Biden cancels $1.2 billion in student debt: How to find out if you're eligible

TheStreet's J.D. Durkin brings the latest business headlines from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as markets close for trading Wednesday, February 21.

Full Video Transcript Below:

J.D. DURKIN: I'm J.D. Durkin - reporting from the New York Stock Exchange.

Stocks were mixed to close out today's session. The Dow closed up 48 points, the Nasdaq closed down three-tenths of a percent, and the S&P closed fractionally higher. Investors are reacting to minutes from the Federal Reserve's January meeting, which indicated that the Fed will hold off on cutting interest rates until it is confident inflation is slowing. Currently, markets are pricing in a 6.5 percent chance of a rate cut in March.

In other news - the Biden administration is forgiving another $1.2 billion in student loan debt. More than 150,000 Americans enrolled in the 'Saving on a Valuable Education', or SAVE plan, will receive student debt relief. To be eligible, borrowers have to have taken out a loan of $12,000 or less, and have been repaying the loan for at least a decade.

Under normal terms for repayment plans, borrowers don't receive debt forgiveness until 20 to 25 years of payments. But the new SAVE plan allows borrowers to see their debt canceled in about 10 years.

Of the news, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said, "With today's announcement, we are once again sending a clear message to borrowers who had low balances: If you've been paying for a decade, you've done your part, and you deserve relief."

According to the White House, the Biden administration has now canceled more than $138 billion in student debt for nearly 4 million Americans.

That'll do it for your daily briefing. From the New York Stock Exchange, I'm J.D. Durkin with TheStreet.