tv The Willis Report FOX Business March 13, 2014 5:00pm-6:01pm EDT
5:00 pm
gerri: hello, everybody, i'm gerri willis. right now on "the willis report" , new details about the scandal consuming gm and target. two iconic companies at the center of consumer outrage. both knew of problems hurting americans but did nothing about it. also, it is ultimate obamacare escape clause. if you want an exemption from the individual mandate you got it. and our special report a users guide to taxes, what the irs won't tell you. we're watch out for you tonight on "the willis report." gerri: two big consumer stories tonight concerning your money
5:01 pm
and your life. and both involve iconic american companies that couldn't seem to care less about either. we'll get to target in just a minute but first, new developments on the gm recall investigation. listen to this. general motors first said it knew about the problem with ignition switches back in 2004 but now, it says it found problems 13 years ago, as far back as 2001. why, why has the public been kept in the dark so long? here with more is car expert, lauren fix. lauren, what do you make of this new timeline? >> well i find it very painful that they knew about this in preproduction. somebody, in the engineering department or someone in the preproduction lineup said, we've got a problem. went back to delphi, who is one of gm's companies. they said we have problem. they replaced it with another switch with a different spring in it and you know what? it still wasn't strong enough. there was a problem it didn't get fixed until 06. during that time the cars went out to dealerships and went out
5:02 pm
to consumers. funny thing even though there was complaint and one service technician said we've got a problem, it has to do with weight of people's keys, really that was only a small portion of the problem, part of is that nhtsa let it go through the cracks. i decided to entitle it nhtsa-gate. i thought you would like that. gerri: but it is also gm-gate, not only let the cars go through the production line this continued for years and went on for years while the company knew and nhtsa was getting reports from consumers. look at timeline on the investigation. 2001 they first detected an ignition switch problem in saturn eye ons. by 2004, chevy cobalts. 2005 service bulletins issued to dealers, not customers. 1.6 million cars recalled but didn't happen until 2014. you mentioned delphi as the maker of the alternate switch. they say it will cost 2 bucks to five bucks to put in new replacement switches. who out there is doing the kinds
5:03 pm
of due diligence, the kinds of comparisons to say, 12 deaths or two to five bucks to replace this ignition switch in all of these cars? >> well you have to go back and look at that timeline and see when gm was taken over by the federal government. during that timeline, they were losing money like crazy. and, gm was involved with the government and so, somehow, somewhere in the mix, this did not get fixed and it should have been fixed. there is definite negligence involved here, not just from consumer inconvenience and god forbid the deaths and all accidents we may or may not know b there will be more stuff coming out as people go back and investigate cases. a lot of it was covered up one way or the other. we may never know whose fault it is specifically but the bottom line is, if this got out in 'in '04 and 05 it may have been the final nail in the coffin for gm. gerri: what you're suggesting lauren, gm is choosing between
5:04 pm
the life of its company and the life of its customers. it is really that dramatic at end. day. the big question people are asking about the reorganization, the bankruptcy is, will this allow them to health themselves from any lawsuits in this case. what do you say to that? >> they're actually thinking about it. they have a group of attorneys now. it is possible they may put this on the previous gm and that company is out of business. so therefore would be very difficult for some of the lawsuits to go through when the company is already bankrupt. the new corporation, the new gm is run right now by mary barra trying to get the bull by the horns to offer discount. she has more than a bull. she has a huge monster she has to overcome. this is real test to her, her success. i think that if she can get in front of this and showcase the quality products they have in the gm and gm really, truly cares about their customers it will help. it will take years to overcome like it did for toyota, ford, audi, every other brand that had a problem. this is really a serious situation.
