SFA Financial Aid will be switching lenders for student loan programs. This scheduled change will affect more than 7,000 students utilizing the Federal Stafford Loans (subsidized and unsubsidized) as well as the Federal Parent Plus Loan.
Currently, loan funding comes from 100+ financial institutions that participate in the federal loan program; with this change, funding will now be allocated through one direct lending source, the U.S. Treasury. All students who plan on receiving financial aid beginning with the Fall 2010 Semester must complete a new master promissory note regardless of previously completed promissory notes. This includes any loans granted to SFA parents as well.
This change will not affect interest rates, as they are set in the same manner and will be appointed accordingly.
"Our biggest concern is educating students about this impending change so that they know what to do and when to do it," Rachele Nixon, assistant director of financial aid, said. The financial aid department plans on rolling out a campaign to educate students on the changes beginning in December with a heavy emphasis in the Spring 2010 Semester after the transition has been completed and the process nailed down.
An important issue for upper level students receiving financial aid to consider is that this change will have a greater affect on their loans.
"Our long-term goals for students is that they understand when they graduate they will then carry two loans, (one) from the previous system and (one from) the new system. At (that) point they may wish to consider a consolidation loan upon graduation to alleviate the burden of carrying multiple loans," Valerie Harrell, assistant director of financial aid, said.
Student loans for the 2008 SFA school year amounted to $68 million, further indicating the scope of this change for students. This transition to direct lending through the U.S. Treasury is being instated in multiple higher education institutions, and the numbers are expected to grow. Over the past two years the financial aid program has begun losing participating lenders due to fundamental issues concerning new regulations that are tightening up the lending process.
While SFA is not legally bound to make this switch, current legislation indicates that it may very well become a mandate in the future.
Source
Monday, December 28, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Home Depot sales, profit slide in third quarter
As consumers slowly dust off their wallets to purchase clothing and electronics, home improvement sales continue to lag.Earnings reports this week show same-store sales continuing to sputter at Home Depot and Lowe's, while stores with off-price goods like TJMaxx saw improvement.
Home Depot's third quarter sales fell 8 percent, reflecting a continued malaise in the housing market triggered by a drop in home values and neighborhoods plagued by foreclosures. Roughly 38 percent of homeowners are estimated to have negative, or near negative, equity in their homes.
The home improvement sector has seen $55 billion in annual sales evaporate since 2006, noted Carol Tomé, Home Depot's chief financial officer, in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution after the chain's quarterly report on Tuesday. Home Depot still has a 20.5 percent share of what is now a $289 billion market for the last 12 months, down from $344 billion in 2006, Tome' said.
"Generally people are concerned about jobs and credit," she said. "As they look forward to 2010, they don’t see a lot of relief coming their way."
The Atlanta-based retail giant posted third quarter profit of $689 million, or 41 cents a share, down 8.9 percent from a year earlier. Sales were $16.4 billion.
Like many companies, Home Depot has held up profits by cutting costs and closing stores. The company raised its full-year earnings guidance, but not its revenue outlook.
In a conference call with analysts, Chief Executive Frank Blake said a recovery for the home improvement sector is not yet at hand. "We are still in ‘less bad' territory" compared to previous reports, he said.
In one telling sign, Home Depot said purchases of less than $50 rose 2 percent in the quarter, while big ticket purchases – $900 or above – fell by 10 percent. Lowe's reported a similar gap. The average checkout tab at Home Depot slipped to $51.89, down 7 percent from a year earlier.
On Monday, Lowe's announced earnings of $344 million, a 29.5 percent decline, on revenues of $11.4 billion, down 3 percent.
Analysts note that while decreased home improvement sales led retailers into the recession, it appears they will trail the sector coming out.
"Given that declines in home improvement demand led the overall retail space by over two years, one might have expected home improvement sales to lead in the recovery," Colin McGranahan with Bernstein Research wrote in a Nov. 2 report. "However, the opposite has occurred – home improvement declines are persisting even as core retail sales are beginning to recover."
Tomé said stagnant or falling housing prices prompt homeowners to think: " ‘Why should I if I'm not going to get a return?' If you think of [home improvement] as an investment, you'll think differently than if it’s a cost."
Source
Home Depot's third quarter sales fell 8 percent, reflecting a continued malaise in the housing market triggered by a drop in home values and neighborhoods plagued by foreclosures. Roughly 38 percent of homeowners are estimated to have negative, or near negative, equity in their homes.
The home improvement sector has seen $55 billion in annual sales evaporate since 2006, noted Carol Tomé, Home Depot's chief financial officer, in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution after the chain's quarterly report on Tuesday. Home Depot still has a 20.5 percent share of what is now a $289 billion market for the last 12 months, down from $344 billion in 2006, Tome' said.
"Generally people are concerned about jobs and credit," she said. "As they look forward to 2010, they don’t see a lot of relief coming their way."
The Atlanta-based retail giant posted third quarter profit of $689 million, or 41 cents a share, down 8.9 percent from a year earlier. Sales were $16.4 billion.
Like many companies, Home Depot has held up profits by cutting costs and closing stores. The company raised its full-year earnings guidance, but not its revenue outlook.
In a conference call with analysts, Chief Executive Frank Blake said a recovery for the home improvement sector is not yet at hand. "We are still in ‘less bad' territory" compared to previous reports, he said.
In one telling sign, Home Depot said purchases of less than $50 rose 2 percent in the quarter, while big ticket purchases – $900 or above – fell by 10 percent. Lowe's reported a similar gap. The average checkout tab at Home Depot slipped to $51.89, down 7 percent from a year earlier.
On Monday, Lowe's announced earnings of $344 million, a 29.5 percent decline, on revenues of $11.4 billion, down 3 percent.
Analysts note that while decreased home improvement sales led retailers into the recession, it appears they will trail the sector coming out.
"Given that declines in home improvement demand led the overall retail space by over two years, one might have expected home improvement sales to lead in the recovery," Colin McGranahan with Bernstein Research wrote in a Nov. 2 report. "However, the opposite has occurred – home improvement declines are persisting even as core retail sales are beginning to recover."
Tomé said stagnant or falling housing prices prompt homeowners to think: " ‘Why should I if I'm not going to get a return?' If you think of [home improvement] as an investment, you'll think differently than if it’s a cost."
Source
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)