Pianomania' Takes Persnickety Pianists To A New Pinnacle

'Pianomania' Takes Persnickety Pianists To A New Pinnacle
Credit: First Run Features
Anyone with a piano at home can tell stories about piano tuners — or piano technicians, as they prefer to be called.

Anyone with a piano at home can tell stories about piano tuners — or piano technicians, as they prefer to be called. In more than a dozen years of producing classical music here at NPR, I have a few stories myself about brilliant but picky pianists and the extraordinary demands they've made on our piano technicians. Like the time I had to page the entire building in search of a hairdryer so the felt hammers in the piano's guts could get a blow-dry.

Now there's a new feature-length documentary that renders any average pianist vs. piano technician nightmare utterly trivial. Pianomania , directed by Lilian Franck and Robert Cibis, takes persnickety to a new pinnacle.

The movie follows the adventures of Stefan Knüpfe, chief piano technician for the German branch of Steinway & Sons, who over the course of the film preps pianos for Lang Lang, Alfred Brendel, Rudolf Buchbinder, Julius Drake and the high priest of fussiness, Pierre-Laurent Aimard.

Very few pianists travel with their own instruments, so they're generally at the mercy of whichever piano resides in a given concert hall. Each pianist is in search of a perfect sound, and it's fascinating to see how they go about chasing it. Lang Lang shows up the morning of his concert in multicolored sneakers to test-drive a Steinway. After a few bars he stops, saying, "Somehow it's not so clean. It doesn't have a perfect disappearing." And there's a pedal problem. Later, at his recital, one wonders whether the pedal will even stay attached — or the keys, for that matter — as he practically pounds the instrument into matchsticks in Liszt's explosive Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6. He's a rock star.

Steinway technician Stefan Knüpfer discusses the piano with Lang Lang in the new documentary Pianomania . First Run Features hide caption

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Brendel is more subtle. He runs his fingers lightly up and down the keyboard — something's not right. "Now we even out the tone," he says. Then calmly pronounces, as if reading the Ten Commandments, "A concert piano should have the same color from top to bottom and the same dynamic possibilities." Knüpfe steps in with his trusty wrench.

Some clients are more enigmatic with their assessments. Drake, preparing to accompany tenor Ian Bostridge, gives it to Knüpfe in a single phrase: "There isn't any magic in the piano."

And then there's Aimard. The longest thread in the film follows Knüpfe's quest to find the perfect piano for Aimard's approaching Bachrecording and tweak it along the way to fit each style of Bach the pianist plans to record.

At the piano, Aimard hits a single note and explains that the pieces based on harpsichord works need a "deeper expression," more of an echo. When Knüpfe asks him if he wants a big, blossoming tone for the note or a more compact, intimate tone, Aimard responds, "I would like to have both." Knüpfe pulls out a tool, makes an adjustment, and Aimard plays the note again. He's pleased, but the satisfaction doesn't last long. He creates a lexicon for his needs in all the styles of Bach. There's the "clavicord-situation," "harpsichord-situation," "organ-situation," "chamber-situation" and the "ensemble-situation." It'll be Knüpfe's job to make sure all those needs are met, no matter how esoteric.

The film's overall focus won't appeal to everyone. Piano technicians might be in heaven, but I suspect I'm not alone in wishing for more music. After all, Franck and Cibis landed some of the greatest pianists working today, and it would have been more satisfying to hear the results of Knüpfe's magic in the form of actual performances. And it's easy to grow weary with the many scenes of Knüpfe, nervously pacing the hallways of grand venues like Vienna's Konzerthaus, worrying about the next crisis, not to mention the seemingly endless, overly detailed scenes of Aimard's recording sessions.

Still, Pianomania provides a fascinating glimpse into a very specialized corner of the music world. Pianist Andras Schiffonce said, "Whatever we do on the piano is a collection of illusions." After watching Pianomania , you will understand.

Pianomania is screening in Chicago, Boston, Seattle, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. over the summer .

SunTrust Mortgage Rates: Current Jumbo Mortgage Rates and FHA Home Loans for March 16

SunTrust Bank is a subsidiary of SunTrust Banks, Inc.

SunTrust Bank is a subsidiary of SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE: STI), a major bank holding company in the United States. Among its various financial services and products, the company provides home loans for mortgage shoppers, who are looking to buy properties in the country. SunTrust’s mortgage rates have been updated for March 16, 2015.

Take note, that the lender’s mortgage interest rates are subject to change without prior notice and may vary upon loan approval or actual disbursement of funds. With the exception of loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) for borrowers with low credit scores, the mortgage rate quotes are given assuming the borrower has strong financial standing. In addition, lock-in periods apply for most mortgages and the loan terms may vary depending on the property’s location and geography.

According to the latest data, SunTrust’s 30-year fixed home loan starts at a rate of 3.75%. This conventional home loan is coupled with 0.244 discount points and a corresponding APR variable of 3.9244%. The 15-year conventional home purchase loan is another possible option, currently it’s quoted at a rate of 3.125% and the mortgage is accompanied by 0.117 discount points and an APR variable of 3.4056%.

Moving away from conventional loans, the 30-year fixed rate FHA mortgage is listed at a rate of 3.5% as of Monday. This type of loan is accompanied by 0.291 discount points and an APR sum of 4.6874%.

Those, who are able to qualify for non-conforming home loans, may want to take a look at the 30-year jumbo mortgage, as it has a competitive rate today in the form of 4%. The loan’ APR variable is coming out 4.1433% and the package bears 0.235 discount points.

Besides fixed rate conventional loans, the bank provides adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) as well. Under its mortgage loan program, SunTrust offers the flexible Agency 5/1 ARM at a rate of 2.99%. The aforementioned flexible home loan comes with 0.001 discount points and an APR figure of 3.1449%. Mortgage shoppers, who opt for the Agency 7/1 ARM, can expect to pay 3.125% in interest. The mortgage loan is accompanied by 0.141 discount points and an APR figure of 3.2217%.

For additional details on the lender’s most up-to-date home loan options, as well as information on borrowing terms and conditions, please see SunTrust’s website or contact a loan officer in charge.

Mortgage-buyer, Freddie Mac reported last week, that the interest rate on the 30-year fixed loan moved up to 3.86% from the former 3.75%. On the other hand, the interest rate on the shorter-term 15-year fixed loan soared to 3.10% last week. A week earlier this type of mortgage loan averaged a rate of 3.03%, according to the housing giant.

Bankrate also disclosed its weekly mortgage survey, which revealed that the interest rate on the 30-year mortgage drifter higher to 3.97% last week. The interest rate on the shorter-term, 15-year mortgage ticked up by 2 basis point to 3.18%, according to the survey. The interest rate on the 5/1 ARM moved lower in Bankrate’s survey, this type of mortgage is now hovering at 3.23%.

Daily Mortgage Rates: 30-Year FHA Mortgage Rates and VA Home Loans at KeyBank for March 2

U.S. regional mortgage lender, KeyBank, is based in Cleveland, Ohio and is operated by KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY), a bank holding company.

U.S. regional mortgage lender, KeyBank, is based in Cleveland, Ohio and is operated by KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY), a bank holding company. The bank offers various type of mortgage loans for potential borrowers. The mortgage interest rates listed below are updated for March 2, 2015.

Bear in mind, that the bank’s home loan conditions demand that a borrower must have a strong credit score and to pay origination fees amounting to 1.00% of the total loan value to the lender. Also, the loan to property value ratio must not exceed 80%.

On Monday, KeyBank is offering the standard 30-year fixed home purchase loan at a rate of 3.830%, according to the latest mortgage information. The loan is coupled with an annual percentage rate (APR) of 3.879%. Turning attention to the 15-year fixed mortgage, it’s on the books at a rate of 3.290% and it comes with an APR figure of 3.379%.

Borrowers, who need more flexibility in terms of interest rates, may want to consider the bank’s adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) options. These come with a fixed interest rate period then the rate is adjusted depending on prevailing market conditions.

At KeyBank the 10/1 adjustable rate mortgage is available on Monday at a rate of 3.580% and it’s accompanied by an APR variable of 3.355%. Borrowers, who opt for the 7/1 ARM alternative, will encounter a rate of 3.330%. This flexible home purchase loan comes with an annual percentage rate of 3.134%.

Furthermore, borrowers can find some non-conventional loan offerings as well at this lender, such as the 30-year fixed FHA mortgage. Currently, the aforementioned mortgage loan is quoted at a rate of 3.750% and it’s accompanied by and APR of 3.834%. The 15-year fixed FHA mortgage, on the other hand, can be obtained at a rate of 3.125%. The latest mortgage information also revealed that the loan’s APR hovers at 3.311%.

Some borrowers may prefer to take on other federally backed mortgages, such as VA loans, instead of the aforementioned FHA packages. At this lender, 30-year VA mortgage loan is quoted at a rate of 3.750% and the corresponding APR is set at 3.831%. Moving on to the shorter-term, 15-year VA mortgage, it starts at a rate of 3.000% and it features 3.128% by way of annual percentage rate.

The interest rate quotes given are liable to change without notice and can vary when the loan is approved or the funds are disbursed. The APR calculations were made using closing costs and discount points, assuming that the borrower will conform to the loan conditions, including lock-in periods.

For more information on KeyBank’s current mortgage interest rates, as well as details on borrowing terms and conditions, please visit the lender’s website or contact a loan officer in charge.

How Slow Can You Go?

What happens when musicians slow the music way down?

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What happens when musicians slow the music way down?

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These are the dog days of summer. It's dry. The sun is hot. Vacations are lingering. All good reasons to slow it down a notch. Time to leaf through that slow-food cookbook for a good recipe. Time slow down the music too — to channel your inner adagio molto .

