Finance and Economic

Colleges are bracing for another year of high demand for financial aid — and that means students need to get their applications in as quickly as possible.

Federal student loans remain plentiful, but other types of aid from states and colleges are more limited. By missing one of the many deadlines, students could receive fewer sought-after grants and scholarships that don’t have to be repaid, and end up having to apply for loans that do.

Blame the continued weak economy for the stiff competition for aid. Unemployment remains high. Families that have burned through cash reserves now are applying for aid for the first time, aid officials say.

In addition, a bumper crop of high school seniors and more people returning to school for advanced degrees will add to the aid demand, says Patricia Nash Christel, a spokeswoman for student loan giant Sallie Mae.

The first step to getting aid is filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid at fafsa.ed.gov. It not only will determine your federal aid, but states and colleges also use the FAFSA to award their money.

The earliest you can submit a FAFSA is Jan. 1. States and schools set their own deadlines for when the FAFSA must be submitted.

Schools often set priority deadlines so applications submitted by that date will be the first batch looked at. Deadlines can differ widely, so check your school’s website.

Parents often want to file their tax returns before filling out the FAFSA. Although having an up-to-date tax return makes filling out the application easier, it’s better to get the application in by the deadline using last year’s tax return and then correcting the information later.

Besides the FAFSA, many schools are creating their own aid forms or requiring families to submit additional documents to make sure the aid is going to students in need.

What if you blow all the deadlines? You can still qualify for federal Stafford student loans by submitting the FAFSA any time during the academic year.

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All 50 states were hit with increases of more than one percentage point in their unemployment rates last year, according to a new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The sharpest rise occurred in Michigan, where the average jobless rate for 2009 was 13.6 percent, up 5.3 points from 2008’s average of 8.3 percent.

The only other state with an increase of more than five points was Nevada, which soared from an average unemployment rate of 6.7 percent two years ago to 11.8 percent last year.

New York’s increase was 3.1 points — from an annual jobless rate of 5 freecreditscore.3 percent in 2008 to 8.4 percent in 2009.

The figures were contained in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ yearend report for 2009, which included a full set of annual averages. The results for all 50 states and the District of Columbia can be accessed by clicking here.

North Dakota was the most stable state in 2009. Its annual unemployment rate of 4.3 percent was just 1.1 points higher than its 2008 average of 3.2 percent.

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European Union Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn will likely push Greece to do more to cut its budget deficit today as governments craft a possible rescue package for the cash-strapped nation.

Rehn will meet with Prime Minister George Papandreou as German lawmakers say euro-area officials are devising a plan to grant Greece about 25 billion euros ($34 billion) in aid should it need help financing its debt, possibly by using state-owned lenders such as the KfW Group to buy its bonds.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker signaled yesterday that Rehn will warn Greece it must do more to narrow the EU’s largest budget gap and can’t rely on taxpayers elsewhere to help until it acts. Adding to the political pressure, the fiscal strategy of Papandreou’s government may soon be tested by investors as it readies a sale of as much as 5 billion euros of 10-year notes.

“If the Greek government cannot raise the necessary funds in the commercial market, which continues to look unlikely, then bilateral loans will be forthcoming,” said Erik Nielsen, chief European economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in London.

The euro weakened for the first time in four days, falling to $1.3608 from $1.3631. It declined versus 13 of 16 most-active currencies.

Deficit Reduction

Rehn arrives after European officials pored over the government’s books to verify it’s doing enough to knock 4 percentage points off its budget deficit from last year’s 12.7 percent of gross domestic product. The country has until March 16 to satisfy fellow EU governments that its deficit reduction plan is on track and faces being pressed to increase consumer taxes and lower capital spending if it can’t show sufficient progress.

Juncker, who speaks for euro-area finance ministers, yesterday indicated more will be demanded. Greece needs to “take additional actions” to pare its shortfall and “must understand that the taxpayer in Germany, Belgium or Luxembourg isn’t prepared to correct the mistakes of Greek fiscal policy,” he told Eleftherotypia newspaper.

In an interview with ARD Television, Merkel denied money has been set aside to bail out Greece and said the country has to “do its homework.” Speaking after the euro recorded its third straight monthly loss against the dollar, its longest losing streak since November 2008, Merkel said the single currency is “certainly facing the most difficult phase.”

‘May Not Survive’

Billionaire investor George Soros said on CNN yesterday that the euro “may not survive” the Greek turmoil.

Investors last week continued to question Greece’s chances of cutting its budget deficit. Greek two-year yields rose by as much as 75 basis points on Feb. 25, the most since Jan. 20. The spread between 10-year German bunds and Greek securities of a similar maturity widened 12 basis points in the week to 330 basis points payday loans with no fax.

Still, the cost of insuring against default on Greek government debt fell for the first day in more than a week on Feb. 26 on speculation the nation will pledge tougher steps. Credit-default swaps on Greece dropped 35.6 basis points to 364.02, according to CMA Datavision. The contracts are down from Feb. 4’s record 428.25 basis points.

Papandreou told the Greek parliament on Feb. 26 that the nation will “meet the challenge with whatever cost and pain we will need to go through.” Government spokesman George Petalotis said in an interview the same day that more measures will be concerned if the EU deems it necessary.

EU Limit

Greece needs to raise 53 billion euros this year and redeem more than 20 billion euros of bonds by the end of May, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It vows to reduce its budget gap below the EU limit of 3 percent of GDP in 2012. The European Commission forecasts a debt equivalent to 124.9 percent of GDP this year.

KfW’s purchase of Greek bonds, backed by German government guarantees, would be an emergency measure as it would risk inviting investors to speculate against other euro region countries, the German lawmakers said on condition of anonymity because the information is confidential. France’s state-owned Caisse des Depots may also be involved, Greece’s Ta Nea newspaper reported Feb. 27. The Wall Street Journal said the plan may total 30 billion euros.

“Greece won’t be allowed to sink on the condition it respects its commitments to stabilize its budget,” French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde told Europe 1 radio yesterday. “We have a certain number of proposals in the euro zone, involving either private partners or public partners or both.”

Strikes

EU leaders ordered Greece on Feb. 11 to slash its budget deficit, while promising “determined” yet unspecified action to help if needed. Papandreou will on March 5 meet with Merkel, who yesterday suggested she is worried “emotions” may be spinning out of control.

Complicating the country’s efforts last week were another round of strikes and warnings from Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service that they may soon cut Greece’s debt rating if the government flounders in reducing its deficit.

The government intends to sell 10-year notes by early March, according to a Jan. 26 statement from the Public Debt Management Agency. Fund managers who may take part in the issue say Greece must offer the biggest premium over benchmark German debt since 1998, paying a coupon of about 7 percent.

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U.S. airline passenger revenue rose in January for the first time in more than a year as ticket prices increased, according to a trade group.

Revenue based on a sample of U.S. carriers was up 1.4% in January compared to the same month in 2009, following 14 consecutive months of declines, the Air Transport Association (ATA) said Tuesday.

The boost in sales came as the average ticket price to fly one mile jumped 0.6%, the first rise since November 2008, offsetting the 0 guaranteed approval cash loans.4% drop in passengers.

Revenue was also boosted by a 3.4% increase in passenger sales on trans-Atlantic routes in January, the ATA said.

In December, cargo traffic surged 17% year-over-year amid growth in international trade. That compares to an 11% decline for the full year of 2009. January 2010 cargo data were not yet available. 

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Iceland’s government will meet opposition lawmakers today, seeking consensus over a U.K. and Dutch proposal to amend the terms of a loan covering foreign depositor claims that led to a souring of international relations and stalled payments of the island’s bailout.

“I can’t comment on the specifics of the offer we received, although I can say that it’s worth consideration,” said Foreign Minister Ossur Skarphedinsson in a phone interview yesterday. Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir told broadcaster RUV on Feb. 20 the new offer significantly reduced the burden on Iceland.

One option is a floating interest rate instead of the 5.5 percent rate set when the $5.3 billion loan agreement was made in October and an interest-rate holiday may also be considered, according to government officials on Feb 19. They declined to be identified because the proposals have not been made public.

The new rate will make it cheaper for Iceland to repay a loan granted to cover deposits at failed Landsbanki Islands hf’s Icesave Internet bank. Iceland has been trying to restore relations with the British and the Dutch after President Olafur R. Grimsson blocked a bill intended to compensate the two countries. That rejection means the legislation will be put to a March 6 referendum, which most polls show Icelanders will reject.

It’s unlikely the government will try to introduce any new proposal to the parliament, unless it enjoys a wide political consensus, Skarphedinsson said yesterday.

“A proposal that has the backing of a strong majority in parliament is unlikely to be opposed by Iceland’s president,” he said.

‘Hang On’

After last night’s meeting, Sigurdardottir said she would “hang on to the hope of reaching an agreement, until something else is revealed.”

Standard & Poor’s has said it may follow Fitch Ratings decision, made when the bill was suspended, to cut Iceland’s credit grade to junk. Sigurdardottir previously signaled her government wanted to renegotiate the bill before it’s put to a vote.

