A master's degree in debt

And more of the week's best financial insight

Columbia University.
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Here are three of the week's top pieces of financial insight, gathered from around the web:

A master's degree in debt

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Planet of the 'Apes'

Movie theater chain AMC abandoned an effort to issue 25 million new shares after the plan drew outrage from retail investors on social media, said Thornton McEnery at Market Watch. Retail fans of the stock, who sometimes call themselves "apes," are "now thought to hold roughly 80 percent of the company's shares," which have soared in recent weeks. AMC, which has been a "meme stock" favorite on forums like Reddit, was planning to sell shares to pay down its debt. But the prospect of diluting the stakes of existing stockholders didn't go over well with its investors. CEO Adam Aron, "who has made a habit of engaging directly" with investors on Twitter, posted a picture of the words "I see you, I hear you, I value you."

No flight and no refund

Travelers are finding it difficult to use the rebates and vouchers for last year's canceled flights, said Eric Taub at The New York Times. Most airlines and travel companies granted reimbursements or covered cancellation fees with credits after countries began closing borders. But with restrictions easing, many travelers are "experiencing frustrating delays in rebooking flights, and even outright refusals by travel companies to honor" those credits. Meanwhile, many travelers who opted for refunds haven't gotten them yet. One passenger, owed a $4,500 refund for an Aer Lingus flight canceled in February 2020, was still waiting for her money this month — and Orbitz, her online travel agency, said that because of a computer glitch she might not get it until the end of 2021. (Orbitz did issue the refund after a reporter called.)

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