But how slow is too slow? Tempos are crucial in classical music. Play Chopin's funeral march too fast and it sounds like you're at a fiesta; conduct the famous Allegretto from Beethoven's Seventh Symphony too slowly and it can collapse under its own weight.

Below are examples of musicians who take the idea of slow to new and fascinating extremes. Have a few favorites in the "how slow can you go" department? One of ours is conductor Sergiu Celibidache, who late in life embraced his inner snail. Let us know yours — but don't rush — in the comments section.

How Slow can You Go?

Mahler: Adagietto

This performance of Mahler's beautiful Adagietto (from his 5th Symphony) is nothing shy of glacial. A "normal" performance lasts roughly 10 minutes. This rendition, recorded live in 1964 with the Philadelphia Orchestra, clocks in at 15 and stretches over two YouTube clips. The man behind the lethargic beat is German conductor Hermann Scherchen. Unfortunately, the music sags and drags and finally just caves in. For comparison, try this versionconducted by Simon Rattle.

YouTube

Strauss: 'Im Abendrot'

Soprano Jessye Norman's recording of Richard Strauss' Four Last Songs is justly famed for both its deliberately slow-moving tempos and its radiant beauty. In this case, even though the pacing might be described as ponderous (especially compared to Elisabeth Schwarzkopf's famous recording), Norman and conductor Kurt Masur preserve the structure of the music — and Strauss' autumnal glow gains in warmth and depth of feeling.

YouTube

Brahms: Intermezzo in A, Op. 118, No. 2

On first hearing this painfully slow recording of Brahms' beloved Intermezzo in A (Op. 118, No. 2) I thought it was just plain wrong. Why would pianist Ivo Pogorelich want to stretch out like taffy Brahms' gently rocking rhythms and lovely rolled chords? But after a few listens, I found myself warming to the drowsy pulse. The music is strong enough to withstand the extremely slow pace. As a result, the piece becomes even more intimate, as if Pogorelich was whispering it to me alone. It will not be to everyone's taste for sure. Porgorelich takes 8:49 to play it, compared to this version by Nikolai Lugansky, a more straightforward 5:09.

YouTube

IRL: Trading in the MacBook Pro for Dell's Precision M3800 workstation (updated)

Welcome to IRL , an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment.

I know what you're thinking: isn't Dell's Precision M3800workstation for graphics pros or architects? Yes, but just look at it: it's gorgeous in aluminum and carbon fiber, weighs a mere 4.15 pounds, has a fourth-gen Intel Core i7 chip with 16GB of RAM, NVIDIA Quadro K1100M pro graphics and -- get this -- a 3,200 x 1,800 touchscreen. The frosting on the gateau, as it were, is the price: it runs $2,554 with a 512GB SSD. If you were eyeing a Retina display MacBook Proor another high-end 15-incher with discrete graphics, that'd be pretty tempting, right? Maybe yes and maybe not –- let's take a closer look.

For a machine with such a high level of performance, the M3800 is unbelievably light, and the carbon fiber bottom blocks heat that could singe your lap. That's in contrast to the MacBook Pro, which can get uncomfortably hot on the bottom. The lid is aluminum, and after two weeks of fairly hard use showed zero sign of wear and tear. (Incidentally, the design of the M3800 is very similar to Dell's consumer-oriented XPS 15, though it weighs about a third of a pound less.)

On to the screen: it's everything a pro could want, with a bright panel, good contrast, a wide color gamut and that 3,200 x 1,800 pixel count, all tied to a muscular 2GB Quadro K1100M/Intel 4600 HD graphics setup. However, there's a huge caveat here that isn't even Dell's fault: Windows 8 doesn't scale certain apps properly on super-high-res screens, and some important ones like Photoshop and Premiere Pro CC actually scale terriblywell (this issue has now been resolved for Adobe with recent Windows 8.1 updates, though Google's Chrome and other apps still suffer from it). As a result, you can barely read the teeny toolbars and command screens, let alone click on them. Some workarounds are available, but until the affected companies get around to supporting higher-res screens, this scaling issue can effectively nullify the M3800's resolution advantage.

The chiclet keyboard, meanwhile, feels great, and worked well for typing this article. Unfortunately, I have to scold Dell for its middling trackpad. Regular pointing, clicking and multi-touch is hit-and-miss; I had to spread my fingers apart to get two-finger scrolling to work properly, for instance. You might say "then use a mouse, moron," but the MacBook Pro's trackpad is excellent, for one, and doesn't force you to lug around an unneeded accessory.

Something the MBP won't have any time soon, however, is a touchscreen. Using it on the M3800 with a program like Adobe Photoshop or Premiere Pro (after tweaking the scaling) is very intuitive, particularly when zooming photos or scrolling video. All the touch functions work flawlessly most of the time, but there's another "gotcha." This one has to do with Windows 8 again, as touch functions in certain apps lag or don't work at all, particularly on dialog boxes. Using it with Chrome, for instance, was nearly pointless thanks to the delay.

Performance, on the other hand, is impeccable. Rendering a one-minute file in Premiere Pro CC to H.264 at full HD (from a Quicktime ProRes source) took fewer than 30 seconds at medium quality, handily besting most other laptops I've used. All told, the one area where performance trails is battery life. In our video rundown test, the M3800 Precision lasted 3.5 hours at best, less than half of what the MBP and many PCs are capable of. I'd partly chalk that up to the power-hungry QHD+ screen, not to mention the smallish 61Wh battery. There's a larger 91Wh option that would effectively boost that figure by 50 percent, but even then, the battery life would still lag behind the MacBook Pro's.

In sum, no other Windows laptop can match the M3800's combination of power and weight, except for maybe its cousin, the XPS 15. Other candidates include Lenovo's Thinkpad W540, the Gigabyte U35Fand maybe a gaming rig like the MSI GE40. (Note that MSI's GS60 Ghost, which came out after this review was finished, also looks promising. And as some commenters have pointed out, the new Razer Blade 14 is now a contender with a 3,200 x 1,800 screen.) However, most suffer from either inferior graphics, lesser screen quality or too much bulk. That leaves the Retina Display MBP as its only real competition in the lightweight/powerful/high-res arena. And unfortunately, the M3800 falls down in key areas -- namely battery life, trackpad reliability and high-res app support. Then again, the MBP makes do with slightly lower resolution and no touchscreen. Also, the 15-inch MBP's discrete graphics package includes NVIDIA GeForce 750M/Intel IRIS GPUs, compared to the workstation-caliber Quadro Pro graphics on the M3800 Precision -- though benchmarks suggestthe 750M actually works better.

If you need a powerful, light Windows laptop with discrete graphics, I'd heartily recommend the Precision M3800 over other PCs. However, with the MacBook Pro in the mix, I'd personally choose that instead. Despite some excellent qualities, it's the details that count the most.

Update : As some commenters have pointed out, the new Razer Blade 14 now has an optional 3,200 x 1,800 screen, better (though non-professional) graphics and a similar price to the Dell.

It appears that recent updates to Windows 8.1 (that occurred after this IRL was written) have resolved the scaling problems with most Adobe apps. However, Google's Chrome still seems to suffer from those issues, while Firefox and Internet Explorer work just fine.

Apple Mac Pro review (2013): small, fast and in a league of its own

Mac Pro (mid 2013)
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8.8
9.7
Type Desktop
Bundled OS Mac OS
Processor speed 3.7 GHz
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It would be an understatement to say that Apple's Mac Pro workstation was getting a little long in the tooth.

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It would be an understatement to say that Apple's Mac Pro workstation was getting a little long in the tooth. As of summer 2012, it was missingApple's own Thunderbolt ports, not to mention 802.11n WiFi. Finally, though, Apple releasedan updated version, and it addresses a little more than just the wireless card and I/O options. Redesigned from the ground up, it's now much smaller and lighter, with a space-age cylindrical shape, an overhauled cooling system that's significantly quieter and a spec sheet that includes standard dual GPUs, PCIe SSDs, 802.11ac WiFi, up to 64GB of RAM and the latest Intel Xeon processors, once againgoing up to 12 cores. In short, these are specs that bring the Mac Pro into the modern age -- and make it ready to handle the coming onslaught of 4K content.

If you're a professional photographer, videographer, audio engineer, animator or what-have-you, you might actually be considering spending $2,999 on one of these -- maybe as much as $9,599, if you have the means. Or maybe you're just like my colleagues here at Engadget, who don't need one, and won't ever buy one, but covet it just the same. Either way, you'll want to read on to see how this thing actually performs (though you probably already have an idea).

Gallery: Mac Pro 2013 review | 28 Photos

The PC market is shrinking again as companies stop upgrading

It's not a good time to be a PC maker... especially if you cater to the corporate crowd.

It's not a good time to be a PC maker... especially if you cater to the corporate crowd. Both Gartnerand IDCestimate that the computer market shrank between 5.2 to 6.7 percent in the first quarter of 2015, in part because many companies stopped upgrading from Windows XP. Simply put, many of the businesses that wanted to modernize already have -- they're not propping up the market like they were for a good chunk of 2014. IDC goes so far as to claim that this was the lowest volume of PC shipments since the start of 2009, which is no mean feat given that the world was still reeling from an economic collapse at the time.

Still, there are a few silver linings on this dark cloud. Lenovo is still on the rise, and ASUS is enjoying a resurgence that's helped in part by its larger Windows tablets (at least, according to Gartner). However, the situation is still gloomy for Acer, Dell and most other system builders. The analyst groups are hopeful that the launch of Windows 10will spur a recovery, but that doesn't happen until the summer -- the next few months could be particularly bumpy.

