If you own a Ford F-150, or a Lincoln Mark LT pickup truck, then you want to pay special attention to this, as Ford (NYSE: F) has announced that more than 655,000 of these vehicles are being recalled at this time.

The reason behind the current recalls is a possible problem with a hose that can affect the trucks' ability to brake properly. So far, Ford claims that there have been 11 accidents resulting from the faulty hoses, but that there have been no injuries to date.

The vehicles in question involve the 2005 and 2006 models of the trucks that come with the 5.4 liter 3-valve engines. If you have one of these trucks you should contact your local Ford dealer as soon as possible and get your replacement hose, at no cost to you.

Most of the trucks in question are located in the United States, which accounts for more than 600,000 of the trucks. Canadian residents account for another 50,000 vehicles, with the small remainder being located in other countries around the world.

Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last four years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.

It is starting to sound like a broken record, but today we get news of more recalls of toys made in China. Today's annoucement involves around a little more than 600,000 items of children's toys and jewelry.

The culprit of today's recall is once again excessive amounts of lead paint in the products. About one-third of today's announced recalls by the Consumer Product Safety Commission involve the popular Thomas & Friends toy line.

Earlier this summer, RC2 (NASDAQ: RCRC), maker of the toy product line had a recall of around 1.5 million items, and today's recall involves another 200,000 more of the popular toys.

It definitely seems like there are going to be more recalls coming as more intense scrutiny gets applied to Chinese imports. With the upcoming Christmas shopping season parents are definitely going to be cautious of what they buy, and rightfully so. For a complete list of products recalled in today's recall and in past months recalls, you can find a comprehensive list on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's website.

More infant deaths, this time not from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), but rather, badly-designed cribs.

According to today's reports: "About 1 million Simplicity and Graco Inc (GGG) cribs are being recalled after three children became entrapped in their cribs and died of suffocation, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Friday. Two infants, a 6-month-old and a 9-month-old, died in the recalled cribs, which were sold through May 2007. A 1-year-old child died in a newer model of the cribs, which has not been recalled but is being investigated by the safety agency, CPSC officials said. In all three deaths, the consumer had installed the drop-rail side of the crib upside down, the CPSC said. This creates a gap in the crib that children can slide into and suffocate. Seven other infants have been entrapped in the cribs, according to the CPSC. There have been 55 reports of the cribs' drop sides detaching or the hardware failing to hold the side to the crib."

How does this happen? Why does this happen? The companies in question are not novices. Guess what...Simplicity Inc., of Reading, Pa., is listed as manufacturer of all the cribs, which were made in China. I think this is another example of an American company losing control of the process and forgetting that our product safety standards are not universal and that developing countries with rapidly expanding industrialization just don't get it.