student loan payoff

Refinance rush for student loans is on

Recent college graduates and even some current college students are rushing to refinance and consolidate their student loans before a sharply higher interest rate takes effect Saturday.

Lenders say phone lines are jammed as borrowers seek to lock in rates that had dropped to historic lows in recent years.

Under a new law, however, the rate for federal student loans will go to 6.54 percent for current students and 7.14 percent for graduates. Current rates are 4.7 percent for students and 5.3 percent for graduates.

Depending on the payoff period--typically 10 years but longer in some cases--the higher rates could cost borrowers thousands of dollars more.

"We've heard some figures that they might save as much as $2,000 (by locking in current rates) but that's really very student specific," said Elaine Henry, financial aid director at Emporia State University.

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Indonesia still struggles with Suharto legacy

Edwin Soeryadjaya, a scion of the family that founded Indonesia?s largest automotive company, can these days be a stern critic of Suharto. But when the family of the former general and autocrat threw a wedding party for one of his granddaughters last month, Mr Soeryadjaya was there alongside the rest of Jakarta?s elite to pay homage.

?He [Suharto] still has a lot of influence and you could see it [at the wedding],? the businessman recalls. ?It was packed. It was big. It was lavish. I saw a lot of current ministers. You could tell that they were paying tribute.?

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