About a month ago, we received a passionate email from an economics teacher at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois. He informed us that he had created an Economics club at his school to increase financial literacy and show students how technical analysis can interface with their financial future. His club also participates in “The Stock Market Game” (a program of the SIFMA) to compete with other schools, both locally and nationally. After a request to have a discounted MarketClub subscription rate for his students, we decided that MarketClub would go ahead and sponsor his 6 student groups.

We were even more excited after researching this high school’s impressive reputation in the academic community. This ‘Blue Ribbon’ school (as awarded by the US Department of Education), has been listed for the last three years

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SLM Corporation (SLM) or commonly know as Sallie Mae, reported third quarter core earnings of $164 million or 26 cents per share. Results were well ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 8 cents per share. The company had earned 19 cents in the year-ago period. Results reflected improvements in the credit market and an increase in loan originations. However, loan loss provisions remain high. Quarterly results included a gain of $74 million on the repurchase of debt and a $55 million accounting adjustment to reflect slower loan prepayments. Sallie Mae posted a net income attributable to common stock of $116.5 million, or 25 cents per share, compared with a loss of $186 million, or 40 cents, in the year-ago period. Core earnings return on assets was 0.31%, up 6 basis points (bps) year-over-year. Sallie Mae originated $6.9 billion in federal student loans in ...

ITT Educational Services, Inc. (...

ITT Educational Services, Inc. (...

ITT Educational Services, Inc. (...

ITT Educational Services, Inc. (ESI) has seen its estimates hold up in an industry hit by tightened lending practices. The company has also seen an upgrade from a major broker since being featured as a Zacks Rank Buy on August 1st.

Company Description

ITT Educational Services provide career-focused degree programs, with an emphasis on technology. The company has over 100 locations across the United States and currently have approximately 55,000 students enrolled in classes. Each location is nationally accredited by the U.S. Department of Education. ITT carries a market cap of $3.5 billion.

Solid Earnings

Current-quarter estimates for ITT Education's earnings are $1.14 per share, or a 16.6% year-over-year increase. Estimates for full-year 2008 are projecting an increase of 27.8%, $4.74 up from $3.71 last year. The estimates initially popped following the company's July earnings announcement, but have been sustained

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