Connecticut law caps interest rates at 12%. But Great Plains Lending, affiliated with a Native American tribe in Oklahoma, is hawking payday loans by web and mail with rates of 200-400%, according to WTNH.com, reporting from Hartford, Conn. In response, the Connecticut legislature is crafting legislation to prevent residents from being held liable for more […]
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This clip from a recent Last Week Tonight is both funny and topical (though lengthy, at 18 minutes). John Oliver reveals not only the lengths to which Philip Morris will go to oppose anti-smoking regulations worldwide but also the potentially devastating effect of international trade deals on government safety regulation (a subject we most recently […]
You can find some useful basic financial advice at mymoney.gov, here. Among its offerings (check out the right-hand column): -Spending and Spending Plans -How to Obtain Your Free Credit Report (from the FTC) -Help Your Children Grow Their Money Skills (from the CFPB) There are also “Money Quizzes” which are mainly lists of suggested individual […]
The New York Times today has an editorial on regulation of dietary supplements and industry capture of the agency. The editorial begins: The Food and Drug Administration’s lethargic regulation of dietary supplements containing a dangerous stimulant described in recent reports in The Times is a classic example of what happens when industry representatives infiltrate the […]
The California Department of Business Oversight announced this week that it has launched an initiative with Bing, Yahoo and Google to halt advertising by unlicensed payday lenders. When the DBO identifies unlicensed online payday lenders, it issues cease and desist orders against them. Under the protocol, when those orders become final, the DBO will notify […]
The FTC's press release explains: The Federal Trade Commission and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office have obtained a court order temporarily halting a fake debt collection scam located in Aurora, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. The defendants are charged with illegally using threats and intimidation tactics to coerce consumers to pay payday loan debts […]
By Steve Gardner In Astaina v. Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (download here), and just two days after a district court’s decision in Anderson v. Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (discussed here), the Ninth Circuit dealt Hain another blow to its efforts to trick consumers into buying products falsely called “natural,” this time involving cosmetics, not food. […]
by Steve Gardner Earlier this week, in Anderson v Hain (highlights added), Judge Edward J. Davila of the Northern District of California issued an opinion on a motion to dismiss that is a good example of the trend to accept consumer pleadings of deception in food labeling. The Northern District judges have considered food deception issues repeatedly […]
A Washington Post op-ed by Dana Milbank this week catalogues the disturbing rise of welfare-benefit restrictions around the country that seem designed not to prevent abuse but to cut welfare beneficiaries off from a range of common, everyday activities (like swimming pools) and foods (like tuna fish) that many Americans enjoy. Another set of laws, […]
… is the thrust of a piece in today's Washington Post, which observes: Studies show that young people who graduate in states that mandate personal finance education are better with money as adults. They have higher credit scores and are less likely to default on credit cards. Yet, most states don’t require the classes. Read […]