Your Money

Richard Cordray, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, wants payments to catch up with real-time life.

Why Slow Electronic Payments Can Cause Cash Flow Problems

2:17pm February 18, 2015

by Charles Lane

Electronic messages can circle the globe in an instant, but electronic payments can still take days to complete. This often puts consumers at greater risk of getting hit with late fees.

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The next generation of Australian dollar notes will include tactile features to help people with visual impairments differentiate between them, says the Reserve Bank of Australia. Last year, the agency met with a boy who started a petition asking for the

Blind Boy's Quest Prompts Australia To Plan Tactile Cash

2:13pm February 18, 2015

by Bill Chappell

Blind since birth, Connor McLeod couldn't tell how much money he'd been given for Christmas. So he started a petition seeking banknotes that can be differentiated by touch.

Dan and Eileen Stapleton in front of their post-Sandy home in Long Beach, N.Y. They say it would cost taxpayers less if insurance just settled their claim.

After Sandy: Insurance Claim Battles Cost Homeowners, Taxpayers

9:07am February 18, 2015

by Charles Lane

Over two years after Superstorm Sandy flooded homes in New Jersey and New York, legal battles still rage over insurance claims to repair damage. But insurance companies aren't playing by the rules.

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Report: Using Malware, Hackers Steal Millions From Banks

5:50pm February 16, 2015

by Eyder Peralta

According to a security company, hackers kept tabs on bank employees, transferred funds and then sent commands to ATMs to dispense cash at pre-determined times.

Arts
Economy

If Apple Made iMilk And Nike Sold Fruit: Designer Groceries As Art

6:57pm February 12, 2015

by Maria Godoy

A designer has reimagined a host of everyday edibles as high-end grocery items. It's a project that explores how branding influences our purchases — and where the ethical boundaries lie for designers.

Customers pick up their orders from a Shake Shack in New York City. It's one of the restaurants whose labor practices are detailed in the ROC United Diners' Guide app.

Like Yelp For Labor Rights: This App Rates How Restaurants Treat Workers

4:45pm February 12, 2015

by Poncie Rutsch

Want to know if your favorite restaurant pays its servers a living wage? An app encourages diners to ask before they dig in.

Protesters assemble in front of a McDonald's in Los Angeles, demanding a $15 an hour minimum wage in September.

Los Angeles Residents Divided Over Proposed $15 Minimum Wage

3:43pm February 12, 2015

by Kirk Siegler

Los Angeles is considering raising its minimum wage from $9 to $15 an hour in order to help its 800,000 residents in poverty. But no major city has yet raised its wage this dramatically or this fast.

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The prices of everything from corn to sugar have fallen, too. So some economists predict lower prices at the grocery store later this year.

As Commodity Prices Plunge, Groceries May Be Next

2:36pm February 12, 2015

by Marilyn Geewax

Oil prices aren't the only thing that's dropped. The prices of everything from corn to sugar have fallen, too. So some economists predict lower prices at the grocery store later this year.

Economy

The Fall And Rise Of U.S. Inequality, In 2 Graphs

2:26pm February 11, 2015

by Quoctrung Bui

Since World War II, inequality in the U.S. has gone through two, dramatically different phases.

Unions Have Pushed The $15 Minimum Wage, But Few Members Will Benefit

4:33pm February 10, 2015

by Ben Bergman

Most union members won't benefit from a higher minimum wage because they already earn far more than that. With membership declining, some union leaders fear collective bargaining is dead.

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