The suspension of the Icesave bill, named after the high- yielding Internet accounts offered by failed Landsbanki, has put in question the continuation of Iceland’s $4.6 billion International Monetary Fund-led loan.

While the IMF has said continued disbursement of its $2.1 billion portion of the emergency loan isn’t linked to Icesave, the fund can’t provide installments without financing from contributing nations. Nordic countries that are providing $2.5 billion have indicated they want Icesave resolved before they resume payment.

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Greece replaced its debt management chief as declines in the country’s bonds roil European markets.

Petros Christodoulou, general manager of treasury and global markets at National Bank of Greece SA, the country’s biggest lender, will take over from Spyros Papanicolaou as head of the Athens-based Public Debt Management Agency, the country’s Finance Ministry said yesterday in an e-mailed statement.

“The incoming guy is walking into a tough mandate,” said Charles Diebel, senior interest-rate strategist at Nomura International Plc in London. “Such is the sentiment towards Greece at the moment, a new broom could be a positive.”

Greek bonds have slumped in the past two months, driving yields to the highest in 10 years, on concern the government will struggle to narrow a budget deficit that is more than four times the European Union limit. Prime Minister George Papandreou’s government needs to sell 53 billion euros ($72 billion) of debt this year, the equivalent of 20 percent of gross domestic product.

Papanicolaou, a former central bank official, was appointed general director of the debt office by the previous New Democracy government in January 2005. His predecessor, Christopher Sardelis, had held the role since 1999, when the organization was created.

“I’m not stepping down,” Papanicolaou said in a telephone interview yesterday. “It’s normal” that a new government changes staff, he said. “It’s a long tradition. Whether it’s good or not, that’s another story,” he said.

Rising Yields

The Greek government is under pressure to show that it can reduce a budget deficit that was equivalent to 12.7 percent of gross domestic product last year after the EU this week stopped short of offering financial support.

The yield on Greek two-year notes has remained above 5 percent, the highest in the euro region, even after officials this week urged the nation to reduce the deficit. The premium investors demand to hold the notes instead of benchmark German securities has held above 4 percentage points, the most since the Mediterranean nation joined the euro and more than 10 times its 37 basis point average the past decade.

The yield on two-year Greek government notes yesterday rose 31 basis points to 5.67 percent. The 10-year bond yield added 16 basis points to 6.54 percent.

“It’s a very challenging job,” Papanicolaou said. “We are going through a very difficult period.”

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The number of Americans filing for initial unemployment insurance fell sharply last week, according to government data released Thursday.

There were 440,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended Feb. 6, down 43,000 from a revised 483,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said in a weekly report.

Economists were expecting initial claims to drop to 465,000, according to a consensus estimate from Briefing.com.

The 4-week moving average of initial claims, which smoothes out volatility in the measure, was 468,500. That’s down 1,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 469,500.

A Labor Department spokesman said the snow storm that crippled much of the East Coast last week did not impact the number of jobless claims filed.

"Next week’s numbers will definitely be impacted by weather," said Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities. "But a drop in claims fits with the more positive news we saw in the January jobs report."

The Labor Department said last week that the U.S. unemployment rate fell unexpectedly in January to 9.7% from 10%. Businesses shed 20,000 jobs for the month, far fewer than the 150,000 jobs that were lost in December.

"There are some clear positives in the labor market," Vitner said, pointing to the manufacturing sector, to which some workers have returned to work after being unemployed for a short period of time Business Card Holders.

Still, weekly initial claims totals remain "extremely high" and it is difficult to glean anything about the underlying trends in the job market from just one week of data, Vitner warned.

Continuing claims: The government said 4,538,000 people filed continuing claims in the week ended Jan. 30, the most recent data available. That’s down 79,000 from the preceding week’s revised 4,617,000 claims.

Economists were expecting continuing claims to have declined 2,000 to 4,600,000.

The 4-week moving average of continuing claims was 4,603,500, a drop of 17,750 from the preceding week’s revised average of 4,621,250.

However, many economists say the decline in continuing claims reflects a growing number of filers who have dropped off the jobless rolls into extended unemployment benefits.

Continuing claims reflect people filing each week after their initial claim until the end of their standard benefits, which usually last 26 weeks. The figures do not include those people who have moved to state or federal extensions, or people whose benefits have expired.

"The number of people receiving extended benefits is unprecedented," Vitner said.  

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The United States, which led the world into recession, may now see its fragile recovery stifled by events across the globe.

Dangerously high debt levels in Greece and some other European countries could trigger a wave of national defaults, undermining revival in Europe and probably in the United States as well.

