Thursday, March 12, 2015

Stock Buybacks

Occasionally, companies buy back their own stock.  Err, it makes you wonder what impact that has on the market?  In this story, the PBS Newshour investigates the impact stock buybacks have:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/biggest-scam-bankrupting-business-middle-class/

There are also some new rules out to protect consumers and their credit scores:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/new-rules-protect-credit-errors/

This is another story which features the work of New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.  He's definitely a busy person these days.  And these changes to credit scores are significant.  If anyone has ever dealt with sorting out a medical bill, these changes are much appreciated.  Medical debt can not be reported for at least 180 days under the new rules.  This gives the patient/consumer time to sort things out with insurance companies and billing departments.  Also, there are new ways to dispute errors in a credit report.  Until next time, catch me in the library.

Tuesday, March 03, 2015

Price Sensitivity in the Marketplace

Ever wonder why sometimes fancy, pricey hotels charge for wi-fi internet access while budget hotels often offer free wi-fi?  Over the years, I've stayed in a variety of hotels and it never fails to surprise me.  One might expect a more expensive hotel to have better services.  Generally speaking, that's usually the way things sugar out.  As the old adage goes, "you get what you pay for".  Well, there was an article on NPR Marketplace that delves into this phenomenon:
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/ive-always-wondered/why-do-luxury-hotels-charge-wi-fi-cheap-hotels-dont

As the article mentions, price sensitivity is at work.  People who pay $400 a night for a hotel might worry less about free wi-fi than at a less expensive hotel.  It's definitely some food for thought.  Until next time, catch me in the library.