Colleges That Bring the Highest Paycheck 2011

by Paul Toscano
Monday, July 25, 2011
Location, prestige, academic reputation and tuition are major factors for students in the college selection process, but post-graduate salary is something rarely taken into consideration.
Although salaries depend heavily on a graduate's field of work, companies are willing to pay a premium for students hailing from the nation's top universities. But which undergraduate institutions offer the most valuable educations?

Recently, PayScale.com released a report on the highest salary potential among the nation's top colleges, and from this data, colleges and universities can be ranked by the mid-career median salaries of its graduates. For schools with the same mid-career median salaries, starting median salary determines their relative rank.

So, which schools have highest paid graduates?

8. Duke University

Mid-career median salary: $111,000
Starting median salary: $59,600

Location: Durham, N.C.
2010-2011 tuition: $40,472
College rank: 9 (National)
Acceptance rate: 18.9%
Total undergrad enrollment: 6,578

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7. Polytechnic Institute of New York University

Mid-career median salary: $113,000
Starting median salary: $61,000

Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.
2010-2011 tuition: $36,284
College rank: 153 (National)
Acceptance rate: 55%
Total undergrad enrollment: 1,732

6. Dartmouth College

Mid-career median salary: $114,000
Starting median salary: $51,600

Location: Hanover, N.H.
2010-2011 tuition: $40,437
College rank: 9 (National)
Acceptance rate: 12.6%
Total undergrad enrollment: 4,196

5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Mid-career median salary: $115,000
Starting median salary: $69,700

Location: Cambridge, Mass.
2010-2011 tuition: $39,212
College rank: 7 (National)
Acceptance rate: 10.7%
Total undergrad enrollment: 4,232

4. Harvard University

Mid-career median salary: $116,000
Starting median salary: $54,100

Location: Cambridge, Mass.
2010-2011 tuition: $38,416
College rank: 1 (National)
Acceptance rate: 7.5%
Total undergrad enrollment: 6,655

3. Harvey Mudd College

Mid-career median salary: $121,000
Starting median salary: $64,400

Location: Claremont, Calif.
2010-2011 tuition: $40,390
College rank: 18 (Liberal Arts)
Acceptance rate: 34.1%
Total undergrad enrollment: 757

2. California Institute of Technology (CalTech)

Mid-career median salary: $123,000
Starting median salary: $69,600

Location: Pasadena, Calif.
2010-2011 tuition: $36,282
College rank: 7 (National)
Acceptance rate: 15.3%
Total undergrad enrollment: 951

1. Princeton University

Mid-career median salary: $130,000
Starting median salary: $56,900

Location: Princeton, N.J.
2010-2011 tuition: $36,640
College rank: 2 (National)
Acceptance rate: 10.1%
Total undergrad enrollment: 5,113
For more colleges that bring the highest paychecks, visit CNBC.com.

Bank of America reports huge loss

AFPBy Alexander Osipovich | AFP – 19 July 2011
Bank of America said on Tuesday that it lost $9.1 billion in the second quarter, due to its record-breaking settlement over subprime mortgage claims stemming from the financial crisis.

Its earnings amounted to a swing into a loss of 90 cents a share, in line with analysts' forecasts after the bank set aside $14 billion last month to compensate angry investors for their losses on dodgy mortgage-backed securities.

Without the mortgage settlement and other exceptional items, the bank would have posted a profit of $3.7 billion, or 33 cents per share, Bank of America said in its quarterly earnings report.

"Obviously, the solid performance in our underlying businesses continues to be clouded by the costs we are absorbing from our legacy mortgage issues," chief executive Brian Moynihan said in a statement.

The bank's revenues in the April-June period were $13.2 billion, a drop of 55 percent from the same period last year. Analysts had expected revenues of $12.3 billion.

Bank of America, the largest bank in the United States in terms of deposits, announced a settlement last month aimed at resolving issues from its disastrous 2008 acquisition of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial.

Until 2008, Countrywide played a leading role in generating mortgages that were bundled into securities and resold to investors.

Following a downturn in the US housing market, though, such mortgage-backed securities plunged in value, triggering the global financial crisis.

Bank of America's proposed $8.5 billion payout to 22 big private investment groups, which still needs court approval, is the largest such settlement by a financial institution stemming from the crisis.

Along with that sum, Bank of America also set aside $5.5 billion for pending liabilities to other investors not included in the settlement.

"The company continues to work through legacy issues, but it has been costly, and there is still more work to do," analysts with Nomura Equity Research said in a research note.

Bank of America's shares had slumped 1.7 percent on the New York Stock Exchange shortly before 1500 GMT on Tuesday.

In contrast, shares of its number-two rival Wells Fargo rallied 4.0 percent after the San Francisco-based bank reported that its net income surged 30 percent to $3.73 billion in the second quarter.

Wells Fargo's earnings per share were 70 cents, just beating analysts' consensus expectations of 69 cents.

