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FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is set to reopen next month. According to a statement from the Department of Education, the online form for the 2026 to 2027 year will be available on Oct. 1. The timing of the application’s opening is notably different from recent years. While in 2016, the application began opening to students in October, major technical issues in recent years have set the schedule back. In 2023, the application for the 2024 to 2025 year didn’t launch until December, meaning students had less time to apply for aid. The issues came about after a 2020 law mandated the form be revised and simplified. The new application is also still in its beta testing stage. “The second phase of testing is now open and runs through September 2025,” the Department of Education’s announcement explains. “Anyone can request to participate, and well invite participants throughout this phase.” The announcement also noted that if students apply for aid during the beta testing period, they won’t need to resubmit the application later. The department says the new application is simplified in a number of ways. For starters, it now has a real-time account verification tool which allows students to use their Social Security Number to avoid a waiting period. It also has a tool which allows students filling out the application to allow another person, like a parent, to collaborate in filling out the form.In terms of loan limits, the new application comes with a few changes from previous years after the passing of Trump’s budget cuts on July 4. For undergrad applicants, new borrowers will have a lifetime limit of $257,500. For the Parent PLUS loan program, parents will only be able to borrow $20,000 per dependent each year or a total of $65,000 per dependent. However, if students are already receiving loans (prior to July 1, 2026) they will be able to continue without the new Parent PLUS caps through the end of their child’s college years.Schools can now enforce specific loan limits for certain programs.All students looking to receive federal aid must complete the form by June 30, 2026. However, colleges and universities all have their own deadlines which students need to be aware of. “Many schools FAFSA due dates have priority deadlines, which means you need to submit your FAFSA form by that date to receive the best aid package,” according to the Department of Education. “These schools typically publish this date on their financial aid web pages. If you cant find the deadline, call the schools financial aid office.” Borrowers can request access to the application here.
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E-Commerce
A TikTok comedian has sparked debate after riffing on the viral term clanker, which in recent months has surfaced as an insult for robots, AI systems, and those who rely on them. The term, originally from Star Wars, spiked in searches in early June, according to Google Trends. As it spreads online, people are questioning whether its just a harmless joke or an insensitive slur. Comedian and TikTok star Stanzi Potenza fueled the discussion in late August with a skit roleplaying a Southern waitress. The caption of the now-viral video reads: POV: youre a clanker in 2050. Well, well, well, look what the Roomba dragged in, Potenza says in a southern drawl. Didnt you see the sign outside? We dont serve clankers here. She goes on to call the robots wirebacks (a term many say is uncomfortably close to a slur used against Mexicans in the U.S.) and adds: We dont have none of your oil or microchips or whatever it is you rust buckets eat. The video, which has been viewed nearly a million times, struck many as echoing real racial slurs and stereotypes. It feels out of touch, taking actual slurs and turning them into silly robot slurs is notgreat,” one commenter wrote. The skit was also reposted to X, where one user wrote: roleplaying actual 50s racism with fucking robots is egregious in so so many ways. Others defended Potenza, arguing critics were being too woke and that the video actually makes fun of racism. Potenza isnt alone in riffing on clanker. Another TikTok comedian, Samuel Jacob, posted a similar video days later with the caption: If the 2050s become like the 1950s (but instead its Robophobia). His skit features human-robot segregated bathrooms, a schoolyard bully, a thug provoking street violence, and a cop arresting a clanker named George Droid. Always taking it too far, one commenter wrote. Fast Company has reached out to Potenza and Jacob for comment.
