Rana Foroohar’s new book, Makers and Takers, is a first-class takedown of the way many American firms make money today. The book’s subtitle – The Rise of Finance and the Fall of American Business – lays out the sad paradox. Some people make money by making things. Others make money [Keep reading]
Does being surrounded by people in debt make you more likely to land in debt? That’s one of the provocative questions posed by a new Urban Institute report that examines possible links between geography, neighborhood characteristics and unpaid bills. While one-third of Americans have a debt in collections on their [Keep reading]
It’s a struggle as old as air travel itself: Do I book this plane ticket now with my plans still in flux, or do I wait and risk prices skyrocketing? Airline travelers wrestling with this do-I-or-don’t-I dilemma have a new service at their disposal. For a few dollars, they can [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]
Claiming Americans consumers have been “set up to fail” by the short-term lending industry, federal regulators on Thursday issued sweeping new rules that would drastically alter the payday and title lending industries. Under the proposed rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, short-term lenders would have to verify borrowers’ ability to [Keep reading]
You’ve got to hand it to Gene Marks, a consultant and author, for saying what everyone else has been thinking: that replacing loyal employees with younger, cheaper workers is the way American business gets done. In fact, says Marks in his provocative Fortune column, ” it’s the right thing to do. But is [Keep reading]
A “debt collector” call can arrive at any time for just about anyone. Even if you’ve never missed a payment on a bill. There’s only one way to protect yourself: Know what questions to ask. Debt collector telemarketing scams are incredibly persistent because they work. “Debt collectors” can sound scary, [Keep reading]
Corporations hack people. They hack consumers, and they hack their own employees. Mere mortals don’t stand a chance when high-powered computers with finely-tuned algorithms attack them. Computerized cheating is among the most frightening developments of our time, and it should alarm you much more than it does. The latest frightening [Keep reading]
Can a debt collector contact family, friends, or co-workers in an attempt to find you? Yes, yes, and yes. But she or he can’t say very much. (This story first appeared on Credit.com. Read it there.) The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act offers consumers a wide set of protections about [Keep reading]
If you’ve ever turned on late-night television, you’ve seen the ads. They are ubiquitous in some parts of the country. Need cash? Drive in and give us your car title, we’ll give you a loan….at about 300 percent interest. Title loans from places like title loans jacksonville, are payday loans [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan