'Poor' tweet by federal lender prompts backlash

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) For social media managers, reaching young audiences with irreverent memes and tweets is a dangerous endeavor.

The latest entity to end up with egg on its face is the Federal Student Aid office, which on Tuesday tweeted an image that many readers felt mocked the poor.

The image, a common meme derived from the 2011 comedy "Bridesmaids," features Kristen Wiig's character pouting about being sent back to her coach seat after sneaking her way into first class, with the caption "Help me. I'm poor."

It encouraged readers to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, which gives students and would-be students access to the office's financial aid programs. FAFSA is also required by many colleges, universities and private financial aid providers.

"If this is you, then you better fill out your FAFSA," the tweet underneath the image said, according to screen shots that users took. (The tweet has since been taken down.)

Within minutes, almost universal condemnation of the tweet started spreading across the social networking site, calling it "offensive" and "tasteless" and mocking its attempts at outreach.

The Federal Student Aid office, which is part of the U.S. Department of Education, controls more than $150 billion in grants, loans and work-study money that is distributed to more than 15 million students each year.

Related story: These employers will pay for your tuition

It apologized for the tweet around ! 1 am on Wednesday morning.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education called the post "insensitive" and said it "flies in the face of our mission of opening doors of opportunity for every student."

"It was an ill-conceived attempt at reaching students through social media," the spokeswoman, Dorie Nolt, said. "We are reviewing our process for approving social media content to ensure it reflects the high standards we expect at the U.S. Department of Education."

The Federal Student Aid office is by no means alone in having goofed on social media recently.

On June 17, Delta Air Lines (DAL) posted images of the Statue of Liberty and a giraffe to celebrate the U.S. win over Ghana in the World Cup. Followers quickly pointed out that Ghana has no giraffes.

Back in March, a campaign launched on Twitter to cancel "The Colbert Report" after the show's verified account tweeted out a message that many felt was racist against Asians. The show's host, Stephen Colbert, denied involvement with the tweet.

The show survived the campaign, and despite the gaffe, Colbert was named as David Letterman's replacement a few weeks later.

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Midway through trading Wednesday, the Dow traded up 0.11 percent to 16,551.46 while the NASDAQ surged 0.09 percent to 4,271.78. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.19 percent to 1,889.05.

Leading and Lagging Sectors
In trading on Wednesday, cyclical consumer goods & services shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.41 percent. Meanwhile, top gainers in energy sector included Autobytel (NASDAQ: ABTL), with shares up 20.6 percent, and VisionChina Media (NASDAQ: VISN), with shares up 15.5 percent.

Technology shares dropped by 0.14 percent in the US market today. Among the sector stocks, Liquidity Services (NASDAQ: LQDT) was down more than 11.2 percent, while Silicon Image (NASDAQ: SIMG) tumbled around 6.7 percent.

Top Headline
Monsanto Co (NYSE: MON) reported a rise in its second-quarter profit. Monsanto's quarterly profit surged to $1.67 billion, or $3.15 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $1.48 billion, or $2.74 per share. Its adjusted earnings came in at $3.15 per share. Its revenue surged to $5.83 billion versus $5.47 billion. However, analysts were estimating earnings of $3.06 per share on revenue of $5.81 billion.

Equities Trading UP
MannKind (NASDAQ: MNKD) shares shot up 76.37 percent to $7.09 after the company confirmed that the FDA Advisory Committee recommended the approval of the company's diabetes drug AFREZZA.

Shares of Acceleron Pharma (NASDAQ: XLRN) got a boost, shooting up 16.74 percent to $39.54 after Form 8-K for Acceleron Pharma showed that Celgene (NASDAQ: CELG) will buy 1.1 million shares for $47.15 million.

Myriad Genetics (NASDAQ: MYGN) was also up, gaining 12.86 percent to $39.67 after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services updated pricing for the sequencing of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.

Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Liquidity Services (NASDAQ: LQDT) were down 11.50 percent to $19.78 after the company reported that it has been named the apparent high bidder for a non-rolling stock surplus contract with the U.S. Department of Defense.

