Community college grads out-earn bachelor’s degree holders

Berevan Omer graduated on a Friday in February with an associate’s degree from Nashville State Community College and started work the following Monday as a computer-networking engineer at a local television station, making about $ 50,000 a year.

That’s 15% higher than the average starting salary for graduates — not only from community colleges, but for bachelor’s degree holders from four-year universities.

“I have a buddy who got a four-year bachelor’s degree in accounting who’s making $ 10 an hour,” Omer says. “I’m making two and a-half times more than he is.”

Omer, who is 24, is one of many newly minted graduates of community colleges defying history and stereotypes by proving that a bachelor’s degree is not, as widely believed, the only ticket to a middle-class income.

Nearly 30% of Americans with associate’s degrees now make more than those with bachelor’s degrees, according to Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce. In fact, other recent research in several states shows that, on average, community college graduates right out of school make more than graduates of four-year universities.

The average wage for graduates of community colleges in Tennessee, for instance, is $ 38,948 — more than $ 1,300 higher than the average salaries for graduates of the state’s four-year institutions.

In Virginia, recent graduates of occupational and technical degree programs at its community colleges make an average of $ 40,000. That’s almost $ 2,500 more than recent bachelor’s degree recipients.

“There is that perception that the bachelor’s degree is the default, and, quite frankly, before we started this work showing the value of a technical associate’s degree, I would have said that, too,” says Mark Schneider, vice president of the American Institutes for Research, which helped collect the earning numbers for some states.

And while by mid-career, many bachelor’s degree recipients have caught up in earnings to community college grads, “the other factor that has to be taken into account is that getting a four-year degree can be much more expensive than getting a two-year degree,” Schneider says.

A two-year community college degree, at present full rates, costs about $ 6,262, according to the College Board. A bachelor’s degree from a four-year, private residential university goes for $ 158,072.

The increase in wages for community college grads is being driven by a high demand for people with so-called “middle-skills” that often require no more than an associate’s degree, such as lab technicians, teachers in early childhood programs, computer engineers, draftsmen, radiation therapists, paralegals, and machinists.

With a two-year community college degree, air traffic controllers can make $ 113,547, radiation therapists $ 76,627, dental hygienists $ 70,408, nuclear medicine technologists $ 69,638, nuclear technicians $ 68,037, registered nurses $ 65,853, and fashion designers $ 63,170, CareerBuilder.com reported in January.

“You come out with skills that people want immediately and not just theory,” Omer says.

The Georgetown center estimates that 29 million jobs paying middle class wages today require only an associate’s, and not a bachelor’s, degree.

“I would not suggest anyone look down their nose at the associate’s degree,” says Jeff Strohl, director of research at the Georgetown center.

“People see those programs as tracking into something that’s dead end,” Strohl says. “It’s very clear that that perception does not hold up.”

The bad news is that not enough associate’s degree holders are being produced.

Only 10% of American workers have the sub-baccalaureate degrees needed for middle-skills jobs, compared with 24% of Canadians and 19% of Japanese, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reports.

Over the last 20 years, the number of graduates with associate’s degrees in the United States has increased by barely 3%. And while the Obama administration has pushed community colleges to increase their numbers, enrollment at these schools fell 3.1% this year, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reports. Graduation rates also remain abysmally low.

Meanwhile, many people with bachelor’s degrees are working in fields other than the ones in which they majored, according to a new report by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity.

“We have a lot of bartenders and taxi drivers with bachelor’s degrees,” says Christopher Denhart, one of the report’s coauthors.

Still, the salary advantage for associate’s degree holders narrows over time, as bachelor’s degree recipients eventually catch up, says Schneider.

Although these figures vary widely by profession, associate’s degree recipients, on average, end up making about $ 500,000 more over their careers than people with only high school diplomas, but $ 500,000 less than people with bachelor’s degrees, the Georgetown center calculates.

As for Omer, he’s already working toward a bachelor’s degree.

“Down the road a little further, I may want to become a director or a manager,” he says. “A bachelor’s degree will get me to that point.”

This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education-news outlet based at Teachers College, Columbia University. It’s one of a series of reports about workforce development and higher education.

View this article on CNNMoney

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Community college grads out-earn bachelor’s degree holders

Berevan Omer graduated on a Friday in February with an associate’s degree from Nashville State Community College and started work the following Monday as a computer-networking engineer at a local television station, making about $ 50,000 a year.

That’s 15% higher than the average starting salary for graduates — not only from community colleges, but for bachelor’s degree holders from four-year universities.

“I have a buddy who got a four-year bachelor’s degree in accounting who’s making $ 10 an hour,” Omer says. “I’m making two and a-half times more than he is.”

Omer, who is 24, is one of many newly minted graduates of community colleges defying history and stereotypes by proving that a bachelor’s degree is not, as widely believed, the only ticket to a middle-class income.

Nearly 30% of Americans with associate’s degrees now make more than those with bachelor’s degrees, according to Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce. In fact, other recent research in several states shows that, on average, community college graduates right out of school make more than graduates of four-year universities.

The average wage for graduates of community colleges in Tennessee, for instance, is $ 38,948 — more than $ 1,300 higher than the average salaries for graduates of the state’s four-year institutions.

In Virginia, recent graduates of occupational and technical degree programs at its community colleges make an average of $ 40,000. That’s almost $ 2,500 more than recent bachelor’s degree recipients.

“There is that perception that the bachelor’s degree is the default, and, quite frankly, before we started this work showing the value of a technical associate’s degree, I would have said that, too,” says Mark Schneider, vice president of the American Institutes for Research, which helped collect the earning numbers for some states.

And while by mid-career, many bachelor’s degree recipients have caught up in earnings to community college grads, “the other factor that has to be taken into account is that getting a four-year degree can be much more expensive than getting a two-year degree,” Schneider says.

A two-year community college degree, at present full rates, costs about $ 6,262, according to the College Board. A bachelor’s degree from a four-year, private residential university goes for $ 158,072.

The increase in wages for community college grads is being driven by a high demand for people with so-called “middle-skills” that often require no more than an associate’s degree, such as lab technicians, teachers in early childhood programs, computer engineers, draftsmen, radiation therapists, paralegals, and machinists.

With a two-year community college degree, air traffic controllers can make $ 113,547, radiation therapists $ 76,627, dental hygienists $ 70,408, nuclear medicine technologists $ 69,638, nuclear technicians $ 68,037, registered nurses $ 65,853, and fashion designers $ 63,170, CareerBuilder.com reported in January.

“You come out with skills that people want immediately and not just theory,” Omer says.

The Georgetown center estimates that 29 million jobs paying middle class wages today require only an associate’s, and not a bachelor’s, degree.

“I would not suggest anyone look down their nose at the associate’s degree,” says Jeff Strohl, director of research at the Georgetown center.

“People see those programs as tracking into something that’s dead end,” Strohl says. “It’s very clear that that perception does not hold up.”

The bad news is that not enough associate’s degree holders are being produced.

Only 10% of American workers have the sub-baccalaureate degrees needed for middle-skills jobs, compared with 24% of Canadians and 19% of Japanese, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reports.

Over the last 20 years, the number of graduates with associate’s degrees in the United States has increased by barely 3%. And while the Obama administration has pushed community colleges to increase their numbers, enrollment at these schools fell 3.1% this year, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reports. Graduation rates also remain abysmally low.

Meanwhile, many people with bachelor’s degrees are working in fields other than the ones in which they majored, according to a new report by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity.

“We have a lot of bartenders and taxi drivers with bachelor’s degrees,” says Christopher Denhart, one of the report’s coauthors.

Still, the salary advantage for associate’s degree holders narrows over time, as bachelor’s degree recipients eventually catch up, says Schneider.

Although these figures vary widely by profession, associate’s degree recipients, on average, end up making about $ 500,000 more over their careers than people with only high school diplomas, but $ 500,000 less than people with bachelor’s degrees, the Georgetown center calculates.

As for Omer, he’s already working toward a bachelor’s degree.

“Down the road a little further, I may want to become a director or a manager,” he says. “A bachelor’s degree will get me to that point.”

This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education-news outlet based at Teachers College, Columbia University. It’s one of a series of reports about workforce development and higher education.

View this article on CNNMoney

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Community college grads out-earn bachelor’s degree holders

Berevan Omer graduated on a Friday in February with an associate’s degree from Nashville State Community College and started work the following Monday as a computer-networking engineer at a local television station, making about $ 50,000 a year.

That’s 15% higher than the average starting salary for graduates — not only from community colleges, but for bachelor’s degree holders from four-year universities.

