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The U.S. Department of Education says student loan “payments will be due starting in October.”
Interest on their debt will begin accruing even sooner.

Viktorcvetkovic | Istock | Getty Images

Over the three-year-long pause on student loan payments, the U.S. Department of Education has repeatedly told borrowers their bills were set to resume, only to take it back and provide them more time.
This time, however, the agency really means it.

The Education Department posted on its website that “payments will be due starting in October,” and a recent law passed by Congress will make changing that plan difficult.
It will likely be a big adjustment for borrowers when the pandemic-era policy expires. Around 40 million Americans have debt from their education. The typical monthly bill is roughly $350.
“For many borrowers, the payment pause has been life altering — saving many from financial ruin and allowing others to finally get ahead financially,” said Persis Yu, deputy executive director at the Student Borrower Protection Center.
Here’s what to know.

3-year pause saved the average borrower $15,000

Former President Donald Trump first announced the stay on federal student loan bills and the accrual of interest in March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S. and crippled the economy.

The pause has since been extended eight times.
Nearly all people eligible for the relief have taken advantage of it, with less than 1% of qualifying borrowers continuing to make payments on their education debt, according to an analysis by higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.

As a result of the policy, the average borrower likely saved around $15,000 in student loan payments, Kantrowitz said.

Why the pause will end in the fall

The Education Department notes on its financial aid website that “Congress recently passed a law preventing further extensions of the payment pause.”
It is referring to the agreement reached between Republicans and Democrats to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, which President Joe Biden signed into law in early June.
In exchange for voting to increase the borrowing limit, Republicans demanded large cuts to federal spending. They sought to repeal Biden’s executive action granting student loan forgiveness, but the Biden administration refused to agree to that.
However, included in the deal was a provision that officially terminates the pause at the end of August.
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Even before that agreement, the Biden administration had been preparing borrowers for their payments to resume by September.
“The emergency period is over, and we’re preparing our borrowers to restart,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona recently said at a Senate hearing.

Interest will pick up in September, payments in October

The Education Department says borrowers will be expected to make their first post-pause payment in October. Meanwhile, interest will start accumulating on borrowers’ debt again on Sept. 1, the department says.
Exact due dates will vary based on your account details, Kantrowitz said.
“Your due date will be at least 21 days after you’re sent a loan statement,” he said.

Borrowers don’t know what they’ll owe

As the Biden administration tries to ready millions of Americans to restart their student loan payments, there’s one big open question that may make that preparation difficult: Most borrowers don’t know what they’ll owe in the fall.
That’s because the Supreme Court has yet to issue a verdict on the validity of Biden’s plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for borrowers. A decision is expected this month.
Around 37 million people would be eligible for some loan cancellation, Kantrowitz estimated.
Roughly a third of those with federal student loans, or 14 million people, would have their balances entirely forgiven by the president’s program, according to an estimate by Kantrowitz. As a result, these borrowers won’t owe anything come October.
For those who still have a balance after the relief, the Education Department has said it plans to “re-amortize” borrowers’ lower debts. That’s a wonky term that means it will recalculate people’s monthly payment based on their lower tab and the number of months they have left on their repayment timeline.
Kantrowitz provided an example: Let’s say a person currently owes $30,000 in student loans at a 5% interest rate.
Before the pandemic, they would have paid around $320 a month on a 10-year repayment term. If forgiveness goes through and that person gets $10,000 in relief, their total balance would be reduced by a third, and their monthly payment will drop by a third, to roughly $210 a month.

Education Department Undersecretary James Kvaal recently warned that if the administration is unable to deliver on Biden’s loan forgiveness, delinquency and default rates could skyrocket.
The borrowers most in jeopardy of defaulting are those for whom Biden’s policy would have wiped out their balance entirely, Kvaal said.
“Unless the Department is allowed to provide one-time student loan debt relief,” Kvaal said, “we expect this group of borrowers to have higher loan default rates due to the ongoing confusion about what they owe.” More

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With an El Niño weather pattern developing, it could be another hot year.
Only 8% of the three billion people living in the hottest places on Earth have air conditioning.
A growing number of governments, corporations and individuals are searching for ways to reduce their footprints.

The Manhattan skyline is shrouded in a smoky haze from Canadian wildfires as seen from the East River waterfront in Brooklyn, New York, June 6, 2023.
Ed Jones | Afp | Getty Images

Eight of the warmest years in history have all come since 2015.
With an El Niño weather pattern developing, it could be another hot one because the last time that phenomenon occurred — in 2016 — it was the hottest year on record. 

