Our ever-vigilant parents at the Consumers Union are taking action against three new bills set to be vote on in the House of Representatives Friday, publishing a letter to show how proposed reforms in the bills would contribute to damaging many consumer protections. [More]
Government Policy
Congress Lifts Ban On Funding Horse Meat Inspections, Slaughterhouses Could Open Soon
By 11.30.11
Modern Americans love our horses, and not for eating, so we’re betting the news that Congress has lifted a ban on funding horse meat inspections, potentially enabling slaughterhouses to open, will be met with a bit of outrage. It’s not a simple matter, however. [More]
FCC Agrees To Let AT&T And T-Mobile Withdraw Merger Application
By 11.29.11
Update: AT&T has responded to the release of the FCC’s report on their merger application, and they’re really not too happy about it. Their view is that the report was just a draft and furthermore, they never got to see it first. [More]
Facebook Agrees To Settle With FTC Over Privacy Violation Charges
By 11.29.11
Three years after the Federal Trade Commission leveled charges against Facebook, claiming the social networking site violated users’ privacy, a settlement has been reached. Part of the terms of the proposed settlement requires Facebook to undergo audits for 20 years. [More]
Food Carts Could Be Required To Post Letter Grades In New York
By 11.29.11
Diners in New York City are used to seeing letter grades posted in restaurant windows, which can act as an either an inducement to eat there or a turn-off. And now, one local politician wants to apply that same grade standard to food carts operating in the city. [More]
Political Commentary On A Pizza Hut Sign?
By 11.29.11
As you’ve probably heard, the longstanding rule that classifies 1/8 cup of tomato paste as a serving of vegetables in kids’ school lunches — thus allowing a slice of pizza to qualify as a serving of veggies — was set to be changed, but political maneuvering recently scuttled that change. And not everyone is thrilled with that. [More]
You Could Score $1.50 As Part Of Class Action Suit Against Ticketmaster
By 11.28.11
Start greasing up your piggy bank, Ticketmaster users! If you bought tickets from the online behemoth between October 21, 1999 and October 19, 2011, you could be entitled to anywhere from $1.50 to $25.50 as part of a settlement in a class action suit. [More]
Judge Blocks $285 Million Settlement Against Citigroup Because The Bank Won't Admit Wrongdoing
By 11.28.11
Earlier this fall, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced a whopping $285 million settlement with Citigroup over allegations that the bank misled investors in a 2007 mortgage derivatives deal. But that triumph was short-lived, as a judge has decided to block the settlement because of a standard settlement condition wherein the bank is allowed to close the case without admitting guilt or denying the allegations. [More]
6 Tips For Avoiding Early Retirement Seminar Scams
By 11.28.11
The idea of retiring early — putting the workday behind you and living a life of leisure before you’re too old to enjoy it — is incredibly tempting and there is no shortage of not-so-nice people out there willing to stoke that pipe dream at seminars where smooth-talking speakers make it all seem so attainable. Alas, it’s not so simple and a lot of these seminars will do nothing but leave you with less money than you had beforehand. [More]
5 Questions To Ask Yourself To See If You'll Need A Pre-Nup
By 11.28.11
Hammering out a prenuptial agreement with your betrothed certainly isn’t the most romantic of moments, but it may just be the decision that saves your financial sanity a few years from now when your life has become hell and it comes time to undo the sanctity of marriage. [More]
AT&T Pulls FCC Application For T-Mobile Merger
By 11.24.11
Two days after the FCC announced it intends to hold a rare administrative hearing on AT&T’s proposed purchase of T-Mobile USA, the folks at the Death Star have decided to pull their merger application to the regulator, at least until the end of its legal battle with the Dept. of Justice. [More]
Senator Introduces Two Bills To Curb Checked Bag Fees
By 11.23.11
With so many people lining up at the airport today and tomorrow to fly home to stuff their stomachs with, well… stuffing, one U.S. Senator has introduced two pieces of legislation aimed at reining in the checked bag fees charged by airlines. [More]
FCC To Add Yet Another Speed Bump To AT&T/T-Mobile Deal
By 11.22.11
While we all wait for the legal fireworks that are sure to come from the Justice Department’s lawsuit to stop the AT&T purchase of T-Mobile, the folks at the Federal Communications Commission are reportedly looking to hold an administrative hearing on the deal, which could make things even more difficult for the merger. [More]
Shots For Everyone! Jack Daniel's Beats Tax Proposal
By 11.22.11
Lovers of Lynchburg Lemonade, rejoice: A proposal to tax barrels of Jack Daniel’s whiskey has been defeated before it even made it to the state legislature in Tennessee. [More]
Justice Dept. To Put Debit Card Fees Under Antritrust Microscope
By 11.22.11
Even though Bank of America and a few others have — for now — ditched their plans to charge customers a monthly fee for making purchases with debit cards, the Justice Department has decided to look at the possible antitrust considerations surrounding the controversial proposals. [More]
Former AIG CEO Sues U.S. Government For $25 Billion Over Takeover
By 11.21.11
The one company that will forever be linked to the financial meltdown in the final years of the last decade is AIG (or American International Group, if you’re not into the whole brevity thing), which was bailed out and then effectively taken over by the U.S. government. Now a company led by AIG’s former CEO has filed suit against the feds, alleging that said takeover was unconstitutional. [More]
Big Sugar Accuses Big Corn Of Conspiracy To Deceive Public With 'Corn Sugar' Ads
By 11.21.11
Last month, the judge in the sugar industry’s lawsuit over ads that try to rebrand high fructose corn syrup as Corn Sugar allowed the suit to move forward but removed the individual corn companies as defendants. Now, Big Sugar has fired the latest legal missle, amending its complaint to accuse those corn companies of conspiracy to deceive the public. [More]
