Money Minute: Probe Into GM Recall Shifts Into High Gear

The Justice Department’s investigation into General Motor’s ignition switch problems is kicking into high gear.

Federal prosecutors are sending out subpoenas to get to the bottom of who knew what at GM (GM) when it comes to the automaker’s faulty ignition switches that killed at least 13 people and lead to massive recalls.

The subpoenas come on the heels of documents released by a House panel that reveals a top executive at GM knew about the defects in 2005. GM has already paid $35 million in fines to settle charges it broke federal auto safety regulations but a criminal investigation could lead to much higher fines. Toyota had to pay $1.2 billion to settle its recent Justice Department investigation.

U.S. companies are starting to feel the sting of the Edward Snowden scandal. The German government has just canceled its contract with Verizon (VZ). Officials cited worries about data security as the reason for the change. Snowden alleged U.S. telecom companies provided data to intelligence agencies for surveillance purposes and even tapped into German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s personal phone. Telecom and Internet giants like Verizon and Google (GOOG) claim they didn’t actively participate in the surveillance programs.

Here on Wall Street on Thursday, stocks fell. The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) dropped 21 points, the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) fell almost 1 point and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index (^GPSC) lost 2 points.

The New York Stock Exchange just received another feather to add to its cap. The exchange has been chosen as the site for Alibaba’s U.S. listing which is expected to be one of the largest IPOs in U.S. history. The exchange beat out the Nasdaq, which is traditionally favored by tech companies but its reputation was sullied somewhat after Facebook’s (FB) botched IPO. Alibaba will trade under the ticker “BABA” and could begin trading in August.

And finally, Amazon.com (AMZN) wants to deliver your dinner. The e-commerce king is preparing to launch a takeout app that could be a threat to Seamless, GrubHub (GRUB) and other online food delivery sites. It will initially be a part of Amazon Local, which offers coupons from merchants in your area. The service will start in Seattle and then branch out to other parts of the country and eventually go global.

If you want to take a drive across the country but haven’t got wheels and don’t want to rent a car, there are websites like Auto Driveaway that will help you find a car to drive for someone who is moving and doesn’t want to drive their own car. For the return trip, either wait for a car to drive back or book a cheap flight home. It’s a great way to see the country if you have the time.
1. Road trips

Companies want to know more about you so they can market to you. If you’re willing to give up some information about yourself — like your career title or location – you can get a free year’s subscription to a variety of magazines. In recent months, we’ve seen popular titles like W Magazine, Wired, Wine Spectator, Maxim and Lucky, all for free.
2. Magazine subscriptions

It’s a given that your friends should buy your drinks on your birthday, but before you get to the bar, keep in mind that plenty of businesses offer free things on your special day as well. The trick is to plan ahead and hit as many of them as you can.
3. Birthday treats

Many restaurants offer free meals for kids if they’re accompanied by a paying adult. However, some do so only on certain nights, so it’s worth checking MyKidsEatFree.com to find restaurants in your area that offer free kids’ meals. This site could also be handy for diners without kids who want to make sure they don’t visit on nights when a throng of children is likely to be there.
4. Dining out with kids

Did you know that Aug. 3 is Free National Watermelon Day? Almost every day of the year is some type of national food day, and restaurants are always looking for opportunities to run promotions. Check your local restaurants, or do a Google search for your city and the free food you’re looking for. While you might not be able to score freebies regularly enough to avoid ever paying for food, you can certain get at least monthly free food, drinks, and the like.
5. Food for everyone else

If you’re a fan of phones with Google’s (GOOG) operating system, then you’re in luck; so many new Android smartphones are released these days that the market has become saturated — and as a result, most models quickly fall to $0 (with new two-year contracts) after a few months. Even trendy models with lots of media hype eventually follow the same deal path; in fact, based on patterns we’ve seen thus far, we’re predicting that the Samsung Galaxy S5 could become free with a contract as soon as this summer.
6. Android smartphones

We regularly see both Newegg and Fry’s Electronics offer free anti-virus software, to the extent that you could get away without ever paying for it. The caveat is that you must buy it and then redeem a rebate to make it free. But paperwork is a small price to pay in the pursuit of a good deal. If you’re adverse to rebates, there are also always-free options like Avast.
7. Anti-virus software

Getting a full album for free can be difficult, but with the number of music credit freebies we see bundled with Amazon (AMZN) deals, you should be able to amass a stockpile of credits to purchase a number of MP3 downloads that tempt you. Amazon has about 50,000 free songs available for download. Plus, Apple’s (AAPL) iTunes, Starbucks (SBUX) and other vendors tend to distribute free songs on a weekly basis. Free music downloads can be found elsewhere, too.
8. MP3 downloads

Besides going to the library — which is an obvious first place to start for free books — there are lots of ways to get free digital books. Project Gutenberg has more than 39,000 free eBooks, and there is a Free Books app for the iPad. Free e-books are listed on DealNews. If you have shelves full of physical books that you’d like to swap out, sites such as PaperBack Swap and Bookmooch allow you to mail your books to members who request them, and you can request books from others. The more books you give, the more you can receive. These sites are free to join, but the sender does pay postage.
9. Books

While cutting the cable cord entirely isn’t as easy as you might think, the ways to consume movies and TV without paying a cent include free streaming sites like Hulu and Amazon Prime. Keep an eye out for free movie screenings; large studios will frequently try to give a film early buzz by showing it for free to audiences. Additionally, Fandango frequently offers buy one, get one ticket deals for certain cardholders; and now that it’s summertime, many parks, libraries and towns have movie nights.
10. Movies and TV

While they might not always come in the exact dimensions you’d like, you can regularly find some sort of freebie photo print deal from the likes of Snapfish, Walgreen (WAG) and CVS (CVS). Shutterfly also offers regular freebies, but shipping will tack on a small fee.
11. Photo prints

Many health and beauty companies offer free samples, and like free magazines, you’ll have to offer up some personal information to get the goods. Keep an eye out for free samples from Target (TGT) and Walmart (WMT). Individual brands also offer free samples of new cosmetics they’re trying to promote, but if you want to skip the customary six to eight weeks for delivery, you can instead scout out free samples at drugstore counters and Sephora.
12. Travel-sized cosmetics

Free apps are everywhere. And at some point even the typically expensive titles see a temporary price drop. If you’re particular, set up an email alert and wait for the app of your choosing to fall in price.
13. Smartphone apps

While you can’t always wait around for free shipping when a special promotion is on the table, everyday orders that aren’t time-sensitive can benefit from waiting for a shipping discount. We frequently see a variety of popular vendors offer some sort of shipping deals, which makes it hard to justify spending your cash on the service for an average order.
14. Shipping

As a society, we often dispose of perfectly good items in the pursuit of finding something newer or better, so before you make any large purchases, because sure to check Craigslist and Freecycle for free goods. Often, people just don’t want to make the effort to move or properly trash them, so you can sometimes get something substantial — like a wardrobe or shelving unit — without paying. It goes without saying though that you should make sure any and all items are in working order and in good shape. You don’t want to be hauling away another person’s junk, even if it is free.
15. Everything else

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