Inland Real Estate (NYSE: IRC ) is tapping the markets in order to win some new capital. The company announced the flotation of 9 million shares of its common stock in an underwritten public flotation. The price is $10.60 per share. Additionally, its underwriters have been granted a 30-day purchase option for up to an additional 1.35 million shares.
The firm estimates it will take in nearly $92 million in net proceeds from the offering, or slightly more than $105 million if the underwriters exercise their option in full. Inland Real Estate plans to use those funds to repay debt incurred from the $121 million purchase of 50% of the IN Retail Fund joint venture it did not formerly own.
Bank of America's (NYSE: BAC ) Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo's (NYSE: WFC ) Securities unit, KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY ) subsidiary KeyBanc Capital Markets, and Bank of Montreal's (NYSE: BMO ) BMO Capital Markets are the joint book-running managers of the issue.
Hot Bank Stocks To Own For 2014: Lloyds Banking Group PLC (LYG)
Lloyds Banking Group plc, incorporated on October 21, 1985, is a holding company. The Company is a financial services group providing a range of banking and financial services, primarily in the United Kingdom, to personal and corporate customers. The Company operates in four segments: Retail, Commercial Banking, Wealth, Asset Finance and International and Insurance. Retail provides banking, mortgages and other financial services to personal customers in the United Kingdom. Commercial Banking provides banking and related services to business clients, from small businesses to large corporate. Wealth, Asset Finance and International provides private banking and asset management and asset finance in the United Kingdom and overseas and operates the Company�� international retail businesses. Insurance provides long term savings, protection and investment products in the United Kingdom and Europe and provides general insurance to personal customers in the United Kingdom.
Retail
The Retail division operates the retail bank in the United Kingdom and is a provider of current accounts, savings, personal loans, credit cards and mortgages. This includes a range of current accounts including packaged accounts and basic banking accounts. It is also the provider of personal loans in the United Kingdom, as well as being the United Kingdom�� credit card issuer. Retail is the private sector savings provider in the United Kingdom. It is also a general insurance and bancassurance distributor, offering a range of long-term savings, investment and general insurance products.
Commercial Banking
The Commercial Banking division supports the Company�� business clients from small businesses to corporate. Commercial Banking provides support to corporate clients through the provision of core banking products, such as lending, deposits and transaction banking services whilst also offering clients expertise in capital markets (private placements, bonds and syndicated loans), ! financial markets (foreign exchange, interest rate management, money market and credit) and private equity.
Wealth, Asset Finance and International
Wealth, Asset Finance and International consists of the Company�� the United Kingdom and international wealth businesses, the Company�� the United Kingdom and international asset finance and online deposit businesses along with its international retail businesses. The Wealth business consists of private banking and asset management. Wealth�� private banking operations cater to the range of wealth clients from affluent to Ultra High Net Worth within the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man, and internationally. Asset Finance consists of a number of leasing and speciality lending businesses in the United Kingdom, including Lex Autolease and Black Horse Motor and Personal Finance along with its leasing and specialty lending businesses in Australia and its European online deposit business. The international business comprises its non-core banking business outside the United Kingdom, with the exception of corporate business written through the Commercial Banking division. This primarily consists of Ireland, Retail Europe and Asia.
Insurance
The Insurance division provides long-term savings, protection and investment products and general insurance products to customers in the United Kingdom and Europe. The United Kingdom Life, Pensions and Investments business provides long-term savings, protection and investment products distributed through the bancassurance, intermediary and direct channels of the Lloyds TSB, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows brands. The European Life, Pensions and Investments business distributes products primarily in the German market under the Heidelberger Leben and Clerical Medical brands. The General Insurance business is a distributor of home insurance in the United Kingdom, with products sold through the branch network, direct channels and strategic corporate! partners! . It operates primarily under the Lloyds TSB, Halifax and Bank of Scotland brands.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Andrew Marder]
Barclays fell into the capital shortfall trap along with RBS and Lloyds (NYSE: LYG ) . Lloyds, especially, is going to be watching how smoothly Barclays' new issuance goes. The bank reported stronger than expected earnings last week, and the success has opened up the possibility that the U.K. government may be able to start selling off its stake. The Barclays' issuance could provide a good temperature check of the market, and help move that action along.
