International Business News - Consumers http://www.ibtimes.com All articles are copyrighted by IBTimes.com 400 100 http://www.ibtimes.com/ http://www.ibtimes.com/images/top_logo_ibt2_3.gif Adrienne Radtke plans to keep riding her bike to work even if gas prices drop. Steve Pizzini got rid of his Cadillac Escalade in favor of a 16-year-old Acura and doesn't expect to have another gas-guzzler. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/94465-consumers-changing-habits.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080720/consumers-change-buying-habits-but-will-last.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080720/consumers-change-buying-habits-but-will-last.htm Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:27:32 EDT The Federal Reserve signed off Monday on a long-anticipated plan to end the abusive lending practices that victimized many borrowers in the now-collapsed subprime market. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080714/fed-issues-rules-to-stop-abusive-lending-practices.htm Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:33:30 EDT Americans can save billions of dollars annually on credit card and other interest payments by raising their credit scores, but many consumers still don't know enough about the complex numerical values that represent their credit risk. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080710/consumer-awareness-of-credit-scores-remains-poor.htm Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:15:13 EDT Sprint Nextel Corp. has finally rounded up the financial backing it needs to build a faster wireless network. But for consumers and the electronics industry, speed may be the least important thing about the new network. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080507/joint-sprint-clearwire-network-could-boost-consumer-power.htm Wed, 07 May 2008 16:15:58 EDT Shoppers surveyed shelves loaded with rice at the Ranch 99 Asian supermarket, chatting in languages from Mandarin to Portuguese as they hunted for their favorite varieties, checked brand names and compared prices before heaving 50-pound bags into their carts. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/43518-rice-price-consumers.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080502/pushed-by-higher-prices-immigrants-stocking-up-on-rice.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080502/pushed-by-higher-prices-immigrants-stocking-up-on-rice.htm Fri, 02 May 2008 14:17:46 EDT Cabbies here complain their take-home pay is thinner than it used to be. Trucking companies across the country are making drivers slow down to conserve fuel. Filling station owners plead that really, really, the skyrocketing prices aren't their fault. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/41401-oil-prices.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080422/with-gas-hitting-record-highs-drivers-feeling-squeezed.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080422/with-gas-hitting-record-highs-drivers-feeling-squeezed.htm Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:38:31 EDT Cabbies here complain their take-home pay is thinner than it used to be. Trucking companies across the country are making drivers slow down to conserve fuel. Filling station owners plead that really, really, the skyrocketing prices aren't their fault. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/41398-oil-prices.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080422/with-gas-at-milestone-drivers-feeling-increasingly-squeezed.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080422/with-gas-at-milestone-drivers-feeling-increasingly-squeezed.htm Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:35:45 EDT Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. are pegging regulatory approval of their merger to giving consumers more control over the specific channels they buy. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080326/a-la-carte-satellite-radio-a-year-away.htm Wed, 26 Mar 2008 17:20:29 EDT Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. are pegging regulatory approval of their merger to giving consumers more control over the specific channels they buy. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080326/more-choice-in-satellite-radio-years-off.htm Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:12:33 EDT Personal bankruptcy filings climbed last month to their highest level since 2005, when Congress enacted laws aimed at discouraging such filings, and experts predicted more than a million Americans will seek bankruptcy protection this year. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080304/consumer-bankruptcies-to-rise-in-08.htm Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:11:05 EST The changes are potentially huge for millions of Web users, but probably not in the short term. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080202/microsoft-yahoo-combo-could-reshape-web.htm Sat, 02 Feb 2008 00:35:39 EST The success of the federal $150 billion emergency economic stimulus plan will hinge on whether American consumers do what they do best _ spend, spend, spend. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080125/consumers-at-heart-of-stimulus-plan.htm Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:58:16 EST Joi Freemont, a dentist in suburban Atlanta, doesn't have to look further than her appointment book to tell that people are worried about money. Patients who used to get their teeth whitened all the time "now want to think about it a bit," she said. Braces? "People were getting them for the kids, for themselves, but now they're waiting," she added. And when people get cavities, they have their fillings done one a month, not five or six at a time, she said. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080121/consumers-retrench-as-economy-weakens.htm Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:05:32 EST "Dream Big" is the theme of the National Retail Federation's annual conference taking place this week and that is likely to be what many U.S. retailers will do to survive 2008 -- dream big of greener pastures. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20080115/retailers-consumers.htm Tue, 15 Jan 2008 06:02:18 EST About 38 percent of U.S. consumers are watching TV shows online, 36 percent use their cell phones as entertainment devices and 45 percent are creating online content like Web sites, music, videos and blogs for others, according to a new-media survey from Deloitte & Touche. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20071228/consumers-tech-videos.htm Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:52:40 EST Consumers would vote with their feet and switch current accounts if their bank started to charge for its services, research shows. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20071112/consumers-banks.htm Mon, 12 Nov 2007 11:54:48 EST