Consumers

A Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Or Jiminy Cricket?

Meizhu Lui | Posted 12.02.2009 | Politics

Read More: Senator Chris Dodd, Congress, Consumers, Financial Reform, Cfpa Barney Frank, Cfpa, Politics News
Meizhu Lui

No one suggests that we don't need laws against stealing, and that it should just be left to individual conscience. But when it comes to stealing a whole house, that's exactly what some people seem to think.

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Gift Card Crackdown: SEE The Fed's New Rules To Protect Consumers

AP | JEANNINE AVERSA | Posted 11.17.2009 | Business

Read More: Gift Card Crackdown, Gift Cards, Congress, Prepaid Cards, Gift Card New Rules, Federal Reserve, Consumers, Giftcards, Charles Schumer, Business News

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve on Monday proposed new rules to protect consumers from unexpected costs or restrictions on gift cards. More than...

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Marketing in Disguise

Sarah O'Leary | Posted 11.16.2009 | Business

Read More: Retailers, Women in Business, Retail, Business, Consumer Spending, Shipping, Rebates, Serving Sizes, Retail Industry, Consumer Confidence, Advertising, Marketing, Consumers, False Advertising, Airlines, Consumer Protection, Business News
Sarah O'Leary

When marketers knowingly play in the darker parts of the gray to drive sales, they're doing a disservice to the consumer and the industry. A good deal not a good deal when it misinforms consumers.

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Big Brands vs. Private Labels and the Recession

Jenny Darroch | Posted 11.02.2009 | Business

Read More: Colgate-Palmolive, Costco, Store Brands, Brand Strategy, Consumers, Innovation, Kellogg's, Marketing Strategies, Private Labels, Procter & Gamble, Recession, Business News
Jenny Darroch

To compete in the post-recession world, marketers of big-brands will need to focus on excellent execution of brand strategy and stay focused on innovation in order to stay ahead of private labels.

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Shahien Nasiripour

White House Quietly Working To Weaken Investor Protection

HuffingtonPost.com | Shahien Nasiripour | Posted 11.02.2009 | Business

Read More: John Adler, Investor Protection, Worldcom, Financial Reform, Enron, Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Financial Crisis, Consumers, Securities and Exchange Commission, Financial Regulation, Carolyn Maloney, Investors, Business News

The White House is quietly working to undercut a key post-Enron reform, significantly weakening protection for everyday investors and threatening the ...

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Arthur Delaney

"I Was Blind To Let You Go": BofA Dumps Complaining Customer, Wants Her Back Two Days Later

HuffingtonPost.com | Arthur Delaney | Posted 10.30.2009 | Business

Read More: Credit Cards, Debtors Revolt, Bank of America, Consumers, Credit Crisis, Business News

Jane Padgett couldn't believe it when the company that sells her dog's medicine said her credit card had been denied. When she called Bank of America,...

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Shahien Nasiripour

House Democrats John Adler, Carolyn Maloney Move To Weaken Investor Protection Bill

HuffingtonPost.com | Shahien Nasiripour | Posted 10.27.2009 | Business

Read More: John Adler, Worldcom, Financial Reform, Enron, Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Financial Crisis, Consumers, Securities and Exchange Commission, Financial Regulation, Investors, Carolyn Maloney, Business News

Two House Democrats are planning to introduce amendments Tuesday to exempt small- and medium-sized companies from a key post-Enron reform. Consumer ad...

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AP: Obama's New Consumer Agency Is Far From A Sure Deal

AP | JIM KUHNHENN | Posted 10.24.2009 | Business

Read More: Consumer Protection Agency, Consumers, Business, Consumer Protection, Barack Obama, Business News

WASHINGTON — Take a hard look now. A new agency that consumers were promised would make bankers, credit card companies and mortgage lenders trea...

