The Washington Post reports: According to Zillow, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has concluded a two-year investigation into the company’s “co-marketing” arrangements that allow mortgage lenders to pay for portions of realty agents’ monthly advertising costs on Zillow websites. In exchange for the money, lenders are presented in agents’ ads to site visitors as sources […]
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Financial Times reports: One of the Federal Reserve’s top policymakers has attacked attempts to reverse the post-crisis drive for tougher regulation, calling efforts to loosen constraints on banks “dangerous and extremely short-sighted”. Stanley Fischer, the vice-chairman of the Fed’s board of governors, said in an interview with the Financial Times that 10 years after the […]
After learning that the plaintiff in Spokeo v. Robins won on remand from the Supreme Court, I ran into Spokeo Misspeaks, an article by law prof Lauren Willis. Here's the abstract: Most commentators have critiqued the Supreme Court’s opinion in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins for failing to answer the question presented. But in important ways, the Spokeo opinion […]
Many of our readers will recall the Supreme Court's decision last year in Spokeo v. Robins in which the Court explained, in general terms, what it means for a plaintiff to allege a "concrete" injury sufficient to establish article III standing. The Court then remanded the case to the Ninth Circuit for findings on "concreteness" measured against […]
Following up on an earlier post, this Reuters story by Jonathan Spicer reports that Americans' debt level notched another record high in the second quarter, after having earlier in the year surpassed its pre-crisis peak, on the back of modest rises in mortgage, auto and credit card debt, where delinquencies jumped. Total U.S. household debt was $12.84 trillion […]
Premiums for the most popular health insurance plans would shoot up 20 percent next year, and federal budget deficits would increase by $194 billion in the coming decade if President Trump carries out his threat to end certain subsidies paid under the Affordable Care Act to insurance companies for the benefit of low-income people, reports […]
The Center for Auto Safety, the nation’s leading independent non-profit organization providing consumers a voice for auto safety, quality, and fuel economy, has announced the appointment of Jason K. Levine as its new Executive Director. Mr. Levine succeeds Clarence M. Ditlow III, who led the Center for 40 years, until his death last November. Mr. […]
Law prof James Henderson says nope in The Impropriety of Punitive Damages in Mass Torts. Here is the abstract: Punitive damages have been around for centuries in classic one-on-one tort actions and are here to stay. Mass torts, of more recent origin and not without difficulties, have matured to the point that this article is comfortable […]
That's the thrust of this American Banker article (possibly behind a paywall). Here is an excerpt: Consumer groups have long denounced the influence of big banks and for-profit companies on agency rulemakings, often pointing to the number of meetings held between regulators and institutions about a proposal. Now, in an ironic twist, payday lenders and supporters of […]
That's the name of this article by consumer reporter Michelle Singletary. Here are excepts: Outstanding consumer revolving debt — mostly credit card debt — hit an all-time peak of $1.021 trillion in June, according to the Federal Reserve. This should be a scary statistic. The last time the debt level was nearly this high was in 2008, […]