The Invisible Force Behind College Admissions

By Maggie McGrath and Matt Schifrin

Despite the windowless, bunker-like atmosphere inside the Erie conference room of the Sheraton in downtown Chicago, Galen Graber has to be impressed by his audience: a swath of the 1,500 top admissions and financial aid officials from 635 different schools who have gathered to set policies that determine which kids get into which college and how much money they'll receive.

Cutting to the chase, Graber, a consultant, launches by taking a poll: "How many of you would say that the primary motivation for offering students merit scholarships is to reward academic achievement?"

Not a single person raises his or her hand.

That response goes a long way to explain college tuition rates that have risen 12% in the last decade while median household income has declined 6% over the same period. And why student debt levels have hit $1.2 trillion, a burden that surpasses even U.S. household credit card debt.

Elite universities like Harvard, Stanford and others on the top of the FORBES list exist in their own orbit–they admit students without factoring in need, their multibillion-dollar endowments providing generous grants for the middle-class and poor. (Get into any Ivy League school with a family income of less than $60,000 and you can pretty much expect a free ride.)

Then there's the rest of American higher education: the 95% of schools that have puny endowments and thus almost complete dependence on tuition, admitting virtually any high school senior able to fill out an application. It's not a stable model. So those not raising their hands at Graber's seminar do so knowing that one of their core missions is to ensure that revenue–a.k.a. tuition–keeps flowing and growing, ever higher. Especially when so few constituencies–Sallie Mae and other guaranteed lenders, the GI Bill and other federal programs, parents–pay attention to what's driving the price that 22 million American college students pay.

Former Bear Stearns CEO Ace Greenberg dies

  Ace Greenberg: 60 years at Bear Stearns NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Alan "Ace" Greenberg, a former CEO and chairman at Bear Stearns, has died at age 86.

He was at the helm of Bear Stearns for 15 years, until 1993, and was chairman when the brokerage firm went under in 2008.

Greenberg spent decades at the brokerage firm, seeing the company grow into an industry powerhouse and through its collapse, which fueled the financial crisis that led to the Great Recession.

"In many respects, he epitomized the American dream, rising from a clerk to the corner office during his 65 years with the firm," said JPMorgan's CEO Jamie Dimon and Mary Erdoes, head of asset management, in an email sent Friday to employees.

JPMorgan (JPM) bought Bear Stearns for $10 a share after the firm's collapse.

Greenberg was known to answer his own phone and was always at work. In a 2010 interview with CNN, he said he never missed a day of work after fighting a bout of colon cancer at age 31 -- even when he contracted malaria on a trip to Africa in 1968.

Greenberg also served as a trustee at the American Museum of Natural History, the New York Public Library, and New York University.

Rising LED Light Market Stimulating CREE’s Growth

The LED lighting market is anticipated to grow 45% per year through 2019. The LED lighting market at $4.8 billion in 2012 is anticipated to go to $42 billion by 2019. This anticipated market size has provided a driving force to companies like CREE. The Company remains focused on product innovation and to expand its product offering. CREE is continually engaged in development of low cost next generation LED bulb, with new price points leading to LED adoption. The company adopts a reinvesting policy from its profits to fund additional marketing investments and generate even more awareness that the Cree LED bulb pays for itself.

The company recently declared its third quarter results for fiscal 2014 and was impressive. Solid quarterly results with revenue of $405 million and non-GAAP net income of $47.7 million or $0.39 per diluted share. Revenue and operating income were much in-line with the target range set by the Company. It further feels that the business is poised to grow in Q4 (current quarter). The sales trends in Q3 were up in all the segments. Lighting sales grew 35% year-over-year to $177 million, LED sales grew 3% year-over-year to $201 million and Power and RF sales increased 21% year-over-year to $27.4 million.

This exemplifies that CREE once again demonstrated its ability to deliver strong operating results. The revenue in gross profit growth was mainly due to higher sales, cost reductions and higher factory utilization. To further extrapolate its growth line it is investing in new technologies and also creating a stronger CREE brand with market awareness programs.

The LED market's dynamics have improved considerably over the past, primarily driven by the launch of new innovative products and the closing price gap with traditional lighting. With this dynamic, the company in the current fourth quarter, the Company anticipates growth in all three product segments. CREE anticipates Q4 revenue to increase to a range of 430 million to 460 million. The growth in sales is driven by double digit growth in LED fixtures and LED bulb, Power and RF sales are also anticipated to be slightly higher.

