Meet the 'Boomstick,' baseball's largest hot dog

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Named after the bat used by Texas Rangers slugger Nelson Cruz, the $26 Boomstick is a 2-foot all-beef hot dog, smothered in chili, nacho cheese, jalapenos and caramelized onions, all on top of a massive potato bun. The whole thing weighs in at 3 pounds.

To avoid catching the attention of the IRS, beware of these pitfalls.

The ballpark sold nearly 20,000 of the monster hot dogs during the 2012 season — the Boomstick's inaugural year — raking in an estimated $500,000 in sales.

"We knew it was going to be a fun novelty type item, but it just really took off," said Shawn Mattox, the general manager for Delaware North Sportservice, which runs food operations at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas. "It quickly became a fan favorite."

Related: Hot dogs and beer: See what $20 buys at the ballpark

After a large hot dog dubbed the Texas Rangers "Big Dog" sold well during 2011 playoffs, Mattox's team decided to top that, with the 24-inch beast. "'We're Texas,' I said. 'I want to have the biggest hot dog,'" Mattox recalled telling his staff.

They hit a roadblock when they discovered that they couldn't find a company that made hot dogs -- and buns -- so large. Not to be stopped, they partnered with a local food services company and a bakery to custom make the super-sized hot dogs and buns.

The Boomstick was so popular that Delaware North introduced the giant hot dog at six other MLB stadiums for the month of July under the name the "Giant Slugger."

To build upon the Boomstick's success, Rangers Stadium will sell Boomstick lapel pins and plush toys. And a "24"-themed food stand will be opened, featuring a variety of super-sized menu options.

Related: 10 things you'll pay more for this year

The Boomstick will be joined by the "Totally Rossome" Boomstick ($32), named after Rangers relief pitcher Robbie Ross, which is smothered with smoked brisket, fresh pico, sour cream and Doritos chips. Also on the menu is a whopping 24-ounce bacon burger ($26), a 24-inch sausage ($26), a 24-inch pretzel ($13) and a 24-inch quesadilla ($26) covered with brisket and served on a bed of nacho cheese Doritos.

"When we first started talking about it, I was like gosh that's a lot of meat," Mattox said of the 1-pound burger topped with 8 ounces of bacon, grilled onions and cheese, dubbed "The Beltre Buster" after Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre.

Mattox said he's not sure what the massive eats come in at nutrition-wise, but acknowledged it's got to be close to a day's worth of calories.

While some brave fans may attempt to tackle the food alone -- as one who devoured a Boomstick in less than four minutes did in an eating contest last year -- Mattox said the "24" menu items are really meant to be shared among friends or family.

"There are those that have the badge of honor and will over the course of several innings eat the whole thing," he said. "God bless them, but it's not really designed for that."

First Published: March 31, 2013: 10:21 AM ET

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Feds turn up heat on hedge-fund mogul Steven Cohen

Steven Cohen of SAC Capital.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Michael Steinberg, apprehended in Manhattan on Friday morning, is one of at least seven current or former SAC Capital employees to be charged in insider-trading cases over the past few years.

SAC is renowned as one of the country's top investment firms, generating annualized returns averaging more than 25% since it was founded in 1992. Cohen himself is a Wall Street celebrity, with a net worth estimated at $9.3 billion by Forbes Magazine.

SAC's mounting legal troubles, however, have brought the firm unwanted attention, and threaten to ensnare Cohen himself. With Steinberg's arrest, the government is likely hoping to "work its way up the chain" to Cohen, said Michael Weinstein, a defense attorney and former federal prosecutor.

"This is absolutely standard operating procedure for bringing a big defendant down," Weinstein said. "The government's going to continue to pressure people around him."

Related: Should Steve Cohen shut down SAC?

Steinberg, who's been with SAC since 1997, pleaded not guilty in a court appearance Friday morning and posted $3 million bail.

"Mike has conducted himself professionally and ethically during his long tenure at the firm. We believe him to be a man of integrity," SAC spokesman Jonathan Gasthalter said in an email.

Cohen himself hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing, and the firm has repeatedly denied that he has done anything improper.

But investors have been monitoring the government's SAC cases warily, requesting the withdrawal of more than $1.68 billion before the quarterly deadline to do so last month.

The firm was already under pressure after federal officials levied charges in November against Mathew Martoma, a former portfolio manager at an SAC subsidiary, accusing him of participating in a $276 million insider-trading scheme. That indictment claims Cohen made trades based on Martoma's recommendations, though it does not allege that Cohen knew Martoma had obtained information illegally.

Martoma has denied the allegations against him, though other SAC alums have struck cooperation deals with the government. That group includes former analyst Jon Horvath, whose testimony is likely to figure in the case against his one-time boss, Steinberg.

