By Jason Delisle

Senator Elizabeth Warren wants to set the interest rate on federal loans made to low-income college students at 0.75 percent. Why? Because the Federal Reserve lends to banks at that rate, while the government charges 6.8 percent on most student loans; because the government “profits” by lending to low-income students; and because students are being crushed by debt.

With that mix of populist rhetoric and subterfuge, Senator Warren stands to whip up a mob of angry students (and pundits) who will demand that the government drop the interest rate on student loans to 0.75 percent. Good luck reasoning with a mob. Nevertheless, here is what everyone should know about Senator Warren’s case for lower interest rates.

The interest rate at which the “government” lends to banks is part of an emergency loan program that the Federal Reserve uses to prevent runs on banks. The 0.75 percent rate is actually a penalty rate, about three times higher than what banks charge each other in

By Marek Fuchs

As Transocean (RIG) heads into what promises to be a contentious shareholder meeting on Friday, media outlets are focusing attention on who will win a battle.

In one corner, they place Carl Icahn, the shareholder activist with a knack for gathering notice and dollars – at least for himself. In the other corner is Transocean’s bumbling old guard. The fight: Icahn, who has a 5.6% stake in the company, wants it to shell out a $4/share dividend and replace three of its board members. Transocean counters with a $2.24/share dividend and supports the board as it now stands.

Who will win? Who will lose? The media are often on a wartime footing, emerging with one side framed as the conqueror and the other completely vanquished. Stories, after all, are easier to tell when seen through the lens of absolute victory or loss. But the answer might not be so simple.

What we know

We’ll get to the why soon enough – but here’s what we know so far:

Icahn has already been declared the