US consumers broke through quite a barrier earlier this year, when total credit card debt topped $1 trillion for the first time since the Great Recession. Then in June, total credit card debt reached $1.021 trillion, besting the previous record set back in April 2008, just as the Great Recession began. […]
In this story The Department of Education will no longer play nice with the consumer-friendly CFPB on student loan complaints It could get harder to complain about problems repaying student loans The move follows a pattern of industry-friendly steps, including putting a former exec at a disgraced for-profit school as […]
In this story New apps aim to cut down on accidental overdrafts and cash flow issues. Will the apps end up like Payday loans, or a better deal? Steps you can take without needing an app Remember when banks feared that new consumer protections would make it harder to charge […]
It’s Labor Day. I hope you aren’t working this weekend. Far too many Americans will be. And thanks to a court decision this week, millions of them will continue to work over, for free. Before the court ruling, and what the Trump administration might do about it, let’s talk about […]
Now is as good a time as any to talk about America’s failing infrastructure, and the possibility that President Donald Trump could make good on a promise to rebuild America. Once upon a time, the United States faced down an existential crisis by making massive investments in its people and […]
America is about to learn, again, the sad insurance lessons of wind vs. water. When hurricanes hit, standard homeowners insurance covers damage caused by wind — a tree blown down on a house, for example — but not damage caused by water from flooding. Only homeowners who pay extra for […]
I’ve written several times about the connection between domestic violence and mass murder. Nearly every time a heinous event involving a mass shooting occurs, the murderer has a history of violence at home. We just had a chilling reminder of this in Charlottesville — James Alex Fields, who drove through […]
RED TAPE WRESTLING TIPS Fake eclipse glasses are dangerous Make sure you know the source of yours If you don’t have plans for Monday, stay home. Eclipse traffic is going to be a nightmare Most scammers want to rob you blind. But eclipse glass scammers could, quite literally, make you […]
When the lights go down on small-town America next week, Eclipse chasers are guaranteed to see a heck of a show. Not much else is guaranteed, however. I explained the tricky problems facing towns in the “zone of totality” for CNBC.com this week. You can read that story here. Below […]
The Dow is up about 20 percent since Donald Trump’s election. Wages are up 2.5 percent on an annualized basis. That’s what you need to know about the U.S. economy right now. Sure, today’s jobs report has lots of people cheering. Most of them are cheering, however, because the news […]
Bob Sullivan