Morgan Stanley Analyst fears that people might be worried about subprime auto bonds because of the Big Short movie. The risky auto loans bring profits to Wall Street by selling to naive borrowers then bundling into bonds and sold to investors. The analysis reads: “However, concerns about growing recessionary risks – and perhaps even the popularity of the recent movie The Big Short – have motivated investors to investigate any potential source of weakness. Consumer sectors that involve large initial outlays, such as housing and autos, provide a natural place to start. Combine that with recent headlines from Fitch suggesting that delinquencies in some sectors of the auto ABS market have reached 20- year highs, and you get a target sector for investors’ concerns. Those concerns are not without merit, at least as far as delinquencies are concerned. It is interesting to highlight that as the housing market continues to heal from its post-crisis depths, mortgage delinquencies have been on a steady decline while auto delinquencies have been going in the opposite direction.” (bloomberg.com)
Consumer
Alibaba Surpasses Walmart As Largest Retail Company In The World
In SEC filing on April 5, 2016, China’s e-commerce behemoth Alibaba has officially surpassed Walmart as the world’s largest retailer. That means Alibaba has surpassed the $482.1 billion in 2015 revenues reported by Walmart. This success marks a paradigm shift as China has switched from offline to online where the world’s biggest e-commerce company is now bigger than the world’s largest brick and mortar retailer. “We took 13 years to demonstrate the power of a different business model compared with brick-and-mortar retailers,” Alibaba said in the statement to the China Daily. “In 2024, we want to be a business platform serving 2 billion consumers and tens of millions of enterprises at home and abroad,” Alibaba CEO Zhang Yong told journalists. (rt.com)
Consumer Bureau Finally Shut Down Fraudulent Student Debt Relief Firm
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finally halted Student Aid Institute, based in San Diego, for illegally tricking borrowers into paying fees for federal benefits. Many companies in this shady industry prey on holders of the $1.3 trillion outstanding in student debt by misleading borrowers with terms like “student loan forgiveness.” The fraudulent companies pretend to help borrowers obtain lower student loan payments or a reduction in debt. “We see more and more companies and websites demanding large upfront fees to help student loan borrowers enroll in income-driven plans that are available for free,” said Richard Cordray, bureau’s director. Student Aid Institute received millions of dollars in fees by charging borrowers hundreds of dollars upfront and $39 a month in maintenance fees. Persis Yu, director of the National Consumer Law Center’s student loan borrower assistance project, said the debt relief companies were “a huge problem.” In some cases, she said, the companies take over management of a student’s debt, making the minimum payment to the lender but charging the student additional fees that it pockets. (nytimes.com)
Worst New Cars for 2016
Consumer Reports previously released their ranking for best cars of 2016. While it’s good to know which cars have excellent ratings, it’s also important to know which models are lowest rated in their categories to avoid buying. Here are the lowest-rated cars for 2016:
- Lowest-rated subcompact: Mitsubishi Mirage
- Lowest-rated compact: Fiat 500L
- Lowest-rated midsize sedan: Chrysler 200
- Lowest-Rated Compact Luxury Car: Mercedes-Benz CLA250
- Lowest-Rated Midsized Luxury Car: Lincoln MKS
- Lowest-Rated Family SUV: Dodge Journey
- Lowest-Rated Luxury Compact SUV: Land Rover Discovery Sport
- Lowest-Rated Large Luxury SUV: Cadillac Escalade
- Lowest-Rated Minivan: Chrysler Town & Country
U.S. Consumers Waste $161.6 Billion Per Year
According to National Institutes of Health, U.S. consumers waste up to 50 percent more food than Americans did in the 1970s. In fact, 31 percent—or 133 billion pounds—of the 430 billion pounds of the available food supply at the retail and consumer levels in 2010 went uneaten. The estimated value of this food loss was $161.6 billion using retail prices. The main culprit is the trend toward fresh food. “A lot of product is excluded earlier in the supply chain because not everything grows that perfectly,” said Dana Gunders, a scientist focused on food and agriculture for the Natural Resources Defense Council. In California alone, 25% of all state landfill waste is from food and agricultural waste. As the world’s population projected to add 2.4 billion more people in the next three decades, food demand is expected to grow and food waste will become a big issue. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a U.S. family of four discards around $1,500 a year on food. Don’t be a part of the problem. We all can address this issue of food waste starting in our own household. (cnbc.com)
15 Ways To Reduce The Costs of Kitchen Appliances
Kichen appliances cost a lot of money, but The Practical Saver gives 15 tips to reduce the expensive costs. “A lot of people are hooked on HGTV shows. For those who watch HGTV Shows like Love It or List It, Flip or Flop, and Fixer Upper, you’ll see how beautiful the renovations are. I don’t know if it is just me but a lot of renovations include kitchen overhaul. I’ve seen the before and after looks of the kitchens featured in those shows and I have to say that the renovations really look good and the kitchen really look more functional. Of course, these kitchen renovations cost a ton of money and sometimes, is the biggest chunk in the renovation budget.” You can apply some of the saving techniques to reduce the costs of kitchen appliances for your renovation project. Some of the ways to reduce costs include finding rebates for energy-efficient appliances, waiting for holiday sales, using military discounts, considering pre-owned or open box, and negotiating the prices. (thepracticalsaver.com)
Everyone Wants Their Own Bourgeois Bunker
If you live in a frugal lifestyle, you will have fun reading about the never-ending buying and consuming of material possessions in the modern middle class. Being middle class is not quite enough now that everyone wants their own bourgeois bunker in “mass affluent” competition. “Yet the list is out there, and it rings true. It is also indicative of how we have turned our homes into post-Cold War nuclear bunkers. Heated with an underfloor system, naturally. The MA class doesn’t need to go out any more; whether due to economics, the internet, fear or, frankly, cooking standards, it more and more chooses to stay at home, drinking fine wine, looking at art and listening to professional-level music on a Sonos system. Who needs to indulge in office banter when you have your own private office? Who needs to engage with a local nursery when your child has its own playroom? The rise in home cinemas and restaurant-style range ovens is part of the same mindset.” (independent.co.uk)
Best Cars for 2016
Consumer Reports just released their ranking for Best Cars of 2016 with extensive data to back it up. The ranking is based on performance, reliability, owner satisfaction and safety.
