forward-looking concerns over global warming, an overwhelming number of Americans (66%) believes that the United States has an obligation to help poor children around the world. In fact, according to a just-released survey sponsored by ChildFund International and conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs, almost one-third (31%) think that aid to the globe's poorest children should be our nation's number one charitable priority. The survey revealed a varying spectrum of awareness about conditions affecting poor children around the world. On average, Americans rightly estimated that 47 percent of the world's children live in poverty, with two in three (66%) survey respondents correctly identifying malnutrition as the single largest cause of death, outside of trauma, for children under 5 years of age. Full release.

The current financial crisis hitting the United States has made the idea of legalizing and taxing marijuana much more attractive for debt-ridden states. California proponents claim they could generate more than a billion dollars by legalizing and taxing marijuana distribution and save millions more by reducing law enforcement costs on prohibition enforcement. But Vanderbilt University Law School professor Robert Mikos explains in a new paper why the seemingly clear way to make money by legalizing and taxing marijuana distribution has too many legal hurdles to actually work. Full release.

According to the Alzheimer's Association 2010 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures, Hispanics are about one and one-half times more likely than whites to have Alzheimer's and other dementias. The report also indicates African-Americans are about two times more likely than their white counterparts to have Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. Although whites make up the great majority of the more than five million people with Alzheimer's and other dementias, Hispanics and African-Americans are at higher risk for developing the disease. Full release.

Citing concerns about increased mortgage fraud, four organizations representing more than 35,000 real estate appraisers today voiced their opposition to changes to an Obama administration program that will encourage "short sales" of homes. The coalition was led by the Appraisal Institute, the nation's largest organization of real estate appraisers. The Obama administration's program allows broker price opinions to be used to determine the value of properties to establish a minimum offer of a short sale. Broker price opinions, or BPOs, are estimated values of a property as determined by a real estate broker; they are not the same as appraisals. Full release.

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