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☆ Biden administration moves ahead with new plan to cancel student debt
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Biden administration announced on Friday the next step in its new plan to cancel people's student debt after the Supreme Court struck down its original policy in June. The U.S. Department of Education released its initial agenda of policy considerations for its second attempt at delivering Americans student loan relief. It also shared a list of individuals who will serve on the "Student Loan Debt Relief Committee," including Wisdom Cole at the NAACP, Kyra Taylor at the National Consumer Law Center and several student loan borrowers. Its original plan was broader, only cutting out student loan borrowers who earned more than $125,000 as individuals or $250,000 as couples. "The Biden-Harris Administration has taken unprecedented action to fix the broken student loan system and deliver record amounts of student debt relief," U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement.

Persons: Wisdom Cole, Kyra Taylor, Biden, Harris, Education Miguel Cardona Organizations: Biden, U.S . Department of Education, Debt Relief, NAACP, National Consumer Law Center, Finance, Harris Administration, Education

☆ Australia fines lender ANZ $9.6 mln for misleading customers over funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FILE PHOTO: A pedestrian is reflected in the window of a branch of ANZ in central Sydney, Australia, October 25, 2017. The Australian lender falsely indicated to customers that they could avail cash advance from funds stated to be their 'Available Funds' without incurring fees and interest, according to the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC). The error resulted in customers being charged with thousands of dollars in fees while the average remediation paid was around $45 per affected account. "Many ANZ customers relied on the account information displayed by the bank and were charged fees that were inconsistent with that information," said ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court. "ANZ accepts responsibility for what has occurred and apologises to its customers, and has addressed the issues that gave rise to the contraventions," the lender said.

Persons: Steven Saphore, Sarah, Himanshi Akhand, Aishwarya Nair, Sherry Jacob, Phillips Organizations: ANZ, REUTERS, ANZ Group Holdings, Australian Securities & Investments Commission, National Consumer Credit, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia, Bengaluru

An Amazon worker moves boxes on Amazon Prime Day in the East Village of New York City, July 11, 2023. The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday updated its complaint against Amazon for its "deceptive" Prime sign-up and cancellation processes, adding three senior executives as defendants. Top Amazon executives overseeing Prime downplayed employee concerns about members of the popular subscription program being enrolled without their consent, the amended complaint alleges. Subscription services revenue, which includes Prime memberships, totaled $9.8 billion in Amazon's most recent quarterly earnings report. Amazon executives and employees met in 2018 about "Project Lucent," where the primary objective was to discuss "how many Prime signups [is] Amazon .

Persons: Russell Grandinetti, Jamil Ghani, Neil Lindsay, Grandinetti, Lindsay, Andy Jassy's, Ghani, Tim Doyle, Doyle, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Zuckerberg Organizations: Amazon, Federal Trade Commission, Top Amazon, Lucent, FTC Locations: East, New York City, Amazon's, Arlington , Virginia

☆ Beware Companies Selling Credit ‘Repair’ Services
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Ann Carrns | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But beware the companies that sell credit “repair” services over the phone and charge fees upfront. Credit repair companies typically bombard credit bureaus with dispute letters in the hope of getting negative marks deleted, said Andrew Pizor, a senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. Occasionally, the repair companies’ efforts may work, Mr. Pizor said, but any benefit is often temporary. If the negative information is accurate, there’s generally no way to have it erased, Mr. Pizor said. Paying for credit repair, he said, is “really a waste of money for the vast majority of people.”

Persons: Andrew Pizor, don’t, Pizor, you’ve, ” Organizations: Consumer Financial, PGX Holdings, Progrexion, Lexington Law, National Consumer Law Center

☆ Samsonite’s baggage is heavy with geopolitics
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Thomas Shum | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Of the restless group, luggage maker Samsonite International (1910.HK) has the least financial reason to mull a move. The $5 billion U.S. and Luxembourg-based company was one of the first Western companies to list in Hong Kong. Sales from Asia - Samsonite’s most profitable region – accounted for almost 40% of the total in the first half of 2023. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsFrom a liquidity point of view too, Samsonite has had a better experience in Hong Kong than other international arrivals. That’s better than other international consumer brands that boast similar levels of prestige.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Tim Parker, Samsonite, Kyle Gendreau, CK Hutchison, It’s, Calvin Klein, Prada, ” Gendreau, Una Galani, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Woodbury, REUTERS, Reuters, Global, Samsonite, HK, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Prada, Swire Pacific, CK, Bloomberg, Thomson Locations: Central Valley , New York, U.S, HONG KONG, Hong Kong, mull, Luxembourg, Asia, New York, Washington, Beijing, China