5:05 pm
the fact that over 13 years it was neglected and the fact that nhtsa knew about it and never investigated it. this will come down to serious congressional hearings. i have a feeling we're not done talking about this. gerri: i know we're not, lauren. i'm sure we'll have you back to talk about it more. thanks for coming on the show tonight. appreciate it. >> thanks, gerri. gerri: there is another company we're looking at tonight. another company giving consumers a hard time. target this afternoon admitted it had early warning, early warning that millions of you may have had your information stolen but they chose to do nothing about it. target outsourced its security to a company in india and when that company told target back in minneapolis something was wrong, target didn't take action. adam levin, chairman of identity theft 911 joins me now with answers. what is interesting about this because i looked at the company's statement and here's what we said, here is what target said. it didn't appear to require immediate follow-up. the report from the company that is called, fireeye. tell me what you make of this scenario? >> what i make of it, it is an
5:06 pm
epic fail. allowing a brush fire to become a wildfire. minneapolis was notified by bangalor there was a problem and minneapolis, essentially overrode the system. this detection system also had in it an automatic quarantine system that would then wipe out the malware. and somebody flipped the switch. they kept -- gerri: what you're saying, saying it in such elegant language i'm not sure people like me can understand. but target had a system in place that would turn off malware, turn off bad software, software that would hurt us but they didn't let it do that. they overrode it. why? >> in circles this is not uncommon. often times security personnel will take closer look. they won't allow the software to do something automatically. they want to look at it. the only problem in this case. this was paul revere moment and basically let it pass them by. gerri: so here's what we've got. the timeline on this is really interesting, because november 30th is when
5:07 pm
fireeye told them they were having problems. the company didn't tell the public until december 23rd. you have this timeline here where even the government came to the company and said you've got a problem. you've got a problem. that was on december 12th. and finally on december 23rd, consumers are told. >> well actually, it came out even a little sooner because the story was broken by brian krebs. gerri: it wouldn't have been made if brian krebs had not mate it public. >> is absolutely true. they were notified on november 30th. the alarm went on. gerri: two times. >> it may have gone over several other times. nobody knows what they were doing. all we do know what they weren't doing, they weren't letting the system kill the malware and they weren't allowing anybody to know what was going on. gerri: what does this tell but company's respect for and interest in protecting their customers privacy? >> this is, this is a cautionary tale. this is a problem we're facing all across the country with
5:08 pm
business all across the country. if you talk about self-detection, verizon did a study that showed that 31% of companies actually self-monitor and determine there's a problem. retailers however, only 5% of retailers actually determine there's problem by self-monitoring. that is because they're more busy selling and almost as if they throw up their hand, there are some points of vulnerability, we don't know where to start but unfortunately while they're trying to figure out what to do, the public is being rolled over. gerri: all right. tell you what target said. the team determined it did not warrant immediate follow up. with the benefit of hindsight we're investigating whether different judgments had been made the outcome may have been different. well if different judgments were made sounds like the outcome could have been very different. >> i think 40 million credit cardholders would have been spared agony and not to mention the 70 million on the database whose email addresses, general addresses and phone numbers are
5:09 pm
floating around in the wrong hands. gerri: we'll have hearings on capitol hill about this, will that do any good? what will make the difference? >> the difference once again, consumers, business, government, media have to get together. this is extinction level problem we're facing for a lot of businesses. this is become now, breaches, the third inevitability in life. death taxes, breaches and then ultimately identity theft. gerri: i hate to say this is inevitable that means we've given up on the problem. we don't want to do anything about it. i think that is absolutely the wrong thing to do. >> no. it is wrong thing to do. unfortunately we're way beyond prevention now. until we get more involved in biometrics and more sophisticated ways of detecting and dealing with the problem. gerri: biometrics. adam, thanks for coming on. great job. amazing to me how far this has gone. thank you so much for coming on the show. >> thank you for inviting me. gerri: general motors isn't the only company in nhtsa's cross-hairs. graco added more than 40thousand child car seats to last month's recall of nearly 4 million to
5:10 pm
replace faulty harness buck kest. that is not appeasing federal regulators who want two million infant seats added to the recalls because they have the same buckles. according to graco the buckles get stuck as a result of food and drinks spilled on them which usually doesn't happen with infant seats. as a probe of gm heats up, gm is getting let off the hook. nhtsa closed that vision into driver side door fires in jeff liberty suvs without seeking a recall. found fail lawyer rate in power windows was low and fires even lower. the probe covereds 2012 models. more on new car trend and really long-term loans for buying a car. did the white house open a door for millions to get around the individual mandate. obama care exemption. tough bait and see. -- wait and see.
5:11 pm
are you still sleeping? just wanted to check and make sure that we were on schedule. the first technology of its kind... mom and dad, i have great news. is now providing answers families need. siemens. answers. [ mawhile a body in motionat resnds to stay in motion.t... staying active can ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, this can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain and improve daily physical function so moving is easier. because just one 200mg cebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain. and it's not a narcotic.
