Millions of student-loan borrowers will soon receive an updated email on the status of their debt relief.
In late November, approximately 9 million borrowers received an email from President Joe Biden's Education Department with a subject line that stated: "Your Student Loan Debt Relief Application Has Been Approved." However, that subject line was incorrect, Insider has learned — it was simply supposed to inform borrowers that their applications had been received with the subject line: "Update on Student Loan Debt Relief."
This error was made by Accenture Federal Services, a contractor of the Department of Education, While the content ...
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You Can Achieve High Earnings in This Market Without a Traditional College Degree
The tight labor market is prompting more employers to eliminate one of the biggest requirements for many higher-paying jobs: the need for a college degree.
Companies such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Delta Air Lines Inc. and International Business Machines Corp. have reduced educational requirements for certain positions and shifted hiring to focus more on skills and experience. Maryland this year cut college-degree requirements for many state jobs—leading to a surge in hiring—and incoming Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro campaigned on a similar initiative.
U.S. job postings requiring at least a bachelor’s degree were 41% in November, down ...
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Think Twice About Point-of-Sale Credit Card Offers
In the rush at the store checkout this holiday season, you may be tempted to say yes when asked if you want to apply for a store credit card — especially if you’re offered extra savings on that day’s purchase. It may help in the long run if you resist accepting an offer at checkout on the spur of the moment and instead dig deeper into the terms and conditions before signing up.
Soaring interest rates could mean you’ll ultimately pay more than you save from any perks a store brand offers. The average retail credit card charges a 26.72% annual percentage rate, with a high of 30.74% which measures how much it will cost per year if you carry ...
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Credit Card Applications Rise Despite Decreases in Other Forms of Credit
Americans’ appetite for credit cards grew this year, even as they shied away from other forms of credit, according to a new report from the New York Fed.
The NY Federal Reserve has reported that the application rate for credit cards increased to 27.1% in October 2022, up from 26.5% last year and above its pre-pandemic reading of 26.3% in February 2020. But application rates for mortgages, refinances, and auto loans fell during the same period.
The rise in credit card demand mirrors the growth in credit card balances over the past year, the New York Fed reported, and is expected to continue into 2023 even though credit card rates are ...
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Borrower Beware – More Uncertainty For Student Loan Relief in Bankruptcy
The Biden administration’s decision to make it easier to discharge student loans in bankruptcy could offer a new safety valve for debtors who have exhausted other options for getting out from under heavy debt loads, the Wall Street Journal reported on November 21, 2022.
The move, announced November 17, 2022, comes as President Biden’s broader plan for mass student-debt cancellation has been placed in limbo after being blocked by two separate Federal Courts. The proposed plan calls for canceling up to $20,000 in debt for borrowers under certain income thresholds. It would render up to 20 million people free of debt, around half of all ...
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FHFA to Change Credit Score Model for New Applicants
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that it will begin using new credit scoring models for borrowers applying for a purchase money mortgage or a mortgage refinance.
The FHFA approved FICO 10 T and Vantage Score 4.0 as the new credit scoring models for conventional mortgages, or loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The switch is expected to be a multi-year effort as the FHFA works with industry stakeholders to shift to the new credit score models, the agency said.
This is the first major update in 20 years. For the last 20 years, mortgage lenders have been required to use the Classic FICO model. This has ...
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Small Businesses Starting to See the Strain of Inflation
Rent delinquency rates among US small businesses increased significantly this month, a new report shows, Bloomberg News reported.
About 37% of small businesses, which between them employ almost half of all Americans working in the private sector, were unable to pay their rent in full in October. This is according to a survey from Boston-based Alignable, a network of 7 million small business members. This is an increase of seven percentage points from last month and is now at the highest pace this year, the survey showed.
The survey of 4,789 small business owners was conducted between Oct. 15 and Oct. 27. The findings partly reflect how ...
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Credit Card Balances Return to Pre-Pandemic Levels
Credit-card debt recently reached a new milestone - it has returned to where it was before the pandemic.
Total card balances in the U.S. hit $916 billion in September, nearly identical to December 2019 levels, according to the credit-reporting firm Equifax Inc. Balances are up 9% from January and about 23% higher than their pandemic low in April 2021.
Card balances fell sharply in the early months of the pandemic after Americans, out of work and stuck at home, cut back on spending. Stimulus checks later padded savings accounts and allowed many to pay down costly debt.
When the economy reopened and people went back to work, ...
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Mortgage Rates Reach New Highs
The average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage has topped 7% for the first time in 20 years - almost double the rate 12 months ago - making it much harder for would be home buyers. Further, the pace of home sales has declined for eight consecutive months as frustrated buyers give up, unable to afford higher payments.
The weekly average for a 30-year fixed rate loan is now 7.08%. That's the highest level since April 2002. Rising rates have also slammed the lid on home prices, which have declined 1%, according to the latest reading of a closely watched home price index.
This trend will likely accelerate in the coming months. ...
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Inflation is Depleting Emergency Funds
Inflation is taking its toll on American's emergency funds.
The share of workers who say they are living paycheck-to-paycheck has surged among middle- to high-income earners — 63% and 49%, respectively — up from 57% and 38%, respectively, a year ago, according to a survey of almost 4,000 workers released this week by online loan specialist LendingTree. Overall, 65% percent of employed consumers were living paycheck-to-paycheck in September 2022 — up from 60% a year ago.
Millions of Americans face rising prices on essential goods and services such as food and rent as their savings are drying up after a post-pandemic spending splurge. ...
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