Consumer Confidential: GM rocks, corn-free ketchup, dart-gun recall

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Here’s your mystery-tour Monday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

--You go, GM. After 10 straight quarters of losing money, General Motors has reported $865 million in quarterly profit, with revenue up a whopping 40%. This is great news for you and me because we own nearly two-thirds of the company, thanks to Uncle Sam stepping in with $52 billion in bailout cash. GM has since undergone a massive restructuring and dropped a number of lower-performing brands, including Pontiac, Saturn and Saab. Now the trick will be maintaining its newly profitable ways.

--If you drown your burger in Hunt’s ketchup, here’s some potentially good news: The maker of Hunt’s, ConAgra Foods, says it has removed high-fructose corn syrup from the brand because of health concerns. High-fructose corn syrup is seen as a key contributor to the obesity epidemic making many of us, and especially kids, really fat. However, some experts say food companies aren’t really doing us any favors. They’re replacing corn syrup with cane sugar, which is believed to be just as bad for you.

--Family Dollar Stores is recalling 1.8 million toy dart guns because a couple of kids suffocated after swallowing the one-inch darts. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says parents should immediately take the dart guns from children and get rid of them. The guns are sold under the ‘Auto Fire’ brand and, yes, were manufactured in China.

-- David Lazarus