5:12 pm
you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high bloodressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, like celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions, or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. don't takeebrex if you have bleeding in the stomach or inteste, or had an asthma attack, hives, other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or thro, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history. and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion.
5:13 pm
gerri: obamacare is hardship and white house admitting it. obama administration issuing 14th hardship exemption to the signature law. this is the most vague yet. here with details, guy benson, senior political editor for townhall.com. guy, welcome to the show. i think you broke the story. you were the first one to really pay attention to it. tell us about this 14th
5:14 pm
exemption. >> hey, gerri, good to see you. i have to give full credit where it is dewey is "the wall street journal" that brought this to my attention in an editorial earlier on in the week but your viewers may remember, gerri, back just before christmas, the obama administration decided that anyone whose plan had been canceled under obamacare was eligible for, as you said, a so-called, hardship exemption, if they discovered that for whatever they were having trouble obtaining new coverage or because of website issues or because they couldn't afford it. gerri: if you were homeless, fire, flood. there are all kinds of reasons to get an exemption. >> right. gerri: this newest one just out, came out quietly, nobody really talked about it very much. >> that's right. gerri: seems to opened the door to just about anybody. >> well it's a defacto sweeping, delay of the individual mandate tax for virtually anyone who wants it. and, you're 100% correct about that because, unlike the
5:15 pm
previous hardship waivers where you had to prove you lost your coverage, you had to explain why you were seeking it, according to these new rules very quietly released last week, all you have to do is attest, that you have faced some sort of a difficulty related to obtaining insurance. no proof required. you just come forward and say, i want a waiver basically and they give it to you. it is good through 2016. gerri: wow, you call it a blanket waiver. here is what i don't understand. i thought the individual mandate requiring people to have some kind of coverage and if not coverage from their company or from private insurer, then through obamacare i thought that was essential to making obamacare work? i thought that was part of the plan? >> and you're right. the problem is the white house keeps making all these on the fly changes, gerri, where they're tying themselves into political pretzels, right? with their december change you were applying these or they were applying all the hardship waivers to people whose plans had been canceled.
5:16 pm
critics said, hang on a second. how if fair to exempt thouninsue individual mandate tax but subject previously uninsured people to it? you will fine the people of privilege not being insured first time in their lives because they can't afford the plans under obamacare? how on earth is that fair? this is apparently a tacit admission, a failure. that people can not afford this law and that the law in off itself is hardship. gerri: well, you know, i guess, i have big questions about this because i think it is entirely political. it is nearly the political season here. >> yes. gerri: and i think democrats in particular are very worried about the impacts of supporting obamacare on their races. is that part of the equation here? >> i think almost anything that this administration does has to be viewed through the political lens this close to an election. gerri, you were astute to note how quietly this was done. you may note why aren't they
5:17 pm
trumpeting this. if they are granting more fairness to people why aren't they saying look what we've done? first answer is twofold. they have the march 31st deadline. and get many people sign up and have pressure thinking individual mandate still applies to them as possible. secondly as i sort of alluded to before, this is a hugely embarrassing development for them. i mean the whole point of the so-called, affordable care act was to give people access to care they could pay for and afford. and by giving these sweeping, blanket, hardship exemptions to people who can't afford it, who are uninsured, that is basically saying, all right, affordable care act isn't affordable and we failed. and that is not something, that is not a message that democrats are too excited about. gerri: i don't see how this law works without, they said themselves, you have to have people playing in this pool for this thing to work and now they're saying, no you don't. >> yep. gerri: another thing they're taking back. guy benson, thank you for coming
5:18 pm
on the show tonight. really appreciate your time. >> thank you, gerri. good to see. >> good to see you as well. late in the show it is day four of our users guide to taxes with a look what the irs will not tell you. we answer the question, how do you do that? finding the right car loan for you and why you should not be signing up for the long haul. stay with us. so i can reach ally bank 24/7, but there are no branches? 24/7. i'm sorry, i'm just really reluctant to try new things. really? what's wrong with trying new things? look! mommy's new vacuum! (cat screech) you feel that in your muscles? i do... drink water. it's a long story. well, not having branches let's us give you great rates and service. i'd like that. a new way to bank. a better way to save. ally bank.