What a warming world means is heating, ventilation and air-conditioning companies and other firms that provide climate technologies that make buildings more efficient have a multidecade opportunity for growth.   

The data tells the story

Of the three billion people living in the hottest places on earth, including Africa and the Middle East, only about 8% have air conditioning. Further, not only are incomes expanding in many of these same areas, but their populations are growing faster than much of the rest of the world. Historically, a strong link has existed between HVAC demand and these two data points. 
While the multiplier effect could be more modest in the developed world, including the U.S., demand will still rise as temperatures trend higher. Think about places such as Seattle. At one time, it was the least air-conditioned big city in the country, but recent heat waves in the Pacific Northwest have moved the needle there.

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Ongoing decarbonization efforts are another consideration. A growing number of governments, corporations and individuals are searching for ways to reduce their footprints, whether it’s adding solar energy, battery storage or heat pumps, or retrofitting buildings in other ways to make them more efficient.
Add it all together and there will be ample HVAC-related market opportunities to play these trends. 

Stocks for a warming world

Carrier Global Corporation is the North American residential and unitary commercial HVAC systems market leader. In April, it announced plans to divest its fire and security businesses and said it would acquire the HVAC and renewable energy business of the German industrial firm Viessmann Group. Those moves will help transform Carrier into a pure-play HVAC company with a large global footprint. Its shares currently trade under 19 times 2023 consensus earnings, a discount relative to industry peers, not to mention a broader set of industrial companies.  
Johnson Controls International provides a range of fire, security and HVAC-related tech, software and other products to make buildings more energy-efficient and reduce costs. The company’s smart building platform, OpenBlue, is helping drive double-digit growth in its service business, while orders also benefit from ongoing decarbonization and healthy building trends. 

Meanwhile, Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital doesn’t provide HVAC services or products but supplies capital to companies within this market that do. Its earnings per share have grown at a 14% compound growth rate over the last three years, while the company’s 12-month investment pipeline currently exceeds $5 billion. The stock now trades at 11 times consensus 2023 earnings. 
The signs that the world is warming are inescapable. Look no further than the layers of thick smoke that have recently blanketed New York and other parts of the Northeast corridor.
Unfortunately, not much scientific evidence suggests that current trends will let up. 
This has far-reaching implications, touching on everything from food production to clean drinking water and other serious health concerns. Beyond that, the conversation surrounding cooler and more efficient workspaces and homes will soon be less about luxury and more a matter of necessity, driving up demand for the products, services and equipment that will help to solve that challenge.
— Noah Kaye is managing director and senior analyst with Oppenheimer & Co. He covers sustainable growth and resource optimization. More

The employee retention tax credit, worth thousands per employee, was enacted in 2020 to support small businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic.
While the credit applies to tax year 2020 or 2021, there’s still time for business owners to amend returns to claim the credit.
However, experts warn taxpayers about “ERC mills” promoting the credit to businesses that may not qualify.

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Small businesses are facing an onslaught of ads, phone calls and emails to help them claim a pandemic-era tax credit. However, experts urge business owners to review eligibility with a qualified tax professional.
The tax break — known as the employee retention credit, or ERC — was enacted in 2020 to support small businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic, worth up to $5,000 per employee for 2020 or $28,000 per employee in 2021.

While the credit applies to tax year 2020 or 2021, business owners still have time to amend returns and claim the credit, which has sparked a flood of ads from companies offering to help.
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“The calls and solicitations are brutal,” said certified financial planner Craig Hausz, CEO and managing partner at CMH Advisors in Dallas. He is also a certified public accountant. “Our clients are getting a ton of these and it’s just bombarding them.”
While Hausz’s company has completed at least 100 amended filings for clients to claim the employee retention credit, it has also informed clients when they don’t qualify.
“ERC mills” have popped up, charging small businesses up to 25% to 30% of the credit received, said Kristin Esposito, director for tax policy and advocacy for the American Institute of CPAs.

“There’s a huge monetary incentive,” she said.

It’s really put a strain on a lot of client relationships.

Kristin Esposito
Director for tax policy and advocacy for the American Institute of CPAs

Esposito said ERC mills may promise business owners they qualify or calculate a larger credit than owners were told by their CPA. “It’s really put a strain on a lot of client relationships,” she said.
After warning business owners about “third parties” promoting the employee retention credit in October, the IRS added the issue to its annual list of “Dirty Dozen” tax scams for 2023.
“While the credit has provided a financial lifeline to millions of businesses, there are promoters misleading people and businesses into thinking they can claim these credits,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a March statement. 

