Kmart’s new ad is a gas. Literally.

In its new tongue-in-cheek ad “Big Gas,” the retailer promotes a special discount on gas. Throughout the spot, customers praise the “big gas” savings and “big gas” prices, but their repeated, rapid use of the phrase makes it sound as though they’re saying “big a**.”

The ad starts out with customers getting gas at the pump.

“Ugh, I hate these big gas prices,” one woman says.

Another woman chimes in: “Sounds like you could use some big gas savings.”

There’s more of this, with customers expressing excitement over Kmart’s promotion. The retailer is offering its Shop Your Way members 30 cents off every gallon of gas when they spend at least $50 dollars at Kmart.

WATCH: Kmart Has Web ‘Shipping’ Their Pants From Laughter

The retailer has had previous success with this style of commercial. Last month it released “Ship My Pants,” an ad featuring wordplay mimicking a crude joke to promote free shipping for loyalty members. Within five days of being uploaded to YouTube, that 35-second video had nearly 10 million views.

The ad starts with a man speaking with a Kmart employee:

“Ship my pants? Right here? Ship my pants, you’re kidding,” the man says.

“You can ship you pants right here,” the worker says.

The ad then has a number of other characters proudly saying they’ve shipped their products. The spot racked up another 7 million YouTube views before making its way to cable TV.

“Big Gas” was posted on YouTube on Wednesday, and had 92,000 views as of Thursday night.

RELATED: ‘Ship My Pants’ Viral Video Is Kmart’s Most Popular

The risqué ads may be generating buzz, but they’re not helping the company’s bottom line.

Earnings reports released late Thursday show the retailer is down 4.6 percent this quarter.

“They really need to goose things up quickly,” Lisa Granatstein, managing editor at AdWeek, told ABC News.  “But it was only one month ago that the ‘ship my pants’ campaign came out, and we have to give it time.”

A 9 year-old girl has chewed out the top executive at McDonald’s for “tricking kids into eating your food.” The rare confrontation happened as CEO Don Thompson answered shareholders’ questions at the fast food company’s annual meeting in Oak Brook, Ill., Thursday. Hannah Robertson, whose mother Kia blogs about how parents can make healthy food choices for kids, criticized the company’s advertising for getting children to “keep bugging their parents” for the food. The girl’s mother echoed the request later on, saying McDonald’s undermines parents by marketing to children.

The world’s biggest fast food chain has been looking into how to keep up with changing tastes as people increasingly opt for foods they feel are fresh or healthy. Customers can now order egg whites in its breakfast sandwiches, for example. McDonald’s also recently introduced chicken wraps to go after people in their 20s and 30s looking for better-for-you options.

At the shareholders’ meeting, McDonald’s was taken to task by speakers associated with an advocacy group about its menu and advertising directed at kids. Another speaker asked that McDonald’s remove its locations from hospitals, while others asked it to stop targeting communities of color by signing stars such as Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas and the NBA’s LeBron James. Thompson defended McDonald’s menu, saying his company doesn’t “sell junk food,” pointing out items such as the yogurt parfait and side salad and noting that the company has been adding more fruits and vegetables. “The way you describe us is not who we are,” he said. “We’re not predators.”

Welcome to the unofficial start of summer. Americans’ plans for holiday travel appear to mirror the current state of the economy, growing slowly. Airlines, hotels and campgrounds are reporting some signs of a rebound from the Great Recession. But AAA predicts car travel this Memorial Day weekend to be about the same as last year.

A big shakeup for the world’s biggest consumer products company. In a surprise move, Proctor and Gamble says its former CEO A.G. Lafley, a 33-year industry veteran, is returning to his old job, replacing CEO Bob McDonald, effective immediately. The change comes after investor complaints about P&G, and calls for an overhaul on how it markets new products in the US and overseas. The 175-year-old company’s Tide detergent, Crest toothpaste and other products can be found in 98 percent of American households. But it is struggling to grow under increased competition and global economic challenges.

Another ugly quarter for Sears. The department store chain reported a larger-than- expected quarterly loss on slumping sales. The steep loss drove Sears’ shares down more than 12 percent in after-hours trading. But there has been a turnaround at The Gap. After year of struggles the retailer is back in style with a 43 percent rise in profits.

Richard Davies Business Correspondent ABC News Radio abcnews.com Twitter: daviesabc

Image credit: Getty Images

You might think that a costly sunblock would be better at blocking UVA and UVB rays than a store brand at, say, Walgreens. However, according to Consumer Reports’ annual sun survey, that’s wrong.

In tests of 12 sunscreen lotions and sprays to gauge their effectiveness in protecting against UVA and UVB rays – both of which can cause skin cancer – six sunscreens rated “very good” overall.

Three of the four top-scoring brands came from national chains Target, whose Up and UP Sports SPF 50 had the highest overall score; Walmart, whose Equate Ultra Protection Sunscreen SPF 50 was No. 2; and Walgreens, whose Continuous Spray Sports SPF 50 was No. 4.

RELATED: 7 Golden Rules of Sun Protection

Coppertone Water Babies 50 lotion took third place.

Those brands, which guarded against UVB rays before and after 80 minutes underwater and were “very good” against UVA rays, all cost $1.67 or less per ounce.

More-expensive products, including All Terrain AquaSport SPF 30 at $4.33 an ounce and Badger Unscented SPF 34 at $5.52 an ounce, didn’t thwart UVB rays, the survey found.

What’s more, All Terrain, which earned top marks in last year’s survey, got a “fair” rating as far as protection from UVA rays, which penetrate deeper than UVB, though both types can cause skin cancer.

The priciest sunscreen, California Baby SPF 30+, at $6.90 per ounce, only got a “good” rating for UVA protection and a “poor” rating for staining fabrics.

The report speculated that the rankings may have changed because of new Food and Drug Administration labeling requirements for over-the counter sunscreens.  The requirements, which went into effect last summer, mandated sunscreens be tested and labeled as “broad spectrum” – meaning sunscreens should offer protection against UVB and UVA rays.

The  new requirements may have caused sunscreen makers to re-jigger their formulas to meet the new guidelines – although, as the magazine noted, neither All Terrain nor several other manufacturers changed their formulations over the last year.

All of the top-rated sunscreens in the survey offered broad-spectrum protection.

