Debt

A white National Express coach with the slogan "if you know, you go" parked at a bus station in Derby, with a brick building and a white office block behind it.

National Express's Owner Agreed to a 46p-a-Share Takeover Worth £308 Million. The Buyer Is Taking On a Company Valued at £2.3 Billion, and Most of That Is Debt.

Mobico, the owner of National Express and Spain's ALSA, agreed on Friday 30 October to a cash takeover at 46 pence a share, valuing its equity at about £308 million. The bidder is a vehicle jointly owned by the Cosmen family, Mobico's largest shareholder, and the Madrid fund manager Asterion. Shareholders and a court still have to approve it.

By Margaret Holloway 2 hours ago

An American Airlines Boeing 737-800 in silver livery with a striped red, white and blue tail, landing gear down, on approach against a clear blue sky.

Business

American Airlines Made $115 Million Flying Passengers Last Quarter and Paid $435 Million in Interest. Fuel Will Cost It More Than $7 Billion Extra This Year.

American Airlines reported on 22 October that third-quarter revenue rose 19.3 per cent to a record $16.3 billion and that it still earned an operating profit of $115 million despite a $1.9 billion rise in fuel costs. Net interest expense of $435 million turned that into a net loss of $269 million. It now expects an adjusted loss of $1.00 to $1.60 a share for 2026.

By Daniel Okafor October 23, 2026

Money

Nine Million Borrowers Are in Default on Student Loans. Collections Are Coming.

More than 9.3 million federal student loan borrowers are in default as of June 2026, carrying $234 billion in outstanding debt. The Trump administration transferred default collections to the Treasury Department in March and has signaled that wage garnishment, tax refund seizure, and benefit offsets will resume.

By Thomas Gutierrez October 9, 2026

The United States Capitol building in Washington DC

Markets

The Interest Bill Came to $1.36 Trillion. That Is More Than Medicaid.

The federal government paid $1.36 trillion in gross interest on its debt in fiscal year 2026, up 11.5 percent from the prior year and more than Washington sent the states for Medicaid. At $3.73 billion a day, the cost of carrying the debt has become a top-five budget line by any measure.

By Margaret Holloway October 9, 2026

The United States Capitol seen from a distance down the National Mall at dusk.

Money

Nobody Gets a Bill for the Interest, So Nobody Votes on It

Debt-to-GDP is higher than it was at the end of the Second World War and two percent of Americans call it the country's biggest problem. Sixteen years ago, at a third the size, it was a mass movement. Salience is not a function of size.

By Daniel Okafor September 1, 2026

Students walking on a campus path towards a stone archway inscribed INDUSTRY VIRTUE WEALTH.

National News

As U.S. Debt Passes $40 Trillion, Manuj Mittal Warns of a Narrowing Talent Pipeline

The government is borrowing at a record pace while policies threaten to narrow the workforce supporting future growth and the federal tax base.

By Cory Chamberlain August 31, 2026