NEWS ABOUT: student loans
student loans stories: 26 news briefs
MARKETS
Low-volume session sees modest advances in energy, financials
Wall Street Journal Jun 29, 09 3:15 PM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
Stocks enjoyed modest gains today as a jump in oil prices lifted energy firms, the Wall Street Journal reports. Crude futures rose $2.33, to $71.49 a barrel; Exxon shares gained 2.39%. Financials also saw advances, led by Sallie Mae, which jumped 8.2% on new government terms for student-loan pricing contracts. The Dow closed up 90.99 at 8,529.38. The Nasdaq rose 5.84, settling at 1,844.06, and the S&P 500 gained 8.33 to 927.23.
More »
The administration wants to cut out private lenders, setting up a showdown
New York Times Apr 13, 09 8:49 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
President Obama's plans to end a subsidized student-loan program—diverting billions of dollars in profits for private lenders like Sallie Mae to scholarships for needy students—is prompting howls of protest from lenders and setting up a Congressional showdown, the New York Times reports. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that replacing subsidized loans with direct government lending would save $94 billion over the next decade that would be used to expand Pell grants.
More »
opinion
Peg students' payments to their income
Slate Mar 4, 09 5:33 PM CST
(Newser Summary) -
In his latest Slate column, Eliot Spitzer shifts to education, with a solution on how to reform the student loan system. "We need to fix how Americans pay for higher education," writes the former New York governor. Rather than crippling loans that prevent bright graduates from pursuing worthy but low-paying careers such as teaching, Spitzer suggests "smart loans" that let students repay a fixed percentage tied to their income.
More »
Broke family already
racking up $10K a day
Los Angeles Times Feb 11, 09 4:04 AM CST
(Newser Summary) -
Nadya Suleman says she plans to raise her 14 kids without relying on welfare but the reality is that the bill to taxpayers will likely run into the millions, the Los Angeles Times reports. Suleman has no job, no income, owes $50,000 in student loans, and her octuplets have already racked up at least $150,000 in hospital costs—not including the delivery.
More »
Octuplets' mother has 'an alternative way'
MSNBC Feb 10, 09 12:44 PM CST
(Newser Summary) -
Octuplet mom Nadya Suleman has no income “at the moment” and will "temporarily" use student loans to raise her children, she said on the Today show. “I am providing for my children,” Suleman said. “I have my own way. It’s an alternative way, but it works.” Suleman receives $490 a month in food stamps and disability aid for three of her older children but doesn’t regard the money as welfare, MSNBC reports.
More »
$150B spending expected to permanently expand government's role in education
New York Times Jan 28, 09 6:15 AM CST
(Newser Summary) -
The stimulus plan before Congress today more than doubles the Department of Education's budget, reports the New York Times. An unprecedented extra $150 billion in federal aid would provide funds for nearly every aspect of education, from school construction to college grants. Opponents and backers alike agree that the injection of cash could change the federal government's role in education forever.
More »
ANALYSIS
Its plans to buy more debt may unfreeze market in '09, but consumer rates stuck for now
MarketWatch Dec 17, 08 9:53 AM CST
(Newser Summary) -
Consumers hoping for lower interest rates on credit cards, car loans, and mortgages after the Federal Reserve dropped a key interest rate to near 0% yesterday aren’t likely to get a break soon, reports MarketWatch. But loans could be easier to get once the Fed’s other actions—buying up a range of debt—take hold in the first quarter of 2009.
More »
Student groups oppose use of bailout funds for unregulated lenders
Washington Post Nov 28, 08 3:20 PM CST
(Newser Summary) -
Private student lenders deserve no part of the Treasury’s $200 billion consumer lending program, student advocacy groups say. They charge that the largely unregulated industry preys on young borrowers with risky variable-interest loans, the Washington Post reports. “A bailout for the providers of usurious private student loans will not solve the college affordability crisis,” said the heads of nine groups, including the publishers of Consumer Reports , in a letter to Hank Paulson.
More »
Parents face tough choices as debt-ridden kids struggle to find work
Wall Street Journal Oct 8, 08 8:45 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
The families of many debt-laden college graduates are pondering bailouts of their own as the job market sours, the Wall Street Journal reports. With the average student loan now $22,000, parents of some struggling grads face a tough choice—to let their kids learn a lesson about credit the hard way, or to give them a helping hand and a lecture.
More »
16% jump in requests for tuition help as economy slumps
San Francisco Chronicle Aug 11, 08 12:10 PM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
A soaring number of students are requesting financial aid as a result of the country’s economic downturn, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Some 8.9 million students filed for federal aid in the first half of this year—up 16.3% from last year. Many public universities are struggling to keep up with the increase, in turn forcing more students to look to loans.