- [By Jeff Reeves]
Swiss financials Credit Suisse (CS) and UBS as well as U.K. banks like Lloyd's (LYG) have delivered returns significantly better than the S&P 500 this year. Optimism regarding consumer and business lending has lifted shares, and the trend looks to continue in 2014. If you're a believer in the EU recovery, financial stocks are a great way to be at the center of an economic turnaround.
Hot Bank Stocks To Own For 2014: National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB.AX)
National Australia Bank Limited provides products, advice and services. In Australia, it operates through National Australia Bank, MLC and UBank. In the United Kingdom, it operates through Clydesdale Bank. In New Zealand, it operates through Bank of New Zealand. In the United States, it operates through Great Western Bank. Segments include Business Banking, Personal Banking, Wholesale Banking, UK Banking and NZ Banking, MLC and NAB and Great Western Ban. As of April 5, 2012, the Company and its associated entities ceased to be a substantial holder in BlueScope Steel Limited. On May 17, 2012, it ceased to be a substantial holder in Spark Infrastructure Group and Sandfire Resources NL. As of August 24, 2012, the Company and its associated entities ceased to be holder in Tabcorp Holdings Limited. In September 2012, the Company and its associated entities have ceased to be a substantial holder in Incitec Pivot Limited, as of August 30, 2012.
Best Penny Stocks To Own For 2014: Bank of America Corporation(BAC)
Bank of America Corporation, a financial holding company, provides banking and nonbanking financial services and products to individuals, small- and middle-market businesses, large corporations, and governments in the United States and internationally. The company?s Deposits segment generates savings accounts, money market savings accounts, certificate of deposits, and checking accounts; and Global Card Services segment provides the U.S. consumer and business card, consumer lending, international card and debit card services. Its Home Loans & Insurance segment offers consumer real estate products and services, including mortgage loans, reverse mortgages, home equity lines of credit, and home equity loans. It also provides property, disability, and credit insurance. The company?s Global Commercial Banking segment offers lending products, including commercial loans and commitment facilities, real estate lending, leasing, trade finance, short-term credit, asset-based lending, and indirect consumer loans; and capital management and treasury solutions, such as treasury management, foreign exchange, and short-term investing options. Its Global Banking & Markets segment provides financial products, advisory services, settlement, and custody services; debt and equity underwriting and distribution, merger-related advisory services, and risk management products; and integrated working capital management and treasury solutions. The company?s Global Wealth & Investment Management segment offers investment and brokerage services, estate management, financial planning services, fiduciary management, credit and banking expertise, and asset management products. Bank of America Corporation serves customers through a network of approximately 5,900 banking centers and 18,000 automated teller machines. It was formerly known as NationsBank Corporation and changed its name on October 1, 1998. Bank of America Corporation was founded in 1874 and is based in Charlott e, North Carolina.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Jay Jenkins]
Yes, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM ) has the largest derivatives portfolio of all U.S. banks, and yes, Citigroup (NYSE: C ) has operations in over 90 countries. Even Bank of America (NYSE: BAC ) , a bank that, five years later, still struggles to deal with a pre-crisis acquisition spree, ranks among the top performers in the S&P for 2012.
- [By John Grgurich]
The company has come a long way since the financial crisis and only continues to improve its overall situation. It's balance sheet is healthy, much healthier than�Bank of America's (NYSE: BAC ) . And look what investors in that superbank are facing: the threat of being hit with tens of billions more in payouts as a result of bad mortgage-backed securities issued by its Countrywide Financial unit.
- [By Geoff Gannon]
No. I think Warren Buffett usually thinks in terms of the return he can get on a stock. He has mentioned valuations to students before. He doesn't do it very often. Honestly, he doesn't give precise figures of either returns on investment or valuations very often. But he has many times ��even with Bank of America (BAC) recently ��talked about the kind of returns he can get in that stock versus everything else. I don't think he comes up with an intrinsic value estimate for something like Bank of America. I think he looks at the earning power. Also, if you look at some of the intrinsic value estimates Buffett has given in the past for companies, they seem to be closely connected to demonstrated earning power.
