Student Loan Borrowers to Receive Credit for Servicer Failures
Millions of American student loan borrowers are set to benefit from a recent decision by the Department of Education. Due to lapses by three major loan servicers – Aidvantage, EdFinancial, and Nelnet – in sending timely billing statements and meeting contractual obligations, over 3.5 million people will now receive credit for their payments. The Department …
Beware the Broker Fee
You have been on the house hunt grind for what feels like forever, and just as you are nearing your wits’ end… you find it! The one! The dream apartment that makes all those hours of scrolling, of running from one open house to another, worthwhile. But, is it too good to be true? Turns …
Student Loan Forgiveness Plan Reaches the Supreme Court
Arguments regarding President Joe Biden’s student loan debt forgiveness plan went before the Supreme Court on Tuesday. The proposal was made public last August and will cost approximately $400 billion over the course of 30 years. It would cancel up to $20,000 in debt for recipients of Pell Grants and up to $10,000 for students …
Fed Hikes Interest Rates Again
The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 3/4 of a percentage point Thursday to the highest it has been since 2008, according to CNBC. The rate hovered around zero this past March, but has increased a total of 3.75 percentage points over the last eight months. Stocks fell drastically as a result of …
Bitcoin Plummets Amid Widespread Sell-Off
The value of Bitcoin fell drastically today, plummeting below $23,000 to its lowest point since December 2020. The drop follows a broader sell-off trend, spurred by inflation, among other factors. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has long been quick to call out the “risks associate with cryptocurrencies,” and it appears those risks have finally come to …
‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Apps Lead to Trouble for Young Shoppers
Buy-now-pay-later apps such as Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna, and Quadpay have grown in popularity since the start of the pandemic. However, an increasing number of users report being hit with unforeseen fees and struggling to get refunds processed for product returns, according to the Los Angeles Times. Young people are often lured in by celebrities who …
Elizabeth Warren Blasts Intuit for Hindering Free Tax Filings
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren is insisting that financial software platform Intuit provide answers about its ubiquitous TurboTax e-filing system. Warren penned a letter to Intuit CEO Sasan Goodarzi regarding the company’s use of “extensive lobbying and adroit influence peddling” to impede people from e-filing their taxes for free. “The Free File program has been a …
Crypto’s Year in Review
The 2021 global cryptocurrency market was largely defined by hacking incidents and heists that only grew in scale over the course of the year, according to Gizmodo. Experts say that increased media attention and the rise of crypto prices are to blame for recent security breaches. “What’s clear from the majority of these attacks this …
Biden Extends Student Loan Relief to May 1 Amid Calls to Cancel Debt
President Joe Biden has announced a 90-day extension on student debt relief in light of the recent surge in omicron cases nationwide, according to CNN. Nearly 43 million federal student loan borrowers now have until May 1, 2022 to resume payments, which have been paused since the start of the pandemic. The moratorium was previously …
‘Squid Game’ Spawns Cryptocurrency Scam
Scammers have run off with some $3.3 million after a cryptocurrency inspired by the popular Netflix series “Squid Game” collapsed yesterday morning, according to Gizmodo. The SQUID coin peaked at about $2,861 before diving to $0 around 5:40 a.m. ET on Monday – less than one week after it launched. CoinMarketCap had previously issued an …