Sean Murphy

3 weeks ago | bostonglobe.com | Sean Murphy

Almost all goods imported into the US are likely to become more expensive to consumers, thanks to new tariffs announced by President Trump on Wednesday. How much more expensive and how soon (and for how long) are the big unknowns. The new tariffs raise the cost of businesses bringing products to market, and businesses almost certainly will pass along at least some of that extra cost to consumers.

3 weeks ago | bostonglobe.com | Sean Murphy

A slightly distraught reader contacted me to complain about an online lender that charged his adult son a really, really exorbitant interest rate on a $500 short-term loan. The reader said his 52-year-old son has schizophrenia, lives on his own just outside Boston, and gets a Social Security disability check every month. He said his son took the loan without his knowledge, then came to him for help paying it off when he struggled to keep up with the payments.

3 weeks ago | bostonglobe.com | Sean Murphy

The 35,000 National Grid gas customers in Massachusetts who did not receive timely bills during the winter — or, in some cases, got no bill at all — will get a substantial break in what they owe the utility, state regulators said Monday. Those customers will have to pay only for the gas they used in the two months before they finally received their bills, not the full amount.

3 weeks ago | bostonglobe.com | Sean Murphy

Others consider it an egregious example of a bloated and corrupt government bureaucracy and say saving for retirement is a worthy goal best managed in the private sector. Political rhetoric aside, many remain confused about the effects of the new rules first announced on March 18 and later significantly modified under pressure from advocates for seniors and those with disabilities. Here are some of the questions and issues posed to me in response to the column.

4 weeks ago | leader-call.com | Sean Murphy

We have found a perfect solution to activist judges thwarting the will of 75 million people — put them on the planes with the violent, vicious gangs they are trying so desperately to keep in this country. First, take a low-level federal district judge named James Boasberg, who believes he was elected president, to take the jump seat in the next flight to that El Salvadoran prison. I’m sure he will find it lovely there.