Category «Economy»

LA wildfire damages set to cost record $135 Billion – 10,000+ buildings destroyed

Semafor – “JPMorgan said this morning, more than double an earlier estimate. That comes as those companies are still rebuilding their reserves from the 2017 and 2018 wildfire seasons, which included the deadly Camp Fire in California. Insurers have been fleeing California in recent years as weather-related catastrophes become more common, pushing more homeowners to …

Subjects: Climate Change, Economy, Environmental Law, Financial System, Housing, Legal Research

What the data says about federal workers

Pew Research Center – “President-elect Donald Trump has focused much attention on shrinking the size and scope of the federal government for his second administration. Most notably, Trump has appointed tech mogul Elon Musk and GOP-primary-rival-turned-ally Vivek Ramaswamy to lead an advisory task force dubbed the “Department of Government Efficiency.” Musk and Ramaswamy have said …

Subjects: Economy, Education, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Experian Conducted ‘Sham Investigations’ Into Errors in Its Credit Reports

Gizmodo: “Experian has routinely provided inaccurate information in credit reports that help determine whether consumers are approved for loans, jobs, or housing and failed to properly investigate or correct errors when consumers disputed the mistakes, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. CFPB data shows that last year the agency …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System, Legal Research, Legislation

Landlords have been accused of price fixing. See where it may be happening.

Washington Post gift article: “Millions of rents across the United States may now be set using one company’s algorithmic software, according to a federal lawsuit and a Washington Post analysis. RealPage, a property management software company, uses a trove of data to suggest rental prices to landlords. The software has been widely adopted by property …

Subjects: Economy, Housing, Legal Research

CFPB Finalizes Rule to Remove Medical Bills from Credit Reports

“Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a rule that will remove an estimated $49 billion in medical bills from the credit reports of about 15 million Americans. The CFPB’s action will ban the inclusion of medical bills on credit reports used by lenders and prohibit lenders from using medical information in their lending …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Health Care

USAFacts’ top 10 articles of 2024

“Foreign aid, election data, border security, and the standard of living in America were among readers’ favorite articles. In 2024, Americans came to USAFacts seeking information about safety and homelessness across the US, how many people are immigrating here, the 2024 election, and government spending related to foreign aid and foreign debt. Here are the …

Subjects: Congress, Economy, Government Documents, Housing, Legal Research

EPA Report Finds That Formaldehyde Presents an “Unreasonable Risk” to Public Health

ProPublica: “A long-awaited report from the Environmental Protection Agency has found that formaldehyde presents an unreasonable risk to human health. But the report, released Thursday, downplayed the threat the chemical poses to people living near industrial plants that release large quantities of the carcinogen into the air.The health risk assessment was published weeks after a …

Subjects: Economy, Government Documents, Health Care