Campbell Soup Switches Sides In The GMO Labeling Fight

Campbell Soup has announced it supports federal legislation requiring labeling of genetically modified ingredients.

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Campbell Soup has announced it supports federal legislation requiring labeling of genetically modified ingredients.

J. David Ake/AP

The fight over genetically modified food, or GMOs, has long resembled battles on the Western Front in World War I. Pro-GMO and anti-GMO forces have aimed plenty of heavy artillery at each other, but neither well-entrenched side has given much ground.

This week, though, for perhaps the first time, a major combatant switched sides on one hotly contested question: whether the government should require labels on genetically modified ingredients in food. The Campbell Soup Co., after years of staunch opposition to mandatory labels, now saysthat it "will advocate for federal legislation that would require all foods and beverages regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to be clearly and simply labeled for GMOs."

In a letter to the company's employees, postedon Campbell's website, Campbell's CEO Denise Morrison wrote that the company was responding to the desires of consumers, but it also wanted to avoid multiple and conflicting demands for GMO labeling by individual states. "Printing a clear and simple statement on the label is the best solution for consumers and for Campbell," Morrison wrote.

Proponents of a labeling law, including the Environmental Working Group, the Just Label Itcampaign and US Right to Know, praised Campbell's move.

Most of the food industry, along with the FDA, has opposed mandatory labeling of GMOs. The FDA saysthat there's no reason to require such labels because current GMO ingredients are identical, nutritionally, to conventional ingredients. In fact, if consumers react to it as a warning to avoid such ingredients, it would actually be misleading.

The food industry's opposition to GMO labels has partly been based on this fear that some people would avoid products with a GMO label. This assumption about consumer behavior has rarely been tested, and Campbell's may be betting that most consumers of Campbell's soups, Pepperidge Farms baked goods and Prego pasta sauces may not actually react to a GMO label. The company says that even if the government doesn't require GMO labels, it will go ahead and label its products anyway.

mock-upof one possible label on a can of Spaghetti-Os, with these words: "Partially produced with genetic engineering."

Jumbo Mortgage Rates and FHA Home Loans at SunTrust for October 17

SunTrust Banks, Inc.

SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE: STI) performs its banking operations through SunTrust Bank, which provides home purchase mortgages for borrowers. The bank’s latest mortgage interest rates are updated for October 17, 2013.

The lender’s home purchase interest rates stated below require a 60-day lock-in period on the loan whose proceeds are to be used for the purchase of single-family owner-occupied properties. Other than the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured loans, the mortgage rate quotes given assume that the borrower has strong credit standing and is willing to pay 1.00% of the total loan amount in origination fees. In addition, lock-in periods apply for most mortgages and the loan terms may vary depending on the property’s location and geography.

The 30-year fixed rate home purchase loan is listed by SunTrust at a rate of 4.125% on Thursday. The loan packages features 0.351 discount points and an annual percentage rate (APR) of 4.2594%. The shorter-term 15-year fixed rate home purchase loan is advertised at a mortgage rate of 3.200%, it comes with 0.178 discount points, while the APR is set at 3.4059%.

SunTrust provides loans that are insured by the FHA for borrowers with low credit scores. The 30-year fixed rate FHA-backed mortgage loan can be locked in at a rate of 3.900% and 0.108 discount points. This type of mortgage package bears an effective APR of 5.5281%.

The 30-year fixed rate home purchase loan with a jumbo balance is offered by the lender at 4.490% interest and 0.165 discount points, yielding an APR of 4.6018%.

SunTrust also offers adjustable rate loans (ARMs) for interested customers. These loans feature a fixed interest rate period for a specified number of years. After that, the interest rate is adjusted to reflect current interest rates during the reset schedule.

The 5/1 ARM home purchase loan is advertised at 2.800%. This flexible loan features 0.088 discount points and an overall APR of 2.9534%. The 7/1 ARM alternative can be picked up at a rate of 3.300% and it’s accompanied by 0.243 discount points and and APR variable of 3.1986%.

For complete details on SunTrust’s latest home loan interest rates, please take a visit to the lender’s website.

Fruit Juice Vs. Soda? Both Beverages Pack In Sugar, Health Risks

When it comes to choosing between sodas and juices in the beverage aisle, the juice industry has long benefited from a health halo.

Better for you than soda? With 49 grams of fructose per liter, not much. hide caption

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Better for you than soda? With 49 grams of fructose per liter, not much.

We know that juice comes from fruit, while soda is artificial. In particular, the sugars in juice seem more "natural" than high fructose corn syrup — the main sweetener in so many sodas. After all, we've gotten rid of most of the soda we used to offer kids at school, but we still serve them lots of juice.

But a studypublished online in June in the journal Nutrition shows that on average, fruit juice has a fructose concentration of about 45.5 grams per liter, only a bit less than the average of 50 grams per liter for sodas. The sneakiest — and sweetest — juice is Minute Maid 100 percent apple, with nearly 66 grams of fructose per liter. That's more than the 62.5 grams per liter in Coca-Cola and the 61 grams per liter in Dr Pepper.

Michael Goran, the director of the Childhood Obesity Research Center at the University of Southern California, led the study. He says he decided to measure the fructose, specifically, in juices and sodas because of a growing body of evidence suggesting fructose is a riskier substance than glucose.

"The human body isn't designed to process this form of sugar at such high levels," Goran said in a statement. "Unlike glucose, which serves as fuel for the body, fructose is processed almost entirely in the liver where it is converted to fat, which increases risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and liver disease."

Goran's assertion is not universally accepted. Other health researchers, like Fred Brouns at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, say sugar is basically sugar. He has arguedthat we should spend less time fixating on fructose and its role in the emerging chronic disease epidemics and more time looking at sugar and overconsumption overall.

The fructose in fruit comes with fiber, which slows down and reduces the absorption of the sugar in the body. hide caption

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The fructose in fruit comes with fiber, which slows down and reduces the absorption of the sugar in the body.

Goran says that while high fructose corn syrup in soda and food has become a focal point for researchers and public health advocates in recent years, there's been less attention on the link between fruit juice and obesity and diabetes.

"But it's hard to imagine why any there's reason why juices wouldn't be as harmful as sodas if they're delivering the same amount of sugar," he tells us.

One of the biggest problems, Goran notes, is that nutrition labels only tell us the total grams of sugar — so it's hard to know how much fructose is in any product. (The term "sugars" on the label can includesucrose, which is a combination of glucose and fructose; lactose and other variations.)

But, Goran adds, if we're getting fructose from whole fruit, that's a different story. The fructose in whole fruit comes with fiber, which slows down and reduces the absorption of the sugar in the body, "serving as a sort of antidote to the negative effects of fructose metabolism."

Barry Popkin, a leading obesity researcher and professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, agrees that fruit juice consumption is associated with health risks because of the high sugar content.

"Yes, from our long-term, huge studies in Singapore, Australia, the U.S. and Europe, I think 100 percent fruit juice is as bad as sugar-sweetened beverages for its effects on our health," he tells us. And, Popkin adds, every long-term study on the effects of 100 percent fruit juice intake on diabetes risk shows a very significant risk, too.

Popkin notes that only about nine countries have banned fruit juices from schools. "However, all countries now say a maximum 4 ounces of fruit juice whereas 20 years ago we said unlimited," he adds.

So what's a juice lover to do with so many supersweet products on the market? As we've reported, some beverage makers are now starting to cut the sugar. Goran recommends diluting juice you buy at the store with 50 percent water.

"From a public health perspective, we're going to need to change the cultural norms about how sweet things like juice really need to be," he says.

Credit Standards Now Less Stringent Compared To Last Year, Ellie Mae Says

New data from San Francisco-based Ellie Mae revealed that credit standards had loosened this year, as compared to the previous year.

Even with credit requirements remaining virtually the same month-over-month, the average FICO score (credit score) on all loans closed in February 2013 was at 724; this is 21 points less than the average of 745 in February 2013. Also in February 2014, 33 percent of all closed loans had FICO scores of less than 700, a figure that increased from the 24 percent share recorded in February 2013.

Further, Ellie Mae disclosed in its Origination Insight Reportthat 57 percent of all mortgages in February were purchases, an increase from 53 percent the month prior. Refinances, on the other hand, took up only 43 percent of all mortgages last month, down from the previous month’s 47 percent; this marked a continuing trend of refinance activity declining as interest rates rise.

According to Ellie Mae President and CEO Jonathan Corr, this was the first time in four months wherein the purchase share increased month-over-month, as well as the largest monthly uptick since August 2013.

Apart from refinance and purchase shares and average FICO scores on loans closed, Ellie Mae also tracks note rates on its analytic report. According to the new analytics, 30-year average note rates dropped to 4.655 percent in February from 4.723 in January, marking the first time this happened since November 2013. This figure nonetheless remained much higher than it was a year ago, when the average note rate for 30-year products was 3.723 percent.

Why There's A Big Battle Brewing Over The Lean Meat In Your Diet

Bottom round roast is one cut of beef that fits the government's definition of "lean." Still, the definition is confusing to consumers, nutrition scientists argue.

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Bottom round roast is one cut of beef that fits the government's definition of "lean." Still, the definition is confusing to consumers, nutrition scientists argue.

Paul Polis/Corbis

Never underestimate the power of a footnote.

When a panel of nutrition scientists tasked with updating the government's guidelines on healthy eating released its 500-plus-page tomeon Feb. 19, one particular 52-word footnote threw a wrench into the conventional wisdom on lean meat. It caught the meat industry's eye, and it's created a controversy.

It's no surprise that the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which get updated every five years, are political. They have huge implications for the food industry, as well as myriad government programs like school lunches.

