Nov. 24, 2010 at 4:28 p.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Government
By Los Angeles Times
Just in time for the holiday shopping season, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Wednesday gave banks final guidance on how to reduce problems with automatic programs that prevent customers from overdrawing their checking accounts — often with hefty fees attached.
The new guidelines, proposed in August, aim to give people better information about the cost of overdraft protection and to force banks to intervene when customers use the backstop too often. A 2008 FDIC study found that some people were chronically using overdraft protection as a way to obtain short-term — and very expensive — loans.
Standard fees are $20 to $30 each time a customer overdraws an account.
Nov. 24, 2010 at 3:53 p.m.
Filed under:
Autos,
Energy,
Government
By Reuters
General Motors Co. said Wednesday that its Chevy Volt will carry an overall fuel economy rating of 60 miles per gallon, topping the Toyota Prius, the long-time fuel economy leader.
GM has begun to build the long-awaited Volt at a Detroit-area factory, with initial sales expected for December. Get the full story »
Nov. 23, 2010 at 5:37 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government,
Housing,
Mortgages,
Real estate
By Reuters
Freddie Mac, the second-largest provider of funding for U.S. home mortgages, will raise some loan fees, a sign it sees greater risks even for borrowers making regular payments.
The company, struggling to recover from the worst housing slump since the 1930s, will raise some so-called “delivery fees” in March to cover increased risks on loans for large portions of a property’s value, according to a bulletin dated Monday on its Web site. Get the full story »
By Reuters
Web sites offering a sense of community to people with diseases or ailments often are created by marketers who fail to disclose that they are sharing data about the users, a complaint filed with U.S. regulators charged on Tuesday.
Four pro-privacy groups filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, detailing a number of techniques marketers use to identify potential purchasers of particular medications. Get the full story »
Nov. 23, 2010 at 3:51 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Investing
Bloomberg News | The Securities and Exchange Commission has indefinitely extended a rule exempting asset-backed bond issuers from reporting credit ratings in their marketing materials, undermining part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law.
Nov. 23, 2010 at 3:25 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Taxes
By Reuters
If U.S. lawmakers fail to renew Bush-era tax cuts before the end of the year, the Internal Revenue Service could offer millions of Americans an immediate respite from higher taxes.
That could mean a time-out for anxious investors worried that nearly every taxpayer will take a hit amid the tepid economic recovery and give breathing room to millions of employers waiting for clarity. Get the full story »
Nov. 23, 2010 at 2:42 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government
By Associated Press
Federal Reserve policymakers clashed over the benefits and risks of launching a $600 billion program to rejuvenate the economy, but voted for it anyway, according to minutes of their closed-door deliberations released Tuesday.
Despite a 10-1 vote for the program, the minutes from the Nov. 2-3 meeting show that some Fed officials had concerns about embarking on a second round of stimulus. Get the full story »
By Associated Press
It won’t save you from “enhanced patdowns,” but an iPhone app from the TSA tries to ease the pain of air travel by offering guidance on prohibited items, security wait times and packing tips. Get the full story »
Nov. 23, 2010 at 7:35 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Government
By Reuters
The U.S. economy grew faster than previously estimated in the third quarter, government data showed on Tuesday, but still not enough to address stubbornly high unemployment. Gross domestic product growth was revised up to an annualized rate of 2.5 percent from 2.0 percent as exports, and consumer and government spending were stronger than initially thought, the Commerce Department said in its second estimate. Get the full story »
Bloomberg | Chicago-based Boeing Co. and European Aeronautic, Defense and Space Co. shouldn’t see any significant fallout from a “clerical error” releasing some data on their bids for a $35 billion aerial tanker program, the Defense Department said. The Air Force disclosed Nov. 19 that the service mistakenly provided Boeing and EADS with “a limited amount” of data on the offers that are now under government review.
Nov. 22, 2010 at 4:57 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Pharmaceuticals,
Recalls
By Dow Jones Newswires
Johnson & Johnson has recalled about 4 million packages of children’s Benadryl allergy tablets and about 800,000 bottles of junior-strength Motrin, citing “insufficiencies” in developing the manufacturing process.
It was the latest in a series of product recalls in the last year that have hurt the reputation and financial results of J&J. Get the full story »
Nov. 22, 2010 at 4:04 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
M&A,
Media,
Movies,
TV,
Video
By Reuters
Sen. Al Franken, a critic of Comcast Corp.’s proposed deal for control of NBC Universal, asked the Justice Department Monday to investigate whether the giant cable company had engaged in “illegal collaboration” concerning its intended target.
Franken (D-Minn.) said that on Sept. 26 Comcast had named its chief operating officer, Steve Burke, as the prospective chief executive of NBC Universal. Last week, Comcast named several executives who would hold top jobs at NBC Universal after the cable company took control of the broadcaster and movie studio from General Electric Co. Get the full story »
Nov. 22, 2010 at 12:16 p.m.
Filed under:
Consumer news,
Government,
Recalls
By Gregory Karp
Superhero flashlights, Shrek drinking glasses from McDonald’s, a Fisher-Price inflatable ball and a boys’ Santa suit from Macy’s all seem innocent enough. But they were among the 147 children products — some 44 million individual items — recalled so far this year in the United States for being potentially dangerous.
Because the number of recalls has become overwhelming for parents to track — about double the number from last year — the Illinois Attorney General’s office has for the fourth year compiled an annual “Play it Safe” guide of dangerous toys, jewelry, baby gear and clothing. Items in the guide have been recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in 2010. Get the full story »
Nov. 22, 2010 at 11:43 a.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Health care,
Insurance
By Reuters
New U.S. health insurance spending rules aimed at ensuring more customer dollars go toward medical care were finalized on Monday, ending a source of uncertainty for investors in the sector.
Though the limits are mandated in the new health care law, insurers such as Aetna Inc. and WellPoint Inc. did win some concessions from the U.S. government surrounding implementation of the rules and shares of health insurers mostly rose. Get the full story »
Nov. 22, 2010 at 10:34 a.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Recalls
Bloomberg News | Bassett Furniture Industries has recalled about 90,000 drop-side cribs after receiving 154 reports of hardware failure, the Consumer Product Safety Commission reports.