Karen Rauen, the director of health and consumer sciences operations at Consumer Reports, stressed the importance of wearing sun block.

“If you can’t find one of the recommended sunscreens, your best option is to buy one that says it’s water resistant, claims broad spectrum and has a claimed SPF of at least 40,” she told ABC News. “And remember to reapply every two hours and after swimming or sweating.”

This is the latest evidence of a recovering housing market, six years after the housing bubble burst leading to a recession.

Home prices are also rising but have yet to get back to the highs seen during the bubble.

The median price of a new home sold in April was $271,600 – adjusted for inflation this price is still below the price of a new home during the boom.

“We’re now about half-way back to what could be considered a full recovery,” National Association of Home Builders Senior Economist Robert Denk said in a note.

Today’s report also shows new home sales in the past four months were better than previously reported.

At the current sales rate, there is just over four months’ supply of new homes for sale.  A six-month supply is considered healthy.  This means that there is pent up demand for new construction.

The housing recovery is being helped by the Federal Reserve’s efforts and some economists fear that homes may not seem as cheap once those efforts wane.

For now though the market seems to be inching toward normalcy.

Economists with IHS Global Insights do not expect the housing market to get truly back to normal until 2015.

New homes make up a small chunk of the housing market, but have an important ripple effect on the economy as new appliances and furnishings are needed.

Home are also often Americans’ biggest investment, and a rise in prices makes Americans more confident in their finances and ability to spend.

A separate report from the Department of Labor today showed jobless claims dropping for the week.

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell 23,000 to a level consistent with solid job growth.

The four-week average of those applying for unemployment benefits ticked down just 500 to 339,500.   These claims figures are one indicator of a strengthening job market.

The jobs market still has a ways to go, employers need to add thousands more jobs to significantly bring the unemployment rate down.

The housing recovery though is playing its part in the job market, the demand for new construction means there will be more jobs created in this sector.

Housing is one part of the massive U.S. economy.  To have a truly convincing recovery there needs to be similarly good news from other parts of the economy.

New Jersey authorities are investigating 29 establishments for serving customers cheaper booze as a substitute for top-shelf liquor, including one that allegedly offered rubbing alcohol and food coloring as scotch.

“This alleged scheme is a dishonest ruse to increase profits, and it is a slap in the face to the consumer,” said state Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa in a statement. “Consumers should have the peace of mind of knowing that they will get what they spent their hard-earned money on every single time – no exceptions.”

A spokesman for the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control declined to which establishment served rubbing alcohol, saying it is an ongoing investigation.

Among the 29 licensed bars and restaurants cited for phony booze in the crackdown, dubbed “Operation Swill,” are 13 TGI Fridays restaurants throughout New Jersey.

On Tuesday, investigators visited the establishments, inspected the bar areas and seized all opened bottles. About 1,000 bottles were seized and will undergo more testing by investigators and manufacturers. The investigators seized various brands of vodka, gin, rum, scotch, whiskey and tequila. Investigators also took statements from employees and served demands for sales records to the establishments, which have seven days to provide records of the brands of interest.

TGI Fridays issued a statement that said, “TGI Fridays was just made aware of this issue and is working closely with the franchisee and owner of the cited locations to review and investigate these serious allegations. We have one of the most extensive bar and beverage programs in the industry, which sets a very high standard in the quality and service of our beverages.”

A complete list of the 29 establishments and the alcohol being tested are listed on the State Attorney General’s website.

The investigation was sparked by information from confidential informants, consumer complaints and testing of samples.

In January and February, investigators took samples from 63 licensed establishments, some of which had complaints and others chosen at random, and “covertly” took 150 samples. Detectives ordered “neat” drinks with no ice or mixers

According to the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the penalties for serving a drink other than the one ordered range from a five-day suspension for the first offense to a 15-day suspension for the third offense.

A mislabeled bottle of alcohol could have multiple violations based on the potential drinks that could have been poured.

Regulations from the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control could also allow for a 30-day suspension for any illegal activity on the licensed premise. Locations could also face a 30-day suspension for not cooperating in the investigation.

(Image credit: Julio Cortez/AP Photo)

(Image credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

A judge ruled on Wednesday that customers who hold $210.5 million in gift cards from the defunct Borders chain aren’t eligible for refunds.

About 17.7 million gift cards were outstanding when Borders began liquidating its stores in July 2011 after failing to attract offers for the company.

Judge Andrew Carter for the U.S. District Court in Manhattan upheld a decision from a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in August 2012, which said the card holders did not prove they met the requirements for an exception to Borders’ liquidation.

The district court also decided the bankruptcy plan was too far along and that it would be unfair with respect to the remaining money and other general creditors.

“They are saying, ‘We didn’t give you notice and it’s too late now anyway even for the money that remains.’ We just disagree with that concept,” said Clinton Krislov, attorney for the gift card holders.

Borders, which at one time had 642 stores, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Feb. 2011. In that year, it announced 6,000 layoffs on February 17 and 10,700 layoffs July 19.

Krislov said he and the three plaintiffs will likely appeal to the Federal Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York.

The three plaintiffs sought legal representation at the end of 2011, after they discovered Barnes and Noble would not honor Borders gift cards. Barnes and Noble acquired some of Borders’ assets including its brand trademarks and their customer list.

“On the first day of the bankruptcy filing, it was recognized that gift card holders existed and they were entitled to a priority in the bankruptcy. What happened then was that no one bothered to give them any reasonable notice that they could file a claim and there was a deadline to file that claim.”

That deadline was June 1, 2011, which was described in a notice published by Borders in the New York Times at least 28 days prior to the deadline, as ordered by the bankruptcy court.

“The notice didn’t even mention gift cards. It really was more a way to cut them off than to give them effective notice,” Krislov said. No proofs of claim were filed by any of the millions of gift card holders, the court decision on Wednesday states.

Borders began its gift card program in 1998. While the company did not have a database identifying gift card holders, Krislov said the company could have notified the millions of customers in its database of customer email addresses.

Other companies have allowed for settlements for gift card holders in the event of a bankruptcy. After Sharper Image filed for bankruptcy on Feb. 19, 2008, the bankruptcy court approved a process through which gift card holders could receive a distribution from Sharper Image Corporation’s estate.

