Supreme Court Keeps Biden Student-Loan Relief Plan on Hold
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CFPB Report Finds Large Retail Chains Charging Cash-back Fees to Customers Using Debit and Prepaid Cards
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A Wholly Unsecured Lien May Be Stripped Off Even if It Predated Ownership
Bankruptcy Judge Michelle Harner held that a wholly unsecured, subordinate lien may be stripped off in chapter 13 even if the lien arose before the debtor owned the property.
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Commentary: Court Issues Yet Another Blow To Student Loan Forgiveness As Appeals Continue
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Their Student Debt Disappeared, but Their Financial Worries Persist
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Sales at Stores Are Suddenly Surging in the U.S. Economy’s Latest Show of Strength
The backbone of America’s economy remains solid, despite a slowing job market, elevated interest rates and still-high inflation, CNN reported. Sales at U.S. retailers unexpectedly surged in July, the Commerce Department said, rising by a solid 1% from the prior month, up from June’s downwardly revised 0.2% decline. That trounced economists’ expectations of a 0.3% gain. Retail sales, which are adjusted for seasonal swings but not inflation, make up a sizable chunk of overall spending. July’s reading is a boon for the U.S. economy because the country’s economic growth hinges on Americans spending their dollars. It is the economy’s latest show of strength in the face of several economic hurdles squeezing the U.S. consumer. The Dow closed 555 points, or 1.4% higher, as investors cheered the retail sales report. The S&P 500 gained 1.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite added 2.3%. Sales jumped across most categories last month, rising the most at car dealerships. Those sales spiked by 3.6% in July. Excluding that category, retail sales were up by a still-strong 0.4% in July from June.
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Biden Administration Urges Supreme Court to Reinstate Student Loan Relief Plan in Emergency Appeal
The Biden administration has filed an emergency appeal at the Supreme Court urging the justices to reinstate the president’s latest student loan relief plan, The Hill reported. The appeal asks to temporarily lift a lower court ruling that currently prevents President Biden from implementing his Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan, which would lower student loan payments for millions of borrowers. If the Supreme Court is not inclined to intervene on their emergency docket, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar alternatively requested the justices take up the legality of the plan on the merits and expedite consideration so oral arguments can be held this fall. The court ordered the SAVE Plan’s challengers to respond by Monday afternoon. The posture mimics how the Biden administration handled challenges to its earlier student debt plan, which would’ve forgiven at least $10,000 in debt relief to individual borrowers. Last year, the Supreme Court struck down that plan in a 6-3 vote along ideological lines after agreeing to take up the matter in full once it received a demand for emergency action from the Justice Department. The SAVE plan was first introduced after the Supreme Court’s decision.
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USTP Obtains $105,000 Judgment and Permanent Injunction Against Bankruptcy Petition Preparers After Debtor Loses Home to Foreclosure
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Consumer Agency Cracks Down on Seller-Financed Home Sales
A federal regulator signaled that it would take a tougher stance with seller-financed home sales, saying that they were subject to many of the same consumer protections as a home bought with a more traditional mortgage, the New York Times reported. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released an advisory opinion that put sellers on notice that it would not tolerate the predatory practices that have come to dominate the so-called contract for deed market. These seller-backed sales have become popular in poor neighborhoods with rundown single-family homes, where mortgages are hard to come by. The CFPB made clear that contract-for-deed sales were subject to federal truth in lending laws that required sellers to first assess a person’s ability to buy a home as well as provide full disclosure of the risks and hidden costs associated with these deals. “The government is taking action to ensure that these products do not turn the dream of homeownership into a nightmare,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra.The regulator also released a research report documenting the market’s abusive practices. Among them, a buyer can be evicted for missing a single monthly payment and builds up no equity in the home. Contract-for-deed sellers have targeted ethnic and religious communities. (Subscription required to view article.)
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Inflation Milestone: Consumer Price Index Slows Below 3% for First Time Since March 2021
Price hikes slowed more than expected in July, and, for the first time in more than three years, the Consumer Price Index has landed below 3%, CNN reported. Consumer prices rose 2.9% for the 12 months ended in July, slowing from June’s 3% annual gain, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS’) latest CPI report released today. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.2% after posting a 0.1% decline the month before. The cost of owning and renting a home rose 0.4%. That so-called shelter index accounted for nearly 90% of the monthly increase, BLS said in the report. Economists were expecting a 0.2% monthly increase and an annual rise of 3%, according to Fact Set consensus estimates. Excluding gas and food, categories that tend to be quite volatile, core CPI rose 0.2% from June and saw its annual rate slow to 3.2% from 3.3%. Core CPI inflation is now running at its slowest pace since April 2021.
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