Consumer Protection

Shahien Nasiripour

As Economy Crashed, Banks Made A Killing On Overdraft Fees

HuffingtonPost.com | Shahien Nasiripour | Posted 10.07.2009 | Business

Read More: Excessive Overdraft Fees, Bailout, Center for Responsible Lending, Banks Overdraft Fees, Bank of America, Overdraft Fees, Financial Crisis, Overdraft Protection, Consumers, Consumer Protection, Business News

Talk about kicking people when they're down. Banks and credit unions made an eye-popping $24 billion in overdraft fees in 2008, according to a rep...

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Congress Has a Responsibility to Establish Strong Consumer Financial Protection

Janis Bowdler | Posted 11.30.2009 | Business

Read More: Consumer Protection, Consumer Financial Protection Agency, House Financial Services Committee, Barney Frank, Business News
Janis Bowdler

Congress has a responsibility to plug the holes in a broken financial system that allowed millions of families to watch their savings and wealth evaporate and their debt skyrocket

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Why We Need Robust Consumer Financial Protection

Hilary O. Shelton | Posted 11.30.2009 | Business

Read More: Economy, Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Barney Frank, Consumer Protection Agency, Hilary Shelton, Credit Card Debt, Credit Cards, Consumer Protection, Credit Card Industry, Naacp, House Financial Services Committee, Business News
Hilary O. Shelton

Our current system of consumer protection fails to protect Americans from basic exploitation and abuses that can cost individuals and families hundreds of thousands of dollars, and even their homes.

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Brace Yourself for Pink Overload

Halle Tecco | Posted 11.29.2009 | Living

Read More: Pink, Donating to Charity, Breast Cancer, Cause Marketing, Giving, Pink-Ribbon, Consumer Protection, Bono, Living News
Halle Tecco

We're seeing "pinkwashing," when corporations try to boost sales by turning their products pink in the fight against breast cancer. But will your pretty pink purchase really have an impact?

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Don't Believe the Hype! Credit Card Sharks Still Hate the Taste of Plain Vanilla

Dan Geldon | Posted 11.28.2009 | Business

Read More: Bank of America, Credit Cards, Wall Street, Consumer Protection, Barack Obama, Business News
Dan Geldon

Credit card companies are pretending they love plain vanilla so that the perceived need for Congressional action fizzles, so that CFPA slowly fades away, and so that the public feels safe and protected by a working marketplace.

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Summers Takes On Consumer Protection Foes

Financial Times | Krishna Guha | Posted 11.18.2009 | Business

Read More: Larry Summers, Consumer Protection Agency, Lobbying, Consumer Protection, Lobbyists, Business News

Larry Summers, the top White House economic adviser, on Friday accused financial lobby groups of using "death panel" type scare tactics to try to bloc...

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Banks Earn $27 Billion On Debit Card Overdraft Fees

The New York Times | RON LIEBER and ANDREW MARTIN | Posted 11.09.2009 | Business

Read More: Overdraft Fees, Banks, House, Atms, Penalties, Congress, Credit Cards, Credit, Consumer Protection, Debit Cards, Regulation, Personal Finance, Senate, Overdraft, Business News

The Federal Reserve is considering requiring banks to get permission from consumers before enrolling them in overdraft programs, so that consumers lik...

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Consumer Protection Should Work for Consumers

Tom Donohue | Posted 11.08.2009 | Business

Read More: Cfpa, Consumer Protection, Tom Donohue, Banking Crisis, Chamber of Commerce, Business News
Tom Donohue

Creating the Consumer Financial Protection Agency to deal with consumer finance issues makes about as much sense as dictating the sizes, flavors, and temperature of coffee because a few consumers spilled their beverages and were burned.

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Consumer Protection Redux: The Lessons of History

Lawrence B. Glickman | Posted 10.23.2009 | Business

Read More: Consumer Protection Agency, Consumer Protection, Business News
Lawrence B. Glickman

There is currently new ideological space for liberal politics, including a renewed call for consumer protection after a thirty year hiatus. But this is no time for complacency.

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The Libertarian Gotcha

Harry Moroz | Posted 10.18.2009 | Business

Read More: Consumer Protection, Cpsc, Libertarians, Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, Toymakers, Small Business, Barbie, Mattel, Business News
Harry Moroz

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act is generating quite a bit of controversy for a measure designed to protect children from lead and other unsafe consumer products.

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Why It's So Hard Not To Be Fat

Christina Pirello | Posted 09.19.2009 | Living

Read More: Fat, Weight Loss, Sugar, Pesticides, Fast Food, American Diet, Prevention-Magazine, Steroids, Weight Loss Tips, Herbicides, Fast Food Industry, Weight, 1950s, Papa-Johnss-Pizza, Salt, Wendy's, McDonald's, Marketing, Processed Food, Losing Weight, Food Marketing, 1950s-Housewife, Canned Foods, Growth Hormones, Weight Gain, Blackberry Addiction, Pollan Food, Food Labels, Weight Control, Michael Pollan, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Health, Real Food, Toxic Waste, Consumer Protection, Heart Attack, Living News
Christina Pirello

Fat, sugar and salt; the triple threat to our waistlines... and health. Mere decades ago, the food industry made a conscious choice to seduce the Amer...