Wall Street may be in for a wild ride today after a sharp retreat for stocks in Japan. US stock futures dropped after the Nikkei index in Tokyo plunged 7.3 percent overnight, its worst one-day loss in more than two years. Global stock markets are in retreat, hammered by a one-two punch.

The first blow was struck when US markets turned from gains to losses after the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve. The minutes showed that a number of officials were ready to taper off the aggressive policy of quantitative easing, with the monthly purchase of $85 billion in government bonds. The Fed’s recent moves had helped push up stock prices.

The second shoe to drop came from China. The HSBC Purchasing Managers Index fell this month, adding to signs of a fragile economic recovery for the world’s second-largest economy is losing steam. HSBC economist Hongbin Qu in a statement, “The cooling manufacturing activities in May reflected slower domestic demand and ongoing external headwinds.” China’s economic growth slowed unexpectedly in the first quarter and forecasters have cut their growth outlook for the year.

Loan rates for more than 7 million students are set to double unless Congress acts by a July 1 deadline. The House is expected to pass a Republican plan linking student loan rates to the financial markets over a veto threat by President Obama. Under the GOP proposal, student loans would be reset every year and based on 10-year Treasury notes, with added percentage points. The Senate may reject the Republican bill which would provide some students a deal in the first years of the new system before ratcheting up interest rates later. Consumer groups and student organizations want low fixed rates. “The House is poised to throw college students under the bus by approving a student loan plan that drives up their costs,” said Christine Lindstrom, higher education director for the consumer advocacy group US PIRG. Republicans say holding onto cheap fixed rate loans is not realistic.

At first glance the numbers look awful for Hewlett-Packard. The world’s largest personal computer maker reported a seventh straight decline in quarterly revenue compared with the previous year. Sales plunged 10 percent for HP’s latest quarter. But the company cut costs and CEO Meg Whitman is overhauling product lines with pushes into more profitable niches in business software, data analysis and storage and technology consulting. The changes cheered investors. HP shares rose nearly 14 percent in after-hours trading.

The first-ever attempt by a solar-powered plane to fly day and night without fuel across the US is going well so far. The Solar Impulse landed early today at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport after taking off Wednesday from Phoenix. The plane flew its first leg from California in early May. The solar airplane plans to fly to New York in three stages. Each flight leg takes 20 or so hours, with multiday stops in each city. Pilot Andre Borschberg is one of the plane’s creators along with Bertrand Piccard.

Richard Davies Business Correspondent ABC News Radio abcnews.com Twitter: daviesabc

(Image credit: Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty Images)

Accustomed to their gas-guzzling counterparts, many Americans are hesitant to buy an electric or hybrid vehicle. But dealers and government incentives are luring drivers into the fold.

John O’Dell, senior green car editor for Edmunds.com, has leased a Nissan Leaf with his wife for the last two years. He said he is not sure he would lease an electric car if the federal tax credit of up to $7,500 were not available.

In O’Dell’s home state of California, he also received a state rebate of about $5,000.

“The state rebate made it even sweeter,” O’Dell said.

Plug-in cars comprised less than one percent of total vehicle sales in the U.S. in the first four months of the year, according to Hybridcars.com. But plug-in sales figures are double those of the first four months of last year, with help from discounts and incentives, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The drawbacks of an electric car include limited battery life or power per charge and lack of charging stations in some parts of the country.

The limited range of electric cars compared with gasoline models has been a drag on sales as drivers worry about being stuck far from home with a dead battery. The Nissan Leaf has an average range of 73 miles on a single charge, according to the EPA. Its city range is 129 miles while its highway range is 102 miles, says Nissan.

But the financial incentives are appealing.

People who purchase an electric car in or after 2010 may be eligible for the federal tax credit of up to $7,500, depending on the capacity of the vehicle’s battery. (The federal tax credit amounts per vehicle are described on the website FuelEconomy.Gov. You can learn more about your state’s incentives at the Energy Department’s Alternative Fuels Data Center website.)

Electric car buyers who owe less than $7,500 in taxes won’t get a full $7,500 in tax credits even if their electric car purchase is eligible for that amount. But some dealers who lease these cars are giving drivers a discount of the full $7,500 from the lease price.

Various states have different tax incentives. Among Georgia’s offerings, for instance, is an income tax credit to people who buy or lease a new zero emissions vehicle. The tax credit is 20 percent of the vehicle cost, up to $5,000.

At the time O’Dell leased the Nissan Leaf, it had a MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price) of about $36,000. Today, its MSRP is about $35,200 before federal tax savings.

While O’Dell’s commute is 110 miles round-trip, he can take advantage of a charging station by his office. He also happens to have a solar-powered home, so his electric bill is only about $45 a month. For longer trips, he uses one of his family’s other three cars.

“The car pretty much pays for itself every month,” O’Dell said of the Leaf. He said leasing an electric car worked “wonderfully” for him, but he knows not everyone in the country will have the same situation.

But as the price of electric cars falls and battery technology improves, O’Dell said it makes more sense to lease an electric car than to buy one.

“Batteries have a finite life and no one knows what that is yet,” he said.

These days, he said monthly lease deals for electric cars can be as low as $199 a month, such as for the Fiat 500 EV. Cars like the Fiat 500 EV are only available in California, marketed there to meet the state’s stringent emissions standards.

“A lot of these eclectic cars are not available nationally,” O’Dell said. “They’re expensive to build with a limited market.”

Cars like the Ford Focus and Tesla S are marketed nationally.

Read more: Tesla S is Motor Trend’s Car of Year

Eric Evarts, senior associate autos editor with Consumer Reports, agrees that it is better to lease an electric car than to buy one.

“I would say electric cars are the one thing where we would unequivocally recommend people lease,” Evarts said, “especially with some of these low subsidized rates, depending where you live.”

Evarts’ advice extends to hybrids like the Toyota Prius, though he said the Prius has been around since 2000 and has a longer track record and higher resale value.

Evarts cautions drivers considering a lease to consider what they plan to do after their lease ends, which is typically two years.

“You can extend the lease, but it tends to be that longer leases are less financially good deals,” Evarts said, adding that eventually repairs and updates like tire changes can lead to more expenses for a leased car.