Legal experts say that if California wins, it could embolden other states to take action against lenders that make high-interest loans to low-income borrowers using what critics call "rent a bank" partnerships. Several nonbank lenders have already exited California, said Saunders, whose group tracks high-interest lenders. In California, OppFi took the unusual step of preemptively suing to try to block the state from taking action. Federal law allows state-chartered banks to lend across state lines at the interest rate legal in their home state. California has urged Dillon to recognize that OppFi decides who to lend to and has a deal with the bank to purchase the loans.

Persons: Lee Jae, Timothy Dillon, Lauren Saunders, California's, OppFi, Saunders, Dillon, Allard Chu, That's, Ron Vaske, Ballard Spahr, Jody Godoy, Andy Sullivan Organizations: REUTERS, California Department of Financial Protection, Los Angeles Superior, California, Federal Reserve, National Consumer Law Center, EasyPay Finance, FinWise Bank, FinWise, Thomson Locations: Seoul, California, Chicago, Utah, U.S, In California, Colorado, New York

☆ JPMorgan increases stake in Brazilian digital bank C6 to 46%
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Tatiana Bautzer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, Aug 29 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) has increased its stake in Brazilian digital bank C6 to 46% from 40%, the banks said in a statement on Tuesday, without disclosing the financial terms. The banks said C6 had expanded its number of clients to 25 million from 8 million since June 2021, when JPMorgan bought its initial stake, and had added products such as auto loans. Sanoke Viswanathan, JPMorgan's CEO of international consumer banking, said the investment in C6 Bank was an important part of the lender's global strategy. The credit portfolio of C6 had increased to 40 billion reais ($8.2 billion) from 9.5 billion when JPMorgan first invested, according to the statement. C6 posted a 2.2 billion real loss last year, due to increased provisions for credit losses.

Persons: Sanoke Viswanathan, Tatiana Bautzer, Chris Reese, Michelle Price, David Holmes Organizations: JPMorgan Chase &, JPMorgan, C6 Bank, C6, Thomson

The lawsuit, filed against Tesla by the passengers and Lee's estate, accuses Tesla of knowing that Autopilot and other safety systems were defective when it sold the car. Autopilot failed to brake, steer or do anything to avoid the collision, according to the lawsuit filed by Banner's wife. Tesla denied liability for both accidents, blamed driver error and said Autopilot is safe when monitored by humans. Tesla said in court documents that drivers must pay attention to the road and keep their hands on the steering wheel. "Elon Musk has acknowledged problems with the Tesla autopilot system not working properly," according to plaintiffs' documents.

Persons: Casey, Elon, Musk, Tesla, Micah Lee’s, Lee, Stephen Banner’s, Banner's, Reuters ’, Matthew Wansley, Bryant Walker Smith, Jonathan Michaels, we're, Christopher Moore, Adam, Nicklas, Gustafsson, Elon Musk, Richard Baverstock, Trey, Lytal, Dan Levine, Hyunjoo Jin, Peter Henderson, Grant McCool Organizations: Tesla, China International Consumer Products, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, Tesla Inc, Reuters, Cardozo School of Law, University of South, Thomson Locations: Haikou, Hainan province, China, California, Los Angeles, Florida, Miami, University of South Carolina, San Francisco

☆ ‘I’ve had this black cloud looming over me’: How private lenders have left millions of college students with no hope for the future
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

We both do DoorDash, and probably when those federal student loans start up, it'll be more of a necessity to do that." While private debt makes up just about 10% of the $1.7 trillion student-debt mountain in the US — about $136 billion — the industry has exploded over the past decade: the amount of outstanding private debt has jumped an estimated 47% since 2014. "Regardless, the student loan debt that was supposed to be an investment in their futures is dragging them down." To be sure, some private servicers do disclose benefits private borrowers could lose should they choose to refinance. Moran said he didn't regret taking out private student loans because it allowed him to pursue his desired nursing career.

