The student debt crisis continues to grow larger and more dangerous with each passing school year. The skyrocketing price for a college degree is causing an epidemic with student loans as more people rack up unsustainable amounts of debt to further their education. Using debt to obtain a degree can be beneficial if done properly, but there are certainly some states worse off than others when comparing debt to earnings.

With lenders handing out loans like candy, the amount of student loan debt in America has nearly doubled in the past five years, from $550 billion in late 2007 to $986 billion in the first quarter of 2013. In fact, two-thirds of recent graduates have student loans, with an average balance of more than $27,000, according to a new report from the Joint Economic Committee.

The report was released by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) in an effort to bring awareness to the issue and prompt Congress to block the scheduled interest rate hike for student loans. If Congress fails to take action by July 1, interest rates on federally subsidized Stafford loans will double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. The change would increase the cost of a college education by $4,500 for a student borrowing the maximum amount.

“Allowing the interest rate on subsidized Stafford loans to double at a time when the government’s cost of borrowing is so low undermines the public policy objective of providing affordable loans to students,” the report explains. “The increasing debt burden presents challenges for recent graduates just beginning their careers and poses a potential risk to the economy, since individuals who shoulder heavier debt balances may delay purchasing a home, buying a car, starting a family and saving for retirement.”

Although there are many variables to consider during the college process, here’s a look at the 10 worst states if you are a recent college graduate with debt and a job:

10. Pennsylvania

Across the nation, the average college graduate has a debt load that is equal to 60 percent of their annualized average weekly earnings. However, the Keystone State has a debt to earnings ratio of 70 percent. Also, 70 percent of recent graduates in the state have debt.

9. Michigan

The Great Lakes State has a debt to earnings ratio of 71 percent, with an average debt load of $28,021 for recent college grads, offset with an annualized average weekly earnings of $39,737.

8. Rhode Island

The Ocean State also has a debt to earnings ratio of 71 percent. Sixty-nine percent of graduates have debt, while almost 17 percent of borrowers are at least 90 days delinquent on their student loans.

7. Indiana

The Hoosier State has a debt to earnings ratio of 72 percent. Sixty-three percent of graduates have debt, and 17.1 percent of borrowers are at least 90 days delinquent on their student loans.

6. Maine

The Pine Tree State has a debt to earnings ratio of 74 percent. Seventy-one percent of graduates have debt, and 14.5 percent of borrowers are at least 90 days delinquent on their student loans.

5. Montana

The Treasure State also has a debt to earnings ratio of 74 percent. Sixty-five percent of graduates have debt. However, only 10.1 percent of borrowers are at least 90 days delinquent on their student loans, one of the lowest rates among the nation.

4. Ohio

The Buckeye State has a debt to earnings ratio of 75 percent. Sixty-eight percent of graduates have debt, and 17.1 percent of borrowers are at least 90 days delinquent on their student loans.

3. New Hampshire

The Granite State has a debt to earnings ratio of 76 percent. Seventy-five percent of graduates have debt, and 12.5 percent of borrowers are at least 90 days delinquent on their student loans.

2. Iowa

The Hawkeye State also has a debt to earnings ratio of 76 percent. Seventy-two percent of graduates have debt, and 14.3 percent of borrowers are at least 90 days delinquent on their student loans.

1. Vermont

The Green Mountain State has the highest debt to earnings ratio at 82 percent. Sixty-three percent of graduates have debt, but only 9.8 percent are at least 90 days delinquent on their student loans – the third lowest rate among all 50 states.

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BlackBerry (NASDAQ:BBRY) shares plunged 4.4 percent on Wednesday, but edged slightly higher in late afternoon trading. Bernstein downgraded the company to a Sell, and said it “believes the company’s earnings will peak in the first quarter and there is significant risk of a miss in the second half.”

Despite a broad market selloff, shares of Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) closed flat on Wednesday. Google’s head of mergers & acquisitions, Don Harrison, said that the search-engine giant is acquiring companies at a rate of one every two weeks, and could be looking to forge an alliance with a private-equity firm. The firm would ideally provide needed financing or advice on how best a company could be restructured after being acquired, according to Bloomberg. “There are opportunities,” Harrison said. “At some point I think you’ll see a transaction.”

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares fell 2 percent on Wednesday and continued to attract attention in late afternoon hours. It appears that the beta version of iOS 7 already has the latent ability to fully integrate LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD) into Apple’s new mobile operating system. According to 9to5Mac, Apple user Hamza Sood discovered bits of LinkedIn coding and text strings that indicate that Apple may later unveil the iOS 7 integration with LinkedIn. Currently the coding is missing some key parts that keep the feature from becoming active. However, it appears to have a single sign-on system similar to what is already available for Facebook (NASDAQ:FB).

