
- A smartphone that can be squeezed and bended will soon hit the market. CBS News' Geoff Colvin has more.
- Chances are if you have a 401k (403b if you are in a non-profit) you've received a LOT of advice. CBS News Money Watch Editor-at-Large Jill Schlesinger has an extensive background in investment background. She shares with Tony some ideas to get the most out of your plan and navigate crazy swings in the stock market.
- So who was the winner of the "rubber match" debate last night? WIOD's Lauren Pastrana was there and talks with Tony about what she saw.
- College Daze: Student debt hits new high. Here's your diploma and a $26,500 bill; debt averages up again for recent college grads. It's the latest snapshot of the growing burden of student debt and it's another discour aging one: Two-thirds of the national college class of 2011 finished school with loan debt, and those who borrowed walked off the graduation stage owing on average $26,600 - up about 5 percent from the class before. The latest figures are calculated in a report out Thursday by the California-based Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS) and likely underestimate the problem in some ways because they don't include most graduates of for-profit colleges, who typically borrow more than their counterparts elsewhere. Still, while 2011 college graduates faced an unemployment rate of 8.8 percent in 2011, even those with debt remained generally better off than those without a degree. The report emphasized research showing that the economic returns on college degrees remain, in general, strong. It noted the unemployment rate for those with only a high school credential last year was 1 9.1 percent. "In these tough times, a college degree is still your best b et for getting a job and decent pay," said TICAS President Lauren Asher. "But, as debt levels rise, fear of loans can prevent students from getting the education they need to succeed. students and parents need to know that, even at similar looking schools, debt levels can be wildly different. And, if they do need to borrow to get through school, federal student loans, with options like income-based repayment, are the safest way to go." The latest figures come at a time of increasing alarm about the sheer scope of student debt nationally, which by some measures has surpassed $1 trillion. Recent government figures show nearly 10 percent of borrowers of federal student loans in the most recently measured cohort had already defaulted within two years of starting repayment. The issue has come up on the presidential campaign trail, though the candidates' specific plans ha ven't become a major issue. President Barack Obama has touted his record of ending $6 0 billion in subsidies to private lenders, directing the savings to student aid and implementing an income-based repayment plan that caps federal student loan payments at 15 percent of income and forgives repayment after 25 years. How can students survive college debt? Will the college debt averages continue to climb? Tony spends a few minutes Financial Adviser & Financial Strategist with Hodges Capital Clark Hodges.
- Traveling Kentucky? Looking for some ideas? Kentucky Tourism's Pat Stipes chats with Tony this morning.