But this year, the biggest beef is over meat — not just red meat, but poultry, too. The footnote, along with some other words, have worked the industry into a lather that's going to be frothing for months.

At a hearing Tuesday at the National Institutes of Health, meat industry scientists went head to head with public health advocates to parse the legitimacy of the footnote, and its implications for how much meat — and what kind of meat — Americans should be eating. (They'll also be debating where sustainability fits into the equation, which, as we've reported, is another recommendation from the report.)

Here's the line in the note that has the North American Meat Institute particularly upset: "Lean meats can be a part of a healthy dietary pattern."

The industry is emphatic that this statement is true, and it wona 30-day extension to the public comment period on the report to make its case. The problem, its spokespeople tell The Salt, is that this line was in a footnote, as opposed to the main text. And what was in the main text, instead, was this line: "a healthy dietary pattern is ... lower in red and processed meat."

"A significant percent of red and processed meats are classified as lean," Betsy Booren, vice president of scientific affairs for NAMI, tells The Salt. "I feel like they're hiding behind the footnote. It's like a whisper. They're shouting to limit red and processed meat, and whispering about lean."

The panel, meanwhile, says it's comfortable with the message it put out there: essentially, eat less meat, but lean meat can be part of a healthy diet. Still, the panel is cautious about the nutritional evidence on lean meat, noting in its recommendations that "lean meats were not consistently defined or handled similarly between studies."

Tom Brennaof Cornell University, one of the committee members, also maintains that "the definition of lean meat is confusing." And as for lean meat's relegation to a footnote? "I don't read a lot into the use of a footnote," says Brenna.

The NAMI, meanwhile, notes that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service has a legal definitionfor lean meat: A piece of meat that's 100 grams, for example, can have no more than 10 grams of fat, 4.5 grams or less of saturated fat, and less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol to be called "lean." That definition applies to all meat and poultry products.

"It's ironic because for meat and poultry producers, that definition is really important," says Booren. "To make a lean claim, you have to prove it to the USDA."

But aside from arguing that the definition of lean shouldn't be all that confusing for consumers, Booren wants the USDA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, when they review the report and decide whether to adopt its recommendations, to restore "red and processed meat" to their former status.

Public health advocates, though, are on board with the committee's conclusions, and are defending them today at the hearing.

"The committee said that our diet should be 'lower in red and processed meats' and that we should choose lean meats when we do eat it," Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, wrote Tuesday in a statement. "That's sound advice, because eating red and processed meats is associated with an increased risk of heart disease and certain cancers. The public will be watching to see if the new guidelines reflects solid science ... or self-serving pressure from the meat industry."

SunTrust Mortgage Rates: Current Jumbo Mortgage Rates and FHA Home Loans for February 9

SunTrust Bank is run by SunTrust Banks, Inc.

SunTrust Bank is run by SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE: STI), a large bank holding company in the United States. The bank advertises home purchase loans for individuals looking to buy properties in the country. The lender’s mortgage interest rates a have been updated for February 9, 2014.

With the exception of loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) for borrowers with low credit scores, the quotes are given assuming the borrower has strong financial standing. Moreover, lock-in periods apply for most mortgages and the loan terms may vary depending on the property’s location and geography.

The 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgage is listed by the Atlanta-headquartered lender at 4.3% as of Sunday. This mortgage package bears 0.076 discount points and a corresponding APR of 4.4122%. The 15-year version of this home mortgage is quoted by SunTrust at 3.3% and the mortgage loan carries 0.129 discount points and comes with an APR figure of 3.4993%.

Turning attention to FHA-backed mortgages, the 30-year fixed rate FHA loan starts at a rate of 4%. This type of loan is coupled with 0.09 discount points and carries an annual percentage rate of 5.6281%.

Looking at jumbo mortgages, the 30-year fixed home loan with a jumbo balance is offered by the bank at 4.49% interest and 0.033 discount points, yielding an APR sum of 4.5904%.

SunTrust’s flexible adjustable rate loans feature fixed interest rate periods for a specified number of years. After that, the interest rate is adjusted to reflect current market conditions.

Heading over to current adjustable rate loan solutions, SunTrust’s Agency 5/1 adjustable rate loan is up for grabs at 2.875% and 0.031 discount points. The loan is accompanied by an APR variable of 2.8927%. The Agency 7/1 version of the lender’s ARM can be locked in at a rate of 3.25%. The loan package carries 0.137 discount points and an annual percentage rate of 3.0984% as of Sunday.

For additional details on SunTrust’s fixed and adjustable rate mortgages, as well as information on borrowing terms and conditions, please take a visit to SunTrust’s website or contact a loan officer in charge.

New Dietary Guidelines Will Not Include Sustainability Goal

The debate about sustainable diets has focused on meat production, which requires lots of land and water to grow grain to feed livestock.

The debate about sustainable diets has focused on meat production, which requires lots of land and water to grow grain to feed livestock. It also contributes to methane emissions. But the Cabinet secretaries with final authority say the 2015 dietary guidelines won't include sustainability goals. David McNew/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption David McNew/Getty Images

The debate about sustainable diets has focused on meat production, which requires lots of land and water to grow grain to feed livestock. It also contributes to methane emissions. But the Cabinet secretaries with final authority say the 2015 dietary guidelines won't include sustainability goals.

David McNew/Getty Images

When it comes to eating well, should we consider the health of both our bodies and the planet?

Earlier this year, as we reported, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee concluded that a diet rich in plant-based foods promotes good health — and is also more environmentally sustainable. And, for the first time, the panel recommended that food system sustainability be incorporated into the federal government's dietary advice.

But, it turns out, the idea of marrying sustainability guidance with nutrition advice proved to be very controversial.

And now, President Obama's two Cabinet secretaries who will oversee the writing of the guidelines say they will not include the goal of sustainability.

"We will remain within the scope of our mandate ... which is to provide nutritional and dietary information," write U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Sylvia Burwell, secretary of Health and Human Services, in a joint statement.

The two secretaries went on to say that "we do not believe that the 2015 DGAs [Dietary Guidelines for Americans] are the appropriate vehicle for this important policy conversation about sustainability."

The statement came just one day in advance of a much-anticipated congressional hearing. Secretaries Vilsack and Burwell are scheduled to testify before the House Agriculture Committee on Wednesday morning on the topic of the dietary guidelines.

Advocates have been pushing for inclusion of sustainability goals. The consulting group Food Mindsanalyzed 26,643 written, public comments submitted to the federal government on the topic of the dietary guidelines. They found that write-in campaigns by the advocacy groups Friends of the Earth, Food Democracy Now and My Plate, My Planet were the top three sources of comments.

Last week, in an editorial publishedin Science magazine, Kathleen Merriganof George Washington University and a group of co-authors wrote that adopting a reference to sustainability in the dietary guidelines would "sanction and elevate the discussion of sustainable diets."

Merrigan argues that "by acknowledging benefits of sustainability, the government would open itself up to greater demand for sustainability investments and would signal to consumers that such foods are preferred."

The debate about sustainable diets has focused on meat production. As we've reported, meat production uses lots of land and water to grow grain to feed livestock. It also contributes to methane emissions.

"There are a lot of complex issues around livestock production that suggest — quite strongly — that we need to reduce meat consumption for sustainability reasons," Merrigan told us.

Other foods also have an environmental footprint that we should not ignore. Take, for instance, almonds.

"It takes up to 2.8 liters of water to produce a single 'heart-healthy' almond," Merrigan and company write in the editorial.

"With 80 percent of the world's almonds growing in drought-stricken California, should consumers be advised to limit almond consumption and consider alternatives that consume fewer resources?" Merrigan and her co-authors ask.

The Almond Board of California sent NPR its response Wednesday morning:

"Almond growers have reduced by 33 percent the amount of water they use per pound of almonds grown in the past 20 years," writes Carissa Sauer, communications manager for the industry group, in a statement. "These days, about 70 percent of almond orchards use water-efficient micro-irrigation. And each year we continue to make more progress in this area."

The meat industry has opposed the idea of including sustainability in the dietary guidelines. "In our view, this is clearly out of scope," Janet Rileyof the North American Meat Institute told us.

She says experts need a more complete understanding of how food production impacts the environment.

"If you compare 10 pounds of apples and 10 pounds of meat, the meat surely has the larger carbon footprint, but it also delivers more nutrition, it nourishes more people longer" in terms of calories and protein, says Riley.

She says, going forward, if sustainability is going to be included in the dietary guidelines, there need to be more data and more experts at the table.

In a statement, the meat institute's president and CEO, Barry Carpenter,praised the secretaries' decision. He called sustainability "an important food issue," but one "outside of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee's scope and expertise."

The dietary guidelines are updated every five years, so it's possible that this debate will continue.

"The compelling science around the need to adjust dietary patterns to ensure long-term food security cannot be ignored," Merrigan told me after the secretaries issued their statement. "If not [in] the 2015 DGA [Dietary Guidelines for Americans], then maybe the 2020 DGAs."

Daily Mortgage Rates: Chase Home Loans and Refinance Mortgage Rates for August 28

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) conducts its banking operations through its subsidiary Chase Bank. The lender provides mortgage loans for home purchase and refinancing for borrowers with strong credit standing. The bank’s mortgage interest rates for August 28, 2013 are discussed below. Bear in mind, that the annual percentage (APR) calculations were made using closing costs and discount points, assuming that the borrower will pay 1.00% of the total loan amount in origination fees.

Chase’s 30-year fixed rate conforming home loan can be locked in at 4.500% with an annual percentage rate set to 4.618%. The 15-year fixed rate loan package can be picked up at 3.625% with an APR standing at 3.734%.

