by Jeff Sovern I recently listened to the audio version of a book authored, by two Nobel Prize winners, George A. Akerlof & Robert J. Shiller, titled Phishing for Phools: The Economics of Manipulation and Deception. Their basic thesis is that while free markets have the salutary effect of encouraging sellers to provide things that consumers want, free […]
Author Archives: Jeff Sovern
Maybe not, according to this NY Times article. Excerpt: [S]ome argue that the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has become perhaps the most business-friendly court in recent history. A 2013 study by Lee Epstein of Washington University in St. Louis, William M. Landes of the University of Chicago Law School and […]
Here. It's mostly about Florida Representative and Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz's proposal to derail the CFPB's possible payday lending rule that Brian blogged about a few days ago. Excerpt: [Wasserman's] spokesman, Sean Bartlett, said the legislation "is about preserving the shared goal of implementing strong consumer protections while also preserving access to […]
Here (behind paywall). Excerpt: Bankers are still grappling with vendor software problems, longer processing times and delays in mortgage closings as a result of new disclosures that went into effect four months ago, according to a new survey by the American Bankers Association. The survey, which was released Tuesday, found that banks are delaying closings […]
Tess Wilkinson‐Ryan of Penn has written Contracts Without Terms. Here is the abstract: In consumer contracting, the ritual of documentation and provision of terms is essentially vestigial, at least as a form of deal-making communication between the parties. This paper starts with a thought experiment: what would it look like to have contracts but no […]
Here. Excerpt: [M]any of the Roberts Court’s most important business cases were decided by a 5–4 margin, with the five conservative Justices voting as a bloc. And, as [Vanderbilt law professor Brian] Fitzpatrick points out, “Scalia has done more than any other justice in making it difficult for consumers and employees to bring class-action suits. […]
In a speech February 25 at the CFPB's Consumer Advisory Board meeting, CFPB Director Richard Cordray identified nine "key areas where we hope to make substantial progress over the next two years." He also noted, however, that "these goals do not capture all of the important work we are doing." The nine goals are: First, […]
Here. Excerpt: In a push for transparency since the 2008 financial crisis, regulators require banks to clearly disclose and explain the terms of just about every financial product, including credit cards and mortgages. But overdraft practices still come with hidden costs and confusing terms, bank customers, lawyers and consumer advocates say. * * * It […]
by Jeff Sovern I've gradually been making my way through Chris Hoofnagle's new book, Federal Trade Commission Privacy Law and Policy (more about that below). For those who want to sample the book before ordering it, Chris has posted the Introduction and an excerpt to SSRN here. The book opens with an interesting history of […]
Here. Excerpt: The U.S. senator from Florida has received more than $4 million from the employees of banks and investment firms like Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) since launching his bid for the presidency last year, according to the analysis of individual donations totaling more […]