July 2016

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is rolling out a set of rules designed to clampdown on aggressive and reckless debt collection agencies. Third party debt collectors would be barred from attempting to contact alleged delinquents more than six times per week, the bureau said. The initiative would also require collection agencies to verify that the person they’re contacting actually owes money to the entity that contracted their services in the first place. Rules would also place a 30-day waiting period after a person’s death,…

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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) may have officially endorsed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, after losing to the centrist in a bitterly-contested primary, but the senator is hoping to keep his “political revolution” alive. Sanders has started a “social welfare” 501(c)(4) advocacy organization, to support progressive groups seeking to coach and vet those who want to run for office. He touted the group, called “Our Revolution,” in an email sent to supporters earlier this week. “The goal of this organization will be no different from…

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Hillary Clinton’s staff moved to reassure voters on Tuesday night that her opposition to the Trans Pacific Partnership is solid, and not just a campaign promise likely to be broken if she makes it to the White House. Campaign manager John Podesta took to Twitter to push back against comments that Clinton supporter, Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-Va.), made to Politico, predicting Clinton would end up supporting TPP. “Listen, she was in support of it. There were specific things in it she wants fixed,” McAuliffe said.…

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President Obama’s top trade negotiator said that Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) talks can’t proceed until the contours of the “Brexit” become more clear. The trade deal, which boosters were hoping to finalize before Obama leaves office, has been complicated by Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. In a referendum held last month, Britons voted 52-48 to leave the EU. “As a practical matter, it is not possible to meaningfully advance separate trade and investment negotiations with the United Kingdom until some of the basic…

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The Federal Reserve is preparing to fine Goldman Sachs because one of the firm’s bankers in 2014 conspired to receive confidential information from an official at the New York Fed. Penalties aren’t expected to exceed the $50 million in fines that Goldman has already paid to state regulators as a result of the leak, according to The New York Times, which broke the story of the new enforcement action on Monday. Fed officials are also considering punishing the former superior of the now-ex Goldman employee…

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The Obama administration is preparing a rule that would place new emissions limits on US airliners. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), jet fuel exhaust poses a public health risk and is accelerating the warming of the planet. The agency said it would therefore use its authority under the Clean Air Act to propose new regulations on pollutants generated by the industry. “Addressing pollution from aircraft is an important element of US efforts to address climate change,” said Janet McCabe on Monday. McCabe is the EPA’s…

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Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) played bombthrower at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night during his speech by refusing to endorse Donald Trump. It blew up in his face. The crowd showered Cruz with a chorus of boos and heckled him off the stage after he said “vote your conscience,” and did not mention the current nominee. Though the senator made an appeal to morality, the move appeared to be designed to set himself up for a 2020 presidential campaign. Numerous press reports before the speech…

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