“I have a buddy who got a four-year bachelor’s degree in accounting who’s making $ 10 an hour,” Omer says. “I’m making two and a-half times more than he is.”

Omer, who is 24, is one of many newly minted graduates of community colleges defying history and stereotypes by proving that a bachelor’s degree is not, as widely believed, the only ticket to a middle-class income.

Nearly 30% of Americans with associate’s degrees now make more than those with bachelor’s degrees, according to Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce. In fact, other recent research in several states shows that, on average, community college graduates right out of school make more than graduates of four-year universities.

The average wage for graduates of community colleges in Tennessee, for instance, is $ 38,948 — more than $ 1,300 higher than the average salaries for graduates of the state’s four-year institutions.

In Virginia, recent graduates of occupational and technical degree programs at its community colleges make an average of $ 40,000. That’s almost $ 2,500 more than recent bachelor’s degree recipients.

“There is that perception that the bachelor’s degree is the default, and, quite frankly, before we started this work showing the value of a technical associate’s degree, I would have said that, too,” says Mark Schneider, vice president of the American Institutes for Research, which helped collect the earning numbers for some states.

And while by mid-career, many bachelor’s degree recipients have caught up in earnings to community college grads, “the other factor that has to be taken into account is that getting a four-year degree can be much more expensive than getting a two-year degree,” Schneider says.

A two-year community college degree, at present full rates, costs about $ 6,262, according to the College Board. A bachelor’s degree from a four-year, private residential university goes for $ 158,072.

The increase in wages for community college grads is being driven by a high demand for people with so-called “middle-skills” that often require no more than an associate’s degree, such as lab technicians, teachers in early childhood programs, computer engineers, draftsmen, radiation therapists, paralegals, and machinists.

With a two-year community college degree, air traffic controllers can make $ 113,547, radiation therapists $ 76,627, dental hygienists $ 70,408, nuclear medicine technologists $ 69,638, nuclear technicians $ 68,037, registered nurses $ 65,853, and fashion designers $ 63,170, CareerBuilder.com reported in January.

“You come out with skills that people want immediately and not just theory,” Omer says.

The Georgetown center estimates that 29 million jobs paying middle class wages today require only an associate’s, and not a bachelor’s, degree.

“I would not suggest anyone look down their nose at the associate’s degree,” says Jeff Strohl, director of research at the Georgetown center.

“People see those programs as tracking into something that’s dead end,” Strohl says. “It’s very clear that that perception does not hold up.”

The bad news is that not enough associate’s degree holders are being produced.

Only 10% of American workers have the sub-baccalaureate degrees needed for middle-skills jobs, compared with 24% of Canadians and 19% of Japanese, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reports.

Over the last 20 years, the number of graduates with associate’s degrees in the United States has increased by barely 3%. And while the Obama administration has pushed community colleges to increase their numbers, enrollment at these schools fell 3.1% this year, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reports. Graduation rates also remain abysmally low.

Meanwhile, many people with bachelor’s degrees are working in fields other than the ones in which they majored, according to a new report by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity.

“We have a lot of bartenders and taxi drivers with bachelor’s degrees,” says Christopher Denhart, one of the report’s coauthors.

Still, the salary advantage for associate’s degree holders narrows over time, as bachelor’s degree recipients eventually catch up, says Schneider.

Although these figures vary widely by profession, associate’s degree recipients, on average, end up making about $ 500,000 more over their careers than people with only high school diplomas, but $ 500,000 less than people with bachelor’s degrees, the Georgetown center calculates.

As for Omer, he’s already working toward a bachelor’s degree.

“Down the road a little further, I may want to become a director or a manager,” he says. “A bachelor’s degree will get me to that point.”

This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education-news outlet based at Teachers College, Columbia University. It’s one of a series of reports about workforce development and higher education.

View this article on CNNMoney

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Wall Street rises on Bernanke, Italian bond auction

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street rose on Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reaffirmed his support of the Fed's stimulus policy, the latest U.S. earnings showed strength and an Italian bond auction drew ample demand, reassuring investors.

In his second day before a congressional committee, Bernanke repeated testimony in which he defended the Fed's policy of buying bonds to keep interest rates low in order to promote growth and bring down the unemployment rate.

Bernanke's similar remarks on Tuesday helped the market rebound from its worst decline since November. The S&P 500 <.spx> is now back above 1,500, a closely watched level that has been technical support until recently.

"Bernanke comments will keep liquidity in place in the market and every dip now is being viewed as an opportunity to get in," said Dan Veru, chief investment officer at Palisade Capital Management.

Financial markets had been worried about the possibility the Fed would end its bond buying earlier than expected after Fed meeting minutes showed some policymakers favored changes.

Also supporting the market, European stocks and the euro rose on relief that Italy was able to sell bonds despite jitters about the country's political instability.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> rose 96.77 points, or 0.70 percent, at 13,996.90. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> gained 11.93 points, or 0.80 percent, at 1,508.87. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> advanced 30.75 points, or 0.98 percent, at 3,160.39.

The benchmark S&P 500, up 6 percent for the year, was within reach of record highs a week ago, before the minutes from the Fed's January meeting were released. Since then, the index has shed 1 percent as the minutes raised questions about whether the Fed may slow or halt its economy-stimulating measures soon.

In earnings news, discount retailer Target Corp appeared poised for a solid showing in the first quarter and forecast a higher profit for the full year after a weak performance in the key holiday season. The stock was off 1.5 percent at $63.07.

Dollar Tree Inc reported a higher quarterly profit as shoppers spent more and the chain controlled costs. The stock jumped 10 percent to $45.00.

Shares of Boyd Gaming jumped 2 percent to $6.63 after New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed a revised online gaming bill.

A closely watched proxy for business spending plans jumped 6.3 percent in January, the biggest gain since December 2011, data on durable goods orders showed on Wednesday.

Another report showed an index of pending home sales increased 4.5 percent to its highest level since April 2010 - just before the expiration of the home-buyer tax credit.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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Community college grads out-earn bachelor’s degree holders

Berevan Omer graduated on a Friday in February with an associate’s degree from Nashville State Community College and started work the following Monday as a computer-networking engineer at a local television station, making about $ 50,000 a year.

That’s 15% higher than the average starting salary for graduates — not only from community colleges, but for bachelor’s degree holders from four-year universities.

“I have a buddy who got a four-year bachelor’s degree in accounting who’s making $ 10 an hour,” Omer says. “I’m making two and a-half times more than he is.”

Omer, who is 24, is one of many newly minted graduates of community colleges defying history and stereotypes by proving that a bachelor’s degree is not, as widely believed, the only ticket to a middle-class income.

Nearly 30% of Americans with associate’s degrees now make more than those with bachelor’s degrees, according to Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce. In fact, other recent research in several states shows that, on average, community college graduates right out of school make more than graduates of four-year universities.

The average wage for graduates of community colleges in Tennessee, for instance, is $ 38,948 — more than $ 1,300 higher than the average salaries for graduates of the state’s four-year institutions.

In Virginia, recent graduates of occupational and technical degree programs at its community colleges make an average of $ 40,000. That’s almost $ 2,500 more than recent bachelor’s degree recipients.

“There is that perception that the bachelor’s degree is the default, and, quite frankly, before we started this work showing the value of a technical associate’s degree, I would have said that, too,” says Mark Schneider, vice president of the American Institutes for Research, which helped collect the earning numbers for some states.

And while by mid-career, many bachelor’s degree recipients have caught up in earnings to community college grads, “the other factor that has to be taken into account is that getting a four-year degree can be much more expensive than getting a two-year degree,” Schneider says.

A two-year community college degree, at present full rates, costs about $ 6,262, according to the College Board. A bachelor’s degree from a four-year, private residential university goes for $ 158,072.

The increase in wages for community college grads is being driven by a high demand for people with so-called “middle-skills” that often require no more than an associate’s degree, such as lab technicians, teachers in early childhood programs, computer engineers, draftsmen, radiation therapists, paralegals, and machinists.

With a two-year community college degree, air traffic controllers can make $ 113,547, radiation therapists $ 76,627, dental hygienists $ 70,408, nuclear medicine technologists $ 69,638, nuclear technicians $ 68,037, registered nurses $ 65,853, and fashion designers $ 63,170, CareerBuilder.com reported in January.

“You come out with skills that people want immediately and not just theory,” Omer says.

The Georgetown center estimates that 29 million jobs paying middle class wages today require only an associate’s, and not a bachelor’s, degree.

“I would not suggest anyone look down their nose at the associate’s degree,” says Jeff Strohl, director of research at the Georgetown center.

“People see those programs as tracking into something that’s dead end,” Strohl says. “It’s very clear that that perception does not hold up.”

