You can do your part for the environment -- and save a little cash -- with a Christmas light recyling program offered this week at CVS.

Get $3 off your purchase of select Merry Brite LED light sets when you bring in your used or broken incandescent light strings.

LED lights, which are priced from $9.99 to $19.99 each, are more expensive than the traditional incandescents but use less energy and will save you money on your electric bills.

CVS does not specify a limit on the trade-in program so if anyone tries this out, please report in!

Cree's booming business in the LED lighting market is just gaining momentum, its top executive told shareholders and employees this morning.

LED lights, which use less energy and last longer than traditional bulbs, currently control about 4 percent of the $108 billion annual market for lights and lighting fixtures worldwide, said CEO Chuck Swoboda, during Cree's annual meeting at its Durham headquarters.

"That means 96 percent of the opportunity is still in front of us," he said. "We have to continue to innovate, drive adoption and lead the market."

Expectations can make all the difference.

PowerSecure International reported an 86 percent loss in earnings for the second quarter late Thursday. But the company's financial performance impressed Wall Street analysts, who were bracing for a far bleaker scenario.

All in all, the analysts are upbeat about future prospects for the Wake Forest energy-services company. PowerSecure reported an uptick in product orders, the first quarterly increase in a year.

And the company's fast-growing lighting division has doubled sales for the last three quarters. That division sells energy-efficient lighting for grocery coolers and is now developing and testing an LED streetlight.

"Its potential is massive," wrote Maxim Group analyst William Bremer of PowerSecure's lighting division.