Research & Development catalytic to growth

From an R&D standpoint CREE established a completely new efficiency benchmark for lighting systems with the first 200 lumen per watt LED concept luminaire that is more than twice the efficiency of the best linear fluorescent luminaires. It also reinvented the concept of lighting controls with self-programming one button "SmartCast" technology, which reduces energy consumption by more than 70%.

With an innovative approach supported by R&D, Cree LED bulb is now brighter and more affordable. The prime focus of CREE is on innovation that enabled it to reduce pricing and expand the LED bulb product line with the introduction of 100 watt warm and cool white LED replacement bulbs. The customers for LED bulbs are constantly increasing providing momentum to sales of CREE LED bulb and brand recognition.

Furthermore, the Company is persistent to raise the bar in LED price performance with their new ZR LED troffer that now delivers excellent light quality and aesthetics for under a $100. CREE also achieved a breakthrough with XSP street light series with the XSP Area and XSP W Wall Pack products.

Revenue from patents

CREE has numerous patents registered under its names for LED light. This again generates a revenue stream for CREE as license cost from various LED manufacturers using technology patented by CREE. Various global LED light manufacturers like Philips, Bridgelux Inc, Kingbright Electronic Co. Ltd, Rohm co, Stanley Electric Co. Ltd, etc are under the license contract with CREE for using the LED chip technology that is patented by CREE.

Conclusion

CREE provides total LED solutions and is also increasing its market share for LED lights. As it's a company with vertical integration, it helps it to churn out low cost LED lights which boost its revenue. LED chips are important components in LED lights. The company has a rich product portfolio pertaining to LED solutions, which includes a wide range of LED lights home and commercial application.

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Will Emerging Markets Head Lower?

By Chris McKhann of OptionMonster

NEW YORK -- Emerging markets have been steadily drifting higher, but one enormous trade is looking for a pullback.

OptionMonster's tracking programs Tuesday detected a giant put spread in the iShares Emerging Markets Fund (EEM), which holds a wide range of companies in Korea, Taiwan, China, Russia, and Brazil. The investor bought 197,450 October 40 puts for 38 cents and sold the same number of October 37 puts for 13 cents. Volume far outstripped the previous open interest in each strike, which indicates that new positions were established.

Owning puts locks in the price where the EEM can be sold, while selling them forces them to cover that short at a certain level. Combining the two allows a $4 differential to be controlled for a tiny fraction of the cost. Tuesday's trade, for instance, cost just 25 cents and will earn 1,100% if the fund declines 10% by expiration.

  The emerging-markets fund fell 0.07% to $44.20 Tuesday after reaching a 52-week high of $44.32 earlier in the session. It bottomed out at $37 in early February. Overall option volume in the fund was six times greater than average in the session, with puts accounting for a bearish 84% of the total. McKhann has no positions in EEM.  

Japan stocks extend slump, with Fast down on results

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks have ended with losses in every session this week, and sure enough, the Nikkei Average (JP:NIK) was down 0.6% in early Friday trade, though off an opening 0.8% defecit, while the Topix carried a 0.7% loss. Overnight losses for the U.S. and further strength in the yen (with the dollar falling to ¥101.28 from ¥101.56 a day earlier) helped drag the market lower, as did results from Fast Retailing Co. (JP:9983) (FRCOF) , the shares of which hold the heaviest weighting on Nikkei Average. Fast Retailing said that while its Uniqlo brand was doing great business, weakness for its J Brand luxury demin label helped send September-May profit down 4% and prompted another cut to Fast's full-year outlook. Consequently, its shares traded 0.7% lower, though rivals Takashimaya Co. (JP:8233) and J. Front Retailing Co. (JP:3086) (JFROF) also saw losses of 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively. Among other decliners, Sony Corp. (JP:6758) (SNE) lost 0.7%, Toshiba Corp. (JP:6502) (TOSYY) fell 2.1%, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. (JP:7012) (KWHIY) fell 1.5%, Toyota Motor Corp. (JP:7203) (TM) and Nissan Motor Co. (JP:7201) (NSANY) retreated 0.8% each, Nomura Holdings Inc. (JP:8604) (NRSCF) (NMR) gave back 1.8%, and Pioneer Corp. (JP:6773) (PNCOF) traded down 2.3%. On the upside, Japan Display Inc. (JP:6740) rose 0.8%, Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. (JP:1662) (JPTXF) improved by 1% on a rebound in oil prices, and Canon Inc. (JP:7751) (CAJ) added 2.8% after a Nikkei news report said the company would post a 10% increase in April-June operating profit, thanks to strength in its color-copier business.

Abner Herrman Is Increasing Position in the Pharmaceutical Sector

Over the past days hedge funds have been filing their form 13-F, which is a quarterly report of equity holdings by filed institutional investment managers with at least $100 million in equity assets under management, as required by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In this article, let´s concentrate in one particular hedge fund and try to see the principal holdings in its portfolio. I will look into Abner Herrman & Brock LLC, which provides portfolio management for high net worth individuals, endowments, and corporate retirement plans.Recently the fund reported its equity portfolio, as at the end of June. The total value of the portfolio amounted to $331.2 million, up from $311.3 million disclosed at the end of the previous quarter. Consequently, the fund's total return was 6.4% in the last quarter. The filing revealed that at the end of June, the fund added 4 new positions to its equity portfolio, and sold out of 3 other companies. The top ten portfolio holdings as of the end of the quarter represented 30.85%. The largest changes from previous 13-F´s fillings are in the energy sector (3.5%) followed by the reduction of financials and industrials.In this article, we have selected three companies, in which the fund holds the largest stakes, in terms of market value.The first on the list is Merck & Co. (MRK), in which the fund disclosed a $15.2 million stake with over 263,570 shares. The company is a leading global drugmaker, producing a wide range of prescription drugs in many therapeutic classes in the U.S. and abroad. It has improved earnings per share by 9.6% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. With respect to price performance, this stock has enjoyed a rise of 26.85% which was in line with the performance of the market. It has a proven commitment to returning cash to investors, with a current dividend yield of 3.0% which is considered good to protect investor´s purchasing power. Other hedge fund gurus have also been active in the! company.. Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio), Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio) and David Dreman (Trades, Portfolio) have bought in it in the first quarter of 2014.The Boeing Company (BA) comes in next, the fund owning over 107,170 shares, worth $13.635 million. The company is the world's largest manufacturer of commercial jets and the second largest military weapons maker. It reported earnings per share declined by 11.1% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. This is another company which returns cash to investors. The current dividend yield is 2.2%, which is considered quite good enough to protect the purchasing power. Other hedge fund gurus have also been active in the company. Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio), Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio), Bill Frels (Trades, Portfolio), Sarah Ketterer (Trades, Portfolio) and Murray Stahl (Trades, Portfolio) have taken long positions in it in the first quarter of 2014.In The Walt Disney Company (DIS) the fund disclosed ownership of over 119,540 shares, worth $10.25 million. This media and entertainment conglomerate has diversified global operations in theme parks, filmed entertainment, television broadcasting and consumer products. It has reported strong earnings growth of about 30% and the stock has surged by 36.64% over the past year. Other hedge fund gurus have also been active in the company. Joel Greenblatt (Trades, Portfolio), Steven Cohen (Trades, Portfolio), David Tepper (Trades, Portfolio), Sarah Ketterer (Trades, Portfolio), John Buckingham (Trades, Portfolio) and Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) have taken long positions in it in the first quarter of 2014.Final CommentIn the next chart we can appreciate the stock's price movements. Since 2009, the three stocks have an upward trend.All of the stocks still have good upside potential despite the fact that they have already risen in the past year. The thr! ee stocks ! are certainly attractive for fundamental investors and make it a worthy investment for Abner's portfolio. In future articles we are going to calculate the intrinsic value of these stocks to determine if they are a good buy in terms of valuation.Disclosure: Omar Venerio holds no position in any stocks or funds mentioned.Also check out: Joel Greenblatt Undervalued Stocks Joel Greenblatt Top Growth Companies Joel Greenblatt High Yield stocks, and Stocks that Joel Greenblatt keeps buying Paul Tudor Jones Undervalued Stocks Paul Tudor Jones Top Growth Companies Paul Tudor Jones High Yield stocks, and Stocks that Paul Tudor Jones keeps buying

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Six Flags Investors Shrug Off Magic Mountain Coaster Accident