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On Wednesday, gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) futures for August delivery, the most active contract, increased $7.10 to close at $1,374 per ounce, while silver (NYSEARCA:SLV) futures for July edged 5 cents lower to finish at $21.62.

Both precious metals were relatively quiet ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee’s highly-anticipated statement. As expected, the central bank will not dial down its bond-buying programs yet.

The FOMC statement explains, “The Committee sees the downside risks to the outlook for the economy and the labor market as having diminished since the fall. The Committee also anticipates that inflation over the medium term likely will run at or below its 2 percent objective. To support a stronger economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at the rate most consistent with its dual mandate, the Committee decided to continue purchasing additional agency mortgage-backed securities at a pace of $40 billion per month and longer-term Treasury securities at a pace of $45 billion per month.”

CNNMoney recently polled 39 economists and investment strategists for their predictions about the Federal Reserve’s next major move. Almost two-thirds of the people do not think the central bank will slow its bond-buying before this December. The rest believe a change could come earlier at the September or October meeting. Another survey by USA Today finds that seven of 10 economists predict the Federal Reserve will begin scaling back this year, with the majority of that group saying the first move will occur by early fall.

Following the statement, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke held a press conference where he said the central bank may moderate the pace of bond purchases later this year, and end purchases around mid-year 2014. His words sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSEARCA:DIA) and the S&P 500 (NYSEARCA:SPY) to intra-day lows and the selloff continued into the close. Precious metals also declined on the news, with gold hitting a two-year low.

By the end of the trading day, the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:GLD) declined 1.2 percent, while the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV) dropped 1.3 percent. Gold miners (NYSEARCA:GDX) such as Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) and Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) sank 4.7 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively. Shares of Endeavour Silver (NYSE:EXK) declined 2.5 percent.

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After several weeks of chatter and speculation, the long-awaited statement from the Federal Open Market Committee is here.

The arm of the U.S. Federal Reserve responsible for open market operations — i.e. quantitative easing — concluded its two-day meeting on Wednesday. Most people were not expecting a major change in the central bank’s monetary easing programs, and that’s exactly what the Federal Reserve delivered. The central bank sees improvement economic activity expanding at a “moderate pace,” while labor market conditions have shown “further improvement.”

The FOMC statement explains, “The Committee sees the downside risks to the outlook for the economy and the labor market as having diminished since the fall. The Committee also anticipates that inflation over the medium term likely will run at or below its 2 percent objective. To support a stronger economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at the rate most consistent with its dual mandate, the Committee decided to continue purchasing additional agency mortgage-backed securities at a pace of $40 billion per month and longer-term Treasury securities at a pace of $45 billion per month.”

Additionally, the central bank reiterated that it could increase or decrease bond purchases: “The Committee is prepared to increase or reduce the pace of its purchases to maintain appropriate policy accommodation as the outlook for the labor market or inflation changes. In determining the size, pace, and composition of its asset purchases, the Committee will continue to take appropriate account of the likely efficacy and costs of such purchases as well as the extent of progress toward its economic objectives.”

CNNMoney recently polled 39 economists and investment strategists for their predictions about the Federal Reserve’s next major move. Almost two-thirds of the people do not think the central bank will slow its bond-buying before this December. The rest believe a change could come earlier at the September or October meeting. Another survey by USA Today finds that seven of 10 economists predict the Federal Reserve will begin scaling back this year, with the majority of that group saying the first move will occur by early fall.

As the chart above shows, the FOMC also updated its projections for the economy. The central bank downgraded its view on gross domestic product for this year when compared to the March projection, but raised its forecast for next year. The unemployment rate is not expected to hit 6.5 percent until 2014, which is an improvement from the prior projection. The Fed’s outlook for inflation was downgraded across the board. However, investors should keep in mind that the Fed has been too bullish about economic growth in every year of the “recovery.”

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The Internet revolutionized how people view and consume information. From email to social media networking, users are finding more content to digest than ever before. The popularity of the Internet also paved the way for more advertising in our daily lives.

According to comScore, a leader in measuring several aspects of the digital world, Americans are still viewing massive amounts of online video. The company recently announced that data from its Video Metrix service showed 182 million U.S. Internet users watched nearly 41 billion online videos in May, up from 38.8 billion videos in April. As usual, Google Sites generated the highest number with 14 billion videos and easily logged the highest average engagement among the top ten properties.

Video ads, often a pesky prerequisite for viewing online videos, jumped from 13.3 billion in April to 15.8 billion views in May. This is the highest level of video ads on record. Overall, video ads reached 53 percent of the total U.S. population an average of 96 times during the month.

Let’s take a look at the top eight U.S. online video content properties ranked by unique video viewers in May. Most of the companies are outperforming the broad market.

