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Summer Showdown

Predicting a "huge fight," the nation's banks and mortgage lenders are circling the wagons and preparing an all-out assault on President Obama's proposed consumer financial protection agency, which would oversee credit card fees, home mortgages, payday loans and most other types of consumer credit. Lawmakers, meanwhile, are feeling the heat from consumers and pointing to credit card companies' behavior to underscore the need for such an agency. Read more ...

Feeding On Desperation

When times are bad and when people think they have fewer options, scammers usually get rich. They follow headlines about financial bailouts, stimulus packages and a popular president into your pocketbook. And they're taking advantage of people's need for cash in a recession, as well as the latest social media trends. Read more ...

(Maybe) Not Good for What Ails You

Consumers take a lot of Tylenol — but how much is too much? Tylenol is full of acetaminophen, and too much acetaminophen in the blood stream can cause liver damage and can even be fatal. Consumers have been warned for years, but the FDA is increasingly concerned these warnings are not being heeded. "I think we have to send the message that there are problems with this medication," said Winifred Landis, one of the FDA's advisory panel members. Read more...

Financial Health Is In The Cards

Now, more than ever, selecting the right credit card company is very important. Bankrate.com surveyed two cards — a rewards card and a platinum card — from 10 of the top credit card issuers. We focused on the fees and practices, such as when the issuer can raise interest rates, so that consumers can judge which card offers the best terms and conditions for them. Read more...

The Old Bait And Switch

Marketers like to call it “upselling,” but in California, Attorney General Jerry Brown called it bait and switch. Following more than two dozen undercover sting operations, Brown sued Maurice Irving Glad and his 22 California Midas auto shops to stop a "massive bait-and-switch scam" in which customers were offered cheap brake specials and then allegedly charged hundreds of dollars more for unnecessary repairs. The undercover operations revealed that over four years Glad's Midas shops regularly advertised $79 to $99 brake specials to draw customers in and then charged another $110 to $130 for unnecessary brake rotor resurfacing services — and hundreds of dollars more for repairs that were not needed or never performed, Brown charged. Read more ...

Digital Blues

At first there was a sense of frustration, then anger. Now, for many viewers of “free,” over-the-air television, there is a sense of resignation — and sadness. The long-anticipated and once-delayed switch from analog broadcasting to digital took place June 12, and for millions of viewers, TV will never be the same again. Read more ...

States' Rights

In the bad old days, "states rights" usually meant minorities somewhere were about to be subjected to more discrimination. These days it has taken on a whole new meaning. In fact, many states have passed laws that provide greater protections than federal statutes. When the federal government adopted a regulation that said states couldn't enforce their fair housing laws against national banks, the Supreme Court's most liberal and most conservative justices agreed that states' rights could be a good thing. Read more...

Cheers!

Canadian researchers have published a study in the medical journal Lancet suggesting alcohol plays a much larger role in the death rate than previously believed. According to researchers at Canada's Center for Addiction and Mental Health, one in 25 deaths are directly attributable to alcohol consumption. This rise since 2000 is mainly due to increases in the number of women drinking. Read more...

Credit Cards Giving Consumers Heartburn

After regulatory agencies adopted tougher rules on credit card companies and Congress passed the Credit Card Holders' Bill of Rights, the world was supposed to be better for consumers with credit card accounts. But neither the new rules nor the new law take effect until next year, and if anything, credit card customers are even more miserable. While Chase customers are currently the most vociferous, other lenders are also drawing complaints. Read more ...

A Weak Economy's Silver Lining

Have you noticed that gasoline prices have stopped going up, at least over the last week? Maybe you're holding your breath, thinking they'll start up again any moment. On the other hand, they might keep doing down for a while. Back in the spring the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecast an average price of gas at about $2.25 for the summer. Oil traders had other ideas, and started bidding the price well past that level. But it looks like the traders may be been wrong, and the folks at EIA were right. Read more...

Watch What You Eat

Food safety issues are front burner again. JBS Swift Beef Company, of Greeley, Colo., is expanding its June 24 recall to include approximately 380,000 pounds of assorted beef products that may be contaminated with E. Coli O157:H7. At the same time, some dairy products are being recalled because of a salmonella scare. Read more...

Part of a Pattern

You've got to hand it to Chase, it has a unique talent for infuriating its customers. The latest imbroglio involves the bank's raising the minimum payment from 2% to 5% for tens of thousands of its credit cardholders. What's particularly galling to the consumers involved is that most of them have good payment records and credit scores and have been enjoying relatively low interest rates. Raising the minimum payment is just a backdoor way of raising the effective interest rate, they complain. Read more ...

Where's the Beef?

Colorado meat packer JBS Swift is scrambling to find an additional 340,000 pounds of beef after expanding its recall over the weekend. The meat is being recalled due to possible E. coli contamination. A CDC investigation has linked the suspect beef to 18 illnesses. Read more ...

Go Ahead And Gas Up

The July 4th road trip is on! After nearly two months of steady increases, gasoline prices are on their way back down again. They're still high if you live in Hawaii, Alaska or California but not so much if you live in Missouri, Oklahoma or South Carolina. With the economic recovery appearing to slow a bit, this downward trend could continue for a while. Read more...

Who Benefits From Cash For Clunkers?

The Cash for Clunkers bill, in which the government will pay you up to $4,500 to trade in your gas guzzler for a new car, appears to be the most popular thing Congress has done in quite a while. It's not only captured the popular imagination, some economists think it just might save the U.S. auto industry. But if you're not careful, you could end up losing, not benefiting, under Cash for Clunkers. Read more...

