This morning, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced voluntary recalls of cribs from two different companies — Graco and Simplicity — that encompasses well over 200,000 cribs. Both recalls involve possible suffocation hazards and owners are being advised to discontinue use immediately. [More]
Government Policy
FTC Keeping Eye On Possible Blog Payola Cases: Ann Taylor Not Punished
By 4.29.10
A reminder to any bloggers who like free stuff, and companies working on exciting new Internet marketing strategies: the Federal Trade Commission is watching you, so keep to their guidelines that dictate bloggers must disclose any compensation that they receive for posting about or reviewing a product. While they didn’t take any action against clothing retailer Ann Taylor for offering gift cards to bloggers who posted about a new collection, the scrutiny was an important message in itself. [More]
Man Sues Sony For Taking Away PS3 Feature Via Update
By 4.29.10
Not content to let Sony take away the PS3’s ability to let users install alternate operating systems such as Linux, a man is bringing a class action lawsuit against the company. [More]
Walmart Facing Mega Sex Discrimination Suit
By 4.29.10
The Daily Beast spotlights a woman who joined in on the ongoing Betty Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. sex discrimination class action suit against Walmart, the largest civil rights class action suit in American history. [More]
Toyota Recalls 50,000 Sequoia SUVs
By 4.28.10
It seems like it’s almost been two weeks since the last Toyota recall, meaning… yep, it’s time to announce another Toyota recall. This time, the car giant has issued a voluntary safety recall on around 50,000 early-2003 Model-Year Toyota Sequoia SUVs to upgrade program logic in its Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) system. [More]
VIDEO: Watch Bankzilla Devour An Innocent Passerby In D.C.
By 4.28.10
Don’t say we didn’t try to warn people. We posted yesterday that our benevolent benefactors at Consumers Union would be unleashing Bankzilla upon the innocent people of Washington, D.C., and we were not kidding. Just check out the video for the evidence. [More]
Here Are America's Most Corrupt Industries
By 4.28.10
Do you work in a corrupt industry? The Daily Beast took a look at data gathered by Transparency International, a “global anti-corruption think tank,” and put together a list of America’s most corrupt professions. Everyone may be hating on Wall Street right now, but the worst offenders according to the criteria used are utilities. In second and third place were Wall Street and telecommunications, and media came in fifth, well before banking, insurance, or retail. [More]
Who Keeps Trying To Kill Our Babies?
By 4.27.10
This “Recalled Baby Products 2009-2010” graphic from the website hugamonkey is massive, and it shows how many types of products were recalled over the past 16 months. You can use it as a reference tool to see if there’s anything in your home on the list, or to remind yourself why you’d rather have a houseplant. [More]
Financial Reform Bill Blocked Again
By 4.27.10
It’s deja vu all over again: For the second day in a row, Republicans blocked debate on the financial reform bill. Once more, the vote was 57-41. And, once more, Democrat Ben Nelson of Nebraska broke ranks and voted with Republicans against the bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid plans to bring the bill up for a vote again tomorrow. [More]
Senator To Goldman Sachs: "Why Did You Push A Shitty Deal?"
By 4.27.10
We don’t normally put expletives in our headlines, but when a Senator says the word nearly a dozen times in an open hearing, who are we to argue? And, we have to admit, Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) certainly makes a compelling case when he reads back Goldman Sachs internal emails and concludes that the company’s “top priority was selling that shitty deal.” Video after the jump.
Brazil's Cure For High Blood Pressure? More Sex
By 4.27.10
Brazilians are a passionate people. Unfortunately, they are also a people with high blood pressure. But the country’s health minister is telling Brazilians that a good place to fight heart problems is between the sheets. [More]
Can A Price Scanner Give You Tourette's? (No, Says Judge)
By 4.27.10
I’ve certainly fought back the urge to shout obscenities at the register over the years, but until now I never thought it might be because the laser in the scanner was triggering an inherited tic disorder; I just thought I was angry about something. A woman in Pennsylvania thinks otherwise and sued a convenience store, claiming that when a clerk shone a price scanner’s LED in her daughter’s face and told her to cheer up, the light burned her daughter and triggered Tourette’s-style symptoms. The judge threw out the case earlier this month for lack of evidence. [More]
Did Paulson Violate The Fair Credit Reporting Act?
By 4.27.10
When the SEC announced its fraud complaint against Goldman Sachs, people noted that the penalties involved would involve money, not jail time. But an attorney writing for seekingalpha.com argued over the weekend that John Paulson, the hedge fund manager who worked with GS to create “synthetic derivatives,” accessed FICO scores to create his financial product and therefore violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)–which could mean a penalty as high as $1 billion, and even jail time if the FTC or Justice Department decides to go after him. [More]
Financial Reform Bill Stalls In Senate
By 4.26.10
With a 57-41 vote, Senate Republicans blocked debate over the White House-supported financial reform bill. The Democrats needed a 60-vote “supermajority” to avoid a Republican filibuster threat. Democrats plan to reintroduce the bill as early as tomorrow. [More]
Supreme Court Makes It Easier To Sue Debt Collectors
By 4.26.10
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that debt collectors can’t use a “bona fide error” defense to avoid being sued for misinterpreting the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA). In other words, if a debt collection agency makes a demand that’s in violation of the Act, it can’t say it didn’t know any better. Well, it can, but you can go right ahead and sue. [More]
What To Do If You Didn't File Your Taxes
By 4.26.10
So you couldn’t pay your taxes and you opted not to file them, or an extension, at all. Don’t sit around worrying about when the IRS will catch on and come after you; file them as soon as possible, writes consumer reporter Iris Taylor, so that you can set up a repayment plan and move on with your life. The sooner you do this, the sooner you can pay them off (you can take up to 5 years to pay them), and the less you’ll end up paying in penalties and fees over the long run. [More]
10 Things You Don't Know About The Goldman Sachs Case
By 4.26.10
The media spin cycle is churning out its typically tepid hogwash about the SEC’s suit against Goldman Sachs. The Big Picture skewers 10 myths about the case and gets to the heart of the matter: Goldman is screwed. Here’s why: [More]
Senator Asks FTC To Provide Privacy Guidelines For Facebook, Other Social Networks
By 4.26.10
Senator Charles Schumer is upset on your behalf over Facebook’s latest loosening of its privacy policies, and yesterday he called for the FTC to step in and provide some guidance, offering to introduce legislation if the agency feels it needs that extra authority. Specifically, Schumer wants three things: opt-out defaults should be switched to opt-in, sites should always disclose where the information is going, and there should be some general “guidelines for user privacy” that sites follow. [More]