5:19 pm
your money needs an ally. iwe don't back down. we only know one direction: up so we're up early. up late. thinking up game-changing ideas, like this: dozens of tax free zones across new york state. move here. expand here. or start a new business he... and pay no taxes for 10 years. with new jobs, new opportunities and a new tax free plan. there's only one way for your business to go. up. find out if your business can qualify at start-upny.com
5:20 pm
5:22 pm
bigger than their wallet. they want a more expensive car than they can afford. in fact more buyers are taking out longer loans, lasting six years, sometimes even longer to pay for the new vehicle but how long is too long before you start losing money on your investment? joining me personal finance vera gibbons. >> six years. that is too long. gerri: how many people are doing had too. >> this is trend we've been seeing. just last months, longer term loans, 72 months or longer accounted for 33% of. gerri: if you're paying 6 years how much interest. >> thousands of dollars. paying more on interest. this is bad deal all around. getting higher rate on these loans. for the 4month might be under 3%. 60, 72 months looking paying upward of 3%. gerri: all bad news. we know most americans, average amount financed for new cars is 27, 430-dollar.
5:23 pm
what do you tell people? >> that is lot. car prices are rising. total transaction prices are up 2% year-over-year. coming in $32,000. people find out they have to take out larger loans, over 27,000 on average. they're stuck between rock and hard place. they want the car they want. they want a nice luxury car at price they can afford. they're fixed on monthly payments. not looking cost of home ownership over life of loan. gerri: car ownership. >> car ownership. gerri: what do you mean total cost. >> maintenance, fees, repairs, gas. fixated on monthly payments. if they make the monthly payments and dealers out there with calculators drumming up all numbers, hey it is affordable. 269 a month or 372, whatever case they be, people fall for it. consumers fall for it. >> i think what is going on. we develop ad taste for luxury vehicles we really can't afford to buy. >> yeah. gerri: so, we finance them over many years or we lease them. what do you make of the trend? >> i think it's a bad trend. cars depreciate them as drive
5:24 pm
off the life. ridiculously long loan, 72 months or longer that is absolutely crazy. you could have a real problem there. gerri: you know what is interesting? i think if you're financing over six or seven years the car is worth nothing. >> that is the problem. that is the problem. drive off the lot and deappreciates right away. rule of thumb stick to 48 months. that is general rule of thumb. 20% down and total cost of deal should not exceed 10% of total household gross. gerri: not more than 10%. >> ideally. run the numbers. i would say, excuse me. run the numbers. on edmund.com. a lot of people fail to do this think don't any homework and go into the dealership. gerri: pretty car. >> find a pretty car. smitten. go for it at a cost they can't afford. gerri: i have a full screen on what families an calf order to spend this is by city. this is what people can afford in pittsburgh at 11,000 bucks. in atlanta it is 20,000.
5:25 pm
guess what city has the highest amount, the largest car, the prettiest car, d.c. those folks can afford to spend $32,531. >> tampa is only 14,000. that is incredible. gerri: thanks for coming on the show. great to have you here. we want to know what you think. here is our question tonight. is six or seven years too long to pay for a car? long on to gerriwillis.com. vote on the right-hand side of the scream. i will -- screen. i will share results at the end of the tonight's show. will higher prices make you say adios to amazon. we'll tell you what the irs will tell not tell you? who do they decide to audit? all those questions answered next. ♪ announcer: where can an investor
5:26 pm
be a name and not a number? scotade. ron: i'm never alone with scottrade. i can always call or stop by my local office. they're nearby and ready to help. so when i have questions, i can talk to someone who knows exactly how i trade. because i don't trade like everybody. i trade like me. that's why i'm with scottrade. announcer: ranked highest in investor satisfaction with self-directed services by j.d. power and associates. life's an adventure and it always has been. but your erectile dysfunction - it could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity.
5:27 pm
do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than 4 hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swalling, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial. gunderman group is a go.
