Free Republic

The Department of Education is poised to resume collections on defaulted federal student loans in May for the first time since 2020. While the first Trump administration paused referring federal student loans to collections in March 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the extended lapse has prompted Trump administration officials to worry that the federal student loan portfolio is "headed toward a fiscal cliff if we don't start repayment in collections," according to a senior department official. "The result has been that the federal government student loan portfolio has continued to grow, and we've got a record number...

US President Donald Trump and his administration are studying whether dismissing independent Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell is an option, his top White House economic aide said. "The president and his team will continue to study that matter," National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett told reporters when asked if firing Powell was a possibility, one day after Trump lashed out at the Fed chief.

“Extraordinary measures” will be needed to keep the US from defaulting on its obligations if the nation’s debt ceiling isn’t raised or suspended by mid-January, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned Congress Friday. Yellen, in a letter to House and Senate leaders, noted that the nation’s debt ceiling — the total amount of money the federal government is authorized to borrow to pay for obligations such as Social Security and Medicare benefits — was suspended in June 2023 but will once again be in effect on Jan. 1. ***. “Treasury currently expects to reach the new limit between January 14 and...

The Fulton County Superior Court found District Attorney Fani Willis in default for refusing to hand over documents in an open records lawsuit. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis refused to answer a public records lawsuit seeking records of her communications with Special Counsel Jack Smith. Earlier this year conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch asked the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia to declare a default judgment against Fani Willis after she refused to respond to its lawsuit related to communications she had with Jack Smith and the sham January 6 Committee. Last year House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan launched...

California businesses — and households that pay payroll taxes on domestic employees — are waking up to the reality that they are being forced to pay for the state’s default on $20 billion in federal loans to cover a COVID-era shortfall. The issue came to light this week with a social media post by restaurateur Andrew Gruel about unexpected costs: The Hoover Institution, based at Stanford University, had warned about the problem more than a year ago: Little did California businesses know that they were cosigners on the state’s nearly $20 billion loan from the federal government that was used...

The international rating agency S&P Global lowered the long-term and short-term credit ratings of Ukraine in foreign currency to the level of "selective default" - from CC/C to SD/SD - due to the missed payment of Eurobonds on August 1 against the background of debt restructuring. "We understand that the government has decided to suspend bond payments pending restructuring. To that end, the government has not made a coupon payment on its 2026 Eurobonds on August 1, 2024, when payment was due, and we do not expect payments during the bonds' contractual grace period of 10 business days," S&P said...

The law also grants the government the authority to assume the state-guaranteed debt of the former State Agency of Motor Roads (Ukravtodor), totaling $700 million plus interest. This decision was made because the State Agency for Infrastructure Restoration and Development was unable to restructure these obligations independently Ukraine had previously imposed a freeze on foreign debt payments after Russia's full-scale invasion. This freeze expires on August 1, with the bonds' coupon payment due in 2026. The government needs to restructure the debt to meet the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) requirements under a $15.6 billion program. Approval has been obtained from...

Too much debt should be the theme song for the US! Both for consumers and the Feral government (not a typo!) Consumer credit increased by +$6.403 billion in April, much softer than consensus estimate of +$10 billion … more notable, however, was March data, given initial read of +$6.274 billion was revised down to -$1.099 billion. Not to mention $13 trillion in mortgage debt (1-4 unit housing), but at least that is backed by property. Unlike The Feral government who borrows/prints with only a promise. Consumer Debt Hits $17.69 TRILLION. US national debt stands at $34.8+ trillion. And growing awfully...

Juan Manuel Merchan is a Colombian-born American judge and former prosecutor. Most curious, he is NOT a formal judge, he is ONLY an acting justice of the New York State Supreme Court in New York County. How did a former prosecutor who is NOT a formal judge get assigned this case? This is not just a possible rigged proceeding, but this is UNCONSTITUTIONAL insofar as the alleged crime is a federal crime when there is no subject matter jurisdiction by this ACTING JUDGE in a state court to preside over a federal crime. Now this ACTING Judge will be sentencing...

The tallest building in Fort Worth has a commanding position in the city’s skyline, but the 1M SF building only commanded a price of about $12 per square foot at a foreclosure auction. The price per square foot amounted to less than 10% of the previous sale price for Burnett Plaza, which at 40 stories towers over the other buildings in Fort Worth. The winning bidder was one of Burnett Plaza’s lenders: Pinnacle Bank Texas bought back the building at this month’s auction with a bid of $12.3M, according to a report in the Dallas Business Journal. The previous owner,...