Additionally, Chase provides adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) loans for borrowers who need more flexibility with interest rates. These loans come with a fixed interest rate period, after which the mortgage rate is adjusted depending on prevailing market interest rates at the time of the reset.

Currently, the 7/1 ARM for home purchase can be taken out at 4.375% and the deal features an APR figure of 3.704%. Others, who decide to go with the 5/1 ARM, will encounter a rate of 3.500% and an APR figure of 3.206%.

Borrowers who are more interested in mortgage refinancing options, will find plenty of loan offers at this lender, including the 30-year fixed refinance deal which is listed at 4.750% and has an APR of 4.815%. The 15-year version of this fixed refinance package could be more suitable for certain borrowers, as it starts at 3.625% and bears an APR variable of 3.734% as of Wednesday.

Mortgage shoppers, who lean towards more flexibility when refinancing an existing loan, should take a look at the lender’s 7/1 ARM which is coming out at 4.500% and has 3.755% by way of annual percentage rate. The 5/1 ARM is on the books at 3.875% and it comes with an APR of 3.340%.

For full details on current mortgage interest rates, loan assumptions and terms and conditions, please check the lender’s website. Potential borrowers can also contact the loan officer in charge for more information on the latest mortgage rates.

Congress To Nutritionists: Don't Talk About The Environment

Jordi Elias/Corbis
Jordi Elias/Corbis
A government-appointed group of top nutrition experts, assigned to lay the scientific groundwork for a new version of the nation's dietary guidelines, decided earlier this year to collect data on the environmental implication of different food choices.

Congress now has slapped them down.

Lawmakers attached a list of " congressional directives" to a massive spending bill that was passed by both the House and the Senate in recent days. One of those directives expresses "concern" that the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee "is showing an interest in incorporating agriculture production practices and environmental factors" into their recommendations, and directs the Obama administration to ignore such factors in the next revision of the guidelines, which is due out next year.

The directive is not legally binding, but ignoring it would provoke yet another political battle between the Obama administration and Congress.

The federal dietary guidelines have never explicitly considered the effects of food choices on the environment, but the idea of doing so is not new.

In 1986, nutritionist Kate Clancy, then teaching at Syracuse University, co-authored an articlecalled "Dietary Guidelines for Sustainability." It was addressed to her colleagues, Clancy says. She wanted them "to take a broader view of what they were advising people to do, with regard to their diet. It wasn't just nutrients." She urged them to consider not just what foods contribute to personal health, but also what types of food "contribute to the protection of our natural resources."

Earlier this year, after the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee decided to look at some environmental aspects of diet, Clancy finally got an invitation to make her case to the committee. "Let me say that after 30 years of waiting, that fact that this committee is addressing sustainability issues brings me a lot of pleasure," Clancy told the committee.

Members of the advisory committee aren't allowed to talk to the media about their work. But Timothy Searchinger, a researcher with Princeton University and the World Resources Institute, an environmental group, believes that recommendations about diet have to consider environmental impacts.

Producing food, he says, already claims half of all land where vegetation can grow. Farming is one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gases. "That doesn't mean that farmers are bad. It means that eating has a big impact on the environment," he says.

The impact will grow in the future, along with the world's population. So if people are thinking about their own personal environmental footprint, he says, "probably what you eat is more important than anything else."

Trying to decide exactly which foods are better than others can provide endless arguments. But economist Thomas Hertel, at Purdue University, says a few big points are pretty clear. Among the biggest: Producing meat is especially costly, and beef in particular. Beef cattle release methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. In addition, growing food for animals takes a lot of land.

Hertel says that overall, throughout the world, people are demanding more meat, and that's pushing farmers to clear forests and plow up grasslands. "Conversion of lands for agriculture has been a major source of greenhouse gas emissions over the past couple of decades," he says.

If Americans, who eat a lot of meat, ate a little less of it, there would be a little less pressure on the world's remaining forests.

The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee has been considering all of this. In a meeting of the panel a few months ago, Miriam Nelson, a Tufts University professor, told the rest of the committee that "in general, a dietary pattern that is higher in plant-based foods and lower in animal-based foods is more health-promoting and is associated with less environmental impact."

This new focus has already run into criticism. The American Meat Institute, which represents meat producers, says nutritionists don't have the expertise to take on environmental questions.

The new directive from Congress may shut down the fledgling effort completely.

The committee, coincidentally, is in Washington, D.C., for a meeting on Monday. It will have to consider how to respond.

HP unveils some slimmed-down, mid-range Envy laptops

They'll be aimed at back-to-school shoppers when they go on sale later this spring.

No, these aren't as flashy as that jewelry-inspired "world's thinnest" laptopthat HP just unveiled, but hey: Regular people on regular budgets need new PCs too. The updated Envy and Envy x360 are heavier than the skinny new Spectre 13.3, but they also offer more horsepower (not to mention a fuller selection of ports) at more affordable starting prices. Before we get into what makes each model unique, the mid-range Envys are all thinner and/or lighter than their predecessors, with USB Type-C ports now a standard feature. Otherwise, the aluminum builds and island-style, metal keys should look similar to some older HP laptops.

Gallery: HP Envy x360 press images | 7 Photos

Intel's next Thunderbolt port can handle two 4K displays at once

There's a good reason why the Mac Pro has six Thunderbolt 2 ports: current Thunderbolt tech isn't powerful enough to drive more than one 4K display per port.

has six Thunderbolt 2 ports: current Thunderbolt tech isn't powerful enough to drive more than one 4K display per port. Future computers shouldn't face that limitation, though. VR-Zone has leakeda presentation which suggests that Intel's next Thunderbolt controller chip, Alpine Ridge, has enough bandwidth (40Gbps) to drive two 4K screens at the same time. That could prove a big help to video proswho want multiple ultra-sharp displays without filling up all their expansion space.

Alpine Ridge might not be a one-trick pony, either. The controller should charge systems that need up to 100W of power, and it should use just half the energy of its predecessor. However, there may be a big gotcha -- Intel is reportedly changing connectors to provide all that added bandwidth and electricity. Adapters would let you use older Thunderbolt gear, but that might not be comforting if you've already spent a fortuneon peripherals.

The company hasn't confirmed any details of the new Thunderbolt spec, and there's no guarantee that what we see here will reach finished hardware. You'll have to be patient if the leak is accurate, though. The presentation mentions a tie-in with Skylake, the successor to Intel's upcoming Broadwellprocessor technology. That would put any launch in 2015, if not later.

Intel is officially slowing down the pace of CPU releases

The company's "tick-tock" cycle has become a three-step.

To make consumers crave its next generation of CPUs, Intel has produced chips on a yearly tick-tockcycle for the last decade. Thanks to the shrinking die sizes, that process may permanently become a three-step, according to financial documents spotted by Motley Fool . The company has already had significant issues going from 22- to 14-nanometers, and it extended the latter to a third generation with " Kaby Lake" chips. That was the first break from tick-tock, but Intel has now confirmed that the longer rhythm, which it calls "process, architecture, optimization (PAO)" will continue for its upcoming 10-nanometer chips.

During "tick" years, the chip giant upgraded its manufacturing technology to make circuits smaller -- for its latest chips, for instance, the tick cycle reduced traces from 22- to 14-nanometers. During "tock" years, it uses the same circuit size and manufacturing technique, but changes the microcode, often drastically, to make chips faster and more energy efficient.

While Intel said that the latest 14-nanometer chips were on a "2.5 year cycle," it plans to introduce three different 10-nanometer chips yearly. With the three-step PAO, that slows the pace of innovation by effectively a third, meaning consumers will have to wait an extra year before they see significant speed improvements. The third year of a chip's life cycle will likely see smaller performance gains, giving power users and gamers -- who have become critical customers -- less reason to upgrade.

The new process is a direct result of the difficulty in building chips with traces that are just 20 silicon atoms wide. "We expect to lengthen the amount of time we will utilize our 14nm and our next generation 10nm process technologies, further optimizing our products and process technologies while meeting the yearly market cadence for product introductions," according to the document.

While competitors like Samsung are closing the technology gap, Intel has maintained that it will introduce 10-nanometer chips before its competitors. Furthermore, it says that "this competitive advantage will be extended in the future as the costs to build leading-edge fabrication facilities increase." In other words, Intel believes that building chips is becoming so difficult technically that very few others will be able to keep up. However, one of its biggest competitors, TSMC, plans to produce 5-nanometer chipsby 2020.

Sweet Tooth Gone Bad: Why 22 Teaspoons Of Sugar Per Day Is Risky

Even seemingly healthful foods can contain unexpected spoonfuls of sugar.

Meg Vogel/NPR hide caption

toggle caption Meg Vogel/NPR

Even seemingly healthful foods can contain unexpected spoonfuls of sugar.

Meg Vogel/NPR

We've written lots lately about the potentially addictive qualities of sugarand the public policy efforts to limit consumption.

Now comes a new study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, which finds that Americans who consumed the most sugar — about a quarter of their daily calories — were twice as likely to die from heart disease as those who limited their sugar intake to 7 percent of their total calories.

To translate that into a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet, the big sugar eaters were consuming 500 calories a day from sugar — that's 31 teaspoons. Those who tamed their sweet tooth the most, by contrast, were taking in about 160 calories a day from sugar — or about 10 teaspoons per day.

Unfortunately, most Americans have a sugar habit that is pushing toward the danger zone.

"The average American is consuming 22 teaspoons a day. That's about three times what's recommended," says Laura Schmidtof the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine.

Now, we should point out, we're not talking fruit here. Researchers did not include the sugar naturally occurring in fruit or milk. Instead, the study focused specifically on the risks of added sugar — the refined sugars and corn syrups added to foods such as baked goods and sugary sodas.