5:28 pm
yes! not just a start up. an upstart. gotta get going. gotta be good. good? good. growth is the goal. how do we do that? i talked to ups. they'll help us out. new technology. smart advice. we focus on the business and they take care of the logistics. ups? good going. we get good. that's great. great. great. great. great. great. great. great. great. (all) great! i love logistics. [ male announcer ] how could switchgrass in argentina, change engineering in dubai, aluminum production in south africa, and the aerospace industry in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses
5:29 pm
to read and consider carefully before investing. ♪ gerri: here comes the deadline to file your taxes. maybe something guy arrested keeping from you that could make filing a little more stress-free. joining me now, thank you for being on a show. great to have you here. you say there are a couple of style of auditors, guys at the irs. what are they? >> really two that are the most effective. the ones who use a smile and the ones who use the sword. those who seem very friendly get lulled into a false sense of security alternatively as we
5:30 pm
very forceful and seems to know exactly what they are saying, no flexibility. people have to remember they are iin and adversarial contest when they are being audited. gerri: there are a lot of things the irs simply would prefer you didn't realize. one of those things is april 15 is not necessarily the deadline. >> you can certainly file an extension by or before the 15th. you will have an extra six months to file. but that does not give you any more time to pay. you have to make the payment where please enter into an installment agreement if you're going to oh. this penalties and interest that will accrue. gerri: if you don't have a whole not at that time you can ask them to allow you to pay overtime and do that instead but you do have to finally pay the bill. what about deductions and how
5:31 pm
you treat them? >> that is a really big thing. last year we got rid of a lot of loopholes that probably were not really loopholes. just a perception that business was getting too many advantages, so you are no longer allowed to expense certain items the way you used to. there is no more bonus appreciation. if people are not up on what is going on, they may take one of these positions, the irs will disallow it without telling you there is an alternative method. gerri: if you have an expensive bill coming and a combo kidded tax form, you probably want a pro. the irs uses people they are training in the irs to look at tax forms. why would you put the young kids on them? >> on the job training. a lot of times they will take the returns and say we will do a
5:32 pm
market segment of a particular industry, not just seasoned vets, these are new people or people in training, some are being trained to eventually work with criminal investigation division, so it is a serious. gerri: you can challenge an audit. >> absolutely. you don't have to go to test courts. it is important to be on top of something if you're being audited, just don't let it go away. you can get fast-track mediation or alternatively you can have an audit reconsideration. that is very powerful. gerri: not every audit is full-blown audit. sometimes you get a letter generated by a computer, in fa fact, that is asking for more information. you are not going to contest that, you will give them the info, won't you? >> keep good records because
5:33 pm
sometimes those little issues can blossom into bigger things. gerri: they always do at the irs. they're probably thinking about how they will get this done. what do you say? >> keep a cool head. gerri: thank you for coming on, good to see you. >> thank you, whole family is a big fan of yours. >> that is so sweet. gerri: we will show you the red flags and answer tax questions. all you have to do is e-mail me or you can tweet me. when we come back, the latest on the disappearance the malaysian airlines flight and next, the biggest online retailer is raising prices. my amazon is making prime customers cough up more dell and what will that mean for fewer customers down the line.
5:35 pm
...hey breathing's hard. know the feeling? copd includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. spiriva is a once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that helps open my obstructed airways for a full 24 hours. spiriva helps me breathe easier. spiriva handihaler tiotropium bromide inhalation powder does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva. discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. stop taking spiriva and seek immediate medical help if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, vision changes or eye pain, or problems passing urine. other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better. does breathing with copd weigh you down? don't wait to ask your doctor about spiriva. iwe don't back down. we only know one direction:
5:36 pm
up so we're up early. up late. thinking up game-changing ideas, like this: dozens of tax free zones across new york state. move here. expand here. or start a new business here... and pay no taxes for 10 years. with new jobs, new opportunities and a new tax free plan. there's only one way for your business to go. up. find out if your business can qualify at start-upny.com
5:37 pm
gerri: the search for missing flight 370 continues as the search may be expanded to the indian ocean. here with the details, ashley webster. >> at each passing the new theories and claims not exactly leading searches any closer to the missing aircraft with 239 people on board. in fact it seems there's more confusions than ever. the "wall street journal" reporting data being transmitted from sensors in the airplane's rolls-royce engines more than four hours after finished for a total of five hours. the journal issued a correction saying the signals were actually transmitted by the satellite communications link but the faint signals reported they gave no information about where the jet may be heading in little about the fate. it shows the maintenance systems were switched on and ready to communicate with satellites showing the aircraft was at
5:38 pm