The bad news is that not enough associate’s degree holders are being produced.

Only 10% of American workers have the sub-baccalaureate degrees needed for middle-skills jobs, compared with 24% of Canadians and 19% of Japanese, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reports.

Over the last 20 years, the number of graduates with associate’s degrees in the United States has increased by barely 3%. And while the Obama administration has pushed community colleges to increase their numbers, enrollment at these schools fell 3.1% this year, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reports. Graduation rates also remain abysmally low.

Meanwhile, many people with bachelor’s degrees are working in fields other than the ones in which they majored, according to a new report by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity.

“We have a lot of bartenders and taxi drivers with bachelor’s degrees,” says Christopher Denhart, one of the report’s coauthors.

Still, the salary advantage for associate’s degree holders narrows over time, as bachelor’s degree recipients eventually catch up, says Schneider.

Although these figures vary widely by profession, associate’s degree recipients, on average, end up making about $ 500,000 more over their careers than people with only high school diplomas, but $ 500,000 less than people with bachelor’s degrees, the Georgetown center calculates.

As for Omer, he’s already working toward a bachelor’s degree.

“Down the road a little further, I may want to become a director or a manager,” he says. “A bachelor’s degree will get me to that point.”

This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education-news outlet based at Teachers College, Columbia University. It’s one of a series of reports about workforce development and higher education.

View this article on CNNMoney

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Wall Street rebounds from Italy drop, Bernanke defends policy

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks advanced on Tuesday, rebounding from a steep decline a day earlier after an inconclusive Italian election and on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony defending the central bank's bond-buying program.

Major indexes had fallen more than 1 percent on Monday, with the S&P 500 dropping the most since November on voting in Italy where groups opposed to austerity posted a strong showing. But no faction secured a clear majority in parliament, renewing fears about a new euro zone debt crisis.

"There's an increased willingness to buy equities, and every decline is met with a new round of buying, but there's a question as to whether that can be sustained," said Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank in Cleveland, Ohio.

European equities <.fteu3>, which closed before the results on Monday, fell 1.1 percent, even as U.S. shares rose.

"It's a little surprising that we're not taking Europe more seriously now," he added. "It will be hard for us to avoid the weight of Europe's decline, and the question is whether our early strength will hold throughout the day."

In testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, Bernanke strongly defended the Fed's bond-buying stimulus program, or quantitative easing. Equities have benefited from the Fed's easy monetary policy, designed to boost the economy and employment.

"If Bernanke were to give any nugget of information about when QE might end, that would move markets, but we haven't seen anything like that," said Mike Shea, a trader at Direct Access Partners in New York.

Last week, concerns the Fed might curtail or end its stimulus efforts earlier than expected prompted a sharp decline by stocks, though they recovered most of the lost ground by the end of the week.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was up 88.66 points, or 0.64 percent, at 13,872.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was up 6.09 points, or 0.41 percent, at 1,493.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was up 7.82 points, or 0.25 percent, at 3,124.07.

Dow component Home Depot Inc was the top gainer on both the Dow and S&P 500 after reporting adjusted earnings and sales that beat expectations, sending shares up 5.6 percent to $67.52.

Macy's Inc rose 3.3 percent to $39.80 after stating it expects full-year earnings to be above analysts' forecasts because of strong sales in the holiday period.

Economic reports that showed strength in housing and consumer confidence also supported stocks.

Home prices rose more than expected in December, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index. Consumer confidence rebounded in February, jumping more than expected, and new-home sales rose to their highest in 4-1/2 years.

For the benchmark S&P 500 index, 1,500 will be watched as a key level after the index closed below it on Monday for the first time since February 4, with selling accelerating after falling below it. An inability to break back above it could portend further losses.

(Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Kenneth Barry)

Read More..

Community college grads out-earn bachelor’s degree holders

Berevan Omer graduated on a Friday in February with an associate’s degree from Nashville State Community College and started work the following Monday as a computer-networking engineer at a local television station, making about $ 50,000 a year.

That’s 15% higher than the average starting salary for graduates — not only from community colleges, but for bachelor’s degree holders from four-year universities.

“I have a buddy who got a four-year bachelor’s degree in accounting who’s making $ 10 an hour,” Omer says. “I’m making two and a-half times more than he is.”

Omer, who is 24, is one of many newly minted graduates of community colleges defying history and stereotypes by proving that a bachelor’s degree is not, as widely believed, the only ticket to a middle-class income.

Nearly 30% of Americans with associate’s degrees now make more than those with bachelor’s degrees, according to Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce. In fact, other recent research in several states shows that, on average, community college graduates right out of school make more than graduates of four-year universities.

The average wage for graduates of community colleges in Tennessee, for instance, is $ 38,948 — more than $ 1,300 higher than the average salaries for graduates of the state’s four-year institutions.

In Virginia, recent graduates of occupational and technical degree programs at its community colleges make an average of $ 40,000. That’s almost $ 2,500 more than recent bachelor’s degree recipients.

“There is that perception that the bachelor’s degree is the default, and, quite frankly, before we started this work showing the value of a technical associate’s degree, I would have said that, too,” says Mark Schneider, vice president of the American Institutes for Research, which helped collect the earning numbers for some states.

And while by mid-career, many bachelor’s degree recipients have caught up in earnings to community college grads, “the other factor that has to be taken into account is that getting a four-year degree can be much more expensive than getting a two-year degree,” Schneider says.

A two-year community college degree, at present full rates, costs about $ 6,262, according to the College Board. A bachelor’s degree from a four-year, private residential university goes for $ 158,072.

The increase in wages for community college grads is being driven by a high demand for people with so-called “middle-skills” that often require no more than an associate’s degree, such as lab technicians, teachers in early childhood programs, computer engineers, draftsmen, radiation therapists, paralegals, and machinists.

With a two-year community college degree, air traffic controllers can make $ 113,547, radiation therapists $ 76,627, dental hygienists $ 70,408, nuclear medicine technologists $ 69,638, nuclear technicians $ 68,037, registered nurses $ 65,853, and fashion designers $ 63,170, CareerBuilder.com reported in January.

“You come out with skills that people want immediately and not just theory,” Omer says.

The Georgetown center estimates that 29 million jobs paying middle class wages today require only an associate’s, and not a bachelor’s, degree.

“I would not suggest anyone look down their nose at the associate’s degree,” says Jeff Strohl, director of research at the Georgetown center.

“People see those programs as tracking into something that’s dead end,” Strohl says. “It’s very clear that that perception does not hold up.”

The bad news is that not enough associate’s degree holders are being produced.

Only 10% of American workers have the sub-baccalaureate degrees needed for middle-skills jobs, compared with 24% of Canadians and 19% of Japanese, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reports.

Over the last 20 years, the number of graduates with associate’s degrees in the United States has increased by barely 3%. And while the Obama administration has pushed community colleges to increase their numbers, enrollment at these schools fell 3.1% this year, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reports. Graduation rates also remain abysmally low.

Meanwhile, many people with bachelor’s degrees are working in fields other than the ones in which they majored, according to a new report by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity.

“We have a lot of bartenders and taxi drivers with bachelor’s degrees,” says Christopher Denhart, one of the report’s coauthors.

Still, the salary advantage for associate’s degree holders narrows over time, as bachelor’s degree recipients eventually catch up, says Schneider.

Although these figures vary widely by profession, associate’s degree recipients, on average, end up making about $ 500,000 more over their careers than people with only high school diplomas, but $ 500,000 less than people with bachelor’s degrees, the Georgetown center calculates.

As for Omer, he’s already working toward a bachelor’s degree.

“Down the road a little further, I may want to become a director or a manager,” he says. “A bachelor’s degree will get me to that point.”

This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, nonpartisan education-news outlet based at Teachers College, Columbia University. It’s one of a series of reports about workforce development and higher education.

View this article on CNNMoney

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Wall Street turns lower on Italian worries

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks turned negative on Monday, dragged lower by financial and housing shares and a reversal of early market gains based on voting in Italy where there were fears of a hung parliament that could undermine stability in the euro zone.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> fell 5.26 points or 0.04 percent, to 13,995.31, the S&P 500 <.spx> lost 0.24 points or 0.02 percent, to 1,515.36 and the Nasdaq Composite <.ixic> added 5.8 points or 0.18 percent, to 3,167.61.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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Celtra Wins IAB Digital Rising Stars Competition

CAMBRIDGE, MA–(Marketwire – Feb 25, 2013) – Celtra Inc., the industry leader for rich media mobile ad serving and analytics, today announced that the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has selected the company as a winner of the IAB Digital Video Rising Stars competition. The Agency Working Group evaluated more than six dozen entries to arrive at the five creative ad product concepts that will become the IAB’s first-ever Digital Video ad format standards. Now that winners have been announced, the IAB will form Working Groups in which the winning companies will collaborate with input from the Agency Working Group and the Ad Ops Working Group, to craft a final Style Guide and Technology Specifications for each of the five Digital Video Rising Stars.