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Geithner And Bernanke Square Off Over Who Should Be Top Consumer Watchdog

AP | ANNE FLAHERTY | Posted 08.24.2009 | Business

Read More: Congress, Economic Crisis, Federal Reserve, Barney Frank, Ben Bernanke Federal Reserve, Timothy Geithner, Ben Bernanke, Consumer Protection, Recession, House Financial Services Committee, Business News

WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke staked out opposing sides Friday in a turf war over w...

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Finally Food Safety is the Main Course

Wendy Gordon | Posted 08.13.2009 | Living

Read More: Eggs, Chicken, Shopping Tips, Prevention, Contamination, Exports, Consumer Confidence, Food Safety, Salmonella, Consumer Protection, Simple Steps From NRDC, Food Safety Regulation, Safe Handling, Living News
Wendy Gordon

The bill gives the FDA broad new powers to regulate produce at the farm level and review corporate records on activities ranging from food-processing to pathogen-testing.

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Barney Frank Backs Consumer Protection Agency

AP | ANNE FLAHERTY | Posted 08.08.2009 | Business

Read More: Financial Reform, Consumer Protection Agency, Financial Crisis, Obama Financial Reform, Consumer Protection, Barney Frank, Business News

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee is throwing his weight behind President Barack Obama's plan to create a gove...

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Redefining Chutzpah: Wall Street Using Bailout Money to Kill Financial Consumer Protection Agency

Les Leopold | Posted 08.01.2009 | Business

Read More: Bail Out, Wall Street, Bank Nationalization, TARP Money, Economic Crisis, Mortgage Crisis, Financial Crisis, Bank Bailout, Consumer Protection, Business News
Les Leopold

With a straight face, the captains of Wall Street like are telling us that they don't need to be heavily regulated -- that regulations will kill innovation and stifle consumer choice.

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Bank of America's Employees: The Other Side of the Financial Crisis

Michael Whitney | Posted 08.01.2009 | Business

Read More: Workers, Economic Crisis, Bank of America, Economy, Financial Crisis, Bofa, Consumer Protection, Bank Workers, Business News
Michael Whitney

Employees report they're told to target students, the elderly, and non-English speakers who are the most at-risk to end up paying huge fees.

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The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: Financial Sector Regulation

Robert Weissman | Posted 07.18.2009 | Business

Read More: Derivative, Executive Compensation, Mortgage, Wall Street, Predatory Lending, Financial Crisis, Leverage, Consumer Protection, Executive Pay, Cramdown, Financial Regulation, Campaign Finance, Glass-Steagall, Foreclosure News, Business News
Robert Weissman

There's no question that Wall Street is going to mobilize -- is already mobilized -- to defeat the administration's positive proposals.

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Weekly Audit: Ending the Economic Status Quo Economy NewsLadder

The Media Consortium | Posted 07.10.2009 | Politics

Read More: Employee Free Choice Act, Payday Loans, Finance Lobby, Newsladder, Consumer Credit Products, Banking Lobby, Banking Industry, Economy NewsLadder, Predatory Lending Laws, Subprime Mortgages, Tax Cuts, Mortgage-Backed Securities, Interest Rates, Chris Dodd, Consumer Protection, Stimulus Package, Unions, Politics News
The Media Consortium

by Zach Carter, TMC MediaWire Blogger The banking lobby still holds enough sway inside the Beltway to torpedo sensible consumer protection rules, ev...

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Financial Advice: Five Questions to Ask, Including the F-Word

Jill Schlesinger | Posted 06.26.2009 | Business

Read More: Consumer Protection, Personal Finance, Brokers, Protecting Yourself From Your Broker, CBS Early Show, Business News
Jill Schlesinger

It seems like everybody is in the financial advice-business, but how do you know if someone is qualified to help you?

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SEC Head Fights Obama Financial Watchdog Plan

AP | MARCY GORDON | Posted 06.20.2009 | Business

Read More: Sec, Banking Regulation, Mary Schapiro, Obama Financial Regulation, Federal Reserve, Timothy Geithner, Ben Bernanke, Securities and Exchange Commission, Consumer Protection, Business News

WASHINGTON — The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission is objecting to a plan being weighed by the Obama administration to create a new...

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Reform in the Age of Plastic

Sen. Chris Dodd | Posted 06.19.2009 | Politics

Read More: Congress, Senate, Economy, Credit Crisis, Chris Dodd, Credit Cards, Credit Card Debt, Democrats, Credit Crunch, Consumer Protection, Credit Card Industry, Politics News, Politics, Politics News
Sen. Chris Dodd

Over and over we've heard that consumers should act responsibly when it comes to credit cards. I agree -- but it's time we held credit card companies to the same standard.

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Arthur Delaney

Consumer Protection Measure Introduced In Senate

HuffingtonPost.com | Arthur Delaney | Posted 05.30.2009 | Politics

Read More: Russ Feingold, Hank Johnson, Consumer Protection, Arbitration, Politics News

Sen Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) introduced a bill Wednesday that would prevent companies from forcing consumers and employees into arbitration agreements....

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Protecting Consumers

James Love | Posted 02.03.2009 | Politics

Read More: Regulations, Special Interests, Consumer Protection, Buckley v Valeo, Barack Obama, Campaign Finance, Politics News
James Love

Obama will soon be President, working with solid democratic majorities in the House and the Senate. He should use his power to advance consumer interests in ways that have been neglected for decades.

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