Homeownership is a crucial step to building wealth, but for many in rural communities, this component of the American dream can often be very elusive. Consumer-focused banks that provide home loans to homebuyers are scarce and rural families are more likely to be impoverished than the rest of the families, with about half of them spending 50% of their monthly income on rent, according to the Housing Assistance Council. 

The fight for fair lending got a big boost on Aug. 31 when a federal court rejected a payday loan collector’s attempt to evade consumer laws. The decision against CashCall, a California-based online payday and installment lender, upheld the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s authority to investigate and fine lenders for unfair, abusive or deceptive practices. The court ruling is a key step in a legal battle that began nearly three years ago.

The Federal Reserve's accommodative monetary policy and post-crisis regulatory structure is having an unintended and counterproductive effect: it's making it harder for ordinary Americans to get ahead. That argument, detailed in a paper released Monday by Federal Financial Analytics, analyzed academic research from across the globe to assess the impact of the prolonged ultra-low interest rate environment on asset prices. The conclusion is that while those accommodative policies have spurred economic activity in some areas, it has primarily resulted in the growth of assets like equities and securities that are disproportionately held by the wealthy.