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E-Commerce
Argentina’s markets tumbled on Monday, with the peso currency at a historic low, after a heavy defeat for President Javier Milei’s party at the hands of the Peronist opposition at local elections stoked worries about the government’s ability to implement its economic reform agenda. The peso was last down almost 5% against the dollar at 1,434 per greenback while the benchmark stock index fell 10.5%, and an index of Argentine stocks traded on U.S. exchanges lost more than 15%. Some of the country’s international bonds saw their biggest falls since they began trading in 2020 after a $65 billion restructuring deal. The resounding victory for the Peronists signaled a tough battle for Milei in national midterm elections on October 26, where his party is aiming to secure enough seats to avoid overrides to presidential vetoes. The government now faces the difficult choice whether to allow the peso to depreciate ahead of next month’s midterms or spend its foreign exchange reserves to intervene in the FX market, according to Pramol Dhawan, head of EM portfolio management at Pimco. “Opting for intervention would likely prove counterproductive, as it risks derailing the IMF [International Monetary Fund] program and diminishing the countrys prospects for future market access to refinance external debt,” Dhawan said via email. “The more resources the government allocates to defending the currency, the fewer will be available to meet obligations to bondholdersthereby increasing the risk of default.” He said early indications that the government may double down on the current strategy “would be a strategic misstep.” The 13-point gap in the Buenos Aires Province (PBA) election in favor of the opposition Peronists was much wider than polls anticipated and what the market had priced in. The government setback at the polls adds to recent headwinds for a market that had until recently outperformed its Latin American peers. “We had our reservations about the market being too complacent regarding the Buenos Aires election results. The foreign exchange market will undoubtedly be under the spotlight, as any instability there can have a ripple effect on Argentine assets,” said Shamaila Khan, head of fixed income for emerging markets and Asia Pacific at UBS, in response to emailed questions. “However, it’s important to note that simply using reserves to prop up the currency isn’t likely to provide much reassurance to the market,” she added. “The midterm elections, in my opinion, carry more weight and their outcome will significantly influence how Argentine assets perform in the coming months.” The bond market sell-off saw the country’s 2035 issue fall 6.25 cents, on track for its largest daily drop since its post-restructuring issuance in 2020. Based on official counts, the Peronists won 47.3% of the vote across the province, while the candidate of Milei’s party took 33.7%, with 99.98% of the votes counted. Argentinaone of the big reform stories across emerging markets since Milei became president in December 2023has seen its markets come under heavy pressure over the last month following a corruption scandal involving Milei’s sister and political gatekeeper Karina Milei. The government defeat also comes after the International Monetary Fund approved a $20 billion program in April, of which some $15 billion has already been disbursed. The IMF has eagerly backed the reform program of Milei’s government to the point that its director, Kristalina Georgieva, had to clarify remarks earlier this year in which she invited Argentines to stay the course with the reforms. The IMF did not respond to questions on whether this vote result would change its relationship with the Milei administration or alter the program. Market sell-off Argentina’s main equity index had dropped around 20% since the government corruption scandal broke, its international government bonds have sold off, and pressure on the recently unpegged peso forced authorities to start intervening in the FX market. “The result was much worse than the market expectedMilei took quite a big beating, so now he has to come up with something,” said Viktor Szabo, portfolio manager at Aberdeen Investments. Morgan Stanley had warned in the run-up to the vote that the international bonds could fall up to 10 points if a Milei drubbing dented his agenda for radical reform. On Monday, the outcome saw the bank pull its “like” stance on the bonds. Barclays analyst Ivan Stambulsky pointed to comments from Economy Minister Luis Caputo on Sunday that the country’s FX regime wont change. “Were likely to see strong pressure on the FX and declining reserves as the Ministry of Economy intervenes,” Stambulsky said. “If FX sales persist, markets will likely start wondering what will happen if the economic team is forced to let the currency depreciate before the October midterms.” Some analysts, however, predicted other parts of the country were unlikely to vote as strongly against Milei as in the Buenos Aires Province, given it is a traditional Peronist stronghold. They also expected the Milei government to stick to its program of fiscal discipline despite economic woes. “The Province of Buenos Aires midterm election delivered a very negative result for the Milei administration, casting doubt on its ability to deliver a positive outcome in Octobers national vote and risking the reform agenda in the second half of the term,” said JPMorgan in a Sunday client note. “The policy mix adopted in the coming days and weeks to address elevated political risk will be pivotal in shaping medium-term inflation expectationsand, ultimately, the success of the stabilization program.” By Karin Strohecker and Rodrigo Campos; additional reporting by Marc Jones and Shashwat Chauhan, Reuters
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