How to qualify for the employee retention credit

One of the challenges of claiming the employee retention credit is complexity, with rules having changed between 2020 and 2021, according to Hausz.
The credit was enacted to keep workers on payroll during the quarters affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. While eligibility was initially from March 13 through Dec. 31, 2020, the timeline was extended through the third quarter of 2021 for most businesses.

To qualify in 2020, businesses needed a government-mandated full or partial shutdown, or a “significant decline” in revenue, according to the IRS, with “less than 50% of gross receipts,” compared with the same calendar quarter in 2019. For 2021, the revenue thresholds dropped to “less than 80% of the same quarter” in 2019.
“We’ve done some for clients that had shutdowns, and we’ve done some that had revenue decreases,” which is easier to calculate, Hausz said.
Further, the credit was expanded from 2020 to 2021, originally covering 50% of qualified wages (limited to $10,000 annually per employee), for a maximum credit of $5,000 per employee in 2020. For 2021, the credit jumped to 70% of wages ($10,000 quarterly per employee), worth up to $7,000 per quarter or $28,000 per year.

Why it’s important to work with a tax professional

One of the difficulties of retroactively claiming the employee retention credit is business owners also must amend other returns, Esposito said.
While the process begins with Form 941-X — the adjusted payroll tax return — the changes flow down to business and personal income tax returns, “creating a cascade effect,” she said.

Hausz said the “big issue” with newer companies claiming to help businesses get this single credit is that they might not sign the amended returns, in order to skirt future liability. “Do not file this unless the people helping you are willing to put their name on the filing as the paid preparer,” he warned.
In the March statement, IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel warned that taxpayers are “ultimately responsible for the accuracy of the information on their tax return” and the agency is stepping up enforcement for these claims.
Hausz added that taxpayers should “go talk to a qualified professional,” such as a CPA, enrolled agent, tax attorney or financial advisor. “There are literally hundreds of firms that I know personally that would do the credit and sign their name on it.” More

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on June 14, 2023 in New York City. 
Spencer Platt | Getty Images

The increase in economic activity in the industrial, residential and commercial spaces over the past decade has driven the industrial goods sector higher — providing opportunities to invest.  
TipRanks recognized the 10 best analysts in the industrial goods sector who edged past their peers with their stock picking and delivered noteworthy returns through their recommendations. 

TipRanks used its Experts Center tool to find the analysts sporting a high success rate. We analyzed every recommendation by analysts in the space over the past 10 years.  TipRanks’ algorithms calculated the statistical significance of each rating, analysts’ overall success rate, and the average return. Further, these recommendations were measured over one year. 

Top 10 analysts from the consumer goods sector 

The image below shows the most successful Wall Street analysts from the industrial goods sector. 

Arrows pointing outwards

1. Kenneth Herbert – RBC Capital 

 Kenneth Herbert tops the list. Herbert has an overall success rate of 64%. His best rating has been on Leonardo DRS (NASDAQ:DRS), a defense contractor. His buy call on DRS stock from April 2, 2020 to April 02, 2021, generated a sharp return of 244.5%. 

2. Stephen Volkmann – Jefferies 

Stephen Volkmann is second on the list with a success rate of 68%. Volkmann’s top recommendation is Parker Hannifin (NYSE:PH), a company specializing in motion and control technologies. The analyst generated a profit of 166.4% through his buy recommendation on PH stock from March 27, 2020 to March 27, 2021. 

 3. Seth Weber – Wells Fargo  

Wells Fargo analyst Seth Weber ranks No. 3 on the list. Weber has a success rate of 66%. His best recommendation has been on Herc Holdings (NYSE:HRI), an equipment rental firm. The analyst generated a return of 359.5% through a buy recommendation on HRI from April 17, 2020 to April 17, 2021. 

4. Benoit Poirier – Desjardins  

Benoit Poirier bags the fourth spot on the list. The analyst has a 67% overall success rate. Poirier’s best recommendation has been on TFI International (TSE:TFII), a transportation and logistics company. The analyst generated a profit of 215.20% through his buy recommendation on Tifi stock from April 22, 2020 to April 22, 2021.