least capable of communicating. all of this adding to the confusions multinational search effort goes on using dozens of planes to cover an area greater than 75,000 square miles, about the size of the country of portugal. their planes searched an area off of the southern tip of vietnam hitter images showed three floating objects even then china said those images were released on the website by mistake. today authorities expanding the search toward india say it could be possible the airplane flew for several hours after it lost contact. u.s. security forces stressing no evidence that demonstrates the airplanes disappearance is related to follow play. gerri: is there any indication terrorism could be a possibility here? ashley: yes, there are reports u.s. counterterrorism experts are looking at the possibility a
5:39 pm
pilot or someone on board may have turned off the transponder to avoid detection on the radar and diverted it to an undisclosed location. that would account for satellite signals still being received long after the airplane vanished. but we have to stress just one of many scenarios being looked at right now. if the airplane flew for another four hours after dropped off the radar based on the cruising speed it could have reached the indian ocean, arabian sea where even the border of pakistan. so many questions and so little answers. gerri: thank you for coming on tonight, so good to see you. ashley: thank you. gerri: amazon announcing it is hiking the prime membership cost. $299 up from $79. the first hike in the history. the editor at large. always appreciate when you come in. full disclosure i am one of these members and i am thinking anybody who is technology
5:40 pm
literate is bound to be a prime member. we are not happy to see the price go up. >> i asked the question on twitter, by and large everybody was like i am not going anywhere because it is still a really good deal. it is a big price hike of an incredible deal to start out with. it is probably still a good deal because you are spreading it out over the course of the year, $10 per month and getting a number of things. for the sake of comparison it is a little more expensive than what you pay for netflix however netflix a streaming service that does not provide anything but the incredible "house of cards." amazon is today's shipping, access to the books, you can take them without paying for them. and of course the movie service, the streaming service to watch new movies and stream old stuff. that is a package of stuff that
5:41 pm
people like. amazon has done a fantastic job with not just to day shipping, but sometimes one day shipping. gerri: this pipeline to have almost like a cable pipeline, the free delivery. how would you ever have that delivery at that price point? >> amazon had to raise prices because of increasing cost of shipping the products. being able to have those products, som someone local to u within two days, that is not cheap to do. ordering in the digital world but getting in the physical world. gerri: they floated this idea they might raise the price $119.
5:42 pm
maybe the way of getting customers to say it is not that bad. >> who knows, they are pretty cagey about information like this, but they have been hinting this is going to happen. not surprised people are not leading. if they go further, they could have a problem. gerri: maybe they will give us something else for the money. it will add extra services. >> prime is a great service. knowing what you are going to buy in advance, it arrives even more quickly. services like that may only come to prime numbers. it means you are a special member you pay money, but it does not aligned to anyone part of it. gerri: i hope you did not give
5:43 pm
amazon too big of an ad here. thank you for coming on. the only company really actually able to pull this off, interesting to see if it works. raising prices like amazon is doing never sits well with them. always categories that can get them more fired up. the sec got more than 115,000. number four, imposter scams. the 122,000 times. number three, with this group constantly nickel and dime enough to death, no surprise consumers complained 7% of all complaints. number two, debt collections. nobody likes a banker, nobody likes a debt collector.
5:44 pm
number two was in reaction to these folks, 205,000. the number one complaint category is identity theft. 290,000 complaints were filed last year as americans reported losing over $1.5 billion in 2013. the age group most likely to complain, people in their 20s. still to come, my two cents more. we are looking after you and your money with advice on your golden years. here to give us the truth about retirement, don't go away. so ally bank has a raise your rate cd that wothat's correct.a rate. cause i'm really nervous about getting trapped. why's that? uh, mark?
5:45 pm
5:48 pm
gerri: it has been a bad winter for nearly the entire country. record snowfall, record low temperatures, polar vortex and surging home heating costs. rising the matter how you heat your home or what region of the country you live in. up 54% for propane from last year according to the energy information administration. ithe midwest cost jump compared to 1300 in the northwest. propane accounts for less than 5% of home heating costs. prices are set to jump 10% to nearly $700 per year. electricity will rise 5% to nearly $1000. experts say next year will not be as bad, but he can experts
5:49 pm
for the one who did not forecast this year's big chill cut in the days to jump 13%. little skeptical about that one. americans are spending more time choosing a restaurant these days talking about planning their ira investments. they spent two or more hours on their investment while 25% of americans have used the same amount of time picking a restaurant for special occasions. the ceo joining us and author of the soon to be released book the truth about retirement plans and iras. thank you for coming on the show, rick. one in five not doing the right thing, why are people so reluctant to save? >> so many are frozen in time from 2008. they panicked with incredible losses, they sat in cash ever since so the wounded is still very fresh. i have half the money i used to have.