Celtra has been chosen to participate in the IAB Digital Video Rising Stars Ad Control Bar Working Group with fellow digital video innovators to define, build and implement this Digital Video Rising Star. Key aspects of Celtra’s Interactive Video Pre Roll submission was voted among the top in the Ad Control Bar category, and its innovations will be incorporated into the final Style Guide and Tech Specifications for this Digital Video Rising Star.

Celtra’s winning ad concept brings a full range of reliable interactive ad capabilities to digital video. These features, that have been available and used with huge success in Celtra’s standard rich media ad formats, allow advertisers to leverage, among others, social media and location-based services and are expected to push engagement levels and effectiveness of rich media ads even higher within the video context.

“Celtra is honored to be named one of the Digital Video Rising Stars, and extremely happy to be able to contribute to the development of the innovative new mobile ad formats within the IAB Working Groups,” said Matevz Klanjsek, Chief Product Officer and Co-founder at Celtra. “We have always been a huge advocate of quality ads that offer slick end-user experience. The Celtra team is excited to be part of the group bringing a new, standardized ad product to market that will make mobile rich media ads more friendly and exciting for consumers, as well as help brands and agencies deliver more engaging and effective advertising experiences.”

“As a leading mobile partner to publishers and agencies, Celtra is well-placed to help extend the Rising Stars to connected devices,” said Peter Minnium, Head of Brand Initiatives, IAB. “The judges found that their submission to the Digital Video Rising Stars provided an elegant user experience, which is sure to make the IAB Ad Control Bar unit a success in the marketplace.”

About Celtra Inc.
Celtra Inc. is the global leader for rich media mobile ad serving and analytics. Celtra’s AdCreator 3 platform, which is used by world’s leading agencies, publishers and networks in more than 18 countries, is the only complete, SDK and ad server agnostic platform for rich media mobile advertising. Celtra’s unparalleled HTML5 ad products are designed to provide the best user experience, performance and reliability on distinctive mobile platforms with one single ad unit. For more information, visit Celtra at www.celtra.com or @CeltraMobile on Twitter.

Celtra is headquartered in Cambridge (MA), with offices in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, London (UK), and Ljubljana (SI).

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Investors face another Washington deadline

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors face another Washington-imposed deadline on government spending cuts next week, but it's not generating the same level of fear as two months ago when the "fiscal cliff" loomed large.

Investors in sectors most likely to be affected by the cuts, like defense, seem untroubled that the budget talks could send stocks tumbling.

Talks on the U.S. budget crisis began again this week leading up to the March 1 deadline for the so-called sequestration when $85 billion in automatic federal spending cuts are scheduled to take effect.

"It's at this point a political hot button in Washington but a very low level investor concern," said Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The fight pits President Barack Obama and fellow Democrats against congressional Republicans.

Stocks rallied in early January after a compromise temporarily avoided the fiscal cliff, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index <.spx> has risen 6.3 percent since the start of the year.

But the benchmark index lost steam this week, posting its first week of losses since the start of the year. Minutes on Wednesday from the last Federal Reserve meeting, which suggested the central bank may slow or stop its stimulus policy sooner than expected, provided the catalyst.

National elections in Italy on Sunday and Monday could also add to investor concern. Most investors expect a government headed by Pier Luigi Bersani to win and continue with reforms to tackle Italy's debt problems. However, a resurgence by former leader Silvio Berlusconi has raised doubts.

"Europe has been in the last six months less of a topic for the stock market, but the problems haven't gone away. This may bring back investor attention to that," said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.

OPTIONS BULLS TARGET GAINS

The spending cuts, if they go ahead, could hit the defense industry particularly hard.

Yet in the options market, bulls were targeting gains in Lockheed Martin Corp , the Pentagon's biggest supplier.

Calls on the stock far outpaced puts, suggesting that many investors anticipate the stock to move higher. Overall options volume on the stock was 2.8 times the daily average with 17,000 calls and 3,360 puts traded, according to options analytics firm Trade Alert.

"The upside call buying in Lockheed solidifies the idea that option investors are not pricing in a lot of downside risk in most defense stocks from the likely impact of sequestration," said Jared Woodard, a founder of research and advisory firm condoroptions.com in Forest, Virginia.

The stock ended up 0.6 percent at $88.12 on Friday.

If lawmakers fail to reach an agreement on reducing the U.S. budget deficit in the next few days, a sequester would include significant cuts in defense spending. Companies such as General Dynamics Corp and Smith & Wesson Holding Corp could be affected.

General Dynamics Corp shares rose 1.2 percent to $67.32 and Smith & Wesson added 4.6 percent to $9.18 on Friday.

EYES ON GDP DATA, APPLE

The latest data on fourth-quarter U.S. gross domestic product is expected on Thursday, and some analysts predict an upward revision following trade data that showed America's deficit shrank in December to its narrowest in nearly three years.

U.S. GDP unexpectedly contracted in the fourth quarter, according to an earlier government estimate, but analysts said there was no reason for panic, given that consumer spending and business investment picked up.

Investors will be looking for any hints of changes in the Fed's policy of monetary easing when Fed Chairman Ben Bernake speaks before congressional committees on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Shares of Apple will be watched closely next week when the company's annual stockholders' meeting is held.

On Friday, a U.S. judge handed outspoken hedge fund manager David Einhorn a victory in his battle with the iPhone maker, blocking the company from moving forward with a shareholder vote on a controversial proposal to limit the company's ability to issue preferred stock.

(Additional reporting by Doris Frankel; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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Best Tax Tip? Readers Spill

A winter storm tore across the country this past week, but the vernal equinox is close at hand. That means crocuses and hyacinths should begin popping up soon, Easter Peeps and chocolate bunnies will begin lining store shelves (if they’re not there already), and baseball stats will begin crowding out basketball scores in the sports pages. The proximity to the spring season also means that tax day–April 15–will be here before you know it.

In anticipation of the upcoming tax-filing deadline, which is also your deadline for making IRA contributions, Morningstar.com will be featuring plenty of tips for managing your tax burden as part of our Tax Relief Week, starting Monday, Feb. 25. (Limiting your investment-related tax bills will be a particular focus.)

To kick things off, I asked Morningstar.com readers to share their best tax tips, and they were eager to comply, swapping tips on reducing taxes during retirement, managing tax-sheltered and taxable accounts, and good record-keeping. Poster ennnius wrote, “This is a great thread–I am learning much here.”

To read the complete conversation or share your own best tax tip, click here (http://socialize.morningstar.com/NewSocialize/forums/p/320977/3384789.aspx).

‘Essential to Our Long-Term Plans’
Several posters touted the virtues of tax-sheltered accounts.

BMWLover wrote, “For our retirement accounts I do my best to max out our contributions to our 401(k)s and Roths. The tax benefits of both are essential to our long term plans.”

Meanwhile, Dragonpat is partial to her traditional 401(k), with pretax dollar contributions. “Contribute the max to your 401(k),” she advised. “Until you max that out, I would not even bother with Roth contributions. It is the one big deduction I have that the alternative minimum tax allows me to have. The AMT has stripped me of my deductions for my children, state income tax (I live in a high tax state), and my property taxes.”

On the flip side, Retiredgary, like others who fret that taxes could go up, is a true believer in Roth vehicles, to which you make aftertax contributions in exchange for tax-free withdrawals in retirement. “Get everything into a Roth that you can,” this poster urged. “Things with regard to taxes are likely to get worse before they get better.”

Lengrav also likes Roths, but for a different reason. “While funding IRAs favor a Roth simply because you will probably save more! Most people that put $ 5,000 into a traditional IRA fail to save the tax savings this generates. But if you save $ 5,000 into a Roth you must pay the taxes currently. Therefore as time passes most people would see the same balance in either IRA. But those with a Roth have already paid the tax.”

For those inclined to convert traditional IRA balances to Roth, Dennis offered up the following nifty idea. “When you convert to a Roth IRA convert three to five times what you target as your conversion and put each multiple into a separate Roth account. When you file your income tax return in October under an extension, recharacterize back all but the best-performing Roth account. Two caveats: Make sure you are with an IRA sponsor that allows this. Recharacterize by mid-September. It can take the IRA sponsor a long time to process the recharacterization as this technique is popular.” (This article (http://news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?id=540741) includes more details on recharacterizations.)

