[Fox Business] Certain fire extinguishing balls may fail to work, could lead to injury or death: regulators

Federal safety regulators are warning consumers about fire extinguishing balls still on the market that could fail to extinguish fires. 

In a Thursday warning notice, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said the Elide brand fire extinguishing balls can “fail to effectively disperse fire retardant chemicals” and thus “fail to extinguish a fire, which could lead to serious injury and death.”

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The products also don’t have a pressure gauge or pressure indicator, a locking device to reduce the risk of unintentional discharge, a self-closing valve for intermittent discharge or a nozzle to direct the discharge, the CPSC said. 

As a result, they don’t meet the requirements of UL 299 Dry Chemical Fire Extinguishers and UL 711 Rating and Fire Testing of Fire Extinguishers, both of which are voluntary safety standards, according to the agency. 

The CPSC said Elide hasn’t agreed to recall the fire extinguishing balls it sells to consumers on the company’s website. It hasn’t offered a remedy either. 

Elide Fire USA told FOX Business in a statement that it strongly disagrees with the CPSC release and that its product is not meant to replace a fire extinguisher but to add as another any fire situation.

“The very nature of our company is Innovation in Fire Safety because there is never enough Fire Protection, which the Fire Ball was created for, to bring an additional line of Fire protection to any potential fire situation,” the company told FOX Business. “We have never marketed or sold it as a replacement for any existing fire product or system again but rather as an addition.” 

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Elide also argued that since it’s not a fire extinguisher, to “test it against a Fire Extinguisher Standard is not fair measure because the product was not created for that use case, and ultimately will fail.” 

The agency’s warning covers all three models that are listed on the company’s website. 

The ELB01 and ELB02-1 fire extinguishers models are made out of red plastic and weigh about 1.5 or three pounds. Meanwhile, the ELB02-2 model is made of blue plastic and weighs about 1.5 pounds. 

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All of the products have a label wrapped around the front of the product with the Elide Fire logo. 

“The Fire Ball was created to fill the grey area between fixed systems and Portable Fire Extinguishers the Ball is a proximity-based product that activates only when it comes in contact with flame,” the company said. “Placed in areas of concern it brings automatic fire protection to any potential flashpoint. Bringing an added layer of fire protection, in addition to Fire Extinguishers & Fixed systems.” 

Elide is currently working with a lab to test the ball under the use case scenarios it was created for, which is fixed or mounted in an area of concern where a fire could start. 

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[Fox Business] Final fourth quarter GDP revised upwards as consumer spending rises

The third and final estimate for real gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter of 2023 was revised upwards, showing that the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 3.4%, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).

The reading comes just above the BEA’s second GDP estimate for the fourth quarter, which showed the economy increased at 3.2%. The change primarily reflects upward revisions to consumer spending and nonresidential fixed investment.  

Real GDP increased at an annual rate of 3.4% for the October-through-December period after rising 4.9% in the third quarter of 2023. Thursday’s final reading comes just under the BEA’s original GDP estimate for the fourth quarter, which showed the economy increased at a rate of 3.3% and beat economic forecasts that anticipated a deceleration of growth over the previous month with the expectation that the economy would expand by a 2% rate.

Economic growth is a crucial metric the Federal Reserve is monitoring as it weighs when it will begin dialing back interest rates. Fed officials have predicted at least three rate cuts this year, with interest rates expected to tick down to 4.6%, according to the central bank’s updated economic forecasts in its Summary of Economic Projections (SEP).  Market expectations are that the first rate cut will come in the summer, if not later in the year. 

If you are struggling with high inflation, you could consider taking out a personal loan to pay down debt at a lower interest rate, reducing your monthly payments. You can visit Credible to find your personalized interest rate without affecting your credit score.

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The Fed’s decision to keep interest rates higher for longer puts a strain on consumer wallets and how much they pay to borrow, according to Michele Raneri, the vice president of U.S. research and consulting at TransUnion.

According to a recent TransUnion report, credit card balances surged past the $1 trillion mark for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2023. While Americans charged on their cards, they also increased their unsecured personal loan balances in the fourth quarter. Personal origination balances topped $245 billion, compared to $222 billion the previous year.

“While inflation continues to trend towards more normal levels, today’s decision from the Fed is to hold interest rates at their current levels and that any potential decreases will take place later in 2024,” Raneri said. “This means U.S. consumers who continue to face relatively high-interest rates across a range of credit products will have to wait at least a bit longer for rate relief. When rates do begin falling, the effects throughout the credit industry will be real but will likely be slow to take root.”

Consumers can explore refinancing any high-interest debt into lower-interest credit products to reduce balances once interest rates are brought down, according to Raneri.

