Consumer Confidential: Why Is a Group of Lawmakers Working to Undermine Tighter Rules for the Payday Loan Industry?
In a bizarre display of bipartisan cooperation, a handful of Democratic lawmakers have joined Republicans in trying to cripple the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The question is: Why? Most notably, Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who also serves as chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, is co-sponsoring the deceptively titled Consumer Protection and Choice Act, which would undermine the watchdog agency’s...
New Limits on Sharing Web Tracking Proposed
Internet providers such as AT&T and Comcast face new federal restrictions on distributing information about their customers’ Web browsing. Broadband providers would need to get permission from consumers before divulging online habits to other companies under the proposal from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler. The rules need to succeed in two votes, including an initial test at an FCC meeting on March 31,...
Consumer Confidential: Government May Soon Begin Putting an End to Forced Arbitration Clauses
If you’ve got a credit card, you’ve been forced to kiss away your constitutional right to sue the card issuer. But it’s looking increasingly likely that this is about to change. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is examining so-called arbitration clauses in terms and conditions for financial products. Earlier the month, the head of the bureau, Richard Cordray, sent the strongest signal yet that the regulatory whip soon will...
Restaurants Booming Despite Turmoil in Markets
Washington — One part of the U.S. economy is enjoying a surprising boom, and it should prove useful in combating the recent slowdown: Americans are spending more eating out than ever before. The restaurant industry, long a reliable indicator of the underlying economy, has become an economic standout at a time of financial market turmoil and global uncertainty. Sales at food service and drinking places jumped nearly 8 percent last year...
FCC Looks to End Cable Box Rentals
Washington — Federal regulators Thursday put the metal boxes most Americans rent to receive cable or satellite programming at the center of a high-stakes fight over the future of TV and video. The Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 along party lines to begin crafting rules intended to spur competition in the set-top-box market by developing technology standards so third-party devices and apps could decode pay-TV signals. Such...