Apollo Education Group (NASDAQ: APOL) shares tumbled 8.93 percent to $32.02 after the company reported downbeat FQ2 revenue. Apollo Education posted its quarterly adjusted earnings of $0.28 per share on revenue of $679.1 million. However, analysts were projecting earnings of $0.19 per share on revenue of $689.4 million.

Healthstream (NASDAQ: HSTM) was down, falling 4.28 percent to $25.94 after Northland Securities downgraded the stock from Outperform to Market Perform and lowered the target price from $43 to $30.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.16 percent to $99.58, while gold traded up 1 percent to $1,292.80.

Silver traded up 1.84 percent Wednesday to $20.05, while copper rose 0.43 percent to $3.05.

Eurozone
European shares were mixed today.

The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.20 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index declined 1.02 percent.

Meanwhile, the German DAX surged 0.28 percent and the French CAC 40 jumped 0.09 percent while U.K. shares gained 0.16 percent.

Economics
The MBA reported that its index of mortgage application activity dropped 1.2% in the week ended March 28.

US private sector employers added 191,000 jobs in March, according to Automatic Data Processing Inc. However, economists were expecting an addition of 195,000 jobs.

US factory orders rose 1.60% in February, versus economists' expectations for a 1.20% gain.

Crude stockpiles slipped 2.4 million barrels for the week ended March 28, the US Energy Information Administration reported. However, analysts were expecting a gain of 1.8 million barrels.

US gasoline supplies declined 1.6 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles climbed 600,000 barrels.

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Barra: 'Today's GM will do the right thing'

WASHINGTON -- General Motors CEO Mary Barra on Tuesday told a congressional subcommittee investigating a widening recall that while she could answer few specific questions about what happened, decisions made in past years not to address the situation do not reflect GM's current culture.

The recall of 2.5 million Chevrolet Cobalts, Saturn Ions and similar vehicles worldwide in the last two months came after GM acknowledged a link between an ignition switch defect -- dating back to models more than a decade old -- and air bags not deploying in the event of a crash. GM has linked 13 deaths to the defect.

"It came to light on my watch, so I am responsible for it," Barra, who has been on the job less than three months, told the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. "Today's GM will do the right thing."

She said she was troubled by reports that GM officials rejected a solution to the ignition switch problem because of the "lead time required, cost and effectiveness."

"I found that statement to be very disturbing," said Barra. "That is unacceptable. That is not how we do business in today's GM."

Barra said that "GM has civil responsibilities and legal responsibilities and we are thinking through how to best balance them." She said GM had hired lawyer Kenneth Feinberg to explore ways to compensate victims the crashes. Feinberg's previous projects include the Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund and the BP oil spill.

Barra acknowledged during questioning that the company in the past had been immersed in a "cost culture," but said GM was moving to a "customer culture."

Barra told the committee that the company knew early on the switches, which it purchased from another company, did not meet its specifications. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Tex., asked Barra why a company with "the stellar reputation" of GM would buy such parts.

"I want to know that as much as you do," Barra said. She said all GM parts meet safety standards, but would not say whether any GM parts fail to! meet its technical specifications.

"That's not an acceptable answer," Barton responded.

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. asked Barra why the company didn't recall models from 2008 and later until last week.

"The company was assessing," Barra said, adding that "it became very clear we needed to go with all those vehicles" because GM could not determine which cars might have faulty repair parts.

Some members of the committee did express empathy for Barra. Said Waxman: "I know you're taking this job at an inauspicious time. You're trying to clean up the mess your predecessors left for you." And Rep. John Dingell, D- Mich., said "I appreciate the lengths to which GM is going under your leadership."

Before Barra testified, Rep. Michael Burgess was among committee members expressing bewilderment that the problem dragged on for so long before the recall was authorized.

"With over 200,000 documents that have been produced, lack of information was not the problem. Instead, it is this committee's duty to figure out why the data was there but the analysis was egregiously off the mark," said Burgess, R-Texas. "We need to get to the bottom of this—and fast. The stakes are too high."

Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., said that GM documents show the ignition switch could have been fixed as cheaply as 57 cents per vehicle.

