| Many college graduates are buried by debt
HACKENSACK, N.J. -- It's no small thing to make it to the top of one of U.S. News and World Reports' college lists. But the folks at Seton Hall University aren't exactly celebrating their No. 1 national ranking for student-loan debt. Sixty-one percent of students graduating from the South Orange, N.J., campus have to pay back student loans -- the average totaling $37,724, according to America's Best Colleges 2008. The numbers are high but they are not an aberration. Nationally, nearly two-thirds of graduates of four-year schools have debt, according to the Project on Student Debt. That debt load averages $20,000. New federal measures are expected to ease some of the burden going forward. But, for now, student debt -- which is estimated to have more than doubled in the last decade -- has a stranglehold on many students and families.
(AFX UK Focus) 2007-11-15 06:03 GMT: Chinese property cos may look elsewhere for funding on debt market squeeze - S&P
BANGALORE (Thomson Financial) - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said a muted response to recently proposed bond issues by Chinese real estate developers could have a knock-on effect on funding strategies across the industry. The ratings agency said many issuers will be forced to seek funding alternatives for their rapid expansion until market conditions stabilize. S&P said the postponement of a proposed issue of more than 1 bln usd in senior unsecured notes by Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd and uncertainty over the timing of a proposed issue by Agile Property Holdings Ltd stem from weak sentiment in the markets. If the growth is heavily debt-funded, the financial health of property developers will come under pressure it said, adding that the regulatory environment is the biggest challenge.
Credit counseling firms open in town
ZANESVILLE - While the credit card crunch is often talked about before and after the holiday season, home foreclosures and the financial uncertainty it brings have come to the forefront this year. And now two new credit counseling agencies are looking to make a difference for area families. .
Finance kicks off debt strategy consultations
The Department of Finance and the Bank of Canada initiated debt strategy consultations for the coming fiscal year.
A consultation document on issues relating to the design and operation of the government's domestic debt program, prepared jointly by Finance and the Bank of Canada, was made public today.
This year�s consultations are primarily focused on measures that could be taken to allow the government to pursue its strategic debt-management objectives, in a declining debt environment, while promoting the efficient functioning of the domestic market for government securities. The government is also interested in the views of market participants on the functioning of the Canadian government securities markets over the recent period of increased market volatility.
Liberia: IMF Pledges $842m Deal for Debt Relief
Member states of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have made pledges totaling more than 842 million dollars, to provide debt relief for Liberia. IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn Monday announced in Washington, DC, that the International Monetary Fund secured these financing pledges from member countries as a deal to allow the Fund provide debt relief to Liberia. A release from the Liberia Embassy in Washington, DC, quoted the IMF Managing Director as saying that when these pledges are formalized, a process will be followed to clear the arrears for Liberia to qualify for new Fund financing that will enable the delivery of Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and other debt relief to the country. .
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