5. Keith Hughes – Truist Financial 

Fifth-place analyst Keith Hughes has a success rate of 62%. His best recommendation is Builders FirstSource (NYSE:BLDR), a leading supplier of building materials. The analyst delivered a profit on this stock of 284.6% from April 16, 2020 to April 16, 2021.  

6. Stanley Elliott – Stifel Nicolaus 

Taking the sixth position is Stanley Elliott. The analyst sports a 69% success rate. Elliott’s top recommendation was for Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), a leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment. Through the buy call on CAT stock, the analyst generated a solid return of 149.3% from March 16, 2020 to March 16, 2021. 

7. Andrew Kaplowitz – Citi 

Citigroup analyst Andrew Kaplowitz is seventh on this list, with a success rate of 65%. Kaplowitz’s best call has been a buy on the shares of Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM), a warehouse automation company. The recommendation generated a return of 300% from November 22, 2022 to today. 

8. Julian Mitchell – Barclays 

In the eighth position is Julian Mitchell of Barclays. Mitchell has an overall success rate of 66%. The analyst’s top recommendation was for an intelligent climate and energy solutions provider, Carrier Global (NYSE:CARR). Through the buy call, the analyst generated a solid return of 145.4% from May 11, 2020 to May 11, 2021. 

9. Gautam Khanna — TD Cowen

Gautam Khanna ranks ninth on the list. The analyst sports a 68% success rate. His top call was made on Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI), a company that creates infrastructure and building safety solutions. The buy recommendation generated a return of 134.8% from May 14, 2020 to May 14, 2021. 

10. Christopher Glynn – Oppenheimer 

Christopher Glynn has the 10th spot on the list, with a success rate of 60%. Glynn’s best call has been a buy on shares of Generac (NYSE:GNRC), an energy technology company providing advanced power grid software solutions and backup and prime power systems. The recommendation generated a return of 284.2% from March 23, 2020 to March 23, 2021. 

Bottom line 

Investors could follow the ratings of top analysts to make an informed investment decision. We will return soon with the top 10 analysts of the past decade in the Utilities sector.  More

Interest rates are expected to stay high for the foreseeable future, which has made mortgages more expensive.
Experts say there’s a strategy that can help homebuyers reduce monthly costs.
More homebuyers are opting for purchasing mortgage points as a way to defray higher monthly payments.

Westend61 | Getty

As interest rates have climbed, homebuyers have been confronted with higher borrowing costs.
That has led more home purchasers to opt for one strategy, purchasing mortgage points, as a way to defray higher monthly payments.

Mortgage points let buyers pay an upfront fee to lower the interest rate on their loans. In some cases, sellers will help to buy down rates to help ease transaction costs.
Almost 45% of conventional primary home borrowers bought mortgage points in 2022 to reduce their monthly mortgage payments, a trend that has continued into this year, according to recent research from Zillow.
That is up from 29.6% in 2021, when interest rates were lower.
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The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage currently averages 6.7% according to Freddie Mac, up from 5.8% a year ago. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage now averages about 6%, up from 4.8% a year ago.

This week, the Federal Reserve decided to pause the interest rate hikes it has put in place to combat high inflation.
As rates stay higher, those who are in the market for a home lose purchasing power. Some experts have urged buyers to consider purchasing mortgage points to lower their monthly payments.
Stephanie Grubbs, a licensed real estate agent at the Zweben team at Douglas Elliman Real Estate in New York, recently did exactly that when one of her clients lowered their asking price.

“This fabulous apartment just had a price reduction, which means you can use those savings to buy down your rate,” Grubbs wrote in the updated ad.
Grubbs, a former financial advisor, said her firm started bringing up the strategy more when the Fed started hiking interest rates.
“In an effort to try to be creative, we talk to sellers about offering to buy down a rate,” Grubbs said.
Other experts say buyers purchasing mortgage points can be a great strategy for the right situation.
That goes particularly if a buyer can afford the extra upfront costs.

Being able to lower that monthly payment can really help give some more wiggle room in people’s budgets and help them reach affordability.

Nicole Bachaud
senior economist at Zillow

Mortgage points refer to the percentage amount of the loan. Typically, one point is worth 1% of the loan value, according to Nicole Bachaud, senior economist at Zillow.
If the loan value is $300,000, one point would typically cost $3,000 and lower the interest rate 0.25 percentage points, she said.
“Being able to lower that monthly payment can really help give some more wiggle room in people’s budgets and help them reach affordability,” Bachaud said.
In addition to higher upfront costs, home buyers should also weigh other factors before buying mortgage points.