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Social Purpose Becomes the New Social Status in Business

Mitchell Markson | Posted 10.21.2009 | Business

Read More: Marketing, Online Advertising, Advertising, Brands, TV Advertising, Social Purpose, Consumers, Capitalism, Business News
Mitchell Markson

While full-on capitalism may still be our love story (I hear you Michael Moore), a kinder, gentler, more benevolent and yet still profit-driven form of marketing and business is on the rise.

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House Panel Exempts Over 8,000 Banks From Oversight

New York Times | Stephen Labaton | Posted 10.15.2009 | Business

Read More: Oversight, Mortgages, Credit Cards, Banks, Loans, Consumers, Consumer Protection, Business News

Bowing to political pressure from community bankers, the House Financial Services Committee approved an exemption on Thursday for more than 98 percen...

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WSJ: The 'Democratization Of Credit' Is Over

Wall Street Journal | S. MITRA KALITA | Posted 10.10.2009 | Business

Read More: Credit, Lending, Economy, Banks, Consumers, Business, Recession, Business News

The recession has forced a financial reckoning for Americans across the income spectrum. The pressure is especially acute for the low-income Americans...

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Shahien Nasiripour

Despite Housing Slump, Mortgage Lenders Making Record Profits From Fees

HuffingtonPost.com | Shahien Nasiripour | Posted 10.08.2009 | Business

Read More: Mortgage Brokers, Mortgage Lenders, Mortgage Crisis, Lending Crisis, Mortgages, Mortgage Bankers Association, Consumers Union, Bailout Bandits, Bailout, Guy Cecala, Inside Mortgage Finance, Financial Crisis, Banks, Consumers, Business News

Never ones to let an opportunity go unexploited, mortgage lenders are taking advantage of a market fueled by low interest rates and massive government...

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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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Consumer Spending: What If Americans Dont' Start Buying Again?

nytimes.com | Posted 11.25.2009 | Business

Read More: Consumer Spending, Economy, Consumers, Gdp, Consumption, g20, Recession, Business News

If Americans don't start buying a lot of stuff again, can the world economy be saved? What's the global Plan B? These are fundamental questions at the...

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Smart Solar Marketing

Mark Sinclair | Posted 11.23.2009 | Green

Read More: Marketing, Consumers, Solar Energy, Solar Power, Green News
Mark Sinclair

To overcome misperceptions and create a robust marketplace, the solar industry must begin to market solar energy like Coca-Cola sells soda or McDonald's sells hamburgers.

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Credit Scores: FICO Formulas Are Being Changed By Lenders

usatoday.com | Kathy Chu and Sandra Block | Posted 11.22.2009 | Business

Read More: Credit Cards, Experian, Fico, Fico Formulas, Consumers, Credit Crisis, Transunion, Credit Card Debt, New Credit Scores, Credit Scores, Business News

Long after the economy recovers, millions of Americans will be left with a grim legacy of the recession: damaged credit scores, the three-digit rating...

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Robocalls Banned By Government? Not So Much

Huffington Post Investigative Fund | Ben Protess | Posted 11.10.2009 | Politics

Read More: Investigative Fund, Fcc, Donotcall.gov, Courtesy Calls, Consumer, Newspaper Association of America, Election Calls, Campaigns, Robocalls, Washington D.C., Huffington Post Investigative Fund, Robocall Rules, Political Campaigns, Consumer Bankers Association, Regulation, Do Not Call List, Phone Calls, Mortgage Bankers Association, Campaign Calls, Federal Communications Commission, Telephone, Ftc, Consumers, Politics News

It's dinnertime, the phone rings and it might be someone important. Instead, you hear a recorded voice: "Congratulations! You've been pre-approved for...

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Food Safety Action Day (Join Us!)

Morgan Jindrich | Posted 11.09.2009 | Living

Read More: Food Safety, Senate, Salmonella, Consumers, Fda, E. Coli, Volunteering, Consumers Union, Morgan Jindrich, The Giving Life, Living News
Morgan Jindrich

This week, Make Our Food Safe, a coalition of public interest safety groups are taking the message of safe lunches to the streets.

