California student loan debt relief company deceived consumers, Maryland AG says – Baltimore Sun

Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh has ordered a California-based student loan debt relief company to stop doing business and return money to consumers after finding it violated consumer protection laws. The state is requiring Huntington Beach, Ca.,-based Student Loan Counsel to pay damages to Maryland residents who never received services or refunds. According to…

Federal Trade Commission teams with state AGs to combat student debt relief scams – Washington Post

(iStock) The Federal Trade Commission said Friday that it has formed a task force with 12 state attorneys general to crack down on student debt relief scams. [Student debt relief scams are on the rise. Heres how this government official plans to stop it.] The federal-state initiative, dubbed Operation Game of Loans, is responsible for five cases against companies,…

Do rising stock prices help the nation’s debt? – Marketplace.org

By Scott Tong October 12, 2017 | 8:41 PM Embed Code<iframe src=”https://www.marketplace.org/2017/10/12/world/do-rising-stocks-help-nation-s-debt/popout” frameborder=”0″ width=”100%” height=”240px”></iframe> Marketplace Embed Code<iframe src=”https://www.marketplace.org/2017/10/12/world/do-rising-stocks-help-nation-s-debt/popout” frameborder=”0″ width=”100%” height=”240px”></iframe> The stock market has surged for much of the last year, and the president  like all presidents  is trying to take credit. Fair enough. But last night, he suggested the stock market can help…

4 things Congress and the White House could do to stop Puerto Rico’s crisis from getting worse – Vox

Hurricane Maria did more than destroy Puerto Rico’s electric grid and water supply. It has destroyed the Puerto Rican economy. Pharmaceutical factories, the island’s main source of jobs and income, are either closed or partially operating. Many small businesses were destroyed, and those that weren’t are struggling without reliable electricity or running water. The tax…

Human Services to use private contractor Serco as Centrelink call centre provider – The Canberra Times

Private contractors will answer calls from Centrelink’s welfare recipients after the Department of Human Services outsourced call centre work to multinational services company Serco. In an unprecedented move for the welfare agency, 250 of the company’s Australian subsidiary staff in Melbourne will take calls about payments in a three-year pilot program costing the government $51.7…