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The Good Brigade | Digitalvision | Getty ImagesIn recent weeks, some federal student loan borrowers have received welcome news: The U.S. Department of Education will soon cancel their remaining debt.”You are now eligible to have some or all of your federal student loan(s) discharged because you have reached the necessary number of payments under your Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Plan,” reads an email sent to one borrower.The notices stand out, consumer advocates say, because student loan forgiveness has become rare under the Trump administration.More from Your Money:Here’s a look at more stories on how to manage, grow and protect your money…

For months, experts have warned that student loan borrowers who are behind on their payments may trigger a “default cliff.” Recent reports show that cliff is now looming.The resumption of federal student loan delinquency reporting on consumers’ credit earlier this year caused a spike in the rate of severe delinquencies, which now near a record high, according to September’s Credit Insights report from credit score developer FICO. Roughly 5.3 million borrowers are in default and another 4.3 million borrowers are in “late-stage delinquency,” or between 181 and 270 days late on their payments, according to a separate analysis last month by the Congressional…

D3sign | Moment | Getty ImagesThe IRS has unveiled the capital gains tax brackets for 2026, with higher earnings limits for the 0% rate. That could offer tax planning opportunities for many investors, financial experts say.  The bigger limit is “pretty incredible, especially in years like this where the market’s been roaring,” said Tommy Lucas, a certified financial planner at Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo in Orlando, Florida. His firm is ranked No. 69 on CNBC’s Financial Advisor 100 list for 2025. Despite recent volatility, the S&P 500 was still up nearly 14% year-to-date as of Tuesday afternoon. The index also soared by more than…

Peopleimages | Istock | Getty ImagesThe government shutdown will delay a key announcement that affects millions of Social Security beneficiaries — just how much their benefit checks will increase in 2026.The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for next year will be revealed once September consumer price index data, which was slated for release on Oct. 15, is available. Due to the federal government shutdown, the CPI release has been pushed to Oct. 24.”The Social Security Administration (SSA) will use this release to generate and announce the 2026 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) on October 24 as well,” a Social Security spokesperson told CNBC.com…

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, at the Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.The Federal Open Market Committee is broadly expected to cut interest rates to below 4% on October 29. That’s according to the CME FedWatch Tool which projects the chance of a cut at 97% based on fixed income markets. Forecasting markets have a similar projection. The FOMC’s own forecasts from September suggest that rates were likely to move lower over the remainder…

The US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025.Eric Lee | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesThe thousands of federal workers newly laid off by the Trump administration face numerous financial challenges, including finding new health insurance and keeping up with recurring bills. Another key task: Figuring out what to do about their monthly student loan payment.The permanent job cuts — which Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, announced on Friday — are formally known as “Reductions in Force,” or RIFs. The RIFs will strip many federal workers of certain benefits related to their student loans and…

Investors shifted their 401(k) plan allocations away from stocks to bonds and cash in September, according to an analysis by Alight, a retirement plan administrator — a behavior that could be financially perilous, depending on their rationale.Overall account trading among 401(k) investors was low during the month, signaling that most people weren’t actively moving money or trying to time the market, said Rob Austin, head of thought leadership at Alight.”[But] when people did make trades, they moved from equities to fixed income,” Austin said. “There’s this flight to bonds, money market and stable value [funds].”More from Fixed Income Strategies:Stories for…

This year’s Nobel Prize in economics highlights how creative destruction drives growth and why AI, green transition and market openness will shape the future (Photo by JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty ImagesI work with AI policy. The question I get asked most often at cocktail parties is whether artificial intelligence will destroy humankind. I do not think so. There is always a theoretical risk that machines run amok in a paper clip scenario, but my main concern lies elsewhere. The fast pace of AI adoption may not give societies time to adjust.Institutions, labor markets and political systems tend…

USA and China trade war. US of America and chinese flags crashed containers on sky at sunset background. 3d illustrationgettyJust as retailers are beginning to adapt to Trump’s 30% tariffs on imported goods from China by shifting supply chains to more favorable countries and frontloading orders before tariffs hit, the President threw another wrench into the works by announcing a 100% across-the-board tariff to take effect on Nov. 1. On Friday, the news sparked the stock market’s steepest decline since April’s “Declaration of Economic Independence” tariff announcement. Then on Sunday, he tried to calm the markets by posting on Truth…

Wall Street’s $9B windfall fuels a Nobel-inspired $10B bet by JPMorgan to reshape the US economy.gettyA palpable sense of optimism is returning to Wall Street, as the long-dormant engine of high-stakes dealmaking roars back to life. Investment banking revenues at the financial district’s five largest institutions, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley, which will be announced later this week, are poised to break through the $9 billion threshold in the third quarter for the first time since 2021.This resurgence marks a dramatic turnaround, representing a 13 percent increase from a year ago and a staggering…