- [By Matt Koppenheffer]
This, however, is unlikely to sate the appetite of most people calling for the jailing of bankers. Their rage was not aimed at small community bankers, but the big boys running financial institutions like Lehman Brothers,�Bank of America� (NYSE: BAC ) , and�Citigroup. How is it, they wonder, that these giant banks brought the U.S. financial system to its knees and nobody did anything jail-able?
Hot Bank Stocks To Own For 2014: Wells Fargo & Company(WFC)
Wells Fargo & Company, through its subsidiaries, provides retail, commercial, and corporate banking services primarily in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Community Banking; Wholesale Banking; and Wealth, Brokerage, and Retirement. The Community Banking segment offers deposits, including checking, market rate, and individual retirement accounts; savings and time deposits; and debit cards. Its loan products comprise lines of credit, auto floor plans, equity lines and loans, equipment and transportation loans, education loans, residential mortgage loans, health savings accounts, and credit cards. This segment also provides equipment leases, real estate financing, small business administration financing, venture capital financing, cash management, payroll services, retirement plans, loans secured by autos, and merchant payment processing services; purchases sales finance contracts from retail merchants; and a family of funds, and investment managemen t services. The Wholesale Banking segment offers commercial and corporate banking products and services, including commercial loans and lines of credit, letters of credit, asset-based lending, equipment leasing, international trade facilities, trade financing, collection services, foreign exchange services, treasury and investment management, institutional fixed-income sales, commodity and equity risk management, insurance, corporate trust fiduciary and agency services, and investment banking services. This segment also provides banking products for commercial real estate market, and real estate and mortgage brokerage services. The Wealth, Brokerage, and Retirement segment offers financial advisory, brokerage, and institutional retirement and trust services. As of December 31, 2010, the company served its customers through approximately 9,000 banking stores in 39 States and the District of Columbia. Wells Fargo & Company was founded in 1929 and is headquartered in San Franci sco, California.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Ben Levisohn]
Don’t look for big banks to soften the blow today, however. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) has fallen 0.5% to $51.84, Wells Fargo (WFC) has declined 0.9% to $42.06 and KeyCorp (KEY) is off 1% at $12.54. Citigroup (C) has gained 0.2% to $48.71.
- [By Jay Jenkins]
And I am not alone. Consumers are moving to mobile at an accelerating pace. Banks, conservative by nature, are struggling to keep up. In the video below, Motley Fool contributor Jay Jenkins discusses the current state of mobile banking at established giants like Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC ) ,�Citigroup (NYSE: C ) , Bank of America (NYSE: BAC ) , and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM ) , and the future of banking in a mobile world.
- [By Jessica Alling]
Financials down
One of the market segments most susceptible to changes from the Fed is the financial sector. Though they've suffered only modest losses, both Dow bank components -- Bank of America (NYSE: BAC ) and JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM ) -- are down in trading this morning. Of the big four banks, only Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC ) is registering a gain, while Citigroup (NYSE: C ) rounds out the lot with another small loss.
- [By Amanda Alix]
Big banks aren't jumping in -- but they should
Regional banks seem to be the trailblazers here, while larger banks like Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM ) give mobile services away for free�to their customers -- and JPMorgan, at least, plans to keep it that way for the foreseeable future. Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC ) is the only big bank to dabble in assessing mobile fees, doing so for premium services such as emergency bill pay services, and bank-to-bank transfers.