David Friedman, acting head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, testified that GM should have provided NHTSA with relevant data about the crashes, deaths and ignition switch failures far earlier. That, he said, could have set in motion a recall before now.

NHTSA, despite receiving hundreds of complaints and considering a possible pattern of air bag non-deployment in 2007, failed to act. Friedman said the cars were not "overrepresented" among other models in terms of air bag problems and that the data "did not indicate a safety defect or defect trend that would warrant .. a formal investigation."

JAIL TIME? Key questions GM faces!

ST! ORY: Loved ones of crash victims speak out

The exposure for GM -- its resurgent post-bankruptcy reputation and profitability at risk -- and for Barra is great. Lawyers are lining up to file class actions and liability suits, testing whether GM's bankruptcy shield from pre-2009 claims will hold.

Barra's defense brought little comfort to families of some crash victims, who held a news conference before the hearing outside the Capitol. Several members of Congress joined them.

"Corporate executives made a decision that fighting the problem was cheaper and easier than fixing the problem," said Laura Christian, whose daughter died in a 2005 crash.

In recent days, concerns that GM and NHTSA missed warnings that should have prompted an earlier recall have grown. House committee staff, meeting with officials of Delphi, the Troy-based company that produced the ignition switches, said suppliers told them in a briefing that GM accepted the part in 2002 even though it did not meet GM's own specifications.

The fault that triggered the recall allows the ignition switch to slip unexpectedly from the normal "run" position into "accessory." That shuts off the engine and kills power to a number of systems, usually including airbags.

GM's own chronology says the problem first was noticed at GM in 2001.The recall has emerged in three stages:

• Feb. 7, GM recalled 778,562 of its 2005-2007 Chevrolet Cobalts and 2007 Pontiac G5s, 619,122 in the U.S. to replace the switches.

• Feb. 25, it expanded that by another 842,103, to include 2003-2007 Saturn Ion, 2006-2007 Chevy HHR, 2006 Pontiac Solstice, 2007 Saturn Sky. Of those, 748,024 are U.S.-market vehicles.

• March 28, it again expanded the universe of recalled cars, this time by 873,288 U.S. models, to include newer versions of the already recalled vehicles that had the redesigned – safer – switches from the factory, but might have gotten a faulty switch during repairs. Only about 5,000 of those are likely to have! gotten a! bad switch, but GM can't tell which 5,000 because some old and new switches have the same part number.

According to a timeline the automaker has filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in connection with the recall, GM first noted a problem with the ignition switch moving out of "run" in 2001, during development of the 2003 Saturn Ion.

An unidentified mechanic reported the problem in 2003 on a customer's car. And in 2004 a GM engineer finalizing the new 2005 Chevy Cobalt experienced the switch problem.

A new switch design was approved in 2006, the timeline says, but without a new part number. If that was done to fix a safety problem, but federal safety officials weren't told, it could be a violation of federal law. GM did not recall the cars in 2006 to install the redesigned part.

On March 18, in her first interview since taking over as CEO in January, Barra acknowledged, "Clearly, this took too long." Pledging to ensure there's never a repeat, Barra said, "We will fix our process."

She hired a global safety chief with access to her and other top executives, a first for GM and rare in the car business. And the automaker began to accelerate its own product and safety reviews.

GM's recalls in the first three months of the year haven't been limited to the ignition switches. On Monday, it recalled 1.5 million more vehicles for a power steering defect, bringing the worldwide total to 7 million vehicles.