Set a timeline for living in your new home

“For most instances, it is definitely a considerable cost savings to be able to buy down on points,” said Kamila Elliott, a certified financial planner and co-founder and CEO of Collective Wealth Partners, a boutique advisory firm in Atlanta. Elliott is also a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council.
However, if you buy points and then refinance, that will not allow enough time for your upfront payment to appreciate, Elliott said.
Another important consideration is your timeline for how long you plan to live in the home.

With rates and home prices high, that means closing costs are also elevated, Elliott said.
Consequently, if you move before three to five years, you may take a bigger financial hit, she said.
“There could be a huge loss if you can’t stay in that property long enough to have those expenses amortized out over the time that you’re there,” Elliott said.

Consider other alternatives

If you have extra money when buying a home, you may instead choose to increase the size of your down payment.
This can be advantageous because it creates more equity in the home, Bachaud noted. It may also lower your monthly payments.
If that extra money is enough to bring your down payment to 20% of the home purchase price, that would eliminate the need for private mortgage insurance, which adds to monthly costs for mortgage borrowers who put down less than those sums.
However, you may see more of an effect on your monthly expenses by buying points rather than increasing your down payment, Elliott said.

It costs less for a seller to buy down somebody’s mortgage than it does for them to take a price reduction.

Stephanie Grubbs
licensed real estate agent at Douglas Elliman Real Estate

A point may cost $3,000 to $4,000, for example. But putting those sums toward a down payment likely will not make much of a difference on your monthly costs, Elliott said.
If you want to make sure your mortgage payment doesn’t exceed one-third of your take home income, then paying down on points could be the better option, she said.
In some situations, a seller may offer to buy down the rate, a concession to help offset costs for buyers. Grubbs said she has discussed employing this strategy with clients in her real estate practice.
“It costs less for a seller to buy down somebody’s mortgage than it does for them to take a price reduction,” Grubbs said.

Homebuyers may want to consider pursuing a 2-1 buydown, a mortgage that provides a low interest rate for the first year, a slightly higher rate in the second year and a full rate for the following years.
A 2-1 buydown may also sometimes be seller financed, according to Bachaud.
Talking to a loan officer can help you decide the best decision for your situation, Bachaud said.

Factor in the unknowns

How well any homebuying strategy fares in the long run depends on one big unknown: how the Federal Reserve will handle interest rates going forward.
The latest projections from the central bank call for two more rate hikes this year.
While today’s rates feel high, Elliott said she often reminds people that homebuyers in the 1980s would have loved to have had access to 6% mortgage rates. More

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In September 2022, Jana Partners made an investment in Freshpet after the company’s stock had dropped by approximately 74%.The firm liked the company and its business a lot, but thought that it was mismanaged and needed a reconstituted board to institute more focus and management accountability. Because Freshpet had a staggered board – one in which a portion of directors are up for election each year – Jana could only nominate four directors to the board last month to replace the four whose terms were expiring in 2023.
Jana made many good operational and capital allocation points in its case for change that alone justified adding one or two Jana representatives to the board. However, it is a big step from adding two new directors to four new directors. Replacing nearly 40% of the board is not something shareholders should do lightly, but it is necessary in situations where the bad performance is not just the problem but a symptom of poor governance, and that could not be clearer at Freshpet.

