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A wave of mega-mergers has been making headlines. In the banking industry, especially, the merger pace has accelerated in the past several years. Fears about both the pace and the [...]

'Consumer short-term debt, perhaps the most controversial force in the booming U.S. economy, is approaching a historical turning point. Having risen at an abnormally fast rate for ten years, it [...]

One of the worst frauds that a consumer can face is identity fraud--when someone steals or uses personal information in your name for his or her gain. There are as [...]

Americans and people around the world now know what 'WTO' means--the World Trade Organization. Previously ignored except by trade specialists, the Seattle WTO Ministerial Meeting in early December 1999 put [...]

Increasingly, consumers with access to the Internet are finding that on-line shopping offers numerous benefits. While not yet a 'mainstream' source of purchasing, Internet shopping continues on a strong growth [...]

College kids and credit cards have been in the news lately, following a June 1999 report by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) that blasted card issuers for luring unsuspecting [...]

Plastics are ubiquitous in our modern society. From packaging and containers for consumer goods, foods, and beverages to plastic wrap, health and hygiene equipment, such as blood bags and IV [...]

'Fringe' lenders--firms that lend to underserved borrowers--get no respect. That's not a new phenomenon. Attacks on 'frontier' firms operating at the edges of the legitimate market took place in the [...]

A new federal agency spun off from the old Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms recently issued new federal rules significantly restricting truthful health claims for alcoholic beverage consumption. The [...]

Almost all consumer advocates agree that truthful information about products and services helps consumers make more informed decisions about buying and using those products; and, on the flip side, that [...]

A blizzard of class action notices has been sent out recently to more than 4 million merchants in the U.S. who accept payment by Visa or MasterCard. An antitrust lawsuit [...]

The World Health Organization (WHO) held an emergency consultation in late June 2002 to review recent and surprising findings from Swedish researchers and two follow-up studies that a wide range [...]

Markets in the United States reeled, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping below 9,000 in the opening hours of June 26, but rallying later to be virtually unchanged for [...]

Those that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.--Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759 The nation is still reeling from [...]

Techno-savvy consumers have probably heard of 'spamming' (unwanted e-mail) and 'slamming' (unauthorized change in long-distance provider), but some may not be aware of 'cramming.' This practice involves adding on to [...]

Many people may think that consumer information published by government agencies is free from bias and presents the facts about an issue or concern. That's not always the case, because [...]

Nine out of 10 Americans don't know anything about U.S. global climate policy, according to a national poll released recently by the Small Business Survival Committee. Yet U.S. negotiators are [...]

Just about every home owner has had some experience with hiring contractors for repairs or remodeling...and almost everyone has a tale to tell of something that went wrong. Many of [...]

It's fitting that April Fool's Day in the Year 2000 is the date when proposed new rules for banks to 'know their customers' are supposed to be in place. What [...]

Sometimes people in passing note that consumer goods and services have gotten a lot more expensive than they used to be. 'When I was a kid, we could go to [...]

Debit cards' increased popularity has some lawmakers considering new laws on this form of payment. In September, Sen. Alfonse M. D'Amato (R-N.Y.), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, introduced legislation [...]

There has been a spate of articles recently poking fun at some of the warning labels on consumer products. A quick survey at almost any store and the warning labels [...]

Is advertising at best just an unnecessary irritation that interferes with reading magazines, listening to the radio, viewing TV, or surfing the Internet? Or at worst a medium that tricks [...]

Automated teller machines, or ATMs, are almost everywhere now--outside banks and office buildings, inside many supermarkets and other stores, in shopping centers, and in tourist areas. Some people call their [...]

Business-bashing is in vogue among policymakers, presidential candidates, and pundits, who often charge that corporations put profits before people. They all seem to have forgotten that companies benefit society precisely [...]

Right before this past holiday season, newspapers around the country ran articles touting the Environmental Working Group's (EWG) list of 12 fruits and vegetables that should be avoided because of [...]

Home buying is one of the most complex and confusing processes a consumer faces. It's frustrating and often overwhelming for a variety of reasons--mainly because of the vast amount of [...]

Provides information on employee 401(k) plans. Details on the retirement plans of employees of Enron Corp.; Advice for protecting self-directed retirement accounts; Result of a survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Suggests a pre-approved mortgage loan for prospective house buyers. Advantages of pre-approved mortgage loans.

Talks about the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Meeting in December 1999 in Seattle, Washington. Why consumers should be concerned; Benefits of open trade to consumers; Background of WTO; How the benefits of open trade to people in both developed and developing countries could be undermined.

Deals with the ruling of the United States (US) Department of Transportation to the US airline industry that peanut free zones be established on all flights. Factor that strengthens the department to issue the ruling; Provisions of the Air Carrier Access Act; Implication of the issue of in-flight peanuts and allergic passengers.

Focuses on a telephone fraud called cramming. How additional charges can get added to phone bills; How the fraud occurs; Move of the government to combat cramming.

Presents information on the `1997 Annual Report of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas,' which provide some important insights into the cost of goods and services over time. Content of the article `Time Well Spent: The Declining Real Cost of Living in America'; Findings on the average family spending of income on basic necessities; Cost of household goods and appliances; Other issues included in the report.