- Best Subcompact Car: Honda Fit
- Best Compact Car: Subaru Impreza
- Best Midsized Car: Toyota Camry
- Best Small SUV: Subaru Forester
- Best Luxury SUV: Lexus RX
- Best Large Car: Chevrolet Impala
- Best Pickup Truck: Ford F-150
- Best Minivan: Toyota Sienna
(consumerreports.org)
The Best Time to Buy Anything During the Year
It’s not a surprise that a bit of planning can save you a lot of money when it comes to buying throughout the year. Lifehacker has a comprehensive, up-to-date guide on the best times to buy everything this year. Certain things are always cheaper at certain times such as holiday airfare during September or Television during December. Whether you’re buying airfare, dining out, shopping online, or buying anything else, there is often a “best time to buy.” (lifehacker.com)
5 Car Insurance Companies to Consider
There are several types of coverage that you should have with your policy. Some of them such as liability are not optional while collision and rental are. Here are the top five car insurance companies that you should consider: All State, Geico, Liberty Mutual, State Farm and USAA. While choosing a car insurance, make sure to pick a top-rated insurer and take advantage of all the available discounts.
How To Avoid Paying Bank and Credit Card Fees
Allan Liwanag writes: “Many people, if not all, swear that fees are among the worst things ever created in the marketplace. Fees are a source of income for businesses, which generally and negatively impact the consumers’ pockets. They sneak up on our bank accounts, credit cards, and other financial products we have. Having said these, the consumers need to take responsibility for incurring these fees, in most cases. This post provides what readers may do to help them avoid paying bank and credit card fees.” Each year consumers pay billions of dollars in avoidable and unnecessary fees. In fact, America’s three biggest banks — JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo– made more than $1.1 billion on overdraft fees in the first three months of the year. Smart consumers should learn to avoid paying ATM fees and credit card fees. (thepracticalsaver.com)
Man Arrested For Throwing A Live Alligator Into Wendy’s Drive-Thru Window
When one is hungry, he can do some crazy thing. That’s what happened when a Florida man got arrested for allegedly throwing a live alligator into Wendy’s drive-thru window in Royal Palm Beach. “Officials say 23-year-old Joshua James pulled up for his order and after a server handed over a drink and turned around James reached into the back of his truck and tossed the 3-and-a-half foot gator through the drive-thru window.” The alligator later got its freedom back in a nearby canal. (wptv.com)
Stream Movies and TV Shows for Free on Torrents
Earlier we show that you can watch all the TV you want without paying a cable bill, but it’s not completely free. Now there’s a way to stream movies and TV shows for free on torrents. According to Venture Beat, “on Tuesday a new simple solution for streaming torrents directly in your browser showed up on the Web. By Friday, infamous torrent site The Pirate Bay had already adopted it using Torrents Time that provides an embedded torrent client that lets users download and play the files inside torrents with one click.” Now you can play movies, TV shows, and any other videos directly in your browser. (venturebeat.com)
Watch All the TV You Want Without Paying a Cable Bill
With the emergence of streaming services like Sling TV, HBO Now, Amazon and Netflix, cutting the cord becomes easier than ever. You can pick out different services and tally up your savings relative to cable by checking on Slate. For the extreme, indoor TV antenna that cost under $10 gives free access to network content and major live events like the Oscars or the Super Bowl. Anyway, Money on time.com shows you five bundles of online television programming so you can watch all the TV you want without paying a cable bill. The different bundles suit just about any type of TV viewer, from the basic cable junkie to sport fans. Are you ready to cut the cord? If so, check out the five different ways to ditch cable and save hundreds of dollars in the process. (time.com)
McDonald’s Salad Has More Calories Than Big Mac
If you thought eating healthy fast food was actually healthy, think again. According to CBC News, some of its nutrient-enhanced meals are actually as bad as junk food. In fact McDonald’s new Kale salad has more calories, fat, and sodium than a Double Big Mac burger. The salad contains more than 730 calories, 53 grams of fat, and 1,400 milligrams of salt while a Double Big Mac contains about 680 calories, 38 grams of fat, and 1,340 milligrams of salt according to McDonald’s nutritional information. It is definitely better cooking at home for healthy food while saving money at the same time. (cbc.ca)