So, how much added sugar is OK?

Well, the American Heart Association advisesthat women consume no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar daily. This is about 100 calories. And men, no more than 9 teaspoons, or about 150 calories from sugar.

The World Health Organization says people should get no more than 10 percent of their daily calories from sugar.

And the last time the federal government weighed in on sugar was in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines, which make only a broad recommendation to reduce consumption of added sugar.

So how best to reduce sugar?

Some steps are fairly obvious. For example, eliminating one 12-ounce can of sugar-sweetened soda can cut about 9 teaspoons of sugar.

But other common sources of added sugar can take you by surprise. For example, this morning I ate a small, 4-ounce cup of low-fat organic peach yogurt. I chalked it up as a very healthful breakfast, but when I looked at the nutrition label, it had 17 grams of sugar.

"You just shot most of your wad" for the day, Schmidt points out.

So, yeah, swap those sweetened yogurts for plain yogurt. A typical 6-ounce serving of vanilla yogurt has about 6 teaspoons of sugar — which is about as much as a regular size Snickersbar.

Bottom line: Read the labels. Most nutrition labels list sugar in grams. Four grams of sugar is equivalent to about one teaspoon.

And, don't get forgot to count sugar if you're eating out. There can be lots of sugar added to breakfast foods.

For instance, stopping at Starbucks to pick up a blueberry muffin with your latte? That muffin, according to the Starbucks website, contains 29 grams of sugar, or roughly 7 teaspoons.

And an Apple Crumb doughnutat Dunkin Donuts will set you back 49 grams of sugar — that's more than a day's worth of added sugar.

There's a lot of variability in baked goods. For instance, another option at Dunkin Donuts, the Cocoa Glazed doughnut, has much less sugar, 13 grams.

Best Diets 2016: From Fastest Weight Loss To Conquering Cravings

iStockphoto
iStockphoto
When it comes to dieting, losing weight fast holds some appeal.

Perhaps that's why U.S. News & World Report has added a Fast Weight-Loss Diet category to its annual rankingsof best diet plans. And one of the diets that comes out on top is the Health Management Resources program.

HMR is a meal replacement diet that can be done on your own at home or under medical supervision in a clinic. In lieu of made-at-home meals, dieters can orderlow-calorie shakes, soups, nutrition bars and multigrain cereal.

The U.S. News reviewers say the plus sideto the HMR diet is its quick-start option and the convenience of having meals delivered to you. The down side: "The shakes could get humdrum," and it's tough to eat out while on this diet.

"A common misconceptionis that losing weight quickly is not healthy, not sustainable, and will just lead to future weight re-gain," wrote Carol Addy, the chief medical officer at HMR, in a release. But she says, to the contrary, "numerous clinical studies demonstrate that following a lifestyle change program which promotes fast initial weight loss can result in better long-term success."

Meal replacement diets aren't for everyone. After all, a shake for a meal can leave you wanting more. And prepared meals turn some people off. Some experts argue that a go-slow approach is better.

In fact, several other top-ranked diets on the U.S. News list put a focus on changing everyday eating habits, rather than following a prescribed diet. The rankings are based on evaluations by a panelof doctors, nutritionists and other health experts.

For instance, the DASH diet, which was originally designed to help people control high blood pressure, focuses on a healthy pattern of eating, including lots of vegetables, whole grains and lean protein.

Worried about cognitive decline? The MIND diet— which is ranked No. 2 on the Best Diets Overall list — combines the DASH approach and the Mediterraneandiet, which emphasizes more fish, olive oil and nuts.

Preliminary research suggests that these heart-healthy diets (DASH and Mediterranean) may also stave off mental decline. And according to the U.S. News reviewers, the MIND diet — which was developed by researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago — focuses on foods within these two diets that influence brain health.

Want a lower-carb approach? The glycemic index diet makes the list. The knock against it: It's hard to follow. If you're looking for an easier method to try this approach, well-known obesity researcher David Ludwigof Harvard Medical School has you covered.

In his new book, Always Hungry? Conquer Cravings, Retrain Your Fat Cells & Lose Weight Permanently,Ludwig argues that the body doesn't handle all calories equally. "The type of calories we eat can affect the number of calories we burn," he writes. He points to a weight-loss study published in JAMA , the Journal of the American Medical Association, that found people on a low-carb diet burned about 325 more calories a day compared to those on a low-fat diet.

He says a key problem in our diets is processed carbohydrates: breads, cereals, crackers, cookies, candy and sugary drinks. "Anything containing primarily refined grains or concentrated sugar digests rapidly, and raises insulin levels," he writes. And this elevated insulin sends a signal to fat cells to store or hoard calories. "Fat cells take in or release calories only when instructed to do so by external signals — and the master control is insulin." Too much insulin, Ludwig argues, causes weight gain.

His book includes recipes and meal plans that translate the science into a prescriptive weight-loss plan. "Our program builds on [the] glycemic index [diet], but we do the work for the reader so there is no need to count anything — GI values or calories," he tells us.

The one reason a Facebook phone would make sense

So Facebook is reportedly about to unveil a phone , built by struggling Taiwanese handset maker HTC, that has been modified to put Facebook and its various services in the foreground.

, built by struggling Taiwanese handset maker HTC, that has been modified to put Facebook and its various services in the foreground. Facebook has been working on this for years.

The business case for both companies is clear, in theory. Facebook wants people to use its services more. Perhaps it even wants its Messenger service to replace normal phone calls and text messages. (In the US and UK, it can do both.) More use means more opportunities for Facebook to advertise to people. And in the long run, Facebook needs a game-changing option—like perhaps a phone—to make enough money per user in order to ever become a business that makes a significant profit. HTC, meanwhile, is doing terriblyand could use a boost from a partner with as much clout as Facebook.

The problem is, no one has any idea why users would want such a device. If you have a smartphone, you probably already have Facebook on it. Facebook is the most-downloaded mobile app in the world. Even if you don’t have a smartphone, you can get access to it.

Previous phones featuring Facebook, like the HTC Salsa, didn’t do so well. (HTC)

But here’s something no one seems to have considered. As we’ve seen before with Facebook’s sneaky—and yet massively successful—rollout in emerging markets, through a stripped-down form of the service called Facebook Zero, the company seems willing to play the long game in order to become as powerful as Google or Apple. And insiders at Facebook say that the company’s previous tryouts with mobile apps were merely “ experiments” leading up to the launch of this “Facebook phone.”

So if this phone, which appears to be a slight re-jigging of the existing Google Android operating system on a typical slab-style smartphone, is simply another “experiment” for Facebook, then what is the company testing?

A phone as Facebook’s latest attempt to lock up emerging markets

How about an all-in-one messaging platform for emerging markets? Facebook has already convinced hundreds of millions of people that the web is Facebook. The cooperation of mobile-phone carriers the world over was key to that coup.

Aside from social networking itself, tie-ups with carriers are the one area in which Facebook is way ahead of Google, which only began experimenting with offering free access to its services, via collaborations with carriers, in November 2012. Facebook has announced Facebook-for-free services via Facebook Zero in 45 countries, and the number may be larger now. Facebook has also partnered with an array of companies, outlined below, to provide equivalent service even in markets not covered by Facebook Zero.

Some of the successful experiments in connecting to emerging markets already conducted by Facebook. (Quartz)

As we’ve reported previouslyat Quartz, “Of the 10 countries with the most Facebook users, six are emerging markets, and five of them—India, Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey, and the Philippines—represent 217 million Facebook users.” Facebook has also taken over in Africa, and in Indonesia, as we wrote then, “Facebook is literally becoming the internet.”

What all of these regions have in common, at present, is relatively slow connection speeds for mobile data. Given the phones that HTC normally makes, which are high-end smartphones, Facebook is probably offering its “Facebook phone” first in rich countries, where networks are fast enough to support voice calls over a data connection. But some day soon, most of the mobile networks in the world will be able to support phone calls via data.

But will carriers cooperate with a company that could wipe out a large chunk of their revenues by offering voice or video calls and text messaging for free? They may be reluctant, but there’s already a growing number of services, such as Skype, Google’s Gchat and Google Hangouts, and WhatsApp, that do that anyway. As these become more popular, the carriers may morph into providers mainly of mobile internet services. A growing share of their revenues is already mobile data.

At which point Facebook, with its experience in making customized Android phones and its many deep connections with carriers in emerging markets, will be perfectly positioned to start offering customers an all-in-one text, calling and social networking experience that could make sense in a way that it doesn’t, presently, in rich countries. You know, the ones where all the Facebook phone skeptics live.

Next, read this: How Facebook’s secret invasion of emerging markets will net its next billion users

All-Day Breakfast' In Myanmar: Catfish Chowder Loaded With Condiments

'All-Day Breakfast' In Myanmar: Catfish Chowder Loaded With Condiments
A bowl of mohinga, a flavorful fish stew with vegetables and rice vermicelli.

Anthony Kuhn/NPR hide caption

toggle caption Anthony Kuhn/NPR

Nothing says breakfast in Myanmar more than a hot bowl of mohinga, a flavorful fish soup with rice vermicelli. It's the taste of the Irrawaddy Delta in the Burmese heartland, and an iconic national dish.

It's an "all-day breakfast" food, sold across the country by curbside hawkers, carrying their wares on shoulder poles or bicycle carts, as well as in shops and restaurants in every price range.

Myaungmya Daw Cho in Yangon buys catfish for its mohinga from local farms in the Irrawaddy Delta. It is first soaked for half an hour in a fermented fish sauce in large pots. Anthony Kuhn/NPR hide caption

toggle caption Anthony Kuhn/NPR

Myaungmya Daw Cho in Yangon buys catfish for its mohinga from local farms in the Irrawaddy Delta. It is first soaked for half an hour in a fermented fish sauce in large pots.

