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.
Sarah Rudolph Cole of Ohio State haas written The Federalization of Consumer Arbitration: Possible Solutions. Here is the abstract: Over the past fifteen to twenty years, businesses dramatically increased the use of arbitration clauses in contracts with consumers. Although commentators criticize the use of arbitration to resolve consumer disputes because arbitration lacks the due process […]
"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 Deepak Gupta In a much-anticipated decision, the Fifth Circuit held today that the National Labor Relations Board overstepped its authority when it ruled that an employer violated federal labor law by requiring its employees to sign an arbitration agreement containing a class-action ban. Judge Leslie Southwick, joined by Judge King, isssued the opinion for the court. Here's […]
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 […]
Neil L. Sobol of Texas A&M has written Protecting Consumers from Zombie-Debt Collectors, forthcoming in the New Mexico Law Review. Here is the abstract: The debt-collection business is booming, led by a dramatic increase in the sale and collection of defaulted debts. Currently, debt buyers annually purchase more than $100 billion in the face value […]
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.