Marketplace

APM's Marketplace | Student Loans Are Getting Whacked

Bank of America and a unit of Citigroup have joined a growing list of lenders cutting back on student loan programs. At the same time, the House passed an emergency bill that would enable lenders to have more cash to keep making loans. John Dimsdale reports.

TESS VIGELAND: OK, here's another side-effect of the credit crunch: Student loans are getting whacked. Today Bank of America and a unit of Citigroup joined a… more

KAI RYSSDAL: The actual dollar amount's $2.9 trillion, give or take a couple of million. An 11 percent boost for the Pentagon next year. About 5 percent on average for some of the other cabinet agencies. Congressional Democrats are also promising a budget surplus by 2012.We've called Maya MacGuineas at the Center for a Responsible Federal Budget to help explain the details. Maya, where do the Democrats figure they're going to get all that money?

MAYA MACGUINEAS: On… more

KAI RYSSDAL: Health care costs are high. We all know that. But it seems they've gotten to a point where more businesses are ready to do something. Today, a group of Fortune 500 CEOs announced their support for health care reform, as Janet Babin reports from North Carolina Public Radio. JANET BABIN: Safeway CEO Steve Burd created the business coalition...He says that by next year, the average Fortune 500 company will face employee health care bills… more

KAI RYSSDAL: Boris Yeltsin first truly got the West's attention in August of 1991, when he jumped up on that tank in front of the Russian Parliament building. But it wasn't until January of the following year that he really turned communism upside-down — when he lifted 75 years of Soviet price controls.Yeltsin died today at the age of 76. And that shove that he gave Russians toward a market economy is still shaking itself out.Rajan… more

KAI RYSSDAL: It's not a Wall Street scandal, but it's got the hallmarks of one. Kickbacks in return for market access. Shady dealings between marketers and banks. And no real regulations covering most of what's been going on.Investigations into the student loan industry continue to widen. Schools and lenders are putting people on paid leave while everybody sorts things out. Today, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo compared his probe to the peeling of an onion. He said… more

KAI RYSSDAL: The House passed its 2008 budget resolution today. It's the first full spending package the Democrats have had a chance to build from the ground up since they took over. And it promises boosts in spending for education, health care and national security. But Marketplace's Hillary Wicai reports from Washington, there's a $50 billion dollar question mark the majority party's trying very hard not to talk about. HILLARY WICAI: The Democrats tout their budget… more

BOB MOON: A couple of senators have come up with a plan for turning back the tide of debt — a bipartisan commission with some special clout. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports. NANCY MARSHALL GENZER: Nobody on Capitol Hill has been able to come up with a way to let the air out of ballooning budget deficits... The chairman and ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee have agreed on the framework for a bill that would… more

KAI RYSSDAL: It's called the power of the purse. The Constitution says Congress has it. Of course, the White House is free to submit its own budget request. And the president said today he'll do just that on Monday. He's promising his fiscal 2008 budget will be a big step on the way to balancing the government's books. But before that can happen lawmakers need to take care of their fiscal '07 accounting. They're hoping to do that by tomorrow.… more

This week, President Bush offered tax deductions for individuals buying health care insurance. Who does this help? Lisa Napoli does the math.KAI RYSSDAL: There was lots of coverage this week of the president's State of the Union address. We thought today we'd zero in on one slice of what he offered up--health care. You've probably heard by now that Mr. Bush wants to change the way health benefits are taxed. The president says that ultimately it'll help more… more

KAI RYSSDAL: President Bush wasn't about to let the day pass unnoticed. In fact, he got a jump on the Democrats with an op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal. And with some remarks to television cameras this morning. Bipartisanship got a nod. He mentioned how he looks forward to working with the other party. And then the president said some things about the economy that deserve a closer look.So we called Maya MacGuineas. She's the director of the… more