KTLA-5 News/APWorkers rescue people from the Ninja coaster at Six Flags. Nearly two dozen riders of a roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain got more thrills than they were expecting on Monday when a tree branch obstructed the track at the Southern California amusement park, dislodging part of the train. It took three hours for crews to evacuate all 22 passengers off the suspended Ninja coaster. Four riders were injured when the ride came to a screeching halt, but all of the injuries were deemed initially minor. It could've been catastrophic -- especially with one of the cars perilously hanging off of the track. The accident took place after the market close on Monday, but shares of Six Flags (SIX) dipped a mere 0.2 percent on Tuesday -- considerably better than the overall market's decline that day. Wall Street either didn't make the connection or figured that Six Flags isn't likely to suffer any attendance declines as a result of the incident. Accidents Happen It's early in the busy season for regional amusement park operators, but there have already been plenty of cases of popular coasters being temporarily stalled due to mechanical breakdowns. Evacuations using cherry pickers with folks shuttled off to hospitals as a precaution are rare -- and this may be the first tree-related incident resulting in a partial derailing -- but setbacks happen. As a park-goer or an investor in Six Flags, Cedar Fair (FUN) or even Disney (DIS), this doesn't mean that it's time to worry. There are risks involved in every kind of social outing, and the occasional accident on a roller coaster shouldn't be a deciding factor in whether you let your children on the rides or decide to hold back on your own white-knuckled pursuits.

3 Stocks Breaking Out on Unusual Volume

DELAFIELD, Wis. (Stockpickr) -- Professional traders running mutual funds and hedge funds don't just look at a stock's price moves; they also track big changes in volume activity. Often when above-average volume moves into an equity, it precedes a large spike in volatility.

>>5 Rocket Stocks to Buy for Earnings Season

Major moves in volume can signal unusual activity, such as insider buying or selling -- or buying or selling by "superinvestors."

Unusual volume can also be a major signal that hedge funds and momentum traders are piling into a stock ahead of a catalyst. These types of traders like to get in well before a large spike, so it's always a smart move to monitor unusual volume. That said, remember to combine trend and price action with unusual volume. Put them all together to help you decipher the next big trend for any stock.

>>5 Stocks Under $10 Setting Up to Soar Higher

With that in mind, let's take a look at several stocks rising on unusual volume recently.

Cirrus Logic

Cirrus Logic (CRUS), a fabless semiconductor company, develops analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits for a range of consumer and industrial markets. This stock closed up 5.1% to $24.38 in Monday's trading session.

Monday's Volume: 2.85 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 1.57 million

Volume % Change: 75%

From a technical perspective, CRUS ripped sharply higher here right above its 50-day moving average of $22.73 with strong upside volume flows. This move pushed shares of CRUS into breakout territory, since the stock took out some near-term overhead resistance at $24.06. Shares of CRUS are now starting to trend within range of triggering another big breakout trade. That trade will hit if CRUS manages to take out Monday's intraday high of $24.46 to some past overhead resistance at $25.91 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CRUS as long as it's trending above Monday's intraday low of $23.22 or above its 50-day at $22.73 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 1.57 million shares. If that breakout materializes soon, then CRUS will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $30 to $32.

Banco Santander-Chile

Banco Santander-Chile (BSAC) provides commercial and retail banking services in Chile. This stock closed up 2.2% at $26.87 in Monday's trading session.

Monday's Volume: 790,000

Three-Month Average Volume: 350,487

Volume % Change: 118%

From a technical perspective, BSAC jumped higher here right above some near-term support at $25.89 and right above its 50-day moving average of $25.47 with above-average volume. This stock has been uptrending strong for the last six months, with shares moving higher from its low of $18.62 to its recent high of $27.09. During that uptrend, shares of BSAC have been consistently making higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That move has now pushed shares of BSAC within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if BSAC manages to take out its 52-week high at $27.09 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in BSAC as long as it's trending above support at $25.89 or above its 50-day at $25.47 and then once it sustains a move or close above $27.09 with volume that this near or above 350,487 shares. If that breakout kicks off soon, then BSAC will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $29 to $30, or even $31 to $32.

Michael Kors

Michael Kors (KORS) is engaged in the design, marketing, distribution and retailing of branded women's apparel and accessories and men's apparel. This stock closed up 1% to $91.16 in Monday's trading session.

