Student-loan payments are about to resume. Defaults are expected to follow.

Student-loan payments are about to resume. Defaults are expected to follow.

In the months before the pandemic pause on student-loans payments, interest and collections, Jennifer Booth regularly received unpleasant phone calls from her student-loan debt collector that fueled anxiety and doubt.  They’d ask her questions like, “Why would you go to school at all?” Booth recalled in an interview.  Outside of those phone calls, Booth felt…

U.S. businesses operating in China are confused and worried. Here’s why.

U.S. businesses operating in China are confused and worried. Here’s why.

China’s still-floundering economy is only one of a laundry list of worries for foreign businesses active in the country, yet most still plan on investing significant sums into their Chinese operations, according to two much-anticipated reports this week. Uncertainty over Chinese government policy, U.S.-China tensions, toughening local competition and pressure from the Biden administration to…

Twitter and Threads users are are spending less time on those services

Twitter and Threads users are are spending less time on those services

Elon Musk’s threat to charge all X members to use the service could hasten what is already turning into an exodus of users. People are spending less time on the service formerly known as Twitter, as well as on its new rival, Meta Platforms Inc.’s META, +2.39% Threads. X had an average of 21 million…

Medical debt should be fully removed from credit reports: Biden administration

Medical debt should be fully removed from credit reports: Biden administration

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is taking steps toward removing all medical debt information from Americans’ credit reports, a move meant to help the millions of Americans whose credit scores drop after bills for expenses like unexpected hospital visits go unpaid. While the information surrounding most unpaid medical debts has already been removed from credit…

Opinion: Instacart shares slump to their IPO price as investors have second thoughts

Opinion: Instacart shares slump to their IPO price as investors have second thoughts

Shares of Instacart, the online grocery-delivery service, slumped to their initial public offering price on Wednesday, as investors appeared to have second thoughts, in a setback for the newly energized IPO market. In after-hours trading Wednesday, Instacart CART, known formally as Maplebear Inc., fell slightly below its original offering price of $30 a share, closing…

KB Home stock slips despite earnings beat, raised forecast and ‘steady’ demand

KB Home stock slips despite earnings beat, raised forecast and ‘steady’ demand

KB Home shares declined in the extended session Wednesday even after the home builder reported results that topped Wall Street estimates, hiked its revenue forecast for the year and reported steady demand amid rising mortgage rates. KB Home KBH shares slid more than 2% after hours, following a 0.7% decline in the regular session to…

The return-to-office battle just hit a tipping point that gave companies a win

The return-to-office battle just hit a tipping point that gave companies a win

Summer is officially over, and companies’ push to bring more workers back into the office is showing initial signs of working, according to one indicator. After Labor Day weekend, the occupancy rate of workplaces in 10 major cities surpassed the halfway mark for the first time since July, hitting 50.3%, according to Kastle Systems’ 10-city…

What the backlash to U.S. News’ new college rankings methodology is really about

What the backlash to U.S. News’ new college rankings methodology is really about

When their schools received high rankings, college leaders touted the U.S. News best colleges list, but when their rankings dropped a year later, they complained about the list or stopped participating.  So what does it mean for a college to offer a high-quality education? That question is at the heart of the continued controversy over…

I’m 50 and went from being homeless to owning a home. Where do I invest $50,000?

I’m 50 and went from being homeless to owning a home. Where do I invest $50,000?

Dear Quentin, I have a question that might appear like a simple one, especially for all the advanced money-management folks out there and for people with more money than I have. I am 50, have very little savings, and I would like to invest $50,000. What is a good type of account to start with?…

Instacart stock opens with a bang, in another sign of life for cautious IPO market

Instacart stock opens with a bang, in another sign of life for cautious IPO market

The grocery-delivery app Instacart, known officially as Maplebear Inc., debuted on Wall Street with a bang Tuesday, opening 40% above where its initial public offering priced before easing later on — potentially paving the way for more IPOs after a two-year dry spell. Shares finished the day up 12% from its $30 IPO price, at…

Why have Americans abandoned their traditional breakfast — and what are they eating instead?

Why have Americans abandoned their traditional breakfast — and what are they eating instead?

Tony the Tiger may not have much reason to wake up with a smile. American families no longer appear to be gathering around the breakfast table, munching on Frosted Flakes and drinking orange juice. Only 35% of Americans eat that sort of traditional breakfast seven days a week, according to a recent study by CivicScience,…

This hot sector is producing returns like Nvidia’s — and it’s not AI related

This hot sector is producing returns like Nvidia’s — and it’s not AI related

The International Energy Agency last week said demand for all three major fossil fuels will peak this decade. Even beyond a crass “go woke, go broke,” many investors just don’t agree, and the replacement sources have their own issues. Surging costs have put key U.S. offshore wind projects in jeopardy, as a writedown from Ørsted…

I am disabled and lost everything in my divorce. Can I avoid financial collapse?

I am disabled and lost everything in my divorce. Can I avoid financial collapse?

Dear Quentin, I was involved in a workplace accident that rendered me disabled and recently received a lump sum of $185,000 after deductions for lawyer fees etc. In 2011, when I was injured, I was facing foreclosure and couldn’t take care of our minor children, so life for me fell apart. In 2014, I began…

Instacart IPO: 5 things to know about the grocery-delivery app

Instacart IPO: 5 things to know about the grocery-delivery app

Grocery-delivery app Instacart hopes to capitalize on what its chief executive calls a “massive digital transformation” in the way people shop at supermarkets, but it faces steep competition and an uncertain demand environment. The company filed for an initial public offering late last month, and its debut on Tuesday is set to hit markets even…

Wall Street is the most optimistic on these industries as the fourth quarter approaches

Wall Street is the most optimistic on these industries as the fourth quarter approaches

Oil and gas prices remain high for consumers, but heading into the fourth quarter, Wall Street analysts are saying buy the stocks. According to a FactSet analysis published on Friday, out of all the industries tracked by the firm, analysts were most upbeat about the energy sector, which has the highest percentage of “buy” ratings,…

PayPal and Dropbox stocks fall after downgrades, GM shares inch higher, and more stocks on the move

PayPal and Dropbox stocks fall after downgrades, GM shares inch higher, and more stocks on the move

Here are some of the most notable stock movers ahead of Monday’s Wall Street open. Stock gainers: MariaDB PLC shares MRDB, -1.36% jumped 9% in premarket trading on Monday after venture capital group Runa Capital said Friday it had offered to buy the system software group for 56 cents a share in cash, representing a…

Duke up, UChicago down: Here’s the 2024 college rankings list from U.S. News

Duke up, UChicago down: Here’s the 2024 college rankings list from U.S. News

U.S. News released its influential undergraduate college rankings Monday, a list that continues to inspire both fascination and derision.  Despite a change in methodology partially in response to recent criticisms, the same Ivy League and highly selective institutions still dominate the top of the list, even though there’s been some significant moves among the top-14…

KKR to buy 20% stake in Singtel’s data-center business

KKR to buy 20% stake in Singtel’s data-center business

Private-equity firm KKR has agreed to buy a 20% stake in the regional data-center business of Singapore Telecommunications for 1.1 billion Singapore dollars (US$800.0 million). The telecom company said Monday that the investment to be made by a fund managed by KKR puts the enterprise value of Singtel’s overall regional data-center business at S$5.5 billion….