New York City is paying $387 per day to house and feed each migrant household in taxpayer-funded shelters. Over the course of a year this amounts to $141,255 per household. The median household income in the US is $75,000. A full-time minimum-wage job pays less than $15,000. Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo) asked Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra "why workers who have to live on less should should be taxed so much for the less than lavish accommodations being provided for illegal immigrants?" Becerra said "we aren't letting New Yorkers bear all the burden of supporting these...

take a look at the recent Penn Wharton Budget Model (PWBM) publication showing how the United States will soon immolate itself and the rest of the world under its mountain of unpayable debt... the PWBM wastes no time gaslighting its audience. Its conclusion regarding America’s staggering $34 trillion national debt is equal parts terrifying, inevitable, and obvious: "Under current policy, the United States has about 20 years for corrective action, after which no amount of future tax increases or spending cuts could avoid the government defaulting on its debt."...The United States’ precarious balance sheet could lead to disaster even sooner...

At the heart of the decline in family wealth is China's real estate meltdown, which is having a pervasive effect on a society where 70% of family assets are tied up in property. Towards the end of last year, 34 of the top 50 Chinese property developers were in default.. China has rolled out new rules meant to expand access to commercial bank loans for property developers as Beijing doubles down on its effort to end a prolonged crisis in the real estate industry. In an attempt to stabilize financial markets and boost the economy, the Chinese government has cut...

A massive $124.5 billion worth of bonds are now in default in the entire $175 billion China property dollar bond sector ... Counting October, there is a total of $60.5 billion worth of Chinese property bonds due in the next 6 months, with offshore bonds taking up at least one third of it .... Country Garden's international bondholders are now seeking urgent talks with the company. Strains have also shown in other companies. State-backed Sino-Ocean Group ... Another major developer Gemdale .. seen its bonds slide after the resignation of its chairman sparked fears that it too may be in...

Chinese property developer Country Garden warned Tuesday that it cannot repay on time a 470 million Hong Kong dollar ($60 million) loan in the latest sign of distress after Beijing clamped down on mounting debts in the industry. The company said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that it “expects that it will not be able to meet all of its offshore payment obligations when due or within the relevant grace periods,” including U.S. dollar notes the firm has issued. The company said its sales were under “remarkable pressure.” Country Garden earlier had been hailed as a...

Michael Pento discussed the current state of the bond market and warned of the potential collapse of the US dollar due to the erosion of faith in the world’s reserve currency. He advised investors to sell long duration bond exposure and invest in short term US government debt. Pento also discussed the inflation and GDP acceleration, as well as China and Japan’s selling of US treasuries. He warned of the massive issuance and supply of US debt and questioned who will buy it, as the Federal Reserve is no longer buying and is instead selling their balance sheet, adding to...

This situation could be quite concerning for several reasons: Credit Score Damage: When people default on their student loans, it can wreak havoc on their credit scores. This means they’ll have trouble accessing credit in the future for things like buying a home, a car, or even just getting a credit card. It’s like a financial scar that can take years to heal. Financial Instability: Defaulting on loans often leads to financial instability. Borrowers may struggle to make ends meet, and this can impact their overall financial well-being. They might have to put off important life decisions like getting married...

I ain’t never been to Spain, but the US under Biden is like Spain in terms of default risk. Actually, I have to Spain numerous times and love visiting Barcelona. But the US debt fiasco under Biden and Congressional spending sprees has led to … US credit default swap being priced worse than Spain’s CDS. With Biden/Congress orgy of spending (and a declining economy in many important respects), the US is seeing Federal debt near $33 TRILLION and even worse, unfunded Federal liabilities (promises, promises) are at $193 TRILLION, almost 6 times the current Federal debt load. If you are...

China's largest private property developer warned on Wednesday of default risks if its financial performance continues to deteriorate, and said it "felt deeply remorseful" for its record loss in the first half. Country Garden (2007.HK) posted a net loss between January and June of 48.9 billion yuan ($6.72 billion), versus a 6.7 billion yuan net loss in the second half of 2022 and a 612 million yuan net profit in the first half of 2022. The results come as Chinese authorities take steps to revive the troubled property market, which accounts for roughly a quarter of the economy. The sector's...

Every country should pay its sovereign debt. Default, we are told, is not an option. But has anyone told China? The United States pays interest on approximately $850 billion in debt held by the People’s Republic of China. China, however, is currently in default on its sovereign debt held by American bondholders. Successive U.S. administrations have chosen to sidestep this fact, allowing business and trade with China to proceed as normal. Now that the relationship with China has soured and the People’s Republic of China has become the greatest adversarial threat to the U.S. and Western security, policymakers should revisit...