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Email thisTweet thisShare Comments (0) Banks could win, consumers could lose, thanks to Dodd Lita Epstein Mar 3rd 2010 @ 9:30AM EST Filed Under: Banks, Credit, Credit Cards, In the News Banks may have successfully stopped efforts for an independent consumer finance agency, and we have Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) to thank for their success. Based on news reports this morning, Dodd has worked out a compromise with Sen. Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, for a compromise that will kill the idea of an independent consumer finance agency and instead place it inside the Federal Reserve.

The same Federal Reserve that failed to protect consumers from abuses in credit cards and mortgages as the asset bubble inflated.

That’s a complete 180 degree turnaround from what he promised when he opened the committee markup of financial reform legislation in November 2009.

He sang a much different tune at that time. In his opening statement about the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) he said, “This proposal has been the focus of well-funded, well-orchestrated attacks from the very entities that created these problems. They argue that the CFPA is a new bureaucracy by combining the disparate and ineffective functions of various agencies. They argue that it will limit credit availability. Well, the abusive lenders and their Wall Street enablers have pretty well shut down the credit markets all by themselves.”

Fruzsina Eordogh

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Continue reading Daiso to pay $2 million fine, stop selling kids products after breaking federal laws

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Continue reading Banks could win, consumers could lose, thanks to Dodd

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Email thisTweet thisShare Comments (0) More interest in reverse mortgages as seniors’ home values improve Diane Wedner Mar 3rd 2010 @ 9:00AM EST Filed Under: Borrowing, Real Estate, Mortgages Seniors, whose home values have taken a particularly bad beating in the recession, take note: Light may peeking through the end of the tunnel.

After remaining flat or declining for seven consecutive quarters, older Americans’ average home values stopped sliding late last year, according to data from Golden Gateway Financial, which tracks such information. The national average self-reported home value of older Americans rose from $369,762 in the third quarter of 2009 to $381,895 in the fourth quarter. Although home prices among the senior population are rebounding, they still remain steeply lower than 2008 levels.

While the news about national home values was upbeat in some regions, many large states, such as Florida, Texas and New York, still are reporting significant declines in prices. This mixed recovery reflects reduced inventory in some markets, while others still are flooded with homes for sale. But pockets even within these recalcitrant markets are showing a glimmer of improvement, according to the most recent S&P/Case-Shiller Price Indices, offering some optimism for seniors who rely on their homes to supplement or support their retirements.

“This is especially true for those considering a reverse mortgage, because as their home increases in value, so does their potential for greater reverse mortgage proceeds,” said Eric Bachman, Golden Gateway’s CEO.

At the New York Times Travel Show in Manhattan, WalletPop cornered Pauline Frommer, the first female editor of a major guide book series, to ask her for the biggest travel bargain of the year. Continue reading. WalletPop Wire Spider-Man gets fired, but shouldn’t expect unemployment benefits Aaron Crowe Mar 3rd 2010 @ 10:00AM EST Filed Under: Career, Recession The firing today of Spider-Man’s alter ego, Peter Parker, will put him in the unemployment line, but he shouldn’t expect to get unemployment benefits.

That’s because his misconduct — doctoring a picture to clear his wrongly-accused boss of some illegal activity — likely makes him ineligible for unemployment benefits.

I say unlikely because each state has its own laws, although Nolo.com points out that in general employees are entitled to such compensation if they quit or are laid off.

Spider-Man has nothing to lose by applying for benefits after being fired. His former employer might not challenge it and one caseworker could read the “misconduct” rule differently.

Misconduct — and I’d bet that a photographer doctoring a photo on the job would be viewed as such by the New York Department of Labor — can lead to firing and no unemployment benefits. According to Nolo, “The trick lies in figuring out which reasons to fire are serious enough to qualify as misconduct and justify denying benefits.”

Continue reading Spider-Man gets fired, but shouldn’t expect unemployment benefits

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Continue reading Money College: The best things in life are free … really

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Email thisTweet thisShare Comments (13) Doing a credit card chargeback, even once, can lead to blacklist Aaron Crowe Mar 2nd 2010 @ 5:00PM EST Filed Under: Shopping Disputing a credit card charge by asking for a “chargeback” can lead to being put on a blacklist that merchants can check for customers who might try to defraud them.

Getting off the list costs $99, although the fee is waived if the customer didn’t know they were committing “friendly fraud,” said Brien Heideman, founder of BadCustomer.com, which keeps such a customer list for retailers that don’t want to get hit with costly credit chargebacks.

