A decision to cease federal funding to two key groups operating Australias national debt helpline could have put the entire service in jeopardy, consumer advocates say. But questions to the social services minister, Paul Fletcher, appear to have prompted an intervention his second such intervention in recent days that has given advocates confidence the looming…
While high household debt remains a risk to economic stability, consumer spending is also a source of stability, according to a major bank economist. The Commonwealth Bank of Australias chief economist, Michael Blythe, has said that while high levels of household debt, especially at a time of subdued income growth, is a risk to economic…
Executive Summary A small percentage of U.S. companies including PwC, Fidelity, and Aetna have stepped up to help their employees cope with the education loans weighing them down by offering them cash to help them reduce their debts. One downside of their approach is simply giving their workers cash raises their income taxes, diminishing the…
The numberof African countries whose public debt is above 50 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has increased from 10 in 2013 to 22 in 2016 According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), debt levels for some African countries are unsustainable, meaning that the scheduled debt service exceeds the capacity of the member to…
Nearly a third of workers say theyre distracted on the job by financial headachesand, for 44 million Americans, one burden is near the top of the debt heap. Consumers are facing over 1.5 trillion dollars in student loan debt. Thats a trillion with a T. Now, more employers are realizing they need to jump in…
McClatchy announced last week an initiative that aims to help erase the medical debt of veterans, servicemembers and their families in partnership with the nonprofit RIP Medical Debt. To kick off the campaign, the McClatchy Foundation has approved a donation that will enable RIP Medical Debt to abolish $1 million in medical debt for military…
File Photo Cape Town – Contrary to popular belief, the majority of indebted black professionals get into debt to support family members and not to feed a flashy lifestyle. This is according to research conducted by Lifecheq, a personal finance advisory organisation based in Cape Town and Johannesburg. The research, conducted on a sample of…
File Photo Contrary to popular belief, the majority of indebted black professionals get into debt to support family members and not to feed a flashy lifestyle. This is according to research conducted by Lifecheq, a personal finance advisory organisation based in Cape Town and Johannesburg. The research, conducted on a sample of 150 Lifecheq clients…
Where housing debt moves, home prices tend to follow. The chart below from the Commonwealth Bank demonstrates the relationship between the two. The percentage change in housing finance is presented as a three-month moving average to help smooth out volatility in seasonally-adjusted data, providing a better indication of the broader trend. With the value of…
Overloaded with outstanding loans for education, car and credit cards? You might have received several calls from agencies that have talked about overcoming these debts after payment of monthly instalments failed over a period of time. So debt consolidation is the next obvious move that you want to make. But before that, you should be…