‘Tax-Efficient Funds That Can Be Held Forever’
Posters also shared tips for limiting Uncle Sam’s cut of taxable accounts.

The always sagacious Taylor Larimore advised, “In taxable accounts, except for short-term goals, hold only tax-efficient funds that can be held ‘forever.’”

Tax-managed funds fit the bill for Chief K, who urged, “For investments outside of IRAs/401(k)s, hold tax-managed funds that are near-clones of index funds (for example, Vanguard Tax-Managed Small Cap (VTSIX) or Vanguard Tax-Managed International (VTMNX)).”

Harvesting losses, which can be used to offset up to $ 3,000 in ordinary income or an unlimited amount of capital gains, is on Dragonpat’s to-do list each year. “I harvest capital losses against gains in my taxable account in an effort to minimize my tax bill,” this poster wrote.

Retiredgary noted that careful selling of long-term holdings can keep taxes down or limit them altogether. “If you are in the 15% bracket and in a state that does not tax capital gains,” he advised, “consider taking gains up to the top of that bracket each year as they will be taxed at a rate of 0%.”

Although most of the comments focused on limiting one’s federal tax burden, artsdoc noted that it’s worth plugging into state tax laws, too, especially if you live in a high-tax state. “One tax tip that I would give everyone living in a high personal income tax state is to familiarize yourself with state tax laws. I had always paid attention to federal tax laws and planned accordingly. Only within the past couple of years have I paid more attention to the California tax laws and it was pretty eye-opening. And now that our state personal income tax increased an amazing 30% for top earners, it does make an even bigger difference in tax planning. It truly does change your fixed income calculation comparisons (tax-equivalent yield becomes an even more important tool) and even those qualified dividends from (federally) tax-efficient mutual funds can become more expensive than you once thought.”

On the importance of tax management in taxable accounts, BMWLover was a rare contrarian, writing, “I don’t worry much about the tax consequences of my investment decisions in my taxable accounts. The way I look at it, if I have to pay more in taxes it just means that I’ve made more money. The only times I will look at tax consequences are when I am selling a stock and I’m just about to hit the demarcation point between short term gain and long term. The other is if I am deciding between two investments and one has qualifying dividends and the other does not.”

‘You Can Be Free of the Feds’
Posters also shared valuable advice about carefully managing income sources in an effort to limit their tax bills in retirement; that type of tax management simply isn’t available to those who are earning a paycheck.

Dennis’ post illustrates why tax diversification–a topic I discussed in this article (http://news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?id=584823)–can be so valuable in retirement. “If you leave work well before 65, try to have significant retirement account balances and substantial taxable accounts. Living off the taxable accounts may result in low taxes if you have high basis in the securities. Create income to offset your deductions and to bring you up to your projected post 65 marginal tax rate by converting your retirement accounts to Roth accounts while you are in your first years of retirement living off the taxable accounts. Try to maximize your tax savings over your entire retirement period and not just for the current year. That maximization effort should take into account higher Medicare premiums based upon adjusted gross income and, if you are well off, Medicare taxes on your investment income.”

Frrries is also a believer in diversifying across multiple vehicles and carefully managing income sources on a year-by-year basis. “Set yourself up for an income tax free retirement,” this poster advised. “First, keep modified adjusted gross income below $ 25,000 and Social Security is tax free. Then build a taxable IRA account, a Roth IRA and a Health Savings Account. For example, a married couple might get about $ 30,000 in social security. Add $ 18,000 out of the taxable IRA, $ 18,000 out of the Roth and $ 12,000 out of the HSA. Total income is $ 78,000 per year 100% tax free in any state in the union (taking the standard deduction and two exemptions).”

Trial-running your planned income stream can help you manage your tax burden or even avoid taxes altogether, according to Darwinian. He walked readers through the process in this detailed post. “Take a blank 1040 form and work from the bottom up, on the second page. Enter any tax credits, and scan down your column in the tax table to find how much taxable income you can have that will be completely offset by this credit. Then, move up to the deductions and personal exemptions, and add these in. You will end up at the top of the page, with a zero-tax adjusted gross income. Next, turn back to the first page and fill in any taxable pensions and other income. If these are less than your zero-tax adjusted gross income, and if you have enough Roth/unsheltered assets to provide the remaining income you need, you can be free of the Feds, and will probably have only minimal state income tax. You only need to limit your IRA withdrawals for the coming year to the difference you just calculated. Be careful if you are taking Social Security income; the tax rate depends on how much other taxable income you decide to have, which makes it hard to figure. Do successive approximations on the SS worksheet, or call in a tax professional. And make sure you add any capital gains resulting from sales of assets for income.”

Chief K, meanwhile, noted that delaying Social Security has a tax silver lining, in addition to helping boost benefit size. “Deferring collecting Social Security means spending down ‘other cash’ instead of spending the benefits. In the meantime those benefits increase at 8% per year–without any taxes being due on the increase (plus inflation adjustments).”

TraderBob’s strategy won’t be for everyone, but could appeal to those with mobility in mind. “Buy an RV and set your residence in a state that does not tax Social Security or pension income and has otherwise low taxes (for example, South Dakota maybe).”

‘Behold With Amazement the Long List of Tax Benefits’
In addition to sharing tips for managing their income streams, posters also discussed how to make the most out of credits and deductions.

“Bunching” deductions–itemizing in some years and not others–has worked well for Texasboy, who wrote, “In entering retirement I had the pleasure of making my last mortgage payment. That basically left me with itemized deductions of property taxes and contributions. So we’ve begun alternating years of bunching the payments for two years allowing us to take the standard deduction the off year, thereby reducing taxable income for combined period. It may not be significant but [is] worth the effort, which is minimal.”

More deductions are available to small-business owners, noted Dennygal. “Start a small or very small business and put it in a limited liability corporation. Fill out your own Form 1065 and behold with amazement the long list of tax benefits available to small business owners–for example, deducting your Medicare insurance premiums as a business expense.”

Making charitable contributions carries multiple benefits in FidlStix’s book. “Channel as much into eligible nonprofits as you can afford,” he advised. “You’ll not only gain the satisfaction of helping out the causes you like, but you’ll enjoy a substantial tax deduction (assuming you’re not squirming under the alternative minimum tax burden).”

Dennis advised the following strategy for charitably minded seniors. “If you want to support charities while in retirement and have substantial taxable accounts, contribute as much as you can to a charitable gift fund before you retire, when your marginal tax rate may be at its highest. Then make your future gifts from the fund. This will keep your adjusted gross income under control and help avoid the higher Medicare premiums. The reduction of your income in retirement by pre-giving through the charitable gift fund and by converting to a Roth account may save your Social Security and Medicare if those benefits are ever means-tested.”

Posters also shared some intriguing outside-the-box ideas for limiting tax bills.

“Carry adequate insurance,” Chief K sensibly advised. “An accident or illness that requires you to raise large amounts of cash quickly can play havoc with any tax planning you’ve done.”

Meanwhile, Retiredgary urged other retirees to “go off the grid,” figuratively speaking. “Do things that increase your wealth but do not show up in the money economy such as growing a garden, painting your house yourself, working with friends to do repair and remodeling work on each other’s property, growing fruit trees, doing sewing or woodwork, and so on. The government has not yet figured out how to tax a freezer full of fruit and vegetables you grew or a deck chair you built. As a side benefit, many of these things are good hobbies and offer particularly retired people opportunities to get outside and stay physically active. It also makes a person fell a bit more competent and secure to have some of those basic skills.”

‘Don’t, I Repeat, Don’t Wait Until April to Start’
Posters differed in their attitudes toward doing their own returns or hiring a certified public accountant or other tax professional to handle their taxes.

In the “hire out” camp was EasyAsItGoes, who urged, “Hire a first-rate accountant to do your taxes. This is no time to go to the guy in the mall if your return is anything more than ‘simple.’ The really good CPAs know the tax code inside and out and they’ll play out a half dozen scenarios to find you the best return and give you advice about the coming year. See them midyear for a tune-up. My accountant says it every year, ‘Your job is to pay taxes . . . our job is to make sure you pay only what you should pay and not a penny more. ‘”

But Rule72 disagreed. “Learn how to do your own taxes!!! This is not rocket science,” this poster noted. “I agree it takes extra time and effort to do this yourself, but it really makes investing and estate-planning decisions a lot easier. You will know for yourself exactly the effects of various choices with traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, 401(k)s, and so on. Each subsequent year gets easier.

Within the do-it-yourself contingent, posters shared valuable tips for getting it done.

