There’s been a lot of talk lately about why first-time home buyers are sitting on the sidelines. Here’s some data that may help explain why: Low-cost starter homes are simply disappearing from the market, and the ones that still exist are being gobbled up by investors and turned into rentals [Keep reading]
WASHINGTON D.C. — Here are my prepared remarks from this Wednesday’s Consumer Federation of America awards banquet. There is no video, so I’ve matched an audio file with a few images. I’m sorry the audio isn’t great — it’s from Michael Shreiber’s iPhone — so if it’s too hard to hear, [Keep reading]
Today might be a good day to step away from the keyboard (after reading this story), go enjoy the sun, and not look at your portfolio. Peeking again and again won’t do you a whole lot of good. The Brexit “Leave” vote is a genuine surprise, and markets hate surprises. But as [Keep reading]
Quantrey Bryant wasn’t a suspected terrorist, but he was a convicted felon, and felons aren’t supposed to be able to buy guns. But from an Alabama jail cell, using smuggled cell phones, stolen credit card data, online websites, and straw buyers, Bryant was able to set up a guns-for-money crime [Keep reading]
You probably won’t be surprised to hear that there isn’t a single state in the U.S. where a worker earning minimum wage can afford the rent for a two-bedroom apartment — or, for that matter, a one-bedroom apartment. You might be surprised to learn that there isn’t a state where renters [Keep reading]
In the days when there were newspapers, every cub reporter’s first job was to go to the local police station and mine stacks of police reports looking for good stories. In my first job, as is common, a desk sergeant sat with me once a week and sifted reports for [Keep reading]
Young would-be home buyers are still sitting on the sidelines of America’s housing market, with first-time homebuyers representing a decades-low share. Student loans, high prices, low credit scores and a lack of knowledge when it comes to the financing available to them such as bridging finance have all been blamed [Keep reading]
How bad has the ransomware problem become? The state auditor of Ohio held a press conference yesterday because local government agencies keep falling for ransomware attacks. And a firm that tracks domain activity found a 3,500% increase in ransomware-related domain name registrations in the past quarter. Hacker love to cut and [Keep reading]
Tell the truth: when people say “lifetime service awards,” you think “retirement.” So it is with mixed feelings that I share with you I will be honored with one on Wednesday. The Consumer Federation of America, which represents 300 non-profit consumer organizations around the country, will be presenting me with the [Keep reading]
By Dan Maccarone and Bob Sullivan Have you ever wondered how tips get shared in a busy bar when multiple servers help you? Well, with so much cash changing hands so quickly, it’s not exactly scientific. And sometimes, it gets messy — or downright ugly. Here’s an example of both: “I worked [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan