Feb. 12, 2026

8.8 Million Americans in Student Loan Default

8.8 Million Americans in Student Loan Default

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8.8 million Americans are now in default on student loans totaling $208 billion with delinquency rates at record 9.6% as a borrower defaulted every nine seconds on average throughout 2025 after pandemic protections ended creating the worst crisis in history; Alphabet raised nearly $32 billion in less than 24 hours including a debut 100-year sterling bond attracting over $100 billion in orders to fund AI infrastructure; Amazon Pharmacy announced expansion of same-day prescription delivery to 4,500 cities by end of 2026; Stripe unveiled a payment system enabling AI agents to pay automatically using USDC stablecoins on Base blockchain; Salesforce cut fewer than 1,000 employees reallocating resources toward AI products; and Lyft tumbled 14% after missing Q4 revenue expectations and posting unexpected full-year operating loss despite announcing $1 billion share buyback.

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