Consumer protection
Booming Sales of Novelty Helmets Boost Toll of Motorcycle Deaths
“Even as more than 800,000 novelty helmets are sold in the U.S. every year, and as motorcycle crash deaths mount, federal regulators have never acted with urgency to crack down on the popular but flawed headgear. Proposals to limit sales of the novelty helmets have been delayed over and over again,” according to Fair Warning’s…
Read MoreTitle loans hurt poor, critics say
“More than 430 auto-title-lending branches have been licensed in Arizona since 2009, the year after voters rejected payday lending, state figures show. By comparison, from 2000 to 2008, about 160 title-lending branches were licensed with the state. The rise of title lenders has rekindled a debate over whether these kinds of high-interest loans ultimately help…
Read MoreDozens of internet sweepstakes cafes operated by those unfit for casinos
Dozens of Internet sweepstakes cafes are owned and operated by people who are in so much financial hot water that they couldn’t land a job at an Ohio casino. The pseudo gambling parlors have flouted a decades-old state law that requires businesses to register with the secretary of state. And most cafe owners snubbed an…
Read MoreExtra Extra Monday: Teacher absences, prescription painkillers, complaints at for-profit care centers
Welcome to IRE’s roundup of the weekend’s many enterprise stories — the last one of 2012 — from around the country. We’ll highlight the document digging, field work and data analysis that made their way into centerpieces in print, broadcast and online from coast to coast. Did we miss something? Email tips to web@ire.org. The…
Read MoreWSJ finds websites base varying prices, offers on user data
Consumer websites offer their users different prices and deals based on what data they have about the user, according to a Wall Street Jounal investigation. The Journal identified several companies, including Staples, Discover Financial Services, Rosetta Stone Inc. and Home Depot Inc., that consistently adjusted prices and product offers based on user characteristics they discovered, such…
Read MoreTobacco companies fighting anti-smoking laws with trade agreements, legal challenges
Fair Warning reports that as governments around the world adopt stringent rules to fight the public health burdens of smoking, tobacco companies are fighting back, trumping those laws by invoking long-standing trade agreements. Anti-smoking advocates told Fair Warning those efforts, and the cost and liability governments face in fighting them, will intimidate “all but the…
Read More“Green” buildings, products become big business in system that rewards minor, low-cost steps
A USA TODAY examination shows that thousands of “green” builders win tax breaks, exceed local restrictions and get expedited permitting under a system that often rewards minor, low-cost steps. Meanwhile, companies that make “green” products and materials are profiting handsomely as the building boom takes off.
Read MoreThe Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer investigate inflated prices on cancer drugs
In a joint investigation, The Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer of Raleigh found that large nonprofit hospitals in North Carolina are dramatically inflating prices on chemotherapy drugs at a time when they are cornering more of the market on cancer care. The newspapers found hospitals are routinely marking up prices on cancer drugs…
Read MoreDonors deceived, money meant for charity goes to telemarketer
Million of dollars in donations intended for charities have instead gone to the telemarketing firm soliciting the donations, an investigation from Bloomberg Markets found. InfoCision Management Corp. claims on its website to raise more money for charities over the phone than any other company in the world. But one-sided contracts leave the majority of money…
Read MoreIllegal online payday loans thrive in New York
Payday loans — short-term, small dollar loans with exorbitant fees — are restricted in 18 states, and New York’s ban is one of the toughest. But reporter John Sandman found evidence that online payday lenders are circumventing these bans, illegally targeting potential borrowers in these states. The investigation, published by City Limits, was supported by…
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