Monday's Volume: 3.69 million

Three-Month Average Volume: 2.79 million

Volume % Change: 50%

From a technical perspective, KORS jumped modestly higher here right above some near-term support at $88 with above-average volume. This stock has been basing and moving sideways for the last few weeks, with shares moving between $87.70 on the downside and around $92 on the upside. This spike higher on Monday is starting to push shares of KORS within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade above the upper-end of its recent range. That trade will hit if KORS manages to take out Monday's intraday high of $91.79 to its 50-day moving average of $92.21 with high volume.

Traders should now look for long-biased trades in KORS as long as it's trending above Monday's intraday low of $89.50 or above more key support at $87.70 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 2.79 million shares. If that breakout gets set off soon, then KORS will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $94 to $96, or at $99 to $100.

To see more stocks rising on unusual volume, check out the Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume portfolio on Stockpickr.

-- Written by Roberto Pedone in Delafield, Wis.

RELATED LINKS:

>>3 Big Stocks on Traders' Radars

>>5 Blue-Chip Stocks to Trade for Summer Gains

>>5 Stocks Insiders Love Right Now

Follow Stockpickr on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

At the time of publication, author had no positions in stocks mentioned.

Roberto Pedone, based out of Delafield, Wis., is an independent trader who focuses on technical analysis for small- and large-cap stocks, options, futures, commodities and currencies. Roberto studied international business at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and he spent a year overseas studying business in Lubeck, Germany. His work has appeared on financial outlets including

CNBC.com and Forbes.com. You can follow Pedone on Twitter at www.twitter.com/zerosum24 or @zerosum24.

Where to Get Free Checking

Free checking is getting harder to come by. Only 59% of the financial institutions surveyed by Moebs Services at the beginning of 2014 offered free checking without conditions, compared with 82% in 2009. At many banks, you may be asked to jump through certain hoops, such as setting up direct deposit.

SEE ALSO: What to Look for in a Checking Account

Still, we found several attractive, no-strings-attached checking accounts that may even pay you interest. Capital One 360 Checking has no monthly fees or minimum-balance requirements and pays 0.2% to 0.8%, depending on your balance. Plus, you can deposit checks remotely by using a mobile app or your computer to send the bank images of the checks. You pay no fee for withdrawals from ATMs in the Allpoint and Capital One networks.

The free Ally Bank Interest Checking requires no minimum balance, pays 0.6% on balances of $15,000 or more (0.1% on lower balances) and includes remote check deposit. Ally reimburses fees that other in­stitutions charge when you withdraw money from their ATMs. Alliant Credit Union's Free Checking requires no minimum balance, and you can withdraw money from more than 80,000 ATMs in participating networks without a surcharge. (Make a donation of at least $10 to Foster Care to Success to become an Alliant member.)

Sometimes free checking is a perk with brokerage accounts. For Fidelity customers, the Fidelity Cash Management Account requires no monthly fee or minimum balance, reimburses ATM fees charged worldwide and offers mobile check deposit. Balances recently earned 0.07%. The Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking Account has the same features but pays 0.1%.

8 Biotechnology Stocks to Buy Now

Popular Posts: Hottest Energy Stocks Now – TPLM HK KOG SDBiggest Movers in Healthcare Stocks Now – TARO PCRX FMS INO10 Best “Strong Buy” Stocks — BITA SHPG TRGP and more Recent Posts: Hottest Financial Stocks Now – WLP HTGC CACC CG Hottest Technology Stocks Now – AYI WDC NUAN YHOO Hottest Healthcare Stocks Now – THC KND VRTX ABBV View All Posts 8 Biotechnology Stocks to Buy Now

The grades of eight biotechnology stocks are better this week, according to the Portfolio Grader database. Every one of these stocks has an “A” (“strong buy”) or “B” overall (“buy”) rating.

This week, Stemline Therapeutics, Inc. () is showing good progress as the company’s rating jumps from a B (“buy”) last week to an A (“strong buy”). .

This week, Pharmacyclics, Inc. () is showing significant improvement as the company’s rating hops from a C (“hold”) to a B (“buy”). Pharmacyclics is a pharmaceutical company developing products to improve upon current therapeutic approaches to cancer, atherosclerosis, and retinal disease. .

This week, Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. () pushes up from a C to a B rating. Acorda Therapeutics is a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the identification, development and commercialization of novel therapies that improve neurological function in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), spinal cord injury and other disorders of the central nervous system. .