Persons: Brianne Jones, Jones, she's, We're, it'll, Michele Shepard, they've, it's, Shepard, Suzanne Martindale, —, Anna Anderson, you've, It's, Navient, Martindale, Ryan Moran, Moran, Moran isn't, Joe Biden, I've, Anderson, forbearance, Steve Cohen, didn't Organizations: Eastern Michigan University, West, Federal Direct Loan Program, Institute for College, California's Department of Financial Protection, National Consumer Law Center, Consumer Financial, Bureau, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, — Maryland Locations: Florida, —, California

☆ These Club consumer stocks stand to gain as customers continue to economize
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Consumers looking to save money are scaling back on big-ticket discretionary purchases, while spending at Club name Costco Wholesale (COST) continues to thrive. Excluding impacts from changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange, total company core-comparable sales were up 5% on an annual basis last month. Costco's "stronger than expected results are a signal it continues to take share in this difficult consumer environment," analysts at UBS wrote in a note. This strategy offers higher value proposition to customers, allowing the company to raise prices while still maintaining customer engagement. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

Persons: Jim Cramer, BUD, Raymond James, Anheuser, Molson, Elliott, Jim Cramer's, Jim Organizations: Club, Costco Wholesale, Costco, TAG, UBS, Constellation Brands, Modelo Especial, U.S ., Anheuser, Bush Inbev, Molson Coors, TAP, Constellation, Procter & Gamble, Tide, Gillette, Atlantic, Anheuser Bush, Elliott Management, CNBC, Corbis, Getty Locations: U.S, Teterboro , New Jersey

☆ Is Biden's $39 billion student loan forgiveness action legal? 'Be assured it's going to stay,' says expert
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty ImagesHow are the two loan forgiveness actions different? There are four of these plans, which aim to make loan payments more affordable for lower earners. That law gave the president power to revise student loan programs during national emergencies. The Trump administration had leveraged the Heroes Act to implement a student loan payment pause at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, Congress has already authorized loan forgiveness relative to income-driven repayment plans, dating to when it created them in the 1990s.

Persons: Joe Biden, Education Miguel Cardona, Demetrius Freeman, —, Biden, hasn't, Virginia Foxx, Abby Shafroth, who've, Trump, Shafroth, Kantrowitz Organizations: U.S, Education, Washington, Getty, White, U.S . Department of Education, Department of Education, National Consumer Law Center, National Consumer Law, of Education

The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) closed 1.5% higher, extending gains to the fourth straight day. U.S. consumer prices advanced 3.0% in June - their smallest year-on-year increase since March 2021 - after 4% growth in May. Gains in the lenders lifted UK's FTSE 100 index (.FTSE) by 1.8%, leading gains among European peers and pushing the European banks index (.SX7P) up 1.9%. European shares have performed better than UK stocks so far this year, amid economic resilience and signs of cooling inflation in the euro zone, with focus now shifting to the upcoming earnings season. Data showed Spanish national consumer prices rose 1.9% in the 12 months through June, down from a 3.2% rise in the period through May.

Persons: Daniel Casali, Evelyn, Jefferies, Vincent Chaigneau, Matteo Allievi, Shreyashi Sanyal, Sohini Goswami, Nick Zieminski Organizations: U.S, Jefferies, Federal, Evelyn Partners, Lloyds, Barclays, HSBC, Bank of England, Miners, ASM International, Infineon, Generali Investments, Air France, KLM, Deutsche Bank, Thales, Cobham Aerospace Communications, Spanish, Thomson Locations: United States, U.S, Gdansk, Amruta, Bangalore

☆ Tips for Canceling Online Subscriptions
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Ann Carrns | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Many people and groups have filed online comments about the proposed rules. A man in Eugene, Ore., wrote that to cancel TextNow, an app offering messaging and calling services, he ultimately had to persuade his credit union to cut off monthly withdrawals from his account. At issue is the use of “negative option” plans, which presume that consumers accept an offer unless they affirmatively decline it — like a free trial that continues as a paying subscription. advises consumers to put a calendar reminder in their phones when they sign up for a free trial so they will be alerted when it is time to cancel. to require companies to notify customers before each recurring charge, and to remind them that they can cancel if they choose.

