Who will you be fighting for a parking space at the mall this year? A recent survey by Market Forice Information indicates that almost three-quarters of the American public plan to go shopping on the day after Thanksgiving this year, and sixty-one percent plan to do some shopping online on the next weekday, or “Cyber Monday.” [More]
recession watch
Starbucks Baristas Nationwide Realizing They Work At A McDonald's That Doesn't Serve Burgers
By 11.10.10
Reuters says that conditions, benefits and salaries have deteriorated at Starbucks — once celebrated in the media for its happy, loyal workforce. Apparently, disillusioned Starbucks workers are everywhere you care to look. [More]
Homeowners Making $2.6B Per Month Living In Foreclosed Homes
By 11.1.10
Here’s one way to make the mortgage mess work for you: According to The Wall Street Journal, the slowdown in foreclosures due to questions about paperwork, note-holders and robo-signers has allowed some homeowners to live mortgage-free for several months; some are even renting out their homes. The Journal estimates that the “stealth stimulus” gives these homeowners a “subsidy” of about $2.6 billion a month. [More]
Poll: Most Americans Concerned About Ability To Pay Mortgage Or Rent
By 10.27.10
The recession may be over, but according to a new poll by the Washington Post, not only are most Americans concerned about having enough money to pay their rent or mortgage, but that number has continued to increase over the last two years. [More]
Um, Just What The Heck Is Quantitative Easing And Why Are We Doing It?
By 10.27.10
There’s been a lot of talk over the last few days about “quantitative easing,” but if you’re wondering what it is and why it matters — you’re not alone. Long story short — it’s a way for the Fed to create money out of thin air. [More]
Free Checking Accounts Heading The Way Of The Dodo
By 10.25.10
For much of the last decade, more and more banks had been offering checking accounts with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. But a new study from BankRate.com shows that this trend appears to have ended. [More]
Bank Of America Admits It Kinda Sorta Screwed Up On Some Foreclosures
By 10.25.10
In spite of all the evidence to the contrary, Bank of America has never really confessed to making errors on home foreclosures… until today. [More]
GMAC Resumes Foreclosures; White House Warns Banks To Not Be Stupid
By 10.19.10
One month ago, GMAC/Ally was the first major mortgage lender to freeze foreclosures and foreclosure sales in about half the U.S.. But the day after Bank of America announced it was thawing its foreclosure freeze, GMAC followed suit. Meanwhile, the White House has warned all lenders that it will go after banks who are found to employ any of the tactics that got them into this mess in the first place. [More]
Bank Of America Gets Back To Foreclosing In Some States
By 10.18.10
Ten days after announcing a freeze to foreclosures in all 50 states, Bank of America announced on Monday that it was time to get back to the business of foreclosing on homes in 23 of those states. [More]
14 Reasons Why Countrywide Is In The Worst Company Hall Of Fame
By 10.15.10
As the news breaks that Angelo R. Mozilo, the curiously orange former CEO of Countrywide Financial, has agreed to pay millions of dollars in fines, we decided to take a walk down Countrywide’s Memory Lane… which happens to be a street littered with abandoned and foreclosed houses. [More]
Tips For Weathering The Foreclosure Freeze
By 10.15.10
As mentioned here earlier this week, the current foreclosure freezes by Bank of America and others have more than a few people in limbo as they wait to either buy or sell a foreclosed property. To help these folks out, Reuters has put together a list of helpful tips for weathering the freeze. [More]
Target Thinks Your Mom's Homemade Halloween Costumes Suck
By 10.15.10
The staff and the readers of The Consumerist share a love of cheap, homemade Halloween costumes. That’s why we’re a little disappointed in Target’s holiday ad offering, which features a creative (if fragile) homemade Iron Man costume made by a proud mom and worn by a dismayed little boy.
[More]
Bankers: We Wouldn't Hire Unqualified Robo-Signers If You Just Paid Your Mortgage
By 10.14.10
While a lot of attention has been paid to recent foreclosure freezes and the hordes of unqualified “robo-signers” hired to rubber stamp mortgage documents, the bankers of Wall Street want to remind the homeowners of America — This is all your fault. [More]
Robo-Signer Confession: 'I Don't Know The Ins & Outs Of The Loan, I Just Sign Documents'
By 10.13.10
In spite of their nickname, “robo-signers” — those hired to process the mountain of foreclosure documents during the recent recession — are flesh and blood human beings. And like many human beings, they also know very little about mortgages and foreclosures. [More]
Bank Of America's 5 Greatest Foreclosure F*#!-Ups
By 10.8.10
Earlier today, when Bank of America said it was halting foreclosure sales in all 50 states, we decided to take a stroll down memory lane to revisit the wide array of foreclosure disasters that BofA has perpetrated on the homeowning public in just the year or so. [More]
Over $22 Million In Stimulus Money Sent To Inmates & Zombies
By 10.8.10
Who says prison inmates have it tough? First came the report that a handful of cons had scored $9 million in home buyer tax credit, now we read that millions more in stimulus money was sent to our nation’s incarcerated. [More]
Is This The End Of Recession Pricing For Hotel Rooms?
By 10.8.10
While the last couple years haven’t exactly been wonderful for people in the hotel business, many travelers have been able to score cut-rate rooms as hotel operators sought to fill rooms. But now, says USA Today, it’s looking like rates are back on the rise again. [More]
Treasury Dept. To Give States $1.5 Billion To Help Small Businesses
By 10.8.10
Less than two weeks after the passing of the $30 billion small business lending bill, the Treasury Department has announced an additional $1.5 billion it will distribute to the states with the intent of seeing ten times that dollar amount ultimately injected into the economy. [More]