(Image credit: Laurie Manzardo Photography)

A pizza mission to U.S. military service members in Afghanistan has made the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest pizza delivery.

Pizza 4 Patriots, a 501(c)3 registered non-profit based in Illinois, has been sending pizzas to military service members abroad for the last five years.

Last summer, Pizza 4 Patriots and shipping company DHL organized their biggest delivery yet: 30,000 pizzas to service members in Kandahar, Bagram and Camp Bastion in Afghanistan in celebration of Independence Day. The delivery began June 21, 2012. DHL donated its services (pictured above) and loaded the pizza shipments at a service center in Chicago.

In Photos: Record-Breaking Drinks and Dishes

Ian Clough, CEO of DHL Express U.S., said he was grateful to Pizza 4 Patriots  and proud of DHL’s “dedicated employees.”

“Feedback from U.S. troops who received the care packages has been heartwarming as they truly appreciate the recognition for their valuable service,” Clough said in a statement.

Mark Evans, the retired Air Force master sergeant who started Pizza 4 Patriots, said he has been working with Guinness since last summer for the record. After the necessary affidavits from witnesses were on record, Guinness officially recognized the delivery in April and notified Evans this month.

Evans said he is “completely pleased and overwhelmed.”

“The world record is secondary to taking care of our soldiers and sending them a slice of home,” Evans said.

The 12-inch pizzas were made by Great Kitchens, Inc. in Illinois with some donated ingredients and funded by various donors.

Earlier this year, Pizza 4 Patriots sent 21,000 pizzas to military members serving abroad during the Super Bowl. Next up, Evans has a goal of raising enough money to send 25,000 pizzas to troops across the world for this Independence Day.

In Photos: Over-the-Top Fast Food Creations

Courtesy: Nicki Howard

If Maryjane Hart considered herself the luckiest woman in Doniphan, Mo., for having her health, three grown kids and two steady jobs before last Saturday, she’s really lucky now.

The 57-year-old divorced convenience store clerk and pharmacy technician won $1 million in last Saturday’s $590 million Powerball jackpot on a ticket she sold herself, one week after winning another $500 on a Pick 4 ticket.

“We’re just little common people here in a very poor community so this has been a very big deal to everybody here,” Hart said of her hometown, population 2,000.  “It’s the buzz of the town.”

It took a while for Hart to believe the buzz herself after she got a call from her ex-husband Saturday afternoon telling her that a winning Powerball ticket had been purchased at the Hartland Pit Stop convenience store she owned for 25 years before selling it seven years ago. She’s now working there as a weekend cashier.

Read more: Seven States That Won’t Cash In on Powerball

“I said, ‘Well I had bought some tickets that morning,’ and he said, ‘Well, maybe you ought to check them,’” Hart recalled.

Hart drove to the closest store to check her tickets and walked away thinking she was a $10,000 winner.

“I slung that ticket in my purse and got out of there before anybody saw it,” she said.

She stopped at the next convenience store to check her ticket again.  This time both she and the convenience store clerk saw all six zeros and confirmed Hart was a $1 million winner.

One 30 minute phone call later–it took that long to convince her oldest daughter, Nicki, in Atlanta, that she had really won and was not joking–Hart decided to drive to the state lottery office in St. Louis Sunday night to claim her prize first thing Monday morning.

READ MORE: Single Mom’s Lottery Mistake Wins $14M

“I still didn’t believe it until we got to the lottery office and the guy started shaking his head and said congratulations,” Hart said.  “Then I knew it was real.”

Hart says she plays the lottery regularly but had never won more than the $500 she won the previous Friday on her Quick Pick ticket.  A devoted NASCAR fan, she usually chooses drivers’ numbers but this Saturday, in a haste to buy a ticket while she worked, she just did quick pick numbers.

Even without her NASCAR good luck numbers, Hart is now expecting a $710,000 direct deposit in her bank account, the amount she will receive after taxes.

Hart says she plans to use the money to take a Hawaiian vacation, “just as quick as my boss will let me take a week.”

Her boss would be her supervisor at Hometown Pharmacy, where she works Monday to Friday.  She only took one day – Monday, when she traveled to St. Louis to claim her prize – off from the pharmacy and says she plans to keep working.

“I’m bored if I don’t work,” she said of her two jobs.  “Anybody that knows me knows I’ll never quit working.”

In addition to going to “a lot more” NASCAR races, Hart also plans to reward her children with her newly won riches, specifically her son, David, who has severe disabilities stemming from a car accident when he was 17.

“Last week his Jeep wouldn’t run so I had to take him to get groceries and run errands,” Hart said.  “I told him I plan on buying him a vehicle that will start every morning.”

“He started crying,” she said.

Customers of the SuperAmerica gas station in Waconia, Minn., about 35 miles southwest of Minneapolis, were in for a treat to see discounted gas prices and tobacco products sold at half off over the weekend, not realizing that the new station owner was an alleged fraudster who paid for the station with a fake check.

The previous owner, Husein Sarameh, 51, said he sold the station in early April for $945,000. The buyer paid $203,000 for the down payment with a check, which Sarameh said bounced the next day.

But the new buyer, found through a broker, had already begun operating the business. Sarameh said his lawyers advised him he could not evict the new owner without a court order.

On Friday and Saturday, the new owner began selling discounted gas and tobacco and grocery products, some at half-off, as first reported by ABC affiliate KSTP.

Sarameh, who owns two other gas stations in a nearby town, said he was shocked by the brazen act of buying property with fake funds.

“You can’t buy property and write a fake check,” he said. “We have their driver’s license, name, and address. They think they can get away with it.”

Sarameh began reoperating the station on Monday with a grand re-opening sale with a discount of 5 cents a gallon; and customers with a rewards card can receive an additional discount of 3 cents a gallon.

Read more: Gas Prices Spike Ahead of Memorial Day

Paul Tschida, commander at the Carver County Sheriff’s office, said the case has been assigned to the investigations division, which is looking into what happened, including whether there was a bounced check and the allegations that gas and other products were illegally sold at discounted prices.

(Image credit: ABC News)

(Image credit: Brett Deering/Getty Images)

Dramatic scenes of tornado-wrought devastation and wrecked properties in Oklahoma this week are another potent reminder to renters and homeowners all across the country to take an inventory of everything they own before a storm hits.

