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Year: 2019

Gotchas / Consumer

Do bull markets die of old age?

February 14, 2019 Bob Sullivan 0

It’s a question you’ve probably heard over and over: When will the current bull market end?  Depending on how you do the math, the stock market has risen for almost a decade, with a quick pause last December.  Back in elementary school, you learned “what goes up must go down.” [Keep reading]

Gotchas / Consumer

Target snooped on shoppers, changed prices based on location — Gotcha-proof your shopping

February 11, 2019 Bob Sullivan 2

Ever see a price for an item online, then look again and see a different price, and think you were going crazy? Probably not. You were probably encountering some form of dynamic pricing, which retailers have quietly dabbled in for many years.  Quietly, because every time consumers find out about [Keep reading]

Personal

Nine qualities that make a good reporter — from my talk at the University of Georgia

February 8, 2019 Bob Sullivan 0

ATHENS, Ga — What makes a good reporter? What makes a good interview?  These are big questions. I had the privilege to talk before a few sets of Grady College / University of Georgia journalism today about a couple of my favorite topics. And this is really one of my favorite [Keep reading]

Cybercrime / Privacy

Sweetheart scams surge, consumer group says: Don’t let someone you love get ‘Duped’

February 1, 2019 Bob Sullivan 1

Lonely would-be lovers are falling for con artists at an alarming rate, with devastating consequences – the average victim loses $18,831, according to a new report by the National Consumers League. The group says complaints about fake lovers to their organization basically doubled last year. “Scammers will stop at nothing to [Keep reading]

Cybercrime / Privacy

When consumers get hacked, what’s the harm? Judge tells Equifax he wants to find out, OK’s lawsuit

February 1, 2019 Bob Sullivan 1

Just how do victims of a massive data breach prove they were harmed — and how is that harm calculated so the victims might be compensated through a lawsuit? That’s been one of the central legal questions facing the millions of consumers who have their privacy violated every year through [Keep reading]

Gotchas / Consumer

Free money! Justice! As long as you are patient, says serial class action participant

January 28, 2019 Bob Sullivan 0

Free money is good. Getting free money as retribution from a misbehaving company — like a robocaller — is even better, says David Bookbinder.  He was bragging to friends the other day about a $77 check he received because he’d registered as a “victim” in a class action lawsuit…months ago. [Keep reading]

Cognitive bias

Blown your New Year’s resolution? Don’t give up. Just move the finish line closer

January 28, 2019 Bob Sullivan 0

It’s the end of January, which probably means you’ve already forgotten about your New Year’s resolutions. That’s ok. I’m here to help with today’s annoying overly simple trick for getting past a psychological hurdle you are facing. Want to achieve that goal you’ve given up on? Move the finish line [Keep reading]

Cognitive bias

You’re not wrong, you just have a small sample size problem

January 24, 2019 Bob Sullivan 1

Many political …err Facebook….arguments today boil down to warring anecdotes. Like this: “I don’t feel sorry for government workers who aren’t getting paid. Why don’t they have any savings? I know a Fed worker with a really expensive car. Maybe he shouldn’t have spent so much on that car!” A [Keep reading]

Gotchas / Consumer

John Bogle, Wall Street hero, showed us how fees could eat 80% of our retirement funds

January 16, 2019 Bob Sullivan 0

How could a lifetime of investing lead to Wall Street keeping 80% of the returns, while the consumer/investor keeps only 20%? Quite easily, as investing and fee-fighting pioneer John Bogle taught us. I explain it in Chapter 5 of Gotcha Capitalism. Here’s the relevant excerpt. I present it again today [Keep reading]

Gotchas / Consumer

Most Americans (60%) live paycheck to paycheck; that’s why we need to give federal workers theirs

January 16, 2019 Bob Sullivan 1

Missing even one paycheck matters. A lot. To about 60% of all Americans, according to a just-released survey by BankRate.com. So yes, forcing government workers to show up without pay is wrong, unfair, and in some cases cruel. I flew out of Reagan airport in DC this morning, and I [Keep reading]

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About me

BOB SULLIVAN is a veteran journalist and the author of four books, including the 2008 New York Times Best-Seller, Gotcha Capitalism, and the 2010 New York Times Best Seller, Stop Getting Ripped Off! His latest, The Plateau Effect, was published in 2013, and as a paperback, called Getting Unstuck in 2014. He has won the Society of Professional Journalists prestigious Public Service award, a Peabody award, and The Consumer Federation of America Betty Furness award, and been given Consumer Action’s Consumer Excellence Award.

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