Energy

Apple’s Device Dominance Drives E-Book Price-Fixing Lawsuit

August 10, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> A Seattle law firm has targeted Apple in an e-book price-fixing lawsuit partly because of the company's dominance in smartphone and tablet sales, the firm's managing director said.</p>

Natural Gas Drillers: ‘We Don’t Need Your Stinking Air Rules’

August 3, 2011  ·  Judy Dugan

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Oil Will Grease a Debt-Limit Recession

July 27, 2011  ·  Judy Dugan

<p> <img class=" size-full wp-image-2162" alt="" class="right" src="http://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/gopbankruptsign.png" style="width: 300px; height: 214px;" width="300" height="214" />If the U.S. ends the coming weekend without national debt limit deal, it won’t just be bond defaults sending the nation back into a deep, ugly recession. A hint came Tuesday as the price of oil rose a little, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/26/markets-energy-nymex-idUSN1E76P0A020110726">nearing $100 a barrel</a> once again even as stocks did a mini-tank, with the Dow down 91 points.</p>

If Exxon Can’t Deal With the Montana Spill…

July 12, 2011  ·  Judy Dugan

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Veil Drawn On Donors To Latino Caucus-Controlled California Nonprofit

July 5, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Special interest groups are donating money to causes supported by California's Latino legislators – potentially buying influence – without any public disclosure.</p> <p> The Latino Legislative Caucus two years ago stopped revealing which Capitol interest groups give hundreds of thousands of dollars to a nonprofit group it controls.</p>

Facebook Money? Will The Feds Shut Down Facebook’s Power Grab For Online Currency?

June 29, 2011  ·  Jamie Court

<center> <p> <img alt="2011-06-29-1DollarBillFaceBook.jpg" height="230" src="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2011-06-29-1DollarBillFaceBook.jpg" width="550" /></p> </center> <p> If Facebook's new facial recognition software isn't scary enough, imagine Mark Zuckerberg's face replacing George Washington's on the dollar bill. Or rubbing out all the dead presidents on every bit of American currency.</p>

Energy Drillers: Water Pollution Info Is Our Secret

May 18, 2011  ·  Judy Dugan

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Gasoline Pump Prices Line Refiners’ Pockets

May 16, 2011  ·  Judy Dugan

<p> <img class=" size-full wp-image-2083" alt="" class="right" src="http://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/oilpipelines.png" style="width: 250px; height: 178px;" width="300" height="214" />The financial news today is that oil prices are down below $90 a barrel from over $100, and futures market prices for gasoline are <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110516-713503.html">down 5%</a> to below $3.00 a gallon. Will that translate to big savings at the pump? Don’t bet on it, at least not for long.</p>

$4 Gasoline and the Price of Silver: Yeah, There’s a Connection

May 3, 2011  ·  Judy Dugan

<p> <img class=" size-full wp-image-2072" alt="" class="right" src="http://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/thumb_5.png" style="width: 220px; height: 157px;" width="300" height="214" />U.S. gas prices have hit their <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Business/weekly-gas-prices-crude-oil-gasoline-prices-roiled/story?id=13509864">highest level ever</a> for springtime, at $3.96 a gallon for regular on average. Yep, higher even than the record surge in 2008, as oil companies reap near-record profits. So what does that have to do with the price of silver?</p>

Will Potus Gridlock West L.A. As Prelude To Earth Day? He Should Read The Gas Station Signs

April 21, 2011  ·  Jamie Court

<p> <img class=" size-full wp-image-2063" alt="" class="right" src="http://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/obama.jpg" style="width: 120px; height: 90px;" width="120" height="90" />The email warnings are flying in West Los Angeles about how the president's motorcade will once again <a href="https://blogger.huffingtonpost.com/mt.cgi?__mode=view&_type=entry&blog_id=3" target="_hplink" rel="noopener">gridlock afternoon rush hour</a>. The cause: two mistimed, ill-placed Hollywood fundraisers on opposite sides of the traffic jam known as West LA. There's probably no major city as pro-Obama as Los Angeles, or state so solidly in his camp as California.</p>

Donald Trump’s Companies Filed for Bankruptcy 4 Times

April 21, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Donald Trump -- or companies that bear his name - have declared bankruptcy four times.</p> <p> Trump has built an American empire from Las Vegas to New York with towering hotels and sparkling casinos. <a href="http://www.forbes.com/profile/donald-trump">Forbes</a> estimates he's worth $2.7 billion. But not all of Trump's business ventures have been constant money-makers. In 1991, 1992, 2004, and again in 2009, Trump branded companies or properties have sought Chapter 11 protection.</p>

Lawmakers Lose State Cars At Last

April 20, 2011  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Few tears are being shed - outside the state Capitol - for our legislators, who have lost a valued perk.<br /> <br /> The California Compensation Commission ruled last week that lawmakers, as of December, no longer will drive cars bought for them by the state's taxpayers.<br /> <br /> California is the only state that still buys cars picked out by its legislators and "leases" them to the lawmakers. The state also pays for maintenance, repairs and unlimited gasoline for any Assembly or Senate member who wants it.<br /> <br />