Student loan deadbeats are older than you think

• Who loves us, baby? China still does.

  The United States may be hurtling towards a fiscal cliff at the end of the year. But if the U.S. is Thelma then China is Louise. Despite continued fears about another debt ceiling debacle at the end of this year, China is buying U.S. Treasury debt like it's going out of style ... or like it's Facebook stock.

  The Treasury Department released its latest figures on foreign holdings of U.S. debt MORE

  Paul R. La Monica - May 15, 2012 2:57 PM ET
  Posted in: bonds, China, debt, fiscal cliff

• Americans buried under debt

  Lots of American families are underwater...and not just on their mortgages.

  About one out of every five U.S. households owe more on credit cards, medical bills, student loans and other debts not backed by collateral than they have in savings and other liquid assets, according to a new University of Michigan report published Tuesday.

  The precariousness of Americans' financial situations has become increasingly on display since the mortgage crisis precipitated the Great MORE

  Tami Luhby - May 8, 2012 4:26 PM ET
  Posted in: credit cards, debt, Great Recession, mortgage, mortgages, student loans, underwater, university of michigan

• Making student loan payments more managable

  Many see the troubles some are having managing their student loans as an information problem, more than a financial one.

  That's because many borrowers don't know what resources are available to them to better manage their student loans. Some 27% of borrowers are behind in their payments, according to a recent report for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

  It needn't happen in many cases, experts say. Those with federal student MORE

  Tami Luhby - Mar 30, 2012 2:31 PM ET
  Posted in: college, debt, debt crisis, student loan, student loans, tuition

• The return of Simpson-Bowles

  More than a year has passed since the ambitious Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction plan went down in flames.

  In December of 2010, the plan fell short of the 14 votes required for the commission to present its recommendations to Congress for a legislative vote. Much lip service was paid to the "seriousness" of the plan. But most members of Congress gave it no serious consideration. Ditto for the White House.

  Now Simpson-Bowles is MORE

  Charles Riley - Mar 28, 2012 10:01 AM ET
  Posted in: debt, deficit, Election 2012, simpson bowles

• How to avoid the looming budget train wreck

  Republicans desperately do not want to raise taxes on the über-rich. And Democrats certainly don't want to gut entitlement spending for the nation's most needy. But with the Bush tax cuts and Obama payroll tax cut set to expire at the end of the year, and automatic budget cuts tied to sequestration set to kick in at the beginning of next year, it's clear that Congress has to do something MORE

  Paul R. La Monica - Mar 22, 2012 9:17 AM ET
  Posted in: budget deficit, debt, economy, Election 2012, taxes

• Romney: My tax plan 'can't be scored'

  Like every Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney wants to cut a whole bunch of taxes.

  Just two of the more expensive provisions would reduce revenue by more than $3.4 trillion over a decade. Meanwhile, the campaign, and the candidate, insist that the plan is "budget neutral."

  So one would expect something of a plan to fill in that huge revenue hole created by the tax cuts.

  The campaign says the tax cuts will MORE

  Charles Riley - Mar 7, 2012 2:35 PM ET
  Posted in: debt, deficit, Election 2012, Mitt Romney, tax policy

• Maybe China didn't like that S&P downgrade so much?

  China still owns a LOT of U.S. Treasury debt. But it looks like they got rid of more of it last year after Standard & Poor's stripped America of its triple-A credit rating than first thought.

  Every month, the Treasury Department puts out a report showing how much foreign countries hold in U.S. securities. The latest report came out in mid-February and showed that as of the end of December, China MORE

  Paul R. La Monica - Mar 1, 2012 4:40 PM ET
  Posted in: China, debt, economy, Treasury