Chase Springs a Trap

Tens of thousands of consumers thought they were doing the smart thing by taking advantage of Chase's offer of a low fixed rate – around five to six percent – locked in for the life of the card. Sounded like a pretty good deal. They closed other accounts and transferred balances to the new Chase accounts. But now Chase has announced it is raising the minimum monthly payment from two percent of the balance to five percent. Suddenly consumers are seeing their monthly credit card bill go from the size of a car payment to the size of a mortgage. Read more ...

Looking Skeptically At That Hamburger

There was a time that the safety of food Americans put on their tables was not among their most pressing concerns. Not anymore. A new IBM study reveals that fewer than 20 percent of consumers trust food companies to develop and sell food products that are safe and healthy for themselves and their families. Read more ...

Static

The changeover to digital television took place a week or so ago, so how are things going out there in TV land? Apparently some consumers are still looking for their local stations. The Federal Communications Commission has come up with some suggestions, including "double rescanning," and double-checking and relocating your antennas. Meanwhile, local broadcasters are working to resolve any problems on their end. Read more ...

The Tribal Sovereignty Loophole

Most states are enacting strict rules for payday lenders, but it turns out some of these lenders, especially ones doing business on the Internet, are cleverly skirting these rules. How can they do it? By joining forces with an American Indian tribe. Read more ...

Cash Plus Clunkers Equals Scammers

Congress passes a stimulus bill, and suddenly you see pitches from scam artists saying you too can cash in with free money from the government. Now lawmakers are set to approve what appears to be an overwhelmingly popular "cash for clunkers" program, giving consumers up to $4500 for trading in their gas guzzlers. Sure enough, the hustlers also have a scam based on that, too. Read more...

How Does It Feel, Guys?

Many consumers feel hounded by debt collectors, who call at all hours and can be abusive. Now the shoe is on the other foot, as attorneys general across the country are going after the most abusive debt collectors. New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo has shut down a nationwide collection operation that consisted of at least nine debt collection companies across Western New York, the latest in Cuomo's probe of debt collection practices. Read more...

The Holy Grail

For years it's been medicine's Holy Grail — a cure for cancer. Doctors at the Mayo Clinic aren't saying they've found it, but they think they may be getting close. Read more...

Name Dropper

Don't be fooled by get rich quick schemes that have Google's name in the title. Just because you call yourself Google doesn't mean you are. We're hearing from consumers who paid $2 to cover shipping for a "free" CD from outfits like Google Treasure Chest, only to get hit with a number of unauthorized charges. Read more...

When You're Hot ...

Apple is riding quite a wave these days. Late last week it rolled out its latest version of the iPhone, the 3GS model, and sold one million units in three days. "Customers are voting and the iPhone is winning," the company said in a statement attributed to Steve Jobs. The latest iPhone benefited from a mountain of advance hype, but had to overcome some sales obstacles, many of its own making. Read more ...

Saying No To “Junk Texts”

Are marketers get more intrusive, the courts are becoming more protective of consumers' privacy. A court has now ruled that publisher Simon & Schuster violated federal telecommunications laws when it sent out an unsolicited — and, in most cases, unwelcome — text message promoting Stephen King's latest book, appropriately titled "Cell." The suit, brought in 2006 by Laci Satterfield of New York, alleged that such unsolicited text messages violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991. Read more ...

The Downward Spiral?

After going up for 54 straight days, the national average price of a gallon of gas went down Monday. According to AAA's daily Fuel Gauge Report, the price dropped from $2.693 to $2.690. It remains to be seen whether its the start of a trend, but the U.S. Is currently swimming in gas supplies and the World Bank thinks the economic recovery will take longer than expected. It could turn out to be good news for motorists. Read more...

You're Fired! Now What?

You got a pink slip. Your head reels from the shock and there's a knot of fear in the pit of your stomach. Figuring out the answer to the question, "Now what?" seems like the hardest job you've ever faced. Take a deep breath. You can take steps to ensure your financial survival during this period. Read more...

Epidemic! Health-Related Bankruptcies Up 50%

A number of studies have shown that health care bills are the largest contributor to personal bankruptcy, but the problem may be worse than first thought. A new study finds that bankruptcies due to medical debt rose 50 percent from 2001 to 2007. And it appears to be older consumers who are hardest hit. Elder Law of Michigan reports a significant rise in the calls for help from older adults who are desperate for relief from high debt accumulated from family illnesses. Read more ...

Unintended Consequences

At President Obama’s urging, Congress has raised gas mileage standards for new cars. A good thing, right? Well, yes, if you don’t mind paying more for a new car. And because of that, some think they may be self-defeating. "Because CAFE standards increase the price of new cars, the standards have the unintentional effect of keeping older — dirtier and less fuel-efficient — cars on the road longer. There is abundant empirical research on this issue," said Harvard Professor Robert N. Stavins. Read more ...

Will Gas Prices Finally Start Falling Now?

Oil producers and oil traders have been working in tandem lately to get prices back up in the $70 a barrel range, but a funny thing happened in the last week. The expected march toward $100 a barrel oil has turned into a retreat. The dollar has gained strength, putting downward pressure on all sorts of commodities, not just oil. Then the government reported this week that U.S. gasoline supplies are much bigger than anyone thought. So maybe now prices at the pump will start moving in the other direction. Read more...

Graphics by Marisa Lisante. Photos, unless otherwise noted, by iStock.

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