Consumerist
-
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 » -
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 » -
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 » -
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 » -
glass-stegall act
Former Citigroup Head Waxes Nostalgic For Regulation He Helped Kill
Retired head of Citigroup John Reed seems to have some misgivings about the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1932, which his company lobbied to kill in the first place. 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 » -
economic collapse
You Wouldn't Be Eating Cat Food If We Had Listened To Brooksley Born
Meet the canary in the coal mine that no one wanted to listen to: Brooksley Born. As head of the obscure Commodity Futures Trading Commission she sounded the warning in the late 90's about the need for more transparency and regulation of the derivatives market, but a coalition of Beltway insiders, including the then rock star Alan Greenspan, formed against her to shut her up and shut her out. After the economic collapse, it's time for them to eat crow. Learn more in tonight's FRONTLINE presentation of "The Warning" on PBS at 9pm eastern, or watch online. More » -
ken lewis
BoA CEO Resigns
Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis resigned yesterday after becoming a lightning rod for criticism after his controversial takeover of Merril Lynch. Even though BoA has appeared in our Worst Company in America contests each year, it's kind of sad because his office had a good record of solving our reader's problems they sent in to the executive office. Too bad that ethos couldn't have flowed downhill more.
Lewis Resigns After Betting Bank of America on America When America Broke
RELATED: Frontline Examines The Bank Of America/ Merrill Lynch Merger (Photo: CBS) -
-
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 » -
interest rates
Fed Keeps Interest Rates At .25%
Interest rates will stay at at a low low .25%, the Fed announced today. For you this means... More » -
it's the stupid economy, stupid
How Economists Got It So Wrong
How did economists get it so wrong, asks Paul Krugrman in a recent NYTM article. He examines several fallacies of these dismal professionals who, until everything exploded, were slapping each other on the back for having achieved something like the superstring theory of money. Oopsies. More » -
amex
AMEX Blue Raises Rates, Also On Past Balances, And Won't Let You Opt-Out
Starting Oct 1, AMEX Blue is raising rates on all customers, INCLUDING on OLD balances, AND they are telling customers that you can't just opt out and cancel the card (like normal). Turns out that opt-out we all took for granted was only by the credit card companies' good graces.
More »
-
cash for clunkers
Why Cash For Clunkers Was Doomed
Cash For Clunkers never had a chance. It was smothered at birth by a pile of paperwork and ever-changing rules, as this dealership worker reveals, using a combination of the words "cluster" and "fudge," except, of course, not fudge.
More »
-
economy
Daddy, Is The Recession Over Yet? Handy Chart Holds The Answer
When are we going to pull out of the recession? The Kiplinger Recovery Index thinks it can tell you, using a sophisticated system of red and green colored boxes and checkmarks and X's. More » -
aig
AIG's WCIA 2009 Award Mailed
We put AIG's Worst Company in American 2009 award in the mail today. Here is the congratulatory letter that accompanied their prize:
More »
-
recession
How The Recession Destroys Friends
Like a tornado, the recession hits unevenly. One house might get turned into splinters, while another is left untouched. Similarily, one friend can still be afford salads and Starbucks for lunch every day while the other has to brown-bag it. The Double-X blog asks its readers, "how do friends in newly different socioeconomic strata adjust?" Answer: most of the time, they don't.
The Recession Wrecks Friendships [Double x] (Photo: jessicajbeck)
-
So now there's a "Compensation Czar" to oversee the executive pay packages at banks that took TARP money. Here's an interview with the man behind this thankless job. [Marketplace]
MORE » -
repost
Insiders: Countrywide Made Racist Sub-Prime Loans
The Wells Fargo racist sub-prime mortgage lawsuit reminded me of an old post we did where an ex-Countrywide employee alleged that that loan company had racist practices too. Here's the insider email we posted back in February, 08: More »
money meltdown
New York, 9:16 PM
Sat Nov 14
4 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip Your Editors:
tips@consumerist.com
tipline: 347-42C-ON95
Co-Managing Editor:
Ben Popken
Email | AIM | Twitter
Co-Managing Editor:
Meghann Marco
Email | Twitter
Senior Editor:
Chris Walters
Email | Twitter
Weekend Editor:
Laura Northrup
Email | AIM | Twitter
Associate Editor:
Alex Chasick | Email
Associate Editor:
Phil Villarreal
Email