And China’s recent steps to cool its economy also complicate President Barack Obama’s plan to attack high unemployment here by increasing U.S. exports. Financial markets have been whipsawed over concerns that debt problems in Greece — and perhaps also in high-debt Spain, Portugal, Ireland and even Italy — might infect stronger European neighbors.

Euro zone countries are key U.S. trading partners, and the United States can’t meet Obama’s goal of doubling exports in five years — or reap the benefits in new jobs — if debt default contagion spreads throughout Europe.

China is also deemed an important growing export market for U.S. goods. But Beijing’s recent steps to curtail bank lending and its economic saber-rattling at the United States have increased trade tension between the world’s largest economy and a country poised to soon surpass Japan for second place.

The Obama administration says it wants to move away from an economy fueled by heavy consumer spending and reliance on imports toward what economic adviser Lawrence Summers calls "an economy that’s based on investment, that’s based on exports, that’s based on saving payday loans." Unfortunately, all the other major economies also are counting on digging out, at least in part, through expanded exports. For every nation to be able to meet such a goal, of course, is a mathematical challenge.

The financial turmoil in Europe does have one potential silver lining for the U.S.: The uncertainty has raised the value of the dollar as measured against the currencies of 15 of the nation’s 16 biggest trading partners.

But there’s a downside to that, too. A stronger dollar makes made-in-America goods more expensive in overseas markets.

The U.S. trade deficit surged to a larger-than-expected $40.18 billion in December, the biggest imbalance in 12 months.

The Commerce Department said the December deficit was 10.4 percent higher than November. It was much larger than the $36 billion economists expected, with much of the increase coming from a big jump in oil imports.

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Stocks erased big losses by the close Friday, with technology shares leading the advance, following a three-session rout that had taken the market to its lowest point since last fall.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) added 10 points, or 0.1%, ending at 10.012. The Dow had fallen as low as 9,835 earlier.

The S&P 500 index (SPX) rose 3 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) gained 16 points or 0.7%. All three major indexes had touched three-month lows before recovering.

Stocks fell sharply in the afternoon as worries about a growing debt crisis in Europe exacerbated uncertainty about the U.S. economic outlook. But the market changed direction as the dollar trimmed bigger gains and some of the selling pressure gave way.

"There may be some late-day buying coming in because the market has sold off pretty dramatically over the last few days," said Haag Sherman, managing director at Salient Partners.

Worries about the Euro zone caused investors to dump riskier assets and plow money into the U.S. dollar and government debt. The greenback rose to a more than 6-month high versus the euro and also gained against the yen. The dollar’s strength then dragged on commodity prices, oil and gold stocks and companies and sectors that have been benefiting from a weaker dollar.

"A lot of the selling that we’re seeing is technical, and it’s all being driven by the dollar," said Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group.

He said that because there’s a flight to quality into the dollar, assets that have been benefiting from a weak dollar are getting hit. However, he said that the trend was temporary and that once the panic washed out, buyers would move back into riskier assets.

Debt crisis: Stocks plunged Thursday on worries that rising debt problems in Greece, Portugal and Spain could throw a wrench into any economic recovery in Europe, which would then influence the United States.

The news that the opposition parties defeated the Portuguese government’s austerity plan provided another reminder, if any were needed, that European countries will find it extremely difficult to get a grip on their public finances.

Global markets continued to slide Friday, with Asian and European markets ending lower.

The global jitters overshadowed a U.S. government report that showed moderating job losses despite an improved unemployment rate.

"The employment report was a mixed bag overall, but the market is more focused on what is happening globally," said David Rosenberg, chief economist at Gluskin Sheff & Associates.

He said that with heightened concerns over nations’ debt, risk premiums go up and the outlook for the economy and stock market gets cloudier.

Rosenberg said U.S. investors are focused on whether there will be a default or bailout in Greece, and how this will affect the euro and the dollar. "All of this is going to impact U.S. markets," he said.

On the move: The strong dollar again dragged on commodity prices, and energy and metal stocks fell through most of the session. But in the last hour turnaround, oil and gold stocks cut losses or turned higher.

Strength in big tech stocks such as Cisco Systems (CSCO, Fortune 500), Intel (INTC, Fortune 500), IBM (IBM, Fortune 500) and Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) helped temper broader losses and eventually led a comeback.

In other news, Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) has surprised many on Wall Street by announcing that it is paying CEO Lloyd Blankfein $9 million in company-restricted stock as his bonus. Blankfein was expected to receive a heftier payment.

Earlier, JPMorgan (JPM, Fortune 500) said CEO Jamie Dimon was given a $16 million bonus last year, in restricted stock and options.