Hot Bank Stocks To Own For 2014: Royal Bank Of Canada(RY)
Royal Bank of Canada provides personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, corporate and investment banking, and transaction processing services under the RBC name worldwide. Its Canadian Banking segment offers personal financial services, business financial services, and cards and payment solutions. The company?s Wealth Management segment provides wealth and asset management, and estate and trust services to affluent and high net worth clients through distributors, as well as directly to institutional and individual clients in Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Its Insurance segment provides various life and health insurance, including universal life, accidental death and critical illness protection, disability, long-term care insurance, and group benefits; and property and casualty insurance comprising home, auto, and travel insurance, as well as wealth accumulation solutions; and reinsurance products through retail ins urance branches, call centers, independent insurance advisors and travel agencies, financial institutions, and career sales force. The company?s International Banking segment offers various financial products and services to individuals, business clients, and public institutions in the U.S. and Caribbean. This segment also provides global custody, fund and pension administration, securities lending, shareholder services, analytics, and other related services to institutional investors. Royal Bank of Canada?s Capital Markets segment engages in the trading and distribution of fixed income, foreign exchange, equities, commodities, and derivative products for institutional, public sector, and corporate clients; and involves in investment banking, debt and equity origination, advisory services, corporate lending, private equity, and client securitization businesses. The company was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Amanda Alix]
The housing sector's slow recovery appears to be gaining ground, and homebuilders like PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM ) Ryland Group (NYSE: RY ) recently reported gains�in first-quarter revenues and substantial increases in sales prices due to rising demand. The U.S. Census Bureau�reported that housing starts for March were well over one million, nearly 47% over that for the same time last year.
- [By Eric Lam]
Canadian stocks rose for a fourth day, extending a two-year high, as Royal Bank (RY) of Canada soared to a record close and energy producers surged on accelerating economic growth in China.
Hot Bank Stocks To Own For 2014: Signature Bank (SBNY)
Signature Bank (the Bank) is a full-service commercial bank with 25 private client offices located in the New York metropolitan area serving the needs of privately owned business clients and their owners and senior managers. The Bank offers a variety of business and personal banking products and services through the Bank, as well as investment, brokerage, asset management and insurance products and services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Signature Securities Group Corporation (Signature Securities), a licensed broker-dealer and investment adviser. Through Signature Securities, it also purchases, securitizes and sells the guaranteed portions of the United States Small Business Administration (SBA) loans. The Bank offers a variety of deposit, escrow deposit, credit, cash management, investment and insurance products and services to its clients. As of December 31, 2011, the Bank maintained approximately 78,000 deposit accounts, 6,900 investment accounts, 8,600 loan accounts and 14,300 client relationships. In April 2012, it formed a new subsidiary, Signature Financial, LLC.
The Bank offers a range of products and services oriented to the needs of its business clients, including deposit products, such as non-interest-bearing checking accounts, money market accounts and time deposits; escrow deposit services; cash management services; commercial loans and lines of credit for working capital and to finance internal growth, acquisitions and leveraged buyouts; permanent real estate loans; letters of credit; investment products to help better manage idle cash balances, including money market mutual funds and short-term money market instruments; business retirement accounts, such as 401(k) plans, and business insurance products, including group health and group life products. It offers a range of products and services oriented to the needs of its high net worth personal clients, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, with optional features, such as debit/ autom! ated teller machine (ATM) cards and overdraft protection and, for its clients, rebates of certain charges, including ATM fees; money market accounts and money market mutual funds; time deposits; personal loans, both secured and unsecured; mortgages, home equity loans and credit card accounts; investment and asset management services, and personal insurance products, including health, life and disability.
Lending Activities
The Bank�� commercial and industrial (C&I) loan portfolio is consisted of lines of credit for working capital and term loans to finance equipment, company owned real estate and other business assets, along with commercial overdrafts. Its lines of credit for working capital are generally renewed on an annual basis and its term loans generally have terms of 2 to 5 years. The Bank�� lines of credit and term loans typically have floating interest rates, and as of December 31, 2011, approximately 61% of its outstanding C&I loans were variable rate loans. As of December 31, 2011, funded C&I loans totaled approximately 15% of its total funded loans. The Bank�� real estate loan portfolio includes loans secured by commercial and residential properties. It also provides temporary financing for commercial and residential property. As of December 31, 2011, funded real estate loans totaled approximately $5.74 billion, representing approximately 80% of its total funded loans. It issues standby or performance letters of credit, and can service the international needs of its clients through correspondent banks. As of December 31, 2011, its commitments under letters of credit totaled approximately $235.7 million. Its personal loan portfolio consists of personal lines of credit and loans to acquire personal assets. As of December 31, 2011, its consumer loans totaled $11.8 million, representing less than 1% of its total funded loans.
