BBC News reports: HSBC has reached a $470m [] settlement with the US government and states related to dubious mortgage lending and foreclosure practices that contributed to the financial crisis. The agreement includes a $100m fine and $370m in consumer relief to borrowers. Investigations began in 2010 after HSBC was found to be signing off […]
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Read this essay by acting FDA commissioner Stephen Ostroff on what the FDA is doing to get safe and effective generic drugs on the market promptly. The agency's efforts are important because the cost of generic drugs generally is far less than the cost of brand-name drugs. In particular, as Ostroff explains, the entry of a "first […]
Financially speaking, that is. Last Friday's episode of NPR's Planet Money goes inside the telemarketing scam based on the premise that workers can work from home and make a great living. The episode includes audio from an actual sales pitch to a woman taken in by the scam. The tactics are awful, but revealing. And […]
Despite the uptick in jobs over the last couple of years, one key respect in which the economic recovery is weak has been its failure to raise workers' wages. This week's January jobs report from the Labor Department is more encouraging on that front, reports the NYT: Last month, average hourly earnings rose by 0.5 percent, […]
Senator Patrick Leahy (VT) and Senator Al Franken (MN) introduced a bill Thursday that would strictly limit the companies' ability to impose arbitration clauses on consumers and workers. The Restoring Statutory Rights Act would prevent civil rights cases, employment disputes and other crucial lawsuits from being forced into arbitration. A New York Times article on […]
The Washington Post reports today that the food industry is pressuring Congress to block vermont' GMO-labeling law before it goes into effect in July. "The food industry wants Congress to pre-empt Vermont’s law and bar mandatory labeling of genetically modified foods before it goes into effect. They argue that GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, are […]
The Washington Post reports on two new airbag recalls: Automakers to recall 5M vehicles for another air bag problem Another problem has developed with automotive air bags, this one resulting in recalls of up to 5 million vehicles worldwide. Continental Automotive Systems says in documents filed with the U.S. government that moisture can get inside […]
… in The Hill, responding to former head of OIRA Cass Sunstein: Delays in new public protections have real consequences. Oil trains around the country continue to explode while new safety measures languish in development. Tainted food outbreaks continue to sicken and kill Americans while rules stemming from the new food safety law have missed […]
We've chronicled the saga of Takata's life-threatening airbags and the resulting government recall. In the latest chapter, Senators Blumenthal and Markey (of Connecticut and Massachusetts, respectively) have written the Obama Administration calling for the recall to be broadened after a horrific death in December: The [Senators'] letter follows the death of Joel Knight, who was […]
Factcheck.org has put together a video to separate truth from fiction in the climate-change debate. To view it, click here or on the embedded video below. Go here to read the organization's full review. You will hear that some of the "facts" denying climate change from politicians, such as Rep. Lamar Smith and Sen. Ted Cruz, are misleading at […]