8. Yahoo! sites (NASDAQ:YHOO):

Unique Viewers: 43.6 million

YTD Performance: 34 percent

7. Viacom Digital (NYSE:VIA):

Unique Viewers: 43.7 million

YTD Performance: 27 percent

6. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT):

Unique Viewers: 45.2 million

YTD Performance: 31 percent

5. News Distribution Network:

Unique Viewers: 46.5 million

NDN is a leading edge digital video and advertising solutions company. Its unique syndication and advertising model distributes professional multimedia content from trusted brands to high quality digital publishers. It is not a publicly traded company, but current employees hail from CBS, CNN, Conde Nast, Cox, Discovery, Turner Broadcasting, and elite individual properties such as AJC.com, NOLA.com, and WashingtonPost.com.

4. VEVO (NYSE:SNE):

Unique Viewers: 52.0 million

YTD Performance: 91 percent

3. AOL (NYSE:AOL):

Unique Viewers: 53.8 million

YTD Performance: 24 percent

2. Facebook (NASDAQ:FB):

Unique Viewers: 60.4 million

YTD Performance: -9 percent

1. Google sites (NASDAQ:GOOG):

Unique Viewers: 154.5 million

YTD Performance: 27 percent

ComScore also finds that 84.8 percent of the U.S. Internet audience viewed online video in May, with the average duration per content video being 5.6 minutes. Video ads accounted for 27.9 percent of all videos viewed and 2.6 percent of all minutes spent viewing video online.

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest report for the week ending June 14, loan application volume decreased 3.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. That is the fifth weekly decline in six weeks and comes after a 5 percent gain in the previous week. The figures include both refinancing and home purchase demand, and cover over 75 percent of all domestic retail residential mortgage applications.

The industry group’s Refinance Index also decreased 3 percent. The unadjusted Purchase Index dropped 4 percent, but is still 12 percent higher than the same time last year.

Overall, the refinance share of mortgage activity remained unchanged at 69 percent of total applications, compared to 68 percent at the beginning of the month – its worst level since July 2011.

Interest rates continue to trend higher and cause reason for concern in the real estate market, as chatter about the Federal Reserve “tapering” its bond-buying programs heats up. The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reached its highest level since March 2012 at 4.17 percent, up slightly from 4.15 percent in the previous week. The most recent average rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage edged lower from 3.32 percent to 3.30 percent.

The latest Federal Open Market Committee minutes – released last month – ignited speculation about the Fed dialing down its presence in the market. The central bank explained, “A number of participants expressed willingness to adjust the flow of purchases downward as early as the June meeting if the economic information received by that time showed evidence of sufficiently strong and sustained growth.” The June meeting concludes this afternoon.

In morning trading, home builders such as PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) and Lennar (NYSE:LEN) both declined nearly 1 percent. Meanwhile, home-improvement companies such as Home Depot (NYSE:HD) and Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) edged 0.45 percent and 0.20 percent lower, respectively.

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Nokia (NYSE:NOK) shares closed 4.6 percent higher on Tuesday and continue to attract attention in late afternoon hours. Daniel Thomas from the Financial Times wrote that the Chinese smartphone and networking supplier Huawei might acquire Nokia, pointing to remarks by its chief of consumer products Richard Yu. The executive said in an interview in London, “We are considering these sorts of acquisitions; maybe the combination has some synergies but depends on the willingness of Nokia. We are open-minded.”

Shares of Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) edged higher in late afternoon trading, despite information about data requests coming into focus. Yahoo announced that it received 13,000 data requests from U.S. law enforcement agencies, joining a host of other tech companies giving details about the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) requests they received. Bloomberg reports that in in the six months ending May 31, Yahoo received information requests for help with cases of fraud, homicides, and criminal investigations. Yahoo urged the government to reconsider its use of FISA, and now plans to issue its first global law enforcement transparency report, updated with new statistics every six months. Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares closed 1.6 percent higher on Tuesday.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares traded mostly flat on Tuesday. A report via Apple Insider alerted readers that the production of accessories purposed to fit a new low-cost iPhone model has already been undergone by Japan’s MGM Corp. A new case featuring a thicker design and more rounded edges was leaked by Japanese blog, Macotakara. The case still includes space for a rear-facing camera, volume buttons, and a mute switch, and is about 2 millimeters thicker than the case designed for the iPhone 5.

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On Tuesday, gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) futures for August delivery, the most active contract, fell $16.20 to close at $1,366.90 per ounce, while silver (NYSEARCA:SLV) futures for July decreased 8 cents to finish at $21.68.

Both precious metals declined as government inflation numbers continue to remain weak. The latest consumer price index report, released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed an increase in the average price of goods and services of 0.1 percent in May, below expectations for an increase of 0.2 percent.

