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 […]
How carefully should public institutions monitor their investment portfolios? Is a payday lender as bad a cigarette company? These are some of the questions raised by this L.A. Times op-ed about the fact that the University of California's investment portfolio includes the large payday lender ACE Cash Express. U.C. has engaged in socially conscious investing and accordingly has […]
Here (behind paywall, unfortunately). Excerpt: When the CFPB may [issue its arbitration rule] is unknown. A spokesman told Bloomberg BNA that the bureau continues to gather information from stakeholders on the arbitration rulemaking. A final regulation is unlikely to take effect before late 2017 or 2018, Joe Olson, a partner and class action defense specialist with Michael […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced today: [CFPB] is taking steps to improve checking account access amidst Bureau concerns that consumers are being sidelined by the lack of account options and by inaccurate information used to screen potential customers. Today the CFPB sent a letter to the 25 largest retail banks encouraging them to make […]
According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Morgan Stanley has agreed to pay $62.95 million to resolve claims over the sale of toxic mortgage-backed securities to three banks that later failed. The FDIC is acting as the receiver for the failed banks. The settlement brings the total amount of FDIC settlements with Morgan Stanley over […]
Today, at 2pm the Economic Matters Committee of the Maryland House of Delegates will hold a hearing to consider H.B. 131, which would ban non-disparagement clauses in consumer contracts. Like the parallel California law enacted in 2014, H.B. 131 has a laudably strong enforcement provision: both private individuals and state authorities are able to take action, via […]
Detected in a number of returning travelers in the U.S. over the past month, the mosquito-transmitted Zika virus is rampant in Brazil, present in a number of Central American countries, and linked to birth defects in babies. The W.H.O. has declared it a world health emergency. Read key facts about the disease here from the CDC. The CDC has […]