Weighed down by a sluggish economy, its revenues were $20.39 billion, around 5 percent less than the second quarter of 2010 but still a modest uptick from first-quarter 2011 revenues of $20.33 billion.

"Our business fundamentals were strong with increased revenues, loans and deposits, lower operating costs, improved credit quality and higher capital levels," Wells Fargo chief executive John Stumpf said in a statement.

The slowing economy also weighed on investment-banking titan Goldman Sachs, which reported that its second-quarter net income was $1.05 billion, below analysts' expectations.

Goldman's revenues were $7.28 billion, down 18 percent from the same quarter of 2010 and 39 percent lower than in the first quarter of this year. Analysts had expected revenues of $8.14 billion.

"During the second quarter, the operating environment was more difficult given global macroeconomic concerns," Goldman's chairman and chief executive Lloyd Blankfein said in a statement.

Goldman shares were down 0.5 percent at about 1500 GMT.

Best way to invest in gold

Choose the best way of gold investing
By Jon Safer
Gold is considered the ideal precious metal to invest in, particularly when the values of other classes of assets are declining. Individuals choose to invest in Gold because it is seen as a hedge in times of economic recession.

During harsh economic times, paper money becomes less valuable, and gold is considered a sure alternative. Persons also opt to invest in gold because of the potential for profit, and wealth creation. Read more

The $89,000 Online MBA Degree

Published: Wednesday, 6 Jul 2011 | 10:44 AM ET
By: Stephanie Landsman
One of the world's top ranked business schools is taking its MBA program on a new course.

Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill begins its first ever online MBA program this week.

Even though the program is conducted online, tuition is the same for students who physically attend class. Both degrees cost $89,000. 19 students—mostly in their 30s - are enrolled in the online version.

"We thought there was an opportunity to reach an audience that hasn't been reached before," said UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Dean Jim Dean. (Yes, he's Dean Dean.) "People who are qualified to do a top tier MBA, but couldn't quit their job for full-time or travel can do this… Frankly, this is something the world has never seen before."

The significance is that this MBA online program is being conducted by a highly ranked school. The Wall Street Journal rates UNC Kenan-Flagler as the nation's sixth best business school. BusinessWeek has it as 16th. Read more

The trade dollar

The trade dollar, dólar de intercambio o intercambio dólares was a United States dollar coin minted to compete with other large silver coins that were already popular in East Asia. The idea first came about in the 1860s, when the price of silver began to decline due to increased mining efforts in the western United States. A bill providing in part for the issuance of the trade dollar was eventually put before Congress, where it was approved and later signed into law as the Coinage Act of 1873. The act made trade dollars legal tender up to five dollars. A number of designs were considered for the trade dollar, and an obverse and reverse created by William Barber were selected.
The coins were first struck in 1873, and most of the production was sent to China. Eventually, bullion producers began converting large amounts of silver into trade dollars, causing the coins to make their way into American commercial channels. This caused frustration among those who were given them in payment, as the coins were largely maligned and traded for less than one dollar each. In response to their wide distribution in American commerce, the coins were officially demonetized in 1876, but continued to circulate. Production of business strikes ended in 1878, though the mintage of proof coins continued until 1883. The trade dollar was re-monetized when the Coinage Act of 1965 was signed into law. Read more

Bernanke "prepared to respond" if economy worsens

ReutersBy Pedro da Costa and Mark Felsenthal | Reuters – 13 July 2011
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve is ready to ease monetary policy further if economic growth and inflation slow much more, Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday, giving a boost to the bruised stock market.

While holding to a view that recent economic softness would eventually pass, he appeared less confident in that projection and more willing to entertain the possibility of another round of stimulus.

"The possibility remains that the recent economic weakness may prove more persistent than expected and that deflationary risks might re-emerge, implying a need for additional policy support," Bernanke told the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.

The Fed launched an unprecedented round of bond-buying in late 2009 to try to boost the economy and make credit more available, spending some $1.7 trillion on mortgage-backed securities and Treasuries before it ended in March 2010. Later in the year it initiated a second round that wrapped up in June this year in which $600 billion of bonds were bought.

Still, the economy remains in a soft recovery.

Bernanke specifically noted the Fed's forecasts in June, already revised down significantly from April, had not incorporated recent data, particularly last Friday's dismal employment report. It showed job growth essentially ground to a halt in May and June while the jobless rate rose to 9.2 percent.

Hopes for further monetary support sent U.S. stocks, which have taken a drubbing over the last week on worries about Europe's debt troubles and a soft U.S. economy, 1 percent higher, while Treasury bond prices and the dollar tumbled.

"The market wasn't thinking there would be any mention of QE3 whatsoever and here we're finding out QE3 is not being ruled out. It's a tantalizing headline," said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.

Asked whether the Fed would be willing to launch another bond purchase program if the economy slumps, Bernanke said: "We have to keep all the options on the table. We don't know where the economy is going to go."

Embarking on a path of further stimulus would not be simple. The second, $600 billion bond buying program, which ended in June, raised eyebrows both at home and abroad when it was first announced back in November.

