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Congrats high school grads! 🎓 As acceptances roll in, it’s time to make a decision about which college is right for you. There isn't one "best" college for every student, but our star ratings can help you build a list of standout schools that fit your budget. Check out our 2024 Best Colleges list, sponsored by SoFi. ⭐

July is historically one of the best-performing months of the year for the stock market. According to Dow Jones Market Data, since 1928, the S&P 500 has posted an average gain of 1.7% this month, finishing in positive territory 60% of the time. However, given the current market environment, numerous factors could pose a challenge to that historical track record this July. https://bit.ly/3XSAIIH

A new federal #overtime pay rule went into effect Monday, expanding the protections to and earnings potential for about 1 million salaried workers. The U.S. Department of Labor’s rule change affects the exemption criteria for overtime pay. This overtime exemption — the executive, administrative or professional (“EAP”) exemption — applies when employees performs certain job duties and have higher salaries. The salary threshold to be "exempt" just jumped from $35,568 per year to $43,888. With a higher threshold for exemption, more workers are entitled to 1.5 times pay for overtime work. The threshold is scheduled to increase again on Jan. 1 to $58,656, which will benefit 3 million more people, according to the White House. Pete Grieve reports on who is eligible for overtime pay 👉 https://bit.ly/4cOlngF

Most #millionaires support imposing higher income taxes and a wealth #tax, according to a new poll — as long as those tax increases are for people richer than them. About 6 in 10 millionaires surveyed in a YouGov poll released Monday said they would support a new marginal tax rate of 50% or more on annual income over $100 million. Currently, the highest federal tax bracket in the U.S. is 37% for earnings over $609,350. Most respondents said they were likely to support a 2% wealth tax on households with more than $50 million and $100 million in assets. But there was far less appetite to tax households worth less than that amount.

On Monday evening, two federal court judges — both appointed by the Obama administration — struck down parts of President Joe Biden's marquee student debt repayment plan called SAVE. The overall plan is still in tact for the roughly 8 million current enrollees, but the Education Department can no longer cancel addition debt through the plan. Next month, new benefits were slated to go into effect, chiefly a major payment reduction that would slash loan bills in half for undergraduate borrowers enrolled in the program. These new benefits are also halted. So what's left of SAVE? • Well, borrowers can still enroll in the plan and get their monthly payments pegged to 10% of their disposable income. In many cases, that comes out to $0 per month under the plan's generous definition of disposable income. • Any interest accrual that would have otherwise caused balances to grow will be waived while enrolled in the plan, too. These injunctions are temporary — in place while the legal challenges play out in court. They could change or be lifted in the meantime, too. The White House has already said it plans to appeal the rulings. Still, advocates worry that the two separate rulings don't bode well for the SAVE plan in the long run, which could lead to the Supreme Court striking down SAVE entirely. In the background, the Biden administration is still forging ahead with its second attempt at broad student loan forgiveness. The federal court rulings don't directly affect that plan, which has yet to be finalized. Once it is, though, it's also expected to face legal challenges. https://lnkd.in/e5mudhtR

While most professional fund managers fail to consistently beat the market, one institution has proven it's capable of outpacing the benchmark S&P 500 index: Congress. Quiver Quantitative, a platform that aggregates alternative stock data from across the internet, reports that members of Congress routinely execute trades that outperform the market. Nancy Pelosi, Tommy Tuberville, and Daniel Meuser are among the representatives and senators who have posted significant portfolio gains in the last year. As more reports like these stoke the idea that senators and representatives are getting rich due to their positions of authority and access to special information, bipartisan calls for reform are growing. Jordan Chussler reports on proposed reforms (like the TRUST in Congress act) as well as how regular Americans can mirror these trades in their own portfolios. 👉 https://lnkd.in/gwC37ywY

A small majority, 51%, of Americans say it’s “extremely” or “very important” for the government to broadly forgive medical debt, while 39% say the same for student loans according to a recent survey from AP-NORC, a partnership between the University of Chicago and The Associated Press. The researchers found that respondents' own experience with #debt — especially student loans — tends to influence their views, writing “those who are currently paying student loans are more likely than respondents who have paid off loans or have no experience with student debt to consider student debt relief from the federal government important.” Adam Hardy reports: https://lnkd.in/g5hfM-WV

Motivated by recent gains in home values, debt collectors are coming after old, unpaid mortgages — and your braaains. (Just kidding.) “Zombie mortgages” are back from the dead, however. The issue has become widespread enough that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued an advisory opinion warning debt collectors that threatening to sue over expired debts like zombie mortgages was illegal. At that time, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra publicly expressed concern about the increasing number of complaints the agency had received over these belated collection efforts. However, the problem has proven to be more persistent than the CFPB would like. Leslie Cook reports 👉 https://bit.ly/3xsyt45

High school students and recent graduates have the chance to take a free college course this summer, courtesy of none other than Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq partnered with community college startup Campus to cover the cost for 500 students to take an online class this summer taught by a professor from a top college. "What we're seeing today is too many kids wondering if college is still worth it,” O'Neal said. “These students either feel like they aren't college material or believe the price tag is out of reach, and that's a shame.” Students can choose one of four classes, led by professors who typically teach at the University of California, Berkeley, University of Maryland, Howard University and University of California, Davis. The goal is to help students realize they are indeed “college material” while helping them earn transferable credits that will reduce what they have to pay if they do enroll in the future. Applications for the “Try College” initiative are due next week! Learn more: https://bit.ly/3XxJFXG 🎨 : Arturo Holmes/Getty Images

The State Department has opened a beta version of a new online system for U.S. #passport renewal. The cost of renewing a passport — $130 — isn’t changing, and the online renewal option will only be available to a limited number of people each day. The plan is to monitor how the system is working for the next several months before a possible wider rollout. We're already hearing reports of the site not loading, or spots being filled. Have you tried to renew your passport online yet? How smooth was the process? https://bit.ly/3z7BOGh