Persons: “, MyHeritage, John Breyault, Howard, ”, Breyault Organizations: Companies, National Consumers League Locations: Eugene ,

☆ Retailers are preparing for a discount heavy, down holiday season: CNBC survey
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Many retailers are still drawing down inventories now as peak season for orders begins. Based on the concerns about cutbacks by consumers, 77% of all items being ordered this holiday season are middle-price point items, including jackets. Traditionally, retail sector orders for peak season items are placed in late winter, or early spring. Trucking, ground, rail profit hits For ground logistical firms, rail companies, and short-haul trucking, moving holiday products during peak season is a lucrative and critical time of year for making money. The largest subgroup of survey respondents who predict placing higher freight orders (42%) pegged the increase in a range of 6%-10%.

Persons: Patrick T, Cleary, Stephen Lamar, Jon Gold Organizations: Fallon, Bloomberg, Getty, CNBC Supply Chain Survey, Target, Walmart, CNBC, American Apparel & Footwear Association, American Footwear and Apparel Association, National Retail Federation, Council of Supply Chain Management, United National Consumer Suppliers, CNBC Fed Survey, Wall Street, Survey, Retailers, Chain, Labor Locations: West Coast, West

LONDON, June 7 (Reuters) - Barclays (BARC.L) is studying options for its global payments activities as a part of broader review into how it allocates resources, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Barclays has already engaged at least one major consultancy firm and may hire others to split assignments, this person said. "Our three businesses continue to perform well and our business mix is robust - growing our global payments business is a priority for us," a Barclays spokesperson said. The payments study comes as Barclays had also drafted Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to conduct a strategy review of the entire banking group, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. How the bank should allocate resources between more predictable retail business and volatile returns from the investment bank has attracted investor scrutiny.

Persons: Amy, Jo Crowley, Pablo Mayo, Stefania Spezzati, Lawrence White, Alexander Smith Organizations: Barclays, Reuters, Britain's, Barclaycard, Boston Consulting, Bloomberg, BNP, HSBC, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Thomson Locations: London

Critics have said such awards encourage frivolous lawsuits and excessive fees going to class action attorneys who may seek to benefit their own interests instead. The Supreme Court in 2019 sidestepped resolving a challenge to cy pres awards in a case involving Google. Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, dissenting in that case, called cy pres settlements "unfair and unreasonable." Monsanto has called the group, which advocates against what it considers abusive class action procedures, a "serial objector to class-action settlements." The group said in court papers that further steps could have taken to distribute the settlement award to class members.

☆ Amazon hosted a panel on how to start selling on Amazon during San Francisco's 'small business week'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon is a sponsor of San Francisco's small business week, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The e-commerce giant is a top sponsor of the promotion and a "small business champion," the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday, citing the website of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. San Francisco's small business week events included a panel titled "How to Start Selling in Amazon's Store," according to the Chronicle. Sponsorships with local business groups are "just one of the ways we help create new opportunities for the small business community." Do you shop or work in retail in San Francisco and have a story idea?

☆ Amazon sponsored 'small business week' in San Francisco and hosted a panel on how to start selling goods on its website
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon is a sponsor of San Francisco's small business week, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Small businesses in the city say they view Amazon as a competitor, not a supporter. The e-commerce giant is a top sponsor of the promotion and a "small business champion," the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday, citing the website of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. San Francisco's small business week events included a panel titled "How to Start Selling in Amazon's Store," according to the Chronicle. Do you shop or work in retail in San Francisco and have a story idea?

☆ Italy is convening a crisis meeting this week to address soaring pasta prices, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Italy's industry minister has called a crisis meeting to address the soaring price of pasta, Reuters reported. Pasta prices jumped 16.3% in April, while broader Italian inflation came in at 8.8%. The comparable increase in Italy's harmonized index of consumer prices, a weighted average of Italian goods and services, measured a provisional 8.8% in April. But Coldiretti, an Italian agriculture group, said soaring pasta prices represented an "anomaly that needs clarification," given the price of a key ingredient, durum wheat, fell 30% in the year, per local publication Ansa. The National Consumer Union said until speculation on wheat prices was defined as an "unfair practice," the price of pasta may stay elevated, per Ansa.

