News

2017

August

23

• Mr. Trump sides with Wall Street; you lose. The Trump administration has no grounds for blocking the “fiduciary rule,” an Obama-era regulation that requires financial advisers to put their clients’ interests first when giving advice or selling investments for retirement accounts. But blocking…

• Richard Cordray defends CFPB arbitration rule. Richard Cordray, the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, went on the offensive Tuesday to publicly defend an agency rule that has roiled Wall Street by allowing consumers to band together and sue their…

• How Powerball manipulated the odds to make another massive jackpot. Two years ago, your chances of becoming an instant millionaire were 1 in roughly 175 million. Now, the odds are 1 in roughly 292 million. What happened?

• How to buy the mattress that’s perfect for you. The only thing more exhausting than sleeping on a bad mattress is shopping for a new one. First, you have to withstand mattress salespeople — almost as much pressure as shopping for a car. Then,…

22

• Investment basics (Fall 2017). Investing is necessary if you want to outpace inflation and achieve long-term financial goals. In the "Investment Basics" issue of Consumer Action News, we offer essential information and resources for understanding and managing the costs of investing, vetting financial advisers, avoiding common investing pitfalls and fine-tuning your investment game. We also report on the status of the fiduciary rule—increased protection for investors that is being resisted by some in the industry and government.

• Investment basics (Fall 2017). Investing is necessary if you want to outpace inflation and achieve long-term financial goals. In the "Investment Basics" issue of Consumer Action News, we offer essential information and resources for understanding and managing the costs of investing, vetting financial advisers, avoiding common investing pitfalls and fine-tuning your investment game. We also report on the status of the fiduciary rule—increased protection for investors that is being resisted by some in the industry and government.

• Consumer Action guides consumers to avoid investing costs, pitfalls. Resource helps consumers avoid pitfalls as administration’s attacks on investor protections ramp up Washington, DC - As the Trump administration reverses recent advancements in investor protections and savings initiatives, the national consumer advocacy non-profit Consumer…

• Let consumers sue companies. When a data breach at Home Depot in 2014 led to losses for banks nationwide, a group of banks filed a class-action lawsuit seeking compensation. Companies have the choice of taking legal action together. Yet…

• FBI warns of spreading W-2 email theft scheme. The IRS is warning businesses about a sharp increase in email phishing scams involving employees' W-2 forms — scams that can put workers’ Social Security numbers and other crucial information in the hands of thieves.

• Aging parents with lots of stuff, and children who don’t want it. Mothers and daughters talk about all kinds of things. But there is one conversation Susan Beauregard, 49, of Hampton, Conn., is reluctant to have with her 89-year-old mother, Anita Shear: What to do — eventually…

• Student loan debt crushing older Americans too. The crushing weight of student loan debt isn’t a problem affecting just younger Americans; a new study shows older Americans are shouldering an increasing share of the nation’s collective $1.34 trillion student loan debt.

• Trump moves to impede consumer lawsuits against nursing homes. The Trump administration is pushing to scrap a rule that would have made it easier for nursing home residents to sue nursing homes for injuries caused by substandard care, abuse or neglect, bringing its campaign…

21

• Labor groups step up pressure on Trump to deliver. Labor leaders, once courted by President Trump, are stepping up their campaign to turn workers against the White House if it does not deliver more on jobs and trade — and if it does not…

• Crowded TV marketplace gets ready for three tech giants. Apple has more than $1 billion budgeted for original programming, Facebook wants its own version of “Scandal” and Google is ready to spend up to $3 million per episode on a drama. The three digital…

• Could you live off Social Security alone?. When it comes to retirement, there’s one question that is sure to get a lot of people to save: Could you survive if you only received Social Security?

19

• Wells Fargo troubles shift from phony bank accounts to real ones. After paying customers millions of dollars for opening phony accounts they did not want, Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) has said it is now grappling with the possibility it harmed customers by closing real accounts…

18

• Americans are buying more food at Walmart. Competition is heating up among U.S. grocery chains, but Americans are increasingly buying their food at Walmart. The retailer on Thursday said food sales had grown to their highest level in five years, as Walmart expands…

• Former Corinthian students will get debt relief. About 41,000 students who took out private loans to go to Corinthian College will be eligible for debt relief. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and 13 state attorneys general said Thursday that they had reached…

• Are you plagued by a serial get-out-of-debt disorder?. There’s a group of people who suffer from “serial get-out-of-debt disorder.” This ailment typically affects people who live above their means. One long-term effect of this ailment is the inability to save enough for emergencies,…

17

• Five things Wells Fargo account victims should do. Wells Fargo victims should do what they can to get financial relief from the latest account scandals. Account holders should check bank statements for unauthorized charges. Borrowers — particularly those with auto loans — should…