California is among states with the least regulation of payday lending, allowing loans that if renewed repeatedly would sock borrowers with 391% annual interest rates or higher, according to a new study that classifies states as permissive, restrictive or in

Payday loans — small, short term loans secured against a customer’s next paycheck — are highly controversial. A new study from Pew Charitable Trusts explains that opponents believe the practice “preys” on people who, because of the high interest rates

Payday loans are meant as a stopgap for the fiscally pinched. But in many cases, these short term loans create a costly cycle of escalating debt. A payday loan is like a cash advance on your paycheck. Marketed as a

For some Americans, that dawn never comes. A new study just released by Pew Charitable Trusts' Economic Mobility Project finds that 43 percent of the people raised at the bottom fifth (households making less than $28,900 a year), stay at the bottom. Seventy percent of those raised at the bottom make less than $44,000 a year. A measly four percent struggle their way from the bottom up to the top fifth of earners in America.