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There is Only One Durable Solution to the Economic Crisis

Greg Tarpinian | Posted 10.17.2009 | Business

Read More: Savings Rate, Economy, Economic Crisis, Consumers, Consumer Demand, Recession, Business News
Greg Tarpinian

Most economists agree that until the consumer begins to "spend again," the economy is unlikely to grow at meaningful rates in the next several years. But when and how will that happen?

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Five Reasons for Consumer Caution

Jim Randel | Posted 09.26.2009 | Business

Read More: Consumers, Media, Spending, Investing, Jobless Rate, Economy, Financial Crisis, Business, Housing Crisis, Consumer Confidence, Consumer Spending, Business News
Jim Randel

The Great Recession may be technically ending, but I recommend that consumers proceed with caution.

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Latest Consumer Spending Data Much Worse Than Expected

Sheldon Filger | Posted 09.17.2009 | Business

Read More: Federal Reserve, Commerce Department, Retail Sales, Consumer Spending, Recession, Interest Rates, Deleveraging-the-Economy, American Consumerism, Automaker Bailout, Wall Street Bailout, Obama Administration, Fiscal Responsibility, Global Economic Crisis, Unemployment Numbers, Global Recession, Federal Bailouts, Consumer Confidence, Unemployment, Economic Stimulus Package, Federal Budget Deficit, Cash for Clunkers, Recession Fears, Consumers, Recession Watch, Business News
Sheldon Filger

The centrality of the U.S. consumer to the overall global economy has meant his pulling back on a debt induced shopping spree, which has sparked a worldwide synchronized recession.

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Consumers Rule: Finally!

Jim Randel | Posted 09.15.2009 | Business

Read More: Retail, Consumers, Spending, Recession, Retail Industry, Retail Sales, Economic Crisis, Housing Crisis, Business News
Jim Randel

Since consumer spending represents about 2/3 of our economic engine, the economy will recover when consumers feel the time is right -- not when someone else tells consumers it will.

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Let's Face It -- We're Brandwashed.

Sarah O'Leary | Posted 08.14.2009 | Media

Read More: Retailers, Sales, Retail Sales, Shopping, Advertising, Marketing, Consumers, Retail, Media, TV Advertisements, Business, Consumer Spending, TV Advertising, Media Companies, Advertising Strategy, Marketing Strategy, Marketing Companies, Media News
Sarah O'Leary

Consumers are the most important consideration in a marketing cycle, and they don't spend hours wondering if their yogurt is "perky yet confident," and "not afraid to share its opinion."

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Seeing Through the Food Industry's "Personal Responsibility" Smoke Screen

Rob Smart | Posted 09.11.2009 | Green

Read More: Consumer Food Expenditures, Retail, Conventional Food, Personal Responsibility, Family, Cooking, Food, Food Retail, Community, Home Cooking, Business, Innovation, Food Preparation, Triple Bottom Line, Pro Food, Eating, Industrial Food, Sustainable, Supermarkets, Food Marketing, Local, Consumers, Real Food, Grocery Prices, Walmart, Unhealthy Food, Food Politics, Cheap Groceries, Healthy Food, Healthy Eating, Cargill, General Mills, Food Policy, Family-Meal-Time, Healthy Eating Habits, Grocery Shopping, Family Meals, Unhealthy Eating, Local Food, The-Food-Revolution, Grocery Stores, Green News
Rob Smart

"Personal responsibility" is used as a smoke screen to cover the tracks of industrial food, tracks that run roughshod over the mirage of choice and personal responsibility.

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Men Are in Marketing, Women Are at Retail

Sarah O'Leary | Posted 07.30.2009 | Business

Read More: Consumerism, Marketing Trends, Sales, Retail Sales, Advertising, Marketing, Consumers, Media, Business, Consumer Spending, Business News
Sarah O'Leary

If you want to sell more to the female population, it makes common sense to place women in agency and corporate management positions where they can make the final marketing decision.

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