“Some banks on verge of losing student lending business - Spectrum” plus 3 more |
- Some banks on verge of losing student lending business - Spectrum
- The Buzz On Business - Modesto Bee
- U.S. says Google on China was a business decision - Reuters
- Business News - Am770chqr.com
| Some banks on verge of losing student lending business - Spectrum Posted: 24 Mar 2010 05:46 AM PDT (2 of 2) But on Wednesday, only two of them — Ben Nelson and Lincoln — indicated they planned to vote against the Senate "fix it" bill. Nelson's home state is headquarters for Nelnet, another major lender and a big employer in the state. "I think there are efficiencies in the private sector that you don't have in the government, but it's not going to affect my vote on reconciliation," Webb said. Private lenders have conducted an all-out lobbying effort against the bill, arguing it would cost thousands of jobs and unnecessarily put the program in the hands of the government. "The industry plays a role in maintaining competition and choice," said Scott Talbott, the chief lobbyist for the Financial Services Roundtable, an industry group. "If the government is the only lender, there is no choice." Under the college lending program, financial institutions provide college loans at low interest rates, and the government guarantees the loans in the event of default and subsidizes private lenders when necessary to keep rates low. "This is a case of corporate welfare, a giveaway to bankers and to Sallie Mae," said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. Republicans portray the direct lending plan as part of a pattern of government takeovers. Citing the health care bill and the government's bailout of the financial and automobile industries, Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., said the student loan bill "is the fourth major step forward in the push to drive this country down a road towards a European-style government." The bill would see $61 billion in savings over 10 years from the switch to direct government lending. It would pay for Pell Grants and provide more than $4 billion to community colleges and historically black colleges. It also would direct about $19 billion to reducing the deficit and offsetting expenses in the health care legislation. In addition, beginning in 2014, college graduates would be allowed to devote no more than 10 percent of their monthly income to repay their student loans. The current cap is 15 percent. Still, the legislation is not as generous as the bill the House passed last year. It proposes no increases in Pell Grants over the next two years and a modest increase over the five years that follow. The maximum Pell Grant, which a House-passed bill last year would have raised to $6,900 over 10 years, will now only increase to $5,900. The current maximum grant for the coming school year is $5,500. Carper said he worked with for-profit and nonprofit lenders to find a way for them to continue to be involved servicing and originating loans. "Our challenge was to come up with an approach where we could generate the kind of budget savings that were generated by the president's proposal," he said. "We simply could not get there." Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| The Buzz On Business - Modesto Bee Posted: 23 Mar 2010 11:55 PM PDT The government wants to fine Northwest Airlines almost $1.5 million after it failed to inspect wires near the cockpit windows in some of its planes for 17 years. The proposed civil penalty has its roots in a 1990 Federal Aviation Administration order to inspect wires in the cockpit window heating system on Boeing 757s. The FAA said wires that are too small could overheat and cause a fire. Planes with the wrong wires were supposed to be grounded until they were fixed. Northwest's 757 maintenance manual written earlier in 1990 left out the inspections. Planes flew until May 27, 2008, before the airline realized its error, the FAA said. FED CRACKS DOWN ON GIFT CARD ABUSESThe Federal Reserve issued new rules Tuesday to protect Americans from getting stung by unexpected fees or restrictions on gift cards. Gift cards have grown in popularity, with more than 95 percent of Americans having received or bought them, the Fed said. And as their use has risen, so have complaints from people taken by surprise by fees that decrease the value of the cards as well as restrictions on expirations. Under the rules, which take effect Aug. 22, consumers must have at least five years to use gift cards before they expire. The Fed also says service or inactivity fees can be imposed only under certain conditions. UNHAPPY TOYOTA OWNERS CAN GET PEDALS REPLACEDToyota owners who are dissatisfied with the repairs to their vehicles covered by a recall to address sticky gas pedals can have replacement accelerator pedals installed, according to a memo the company sent to dealers. The Japanese automaker said in a memo obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press that if a customer is unhappy with the feel of the accelerator after the car is repaired, dealers can provide a replacement pedal at no charge. Dealers have been inserting a piece of metal into the gas pedal mechanism to eliminate friction that was causing the pedal problem on 2.3 million vehicles involved in a recall. SUGAR PRICES FALL ON PRODUCTION FORECASTSugar prices fell sharply Tuesday after reports indicated Brazil is harvesting a large crop that could boost global supplies. Sugar prices declined 1.27 cents to 16.57 cents a pound.
BEE NEWS SERVICES Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| U.S. says Google on China was a business decision - Reuters Posted: 23 Mar 2010 11:02 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday said Google's action to shut its mainland Chinese-language portal was a business decision by the company that did not involve the U.S. government. Google on Monday began rerouting searches to its Hong Kong site, drawing angry criticism from China. "This was a business decision by Google," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters. "As to the issue of Internet freedom and the flow of information around the world, including the flow of information within China, that will be something that we continue our discussion with China on," he said. Google startled the world and business community in January when it said it might quit China over Internet censorship and after a sophisticated hacking attack that it said came from within China. Google's decision came during heightened tensions between Beijing and Washington over issues ranging from Internet freedom to the yuan exchange rate, economic sanctions on Iran and U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan. "Ultimately individual businesses will make judgments as to the investment opportunity in China," Crowley said. "We value the economic relationship between the United States and China," he said. "That said, I think were I China, I would seriously consider the implications when one of the world's most recognizable institutions has decided that it's too difficult to do business in China." (Reporting by Tabassum Zakaria; Editing by Paul Simao) Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Posted: 23 Mar 2010 01:11 PM PDT WILMINGTON, Del. - The parent of track owner Magna Entertainment Corp. has agreed to buy its Maryland assets, which include the Laurel Park and Pimlico tracks. As a result, a bankruptcy auction of the assets planned for Thursday was called off. To acquire the assets of the Maryland Jockey Club, Magna parent MI Developments (TSX:MIM.A) will pay US$89 million to settle a lawsuit filed by Magna's unsecured creditors committee. That money will be used to pay general unsecured claims against Magna. MID also will pay about US$13 million to cover secured claims of PNC Bank, about $6 million for holders of unsecured claims against the jockey club, and $5 million to the former owners of Laurel Park and Pimlico. Both Magna Entertainment and MI Developments were formerly part of Magna International (TSX:MG.A), Canada's largest autoparts maker, until they were spun off as separate publicly traded companies several years ago. MI Developments continues to have strong ties to Magna International and owns much of the property used for the company's factories. Content Provided By Canadian Press. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
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