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After inauguration, President Biden extended freeze on student loan payments until Sept. 30
In one of his first actions as president, Joe Biden on Wednesday extended the freeze on student loan payments for eight months, hoping to forestall new pressure on borrowers amid the economic turmoil caused by the pandemic. Biden signed an executive order shortly after his inauguration, pushing back the moratorium until Sept. 30. College graduates nationally are carrying $1.6 trillion in student loans, the largest amount of consumer debt carried by Americans except for mortgages. The average debt is $33,000. Without an extension, an estimated 41 million borrowers were facing a resumption of pa...
The Philadelphia Inquirer
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Banker says Trump’s PPP loans saved American business, and they’re back under Biden
Banks that give out forgivable loans from the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) start taking applications this week from businesses and other employers, for the $147 billion in new funds approved by Congress and President Trump, plus leftover money from last year’s program. “We’ll go live with more PPP loans” this week, said Vernon Hill, chairman of Philadelphia-based Republic Bank, which lent more than $700 million under the original program and its summer extension. “We are not seeing the rush we saw last time,” said Chad Palank, Regional Manager for Business and Professional Banking...
The Philadelphia Inquirer
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Vanguard, BlackRock lag State Street on some proxy votes seeking political donation disclosures: new study
Wall Street has slowly begun asking for more disclosure of political donations — although not every big institutional investor votes consistently for more transparency. That's the conclusion of a new study by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Political Accountability, which found that many Wall Street investment firms voted for shareholder proposals surrounding political donations during the 2020 proxy voting season, which ended in June 2020. But Vanguard and BlackRock have not been among them, according to the center's December study. Of 69 large investment firms polled, 30 voted for poli...
The Philadelphia Inquirer
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Auto review: Corvette Stingray may be too fast and furious for mere mortals
2020 Corvette Stingray Coupe: Is this the most fun to be had for 60 grand? Price: Well, you can, in theory, have one for the starting price of $58,970. My tester cost $80,315. Options include adjustable height, $1,495; aluminum wheels, $995; sueded microfiber steering wheel, $595; and much more mentioned below. Conventional wisdom: Car and Driver liked the "performance that rivals exotic cars, comfortable enough to drive daily, nicely trimmed cabin," but not that the "exhaust note is only exciting at full throttle, limited driver-assistance features, manual transmission not offered." Marketer'...
The Philadelphia Inquirer
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Auto review: McLaren’s new GT is mesmerizing despite its semantics
There are so many terms in English that make no sense, particularly in the category of food. Consider that Boston Cream Pie isn’t a pie but rather a cake. Or that white chocolate isn’t made from cocoa, so it’s not chocolate. Then again, hot dogs aren’t made from canines, and Buffalo wings aren’t made from bison. But there are other language traps for those new to the English language. Why do we park in a driveway and drive on the parkway? How come retail signs say, “all items on sale”? Aren’t they always available for purchase? This comes to mind when considering the McLaren GT, the brand’s ne...
Tribune News Service
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Auto review: Electric or gas? Audi e-tron vs. Audi SQ5
Cadillac Lyriq. Ford Mustang Mach E. Polestar 2. New, premium electric cars are coming and they will inevitably be compared to Tesla, the baseline for battery-powered success. But to sell in volume, these challengers must also outperform the gas siblings across the showroom floor. Take the electric Audi e-tron Fastback and Audi SQ5 SUVs I just drove to Hell and back. Hell, Michigan, that is. My favorite southeast Michigan drive route, the 120-mile journey tests a vehicle's tech, handling and range. The gas-powered, $45,000 Audi Q5 is the brand's best-selling vehicle, and its SQ5 performance ve...
The Detroit News
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Auto review: The 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 proves to be a potent new EV
DORAL, Fla. — Until now, keeping up with the Joneses and their Tesla Model Y meant buying a, well, a Tesla Model Y. Or possibly the Hyundai Kona Electric Vehicle. But unless you live in a communist country, what’s so great about buying the same vehicle as everyone else? It’s like saying, “Yes, but my Trabant is newer.” Come March, there will be another choice, the Volkswagen ID.4, the first in a series of Volkswagen EVs under the company’s new ID brand. Now, you’re probably wondering what ID stands for. In this case, it means Intelligent Design, rather than the part of your psyche that respond...
Tribune News Service
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Larry Printz: Looking back at this year’s top ten test drives
Few of us will look back on the year 2020 with any relish. Despite its many challenges, the past year has proven how essential cars, trucks and SUVs have become in modern life. They are our escape machines, able to make us forget about our worries as we indulge our passion for the joy of the open road. There have been some wonderful test drives during the past 12 months, and these are the ones that have proven to be the most memorable, in order by base price. 2020 Mazda CX-30, $21,900 A svelte little automotive bonbon sure to win the hearts of automotive enthusiasts and design junkies, the CX-...
Tribune News Service
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Auto review: Toyota Avalon gives richer Lexus cousin a run for the money
It's hard to miss the Toyota Avalon. It's the sedan with the biggest grille on the planet. How big is the Avalon's kisser? On the car ferry across Seattle's Puget Sound, two whale-watchers mistakenly identified it as a humpback whale. In the Seattle Seahawk stadium parking lot, two fans asked if they could cook brats on it. Parked next to a mega-grille Lexus RX350, you won't notice the Lexus. I get it. Mainstream sedans need to stand out in an SUV-dominated world, and the Avalon demands attention. It's a strategy followed by Avalon's close competitor, the VW Arteon sedan. Indeed, the stunning,...
The Detroit News
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Auto review: Is Acura’s 2021 TLX good enough to be Legend-worthy?
For too long, Acura has purveyed perfectly bland sedans with equally bland names, a far cry from when the division was selling Legends, Vigors and Integras, sports sedans that satisfied driving enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts alike. And while the automaker has recently fielded fun-to-drive crossovers, its sedan lineup lacks the spark that was a hallmark of the brand. With the arrival of the redesigned 2021 Acura TLX, that has finally changed, and not a moment too soon. In the U.S., sedan sales peaked in 1991 with a market share of 44.8 percent. Since then, that slice of the pie has dwindled to...
Tribune News Service
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