Read this article on that topic by Stephanie Greene and Christine O'Brien. Here is the abstract: If you spend time at work checking Facebook or shopping online you might be violating your employer’s computer policy. But you might also be committing a federal crime. For the past decade or so, courts have disagreed over the […]
This NYT story, though published in October, seems increasingly relevant as the fiscal cliff talks grind on without resolution. The takeaway: a 2007 tax break to exempt mortgage debt relief from being taxed as income is about to expire. Like everything else in the budget, its fate is at stake in the current fiscal negotiations.
Ever make a plane reservation well in advance, try to pick a seat on-line (which the airline suggests that you do), and find out that the only "free" seats are a few crappy middle seats? All the others are "grayed out," indicating that they have already been reserved. Hmm. That's funny, I just bought that […]
Here. It's about the CFPB's forthcoming qualified mortgage rules. An excerpt: The rules are meant to help bolster the housing market. By shielding banks from potential litigation, policy makers contend that the industry will have a powerful incentive to make higher quality home loans. But some banking and housing specialists worry that borrowers are losing […]
by Paul Alan Levy Earlier this month, Brian Wolfman and I both wrote about an impending preliminary injunction hearing in a libel suit over a consumer's review of a local contractor who, she said, had botched his work on her home. The trial judge largely denied relief, but orally ordered the homeowner to revise her […]
I remember when "full employment" was considered achieved when unemployment did not exceed 4 or 4.5%. Now, it seems that people think of full employment as unemployment of 6 or 6.5%. The Hamilton Project has released a report on how long it will take to get to 6.5% unemployment, assuming various rates of job growth. […]
by Jeff Sovern I kid you not. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, chaired by Darrell Issa, and its Subcommittee on TARP, Financial Services and Bailouts of Public and Private Programs, chaired by longtime CFPB foe Patrick McHenry, has issued a report titled THE CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU’S THREAT TO CREDIT ACCESS IN THE UNITED STATES. Here […]
Here is the FTC's press release, which praises Vladeck's record of achievement as the agency's top consumer enforcer. Vladeck was in the position for the Obama Administration's first term and is returning to Georgetown Law School. The press release also announces Vladeck's successor, Charles Harwood, who will serve in an "acting" capacity. Pat Bak will […]
Revelations that banks manipulated the benchmark Libor rate sent shockwaves across the financial world this summer. (Libor, despite sounding like a Tolkien villian — "People of Middle Earth! We must unite in defense of the realm against the forces of Mordor and Libor!" — stands for "London interbank offered rate" and forms the basis for […]