Consumer Confidential: Gas prices declining, Wal-Mart giving, satellites clashing

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Here’s your what-me-worry Wednesday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

--Summer driving season is almost here, and gas prices are heading ... down? That’s what the experts are now forecasting after previously saying we would take a spanking at the pump amid a surge in oil prices. I’ll believe it when I see it.

--Who says big companies can’t be good citizens? Our friends at Wal-Mart say they’ll contribute $2 billion in food and cash to food banks to help fight hunger nationwide. ‘Hunger is just a huge problem, and as the largest grocer in the country, we need to be at the head of the pack in doing something about it,’ said Margaret McKenna, president of the Wal-Mart Foundation. You go, girl.

--If you notice your cable reception getting a little spotty, here’s why: A wayward satellite thousands of miles above the planet could interfere with the orbit of another satellite, and the people who specialize in such things say this could mess up cable signals across the United States. It’s unclear whether mission control (or whatever) will be able to remedy the situation, or how long any interference could last. But rest assured, our greatest scientific minds are on the case.

-- David Lazarus