Much of the negative pressure recently has been in the food and energy components of the headline index. These components are generally volatile given the nature of the underlying markets, but even core measures, which strip out food and energy, have remained soft. Core CPI increased just 0.2 percent in May and 1.7 percent on the year.

By the end of the day, the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:GLD) dropped 1.23 percent, while the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV) fell 1.04 percent. Gold miners (NYSEARCA:GDX) such as Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) and Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) both declined by more than 2 percent. Shares of Endeavour Silver (NYSE:EXK) fell 1.8 percent.

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Disclosure: Long EXK, AG, HL, PHYS

Nearly half of households in the United States use a second screen every day while watching television, according to a new survey from Nielsen. Forty-six percent of smartphone owners and 43 percent of tablet owners admitted to using a second device. In fact, more than two-thirds said they used these second screens multiple times a week during the first three months of the year.

What are these people doing? As the chart above shows, consumers are using second screens as distractions and program enhancements. Seventy-six percent of tablet owners and 63 percent of smartphone owners look up general information. Meanwhile, the number of tablet and smartphone users that said they surfed the web came in at 68 percent and 55 percent, respectively.

However, many consumers are using second screens in relation to the programs they are watching. According to the report, 49 percent of tablet owners and 34 percent of smartphone owners use their devices to look up information on actors, plot lines, athletes, or teams. The number of tablet and smartphone users that said they bought products or services that were advertised on television came in at 20 percent and 13 percent, respectively. Thirteen percent of people using both mobile devices said they voted or sent comments to live programs.

Social media is also capturing eyeballs across the nation. Just over half of tablet and smartphone owners said they used their devices to visit social networking sites while watching television. Twenty-one percent of tablet owners read conversations about TV shows, while 18 percent of smartphone owners do the same.

As the chart above shows, it has been a mixed year for the companies involved in the mobile-Internet revolution. Shares of Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) have surged 27 percent and 31 percent year-to-date, respectively. Even BlackBerry (NASDAQ:BBRY) shares have jumped 25 percent year-to-date.

Despite a strong performance over the past decade, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares are down about 19 percent this year. Shares of Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), the world’s largest social media company, have rebounded from its lows, but are still in the red for 2013. Thanks to Chinese telecom firm Huawei keeping an open mind on acquisitions, shares of Nokia (NYSE:NOK) jumped more than 5 percent on Tuesday and are nearly flat on the year.

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Few people would argue that the most hated stock rally in history has received a great deal of help from the Federal Reserve. The equity bears say the rally will soon stall out, while bulls counter with corporate profits, which are at all-time highs. Either way, the next earnings season will exclude the help of a major tax credit.

Due to the U.S. tax code being longer than 70,000 pages, new corporate perks are made public seemingly every other week. The Wall Street Journal recently completed an analysis that finds first-quarter profits were boosted by a research-and-development tax credit, which allowed well-known companies to legally report a year’s worth of R&D benefits in one quarter.

The tax credit benefits companies by more than $7 billion each year, according to estimates from the Senate Finance Committee. It is not a permanent part of the tax code, but it started in 1981 and has been extended 15 times.

For the first quarter, 465 companies in the S&P 500 cumulatively reported that revenue grew only 2.1 percent, compared to a year earlier. However, the research tax credit helped those companies set aside 5.6 percent less money for taxes, and grow their cumulative profits by 6.7 percent, according to the WSJ. Technology and pharmaceutical companies benefitted most from the credit.

Here’s a look at the five biggest beneficiaries of the R&D tax credit.

5. Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT):

The leader in building the world’s infrastructure saw its tax rate decline from 30 percent to 21.8 percent in the first quarter of 2013, compared to the same period last year. The reduction is estimated to have saved $87 million in taxes.

4. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT):

The global healthcare company reduced its tax rate from 24.2 percent to only 1.8 percent year-over-year. The plunge is estimated to have saved $103 million in taxes.

3. Boeing (NYSE:BA):

The multinational aerospace and defense company reduced its tax rate from 36.8 percent to 23.1 percent in the first quarter. The move is estimated to have saved $145 million.

2. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC):

The semiconductor chip maker cut its tax rate from 28.2 percent to 16.3 percent in the first quarter. The move is estimated to have saved $290 million.

1. Google (NASDAQ:GOOG):

The Internet giant decreased its tax rate from 18.5 percent to 7.9 percent in the first quarter. The move is estimated to have saved $380 million.

Google was found to be the biggest beneficiary of the R&D tax credit, but the company did inform investors who paid attention. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company explains, “Our provision for income taxes and effective tax rate decreased from the three months ended March 31, 2012 to the three months ended March 31, 2013, primarily as a result of a discrete tax benefit related to federal research and development credit recognized in the first quarter of 2013…This discrete tax benefit was as a result of a retroactive extension of federal research and development credit in accordance with the American Taxpayer Act of 2012, which was signed into law on January 2, 2013.”

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