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
economy
Newly Frugal Behavior Is Permanent, Say Some Consumers
By 11.12.09
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.
Citibank: Transfer $5000 In Debt Onto This Card Or We'll Double Your APR
By 11.12.09
“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:
The Secret Origins Of Subway's $5 Footlong Revealed
By 11.10.09
“Five dollar…five dollar footlooooonggg!” Who comes up with this stuff?
Golden Parachute Or Gilded Noose?
By 11.10.09
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.
Man Attempts To Rob Taco Bell, Then Asks For A Job Application
By 11.3.09
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.
Goldman Secretly Bet On Housing Crash
By 11.2.09
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…
Giant Lender CIT Goes Bankrupt And 9 Banks Go Under
By 11.2.09
Ghosts were not only cruising sidewalks looking for candy this weekend, they had also infested some banking balance sheets.
Gas Prices Have Jumped $0.20 In The Past Two Weeks
By 10.26.09
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.
Consumerist At The White House, Part III: Regulating Credit Bureaus
By 10.21.09
Here’s a question a lot of you asked: How will the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency deal with credit-report agencies like Equifax and TransUnion. Jump in for the answer from Diana Farrell, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council.
Consumerist Takes Your Financial Reform Questions To The White House, Part II
By 10.18.09
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.
Bank Of America Posts $1 Billion Loss In Third Quarter
By 10.16.09
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.
Consumerist Takes Your Financial Reform Questions To The White House
By 10.15.09
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.
Unemployment Visualized As A Zombie Outbreak
By 10.12.09 — Updated: 2.28.13
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.
13 More Weeks Of Unemployment Benefits For Some Americans
By 9.24.09
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.
Old Debts Under $100 Don't Matter Under FICO '08
By 9.24.09
An update to how the new FICO ’08 scoring system got revamped this year:
Fed Keeps Interest Rates At .25%
By 9.24.09
Interest rates will stay at at a low low .25%, the Fed announced today. For you this means…
