An activist group in the United States has been carrying out deeds that some might think the stuff of dreams - buying and cancelling other people's student debts.
Rolling Jubilee has purchased and abolished $3.8m (£2.35m) of debt owed by 2,700 students, paying just over $100,000 (£62,000), or as it says, "pennies on the dollar". The campaign group, which wants to "liberate debtors", says it takes its name from the tradition in many religions of marking a "jubilee" celebration by freeing people from debt. An offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street protest that began in New York, the campaigners, funded by donations, say that more than three quarters of US households are in debt. Debts can be bought and sold in the financial marketplace. But student debt, which has spiralled to an estimated $1.2 trillion (£619bn), is not usually as available to buy as other debts, such as unpaid medical bills.

In this speculative secondary market, third parties buy debt for a fraction of its original cost and try to collect the full amount from debtors. But these debt campaigners are buying debts and then writing them off.
Debts on sale
The student loan debts cleared by Rolling Jubilee were for students from Everest Colleges, a string of institutions owned by Corinthian Colleges, a for-profit education company. A Facebook group is overflowing with reports of people having to pay back hundreds of dollars each month while working minimum-wage jobs....Read more here