Trust Digest 162 (October 24, 2016)

Celebrities’ endorsement earnings on social media
More than 200,000 Instagram posts per month this year have been sponsored content. Paying celebrities to endorse products on social media allows firms to reach younger customers. It is also lucrative for celebrities and ordinary people with a big online presence: someone with 3m-7m followers can charge some $187,500 for a YouTube post and $75,000 for posts on Instagram or Snapchat.  
Key Words: Social Media, celebrity endorsement earnings  
Trust Issues: Transparency  

Highland Capital Investors Allege Wrongdoing in Long-Closed Hedge Funds  
Investors in two hedge funds Highland Capital Management closed in 2008 say they are still owed hundreds of millions of dollars, and are suing the firm to recover the money.
Key Words: Hedge Funds, 2008  
Trust Issues: Risk Tolerance, Capability 

Hired experts support claims St. Jude heart devices can be hacked 
Short-selling firm Muddy Waters said in a legal brief filed on Monday that outside cyber security experts it hired have validated its claim that St. Jude Medical Inc cardiac implants are vulnerable to potentially life-threatening cyber attacks.
Key Words: Muddy Waters, St. Jude, heart device hacking  
Trust Issues: Benevolent Concern, Capability, Risk Tolerance 

Whole Foods in Detroit Is Probed Amid Link to Hepatitis A  
Health officials in Detroit have opened an investigation into a local Whole Foods Market Inc. store over fears that two recently diagnosed cases of hepatitis A may be linked to the grocer’s prepared-foods section.  
Key Words: Whole Foods, Hepatitis A  
Trust Issues: Transparency, Honesty, Capability 

Lawsuit Over Cellphones and Cancer Hits a Stumbling Block  
An appeals court in Washington, D.C., on Thursday dealt a setback to a long-running lawsuit against the wireless industry over health concerns surrounding cellphones, deciding that a different legal standard for evidence should have been applied.  
Key Words: Cellphones, cancer, lawsuit  
Trust Issues: Transparency, Situational Adjustment  

Medicare Spent $359 Million on Unnecessary Chiropractic Care in 2013, Audit Finds  
More than 80% of the money that Medicare paid to chiropractors in 2013 went for medically unnecessary procedures, a new federal audit found. 
Key Words: Medicare, unnecessary procedures  
Trust Issues: Honesty, Integrity  

National Cancer Institute Says Researchers Didn’t Quickly Tell FDA After Two Deaths in a Lymphoma Study    
The National Cancer Institute has concluded that some of its lymphoma researchers failed to notify the Food and Drug Administration in a timely fashion about fungal infections that resulted in two deaths of patients in one of its research studies. 
Key Words: National Cancer Institute, lymphoma study  
Trust Issues: Conflict of Interests, Transparency, Honesty    

U.S. Oversight of MetLife Called Into Question at Court Hearing  
U.S. oversight of MetLife Inc. was called into question Monday at a court hearing where the Obama administration sought to reassert the federal government’s authority to regulate the large insurance firm. 
Key Words: MetLife, regulation  
Trust Issues: Transparency, Adjustment 

EU, Canada Trade Deal Blocked by Belgian Opposition    
Belgium said Monday it wouldn’t support a trade deal between the European Union and Canada after one of its regions continued to block the pact, dashing hopes of signing the accord later this week. 
Key Words: EU, Canada, trade deal  
Trust Issues: Capability, Alignment of Interests 

Webcams used to attack Reddit and Twitter recalled    
Home webcams that were hijacked to help knock popular websites offline last week are being recalled in the U.S. 
Key Words: Webcams, recall, hacking  
Trust Issues: Risk Tolerance, Situational Security