Bnorthrop wrote, “My top tip for self-preparers is to use tax software. It allows one to run different scenarios to minimize tax obligation. I do this throughout the year, not just at tax time. Trying this with paper forms would be an insane amount of work. I’ve also used the software to do ‘what-ifs’ to calculate state taxes in those states I may wish to relocate to in the future. And for those who avoid direct ownership of MLPs due to their K-1 instead of 1099, tax software allows importing K-1 data. Even manually entering the data is basically a paint-by-numbers exercise.”

Others emphasized the importance of starting your tax preparation season early–ideally before the tax year is through. The benefit? Having time to actually affect your return.

MBAFBA wrote, “In early December calculate an estimate of year-end income and an estimate of next year’s taxes. Then review investments to see if there are capital losses to be captured, capital gains to be considered, and any other opportunities to reduce taxes. In some years, like 2012, this will put you in a knowledgeable position to take advantage of new opportunities like the (late) extension of the charitable IRA rollover.”

Rule72 was emphatic about not procrastinating. “Don’t, I repeat, don’t wait until April to start!” This poster went on to make working on taxes sound downright appealing. “Start in January. Get a favorite beverage, some soothing music and spend two to three hours about once a week. You’ll be less stressed, smarter and richer for it. [I spent] my time during [last week's] snowstorm with a glass of wine, jazz, and double-checking my tax forms that I completed a week ago. Bottom line–put yourself in a position to take advantage of opportunities before it is too late.”

Several posters noted that, whether you’re doing your taxes yourself or outsourcing to an accountant, keeping good records is essential to a smooth tax season.

EasyAsItGoes wrote, “Your accountant (or tax software) is only as good as the information you give him/her/it. Start the year by keeping good records.”

Good record-keeping is also a must for Rule72, who shared, “The most difficult part of doing your taxes is finding and sorting all the necessary documents. Do this year-round; simply throw receipts into a folder or box as you get them.”

See More Articles by Christine Benz

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Investors face another Washington deadline

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors face another Washington-imposed deadline on government spending cuts next week, but it's not generating the same level of fear as two months ago when the "fiscal cliff" loomed large.

Investors in sectors most likely to be affected by the cuts, like defense, seem untroubled that the budget talks could send stocks tumbling.

Talks on the U.S. budget crisis began again this week leading up to the March 1 deadline for the so-called sequestration when $85 billion in automatic federal spending cuts are scheduled to take effect.

"It's at this point a political hot button in Washington but a very low level investor concern," said Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The fight pits President Barack Obama and fellow Democrats against congressional Republicans.

Stocks rallied in early January after a compromise temporarily avoided the fiscal cliff, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index <.spx> has risen 6.3 percent since the start of the year.

But the benchmark index lost steam this week, posting its first week of losses since the start of the year. Minutes on Wednesday from the last Federal Reserve meeting, which suggested the central bank may slow or stop its stimulus policy sooner than expected, provided the catalyst.

National elections in Italy on Sunday and Monday could also add to investor concern. Most investors expect a government headed by Pier Luigi Bersani to win and continue with reforms to tackle Italy's debt problems. However, a resurgence by former leader Silvio Berlusconi has raised doubts.

"Europe has been in the last six months less of a topic for the stock market, but the problems haven't gone away. This may bring back investor attention to that," said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.

OPTIONS BULLS TARGET GAINS

The spending cuts, if they go ahead, could hit the defense industry particularly hard.

Yet in the options market, bulls were targeting gains in Lockheed Martin Corp , the Pentagon's biggest supplier.

Calls on the stock far outpaced puts, suggesting that many investors anticipate the stock to move higher. Overall options volume on the stock was 2.8 times the daily average with 17,000 calls and 3,360 puts traded, according to options analytics firm Trade Alert.

"The upside call buying in Lockheed solidifies the idea that option investors are not pricing in a lot of downside risk in most defense stocks from the likely impact of sequestration," said Jared Woodard, a founder of research and advisory firm condoroptions.com in Forest, Virginia.

The stock ended up 0.6 percent at $88.12 on Friday.

If lawmakers fail to reach an agreement on reducing the U.S. budget deficit in the next few days, a sequester would include significant cuts in defense spending. Companies such as General Dynamics Corp and Smith & Wesson Holding Corp could be affected.

General Dynamics Corp shares rose 1.2 percent to $67.32 and Smith & Wesson added 4.6 percent to $9.18 on Friday.

EYES ON GDP DATA, APPLE

The latest data on fourth-quarter U.S. gross domestic product is expected on Thursday, and some analysts predict an upward revision following trade data that showed America's deficit shrank in December to its narrowest in nearly three years.

U.S. GDP unexpectedly contracted in the fourth quarter, according to an earlier government estimate, but analysts said there was no reason for panic, given that consumer spending and business investment picked up.

Investors will be looking for any hints of changes in the Fed's policy of monetary easing when Fed Chairman Ben Bernake speaks before congressional committees on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Shares of Apple will be watched closely next week when the company's annual stockholders' meeting is held.

On Friday, a U.S. judge handed outspoken hedge fund manager David Einhorn a victory in his battle with the iPhone maker, blocking the company from moving forward with a shareholder vote on a controversial proposal to limit the company's ability to issue preferred stock.

(Additional reporting by Doris Frankel; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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4 Handy Apps for Maintaining a Budget

In the age of smartphones, users have come to learn there is nothing you can’t do with the right app. For those looking to budget and track expenses, mobile apps are a good idea because phones are ubiquitous and makes logging easy and quick. If the apps are already connected to your bank accounts, even better.

Expense-tracking apps are aplenty, so here are four highly-recommended ones that will help you sift through your financial life electronically:

Saver. Saver is an attractive and effective app that helps you log your expenses easily. The app aggregates your expenses and creates pie charts to show you how your monthly expenses divide up amongst various major categories.

It costs $ 5, but the app is straightforward and easy to use. You enter your expenses and assign a category there are 15 available purchase categories, which you can further tag with subcategories. You can view your purchase totals by day, week, month or year, and the pie charts can be viewed by week, month or year as well.

Toshl Finance. This app is a little bit more basic. You enter your expenses similar to the way you would for Saver, but there are no preset categories and you have full control over how to categorize your purchases and expenses. Toshl organizes your expenses so you can view the total amount you spend by day or by category. You can also customize the time frame for which you want to view your expenses.

Toshl places a bigger emphasis on budgeting. Through the app, you can budget for all expenses, or pick a category that you want to budget for. You can set the budget to last varying time intervals (monthly, weekly or one-time). You also have the option to let any remaining money in the budget roll over to another.

Expensify. Expensify caters predominantly to the business crowd for those who need to track their work expenses, but it can also be useful for managing personal expenses.

In this free app, there are options to log expenses, hours, and vehicle mileage, which make this app attractive for those who often take business trips, making purchases for require reimbursement, and those who bill for services by the hour. Users can generate expense reports and file either hours, purchases, or miles to various reports, which streamlines the expense-report process.

However, the app doesn’t have an option to view your purchases by category; just by chronology.

Mint. One of the original personal finance management tools, Mint is for those who want a tried-and-true budget management experience. Mint’s biggest advantage is that it can link to a variety of bank accounts as well as mortgage and loan accounts, so it’s easy to see your entire financial life congregated in one portal.

All transactions, incomes, and debts are listed in one place and it’s easy to budget based on all the information. Mint’s budgets are easy to set up, though there aren’t as many options as offered by Toshl Finance. The app’s budget charts are fancier and more interactive for easy viewing.

Mint is a good all-in-one app if you’re not interested in tracking expenses manually, since all your bank transactions are tracked for you if they’re linked to your Mint account.

Amy He is a staff writer and columnist for MyBankTracker.com, where she covers personal finance, banking, and credit cards.

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Wall Street rises on HP but S&P on track to end week lower

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks rebounded on Friday as Hewlett-Packard, the largest personal computer maker, surged on strong results, but the S&P 500 index was on the way to end a streak of gains that has lasted seven straight weeks.

The S&P shed 1.9 percent over the previous two sessions, its worst two-day drop since early November, putting the index on pace for its first weekly decline of the year. The retreat was triggered when the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes for January suggested stimulus measures may be halted sooner than thought.

Still, the index is up nearly 6 percent for the year and held the 1,500 support level despite the recent declines, a sign of a positive bias in the market.

"The market is addicted to Fed stimulus and gets withdrawal shakes every time that's threatened, but now we're resuming our course and remain much more attractively valued than other asset classes," said Rex Macey, chief investment officer at Wilmington Trust in Atlanta, Georgia.

