Complete Finance Blog

Here is a new stat for you on savings: More than half of Americans don’t have enough money saved to financially survive an economic emergency lasting more than three months And another: The U.S., as a country, comes in 7th in terms of savings habits and amounts saved. These are just a few of the results of a 28-country financial literacy survey released today as part of Visa’s Financial Literacy and Education Summit in Chicago. You can watch the webcast of the event here.

Here is another shocker for you: I am one of the Americans who does not have three months’ worth of expenses saved. I am only revealing this sad little fact because I think there may be others of us out there. Despite having a budget I generally stick to quite closely and being pretty financially stable and responsible, I have just not made my emergency fund enough of a priority.

So why haven’t I made saving a higher priority? And what can we do to change the situation? For one thing, the amount I have earmarked for savings in my budget isn’t making it into my savings account. Things like unexpected car maintenance, the birthday gift I didn’t anticipate buying, and the pair of shoes I got on a whim are where the money is going instead. The fixes?

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On Monday, British Parliament began debating whether to empower regulators to cap costs for high-priced borrowing including payday loans. Stella Creasy, Walthamstow MP, tabled a Financial Services Bill amendment designed to better protect consumers. She has been outspoken regarding practices that she refers to as “legal loan sharking.”

Other Labor MPs backed the amendment, three of them formally signing it, heading into the vote.

Bank regulation reform is one of the other measures included in the bill, which calls for formation of a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), designed to replace the Financial Services Authority. The FCA would assume consumer credit regulation responsibility from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

Part of its duties would involve preventing the misselling of poor financial products to British consumers. The amendment proposed by Ms. Creasy would permit the new financial regulator to impose a maximum amount that lenders may charge for credit.

The limit would not pertain to the loans APR but to the total borrowing charges represented by combining interest and arrangement fees. The

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I’ve been reading some history, from Simon Johnson and James Kwak’s new book, White House Burning. And it strikes me how ahistorical (or just plain ignorant of history) so many of the prescriptions for fixing up the economy are. For instance, the tax cutting ideology of today is merely a recapitulation of what has caused America to come to grief at the Nation’s birth.

From White House Burning, on the lead-up to the War of 1812:

… the War Hawks were ideologically and politically opposed to taxes—particularly the excise (internal trade) taxes that Gallatin wanted to impose. As the party of small government, the Democratic-Republicans believed that higher tax revenues constituted a threat to individuals’ and states’ rights. Perhaps more importantly, they feared that raising taxes to fight a war could hurt them at the ballot box. …

Hampered by Congress’s reluctance to raise taxes, the Treasury Department struggled to pay for soldiers in the field and ships at sea. … Congress finally agreed to impose excise taxes in 1813, but it was too late to build up a world-class military. … In August 1814, British forces sailed into Patuxent. … The sol

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The most regulated industries in our country – healthcare, education, and financial services, among others – are also the largest. For example, healthcare provides 14.3 million jobs in our country; education, 13.5 million. In order to ensure standard compliance and safety throughout these industries and across millions of people, and to minimize any risks that may put workers or entire businesses in jeopardy, it’s necessary that business owners and hiring managers conduct thorough employment background checks.

If you’re looking to fill a position in any of the following industries, be attentive to the recommended reports and verifications that will help you consistently hire quality employees. Some industries are more complicated than others, and you may consider contracting a private employee background check company to ensure a thorough screening.

Healthcare

The healthcare industry is one of the most highly regulated in our country. If you’

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