At $1 trillion dollars, student loan debt has eclipsed credit card debt for the first time in American history. To make matters worse, come July 1 the interest rate on federally subsidized Stafford student loans will automatically double, from 3.4% to 6.8%, unless Congressional action is taken to extend the lower rate before then. Depending on which side of the aisle you choose, extending the lower rate will cost between $3 billion and $7 billion per year (estimates from the center of the aisle hover around $5.5 billion).

Italian prosecutors say they have broken up an organised crime ring that was hiding trillions of dollars of fake US bonds. The BBC's Alan Johnston reports.

Indian call centres were used to swindle millions of dollars out of Americans in a debt collection fraud, say US federal officials.