Hewlett-Packard Co jumped 9.6 percent to $18.74 as the top boost on both the Dow and S&P 500 after the PC maker's quarterly revenue and forecasts beat expectations. The company cut costs under Chief Executive Meg Whitman's turnaround plan. The S&P technology sector <.splrct> was up 0.6 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was up 52.22 points, or 0.38 percent, at 13,932.84. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was up 5.25 points, or 0.35 percent, at 1,507.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was up 13.45 points, or 0.43 percent, at 3,144.94.

For the week, the Dow is off 0.3 percent in its third straight week of slight losses, the S&P is off 0.7 percent and the Nasdaq is off 1.4 percent.

Also buoying tech stocks were gains in semiconductor companies after Marvell Technology Group Ltd forecast results this quarter that were largely above analysts' expectations as it gained market share in the hard-disk drive and flash-storage businesses.

In addition, Texas Instruments Inc raised its dividend by a third and boosted its stock buyback program. Texas Instruments rose 4.3 percent at $33.88 while Marvell added 2.2 percent at $9.67. The PHLX semiconductor index <.sox> gained 1.3 percent.

"Dividends growing are another way the market's level is justified, if not especially attractive at these levels," said Macey, who manages about $20 billion in assets.

On the downside, Abercrombie & Fitch dropped 7.3 percent to $45.49 after the clothing retailer reported a drop in fourth-quarter comparable sales, even as its latest quarterly earnings topped estimates.

Insurer American International Group Inc posted fourth-quarter results that beat analysts' expectations. Shares advanced 2.6 percent to $38.26.

According to Thomson Reuters data through Friday morning, of 439 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported results, 70 percent have exceeded analysts' expectations, compared with a 62 percent average since 1994 and 65 percent over the past four quarters.

Fourth-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are estimated to have risen 6 percent, according to the data, above a 1.9 percent forecast at the start of the earnings season.

(Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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Neighborhood Joint | West Village: At the End of History, Obsessions in Color and Glass

Elizabeth D. Herman for The New York Times

Rick Rodney browsed the vast collection of midcentury wares at the End of History. More Photos »

“I call this an obsession turned into a business,” Stephen Saunders said on a recent Saturday evening. He was standing in the middle of the End of History, the West Village store he has owned since 1997, surrounded by the approximately 10,000 pieces of midcentury glassware and ceramics that make up his inventory.

Crossing the store’s threshold from Hudson Street is a little like going to sleep in Kansas and waking up in Oz. Organized by color and form, the pieces on display form an eye-popping Technicolor tableau, clustered in islands of cerulean, ivory, amber, ebony and bubble gum pink.

On one shelf, Italian Murano glass geode bowls beckon in hues of green and turquoise blue. On another, glossy, undulating orange vases — representatives of the Danish manufacturer Holmegäard’s coveted 1960s Carnaby series — form a sort of Pop Art fantasia. A 15-inch-long Murano tiger the color of a sunrise lurks above them. “It’s a fantastic object, one of a kind,” Mr. Saunders said of the $ 2,750 creature, adding, “I don’t love figurines unless they speak to me.”

Mr. Saunders’s passion for glass goes back to his childhood on the Isle of Wight, where he had relatives in the antiques business. “At 7 years old, I was picking the best rummage sale on the island,” he recalled. He arrived in New York in 1983 after moving on a whim from Honolulu, where he worked in the travel industry.

Although Mr. Saunders subsequently spent more than a decade as a fashion stylist, he was always buying and selling glass. His “light bulb moment,” he recalled, came at a flea market when he found a 1951 Murano glass vase with an original $ 350 price tag still on it, on sale for $ 25. “I started to buy every piece I could,” he said.

His shop’s somewhat inscrutable moniker was inspired by Francis Fukuyama’s book “The End of History and the Last Man.” When he opened his doors, said Mr. Saunders, 54, “the millennium was coming up and the store was full of all these 20th-century things.” At the time, he said, Hudson Street was “the cheapest place to open a store.”

“There was no Marc Jacobs or Richard Meier towers,” he said. “Everything has grown up.”

The area’s gentrification has been good for business: Many of his regular customers are well-known decorators like Amy Lau, Steven Gambrel and Shawn Henderson, and the bulk of Mr. Saunders’s inventory — priced from $ 250 to $ 16,000 — goes into the homes of wealthy families. But visitors arrive from around the world, he said, remembering a woman from Taipei who came in “waving a picture of a Danish Modern vase from New York magazine, saying, ‘I have to have this!’ ” Brazilians “absolutely love this stuff,” he added, recalling a day when the actress Sonia Braga saw the store while riding past it on a bus and made the driver let her out.

On this evening, Dori Cocoros wove her way through the shop with her friend Cindy Tanzer. “We love this,” said Ms. Cocoros, a global account executive for Canon who lives in Astoria, Queens. First-time visitors, she and Ms. Tanzer had been lured, she said, by “the name and all the pretty colors.”

“It’s magnificent,” Ms. Cocoros said. “It would be a very different store if it was organized by country or manufacturer.”

As they browsed, Mr. Saunders pondered a shelf of his “latest obsession,” white German porcelain tattooed with intricate gold embellishments. “Inasmuch as an object has a soul, these have that because they were made with care and with love by skilled people,” he said. “They have a life and a story to tell.”

NYT > Real Estate

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Wall Street falls after raft of weak data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks declined on Thursday as a ream of weak economic data did little to assuage some investors' concerns that the Federal Reserve may rein in its economic stimulus measures and amid uncertainty over ongoing budget talks in Washington.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week and consumer prices were flat in January, buttressing the argument for the Fed to continue its accommodative monetary policy.

On Wednesday, minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's most recent meeting suggested the central bank may slow or stop buying bonds sooner than expected. The news sent shares lower and the benchmark S&P 500 index dropped 1.2 percent, its biggest decline since November 14.

The Fed has used quantitative easing, or QE, since 2008 in a bid to stimulate the economy. The policy, which involves expanding the Fed's balance sheet to buy bonds, has been credited with pushing money into the stock market, and its withdrawal would remove a ballast for the markets.

The benchmark S&P index has dropped 1.9 percent over the past two sessions but is still up more than 5 percent for the year. That's led many analysts to believe that the Fed minutes, the upcoming sequestration in Washington and sluggish consumer spending may be triggers for an overdue pullback in equities.

The sequestration - automatic across-the-board spending cuts put in place as part of a larger congressional budget fight - are due to kick in March 1 unless lawmakers agree on an alternative.

"It's the sequester, it's the knee-jerk reaction to yesterday's Fed minutes and it's the realization the consumer is slowing," said Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist, at Federated Investors, in New York.

"I'd love to see a healthy 5 percent correction; let's wash out some of the weak hands and set up for a better move during the year."

Financial data firm Markit said its "flash," or preliminary U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index slowed to 55.2 this month from 55.8, which had been the best showing since April, 2012.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc , seen as a gauge of consumer spending, said U.S. sales weakness persisted into early February, as Americans absorbed the impact of higher payroll taxes and gasoline prices, along with slow tax refunds that put some spending on hold. But shares rose 2.2 percent to $70.73 to help curb declines on the Dow as earnings topped expectations.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> dropped 64.01 points, or 0.46 percent, to 13,863.53. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> lost 10.33 points, or 0.68 percent, to 1,501.62. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> fell 25.93 points, or 0.82 percent, to 3,138.48.

In a positive sign, data showed home resales edged higher in January and left inventory of homes at its lowest level in 13 years as the housing market continues to steadily improve.

But the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said its index of business conditions in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region fell in February to minus 12.5, the lowest level in eight months, from minus 5.8 in January.

VeriFone Systems Inc tumbled 37.7 percent to $19.86 after the credit card swipe-machine maker forecast first and second-quarter profit that were well below analysts' expectations.

According to Thomson Reuters data through Thursday morning, of the 427 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported results, 69.3 percent have exceeded analysts' expectations, compared with a 62 percent average since 1994 and 65 percent over the past four quarters.

Fourth-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are estimated to have risen 5.9 percent, according to the data, above a 1.9 percent forecast at the start of the earnings season.

Berry Petroleum Co jumped 16.5 percent to $44.95 after oil and gas producer Linn Energy LLC said it would buy the company in an all-stock deal valued at $4.3 billion including debt. Linn Energy shares advanced 3 percent to $37.76.

(This story corrects share price on Berry Petroleum in last paragraph to $44.95, from $444.95)

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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Plump Engineering Turns Safe Transport of Massive High-Profile Objects Into Science

ANAHEIM, CA–(Marketwire – Feb 21, 2013) – Recent high-profile transportation projects have increased awareness around the science of moving massive objects and more specifically Plump Engineering, a fully integrated architecture and engineering firm specializing in transporting heavy objects through urban environments. Currently, Plump Engineering is working with the Chevron El Segundo Refinery to move six giant coke drums that measure 100 feet long and 28 feet across, and weigh more than 500,000 pounds.