If you’re worried about high-interest debt, you could consider paying it off with a personal loan at a lower rate to reduce your monthly payments. Visit Credible to get your personalized rate in minutes. 

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Despite the economic challenges, consumer confidence hit a record high in March. The University of Michigan’s benchmark Consumer Sentiment Index rose 3.3% in March to a final reading of 79.4, the highest since July 2021, the University of Michigan said in a report.

The number reflects the improved consumer outlook that inflation will continue to soften and that personal finances will also be lifted as the effects of high prices and expenses on living standards ease, the report said.  

Consumers may be more optimistic, but the index remains far from its pre-pandemic highs, reflecting the long shadow of high inflation, according to Jim Baird, Plante Moran Financial Advisors’ chief investment officer.

“Consumers are far from ebullient in their assessment of the current state of the economy, their personal financial prospects, and the outlook for the economy further down the path,” Baird said. “The fact that consumer sentiment remains constrained against the backdrop of a robust labor economy, strong wage growth, and above-trend economic growth is a direct reflection of the corrosive effects of surging inflation in recent years.

“Paychecks may have experienced a nice boost in recent years, but when those additional dollars are going right back out the door to cover the rising cost of rent, food, gasoline, personal services, and a host of other expenditures, it’s no surprise that consumers aren’t more upbeat,” Baird continued.

If you are struggling to pay off debt, you could consider using a personal loan to consolidate your payments at a lower interest rate, saving you money each month. You can visit Credible to find your personalized interest rate without affecting your credit score.

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Have a finance-related question, but don’t know who to ask? Email The Credible Money Expert at [email protected] and your question might be answered by Credible in our Money Expert column.

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[Fox Business] Baltimore bridge collapse: Economists predict inflation ‘pinch’ for American consumers

Economists are predicting that Americans will feel a “pinch” in terms of their grocery bills, gas prices and other goods as local shipping and maritime traffic remain snarled Thursday following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. 

FreedomWorks Senior Economic Contributor Steve Moore told FOX Business on Thursday that the disaster is “clearly a blow to the supply chain problems that we already have under [President] Biden” and that “we could see prices rise because a huge percentage of the cargo on the East Coast that’s shipped in is at Baltimore Harbor.” 

“People will feel a pinch in terms of their grocery bills, in their gas prices and things of that nature as a result of this bridge collapse,” he said. “The longer it goes on, the longer it takes to rebuild it, the worse the impact will be.” 

“I think the real question is how long this takes to get the bridge back up. And it’s not just the cargo that comes in on ships, that Northeast corridor is dependent on these bridges, too, in terms of the trucking. Trucks are also a major part of our transportation infrastructure,” Moore added. “And to go around the bridge is going to add a lot of time to getting goods and services to the stores and to the warehouses. This is a blow to the economy.” 

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Francesco Bianchi, a professor of economics and department chair at John Hopkins University, also told FOX Business on Thursday that “prices of goods and services that directly or indirectly depend on shipments that go through the harbor will increase” but the “overall effect might be mitigated by re-directing the shipments to other major harbors on the East Coast.” 

“However, the impact for the Baltimore economy is likely to be substantial,” he said, adding that “Baltimore is an important harbor and its inability to operate normally will push the overall supply chain a step closer to capacity, at a moment in which geopolitical risk already creates issues.” 

“I expect a limited impact beyond the Baltimore area, as other harbors should be able to absorb the shipments that will be redirected from Baltimore,” Bianchi also said. “Without any doubt, it will be important to understand what exactly happened and how to prevent such an event to occur again, in Baltimore or elsewhere.” 

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said during an appearance on Fox News on Wednesday that the U.S. has to be gearing up for the “supply chain implications” of the bridge collapse, which happened Tuesday after a Dali cargo ship struck one of its pillars. 

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“We are concerned about the local economic impact, with some 8,000 jobs directly associated with port activities,” Buttigieg later said during a White House press briefing. “And we’re concerned about implications that will ripple out beyond the immediate region because of the port’s role in our supply chains.” 

Buttigieg said “between $100 and $200 million of value that comes through that port every day, and about $2 million in wages that are at stake every day,” calling it one of the areas the federal government is “most concerned about.” 

“It’s one thing for a container or a vehicle or a sugar shipment to be absorbed or accommodated somewhere else,” he said. “But these longshore workers — if goods aren’t moving, they’re not working.” 

The disaster has left six construction workers dead, two of which were pulled out of the waters of the Patapsco River on Wednesday. The other four remain unaccounted for. 

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The Dali was heading from Baltimore to Sri Lanka and appears to have suffered power issues in the moments leading up to the bridge pillar collision. 

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