More »
Some 900,000 students scrambling for alternate ways to pay tuition this fall
Wall Street Journal Aug 11, 08 8:18 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
Continuing turmoil in credit markets has prompted more private lenders to cut back or eliminate education loans, leaving thousands of student borrowers without the cash they need for college, reports the Wall Street Journal. Last week Wachovia joined more than 2 dozen banks that have cut funds available to students, as investors have backed away from the notes they use to raise capital.
More »
As private funds dry up, families look to feds to pay for college tuition
Boston Globe Jul 23, 08 3:04 PM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
The slump in the credit markets has shrunk capital available to brokers of student loans, complicating the already-difficult task of financing a college education. The Boston Globe relates the story of one Massachusetts family, the Ferragutos, who received word this year from the state’s education finance agency informing them that federal loans, including low-interest Stafford loans, were no longer available.
More »
Students at 2-year, non-elite 4-year schools left in the lurch
New York Times Jun 2, 08 8:09 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
Students at 2-year and some less competitive 4-year colleges will be having a tougher time finding loans as banks trim the list of colleges they serve, reports the New York Times . In a move that potentially shuts out some of the neediest students, Citibank, JPMorgan, PNC, and SunTrust all say they have cut back their eligible institutions, focusing on upper-tier schools whose students generally borrow more and default less.
More »
Government-backed lender off $3.56B, but feds lifts restraints on portfolio
Wall Street Journal Feb 27, 08 10:48 AM CST
(Newser Summary) -
Fannie Mae reported huge fourth-quarter losses today, painting an ugly picture both of the economy and the mortgage giant's own future. The company lost $3.56 billion—triple what analysts expected, Bloomberg reports. Derivatives were the big culprit, accounting for $3.33 billion in losses, but the company also reported spikes in late payments and delinquencies.
More »
Investors balk on bonds key to students, museums, cities
Wall Street Journal Feb 13, 08 8:27 AM CST
(Newser Summary) -
A huge new group of borrowers—from students to museums to local governments—are about to find their credit drying up, as the subprime meltdown that has already cost banks $100 billion continues to spread, reports the Wall Street Journal. In the last few days, investors have backed away from buying something called auction-rate bonds, which in turn caused the Michigan's student loan authority to stop making loans yesterday.
More »
Move helps struggling student loan provider obtain $31B in financing
Washington Post Jan 29, 08 9:31 AM CST
(Newser Summary) -
Beleaguered student loan provider Sallie Mae yesterday dropped its $900 million lawsuit against the onetime suitors who bailed on a $25.3 billion buyout after the credit crunch caused would-be investors to walk away, reports the Washington Post . By agreeing not to seek the penalty from investment firm JC Flowers and several partners, Sallie Mae secured $31 billion in financing.
More »
Investor group doesn't want to cough up $900M
MarketWatch Oct 16, 07 4:13 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
The group that offered to buy out educational lender Sallie Mae for $25 billion is now seeking court approval to back out and avoid paying a $900 million break-up fee. The investor group, including Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, is arguing that recent legislation will reduce the student loan corporation's profits, which investors see as "material adverse circumstances" and grounds to get out of the deal without penalty.
More »
Credit market implosion leaves buyer looking for the door
Wall Street Journal Sep 27, 07 9:52 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
Sallie Mae doesn’t look like such a bargain at $25 billion anymore, and J.C. Flowers & Co. is trying to renegotiate—or escape—its deal to acquire the student lender, citing the credit market implosion and legislation to reform student loan practices. It’s the kind of deal once considered unbreakable, the Wall Street Journal says, but private equity is in disarray.
More »
Lots of new grads,
but big salaries are
hard to come by
Wall Street Journal Sep 24, 07 1:10 PM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
Lawyers are entering the work force in record numbers, but demand—and salaries—aren't keeping up. Law schools advertise six-figure starting salaries for grads, but these wages materialize only for those from elite schools or at the top of their class, the Wall Street Journal reports. For the rest, $20-an-hour contract work may be the best they'll get.
More »
Broad overhaul of student loan industry earns broad bipartisan support
New York Times Sep 8, 07 4:00 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) -
Congress yesterday passed a student loan reform bill that slashes billions of dollars from lender subsidies and redirects the funds into grants for low-income students, the New York Times reports. The sweeping measure will cut $20B from federal lender subsidies, halve the interest rate on need-based loans, and pump $12B into Pell grants for needy students.
More »