At least one Fed official, Dallas Fed Bank President Richard Fisher, on Wednesday served noticed that he would oppose any such idea because, he said, the economy already has ample liquidity and adding more might not spur activity.

"I will not support further monetary accommodation," Fisher told reporters after a speech in Dallas. "There's so much liquidity out there, what's the trigger to put it to work?" said Fisher, a voter on the U.S. central bank's policy-setting committee.

Republicans and some economists accused the Fed of laying the groundwork for future inflation, while leaders in emerging economies accused the Fed of a backdoor dollar devaluation.

Pressed on the budget, Bernanke reiterated his warning that a failure to raise the debt ceiling would deal a severe blow to the global economic recovery.

"Cutting programs or raising taxes in ways that will reduce aggregate demand ... is going to slow the economy," he said.

Minutes from the Fed's June meeting, released on Tuesday, showed some policymakers believe the Fed should stand ready to provide more support to the economy if the recovery flags, rekindling the threat of a debilitating downward spiral in prices and wages.

Others on the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, however, felt inflation risks might force the central bank to withdraw stimulus sooner than is currently anticipated.

DOOR OPEN TO QE3

Still, given the change in tune, some investors were betting the more dovish members of the committee would win the day in pushing for a third round of quantitative easing if the economy continues to deteriorate.

"My initial reaction was 'QE3 here we come'," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank in Chicago. "We suspected the Fed would come up with some sort of QE3 in light of the disturbance surrounding the sovereign debt markets."

Bernanke did not go into great detail regarding Europe, but the Fed chief's outlook on U.S. growth prospects was understandably cautious.

After recovering from the steepest recession in generations beginning in the summer of 2009, the U.S. economy has lost momentum in recent months. Gross domestic product expanded just 1.9 percent in the first three months of the year, and the second quarter does not look to have been much better.

Bernanke held to the view that recent weakness was due in part to temporary factors like energy costs and the effects on global industry from Japan's earthquake and tsunami.

But he acknowledged the labor market remains weaker than the Fed would like.

"The most recent data attest to the continuing weakness of the labor market," Bernanke said.

Bernanke defended the second round of bond buys against critics who said it had been ineffective.

He said the Fed estimates round two of quantitative easing, or QE2, lowered long-term interest rates by between 0.1 and 0.3 percentage point, which Bernanke said would be roughly equivalent to a 0.40 to 1.20 percentage point decline in the federal funds rate, which is currently set in a range between zero and 0.25 percent.

Regarding inflation, Bernanke reiterated the recent rise in prices was mostly linked to transitory factors such as higher energy and commodity prices, and should trend back down.

Bell Canada slapped with $10,000,000 fine

Bell Canada to pay $10-million fine for misleading ads, Competition Bureau says
LuAnn LaSalle, The Canadian Press, On Tuesday June 28, 2011, 5:56 pm EDT

Bell Canada must pay a $10-million fine for using misleading advertising — including "100 lines of fine print" — on prices for its home phone, Internet, satellite TV and wireless services, the federal Competition Bureau ruled.

The federal watchdog said Tuesday that Bell's advertised prices were not available because of additional mandatory fees related to modem rentals, phone and digital television services that were hidden from consumers in "fine print disclaimers."

"If you're going to advertise the price, it had better be the real price," said Melanie Aitken, Commissioner of Competition.

"You can't use a disclaimer to advertise prices that aren't available to anyone. In this case, consumers had to wade through 1,600 words — 100 lines of fine print — just to try to sort out, if they could, what the real price was," Aitken said in an interview.

Aitken said Bell had been using this kind of misleading advertising nationally since 2007 in printed material, on its website and in some television and radio spots.

The fine is the maximum amount allowed under the Competition Act. Bell (TSX:BCE) has agreed to change its offending advertising within 60 days.

"This is the first case where that level of penalty has been agreed to," she said.

The bureau said Bell had advertised a bundle for home phone, Internet and television services starting as low as $69.90 per month. However, the lowest possible price, including the mandatory fees, was $80.27, the competition bureau said.

Aitken said Bell also offered a home phone service for $14.95 a month, but the actual price was about 20 per cent higher when the mandatory fees were included.

A Bell spokesman said the telecom company disagrees with the decision but agreed to resolve the issue rather than going through a lengthy and costly legal challenge.

"Disclaimers in advertising have been common practice in the communications marketplace and many other industries in Canada," said Mark Langton.

"The bureau has examined our advertising in the past and never raised concerns about price disclaimers," he said in an email.

"We've always disclosed all fees in our advertising. The bureau uses a bell.ca example to explain its position, but customers could not actually buy our products without seeing any and all fees that would apply."

Aitken said she hopes the message that it's not acceptable to use fine print to explain prices goes beyond the telecom industry to businesses in general.

"Something as important as the total price that you're going to offer, it had better be clear."

The $10 million will go into a general government fund and Bell is paying an additional $100,000 to the Competition Bureau to cover the costs of the investigation, Aitken said.