Continue reading Doing a credit card chargeback, even once, can lead to blacklist

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Email thisTweet thisShare Comments (0)More WalletPop Blog Posts $1 Ice cream scoops at Ben & Jerry’s today only Julia Scott Mar 3rd 2010 @ 8:30AM EST Filed Under: Bargain Babe To congratulate Olympian Hannah Teter for bringing home the silver medal in the women’s snowboarding halfpipe (my favorite event), Ben & Jerry’s is selling scoops of Hannah’s Maple Blondie for just $1 today, Wednesday March 3.

All you have to do is stop by your local participating Scoop Shop and say, “Way to go Hannah!”

This deal is while supplies last. Maple Blondie is maple ice cream with a maple caramel swirl and blonde brownie chunks. Yes, please! Email thisTweet thisShare Comments (0) Money College: The best things in life are free … really Nicole Charky Mar 3rd 2010 @ 8:00AM EST Filed Under: Money College, Saving Money Mama always said that nothing comes free. But really, really free markets do exist.

“Really, really free markets” are otherwise defined by the exact, literal term “free market,” not to be confused with free-market capitalism. This isn’t economics class, though as we’ll see in a moment, your econ prof might wish he was professorial enough to attend one of these giveaway bazaars on a regular basis.

At free markets, people gather and bring whatever items they want to give away. These items might include anything from old T-shirts to music tapes. Nothing has a price tag, and everything is meant to share. Groups across the country, and on many college campuses, have held impromptu free markets to encourage community building.

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Email thisTweet thisShare Comments (0) Better Business Bureau warns: Stay away from online payday lenders Geoff Williams Mar 2nd 2010 @ 4:45PM EST Filed Under: Debt Personal finance can be something like a horror movie. In this case, the slasher is an online payday lending service.

For anyone thinking of signing up and taking out a loan, the Better Business Bureau has just released a press release, warning anyone thinking of using an online payday lending service: Don’t.

I’ll make it more clear, since they have a certain level of professionalism that they probably like to maintain: For the love of everything good and holy, stay away! Don’t do it! Don’t! You’ll be killed!

OK, maybe not killed — I went a little too far with my horror movie analogy. These services will let you live — live to regret ever doing business with these sites.

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February 25, 2010

Email thisTweet thisShare Comments (0) Which cars sold best in February? Sarah Coffey Mar 3rd 2010 @ 6:00AM EST Filed Under: In the News Not surprisingly, February was not a good month for Toyota’s auto sales, with those unfortunate recalls and the automaker’s chief executive officer being called to testify before a congressional committee.

On the upside, Ford and Chevrolet benefited from all the commotion, as people shied away from buying Toyotas in favor of other models such as Ford’s F-150 pickup truck

Here’s a list of the top 20-selling vehicles according to total units, and shows the percent change in sales compared to last February. Total sales of the top 20 vehicles rose 16.7% or 80,368 units to 560,989.

1. Ford F-Series P/U +23.9
2. Honda Accord +32.7
3. Chevy Silverado-C/K P/U -2.7
4. Nissan Altima +15.6
5. Toyota Corolla -8.6
6. Toyota Camry -21.9
7. Chevrolet Malibu +51.7
8. Honda Civic +4.3
9. Ford Fusion +81.8
10. Chevrolet Cobalt +100.3
11. Ford Escape +40.4
12. Ford Focus +36.3
13. Chevrolet Impala +52.5
14. Honda CR-V -15.7
15. Dodge Ram P/U -25.9
16. Nissan Versa +74.4
17. Toyota Prius +7.2
18. Hyundai Elantra +27.4
19. Mazda 3 +11.3
20 Nissan Sentra +37.8 Email thisTweet thisShare Comments (0) Daiso to pay $2 million fine, stop selling kids products after breaking federal laws Mitch Lipka Mar 2nd 2010 @ 5:04PM EST Filed Under: Recalls, Consumer Ally Daiso, a huge Japanese-owned retail chain with some 3,000 stores worldwide,has been accused of repeatedly violating federal safety laws while importing toys and other children’s goods from China and Vietnam. The company has agreed to pay a $2 million penalty and, in an extraordinary move, was forbidden from future commerce of children’s products until the company can demonstrate it can comply with U.S. laws.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the action against Daiso Holding USA Inc., Daiso Seattle LLC, of Seattle, Wash. and Daiso California LLC, of Hayward, Calif. today. The company was accused of violating laws governing the import and sale of toys with high levels of lead, lead paint and phthalates, as well as having toy parts too small for products meant for children younger than three years old, and for failing to have required warning labels.

Continue reading More interest in reverse mortgages as seniors’ home values improve

Continue reading Better Business Bureau warns: Stay away from online payday lenders

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