Chris Morran explains in this article that the number of U.S. banks has hit its lowest point since the federal government began counting in 1934. The number has dropped precipitously since 1985 (going from about 18,000 to 6,800), which may mean fewer options for bank services and greater costs for consumers.
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"New guidelines issued by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for banks they oversee stop short of completely disallowing deposit advances. But the guidelines should reduce the banks’ profits while making the loans less onerous to borrowers." The Times urges the Fed to follow suit in regulating […]
The Center for Consumer Law at the University of Houston Law Center, in cooperation with the University of New Mexico School of Law and the National Association of Consumer Advocates, is organizing its seventh semi-annual Teaching Consumer Law Conference. The subject this time is “Teaching Consumer Law in a Digital Borderless World.” The Conference will […]
by Paul Alan Levy KB Home has built new homes in several major markets throughout the United States, but its construction projects have left a trail of unhappy homeowners complaining about shoddy construction in several of those locations, such as here, here, here, and here. The problem is broadly portrayed by a number of links […]
This article by Alan Feuer explains the difficulty of living on the minimum wage and follows a worker who must work two low-wage jobs to barely keep afloat. Here is an excerpt: On a recent Friday evening, Eduardo Shoy left work at 6 p.m. Mr. Shoy, a deliveryman for KFC and Pizza Hut, was coming […]
As we have previously noted (go here, for instance), dietary supplements are like drugs–that is, they are claimed to treat or prevent disease and have a physiological effect on the human body. And they are marketed like drugs–that is, they are marketed for their claimed beneficial physiological effects on the human body. But because they […]
At least according to this fun article by Laura Northrup. She explains in considerable detail that, in inflation-adjusted dollars, the traditional thanksgiving dinner (turkey, stuffing, a cranberry-based item, mashed potatoes, etc.) cost considerably more in 1929 than it would today.
Here is the text of the Third Circuit's order: ORDER at the direction of the merits panel, it is hereby ordered that the Appellants are directed to file on or before December 30, 2013 an answer to the petition for panel rehearing submitted by the Appellee and the documents submitted by proposed amici in support […]
As the Times' Dealbook section reports: Nearly seven years since the Military Lending Act came into effect, government authorities say the law has gaps that threaten to leave hundreds of thousands of service members across the country vulnerable to potentially predatory loans — from credit pitched by retailers to pay for electronics or furniture, to […]
Car-rental companies make a ton of money selling you add-ons, such as various types of insurance you may already have and high-priced "deals" for gas. It's easy to nearly double the cost of your rental on stuff that may be worthless. So, just in time for the holidays, Jim Webster has this funny article about […]