Market breadth turned mixed after being negative through most of the session. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers topped winners by nine to seven on volume of around 1.56 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners seven to six on volume of 2.84 billion shares.

Rally hits a roadblock: The S&P 500 surged 23% in 2009, and 65% after hitting a 12-year low on March 9 of last year. That momentum propelled stocks into the first half of January. But by the second half of the month, the tone had turned more sour and investors had begun to step back.

Between rally highs hit on Jan. 19 and Friday’s lows, the S&P 500 lost 9.2%, getting close to the technical definition of a correction - a loss of 10%.

Jobs: Employers cut 20,000 jobs from their payrolls last month, according to a Labor Department report released before the start of trading. Employers had been expected to add about 15,000 jobs, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.

Employers cut a bigger-than-initially reported 150,000 jobs from their payrolls in December.

The January report had some positive signs, including an increase in the work week and an increase in temp agency employment — both of which are seen as leading indicators.

But the report also showed that the impact of the recession on the labor market was far worse than initially reported — making the recovery process all the more arduous.

The unemployment rate, generated by a separate survey, fell to 9.7% from 10% in December. Economists expected it to hold steady at 10%.

Toyota: The troubled company’s chief executive apologized Friday for the recall of 8 million cars. However, he did not announce a new recall of the popular Prius Hybrid, despite reports of brake problems.

Earlier, the company said it is also examining the brake systems of the Lexus hybrid vehicles since they used the same system as the 2010 Prius.

Toyota (TM) shares gained 3.5%.

Commodities: COMEX gold for April delivery fell $10.20 to settle at $1,052.80 an ounce, after slumping $49 Thursday.

U.S. light crude oil for March delivery fell $1.95 to settle at $71.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Bonds: Treasury prices rose, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 3.54% from 3.61% late Thursday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. 

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Uncertainly about the future prospects for jobs in America got even foggier Wednesday as two reports on job cuts revealed conflicting results.

A report from Automatic Data Processing, a firm that collects monthly payroll data, suggested that the pace of job cuts may be slowing. But a separate report from Challenger, which predicts job cuts based on forward-looking announcements from companies, said planned cuts hit a 5-month high in January.

ADP (ADP, Fortune 500) said private-sector employers cut 22,000 jobs in January, marking the smallest decline since February of 2008. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast a loss of 30,000 jobs in January.

The number of cuts in December was revised down to 61,000 from the previously reported 84,000.

"We aren’t doing a whole lot of hiring yet, but I think you can safely say the firing is starting to stop," said John Canally, an economist at LPL Financial. "And this shows that we’re close to adding more jobs."

The service sector reported an increase of 38,000 jobs in January, marking the second consecutive month of job growth for that sector following a 21-month decline.

The figure was offset by a loss of 60,000 in the goods-producing sector and a drop of 25,000 manufacturing jobs, which marked its lowest level since January, 2008.

In a separate report Wednesday, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc, said planned job cuts had accelerated in January.

"[The Challenger report] uses a different metric," said Canally. "The job cut announcements aren’t actual layoffs, they are plans in place to cut jobs in the future, but not all of those end up being lost — some are unfilled positions and some are added back later."

Challenger said employers announced 71,482 layoffs in January, reversing what had been a steady decline in layoff announcements.

January’s figure is up 59% from December 2009, when layoffs fell to a 24-month low of 45,094. But it was a sharp drop from the 241,749 cuts announced a year ago.

"It is not uncommon to see a surge in job-cut announcements to begin the year," said Challenger CEO John Challenger. "Companies are making adjustments based on the previous year’s results and the outlook for the year ahead.

The retail and telecom sectors were the hardest hit in January, with 16,737 and 14,010 job cuts, respectively. Last month Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) said it would shed 11,200 positions at its Sam’s Clubs Warehouse outlets, and Verizon Communications (VZ, Fortune 500), announced 13,000 layoffs.

"The beginning of the year is particularly rough on retail workers, as [their] employers enter one of the slower sales periods of the year," Challenger said.

Despite the monthly decline, Canally said the report signals future job growth.

"This is still pretty much a decade-low for job cut announcements, which shows that the economy is probably about to turn around," said Canally. "The outlook is getting clearer, so I wouldn’t be too concerned about this bump in January."

Wednesday’s reports precede the closely watched monthly jobs report from the Labor Department due Friday. That’s expected to show employment levels essentially unchanged in January, according to a consensus of economists polled by Briefing.com, compared to a loss of 85,000 jobs in December.

The unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 10%. 

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