It can make a big difference if your household suffers major damage.

“Go through your house with your smartphone,” suggests Kimberly Lankford, contributing editor of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. “Smartphones make this so much easier. Just take pictures and video of everything, because if you do have a claim you don’t have to piece together everything yourself.”

Smartphone apps can help you compile a complete list. “There’s one called knowyourstuff.org that makes it really easy to get that list of everything,” says Lankford.

Infographic: Tornado Facts

This can really help when making a claim to your insurance company. “Especially in a situation where so much is destroyed you don’t have to go through and look and remember. Also, if you can then email that to the insurance company that puts you ahead of the people who are still waiting to put their list together,” Lankford says.

After a big storm, fire or earthquake many people are trying to get their claims paid at the same time.

Read more: FEMA Funds and Insurance Expected to Give Some Relief to Okla. Homeowners

Putting your information at a secure site online can help you file a claim quickly and thoroughly.

“Anything you can do ahead of time can make a big difference,” says Lankford. “Getting your inventory squared away is a key thing.”

Richard Davies is the business correspondent for ABC News Radio.

Thousands of US auto workers may have to cancel their vacation plans. Growing consumer demand for cars and trucks has the industry changing its usual summer vacation schedule. Ford says the traditional two-week summer break is being cut to a single week. General Motors isn’t doing any shut downs. Chrysler plans a two-week break at only four of its 10 North American assembly plants. The biggest boost in demand is for full sized pickups – as the home construction industry rebounds from a very deep slump. After closing more than two dozen factories during the recession, American automakers need to use their remaining capacity to its fullest.

Today investors will be listening closely to what Ben Bernanke has to say before a joint congressional committee. He’s likely to hint the Federal Reserve will continue its big round of bond purchases and keep interest rates very low. The current policy of monthly $85 billion in purchases of mortgage-backed bonds and long-term Treasuries has encouraged lending and boosted stock prices. The “QE” policy drove interest rates down to record lows and makes stocks more attractive than tiny yields from bonds. More than 400 out of 500 companies in the S&P 500 pay dividends – and most are considerably higher than 10-year bond rates.

The reviews are in on how Apple CEO Tim Cook weathered an expected grilling from supposedly hostile members of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. His bid for the moral high ground proved “surprisingly successful,” says the Financial Times. The New York Times gushed: “Timothy Cook came to the lion’s den on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, prepared to face down lawmakers furious over evidence that Apple, the famous company he runs, had avoided paying billions in taxes. By the time Mr. Cook walked out, the big cats on a Senate committee were practically eating out of his hand.” Joshua Green of Bloomberg Businessweek listed “10 reasons why Tim Cook dominated Congress,” writing that he “spun a tale worthy of Mark Twain and emerged not only intact but unscathed. No one laid a glove on him.” Key to Cook’s success were charm, directness, knowing when to stay quiet, and calling for comprehensive reform of the corporate tax code.

Sony’s CEO Kazuo Hirai says the company’s board will discuss a proposal by American hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb to spin off up to 20 percent of its movie, TV and music division. Shares of Sony jumped after the announcement and have nearly doubled in value since Loeb began pushing for a break-up. Loeb said money from the sale could be used to shore up Sony’s ailing device manufacturing unit. Sony initially responded by saying its entertainment business was not for sale, though some analysts said the strategy might help Sony unlock hidden value.

The stock market rose to another record high. The Dow rose 52 points yesterday. The S&P 500 was up 3 points, which is a similar percentage gain. Home Depot rose more than 2 percent. Autozone surged 5 percent as home improvement and car sales rose.

Richard Davies Business Correspondent ABC News Radio abcnews.com Twitter: daviesabc

A shareholder showdown today at the annual meeting of JPMorgan Chase in Tampa. A vote is expected on a proposal to separate the jobs of chairman and CEO at the big bank. If the effort started by several large pension funds is successful it would be mean a demotions for Jamie Dimon, who now holds both jobs. Under Dimon’s watch JP Morgan has been more profitable than most other banks and its share price held up very well despite the 2008 financial crisis. But last year’s “London whale” trading losses on risky trades exposed the bank to widespread criticism and federal investigations. Some corporate government experts say JP Morgan needs a more independent board with better risk controls.

Apple may be highly profitable, but a Senate investigation found the company paid virtually no income tax to any government. Apple employs a group of affiliate companies to avoid paying billions of dollars in US taxes, according to the report. Apple CEO Tim Cook and other executives are set to testify today before a Senate panel. They could face a grilling from Senators who are critical of Apple’s tax strategies. The investigation found that Apple holds most of its $145 billion in cash overseas. The strategies used are legal, and many other multinational corporations use them to avoid paying US taxes on profits earned overseas. But Apple uses a unique twist, the report found. The company’s tactics raise questions about loopholes in the U.S. tax code. The firm denies using tax gimmicks.

Credit reporting agency TransUnion says Americans got better about paying their credit card debt on time in the first three months of the year. The rate of credit card payments at least 90 days overdue fell to 0.69 percent in the first quarter from 0.85 percent a year earlier. That’s a drop of nearly one-fifth.

The housing recovery boosted sales and earnings at Home Depot. Even though the weather was poor in many states compared with last year the largest home improvement chain posted an 18 percent increase in quarterly profits and a 4 percent gain in sales over last year. Home Depot shares rose 4 percent in premarket trading.

Richard Davies Business Correspondent ABC News Radio abcnews.com Twitter: daviesabc

University of Florida/AP Photo

After a fierce battle near the Everglades, a Florida man bagged a record 18-foot, 8-inch python, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Jason Leon, an amateur python collector, said he was driving in the northwestern part of Miami-Dade County – where the invasive species are known to seek the warm asphalt of the Everglades’ levies at night – when he came upon a 3-foot section of snake. He began to tug, he told the commission.

“Jason Leon’s nighttime sighting and capture of a Burmese python of more than 18 feet in length is a notable accomplishment that set a Florida record. The [commission] is grateful to him both for safely removing such a large Burmese python and for reporting its capture,” said Kristen Sommers, exotic species coordination section leader for the FFWCC.

But it wasn’t easy. As soon as Leon seized the animal near its head, it began coiling itself around him, he said. He then knew it was huge, according to the commission, longer than a Chevy Suburban SUV.  Leon said that as the animal began constricting he had to use a knife to slice the python’s 7- inch-long head off.