Forget about corporate governance infractions like a staggered board, which itself is a red flag. Freshpet had unique and somewhat unprecedented examples of at the very least, the board not holding management accountable, and at the worst, serious conflicts.
In 2020, Freshpet’s president and chief operating officer Scott Morris co-founded Hive Brands, a grocery and retail delivery service that focuses on the sustainability and environmental impact of the goods offered. Those goods include high-quality pet food and treats in direct competition with Freshpet. I almost hesitate to mention the “direct competition” point because it implies that this would be OK if Hive weren’t a competitor of Freshpet. Clearly, it wouldn’t be OK. Morris’s employment agreement states: “During the Employment Period, the Executive will devote the Executive’s full time and efforts to the business of the Company.” While it does also state that “The Executive may engage in non-competitive business or charitable activities for reasonable periods of time each month so long as such activities do not interfere with the Executive’s responsibilities under this Employment Agreement,” I do not think “activities” include participating in Hive’s launch, capital raises and management. Moreover, Hive is a competitor of the company by Freshpet’s own definition. The same employment agreement defines a competitor in part as “(i) engag[ing] in the manufacture, sale or distribution of either (A) fresh, refrigerated, frozen or raw pet food; or (B) dry pet food with more than 30% meat content.” But you do not need to be famed legal scholar Laurence Tribe to figure this out: It is highly inappropriate for a senior executive of a public company to work for another firm at the same time.
Additionally, many standard employment agreements include an inventions assignment provision in which the employee agrees to assign to the company any ownership or other rights he acquires through his work or services. Morris’s employment agreement does not have such a provision. But this does not appear to be an oversight as much as an omission through negotiation. Section 7 of his employment agreement governs non-competition and non-solicitation. Section 8 governs confidentiality, and section 9 is where you would normally see rights to inventions covered. However, there is no such section 9. Instead, that section is a standard publicity provision. Additionally, that is not how it seemed to be in the original draft of the agreement. Section 5(e) of the Morris employment agreement states: “The confidentiality and rights to inventions obligations established in Sections 8 and 9 of this Agreement will survive the termination of this Agreement pursuant to this section.” It seems that someone may have missed removing a cross reference in the document.
Ultimately, Morris acquired a valuable interest by founding Hive at a time when he was working as president and chief operating officer of Freshpet and being paid by Freshpet to be “involved in all aspects of Company development and day-to-day operations.” Between 2019 and 2021, Morris received $13.4 million in compensation from Freshpet while he was founding Hive. If the rights to inventions clause remained in the agreement, the company would have a very credible claim to his interest in Hive.
To exacerbate matters, Freshpet’s current vice chairman and former CFO Richard Kassar simultaneously served as Freshpet’s vice chairman and Hive’s CFO until August 2022. He later assumed the role of Freshpet’s interim CFO in September 2022, a post he held until December of that year. Additionally, directors J. David Basto and Olu Beck have served as a director and a formal advisor, respectively, at Hive, according to Jana. Basto resigned from Freshpet’s board, effective May 31, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

This situation seems to go against the company’s general ethics policy, which provides: “Team members are not to engage in outside work or conflicting outside activities that have, or could have, a material effect on the team member’s duties to the Company; imply sponsorship or support by the Company; adversely affect the reputation of the Company; or otherwise compete with the Company.”
Jana attempted to address this by talking to Freshpet about improving corporate governance and adding new directors identified by Jana to the board. The company could have walked away with Jana’s offer of (i) replacing two directors of Freshpet’s choosing with Jana directors, (ii) addressing ongoing conflict and governance issues (including the overlap of certain officers and directors with competitor Hive); and (iii) permitting Jana to provide input and feedback on any potential future board chair. Jana even agreed to defer (ii) above until after the Jana-appointed directors joined the board.
The Freshpet board should have looked at this as a gift from heaven. Instead, the board went in the opposite direction and seemingly attempted to set up obstacles to a fair election, including expediting the annual meeting by moving it to July from that fall. This could be interpreted as an attempt to partially disenfranchise Jana and entrench incumbent directors. Jana was forced to spend the time and money to file a lawsuit in the Delaware Chancery Court, a move it made on June 1. Less than a week later, Freshpet reverted the governance changes back to the way they were prior to Jana’s involvement, including postponing the annual meeting to a date in October.
These types of tactics by Freshpet accomplish three things: (i) it causes both Jana and the company to spend needless time and money; (ii) it creates self-inflicted distractions for management – the kind companies generally complain about any time an activist starts a proxy fight – and (iii) it harms the board’s credibility with other shareholders and Institutional Shareholder Services. Shakespeare referred to unleashing “the dogs of war” as creating a force that – once let loose – is very difficult to control. By making those ill-advised entrenchment governance changes, Freshpet has done just that, even though it has attempted to undo it. The damage has already been done.
If this were not a staggered board, I think Jana would have a good shot at getting a majority of board seats given the company’s behavior and performance. It is only because of Freshpet’s entrenchment device that Jana is restricted to four nominees. If the company can settle for less than that, it should count its lucky stars, take the best settlement it can get and start focusing on running Freshpet – and only Freshpet.
Ken Squire is the founder and president of 13D Monitor, an institutional research service on shareholder activism, and he is the founder and portfolio manager of the 13D Activist Fund, a mutual fund that invests in a portfolio of activist 13D investments. Freshpet is a holding in the fund. Squire is also the creator of the AESG™ investment category, an activist investment style focused on improving ESG practices of portfolio companies. More

This summer’s travel season will be influenced by a combination of high prices on everything from airfare to hotel rates, due to inflation and increased demand for trips.
But unlike last year, gas prices are actually poised to work in consumers’ favor.
These tips can help drivers save even more on the road.

swissmediavision | E+ | Getty Images

For those who hit the road to travel this summer, there is good news: Gas prices are substantially lower than they were last year.
“What a difference a year makes,” said Andrew Gross, a spokesperson for AAA, the motoring and leisure travel membership organization.

