Biden Launches New Student Debt Repayment Plan

Thanks for joining me here at NTD Business, I'm Don Ma. US stocks ended very little changed on Monday, but it's ending a strong July on upbeat company earnings and as well hopes of a soft landing for a resilient US economy. All three major stock indexes ended with gains for the month. It seems like markets didn't see any meaningful catalysts today, so it's in a holding pattern. S&P 500 is just under 5% away from its all-time intraday high that was hit on January 4, 2022. It's on course to gain for a fifth straight month. S&P 500 gained 7 points or 0.1%, Nasdaq gained 29 points or 0.2%, the Dow rose 106 points or 0.3%. Nearly half of the top 11 S&P 500 sectors posted gains, led by a rise in energy stocks. And cash-strapped US trucking company Yellow Corp has ceased operations and is filing for bankruptcy. This is after it failed to reorganize and refinance over a billion dollars in debt. This is according to the Teamsters Union on Sunday. Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien said in a statement, "...Yellow has historically proven that it could not manage itself despite billions of dollars in worker concessions and hundreds of millions in bailouts funding from the federal government." The company was the third biggest US trucker, specializing in the less-than-truckload segment. Its customers included large retailers like Walmart and Home Depot. Meanwhile, more than 150 million Americans face dangerous heat conditions heading into the weekend. And while summer travelers are used to storms wreaking havoc, aviation experts say extreme heat can also pose unique challenges in the skies and on the ground. Here are the details. A heat wave stretching from coast to coast into this weekend. Even those places that are used to extreme heat have never seen it as hot as it is now for as long as it has. And those making a getaway should prepare for air travel disruptions not just from summer storms but extreme heat precautions too. Daniel Adjaykum of the University of North Dakota Aviation Department says the higher the temperatures, the less density in the air. The aerodynamics behind lifts for an aircraft, the wings to generate lift is that it's dependent on the density of the air. That means planes need less weight and longer runways for takeoff. Carriers may choose to carry less fuel or drop baggage or reduce passenger load. He says the safety of the ground crew is under consideration as well as they do the heavy lifting to service fuel, load and unload planes. Aircrafts that require safety brakes to keep workers hydrated and cool can also delay flight schedules. It's obviously going to affect the turnaround time for aircraft because these folks will have to go inside to a cooler place to cool themselves, get some water, be hydrated. To beat the heat, try an early morning or late night flight when temperatures are cooler and comply with flight attendant requests to lower window shades and open air vents when a plane is parked at the gate to keep cabins cool. The Biden administration is launching a website for its new student loan repayment plan. The new approach comes after weeks the Supreme Court rejected the president's efforts to wipe out student debt for millions of borrowers. Students can access the website now during this trial period and apply for the new program. The website will be fully functional next month. The new approach comes as student loan payments are set to resume in October after a long pause because of the pandemic. The president's new plan could lower monthly loan payments for some borrowers and reduce the amount they pay back over the lifetime of their loans. Borrowers will only need to apply once and not yearly. And Goldman Sachs on Sunday revised up its global oil demand forecast for the year. Analysts estimate global oil demand climbed to an all-time high of 102 million barrels per day in July. They also see solid demand driving a larger than expected 1.8 million barrels per day deficit in the second half of this year. A reduced recession risk and a strong effort by OPEC to push up prices support Goldman's view on higher oil prices. And oil prices hovered near three-month highs on Monday, set to post their biggest monthly gains in over a year on expectations that Saudi Arabia would extend output cuts into September and tighten global supply. And China may have planted malicious software in the U.S. defense system, according to a new New York Times report. It says the federal government is urgently tracking the cyber malware. It says it could be devastating to U.S. military operations. Here are the details. Officials are on high alert for Chinese malware in key utility systems, calling it a ticking time bomb. According to a weekend report by the New York Times, the software may allow China to cut off power, water and communications to U.S. military bases. Officials say if the malware is activated, a recovery is expected within days. But such disruptions could slow down the U.S. response in event of a conflict, like Beijing's possible invasion of Taiwan. The report says the White House has started briefing members of Congress, state governors and utility companies on the findings. Earlier in July, Chinese hackers reportedly breached the email accounts of at least two government officials. The incident heightened the urgency for vigilance within the private sector. Microsoft first reported Chinese state-sponsored hacking activity targeting U.S. military bases in Guam back in May. But officials said Beijing's malware campaign began at least one year before these attacks. Beijing was accused of stealing the security clearance files of about 22 million Americans from the Office of Personal Management during the Obama administration. Beyond that, China's recent breaches marked a departure from the past. Officials say their purpose appears to be disruption instead of surveillance. Deputy Director of the U.S. National Security Agency George Barnes said, China's cyber operations activities were very noisy and very rudimentary. They have continued to bring resources, sophistication and mass to their game. And Kanye West is back on social media. X, formerly known as Twitter, has reactivated the rap singer's account, but with conditions. West won't be able to make money off his account, and no ads will appear next to his posts. X's owner Elon Musk suspended West's account last December after West posted an image of a swastika inside a Star of David. He had made other controversial and possibly anti-Semitic tweets before the company suspended him. While Musk describes himself as a free speech absolutist, some of West's tweets violated the company's rule against incitement to violence. It's unclear why West's account was now reactivated, whether he appealed his suspension, or if something else prompted the change. The Biden administration is proposing modest increases to fuel efficiency standards. The Department of Transportation's new rules would increase efficiency by 2% per year for cars and 4% for light trucks. That would result in most vehicles getting around 43 miles per gallon by 2032. Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed dramatically increasing the number of electric vehicles on the road. The DOT's proposed fuel efficiency standards are seen by many as a way to help cut emissions if EVs don't become more prevalent. Some critics are expressing concern they don't require new vehicles to be efficient enough. The agency is taking public feedback on this and other proposals throughout the fall. Any new adopted rules could go into effect for model year 2027 vehicles. On to movie news. Disney's latest movie based on a theme park attraction tried to scare off Barbenheimer this weekend. Well, did it work? Here are the early estimates for the weekend box office. This is our chance. Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1 made $10.7 million for fifth place and a domestic total of $139 million. Sound of Freedom is close to $150 million domestic after a fourth place weekend worth $12.4 million. Moviegoers found Haunted Mansion moderately spooky. The fright flick debuted in third place with $24.2 million. Theory will take you only so far. Oppenheimer stayed strong in second place with a sophomore tally of $46.2 million for a 10-day domestic total of $174 million. Hi Barbie! Audiences continue to think pink. Barbie dominated theaters for a second straight weekend earning $93 million for a domestic total of $351 million, already the fourth highest grossing film of the year.