On the Meaninglessness of Contracts and the New Optionality nakd capitalism ...the evidence is growing that when there is a meaningful power disparity between two parties to an agreement, the odds are high that the bigger player will elect to behave badly. This blog is rife with examples: pervasive contractual and regulatory violations in securitizations and foreclosures, banks exploiting not just ordinary consumers with “tricks and traps” but even billionaire clients; debt collection abuses; routine raiding of employee pensions while CEO pay and perquisites remain sacrosanct; and, of course, the pilfering of customer accounts at MF Global...
Student-Loan Debt Tops $1 Trillion Wall Street Journal ...The amount Americans owe on student loans is far higher than earlier estimates and could lead some consumers to postpone buying homes, potentially slowing the housing recovery, U.S. officials said...
John Doe investigation documents name sheriff’s comm. director FOX 6 Now ...Another name has surfaced in the ongoing John Doe investigation that has led to criminal charges against several aides to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker...
What stinks? Bizarre trash collects near oil patch Associated Press ...North Dakota has leapfrogged past a half-dozen states since 2006 to become the nation's No. 3 oil producer, and ... The number of trucking companies operating in North Dakota increased by 600 last year to about 6,000, with most working in the oil patch...
Teamsters strike at local waste company over contract dispute AL.com ...While the strike primarily affects operations in Mobile, Teamsters at Republic operations in Columbus, Ohio, and Buffalo, N.Y. have also manned picket lines in support of Mobile's workers...
Teamsters ready for TV Boston Herald ...“We want to focus on how we stand up for people and provide for our members,” O’Brien said, “What we do in the community, how we stand up to Wall Street, our battles in the Legislature to keep people working, and the individuals who work hard every day trying to make a better life for themselves and their families. These are stories that need to be told.”...