As of Friday, the national average for a gallon of gas is $3.58, down from $5 one year ago, according to AAA.
Last year’s high prices made headlines, and even prompted politicians on the state and federal level to call for gas tax holidays.
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This year, those concerns have abated. Barring any surprises during hurricane season, the outlook for gas prices is mostly stable, Gross said.
“Right now, we don’t see anything that’s going to push prices either up or down,” Gross said.

The national average will probably stay in the range of $3.50 per gallon, he said.
That’s good news for travelers, as prices for other categories such as airfares and hotels are up this year, according to Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate and CreditCards.com.

A recent Bankrate survey found 63% of adults plan to take a summer vacation this year, up from 61% last year.
“People want to go somewhere, they want to do something,” Rossman said. “There’s still a lot of pent-up demand that backed up during the pandemic.”
Yet, higher costs are also prompting people to look for ways to save, he said.
Bankrate’s survey found 80% of travelers are planning to adjust their plans due to inflation.
Opting to drive instead of fly was one of the more common changes, Rossman said. Other ways people are looking to cut costs is by choosing cheaper accommodations or destinations, or by traveling for fewer days.
Even while gas prices are not as high this summer, there are still several ways to consider ramping up your savings if you or your family plan to take a road trip.

1. Look for a good gas rewards credit card

Aabejon | E+ | Getty Images

Some credit cards may give you up to 5% cash back on gas, according to Rossman. That includes brands such as Chase Freedom Flex and Discover it Cash Back, he said, which are offering that rate between July and September.
Sam’s Club also offers certain cards that will allow consumers to earn money back on gas.
It is also worthwhile to check the perks your existing credit cards may offer, Rossman said.
“You may have a good gas rewards credit card and not even realize it,” Rossman said.

Of note, it is generally best to avoid gas-branded cards, which may come with high 30% annual interest rates and limited discounts on gas purchases, he said.

2. Try stacking discounts

In addition to using a credit card with good gas rewards, drivers may save by using apps to help them find better gas prices, such as Upside or GasBuddy.
Drivers should also look to stack offers where they can. A credit card may offer 5% cash back on gas, and a gas station app may provide a 10% offer per gallon, Rossman said.
“That’s two ways to save instead of one,” he said.

3. Double-check your car rental coverage

Rental cars are also comparatively cheaper this year, Rossman said.
If you’re thinking of renting a car, be sure to double-check whether your credit card may already offer insurance coverage.
“A lot of times, credit cards have various travel perks built in that people may not even realize they have,” Rossman said, which may also include provisions for trip delays or cancellations as well as lost or delayed luggage. More

The Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling on the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan this month.
Here’s what is at stake in the ruling, and the issues being debated.

The United States Supreme Court Building
Geoff Livingston | Moment | Getty Images

The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling on the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan this month. That decision will play a role in shaping the financial futures of 40 million Americans.
If the justices greenlight President Joe Biden’s relief, many borrowers will immediately get $20,000 of their student debt cancelled – if they’d received a Pell Grant in college, a type of aid available to low-income families – and as much as $10,000 if they didn’t.

Some 14 million people would emerge student debt-free from the plan, potentially making it easier for them to buy a first home, for example, start a family, or open a business.
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“The decision would be potentially life changing,” said Corey Shirey, 28, who’s studying to be a pastor in Oklahoma and owes around $25,000.
Richelle Brooks, a single mother in Los Angeles who had a monthly student loan payment as high as $1,200 at one point, said she’s been tied to her phone all of June.
“Waiting to hear whether or not it will pass is nerve-wracking at best, debilitating at worst,” said Brooks, 35.

Here’s what we know about the Supreme Court’s deliberation over the plan, as of now.

1. Decision is expected before July

Borrowers shouldn’t be stuck waiting on the justices too much longer.
A ruling from the high court should come by early July, before their term ends for summer recess, said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.
“The court is likely to issue a decision before the end of June, probably on a Thursday,” Kantrowitz said, noting that that was the day of the week the justices had recently been publishing their opinions.
You’ll be able to read the ruling on the Supreme Court’s website, likely some time in the morning of decision day.

