Using plastic that automatically deducts payments from a checking account has apparently fallen out of favor with the kids. Debit card usage is at a seven-year low among young adults, according to a new report published by Mercator Advisory Group. Debit card usage is flat for most of the general [Keep reading]
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Verizon managed to ground an airline on Thursday. But it’s important to ask: Who’s really to blame? Discount airliner JetBlue appears to have cut some serious corners with its disaster recovery planning. The airline suffered nationwide delays on Thursday when many of its computer systems went down, preventing fliers from [Keep reading]
ARCHIVE, March 18, 2011 — Engineers used to talk about guarding against the “single point of failure” when designing critical systems like aircraft control systems or nuclear power plants. But rarely does one mistake or event cause a catastrophe. As we’ve seen in Japan, disaster is usually as function of [Keep reading]
I’m happy to announce that I’ve joined a great new personal finance site called Grow as a contributor. Led by Jennifer Barrett, who until recently was editing my CNBC.com stories, Grow is a part of the Acorns app. Acorns is one of the clever new finance startups generally called “FinTech.” If [Keep reading]
“Sell everything.” By now, you’ve probably seen the headlines generated by a client note sent out by the Royal Bank of Scotland. It predicts a “cataclysmic year ahead,” and urges clients to sell everything except high-quality bonds. And if that wasn’t scary enough, the note warns: “In a crowded hall, exit doors [Keep reading]
By now you’ve probably heard the sexy story of one major league baseball team hacking another in a perhaps the most famous case of corporate espionage to date. It’s the most famous because it involves the Houston Astros and the St. Louis Cardinals, but it’s really a trivial case in [Keep reading]
Credit security freezes are often held up as the gold standard to protect consumers fromidentity theft. Much more restrictive than traditional fraud alerts, credit freezes prevent anyone from opening up new accounts using a consumer’s Social Security number — including the rightful owner of the number. To get credit, a [Keep reading]
January brings a lot of sobering realities. Most of us start the month with a literal or metaphorical headache. We’ll likely be heavier, facing bigger credit card bills, and headed away from our families and back to the grind. We’ll probably be facing the worst weather of the year and the darkest days, [Keep reading]
Is there a way to beat gotcha artists at their own game? To make money off those who make money by tricking consumers? Two brothers in Tennessee may have figured out how to do just that. Their proposition is simple. Feel like you’ve been mistreated by a company and you’ve [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan