Business Highlights: Fed pain, student loans

September 19, 2022 GMT

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How much ‘pain’? Fed to signal more rate hikes ahead

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell bluntly warned in a speech last month that the Fed’s drive to curb inflation by aggressively raising interest rates would “bring some pain.” On Wednesday, Americans may get a better sense of how much pain could be in store. The Fed is expected at its latest meeting to raise its key short-term rate by a substantial three-quarters of a point for the third consecutive time. Another hike that large would lift its benchmark rate — which affects many consumer and business loans — to a range of 3% to 3.25%, the highest level in 14 years.

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How to get a student loan refund if you paid during pandemic

NEW YORK (AP) — When President Joe Biden announced a plan to forgive student loan debt, many borrowers who kept making payments during the pandemic wondered if they’d made the right choice. Borrowers who paid down their debt during a pandemic freeze that started in March 2020 can in fact get a refund — and then apply for forgiveness. But the process for doing that hasn’t always been clear. The Department of Education says borrowers who hold eligible federal student loans and have made voluntary payments since March 13, 2020, can get a refund.

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US stocks rise ahead of expected interest rate hike by Fed

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks closed higher on Wall Street after swaying between small gains and losses much of the day as investors brace for another big interest rate increase this week from the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 rose 0.7% on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq also gained ground. Treasury yields moved higher. Markets were looking ahead to Wednesday, when the Federal Reserve will announce its latest decision on rates. It’s expected to raise its benchmark rate, which influences interest rates throughout the economy, another three-quarters of a percentage point in its fight against inflation.

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Parts shortage forces Ford to cut its 3Q earnings forecast

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — A parts shortage that has thousands of Ford’s most-profitable vehicles sitting on lots waiting to be fully assembled has forced the automaker to slash its third-quarter earnings forecast. Ford said Monday it is expecting to be missing the necessary parts for as many as 45,000 vehicles. Most of them are SUVs and popular truck models, some of Ford’s biggest money makers. The company based in Dearborn, Michigan, now expects third quarter earnings before interest and taxes to be between $1.4 billion and $1.7 billion. It reported adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of $3.7 billion in the second quarter.

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Volkswagen sets Porsche IPO at up to 9.4 billion euros

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Volkswagen has set the price range for the multibillion-euro sale of a minority stake in luxury brand Porsche. The deal will reap billions to fund the German automaker’s investments in new technologies and businesses including electric cars, software and services. The company said it aims for a listing on the Frankfurt stock exchange on Sept. 29 after it places a minority stake with investors, including the Qatar Investment Authority. The price range for preferred shares translates to 8.71 billion to 9.39 billion euros. Volkswagen has launched a major push into electric vehicles and says future profits will increasingly come from investments in electric cars, software and services as traditional internal combustion cars take a smaller share of the market.

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Stolen Grand Theft Auto footage dumped online in hack

NEW YORK (AP) — Video game producer Rockstar Games says early development footage from the next version of its popular title Grand Theft Auto was stolen in the hack of its network. A person claiming to be the hacker dumped 90 videos from the theft online and claimed also to have source code. They were seeking to sell the hacked data. The company said in a statement that it did not anticipate any disruption in live game services or any impact on ongoing projects. The hacker claimed to have been involved in the recent hack of Uber but provided no evidence.

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OECD: Russia war, virus and climate hurting world’s poorest

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia’s war against Ukraine, the lingering coronavirus pandemic and the damage of climate change are putting intense pressure on the world’s poorest, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warns. The Paris-based OECD reported that 60 states, territories and locations fell last year into the category of “fragile contexts″ — meaning they were exposed to economic, environmental, social and political risks that they didn’t have the capacity to absorb. And that was before Russia invaded Ukraine and intensified their burdens. Monday’s report designated the most places in such dire straits since the OECD began issuing its States of Fragility report in 2015.

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FAA rejects airline request to hire less-experienced pilots

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government has turned down a request by a regional airline to hire pilots with half the flying experience generally required. The Federal Aviation Administration says it’s in the public interest to uphold the current standards. Republic Airways petitioned to hire first officers — or co-pilots — with 750 hours of flying time if they completed Republic’s training program. In most cases, people need 1,500 hours of flying time to qualify for an airline pilot’s license, although pilots with military experience can qualify at 750 hours. Republic argued that its training would be similar to the military’s.

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Europe’s central bank to use climate scores as it buys bonds

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank says it will give corporations climate scores before it buys their bonds and intends to prioritize those doing more to reveal and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The announcement Monday fills in details of the bank’s efforts to help Europe meet its environmental goals. The Frankfurt, Germany-based central bank said it was taking the step to support the European Union’s climate goals. The companies’ scores would measure progress in reducing past emissions, plans to reduce them in the future, and completeness of reporting the amount of greenhouse gases they are emitting. Both the ECB and the Bank of England have taken climate change into account more than the U.S. Federal Reserve.

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The S&P 500 rose 26.56 points, or 0.7%, to 3,899.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 197.26 points, or 0.6%, to 31,019.68. The Nasdaq advanced 86.62 points, or 0.8%, to 11,535.02. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies tacked on 14.65 points, or 0.8%, to 1,812.84.