The rating of Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc. () moves up this week, rising from a C to a B. Northwest Biotherapeutics engages in discovering, developing, and commercializing immunotherapy products to treat cancers in the United States. .

This week, PTC Therapeutics, Inc.’s () ratings are up from a C last week to a B. .

BioMarin Pharmaceutical () earns a B this week, jumping up from last week’s grade of C. BioMarin Pharmaceutical develops and commercializes innovative pharmaceuticals for serious diseases and medical conditions. .

Seattle Genetics, Inc. () boosts its rating from a C to a B this week. Seattle Genetics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that is focused on the development and commercialization of monoclonal antibody-based therapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune disease. .

This is a strong week for Amgen (). The company’s rating climbs to A from the previous week’s B. Amgen discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets medicines for serious illnesses. The stock has a dividend yield of 2.4%. .

Louis Navellier’s proprietary Portfolio Grader stock ranking system assesses roughly 5,000 companies every week based on a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. Stocks are given a letter grade based on their results — with A being “strong buy,” and F being “strong sell.” Explore the tool here.

​Mid-Afternoon Market Update: Facebook To Buy LiveRail; Greenbrier Surges

Related BZSUM Markets Little Changed Ahead Of 4th Of July Break CalAmp Shares Decline On Weak Outlook; Greenbrier Surges

Approaching the end of the Wednesday trading session, the Dow traded up 0.10 percent to 16,972.57 while the NASDAQ fell 0.06 percent to 4,455.87. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.54 percent to 1,973.86.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Basic materials sector was the top gainer in Wednesday’s trading. Top gainers in the sector included A. Schulman (NASDAQ: SHLM), up 4.63 percent, and Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF), up 4.87 percent.

In trading on Wednesday, utilities shares were relative laggards, down on the day by about 1.10 percent. Top losers in the sector included FirstEnergy (NYSE: FE), down 3.15 percent, and Entergy (NYSE: ETR), off 3.12 percent.

Top Headline

Facebook (NYSE: FB) announced it will acquire video ad sale service LiveRail.  Facebooks shares sold off 2 percent on the news, hitting a low of $66.44

Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) reported upbeat results for its fiscal first quarter and lifted its FY15 forecast outlook.

Constellation Brands posted its quarterly profit of $207 million, or $1.03 per share, up from $52.9 million, or $0.27 per share, in the year-ago period. Its adjusted earnings came in at $1.07 per share in the quarter.

Its sales surged to $1.526 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.93 per share on sales of $1.41 billion.

Equities Trading UP

Shutterfly (NASDAQ: SFLY) shares shot up 16.18 percent to $50.55 on rumors the company may seek a buyer for itself.

Shares of The Greenbrier Companies (NYSE: GBX) got a boost, shooting up 11.77 percent to $64.50 after the company reported upbeat third-quarter earnings and lifted its full-year outlook.

Rackspace Hosting (NYSE: RAX) shares were also up, gaining 5.10 percent to $35.47 after TechCrunch reported that Rackspace may be considering taking the company private, according to multiple sources.

Equities Trading DOWN

Shares of CalAmp (NASDAQ: CAMP) were down 12.04 percent to $19.43 after the company issued a weak forecast for the second quarter. It expected Q2 earnings of $0.17 to $0.21 per share on revenue of $57 million to $61 million. Analysts estimated earnings of $0.22 per share on revenue of $62.2 million.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) shares tumbled 5.26 percent to $38.19. Delta reported June PRASM growth of 4.5%. It expected Q2 operating margin of 14% to 16% and operating cash flow of $2 billion.

GoPro (NASDAQ: GPRO) was down, falling 11.70 percent to $43.09 after surging for four sessions.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.79 percent to $104.51, while gold traded up 0.23 percent to $1,329.60.

Silver traded up 0.61 percent Wednesday to $21.25, while copper rose 1.78 percent to $3.26.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.23 percent, the Spanish IBEX Index gained 0.08 percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index surged 0.53 percent. Meanwhile, the German DAX climbed 0.09 percent and the French CAC 40 fell 0.37 percent while UK shares climbed 0.21 percent.

Economics

The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity dropped 0.20% in the week ended June 27.

Private-sector employers added 281,000 jobs in June, versus a 179,000 gain in May, according to Automatic Data Processing. However, economists were projecting an addition of 205,000 jobs.

US factory orders declined 0.50% in May, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.30% drop.

