Older Americans have the fastest-growing student debt
Jun 21, 2021

Older Americans have the fastest-growing student debt

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Nearly 9 million Americans 50 and up still have student debt, either from loans they took out to pay for their own education or for their kids’ educations, according to the Department of Education. Plus, taking stock of how markets reacted to the Federal Reserve's latest economic assessment last week. And, Chinese citizens are still processing the change in birth policy announced last month that will allow couples to have three children instead of the current maximum of two. A number of women have turned to humor in their reactions.

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Nearly 9 million older Americans still have student loan debt

Jun 21, 2021
More people are going to college and graduate school. There's also been an increase in parents taking on loan debt for their kids.
And the total amount of debt they owe is growing faster than for any other age group.
zimmytws/Getty Images

A bit of a conflicting message from the Fed last week. Markets didn't it take it super well.

On one hand, the Fed said that the economy still needs months of space to find its footing and it signaled no rush to taper its asset purchases. On the other hand, the Fed signaled rate hikes could come sooner than expected, although not until 2023. The Dow then had its worst week since October. Julia Coronado, founder and president of MacroPolicy Perspectives, said the mixed message on patience hit things like bond yields, inflation compensation and commodities prices. “But there’s an open debate about whether they are in fact less patient, or they were just trying to kind of have their cake and eat it too — give us patience in the near term, but let us know that they’ll do what’s needed if inflation does in fact show up on a more persistent basis,” Coronado said.

Chinese citizens greet new 3-child policy with humor

Jun 21, 2021
Women in China have taken to social media to push back against having one more child.
A father with his son on a low-cost train heading into the Chinese countryside. People in rural China cite the cost of raising a child as a main reason they don't want to have more children.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

Music from the episode

The team

Victoria Craig Host, BBC
Stephen Ryan Senior Producer, BBC
Jonathan Frewin Producer, BBC
Daniel Shin Producer
Jay Siebold Technical Director
Brian Allison Engineer
Meredith Garretson Morbey Senior Producer
Erika Soderstrom Producer
Rose Conlon Producer
Alex Schroeder Producer