Biggest Python in Florida Snake Hunt Released Back into the Wild

The previous record python caught was more than 17 feet long but weighed 164 pounds and was found with eggs inside, according to the FFWC, which measured the snake.

It is estimated that between 10,000 and 100,000 pythons infest the Everglades. Many of them were said to have been let loose during Hurricane Andrew in 1991, when the storm flattened a python hatchery, apparently flinging pythons like Frisbees into the Everglades. It is also believed many pet pythons were released.

In Photos: Lady Gaga’s Finger Nail Selling for Over $700 and Other Pricey Items

(Image credit: Gregory Bull/AP Photo)

It’s almost Memorial Day and the price of driving for the first holiday weekend of the summer just got a bit higher.

The weekly average price of a gallon of regular gas is $3.67, up 7 cents from a week earlier, according to the Department of Energy.

Minnesota is ground zero for the high prices with a record high of $4.28, a rise of 44 cents in the just the last week, according to AAA. Other Midwestern states and the Rockies also saw spikes because of refinery outages due to planned maintenance and some  unplanned problems

This price rise can significantly increase the price of a summer trip.  Filling up your gas tank for a drive from Minneapolis to the Grand Canyon could cost up to $200 more today than it would have a month ago.

There may be some relief on the way though. As the summer gets going, prices are expected to start coming down in June.  For now though it will be a pricey holiday weekend at the pump, likely the most expensive since 2011.

While prices remain high some tips on how to save:

• Keeping your car out of the sun can, in fact, help you save some gas, this keep the gas from evaporating out of your tank.
• Also pump only when you need to and skip the mini fill ups because you end up wasting time gas hopping.
• Finally skip the AC when not on the highway. This will help you get the best mileage out of your car.

Image credit: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

News reports suggest Colgate-Palmolive applied to patent a caffeinated toothbrush, but the actual patent application only referred to a proposed device that hypothetically could release caffeine or any other substance or flavoring, and create sensations in a user’s mouth.

So maybe they did plan a caffeinated toothbrush. Maybe not.

Colgate-Palmolive did not return a request for comment.

In any event, Colgate’s application for an “oral care implement” actually was rejected by the U.S. Patent and Trade Office, but for reasons that had nothing to do with caffeine.

Caffeine-addicted people and the media were drawn to the story after backlash over other caffeine-laced products.

Earlier this month, Wrigley said it was withdrawing its new caffeinated gum from stores after the Food and Drug Administration said it would investigate into the safety of caffeine-added foods.

In April, Wrigley released Alert gum, a stick of which had an amount of caffeine equivalent to half a cup of coffee, the AP reported.

In Colgate’s application, the company described the technology as ”an oral care implement [that] includes a releasable sensory material that invokes a sensory response when in contact with tissues or surfaces of a mouth of a user.”

The company added that “the oral care implement may also include a soft tissue cleaner provided with the sensory material.”

The word “caffeine” was mentioned only once in the company’s application. That sentence read: “Other homeopathic teething or inflammation soothing additive include, but are not limited to Belladonna (atropa belladonna), caffeine and Passiflora Incarnata (Passionflower).”

The application also showed drawings that seemed to depict a toothbrush with various flavors or “sensory materials” such as lemon and mint.

Tracy Durkin, a director at the law firm Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox and a registered patent attorney, said the fuss over what sounded like Colgate’s plans for a toothbrush with caffeine actually appeared to be a material that only included caffeine as a possible element.

“They’re not trying to patent any material or flavoring,” Durkin said. “It’s about Colgate patenting a user experience.”

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office actually rejected the patent last month after an initial review showing that the combination of two other patents issued to parties other than Colgate had similar elements.

One was a chewable toothbrush and the other was a flossing patent.

“There are all sorts of crazy things patented,” Durkin said.

The application was filed in October 2012, and Colgate-Palmolive had three to six months to respond to the initial review.

Durkin said it typically takes three or four years to get a patent issued from the time it is filed.

Morning Business Memo…

Yahoo is spending $1.1 billion to buy the six-year-old blogging site Tumblr. The acquisition is the biggest yet for Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, and is part of her continuing push to give Yahoo credibility with a younger crowd, and make it a big player in the rapidly expanding world of social media and mobile devices. Tumblr is a popular site with an estimated 100 million users, but a billion bucks is a lot to pay for a company that has so little revenue–just $13 million last year. The trick will be to introduce advertising onto Tumblr without wrecking the user experience. The Wall Street Journal says Yahoo plans to allow David Karp, Tumblr’s 26-year-old CEO, “to continue to run the site and operate largely separately from the rest of Yahoo, people familiar with the matter said.”

The stock market shoots for the sky with more new records and no end in sight for the bull market. The Dow Jones index rose another 1.56 percent last week. A new report out today from business economists raises their outlook for growth and jobs over the next year. Last Friday’s report on consumer confidence from the University of Michigan added to the sense of optimism. The recent tumble for gold and other metals prices could send more investors into stocks.

Ben Bernanke gives his view of the economy this week. The Federal Reserve Board chairman will testify Wednesday before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. We’ll find out more about how the improving housing market is adding to the US economy when new home sales are released Thursday. Home improvement chains Home Depot and Lowes announce their quarterly earnings reports this week.

Gasoline prices are expected to rise again when the U.S. Energy Department releases its weekly survey today. The most expensive gas is in the Midwest where average prices in several states are over $4 a gallon. With global oil prices staying close to $95 a barrel for light sweet crude, the biggest cause of rising gas prices is refinery supply problems.

It’s a good day for United Airlines and Boeing’s 787 jetliner. The Dreamliner planes are returning to service after being grounded for four months by the federal government because of smoldering batteries. United’s first 787 flight is scheduled for 11 a.m. from Houston to Chicago.

Richard Davies Business Correspondent ABC News Radio abcnews.com Twitter: daviesabc

The Dow, S&P and NASDAQ stock indexes have posted four straight weeks of gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial average ended the day up 121 points to close the week at 15,354. Year-to-date, the Dow is up 17 percent.  

Hewlett-Packard, Boeing and Disney (parent company of ABC News) have been the biggest winners in 2013.