2. Presidential power to cancel debt in question

At an estimated cost of about $400 billion, Biden’s plan to forgive student debt is one of the most expensive executive actions in history. The justices are likely examining whether or not the president has the power to implement such a sweeping policy.
The Biden administration insists that it’s acting within the law, pointing out that the Heroes Act of 2003 grants the U.S. secretary of education the authority to make changes to the federal student loan system during national emergencies. The country was operating under an emergency declaration due to Covid-19 when the president rolled out his plan.
Opponents of the debt jubilee say the administration is incorrectly using the law, which was passed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and granted relief to impacted borrowers.
“It is not an across-the-board, get-out-of-debt provision that an administration can invoke at will,” six Republican-led states wrote in their lawsuit against the plan.

Despite the large scale of the president’s policy, the lawyer who argued on behalf of the Biden administration at the Supreme Court, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, was adamant he was acting squarely within the law’s scope to avoid borrower distress during national emergencies.  
 “There hasn’t been a national emergency like this in the time that the Heroes Act has been on the books that’s affected this many borrowers,” Prelogar said during oral arguments at the end of February. “And so I think it’s not surprising to see in response to this once-in-a-century pandemic.”
A top Education Department official recently warned that resuming student loan bills without Biden’s loan cancellation could trigger a historic rise in delinquencies and defaults. Those payments remain on hold from a pandemic-era policy that began in March 2020.

3. Issue of ‘legal standing’ could save plan

The Biden administration’s forgiveness application had been open for less than a month when a slew of legal changes forced them to shut it. Biden’s plan has now faced at least six lawsuits from Republican-backed states and conservative groups.
Two of those legal challenges made it to the Supreme Court: one brought by six GOP-led states — Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina – and another backed by the Job Creators Network Foundation, a conservative advocacy organization.
Some experts believe the justices could reject the lawsuits against the president’s plan because the plaintiffs failed to prove they’d be harmed by the policy, which is typically a requirement to gain the right to sue.

You have to look at the law cross-eyed to argue for legal standing.

Mark Kantrowitz
higher education expert

The six GOP-led states argued that Biden’s loan forgiveness plan would be a financial setback for them because of a reduction in business among the companies that service federal student loans in their states.
They said the decreased revenue for MOHELA, or the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, could leave the agency unable to meet its financial obligations to Missouri.
However, consumer advocates and legal experts said that charge was based on “false facts” and pointed out that MOHELA’s revenue was actually expected to increase because of some student loan servicers recently leaving the space and it picking up extra accounts. 
The justices also were perplexed as to why the servicers weren’t bringing their own challenges, and how the states could claim harm on their behalf.
“Do you want to address why MOHELA’s not here?” Justice Amy Coney Barrett asked during the oral arguments.
“MOHELA doesn’t need to be here because the state has the authority to speak for them,” Nebraska Solicitor General James A. Campbell said.
Barrett wasn’t satisfied by that answer.
“Why didn’t the state just make MOHELA come then?” she asked. “If MOHELA is really an arm of the state…why didn’t you just strong-arm MOHELA and say you’ve got to pursue this suit?”
A request from CNBC for comment from the Nebraska attorney general was not immediately answered.

Student loan borrowers gathered outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 27, 2023, the night before the court hears two cases on student loan forgiveness.
Annie Nova | CNBC

In the second legal challenge backed by the Job Creators Network Foundation, the lawyers argued that two plaintiffs, Myra Brown and Alexander Taylor, were deprived of their “procedural rights” by the Biden administration because it didn’t allow the public to formally weigh in on the shape of its plan before it rolled it out. As a result, the lawyers say, Brown and Taylor were either partially or fully excluded from the relief.
Elaine Parker, president of Job Creators Network Foundation, insisted their plaintiffs suffered harm from the policy.
“If the administration had gone through notice-and-comment as the law requires, they each could have made their case,” Parker said. “The program is a clear act of executive overreach.”
The Heroes Act, however, exempts the need for a notice-and-comment period during national emergencies, Kantrowitz said. Also, not getting loan forgiveness or not getting as much as others is not the same as being harmed, he added.
“The Supreme Court is likely to be very critical of the circular arguments made by the plaintiffs in the JCN case,” Kantrowitz said. “You have to look at the law cross-eyed to argue for legal standing.” More