STUDENT LOAN CRISIS IS FAR FROM OVER: Two new reports suggest the student loan crisis is easing somewhat as the economy improves, but the crisis is far from over. The College Board reports total borrowing fell by 8 percent between 2012-13 and 2013-14. The organization also notes that tuition increases are slowing, though still outpacing inflation. But at the same time, the Institute for College Access and Success says college graduates still face a much tougher job market than they did before the Great Recession, and in six states the average student loan debt has topped $30,000 for the first time. Read more
POLITICAL VISE GRIP OF SCOTUS AND OBAMACARE: Now that midterm Congressional elections are behind us, the major politics are starting. It’s not about the 2016 presidential race. I'm talking about the 2015 Supreme Court. By accepting a legal challenge based on a poorly drafted passage of the Obamacare statute, the justices have placed themselves in a political vise grip. Conservatives, who just won big in House and Senate elections, seek one last shot at derailing the law that the Court permitted to stand two years ago. With a majority of Republican appointees on the Court, conservatives have reason to hope. But a decision vindicating Obamacare opponents would also unleash a volatile reaction: From an insurance industry facing massive disruption in the the new health care marketplace they're growing accustomed to, and from millions of Americans who would lose the taxpayer subsidies that make it possible for them to afford comprehensive coverage. Read more
FORECLOSURES SPIKE: More than five years after the foreclosure crisis began, the number of borrowers losing their homes is rising again Most of the troubled loans are not new; instead, the backlog of homes in the foreclosure process is finally starting to move more quickly. Read more
WAL-MART HELPS LIFT DOW INDUSTRIALS TO RECORD FINISH: Read more