Spangler writes for the Detroit Free Press. Contributing: Free Press reporters Alisa Priddle and Nathan Bomey

Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, is sworn in to testify before the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation on April 1 in Washington. The committee is looking for answers from Barra about safety defects and mishandled recall of 2.6 million small cars with a faulty ignition switch that's been linked to 13 deaths and dozen of crashes.   (Photo: H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY)View Fullscreen Mary Barra testifies before the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation on Capitol Hill. Family members attending the hearing put photographs of crash victims on a railing at the back of the room.  (Photo: H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY)View Fullscreen Barra testifies on Capitol Hill.  (Photo: H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY)View Fullscreen Barra delivers her testimony about the ignition switch recall.  (Photo: H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY)View Fullscreen Mary Barra listens to members of Congress speak before delivering testimony at a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington.  (Photo: H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY)View Fullscreen House Oversight and Investigations subcommittee Chairman Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., left, watches as the subcommittee's ranking member, Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo. holds up a GM ignition switch.  (Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, AP)View Fullscreen Barra prepares to testify.  (Photo: H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY)View Fullscreen Photographs of crash victims are placed on a railing.  (Photo: Evan Vucci, AP)View Fullscreen General Motors CEO Mary Barra arrives on Capitol Hill.  (Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, AP)View Fullscreen General Motors CEO Mary Barra testifies on Capitol Hill.  (Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP)View Fullscreen Barra waits to be seated.  (Photo: H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY)View Fullscreen Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, displays a GM ignition switch similar to those linked to 13 deaths and dozens of crashes of General Motors small cars during a news conference on Capitol Hill.  (Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, AP)View Fullscreen Mary Ruddy, left, holds a photograph of her daughter, Kelly, who died in a 2005 crash of a Chevy Cobalt, as she hugs Rosie Cortinas whose son, Amador, also died in the crash during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. A House subcommittee questioned General Motors Chief Executive Mary Barra over why the company ignored a faulty ignition problem for a decade despite numerous accident reports and 13 deaths.  (Photo: Jim Watson, AFP/Getty Images)View Fullscreen Jayme Rimer, left, and Daryl Chansuthus hold photographs of their children who died in GM vehicles during a news conference on Capitol Hill.  (Photo: Michael Reynolds, epa)View FullscreenLike this topic? You may also like these photo galleries:ReplayAutoplayShow ThumbnailsShow CaptionsLast SlideNext Slide

BlackBerry Goes Green Thanks To Smaller Than Anticipated Loss

Not long ago BlackBerry was all but left for dead. Shares shed 36.5% in value last year with many believing the best the former smartphone king could hope for was to be sold for parts. The company's financial situation still isn't pretty, but shares are up more than 18% so far in 2014. And the stock's post-earnings pop Friday shows new hope among investors.

For the fourth quarter, BlackBerry reported $976 million in revenue, down 64% from the same period during the prior year. Services made up 56% of the phone maker's sales, 37% came from hardware and 7% came from software. The company reported a $423 million net loss, or an 80 cent loss per share.

Despite the steep loss, shares popped at one point more than 4% to $9.43 in pre-market trading thanks to a lighter than anticipated non-GAAP loss per share. Wall Street analysts were expecting a non-GAAP loss of 55 cents per share, but excluding several one time charges the company reported just an 8 cent non-GAAP loss.

"I am very pleased with our progress and execution in fiscal Q4 against the strategy we laid out three months ago. We have significantly streamlined operations, allowing us to reach our expense reduction target one quarter ahead of schedule," said CEO John Chen in a statement. "BlackBerry is on sounder financial footing today with a path to returning to growth and profitability."

For the full fiscal 2014 year, BlackBerry reported $6.8 billion in revenue, down from $11.1 billion in the year prior. On a GAAP basis the company had a $5.9 billion net loss, or $11.18 per share.

Looking ahead the company simply noted that it "anticipates maintaining its strong cash position and continuing to look for opportunities to streamline operations. The Company is targeting break even cash flow results by the end of fiscal 2015." In the fourth quarter BlackBerry used $553 million in cash flow for operations, and $243 million investing activities. As of March 1, 2014 the company has $1.6 billion in cash and cash equivalents.

–
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Existing home sales stay in winter slump

Existing-home sales slowed again in February, falling to their weakest pace in 19 months.

Last month's seasonally adjusted annual sales rate was 4.6 million, down 0.4% from the previous month, the National Association of Realtors said. January's sales rate was down 5.1% from December.

Cold weather, limited supplies of homes on the market and higher interest rates than a year ago have held back the real estate market over the fall and winter months.

The sales rate has been trending lower since last July, when it peaked for last year at 5.38 million.

