News

2017

October

20

• Why is 'affordable' housing so expensive to build?. It’s a problem that isn’t going away: the so-called “affordable” housing we’re building in many cities—by which we mean publicly subsidized housing that’s dedicated to low- and moderate-income households—is so expensive to build that we’ll…

• Health insurers’ most pressing concern right now? Consumer confusion. Many have already adjusted for the possibility they wouldn’t get subsidies for low-income Americans.

• Nelnet buying rival student loan firm for $150 million. Nelnet is buying rival student loan servicing company Great Lakes Educational Loan Services for $150 million.

• 17 states slam Betsy DeVos for blocking rules on for-profit colleges. Democratic attorneys general in 17 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Education Secretary Betsy DeVos over the department's decision to block Obama-era protections for students attending for-profit colleges.

• FTC and 11 states crack down on student loan scams. Federal and state officials have launched the first national crackdown on companies that they say gouge student loan borrowers, accusing the companies of taking more than $95 million in illegal fees in recent years and…

19

• Don’t strip service members of right to join class-action suits. Service members frequently are ordered to move, making it harder to learn if they’ve had their identities stolen or to spot red flags of fraud. Military consumers report identity theft at roughly double the rate…

• Scammers cost student loan borrowers millions of dollars. Many of the 44 million borrowers are struggling to repay their more than $1.4 trillion in student loan debt in the United States. The options for federal student loan borrowers can be good, but as…

• What to do if your financial information is stolen. Contrary to what movies portray, the most common crimes are not Taken-style abductions or home invasions, but the theft of personal information.  "The most effective way to keep tabs on all of these accounts is…

• After Equifax hack, calls for big changes In credit reporting. The Equifax security breach — the largest known theft of Social Security numbers in history — has lawmakers, prosecutors and identity theft victims angry with the company. The revelations have put a spotlight on the…

18

• Senators announce bipartisan deal to stabilize Obamacare markets. The announcement of a compromise worked out by Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, a Republican from Tennessee, and the committee’s senior Democrat, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, marks an important breakthrough in the nation’s…

• How to use clothing subscription boxes to find your personal style. Working one on one with a professional stylist to customize and upgrade your wardrobe would quite likely cost you thousands of dollars. It’s not surprising that companies—and consumers—have jumped on a more affordable solution with…

• Waiting to upgrade to the iPhone 8? You’re not alone. We all know the drill: Each year, Apple introduces a new iPhone, and eager buyers rush to pick it up. At least, that's how it normally goes. But this year, the older model iPhone 7…

17

• How to divvy up your wealth when you disagree with offspring. I am reasonably well off thanks to hard work, some luck and a hard-earned (by my mother) inheritance. I don't spend much because I prefer a simple life, so the money has piled up over…

• Where fire victims can apply for tax relief and FEMA grants and loans. Financial help is coming for California fire victims in the form of income- and property-tax relief for individuals and businesses in most affected counties and federal grants and loans for those in Sonoma, Napa, Butte,…

• Fake kidnapping calls are on the rise. The FBI is out with a new warning about an increase in fake kidnapping calls. That's when criminals lie about taking a loved one, and then demand money. The FBI is launching an awareness campaign…

• Payday lender convicted of illegal payday loans, racketeering. Scott Tucker, a Leawood businessman, was convicted Friday of 14 criminal charges against him in connection to a $2 billion payday lending enterprise that authorities said exploited 4.5 million consumers with predatory interest rates and…

• Latinos son abrumadoramente estafados con la promesa de más ingresos. En 2016, se presentaron más de 3 millones de quejas por frauds en todo el país Hace alrededor de un año, de la nada, Felipe de León recibió una llamada en su teléfono celular, en…

16

• Lease or purchase your car - which option is right for you? (Chinese). 許多人在選車子時都會遇到是買或是租賃的問題，而專業網站指出，買車和租賃車子都各有優點和缺點，對於手中現錢不多、喜歡追求開新車型、害怕買賣車輛手續麻煩的人來說，租賃車子可能是更合適一些；而從長期來看，買車可以擁有車子的買賣權，比較省錢划算一些。

• It’s not too late for the Senate to avoid fiscal disaster. Republicans want to pass the biggest rewrite of the federal tax code since 1986. They could do so the right way, taking care to simplify the code without harming the country’s already stretched finances. Or…

• 5 common student loan credit reporting errors. According to an April 2017 report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), “Non-federal and federal student loan borrowers reported issues of incorrect reporting of their loans to the credit reporting companies.” Such errors can…