Coca-Cola and Pepsi promote their products through exclusive marketing agreements called “pouring rights” contracts from 124 or 87 percent of the 143 public universities in the United States with at least 20,000 students. A new study looked at 38 contracts that had enough information to assess their overall value to the universities. Read more →
A predatory debt collection operation is being shut down for harassing consumers. The operation was made up of several companies, including JPL Recovery Solutions, which used misleading and abusive tactics to collect millions of dollars from hundreds of thousands of customers. Read more →
College debts are one of the largest financial burdens for Americans. They make up the second highest type of household debt after mortgages, totaling $1.61 trillion. That’s about $37,000 per borrower. High balances with payoff times that lasts into middle age force graduates to delay other financial goals. Read more →
When I was a kid, we used to make paper baskets, put flowers in them, hang them on door knobs, ring the bell, and then run. One time, I remember taking part in a maypole dance. It was really fun. Throughout the world, many countries celebrate May 1, May Day, as International Labor Day. Read more →
April is National Financial Literacy Month. It’s a great opportunity for consumers to check and promote their financial situation and skills. For people who have just started earning or have been earning for a long time, every day is a chance to reflect on spending and improve finances. Read more →
The Warrior Trading day trading investment scheme is being ordered by the FTC to stop making unrealistic claims of big gains to consumers. It alleges that the company and its CEO used those claims to convince consumers to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a system that failed for most customers. Read more →
It's time to take look at what my blogger friends are up to as April showers are bringing May flowers. In “Am I Just an Old Fogey?,” Tom Sightings of Sightings Over Sixty wonders whether it’s O.K. for Jen Psaki, President Biden’s press secretary, to leave her job and work for MSNBC as a program host on Peacock and an analyst. Read more →
Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, the three major credit bureaus, are changing how they’ll treat the reporting of medical debt. Nearly 70 percent of it in collections will be removed from credit reports. Paid medical debt will be erased and any new medical debt won’t be included in credit reports for a year. Read more →
The Super Bowl ads for 2022 were mostly disappointing. Although a few had a good message, the overall feel of the game show was dystopian. A QR code drifting across the screen, ads for apps and betting websites I’d never heard of, and supposedly clever ads featuring stars from TV series I’ve never seen. Read more →
A record share of American workers are quitting their jobs, thanks in part to a strong economy and a labor shortage. That means there are a lot of people looking for new jobs. How do workers go about finding a new, great job? Read more →