Consumerist
videos
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real estate
25 US Cities With Biggest Q3 Home Price Plunges
Want a bargain on a house? Try snapping something up in on of these 25 US cities that saw the greatest plunges in their home prices in the 3rd quarter: More » -
crime
Middle Class Shoplifting To Keep Up Appearances
Shoplifting is up 20% in the UK as choice cuts of meat, fresh fish and fancy cheeses are increasingly getting stolen, mostly by middle-class women from boutique food emporiums and convenience stores More » -
spending habits
Newly Frugal Behavior Is Permanent, Say Some Consumers
A new study says that 26% of US consumers "have no plans to return to their free-spending ways," which probably doesn't sound like good news to retailers. Even worse (for retailers), about a third say they've become less loyal. More » -
consumerist hotline
Citibank: Transfer $5000 In Debt Onto This Card Or We'll Double Your APR
"It's the increased cost of doing business," was Citicard's constant refrain when Kent's husband called to complain about their latest pre-CARD act adverse action insanity: transfer $5000 in balances from other credit cards to this credit card or we'll double your interest rate. Listen to Kent's message left on the new Consumerist hotline and/or read the transcript: More » -
five dollar footlong
The Secret Origins Of Subway's $5 Footlong Revealed
"Five dollar...five dollar footlooooonggg!" Who comes up with this stuff? More » -
severance pay
Golden Parachute Or Gilded Noose?
WSJ takes a look at the "severance class" - unemployed formerly high-ranking folks burning through their chunky termination pay package to maintain the outward apperance of their pre-pink slip lifestlye. More » -
incorrect procedure
Man Attempts To Rob Taco Bell, Then Asks For A Job Application
Well this guy is doing it wrong: We've been alerted to a report from Haverstraw, NY where police say a man entered a Taco Bell, waved a gun around, demanded money — then asked for a job application. More » -
goldman sachs
Goldman Secretly Bet On Housing Crash
A 5-month investigation by McClatchy Newspapers has found that Goldman secretly bet on the housing crash, went out and pimped the dickens out of assets it knew were junk, and may have broken securities laws in doing so. McClatchy found that Goldman... More » -
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spooky lending
Giant Lender CIT Goes Bankrupt And 9 Banks Go Under
Ghosts were not only cruising sidewalks looking for candy this weekend, they had also infested some banking balance sheets. More » -
hot infographics
What Recovery? 937,840 Foreclosures Q3
What recovery? There were 937,840 foreclosures in Q3 in the US, according to RealtyTrac, the highest quarterly level since they starting issuing reports in 2005. Let's take a closer look via giant sexy graphic visualization, inside. More » -
economy
Gas Prices Have Jumped $0.20 In The Past Two Weeks
Gas prices have spiked in the last two weeks, reaching levels last seen during the peak of the summer driving season, says the AP. The increase in gas prices has retailers worried that consumers who are putting more money in their gas tanks will buy fewer gifts during the upcoming holiday season. More » -
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videos
Consumerist Takes Your Financial Reform Questions To The White House, Part II
Last week, we brought your financial reform questions to Diana Farrell, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council. In this segment, we ask how the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency will work, and how consumers will be able to get their complaints addressed. More » -
schadenfreude
Bank Of America Posts $1 Billion Loss In Third Quarter
Do you hate Bank of America? Well take today's earnings report and wallow around in it like Ann-Margret in beans, becuse the bank has posted a loss of $1 billion before dividends to preferred shareholders—"When those dividend payments are included, the loss was $2.24 billion," reports the New York Times. More » -
videos
Consumerist Takes Your Financial Reform Questions To The White House
You had questions, we got answers. On Tuesday, we went to Washington and interviewed Diana Farrell, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council, about the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Here's a piece of the video of our interview, where Farrell answers your questions about payday lending and protections for underserved consumers. More » -
please look at my resume, barbara
Unemployment Visualized As A Zombie Outbreak
At some point, we're going to have to stop referring to every red-hued outbreak map as being zombie-like, but this is not that point. It's nearly Halloween, the #2 movie in the nation is Zombieland, and yesterday the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis warned that unemployment may exceed 10% before the end of the year. This is the appropriate way to view unemployment today. More » -
unemployment
13 More Weeks Of Unemployment Benefits For Some Americans
On Tuesday, the House voted to extend unemployment benefits for Americans who live in states where the unemployment rate is greater than 8.5 percent. 400,000 people were set to run out of benefits at the end of September, and will now continue to receive them until the end of the year if the bill passes. More » -
fico
Old Debts Under $100 Don't Matter Under FICO '08
An update to how the new FICO '08 scoring system got revamped this year: More »
