PrairiePundit

 National Review: Fitch Ratings Agency Downgrades U.S. Long-Term Credit Rating This is another data point to explain why they are using the Trump indictments to change the subject. 

 Fox Business: State treasurers and other top finance officials from 27 states on Monday urged President Biden to end what they said was his "unconscionable" policy of forcing people with good credit scores to subsidize mortgage loans of higher-risk borrowers, and warned Biden’s plan would be a "disaster." Biden’s plan was outlined just a few weeks ago by the Federal Housing Agency (FHFA) and is set to take effect today. The plan is aimed at helping lower-income borrowers afford their monthly mortgage payments – it would do so by forcing people with good credit scores to pay more each month for their mortgages, extra payments that would be credited to the loans of higher-risk borrowers. The controversial policy has been attacked by both Republicans and Democrats, including President Obama’s former Federal Housing Administrator. On Monday, financial officers from 27 states weighed in and said it was clear the policy was a mistake even before it takes effect. "...

Washington Examiner: A s  credit card  debt in the United States continues to swell amid unbridled  inflation , average annual percentage rates for new credit cards are hitting record highs. “Credit card interest rates are basically the highest they’ve ever been. I’ve been watching credit card rates on a monthly basis for more than a decade now. And it’s the highest that they’ve been since I’ve been tracking them," Matt Schulz, the chief credit analyst for LendingTree,  told   Yahoo Finance . The average interest rate for credit cards was 20.17%, according to an  analysis  in June by LendingTree, an internet lending marketplace. June marked the first time the average rate eclipsed 20% since the survey began in 2018, according to the company. The survey reviewed over 200 popular credit cards. The uptick in credit card interest rates coincides with high levels of credit card debt. Recent data from the Federal Reserve found that credit card balances in th...

BBC: Jill McDevitt, 27, is well-educated and renowned in her field - but she's overwhelmed by $150,000 (£93,500; 116,300 euros) of student debt. She lives with her partner in the suburbs of Philadelphia, in an 800 sq ft flat that lacks laundry facilities. "I have a PhD, and I do my laundry in the 'coin op' place," she says. Ms McDevitt has a career that she loves - lecturing, writing and speaking on human sexuality - but as she did not receive any financial aid, she took out private loans to pay for her degrees, leaving her with monthly payments of $1,600. "I just cannot pay that amount," she says, and having tried to negotiate with several lenders without success, she is losing her will to fight. "My credit is already in the dumps," she says. "What is the incentive if I'm already screwed?" Ms McDevitt is not alone. Student debt is a one trillion dollar headache for the US economy - and it is only getting worse. As the cost of ...

William Bennett: A college degree was once synonymous with academic excellence and workforce readiness. Today, it seems synonymous with debt and underemployment. Last week, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that student loan debt increased to $956 billion , more than auto loan debt or credit card debt. More worrisome, the student loan 90-day delinquency rate increased to 11% this past quarter and for the first time exceeds the "serious delinquency" rate for credit card debt. Student loan debt is reaching bubble-bursting levels. By comparison, in October 2007, the start of the subprime mortgage crisis, 16% of subprime mortgages were 90 days delinquent, according to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. By January 2008 it accelerated to 21%. If the economy heads off the fast-approaching fiscal cliff and tax rates spike for lower- and middle-class Americans, it may accelerate student loan defaults to crisis levels. The big banks got their taxpayer bailout; taxpa...

Jennifer Rubin: In a series of events yesterday President Obama’s failure of leadership on the domestic and foreign policy fronts was on display. We received another warning of a debt-rating downgrade, and two embassies were attacked, with several Americans killed. The red light is flashing over the White House:  FAIL . The Post reports  on the deaths of the U.S. ambassador in Libya and others after an Islamist attack on the U.S. Embassy: U.S. Ambassador to Libya John Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed Tuesday in an assault on the American consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi, the White House said. In a statement issued by the White House early Wednesday morning, President Obama said he had directed an increase in security at U.S. diplomatic posts around the world. CNN reported that the Defense Department has dispatched two Marine anti-terrorism security teams to Benghazi to reinforce security there An increase in security? That’s it? ...

NY Times: On television it’s hard to miss the wildly popular band of slackers singing ruefully from a shabby apartment or while waiting tables in pirate regalia . The ruined credit that led to their financial misfortune might have been sparkling if only they’d tracked their status on freecreditreport.com . The Federal Trade Commission is not amused. It has long believed that the company that owns freecreditreport.com is deliberately diverting people from a government-mandated site where consumers can get free credit reports by law, and using the reports as a lure for a $14.95 monthly service that alerts subscribers to important changes in their credit status. In an unusual salvo, the government has even produced its own spoof videos featuring a trio remarkably similar to the gang in the earlier commercials, singing a warning: “Other sites may turn your head; they say they’re free, don’t be misled. Once you’re in their tangled web, they’ll sell you something else instead.” But wh...