The 24/7 Wall St./Flame Index, The Companies With The Worst PR: March 16

Investing

Published: March 16, 2011 10:21 am

Healthnet was hammered on news that it “missplaced” data on 2 million customers. Toyota (NYSE: TM) remained high on the list due to concerns about Japanese production and sales. Regulatory problems and costs may crush margins at Massey (NYSE :MEE)

Note: The Flame Index scans thousands of news sites 24 hours per day and ranks companies getting the most negative press right now. The Flame Index Media Analysis Algorithm crunches the data for an up-to-the-minute ranking of the hardest-hit companies.
The Flame Index started as a research tool in 2008 at the NY Innovation Design Lab (nyidlab). It was used as a general metric to evaluate companies and their risk in the media. Publicly traded Fortune 500 companies are used as a measure to calculate an overall market of negative news and the companies are ranked within that market

Rank	Company	Ticker	Score	Change in Rank	Comments
1	Health Net	HNT	50.89	+4	Loses data on 2 million customers
2	Fannie Mae	FNMAS	50.794	0	Investors frantic about stock losses
3	Toyota Motor Corporation	TM	42.803	+9	Japan earthquake
4	Consol Energy	CNX	36.695	0	Worries about companies with reactors
5	Massey Energy	MEE	36.304	+69	Regulatory costs could be huge after mine disaster
6	Lubrizol	LZ	35.914	-5	Buyout by Buffett riles investors
7	General Electric	GE	35.211	+3	Large reactor builder faces liability costs
8	Duke Energy	DUK	33.883	+5	Another nuclear facility operator
9	Bank of America Corp.	BOA	33.467	-2	Leaks of internal memos may embarrass
10	Freddie Mac	FMCC	33.137	+181	Mortgage problems and losses deepen

Data and ranking provided by the Flame Index.

The Average American Is Losing Their Savings Every Day (Sponsor)

If you’re like many Americans and keep your money ‘safe’ in a checking or savings account, think again. The average yield on a savings account is a paltry .4% today, and inflation is much higher. Checking accounts are even worse.

Every day you don’t move to a high-yield savings account that beats inflation, you lose more and more value.

But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying 9-10x this national average. That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe, and get paid at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other one time cash bonuses, and is FDIC insured.

Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes and your money could be working for you.