Investment and Asset Management Products and Services
Investment and asset management products and services are ! provided ! through the Bank�� subsidiary, Signature Securities. Signature Securities is a licensed broker-dealer. Signature Securities is an introducing firm and, as such, clears its trades through National Financial Services, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Fidelity Investments. Signature Securities is also registered as an investment adviser in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida. It offers an array of asset management and investment products, including the ability to purchase and sell all types of individual securities, such as equities, options, fixed income securities, mutual funds and annuities. The Bank offers transactional, cash management type brokerage accounts with check writing and daily sweep capabilities. It also offers retirement products, such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and administrative services for retirement vehicles, such as pension, profit sharing, and 401(k) plans to its clients. Signature Securities offers wealth management services to its high net worth personal clients. Together with its client and their other professional advisors, including attorneys and certified public accountants, it develops a financial plan that can include estate planning, business succession planning, asset protection, investment management, family office advisory services, bill payment, art and collectible advisory services and concentrated stock services.
Sources of Funds
The Bank offers a variety of deposit products to its clients. Its business deposit products include commercial checking accounts, money market accounts, escrow deposit accounts, lockbox accounts, cash concentration accounts and other cash management products. Its personal deposit products include checking accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit. The Bank also allows its personal and business deposit clients to access their accounts, transfer funds, pay bills and perform other account functions over the Internet and through ATM machines. As of December 31, 2011, it main! tained ap! proximately 78,000 deposit accounts representing $11.70 billion in client deposits, excluding brokered deposits.
Insurance Services
The Bank offers its business and private clients an array of individual and group insurance products, including health, life, disability and long-term care insurance products through its subsidiary, Signature Securities. The Bank does not underwrite insurance policies. It only acts as an agent in offering insurance products and services underwritten by insurers.
Hot Bank Stocks To Own For 2014: Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp (FMCC)
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) conducts business in the United States residential mortgage market and the global securities market. The Company operates in three segments: Single-family Guarantee, Investments, and Multifamily. The Single-family Guarantee segment reflects results from the Company's single-family credit guarantee activities. The Investments segment reflects results from the Company's investment, funding and hedging activities. The Multifamily segment reflects results from the Company's investment (both purchases and sales), securitization, and guarantee activities in multifamily mortgage loans and securities. The Company conducts its operations in the United States and its territories.
Single-Family Guarantee Segment
In the Company�� Single-family Guarantee segment, it purchases single-family mortgage loans originated by the Company�� seller/servicers in the primary mortgage market. The Company uses the mortgage securitization process to package the purchased mortgage loans into guaranteed mortgage-related securities. The Company guarantees the payment of principal and interest on the mortgage-related security in exchange for management and guarantee fees. The Company�� customers are lenders in the primary mortgage market that originate mortgages for homeowners. These lenders include mortgage banking companies, commercial banks, savings banks, community banks, credit unions, Housing Finance Agency (HFAs), and savings and loan associations. The Company�� customers also service loans in its single-family credit guarantee portfolio.
Mortgage securitization is a process, by which the Company purchase mortgage loans that lenders originate, and pool these loans into mortgage securities that are sold in global capital markets. The United States residential mortgage market consists of a primary mortgage market that links homebuyers and lenders and a secondary mortgage market that links lenders and investors. The Company part! icipates in the secondary mortgage market by purchasing mortgage loans and mortgage-related securities for investment and by issuing guaranteed mortgage-related securities. In the Single-family Guarantee segment, it purchase and securitize single-family mortgages, which are mortgages that are secured by one- to four-family properties. The types of mortgage-related securities it issue and guarantee include PCs, REMICs and Other Structured Securities and Other Guarantee Transactions. The Company also issue mortgage-related securities to third parties in exchange for non-Freddie Mac mortgage-related securities. The non-Freddie Mac mortgage-related securities are transferred to trusts that were specifically created for the purpose of issuing securities, or certificates, in the Other Guarantee Transactions.
