Wells Fargo, the country’s largest retail bank and an institution once thought above the fray of financial crisis era scandals, has been under fire this week after acknowledging it had fired 5,300 employees over the past five years for opening as many as 2 million sham accounts customers didn’t ask for. The San Francisco-based bank, which […]
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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has this blog post. The post notes that "over 90 percent of African-American and 72 percent of Latino students leave college with student loan debt, compared to 66 percent of white students and 51 percent of Asian-American students."
by Paul Alan Levy News comes from Chris Morran over at Consumerist that the House version of a bill banning non-disparagement clauses in form consumer contracts, which passed the Senate late last year, was passed on a voice vote in the House of Representatives today. Looks as if this bill will become law before the […]
Here. Excerpt: An analysis of more than 2,000 current card agreements shows they’re written, on average, at the 11th grade reading level – better than five years ago, but still too hard for at least half the population to readily understand. * * * When consumers come up against the dense legalese of card […]
We posted recently about Uber's plans to put driverless cars on the road in Pittsburgh very soon. Auto safety advocates say it's too soon and the public's safety is at risk. Today's Washington Post has this article on the topic by Elizabeth Dwoskin and Brian Fung. Here's an excerpt: Uber’s decision to bring self-driving taxis to the streets of […]
From the New York Times: Buyout firms are at the forefront of Capitol Hill. They have successfully promoted legislation to roll back regulatory disclosures required under the postcrisis Dodd-Frank legislation, even as they settle cases over misleading investors. If the bill is enacted, however, there is a risk of repercussions. The House passed the plan […]
In the Washington Post this weekend, a journalist describes his experience correcting information that Trans Union provided about him to a prospective landlord. Trans Union erroneously reported that the journalist had several criminal offenses, including felony firearm convictions. It turns out the credit reporting agency was relying on court records for a different person by […]
Interesting article from Brad Plumer here.
That's the topic of Taxing Sugar Sweetened Beverages to Lower Childhood Obesity by Sarah Wetter and James Hodge. Here is the abstract: Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) contributes to multiple health problems including obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay, especially among children. Excise taxation has been proven efficacious in changing purchasing behaviors related to tobacco use with resulting […]
The Federal Trade Commission announced this week three settlements with debt relief and debt collection businesses. First, the FTC announced yesterday a settlement with the owners of a debt relief operation that targeted consumers with outstanding payday loans.The settlement bans the owners from the debt relief business. In February 2015, the FTC filed a complaint […]