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Consumer protection and advocacy

Obama praises nominees for SEC, consumer panel
President Barack Obama says his picks for two top posts will crack down on those whose irresponsible behavior threatens the U.S. economy and the ...
Top white-collar crime prosecutor to lead SEC
President Barack Obama on Thursday nominated Mary Jo White, a former U.S. attorney who built a reputation prosecuting white-collar criminals, ...
Medical privacy rules get an update
Those medical privacy rules you run into at hospitals, pharmacies and in your own doctor's office are getting an update. Regulations unveiled this ...
HSBC to pay $249M to settle foreclosure-abuse case
British bank HSBC will pay $249 million to settle federal complaints that its U.S. division wrongfully foreclosed on homeowners who should have been ...
Taxpayers will ease banks' costs in mortgage deal
Consumer advocates have complained that U.S. mortgage lenders are getting off easy in a deal to settle charges that they wrongfully foreclosed on many ...
Feds finalize protections for mortgage borrowers
The government's consumer lending watchdog finalized new rules Thursday aimed at protecting homeowners from shoddy service and unexpected fees charged ...
Goldman, Morgan Stanley pay $557M in mortgage case
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will pay a combined $557 million to settle federal complaints that they wrongfully foreclosed on homeowners who ...
Banks say new agency's oversight is slow, costly
Bankers and financial industry leaders are criticizing the early efforts of the government's new consumer finance watchdog, saying a slow and ...
US banks to pay $8.5B in mortgage settlement
Hundreds of thousands of Americans stand to benefit from the latest mortgage-abuse settlement, but consumer advocates say U.S. banks may be getting ...
Google emerges from FTC probe relatively unscathed
Google has settled a U.S. government probe into its business practices without making any major concessions on how the company runs its Internet ...
Fees undermine fliers' ability to compare fares
For many passengers, air travel is only about finding the cheapest fare. But as airlines offer a proliferating list of add-on services, from early ...
Facebook rejects German demand to allow fake names
Facebook will fight a German privacy watchdog's demand to allow users to register with fake names, insisting Tuesday that its current practice fully ...
Judge approves FTC's $22.5M fine of Google
A federal judge has approved a $22.5 million fine to penalize Google for an alleged privacy breach, rejecting a consumer-rights group's plea for ...
Gov't consumer watchdog to oversee debt collectors
Expanding its reach, the government's consumer finance watchdog agency will monitor the day-to-day operations of big debt-collection companies, the ...
Amex paying $112.5M in late-fee settlements
American Express Co. is paying $112.5 million in refunds and fines to settle regulators' accusations that it charged unlawful late fees and deceived ...
AP IMPACT: Aggressive start for consumer bureau
The new federal agency charged with enforcing consumer finance laws is emerging as an ambitious sheriff, taking on companies for deceptive fees and ...
How the consumer protection bureau raided one firm
As it announced its first big enforcement action against Capital One Financial this summer, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was preparing to ...
Calif. man close to settling mortgage scam charge
The government's consumer finance watchdog is in talks to settle charges that a California businessman falsely promised to help lower homeowners' ...
German group gives Facebook privacy deadline
A consumer protection group Germany has sent Facebook a 'cease and desist' letter that claims the social-networking website breaches German privacy ...
Justice Dept approves Verizon-cable deals
The Justice Department on Thursday approved Verizon Wireless' $3.9 billion purchase of wireless spectrum from four of the nation's largest cable ...