Former Michael Copps is very worried about media consolidation. Apparently spurred by what Copps calls "the stunning announcement that Comcast hopes to buy Time-Warner … for more than $45 billion" — a merger that he says could "run roughshod over consumers" — Copps has penned this lengthy "Dear Journalists" letter in the Columbia Journalism Review. Here's […]
Author Archives: Brian Wolfman
by Brian Wolfman Remember JP Morgan Chase's agreement with the federal government to pay $13 billion to settle claims that it knowingly sold faulty mortgage securities that contributed to the financial crisis? For a refresher, go here and here. Now, the non-profit group Better Markets — whose tagline says it is a "nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that […]
On this blog and elsewhere, some posters have questioned the effectiveness of disclosure as a form of consumer protection. But disclosure remains an important feature of consumer financial protection statutes (RESPA and TILA are good examples), and many regulators think it is an important, if not the only, part of an overall regulatory strategy. With […]
That's the name of this article by law professor Jonathan Marcantel. Here's the abstract: In 2009, the Secretary of the Treasury (“the Secretary”) implemented the Home Affordable Modification Program (“HAMP”), a program designed to minimize foreclosures by providing incentives to loan servicers who modify eligible mortgages. Notwithstanding both its design and goal, HAMP has largely […]
CVS stops selling tobacco (on October 1, 2014) because it's "the right thing to do." Wow.
As this National Consumer Law Center press release explains, seven major banks last month left the payday loan business in response to regulatory pressure and outcry from advocacy organizations. What effects that has on the payday loan market and consumers who particiapte in it remains to be seen. Here's a brief excerpt from NCLC's release: […]
John J. Mulligan, the Chief Financial Officer of Target, has published Time for smart cards in The Hill. He says that the risks from credit- and debit-card theft can be significantly reduced if the U.S. imbeds "smart card" technology in credit and debit cards. Here's an excerpt (omitting stuff about how swell Target is): The […]
We've posted several times on self-driving cars (also known as driverless cars or autonomous cars). Go, for instance, here, here, and here. But none of our posts considered the tort liability scheme when self-driving cars run into pedestrians, other cars, or property? Sophia Duffy and Jamie Patrick Hopkins have figured it out in Sit, Stay, […]
by Brian Wolfman We've told you before about the huge reductions in on-the-road deaths caused by various forms of vehicle safety regulations. And we heard just yesterday about the latest vehicle safety rule-in-the-making–not many years away–being pushed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA): cars talking to each other to avoid crashes. But seat […]
Most smokers start as kids. The FDA wanted the tobacco companies to put gruesome pictures illustrating the health hazards of smoking on all tobacco packages, but the First Amendment got in the way. So, now, according to this AP story, the FDA is running its own ad campaign to warn teens against smoking. Here's an […]