5:50 pm
it is their own fault because they panicked and went into crash and missed out on economic economy. gerri: it is so hard to determine when to get back in. that is not the only mistake people have been making. >> they are assuming they have plenty of time, i will worry about this later. they say they wish i had started saving earlier than i did. a big message in my book is that you need to start now even if you don't think you can afford to, start now, start small. the best news is you can still achieve retirement income first the way you want, you just have to make sure you are investing the right way. gerri: it is not whether to invest, but how do you plan that whole thing. what are the steps to be taking with that 401(k)? >> forget about what the employer match is, that is icing on the cake.
5:51 pm
second, invest all the current contributions, invest all of your current contributions directly into the stock funds. don't diversify it. the reason i want you to put your current contribution into the stocks is because you are investing the same amount of money. $100 every paycheck. the best place to invest. diversify the balance. initial contributions. you have 50 grand, go ahead and diversify that money but the new paycheck so good on the stock funds.
5:52 pm
gerri: let me ask about the flipside because there is interesting thinking about that side as well. some people are now saying build up more stock. >> i would agree with that. they run all to the fixed income, muni bonds and corporate bonds, those are not going to return the rate you need in today's low rate environment. gerri: the problem with so many investors close onto retirement is they got killed five years ago so the question is is there another bubble forming people have to be aware of? >> no, but it doe doesn't have e diversifying with broader dollars to protect us inherently against it. gerri: on that hopeful note i will have to let you go. thank you so much for coming on and talking to us about it. time now for a look at stories
5:53 pm
on foxbusiness.com. positive economic news on the jobs front. the markets are the day higher before sinking around 230 points for the fourth loss in a row. investors concerned about china's economy and more turmoil in the ukraine. including retail sales bouncing back after steep declines in december and january. shoppers spent more on autos, clothing and furniture in february. consumer spending has very to recover into being held back by snowstorms in freezing temperatures. mortgage rates rising the still close to historically low levels. the rate for a 30-year loan increased to 4.4% from 4.3% last week. rates have risen a full percentage point since hitting record lows a year ago. three nominees for the federal reserve board supporting the efforts to handle the economy. low interest rate policies will continue. nominees include fisher.
5:54 pm
5:55 pm
5:56 pm
5:57 pm
gerri: as car prices rise, more americans are taking out long loans to buy the new cars. the six year plus loans made up a record one-third of auto sales last month. is that too long to pay for a car? michael says yes, by a smaller less expensive vehicle. calling it insane. a car truck drop $6000 in value at purchase. the owners under water on a loan of its term. many people even those with cash available for the purchase woule better off with a two-year lease.
5:58 pm
we also asked the question on gerriwillis.com. 13% said no. logons the online question every weekday. here are some of your e-mails. if obama takes even 1% from the middle class, millions will have to choose from medications and food. enough is enough, america cannot sustain this government. writing if our politicians would create an environment where businesses can create full employment would not be the government on wages. gerald from utah agrees, the people she telling the president where he can cut. struck with 535 people employed on capitol hill and leave the rest of us alone. he works for we the people, not us for him. gene from new york says government cannot manage money without their own personal printing press. typical politicians. i love to hear from you guys.
5:59 pm
send me an e-mail, go to gerriwillis.com. finally i'm fine with companies pursuing a profit. when companies pursue the profit without regard to public safety or the safety of our personal information, that is it a problem. the problem you will see exposed here on "the willis report." we wanted a fair shake. we should be able to depend on them to treat the personal information with respect. that is my two cents more. we get back the user guide to taxes. you can participate in this. all you have to do is go to gerriwillis.com or you can tweet me. that is it for tonight's "the willis report."
6:00 pm
we will be back tomorrow with more users guide to taxes. join us then. ♪ >> oh, sure, his health care thing is a mess but things to be even messier if we didn't have it. that is lemonade out of lemons on the health care law. it isn't pretty, but it is certainly prettier than the alternative. how would we know? welcome, everybody, i am neil cavuto. if you cannot inform them, scare them. that is washington's consistent way of dealing with them, with us. make us grateful things are not even worse. take this exchange with kathleen sebelius over rising premiums.
144 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
FOX Business Television Archive Television Archive News Search ServiceUploaded by TV Archive on