News

2010

March

21

• Cut the middleman out of school loans. he federal student loan program has gone through many changes in its 45-year history, and now it's time for the next big step: cutting out the middleman. That's what the Obama administration proposes to do…

20

• When not to pay down a mortgage. his week, the Federal Reserve reaffirmed its intention to stop buying mortgage-backed securities, signaling the likelihood that the mortgage rates you can get today are as good as they’re going to be for a long…

• HUD clarifies rules on realty add-on fees. Does it matter whether a real estate agent charges you a flat commission rate - say 6 percent - or quotes you a flat rate but adds hundreds of dollars labeled an "admin" or administrative…

• Senators divided over derivatives rules. Two senators charged with shaping new rules to oversee the vast, unregulated over-the-counter derivatives market said Friday that they have failed to reach agreement on the legislation, considered a crucial element of the effort to…

19

• What to do when debt collector calls. When a leading debt collections law firm that had been accused of breaking consumer protection laws collapsed in Maryland last week, debtors searched for answers about what Mann Bracken LLP's demise would mean for them.…

• Student loan reform shares health care fate. When the House votes on a health care package this weekend, it will also consider a proposal to make the federal government the one-stop-shop to get cheap student loans. A review by Congress' budget arm…

• 5 steps to get on the right retirement path in 2010. The recession and stock market meltdown pretty much shattered Americans' image of an idyllic retirement. Shaky savings habits evident before personal wealth plunged are even more obvious coming out of the recession: 54% of workers…

18

• More taxpayers become do-it-yourselfers. The economic downturn has forced many families to cancel the lawn service and fire the housekeeper. The latest casualty: tax preparers. TurboTax, the leading manufacturer of tax software, said Wednesday that sales of its consumer…

• Uncle Sam wants you to weigh in on credit card reform. In what feels like never-ending regulatory fiddling with the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, the Federal Reserve wants to know what consumers think about certain fees that lenders charge as penalties…

15

• The rental car squeeze. Tried renting a car lately? In some cases, travelers say, the final bill is double or even triple the amount they thought they had agreed to. The charges include roadside assistance or collision insurance packages…

• Dems have more optimism on health care than votes. Democratic leaders scrambled Sunday to pull together enough support in the House for a make-or-break decision on health-care reform later this week, expressing optimism that a package will soon be signed into law by President…

• Plan de banda ancha EEUU se centra en velocidad, uso inalámbrico. Reguladores de Estados Unidos divulgaron un anteproyecto para mejorar el acceso a internet en el país, con énfasis en un aumento en la velocidad de navegación en hasta 25 veces el promedio actual, la expansión…

14

• The new poor: Lured into trade school and debt. One fast-growing American industry has become a conspicuous beneficiary of the recession: for-profit colleges and trade schools. But the profits have come at substantial taxpayer expense while often delivering dubious benefits to students, according to…

• Dodd to unveil comprensive financial reform bill. The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee [Christopher Dodd (D-CT] will unveil on Monday a proposal to revamp the nation’s financial regulations that would empower shareholders to have advisory votes on executive pay and to…

13

• Tax issues on mortgage write-downs. With the Obama administration and private lenders actively considering mortgage principal-reduction programs to help financially distressed homeowners, the Internal Revenue Service has issued a new advisory to taxpayers who receive - or seek to receive…

• Overdraft protection: Why bother?. Many millions of people will face important choices about their checking and credit card accounts in the coming months, though this week one of the biggest banks made one of the decisions for them. Starting…

12

• Sending money electronically: Why it's hard. When I covered consumer banking at The Wall Street Journal five years ago, banks and their technology providers said the next big thing was online, person-to-person interbank transfers — allowing people to send money from…

• Consumer Action helps you avoid travel 'gotchas' (Reasons to consider travel insurance for your next trip). During National Consumer Protection Week, Consumer Action releases information on a key financial protection to consider when traveling. The organization has devoted its new issue of Consumer Action News to helping consumers avoid the "gotchas"…

• What?! Another Time Warner Cable rate hike?. There's definitely an art to informing customers that you're about to smack them upside the head. About 500,000 Time Warner Cable customers in Southern California probably knew they were in for trouble when they received…

11

• 2010 Spring Issue: Travel Insurance Issue. Consumer Action devotes this issue of Consumer Action News to helping consumers avoid the "gotchas" when buying travel insurance. Learn the right questions to ask and the resources to use to compare travel insurance options that will provide you with financial protection when you travel.