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Student Debt, the New Home Equity Loan - (www.bloomberg.com) The Federal Reserve doesn’t break out student debt in its monthly releases, but does say that “non-revolving” lines of credit—largely student and auto loans—now make up 68 percent of outstanding consumer debt. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimates thatstudent debt now tops $1 trillion, which is more than all the credit-card debt in the country. The CFPB points out that the growth in student loans reflects not just new origination, but also that some graduates can’t keep up payments. We recently reported that as many as 27 percent of borrowers are already late on their student loans.
Heavy student debt can cause a host of problems. On a personal level, debt burdens may affect future marriage and fertility rates. In the broader economy, heavier debt loads can drive down spending “as the present cohort of students enter their prime consumer years,” Alpert wrote in a blog post on EconoMonitor.
Former MF Global CFO describes her concerns that clients’ funds were at risk - (www.washingtonpost.com) Days before the MF Global brokerage firm collapsed, leaving many of its clients without access to their money, a top executive was troubled that the firm appeared to be putting customer funds at risk, the executive says. In testimony prepared for a Wednesday hearing, the firm’s former chief financial officer, Christine Serwinski, says she learned that there was “a substantial deficit” in a financial buffer that was supposed to ensure that customer funds were safe. When she asked why there was a shortfall, she learned that one part of MF Global had borrowed money from another “and had missed the wire deadline to pay it back,” Serwinski says in the testimony.
The US Now Wants To Buy Even More Military Hardware For Israel - (www.businessinsider.com) $50 million systems to stop $1,000 rockets. The Pentagon wants to increase funding for Israel's missile-defense shield, the Iron Dome. Congress already granted $205 million last year, but the Defense Department wants to support Israel even more. Andrea Shalal-Es at Reuters reports Pentagon spokesman George Little says supporting Israel's security is a top priority of President Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Each Iron Dome battery costs about $50 million, while estimates of each interceptor rocket loaded onto the system are from $35,000 to $50,000. The Iron Dome Support Act is the bill that will go before Congress with the hope of deploying more Iron Dome batteries.
Stuck in no man's land for health coverage - (www.sacbee.com) I'm a few months from losing my health insurance coverage – the COBRA plan you can buy after you leave a job that initially provided the benefit. So I figured I should start planning now to find an individual policy to replace my current plan before I lose it. This shouldn't be too difficult, right? After all, the federal Affordable Care Act – colloquially known as "Obamacare" – was signed into law two years ago. Its mandate that all American citizens obtain coverage of some sort, coupled with a prohibition on insurers denying applicants because of pre-existing health conditions, takes effect in less than two years, assuming the U.S. Supreme Court doesn't strike it down after hearings this week.It couldn't be all that tough, I thought to myself, to find an affordable health plan. I was wrong. Advocates of President Barack Obama's health reform say I am a case study in how untold numbers of Americans have been caught in a no man's land waiting for the new federal law to take full effect. I am a healthy 51-year-old freelance writer. I've never had a major illness or disease (knock on wood). The only broken bone I've ever suffered was a fractured jaw, and that was almost three decades ago. I have minor, not-so-unusual conditions for an African American male of my age – borderline high cholesterol and high blood pressure, which have been controlled by one medication each for years, and a hormonal issue for which I also take medication. I'm not overweight. I don't smoke, and my drinking habits are somewhere between light and moderate.
Goldman Sachs Denies Claims It Led to Copper River’s Demise - (www.nytimes.com) Just before the financial crisis began in September 2008, a prominent hedge fund appeared well positioned to take advantage of any turmoil in the markets. That fund, Copper River Partners, had made sizable bets months earlier against companies whose stocks it expected to suffer. Within weeks, however, Copper River, once a successful $1.5 billion hedge fund, was out of business, having unexpectedly absorbed losses on the very bets it thought would be profitable. While the market turmoil contributed to its problems, Marc Cohodes, head of Copper River, says that a significant force behind the failure was Goldman Sachs, which for years had been the firm’s broker. Testifying recently in a lawsuit that is unrelated to Copper River’s closing, Mr. Cohodes maintained that actions taken in the fall of 2008 by Goldman in the handling of trades for Copper River had done irreparable damage to the fund. His testimony, which has not been made public, was obtained by The New York Times.
Some Justices Question Health Law’s Constitutionality - (www.bloomberg.com)
Fed Prevented 'Total Meltdown,' Bernanke Says - (online.wsj.com)
Goldcorp CEO quashes prospects of mega takeovers - (www.reuters.com)
TV piracy claims heap more pressure on Murdoch empire- (www.reuters.com)
Exclusive: Goldman's European derivatives revenue soars - (www.reuters.com)
For New Generation of Power Plants, New Rules From E.P.A. - (www.nytimes.com)
European finance: The leaning tower of perils - (www.ft.com)
Italian, Spanish banks continue to gorge on govt debt - ECB data - (www.reuters.com)
ECB’s Weidmann Says Rescue Fund Expansion Won’t Solve Crisis - (wwwbloomberg.com)
France discussing strategic oil release with UK, U.S.: report - (www.reuters.com)
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