There are only two stocks in the Dow 30 that are down for the year – Alcoa, which is down just half a percent, and Caterpillar, which is lower by a little more than 2 percent.

The S&P 500 also closed the week at an all-time high. Like the Dow, the S&P is up just about 17 percent this year.  The S&P has also been up 17 of the last 21 sessions.

The NASDAQ, a tech heavy index, closed the week at a new 12 1/2-year high. The NASDAQ is up nearly 16 percent this year.

But forget a 16 percent gain: How about a 160-percent gain? That’s how much shares of Netflix have soared this year.

One of the key drivers for the move higher today was the report that consumers were feeling more confident about the market and the economy. The Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for May climbed to its highest level in almost six years.

“Overall, a number of indicators in the economy have been improving,” said Rebecca Jarvis, ABC News’ chief business and economics correspondent, “and that has positively impacted the mind and the psychology of the American consumer.”

The big question is where is the market headed from here and whether it safe to put your money in the market now.

IHS Global Insight Economist Paul Edelstein believes “stocks can still do well in this environment.”

But he added, “There is a little more risk now than there was at the start of the year when stocks were cheap.”

Getty Images

If service with a smile results in a good tip, then Steak n’ Shake waitress CeCe Bruce is smiling from ear to ear.

Bruce, a waitress for the past two years at a Steak n’ Shake in Indianapolis, is $446 richer after a longtime customer left her a tip in that amount on a $5.97 order.

“My first reaction was, ‘Miss Jo, I’m not taking your money,’” Bruce, 31, told ABCNews.com.  “It was crazy.”

The customer, identified only as Miss Jo, eats at her local Steak n’ Shake at least once a week and was evidently feeling very generous when she came in for breakfast Wednesday morning.

“She asked me if she could leave me a ridiculously large tip, but I did not know that it was that large,” said Bruce, who described Miss Jo as a middle-aged woman – “my angel.”

“She didn’t even give me time to tell her, ‘Thank you,’ or anything,” Bruce said.  “When I went back to get my manager, she took off out the door.  I went outside and she said, ‘You’re going to take that money,’ and drove off.”

“I haven’t had the time to even express my gratitude to her,” she said.

What Bruce has had time to do is put the $446 tip to good use by paying her bills.

“I’ve already spent it,” said Bruce, who, in addition to her full-time waitress job, is a full-time student at Martin University studying psychology.

She is also already back at work at Steak n’ Shake, speaking to ABCNews.com in between serving customers.

As to her secret for delivering service good enough to warrant an approximately 7,000-percent tip, Bruce was humble in her own praise.

“I’m not exactly sure,” she said.  “I just try to have a nice personality.  I do my job to the best of my ability every day.”

Louisiana, Tennessee and North Dakota showed an increase in the unemployment rate, while rates were unchanged in seven states, according to the Labor department.

The country’s unemployment rate is 7.5 percent, the lowest since December 2008.

Although companies are adding jobs, part of the reason for the decline in unemployment is because people have stopped looking for work.  They are either discouraged by their prospects of getting a job or they are joining the swelling ranks of retiring baby boomers.

Texas, New York and Florida saw the most jobs added, while Wisconsin and Minnesota saw the biggest drop in unemployment.

Nevada had the highest unemployment rate at 9.6 percent, though this is down significantly from a high of 14 percent in October 2010.

North Dakota, meanwhile, had the lowest jobless rate at 3.3 percent.  The state’s unemployment rate has been persistently low because of the oil and gas boom facilitated by hydraulic fracturing.

The housing recovery is playing its part in the job market, as many of the job added in Texas and Florida for instance were in construction.

Here’s the rundown of state rates:

Alabama — 6.9%

Alaska — 6.0%

Arizona — 7.9%

Arkansas — 7.1%

California — 9.0%

Colorado — 6.9%

Connecticut — 8.0%

Delaware — 7.2%

D.C. — 8.5%

Florida — 7.2%

Georgia — 8.2%

Hawaii — 4.9%

Idaho — 6.1%

Illinois — 9.3%

Indiana — 8.5%

Iowa — 4.7%

Kansas — 5.5%

Kentucky — 7.9%

Louisiana — 6.5%

Maine — 6.9%

Maryland — 6.5%

Massachusetts — 6.4%

Michigan — 8.4%

Minnesota — 5.3%

Mississippi — 9.1%

Missouri — 6.6%

Montana — 5.5%

Nebraska — 3.7%

Nevada — 9.6%

New Hampshire — 5.5%

New Jersey — 8.7%

New Mexico — 6.7%

New York — 7.8%

North Carolina — 8.9%

North Dakota — 3.3%

Ohio — 7.0%

Oklahoma — 4.9%

Oregon — 8.0%

Pennsylvania — 7.6%

Puerto Rico — 13.7%

Rhode Island — 8.8%

South Carolina — 8.0%

South Dakota — 4.1%

Tennessee — 8.0%

Texas — 6.4%

Utah — 4.7%

Vermont — 4.0%

Virginia — 5.2%

Washington — 7.0%

West Virginia — 6.6%

Wisconsin — 7.1%

Wyoming — 4.8%

credit: Dan Milano/ABC News

 Where do wildly popular fast food ideas come from?

According to Gary Cole: Prison.

That is the contention of Cole, who claims that it was he who invented Taco Bell’s famous Doritos Locos tacos while doing time in maximum security federal prison in Florence Colorado.  He is so adamant about it that on May 15 he filed a federal lawsuit in Dallas alleging that Taco Bell, along with Pepsi, Frito Lay and Taco Bell parent Yum Brands, stole his idea.

Cole has been incarcerated since 1997, when he was given a was given a 25-year sentence  for “delaying interstate commerce, conspiring to do so, and using and carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence,” according to court papers. Fellow inmates include alleged September 11 co-planner  Zacarias Moussaoui, shoe bomber Richard Reid and Unabomber Ted Kaczynski.

Cole claims that in 2006 he sent his lawyer a notarized document with a list of nine products he devised, the Dallas Observer reports.

The majority fall under a brand he called “Divas and Ballers,” which include hot sauce, body oil, clothing line, and shoes and accessories. But second on the list was a “Tacos [sic] shells of all flavors (made of Doritos).”