Anthony Kuhn/NPR

In recent years, it's become my favorite morning meal on reporting trips to Myanmar. It's substantial but doesn't weigh me down, which is important when preparing for a day of work in sometimes searing tropical heat.

While covering recent electionsthere, I visited a popular Yangon mohinga shop called Myaungmya Daw Cho.

Myaungmya is a township in the Irrawaddy Delta, southwest of the country's largest city, Yangon. Cho is the name of the late entrepreneur who established the restaurant. Daw is the honorific title before her name.

Daw Cho's descendants now operate seven restaurants in the Yangon area, and export an instant mohinga product overseas. (According to its Facebook page, the shop was awarded second prize in the Myanmar Mohinga Competition.)

A bowl of mohinga starts with a variety of catfish native to the Irrawaddy. The shop buys it from local fish farms in the delta. It is first soaked for half an hour in a fish sauce in large pots. Fish sauce is a basic ingredient in Southeast Asian cuisines, made by fermenting fish, such as anchovies, with sea salt.

The fish is then de-boned and pan-fried in peanut oil just long enough to bring out the flavor. For even more flavor, the cooks extract liquid from the bones by pulverizing them. The bone liquid is then mixed with water and boiled, before the fish meat is added in.

Girls prepare garlic to go in the mohinga at a Myaungmya Daw Cho restaurant in Yangon. Anthony Kuhn/NPR hide caption

toggle caption Anthony Kuhn/NPR

Girls prepare garlic to go in the mohinga at a Myaungmya Daw Cho restaurant in Yangon.

Anthony Kuhn/NPR

Rice powder is added, thickening the mixture into something between a soup and a chowder. Next, boiled peas, onions, garlic, lemongrass and banana tree stems go in. A little turmeric gives the soup a dark yellow color. The soup is boiled for an hour and a half, before the final ingredient goes in: rice vermicelli.

The vermicelli is typical of the mélange of east and south Asian influences in Burmese cuisine. At one meal, you're having having biryanis, curries and chutney. At the next, it's Shan noodles, one of the many dishes influenced by southwest China's Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar's Shan State.

Finally, the eater gets to "customize" the bowl of mohinga with a range of condiments. Options include more fish sauce, lime juice, crispy chickpea fritters, fish cakes, boiled eggs (chicken or duck) and fried dough strips. My personal favorites are cilantro, crushed dried chili and fried shallots.

The final dish is a complex blend of flavors and textures. It's simultaneously slightly sweet, salty and spicy. There's a fresh fish taste, but it's not "fishy." Pro tip: It's worth tasting the soup without the noodles and condiments to hone in on the subtle flavors.

In case you don't get enough for breakfast, many mohinga shops such as Myaungmya Daw Cho are open in the afternoon, so you can go back for a second helping.

AmeriSave Announces More Lenient Lending Restrictions in Line with Fannie Mae

Mortgage lending leader AmeriSave, known in the past for its draconian lending restrictions, announced this week that it will remove a number of its overlays to ensure that it is congruent with Fannie Mae’s mortgage guidelines.

Mortgage lending leader AmeriSave, known in the past for its draconian lending restrictions, announced this week that it will remove a number of its overlays to ensure that it is congruent with Fannie Mae’s mortgage guidelines. This will take effect immediately, according to the Atlanta-based originator, which added that third-party client demand had spurred it on to make this decision.

“We are responding to the needs our clients have expressed by removing some of our more restrictive overlays that we applied to Fannie Mae guidelines in the past,” said AmeriSave senior vice president of third-party origination sales Craig Dodd in an interview with HousingWire. “Our goal is to help our clients better position themselves to compete in a purchase market while continuing to produce quality loans in the tradition we have built at AmeriSave.”

The institution’s direct-to-consumer business model remains in force with the relaxed standards effective immediately. To this end, AmeriSave announced that it will hire about a dozen retail and wholesale sales representatives, and that it has promoted some existing sales executives following the move.

More interestingly, AmeriSave had recently started its own correspondent division, which adds to a growing number of competitors in the lending business. Other competitors with a correspondent division include New Penn and Guild Mortgage.

In a separate interview with Housing Wire, Guild Mortgage vice president of correspondent lending David Neylan said that the lender expects “funding volumes of $1 billion for the correspondent division and the establishment of a national presence for 2014.”

Mortgage Credit Standards: Wells Fargo Becomes Latest Institution to Lower Lending Standards

American financial institutions are beginning to lower lending standards pursuant to finding the proverbial sweet spot following a haphazard period of home lending that had resulted in draconian lending policies.

American financial institutions are beginning to lower lending standards pursuant to finding the proverbial sweet spot following a haphazard period of home lending that had resulted in draconian lending policies. The strict nature of these policies had in turn served as a headwind to the country’s housing recovery.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC), which is currently the United States’ leading home lender, reduced the minimum FICO score required for borrowers of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac-guaranteed loans from 660 to 620. This came on the heels of other institutions lowering their credit score requirements or other thresholds for potential homeowners; for example, Canadian institution Toronto-Dominion Bank reduced down payments to 3 percent, with no auxiliary requirements for mortgage insurance on some products.

This is in contrast to how banks reacted to the temerarious nature of home lending ahead of the worldwide economic crisis, as stricter borrowing requirements had precluded about 1.2 million loans from being made two years ago. Many lenders had taken advantage of the refinancing boom up until the summer of last year, which was when talk of a possible tapering of Federal Reserve stimulus had caused interest rates to skyrocket. With refinancing statistics dropping in the aftermath of higher mortgage rates, mortgage lenders had cut thousands of jobs, with the biggest number of cuts coming from the country’s largest financial institutions.

These days, however, it would now appear that lenders are removing those obstacles and hoping to satiate the housing market by drawing in more customers with an easing of restrictions. “We threw the baby out with the bathwater because we had to,” quipped Western Bancorp Chief Executive Richard (Rick) Soukoulis. “From there, you start to inch back. If you keep selling only what isn’t selling, you’re just dead.”

Recent statistics back up the axiom that credit standards are looser than they were in the immediate post-recession years. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, credit standards were at their most lenient in a span of more than two years in the month of March. The MBA’s analytics showed that its credit standards measure increased from 100 to 114, with higher scores indicating looser standards. However, it is believed that the index would have had readings of about 800 or thereabouts in 2007, which means that credit was significantly easier to obtain in the run-up to the global credit crunch.

Wells Fargo may be the latest leading financial institution to announce a loosening of standards, but it is far from being the only one that is benefiting from additional transparency in communication with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

According to Wells Fargo head of production Franklin Codel, the bank now has “more confidence” that it would have done its job properly and the loans would not get repurchased, even if loans would go into default. Borrowers with lower credit scores would need to furnish certain documents and prove that they are deserving of homeownership, but Wells Fargo said that it will also seek “compensating factors” in hopes of closing the loan. These factors may include, but may not be limited to a justification of a certain credit history event, and an analysis of employment stability and/or the strength of a consumer’s income.

U.S. Kids Eat Nearly As Much Salt As Adults, Putting Health At Risk

These sandwiches may look the same, but the one on the left has a total of 1,522 milligrams of salt (per whole sandwich), while the other one has only 853 mg.

CDC hide caption

toggle caption CDC

Yes, we love salt. It makes everything taste better. But as a society, we're eating way too much of it. And, so are our children.

A new study from researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that children in the U.S. between the ages of 8 and 18 are eating, on average, 3,387 mg per day. That's about the same amount as adults. But it's a lot more than the 2,300 mg daily limit recommended by the federal dietary guidelines.

And the result? Janelle Gunn, a public health analyst with the CDC, says it's pretty clear. "We found that higher sodium intake was associated with higher blood pressure," she says.

The association was strongest among children who were overweight. "We found among overweight and obese participants (in the study), that for every 1,000 mg of sodium they consumed, their blood pressure response was seven times greater (compared to healthy-weight children)," explains Gunn.

Overall, the researchers found that about 15 percent of the children in the study had high either elevated or high blood pressure. In adults, high blood pressure is considered a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

So where is all this sodium coming from? Experts say it's not so much an overuse of the salt shaker as it is consumption of processed foods. And, as the sandwich above points out, lots of sodium slips into our diets without us realizing it — even in bread. As we've reported, babiesmay be getting too much, too.

It's going to take a lot more than emptying the salt shaker to cut back on the sodium U.S. kids are getting. L. Marie/Flickr.com hide caption

toggle caption L. Marie/Flickr.com

It's going to take a lot more than emptying the salt shaker to cut back on the sodium U.S. kids are getting.

L. Marie/Flickr.com

Some kids' favorites, like McDonald Chicken McNuggets, has 540 mg of salt in a six-piece serving. According to a nutrition label, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese has 560 mg per serving (serving size 70g), and a medium order of Burger King French Fries has 570 mg.

Research has shown that following a low-sodium diet known as DASHhelps reduce high blood pressure. But there are other factors that can influence the condition as well, including weight, physical activity, family history and ethnicity.

The study is based on a survey of 6,235 children, aged 8 to 18 years old. The participants give detailed reports about what they're eating, and researchers measure blood pressure as well as weight. The results are publishedin the journal Pediatrics .

Google’s Sundar Pichai is just the latest tech mogul here to woo India’s internet users

India—home to the second largest internet user base on the globe—has played host to a slew of global technology leaders over the last year, from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

This week, Sundar Pichai, CEO of US search giant Google, is visiting the country. The 43-year-old was born in the southern Indian city of Chennai and studied at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, but this is his first visit as Google CEO. He is scheduled to meetwith software developers to promote Google’s services like search, Gmail and YouTube.