Sales of single-family homes also are lower. Last month, they fell 0.2% from January's level and 6.9% from a year ago.

The harsh winter's impact showed in last month's sales by region. The annualized rate of sales fell 11.3% in the Northeast and 3.8% in the Midwest, but rose 5.9% in the West and 1.5% in the South.

NAR said higher prices and restrictive mortgage lending standards are also affecting the sales. Many first-time buyers have been priced out of the market. They accounted for 28% of February's sales, down from 30% a year ago, 32% in 2012 and 34% in 2011.

"Some transactions are simply being delayed, so there should be some improvement in the months ahead. With an expected pickup in job creation, home sales should trend up modestly over the course of the year," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.

Tight supplies of homes for sale are contributing to higher prices and quicker decisions by buyers. The median existing-home price in February was $189,000 — 9.1% above February 2013, NAR said. Thirty-four percent of the homes sold last month were on the market for less than a month compared with 31% in January.

The supply of existing homes for sale improved in February but remained low. At 2 million homes, that represents a 5.2 month supply at last month's sales pace, up from 4.9 months in January. A six-month supply is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers.

NAR's existing-home ! sales figures include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops.

China widens currency's fluctuation vs. dollar

BEIJING (AP) — China announced on Saturday a modest easing of exchange rate controls that have been criticized by Washington and other trading partners, adding to a flurry of reform initiatives aimed at making its slowing economy more efficient.

The range in which the tightly controlled yuan is allowed to fluctuate against the dollar each day will double in size, though to a still relatively narrow 2%.

The move was widely expected after Premier Li Keqiang promised in an annual policy speech last week to give market forces a "decisive role" in allocating credit and other resources in the state-dominated economy.

The ruling Communist Party says it wants to inject more competition into the economy and nurture self-sustaining growth based on domestic consumption instead of trade and investment.

In a steady drumbeat of recent changes, authorities also have announced plans to create China's first privately financed banks and promised to ease the tax and regulatory burden on entrepreneurs.

Widening the trading band will help to "optimize the efficiency of capital allocation and market allocation of resources to accelerate economic development," the central bank said in a statement.

The U.S. Treasury Department had no immediate reaction to the announcement.

China's rapid economic growth tumbled to a two-decade low of 7.7% last year. This year's official growth target is slightly lower at 7.%, but Li said this week Beijing will be flexible about it as long as the economy generates enough new jobs.

Washington and other governments complain Beijing suppresses the value of the yuan, unfairly making Chinese exports cheaper abroad and hurting foreign competitors.

The relatively small size of Saturday's change appeared unlikely to mollify Beijing's foreign critics. Some U.S. lawmakers have demanded punitive tariffs on Chinese goods if Beijing failed to ease controls, but the White House has resisted imposing sanctions.

Beijing reported a $260 billion global ! trade surplus last year, a $30 billion increase over 2012 and among the largest ever recorded by any country.

Chinese leaders say they plan eventually to let the yuan float freely, but private sector analysts say that might be decades away.

Beijing is reluctant to allow big changes in the currency for fear of hurting exporters that employ millions of workers. But analysts say they might have gained confidence from recent strong trade performance.

Allowing the yuan to rise in value would increase the buying power of Chinese households, helping to achieve the ruling party's goal of nurturing more sustainable economic growth based on domestic consumption instead of trade and investment.

A stronger yuan also could help to suppress pressure for politically sensitive consumer prices to rise by making imports cheaper.

Reform advocates say that by suppressing the yuan's value, Beijing has been forcing even poor households to subsidize exporters.

In recent weeks, the central bank has been guiding the yuan's exchange lower against the dollar in what analysts said was an effort to discourage speculators who are moving money into China to profit from the currency's rise.

Beijing allowed the yuan to gain about 20 percent against the dollar beginning in 2005 but movement stopped after the 2008 global crisis as the government tried to protect struggling exporters.

The yuan has been trading at about six to the dollar. Analysts say Beijing might allow that to rise to 5.88 to the dollar by mid-2014, a rise of about 2 percent. That would be small by global currency market standards but unusually large for China.