Cloetta AB, (CLOEb.ST) a Swedish confectioner which makes Lakerol lozenges that use gum arabic, has "ample" stock of the ingredient, a spokesperson said in an email. Global production of gum arabic is about 120,000 tonnes a year, worth $1.1 billion, according to estimates cited by Kerry Group. "Both buyers and sellers are clueless on when things will normalise.”Alwaleed Ali, who owns AGP Innovations Co Ltd, a gum arabic exporting business, said his customers are looking for alternative countries to source gum arabic. It accounts for the livelihoods of thousands of people and the more expensive variety can cost about $3,000 a tonne, according to Gum Sudan. There is a poorer quality, cheaper gum from outside of Sudan, but the preferred ingredient is only found in acacia trees in Sudan, South Sudan and Chad, Alnoor said.

☆ Some airlines effectively charge parents to sit with their kids. Biden is shaming the industry into changing that.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Consumer groups and President Joe Biden are aghast that carriers have effectively charged families more to sit together. No airline explicitly imposes a "family seating fee," but consumer advocates have complained for years about how that's exactly what's happening. Airlines for America, an industry lobbying arm that counts the big four, America, Delta, Southwest, and United, among its members, previously pointed out that none of its members explicitly charge a family seating fee. This is a March 24, 2023 screenshot of the Department of Transportation's dashboard of airline family seating policies. Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts is working with a trio of other Senate Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, on separate legislation on just family seating.

[1/2] Visitors look at a Tesla Model 3 electric vehicle (EV ) at the third China International Consumer Products Expo, in Haikou, Hainan province, China April 12, 2023. Tesla said on Friday it cut prices in numerous European markets including Germany and France because of a scaling up and improvement in its production capacity. In Germany, Tesla has lowered the price of its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles by between 4.5% and 9.8%, data on its website showed on Friday, marking its second price reduction this year after a price reduction of 1-17% in January. In Singapore, it cut prices of its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles between 4.3% and 5%, its local website showed. Tesla also cut prices in Israel, with the price of the base rear-wheel drive Model 3 slashed by 25% after an initial round of global price cuts in January.

☆ Tesla to skip Shanghai Autoshow, organiser's plan shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI, April 14 (Reuters) - Tesla will not occupy a booth at China's largest annual autoshow to be held next week in Shanghai, according to plans published by the event's organisers. The financial hub is set to host Auto Shanghai between April 18-27. It is Asia's largest auto show where brands from BYD (002594.SZ) to Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) are expected to show off their latest models and technologies. Tesla, which has a large electric vehicle factory in Shanghai, has attended the show in past years. Tesla and Auto Shanghai did not immediately respond to a request for comment when asked about the U.S. automaker's participation at the Shanghai auto show on Friday.

☆ Brands look to China's tropical duty free island paradise for consumer comeback
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Casey Hall | Thomson Reuters | Casey Has Reported On China'S Consumer Culture Her Base In Shanghai For More Than A Decade | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HAIKOU, China, April 14 (Reuters) - Representatives of over 3,000 brands including Burberry and Estee Lauder descended on China's Hainan this week to show off their latest wares, hoping to cash in on a post-COVID consumer rebound that has kicked off on the island known for its duty free shopping. It especially boomed during COVID, attracting Chinese shoppers unable to travel abroad due to closed borders. And China further plans to elevate its status: by 2025, it plans to make the whole island duty free, essentially expanding the 10% to 40% cheaper prices on goods from beauty, to alcohol and luxury products from 12 existing duty free malls to the entire province. That has made high-end global consumer firms keen to attend the expo as a way of demonstrating their commitment to China, industry executives said. ($1 = 6.8677 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Casey Hall; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says he's confident he can get costs under control in shareholder letter
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +38 min

Further, as machine learning adoption has continued to accelerate, customers have yearned for lower-cost GPUs (the chips most commonly used for machine learning). While some areas of the economy have struggled over the past few years, Amazon Business has thrived. Some people have never heard of Amazon Business, but, our business customers love it. For years, Amazon customers had asked us when we'd offer them an online pharmacy as their frustrations mounted with current providers. More recently, a newer form of machine learning, called Generative AI, has burst onto the scene and promises to significantly accelerate machine learning adoption.

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