In the last 12 months, Plump Engineering has demonstrated its experience through the successful moves of a 340-ton rock used in the “Levitated Mass” exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the Space Shuttle Endeavour from LAX to the California Science Center. The firm has created a proven process for deciphering the best routes, shielding city infrastructure and limiting any impact on traffic or environments.

“Our engineering process begins with considering all possibilities to ensure the safe journey of any massive object regardless of size and weight,” said Richard Plump, principal of Plump Engineering. “At this stage, we have this transportation process down to a science; however, with the coke drum project, moving six gigantic objects verses one required special planning and a detailed, time-sensitive schedule.”

For Chevron, Plump Engineering implemented a comprehensive suite of engineering services to protect roadways along the Pacific Coast Highway and Sepulveda Boulevard, preventing damage to sewer/storm drain systems, protecting all underground utilities, and safeguarding above-ground wires and traffic signals. This process requires extensive planning and exploration to meet transportation standards.

“We worked with state, county and local municipalities to ensure the safe movement of the coke drums and minimize the impact on local businesses and residents,” said Steve Wicklund, project manager with Plump Engineering. “Our relevant experience in transporting the Space Shuttle Endeavour last year helped us to create a detailed logistics and transportation plan for this project.”

As part of the transportation process, Plump Engineering continually measures infrastructure along the entire route as the drums are moved during the overnight hours of 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. on special transporters. Limited road closures will take place along the route beginning February 20, and continuing through the next two consecutive Wednesdays on February 27 and March 6. These coke drums, which were manufactured in Spain, will replace current models in the Chevron refinery’s coker unit, where materials like gasoline, diesel and jet fuel are derived from crude oil.

“There is a lot of complexity involved in preparing and conducting a move of this scale,” said Plump. “Addressing the myriad of potential above-and-beyond complications is what we do, and transporting massive objects will continue to be a signature service for our firm.”

About Plump Engineering, Inc. 
Plump Engineering, Inc. is a fully integrated architectural and engineering firm providing a comprehensive range of services including due diligence, site investigation and analysis; planning and schematic design; entitlements and processing; construction documents; permitting and expediting; and program management. Through project integration, Plump Engineering, Inc. provides streamlined approvals, accelerated schedules, team collaboration, cost management and reduced risk.

Marketwire News Archive – Yahoo! Finance

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Wall Street dips on weakness in energy

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New digs: Federal research chimps savor retirement

KEITHVILLE, La. (AP) — For the first time in their lives, four aging chimpanzees once used in federal research can go outside whenever they like. They can lie on the grass, clamber onto a platform 20 feet up on a chimp-style jungle gym and gaze freely at the open sky, the vista unbroken by steel bars.

Fifty-two-year-olds Julius and Sandy, 46-year-old Phyllis and 44-year-old Jessica have arrived. These and several other primates are now “living like chimpanzees” as they play, groom each other and tussle at Chimp Haven in northwest Louisiana — the only national sanctuary for retired federal research chimps.

Julius’ group is among 111 chimpanzees coming to Chimp Haven over the next 18 months from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s New Iberia Research Center. They could be the vanguard of a much larger immigration of former research chimps on the way to the refuge in Keithville, La.

A National Institutes of Health committee recommended Jan. 22 that most of the other 350 federally owned research chimpanzees be retired to “the federal sanctuary system” — a system of one. The agency’s director will decide whether to accept the recommendations after a 60-day period for public comment.

The proposal to retire all but about 50 federally owned chimpanzees is the latest step in a gradual shift away from using chimps as test subjects, owing to technological advances and growing ethical concerns about research on primates that share more than 98 percent of the DNA of humans.

Research on the chimps has ranged from psychological studies to trying to develop vaccines for HIV and hepatitis.

The arrivals are staggered so the small staff can integrate small groups of newcomers with old-timers at Chimp Haven. And some of their living quarters and play spaces haven’t yet been built at Chimp Haven, which opened in 2005.

The newcomers led by Julius were among nine that arrived Jan. 22. Another seven arrived later that week and eight more Tuesday.

Julius and his “girls” got their first view of unobstructed sky last week. New arrivals spend 17 days in quarantine before being moved into an indoor bedroom area near a bedroom occupied by chimps already settled into the sanctuary, to see how they get along.

Their first outdoor time is in one of two grassy, quarter-acre play yards that open onto the bedrooms. A network of steel mesh tunnels lets the staff move chimps from any part of the sanctuary to any other.

Staffers say it’s amazing to see them savor new freedoms.

“They light up, look up at the sky, look at us watching them,” behaviorist Amy Fultz said.

Like most newcomers to Chimp Haven, Julius’ group first explored the edges of its new surroundings. Their play yards are surrounded by a high concrete wall that can’t be climbed, and the larger areas of dense pine forest by similar concrete walls and, on one side, a moat.

Chimps in the wild make regular perimeter patrols, alert for any encroaching bands and for a chance to expand their own territory.

These retirees will send the rest of their lives at the 200-acre sanctuary in a forested park belonging to the Caddo Parish government, which donated the land to Chimp Haven.

They get about a month at a time with access to each of the quarter-acre play areas and the habitats of 3 to 5 acres populated by dense stands of pines where the primates can nest high in the trees.

Two other groups of recent arrivals from the university lab in New Iberia are getting acquainted with each other because each includes a youngster. The aim is to meld them and other groups with juveniles into a group with Chimp Haven’s three “oops” babies, all sired by Conan, who has been at Chimp Haven for years.

The 111 incoming chimps include a total of eight youngsters; one was born to a female chimp with HIV, but the others and their mothers all are destined to become part of Conan’s social group.

On Tuesday, Conan’s crowd was in a play area, catching fruit thrown by staffers. A female named Sheila slapped her hands together and then held up an arm to attract attention.

A few minutes’ walk away, another group of 15 chimps raced from the steel mesh tunnel between their sleeping area and a 5-acre forested habitat toward an array of fruits and vegetables strewn on the ground. Some grabbed a hoard of bananas, apples and oranges before starting to munch; others ate immediately.

After a bit, several turned to a tall, pointed structure with PVC pipes stuck in it — an imitation termite mound. In the wild, chimps poke sticks into termite mounds to pull out insects to eat. At Chimp Haven, the tubes may hold honey-coated bits of fruit or sugar-free candy, inducing the great apes to use tools as they would in the wild.

Fultz said some newcomers won’t even step on the grass in the play yards, but Julius’ group had no qualms.

“They sit and look around. They look up at the sky. To me, they seem to be thinking, ‘There’s no bars,’” Fultz said.

That isn’t to say bars don’t exist in the sanctuary.

Indoor bedrooms, furnished with straw and blankets for making nests, and old fire hose for climbing, have steel mesh interior walls to keep chimps in.

Chimps with HIV, hepatitis or other major medical or psychological problems have outdoor areas surrounded by the same wide, heavy steel mesh. The peaked ceilings are of pipes laid a few inches apart from each other so the chimps can swing across the ceiling arm over arm, as they might in trees.

“Those spaces are huge. They’re huge,” said Lori Gruen, a Wesleyan University philosophy professor who specializes in animal ethics. Chimp Haven is “a pretty remarkable facility. I think it will be quite interesting and exciting to see it expand.”

But there’s a major hurdle. When Chimp Haven was made the national sanctuary in 2002, Congress capped spending on the project at $ 30 million. That cap will be hit this year.

U.S. Rep. John Fleming, a Republican representing northwest Louisiana, said in a statement emailed by his press secretary that any additional federal spending “will be difficult” in the current budget climate of mounting federal debt and ongoing national security priorities.

Kathleen Conlee, vice president for animal research issues of the Humane Society of the United States, and other advocates say there’s no need for additional spending if Congress would let NIH put money now spent on research contracts into the animals’ retirement.

That would save money, because the 75 percent federal share of care at Chimp Haven is lower than the research contracts’ cost, Conlee has said.

With help from the Humane Society and other nonprofit groups, the sanctuary has in recent months raised $ 2.6 million needed to add bedrooms, six play yards and an open-air enclosure to accommodate all 111 federal chimps coming from New Iberia and another $ 100,000 toward a total $ 5.1 million goal announced in November.

“We certainly expect and hope the cap will be extended,” said Cathy Willis Spraetz, who became president of Chimp Haven three weeks ago.

If it isn’t? “Then we have to rely on our wonderful donors,” she said.

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