Pichai is also likely to meetprime minister Narendra Modi during this trip to India. The two had last met in September during Modi’s visit to the Silicon Valley. Pichai may also meet president Pranab Mukherjee, The Indian Express newspaper reported.

Along with other senior leaders of Google, Pichai will address the media on Dec. 16, to will lay out the company’s vision and strategy for the country. “India is at the centre of a digital revolution today, with millions of Indians getting online every month. India has always been key for Google and we continue to work towards evolving our product offerings for the unique needs of our users,” read the invitation to Google’s media briefing.

Google does not disclose the geographic breakdown of its revenue or user base, but for the last two years, the company has made roughly 45% of sales in the US, 10% in the UK and 45% in the rest of the world, according to The Wall Street Journal.

India is of great interest to not just Google but to all global technology players. The country already has the second-highest number of internet users in the world, but the penetration of internet in India is still at just 19%. In most developed economies, internet penetration is up to 90%.

As more and more people take to the internet, India is estimatedto have 500 million users online by 2017, up fom 350 million in June 2015.

The Indian workforce is also moving away from the back-offices of large multinational businesses, and toward entrepreneurship and innovation. This has caught the attention of many global venture capitalists and technology firms— Facebookand internet giant Yahoohave both acquired Indian startups in recent years.

India’s startup ecosystem—which started booming only a couple of years ago—is already the third-largestin the world and the fastest-growingone, according to industry body Nasscom. India currently has between 4,200 and 4,400 technology startups, and three to four new startups are born in the country every day, per Nasscom.

Here’s a look back at some of the global tech leaders who have visited India over the last 12 months.

Satya Nadella

The Hyderabad-born Nadella was in India during the last week of 2014 to meet prime minister Modi and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. Nadella said he was looking forward to partnering with the government’s Digital India and Make in India initiatives.

“I have an aspiration that in this mobile and cloud world, we can empower every individual citizen of India and every business organization and institution in India to be able to try with new technology,” Nadella said.

Microsoft has around 6,500 employeesin India, where it operates through a local subsidiary—Microsoft India—headed by chairman Bhaskar Pramanik. The company’s Indian headquarters are in Hyderabad, and it has offices in several other cities. Microsoft also runs one of the top startup accelerators in India at Bengaluru.

Jack Ma

In May, Jack Ma, chairman of China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba, visited New Delhi. This was Ma’s second visit to India in about four months, and he too met with Modi.

Jack meets Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss how Alibaba can help empower small businesses in India. pic.twitter.com/kXUqy0V97b

— Alibaba Group (@AlibabaGroup) March 30, 2015

Just three months after Ma’s visit in May, India’s second-largest e-commerce company, Snapdeal, raised $500 million from investors including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Foxconn and SoftBank Corp.

Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, poses on a supply truck during a photo opportunity at the premises of a shopping mall in the southern Indian city of Bangalore September 28, 2014. (Reuters/Abhishek N. Chinnappa)

The rapid growth that home-grown e-commerce companies Flipkart and Snapdeal have seen is a strong lure for players like Alibaba.

US e-commerce giants Amazon and e-Bay already operate in India. In 2014, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos made a high-profile trip that included hanging off a supply truck in an Indian outfit, flashing a $2-billion checkto signify his company’s investment in the country.

Mark Zuckerberg

In the last week of Oct. 2015, the 31-year-old chairman, chief executive, and co-founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg also made the trip to India. Facebook has 130 million users in the country—second only to the US.

Among other things, Zuckerberg held a townhall-like question and answer session at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, where he attempted to allay concerns around Internet.org—now rebranded as Free Basics.

“Net neutrality is an important principle and we are doing a lot to push it. So with Free Basics, we are letting developers offer zero-rated services. This is powerful. We are not being a filter of any content going through that,” he said.

Free Basics is a free, limited internet service for the subscribers of Reliance Communications in India. Zuckerberg unveiled it in the country during his last visit to New Delhi in Oct. 2014. Since its launch, it has been strongly criticized across the world as it is seen against net neutrality.

Zuckerberg had earlier said that he visited India on the insistence of Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs, and that the trip had played a crucial role in Facebook’s development.

“Early on in our history when things weren’t really going well—we had hit a tough patch and a lot of people wanted to buy Facebook—I went and I met with Steve Jobs, and he said that to reconnect with what I believed was the mission of the company, I should go visit this temple in India that he had gone to early in the evolution of Apple, when he was thinking about what he wanted his vision of the future to be,” Zuckerberg said in September, during a townhall with Modi at Facebook’s headquarters at Menlo Park, California.

Uptick in Mortgage Rates May Be Slowing, Believes HSH

Following the release of last week’s mortgage rate survey statistics, rates were generally up for the sixth straight week.

Following the release of last week’s mortgage rate survey statistics, rates were generally up for the sixth straight week. Still, the increase in rates was not as fast as it had been in previous weeks, due to the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting and a lack of positive economic data in the past week.

According to HSH.com mortgage specialist Keith Gumbinger, “mortgage and other interest rates have probably overshot the mark, at least based upon the economic and inflation climate in which the increases have occurred.” To back up his postulation, Gumbinger cited the common trend of mortgage rates moving down yet “(spiking) upward”, just as what had recently happened, only to ease back down a bit.

With economic news from last week best described as moderate and the Fed’s minutes having assuaged most concerns of a shortened QE3 economic initiative, HSH.com believes mortgage rates may start dropping down a bit going forward.

Last week’s statistics from HSH do suggest a slower increase in rates compared to previous weeks. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, regardless of whether conforming, non-conforming or jumbo, went up just five basis points from 4.10 percent to 4.15 percent. 15-year home loans in general moved up from 3.28 percent to 3.33 percent, while 30-year home loans backed by the FHA edged up by just three basis points from 3.74 percent to 3.77 percent.

5/1 Hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages, on the other hand, were up from 2.77 percent to 2.85 percent.

Wal-Mart Creates Icon For Food Packages To Encourage Healthful Choices

A shopper walks down an aisle in a newly opened Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market in Chicago.

Jim Young/Reuters /Landov hide caption

toggle caption Jim Young/Reuters /Landov

A shopper walks down an aisle in a newly opened Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market in Chicago.

Jim Young/Reuters /Landov

We're all for smarter labels. And now Wal-Mart has introduced an easy way for shoppers to quickly identify more healthful foods with its new front-of-package "Great For You"icon.

With thousands of choices available, "choosing something healthy can be a daunting task," Kelly Cheeseman of Walmart Foundation tells The Salt. "And when you factor in price it can be even more confusing."

Now, when a shopper spots, say, a can of Wal-Mart-branded peaches with the icon, Cheeseman says he will know it's a good choice without having to interpret the details on the nutrition facts panel. (For now, the "Great For You" icon is only on select products in certain Wal-Mart lines.)

But the announcement makes The Salt wonder, can choosing healthful food really be reduced to a simple yes-no decision? After all, no one food is all good or all bad. It all depends on how much you eat and what else is on your plate.

And what happened to the initiative to create one universal front-of-package label to guide consumers on healthful choices that would appear on all packaged foods?

The Institute of Medicinehas calledfor the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to develop a single, standard Front-of-Package Nutrition Rating System that would show calories per serving on all products. It also recommended that foods and beverages be evaluated using a point system for sodium and added sugars.

It's not clear when the FDA will get the ball rolling, and so Wal-Mart and others have decided to act on their own. This is creating some crowding of nutrition rating systems on the shelves, with competing approaches such as Guiding Starsand The American Heart Association's Heart Checkalready out there.

Nutrition experts are also not convinced that Wal-Mart got it right on some of its "Great-For-You" choices. The Center for Science in the Public Interestquestions the inclusion of cholesterol-rich eggs, salty canned vegetables and apple juice, which can be the source of a lot of calories.

Still, others see the unveiling of the new food seal as another step toward "making the healthy choice the easy choice for parents and families," says Larry Soler of the Partnership for a Healthier America. The "Great for You" initiative is part of Wal-Mart's commitments to the PHA, as well as a pledge to reformulate thousands of packaged food items by 2015 to reduce sodiumby 25 percent and sugars by 10 percent.

iPhone 5 Due in June 2012, Foxconn HR Man Claims

There have been several whispers about Chinese manufacturer Foxconn and its intriguing job openings.

There have been several whispers about Chinese manufacturer Foxconn and its intriguing job openings. The word going around is that close to 20,000 jobs are available for those wanting to help in the creation of Apple’s next-generation smartphone.

This device, which many know as the iPhone 5 (also rumored to be simply called new iPhone), is being expected by many to launch anytime between June and October 2012. According to a source from Foxconn itself, we just might be seeing the iPhone 5 in shelves as early as June.

The Foxconn employee gave an interview to TV Tokyo where he disclosed June as the launch date for the new iPhone. However, there is a possibility that he may have confused launch date with the actual start of production – earlier rumors tipped the iPhone 5’s launch for October 2012, thus staying in-line with a 12-month cycle in between iPhones.

Also, the employee came from Foxconn’s recruitment department and not from the production team, so we’re taking this one with a huge grain of salt. But regarding his statement that some 18,000 employees are needed for production, we’re willing to believe that may most likely be true.

On the other hand, a June launch for the iPhone 5 could be a sound business maneuver considering Samsung’s Galaxy S3 and HTC’s One X are due to be launched soon, most likely before the summer.

These two handsets are considered to be the iPhone’s top competition in the smartphone market, and Apple may not want to wait long before silencing their rivals with the iPhone 5 to beat all previous iPhones.

Regardless, anything can happen at this juncture and once new rumors regarding iPhone 5 specs and release dates come up, we’ll keep you posted.