Recommends Congress Cap Payday Lender Interest Rates at 36 Percent As Congress debates financial regulatory reform and the Obama Administration advocates for greater consumer financial protection, a new study finds a need for Congressional action on fringe banking practices used heavily by financially vulnerable families. The study released today details the toll on communities with [...]
New Study Released During National Save for Retirement Week Documents How Lack of Federal Recognition for Same-Sex Couples Reduces Their Retirement Income and Survivor Benefits A new study released details the inequalities faced by same-sex couples in employer-sponsored retirement plans. Without legal recognition of their relationships under federal law, the report concludes, lesbians and gay [...]
Boosters especially effective in side impact crashes A study released in Pediatrics by The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia offers updated evidence that children ages 4 to 8 who are restrained in the rear seat of a car in a belt-positioning booster seat are 45 percent less likely to be injured in a crash compared with [...]
Phoning while driving and texting behind the wheel are in the news. This is the highway safety issue of the moment, the subject of cartoons and, on a more serious side, the focus of legislation. A key question is whether such laws succeed in changing patterns of driver cellphone use. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety [...]
A new report released today demonstrates that Hispanic Americans face greater challenges in obtaining a secure retirement than the average population. The paper, prepared by the Hispanic Institute think-tank and the Americans for Secure Retirement (ASR) coalition, finds that the unique challenges include a general lack of retirement preparation, less access to employer-sponsored retirement plans, [...]
New Bankrate poll shows that uncertainty with their finances has altered many Americans’ retirement plans A new study released by Bankrate, Inc. shows that the vast majority of working Americans plan to work as long as they can during retirement age, showing a redefinition of how Americans view traditional retirement plans. The poll, conducted by [...]
New Survey Also Gives Clear View on Eye Allergy Problems this Season The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) announced the 2009 Fall Allergy Capitals(TM) rankings. The annual research project ranks the fall’s 100 most challenging cities for people with fall allergies. The top five cities this year are: McAllen, TX (1); Wichita, KS [...]
A new report by the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) shows strong growth in new geothermal power projects continuing through 2009. U.S. Geothermal Power Production and Development Update, September 2009 identifies 144 new geothermal projects under development in fourteen states that could represent as much as 7,100 MW of new baseload power capacity. When added to [...]
Three Out of Four Say Current Economic Climate Has Affected Their Charitable Giving Americans Say Faith-Based Organizations and Non-Profits Bear Responsibility for Helping the World’s Poor Three out of four U.S. adults say the “current economic climate” has affected their charitable giving and one in three is giving less to charities, according to a new [...]
A national survey released today showed 86 percent of licensed U.S. drivers described handheld texting while driving as “very dangerous,” with 93 percent supporting a nationwide ban on texting – Despite strong support for a nationwide handheld texting ban, only 42 percent of respondents believe drivers would stop texting if banned. More than 75 percent [...]