Investments Segment
In the Company�� Investments segment, it invests principally in mortgage-related securities and single-family performing mortgage loans, which are funded by other debt issuances and hedged using derivatives. In the Company�� Investments segment, it also provides funding and hedging management services to the Single-family Guarantee and Multifamily segments. The Company�� customers for its debt securities predominantly include insurance companies, money managers, central banks, depository institutions, and pension funds. The Company funds its investment activities by issuing short-term and long-term debt. The Company�� PCs are an integral part of its mortgage purchase program. The Company�� Single-family Guarantee segment purchases many of its mortgages by issuing PCs in exchange for those mortgage loans in guarantor swap transactions. The Company also issue PCs backed by mortgage loans that it purchased for cash.
Multifamily Segment
The Company�� multifamily segment issues Other Structured Securities, but does not issue REMIC securities. The Company multifamily segment also enters into other guarantee commitments for mult! ifamily H! FA bonds and housing revenue bonds held by third parties. The Company acquires a portion of its multifamily mortgage loans from several large seller/servicers.
The Company competes with Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), Mae Federal Housing Administration/the United States Department of Veteran Affairs (FHA/VA) and Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB).
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Lisa Abramowicz]
Mortgage financiers Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC) were placed into government conservatorship, insurer American International Group Inc. agreed to a U.S. takeover to avert collapse, Merrill Lynch & Co. was compelled to sell itself to Bank of America Corp. and automaker General Motors Corp. faced insolvency.
- [By Dan Caplinger]
Interestingly, though, this analysis doesn't mention an important factor: Increasingly over the past decade, major mortgage lenders haven't held onto their loans but rather have sold them on to government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae (NASDAQOTCBB: FNMA ) and Freddie Mac (NASDAQOTCBB: FMCC ) . During the housing boom, mortgage lenders Bank of America (NYSE: BAC ) and Citigroup (NYSE: C ) didn't perform as well as they did because they were securing particularly high margins on their mortgage loans. Rather, they collected transaction-based income by immediately reselling conforming loans to Fannie and Freddie, often retaining streams of income from risk-free mortgage-servicing rights without keeping any liability for potential loan default. Even now, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC ) relies on strength in mortgage-related income, and decreases in refinancing activity pose a threat to income growth in future quarters -- although unlike many of its peers, Wells has actually retained a good portion of its loans on its own books.
Hot Bank Stocks To Own For 2014: Popular Inc.(BPOP)
Popular, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides a range of retail and commercial banking products and services primarily to corporate clients, small and middle size businesses, and retail clients in Puerto Rico and Mainland United States. It offers deposit products; commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans, as well as lease finance; and finance and advisory services. The company also offers trust and asset management, brokerage and investment banking, and insurance and reinsurance services. As of December 31, 2010, it owned and occupied approximately 94 branch premises and other facilities in Puerto Rico; and 119 offices, including 20 owned and 99 leased in New York, Illinois, New Jersey, California, Florida, and Texas. Popular, Inc. was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Popular (NASDAQ: BPOP) shares tumbled 5.54 percent to $27.48 after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock from Equal-weight to Underweight.
Pacific Coast Oil Trust (NYSE: ROYT) down, falling 7.13 percent to $16.70 after the company priced a public offering by Pacific Coast Energy Company LP and other selling unitholders of 13,500,000 trust units at a price of $17.10 per unit.
Getty Images NEW YORK -- Home improvement maker Home Depot (HD) on Thursday apologized for a tweet that showed a picture of two African-American drummers with a person in a gorilla mask in between them and asked: "Which drummer is not like the others?" The tweet, from Home Depot's official Twitter account, @HomeDepot, was part of a "College Gameday" college football promotion on ESPN. It was quickly pulled, but not before people took screen shots of it and it was widely circulated on social media. NBC and CNBC, among others, reported on the Tweet. 
Reuters 
Mike Groll/AP If Obama's long-term plan to transform higher education in America ultimately passes Congress, it may fundamentally change the relationship between universities and the federal government. But in the short-term, he's using a method that should be familiar to observers of his administration: he's attempting to educate the market -- and allow it to make its own decisions.