Crude stockpiles dropped 3.2 million barrels for the week ended June 27, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a drop of 2 million barrels. Gasoline supplies slipped 1.2 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles increased 1 million barrels.

Posted-In: Earnings News Guidance Eurozone Futures Commodities Legal M&A

© 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Google buys streaming radio service Songza

Meet the latest company in Google's start-up shopping basket. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) The streaming music business is heating up.

Google (GOOGL, Tech30) announced Tuesday that it's acquiring streaming radio service Songza, which creates free playlists tailored for various activities and times of day. The companies declined to reveal the purchase price.

Songza, launched in 2010, will complement Google Play Music All Access, the subscription streaming service Google unveiled last year. Google said Songza will continue to function independently for the time being while it "explore[s] ways to bring what you love about Songza to Google Play Music."

"We'll also look for opportunities to bring their great work to the music experience on YouTube and other Google products," Google added.

Songza said no immediate changes to its service are planned "other than making it faster, smarter, and even more fun to use."

The news follows Apple's (AAPL, Tech30) $3 billion acquisition in May of Beats Music, which runs a popular streaming service in addition to its headphone business.

Songza, Beats and Google Play Music are in a crowded business, facing competition in streaming from services including Spotify, Pandora (P), Rhapsody, Rdio and Amazon Prime.

Apple vs. Android: Pick Based on How Much You Value Your Privacy

Andrew Bret Wallis/Getty Images This past week at the annual Google (GOOG) I/O conference it was disclosed that there are almost a billion users on the Android operating system. By comparison, Apple (AAPL) recently announced that it has sold more than 800 million devices equipped with its iOS operating system, though there might be more active users. If you are one of these people beholden to Google or Apple for your smartphone, tablet or laptop's operating system, you need to ask yourself as an informed consumer this question: How much are you willing to trade for access to your personal information? The answer will determine which tech giant you align yourself with. Apple's Closed System Apple prides itself in producing high-end devices with a closed operating system. You pay up for its products, and you are assured a certain level of privacy. The company put its money where its idealistic mouth is with the recent update to the iOS 8 mobile operating system which makes Mac addresses private on mobile devices. This makes it impossible for retailers to identify people via Wi-Fi from their iPhone, something previously done on a regular basis, without your knowledge, whenever you entered many stores. This move follows a previous decision not to allow cookies -- the supposedly anonymous programs that track your browsing history –- as the default option for the Safari browser in the iOS and OS X devices. Apple has the luxury of doing this because it makes money the old-school way -- by selling products and a lot of them. Between computers, phones, music, TV shows and movies, Apple has sold more than $171 billion of real stuff over the last year. Google Wants to Optimize Ads, Ads and More Ads Google, on the other hand, is in the business of selling ads. Ads need your personal data to optimize and target them –-allowing Google to charge the highest ad rates. To do this, Google offers almost all its core products for free" Google Search, Gmail, Google+, Google Maps, Chrome and You Tube. And the Android system itself is open source, available for independent developers to build upon. But as they say, there is no such thing as a free lunch. The price you pay for paying no price with Google products is that it is free to take your personal data, preferences and browsing habits and give them to advertisers to target you. If you don't believe me, try this for an experiment. Send a few emails to your friends through Gmail talking about how much you would like to learn to bowl. Within a few days to a week, you will start seeing the ads that populate the right-hand side of your Gmail screen miraculously coming up with discounts to your local bowling alley or courses on improving your game. Type "vacation cruise" into Google search on your Chrome browser, and you will find digital ads for Carnival (CCL) and Princess Cruise lines following you across all the web pages you visit. Even Google glasses are designed to accumulate data on the user's habit and feed it upstream to Google's servers. Differing Revenue Models To be fair, Apple tracks customers in its own stores and in select retailers with iBeacon via a phone's Bluetooth connection, but the customer has to opt in through an iBeacon app first. In addition, the technology is designed more to alert consumers of sale items and offers in the immediate vicinity they are shopping in, opposed to tracking their info and data for ad-related revenue. In today's technological age, it would not only be naive but irresponsible to frame Apple and Google in terms of good or bad companies. However, it is important for consumers to understand the difference between the two -– in terms of how their business and revenue models work -– to make an intelligent and informed decision on which to patronize based upon how much you value your privacy. Brian Lund's blog offers more on personal finance, the stock market, investing and the secret to eternal life. More from Brian Lund
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