'Desk-bombing' is not a crime

And more of the week's best financial insight

Office workers.
(Image credit: 10'000 Hours/Getty Images)

Here are three of the week's top pieces of financial insight, gathered from around the web:

'Desk-bombing' is not a crime

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Reining in job-training charges

Lawmakers and regulators are exploring ways to thwart the rise in training-repayment agreements, said Diane Bartz in Reuters. According to the Cornell Survey Research Institute, "nearly 10 percent of American workers surveyed in 2020" were subject to a provision by their employer charging them for training if they quit their jobs. Such agreements, which critics have dubbed "training-repayment agreement provisions" or TRAPs, "have been around in a small way since the 1980s, primarily in high-wage positions where workers received valuable training." But lately, TRAPs have become more widespread in industries like health care, saddling workers with employer-driven debt. Nurses say they are often not told about the repayment requirement before they start, and the "instruction often repeats what they learned in school."

Watch out for foreign ATM fees

Pay attention to the ATM machine you're using when traveling overseas, said Christopher Elliott in The Washington Post. In Athens this summer, my brother withdrew 1,000 euros from an ATM and was charged $1,219. That's because the company, Euronet, charged "a 13 percent markup from the going exchange rate." Such hidden surcharges are not uncommon, and come on top of your bank's charges, which can run up to $5 plus 3 percent of the withdrawal (you can ask your bank to waive those). Stick to bank ATMs, or try one of the multicurrency debit cards offered by apps like Revolut or Wise, which will automatically "convert your money at the more favorable interbank rate."

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