In his 35-page handwritten complaint, Cole–who is representing himself–alleges that in 2010 he had sent his original list via certified mail to Janice B. Cole and Keonia K. Cole. That letter, he maintains, was “stolen through the United States Postal Service Brand and Submitted to Frito Lays [sic], Taco Bell, Yum Brands.”

He contacted the FBI, and also sent a Freedom of Information Act request to Taco Bell, asking to be sent documents relating to the invention of Doritos Loco Tacos. Private companies are generally not subject to FOI laws, however.

He also wrote to the IRS, that “a check was made out to a person for a large amount by Taco Bell, Frito Lay, and Pepsi Co. Inc. for an idea or invention that was submitted to them by theft and fraud.”

While Cole did not specify a monetary amount in his civil action, he did ask the court to place “a lean [sic] and moratorium” on “Taco Bell, Frito Lays, Pepsi Co, Yum Brands, et al. for the fraudulent and concealment, theft, lying, and covering up, to violate patent and trademark, invention and United States Constitutional Rights, to steal the taco shells made of Doritos of all flavors.”  [sic]

In an email statement to ABC News, Taco Bell spokesperson Rob Poetsch said that “Given the unprecedented success of Doritos Locos Tacos, we are not surprised others may seek to claim credit.  The reality is, the suit is completely without merit as our product innovation team continuously develops and tests new menu concepts, and as a policy we do not accept unsolicited ideas, period.”

READ MORE ABOUT TACO BELL’S REVOLUTIONARY TACOS

Image credit: Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images

Bill Gates has regained his title as richest man in the world after five years out of the top spot, beating Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim.

The net worth of Gates, founder of Microsoft and co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, hit a five-year high on Thursday at $72.7 billion, topping that of Slim, 73, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Gates last held the title, which has also been held by Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO Warren Buffett, five years ago.

Though Gates, 57, is still chairman of Microsoft, he only owns about 5 percent of it, reports Forbes. Microsoft shares are up 28 percent this year. Bloomberg figures that Gate’s fortune has risen 15 percent this year.

Slim’s net worth has dropped about $3 billion due to regulatory issues with his company, America Movil SAB, the largest mobile-phone operator in the Americas, according to Bloomberg. The Mexican government passed a law earlier this month reforming the telecommunication industry by boosting competition.

Slim’s company controls 80 percent of Mexico’s landline phone market and 70 percent of the wireless market, according to Forbes.

Gates also holds the title of “world’s most generous person,” not only promising to give half his wealth to charitable causes, but recruiting other wealthy people along with Buffett to join their group, The Giving Pledge.

Read more: Spanx Founder First Female Billionaire to Join Gates’ Giving Pledge

Consumer confidence rose this month to 83.7 – better than expected and its highest level since July 2007, according to the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index.

“Overall, a number of indicators in the economy have been improving,” said Rebecca Jarvis, ABC News’ chief business and economics correspondent, “and that has positively impacted the mind and the psychology of the American consumer.”

“The Dow above 15,000 for the first time, the S&P 500 hitting new records every day — that helps when you think about the mind of the consumer,” Jarvis said. “As does housing values improving, as does the fact that gasoline prices have sunk to a large degree over the last couple of months.”

There is one place where there’s still room for improvement.

“The jobs picture,” Jarvis said. “It has improved to some degree, [but] it’s still not where we would consider normal.”

U.S. employers added 165,000 jobs to their payrolls last month, taking the unemployment rate down to 7.5 percent.

“A normal jobs picture would be with unemployment more like 5 or 6 percent,” Jarvis said, “and we’re still a ways away from that.   The reason we care so much about a number like this is that it looks at what the future of our economy could hold and it looks at it from the perspective of the consumer,” Jarvis said.

“Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic growth and so when the consumer is feeling better, the consumer tends to spend more,” she added.

In a separate report, the index of leading indicators from The Conference Board – a non-profit business research group – rose 0.6 percent last month. The index aims to predict future growth and was pushed higher by the housing recovery.

Some of the biggest names in shopping had a tough first quarter as cautious consumers reduced spending. Wal-Mart, Nordstrom and Kohl’s all reported a small decline in sales, largely because of the rise in payroll taxes that took a bite out of household spending. Affluent consumers may be enjoying the benefits of the soaring stock market and rising home values, but many other Americans are struggling to maintain their living standards. Things are even worse at JC Penney, which reported a large loss on a 16 percent plunge in revenue. It marks the fifth straight quarter that Penney posted big declines.

The latest reading on consumer confidence comes out today from The University of Michigan. Most recent surveys show confidence is higher than it was during the recession but is not back to the levels of six or seven years ago: “I think the consumer remains pretty cautious. They are willing to spend but in a reserved manner,” says Niraj Shah, CEO of the home goods website Wayfair. “We saw when things sort of went down in 2008 the price point of goods that people would buy decreased and to be honest that hasn’t really increased much since then.” While many brick and mortar retailers are still facing a decline in revenues, Shah says “the big accelerant is that they are being more and more comfortable buying online.”

The price of gold is down again this morning – the seventh daily loss in a row. Gold has dropped nearly 5 percent this week as investors go elsewhere for returns. Fears about rising inflation have proved unfounded. Yesterday a Labor Department survey reported that the cost of living dropped last month largely because of falling energy prices.

Tough times at Dell. Earnings plunged 79 percent in the latest quarter as sales dropped 2 percent. Dell is suffering from the switch away from PCs and desktop computers to smartphones and tablets.

Big banks are looking to pull back from Bloomberg’s instant messaging platforms. Citigroup is banning traders in its foreign exchange division from accessing internal chat groups on their Bloomberg terminals, says the Financial Times. The decision is the latest sign of unease after Bloomberg gave its reporters access to proprietary financial data on its terminals. Fearful of online snooping, some big financial firms may rely more on their own services, and seek to renegotiate their contracts with Bloomberg.

Bill Gates is back on top. For the first time since 2007 he’s the world’s richest person with a fortune valued at $72.7 billion, according to Bloomberg. Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, regained the top spot after the software company’s shares reached a five-year high. Microsoft is up 28 percent so far this year. Second on the wealthy list is the Mexican telecommunications billionaire, Carlos Slim.

Richard Davies Business Correspondent ABC News Radio abcnews.com Twitter: daviesabc