Among the charges Steinberg faces are four counts of securities fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The government has a sterling record in insider-trading cases -- 71 convictions and no acquittals since August 2009 -- and analysts say prosecutors will likely put serious pressure on Steinberg to testify against Cohen.

"They're going to start exerting pressure on Steinberg and exerting pressure on Martoma," said Michael Bachner, a lawyer who has represented defendants in insider-trading cases. "They are looking to try and get as many individuals charged who could cooperate and corroborate each other."

On the civil side, SAC agreed earlier this month to pay more than $600 million in a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the trades at issue in Martoma's case. In a court hearing Thursday, however, a federal judge reportedly questioned why the firm was allowed to settle without admitting or denying wrongdoing, raising doubt as to whether the settlement will be approved.

The firm reached a $14 million settlement with the SEC over the trades in Steinberg's case, though that also awaits court approval.

In the meantime, both the SEC and the Justice Department say their investigations are continuing. As for Cohen, he's apparently finding ways to take his mind off the controversy -- reports emerged this week that he recently purchased Picasso's "Le Reve" for $155 million, the most expensive art purchase ever by a U.S. collector.

CNN Wires staff and CNNMoney's Aaron Smith contributed reporting.

First Published: March 29, 2013: 6:49 PM ET

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Beer and hot dogs: Which ballparks charge most

CNNMoney surveyed Major League Baseball stadiums to see which offer the most bang for your buck.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Classic baseball refreshments like hot dogs and beer can vary widely in price depending on the ballpark, CNNMoney found when it surveyed the 30 major league teams.

To avoid catching the attention of the IRS, beware of these pitfalls.

Mets fans at New York's Citi Field shell out the most for a regular hot dog -- $6.25 a pop. Meanwhile, Cincinnati Reds' watchers at Great American Ball Park can get a dog for just a buck -- the cheapest of any of the 26 stadiums that replied to our price requests. So Cincinnati fans can get six franks for less than the price of a single hot dog at Citi Field.

Meanwhile, thirsty fans pay the most at Washington Nationals games -- where, unless they take advantage of a $5 drink special before the first pitch, the cheapest beer available is a 16-ounce can for $8. For half that, beer drinkers can get a 12-ounce draft at Cleveland Indians games. The best deal? A 14-ounce beer for $4 at Arizona Diamondbacks' Chase Field.

Related: Hot dogs and beer: See what $20 buys at the ballpark

Some stadiums offer unique food options to cater to local taste buds -- those items generally carry even higher price tags.

At Giants games, seafood lovers can enjoy an $8.75 bread bowl of clam chowder or a $16.50 crab sandwich on San Francisco sourdough bread. For those with a sweet tooth, the stadium offers a $10 Ghirardelli hot fudge sundae in homage to San Francisco's famous Ghirardelli Square.

At Comerica Park, Detroit Tigers fans can buy a variety of fried options, including a $7 deep-fried red hot sausage on a stick and a $5 package of deep-fried peanuts.

Minnesota Twins fans can enjoy "state fair classics" like fried pickles ($7.50) and turkey drumsticks ($9.75) at Target Field in Minneapolis.

Texas Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas, is home to a $26 monster of a hot dog dubbed the "Boomstick," a 2-foot-long beef hot dog, smothered in chili, nacho cheese, jalapenos and caramelized onions on a potato bun.

Some stadiums are trying to lure more fans with lower food prices. At most stadiums, fans pay between $3 and $5 for a basic hot dog and $5 to $7 for the cheapest beer -- for a total of $8 to $12. But at Arizona Diamondbacks' ballpark, a 14-ounce beer and a "value" hot dog costs just $5.50 -- less than a beer alone at other parks.

Low concession prices became a priority after the financial crisis of 2008, said Diamondbacks President and CEO Derrick Hall.

"For us, it was a challenge to make sure that we can remain affordable and get as many people to the ballpark despite the economy," he said.

After fan surveys listed food and drink prices as a top concern, Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio will feature lower food prices this year, said Kurt Schloss, vice president of concessions.

"We've spent the past year and a half trying to get to know our fans better," he said. "One of the biggest barriers to attending a game was the entire expense of coming down here."

The Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays did not respond to requests for 2013 stadium food prices.

First Published: March 31, 2013: 10:07 AM ET

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Incomes bounce back in February

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Personal incomes rose 1.1% in February, while spending rose 0.7%, the Commerce Department said.

Both figures were larger than expected. Economists were expecting a 0.8% rise in incomes and a 0.6% gain in spending, according to consensus estimates from Briefing.com.

The surprise jump in take-home pay came after incomes plunged 3.7% in January, driven lower by certain "special factors," the government said.

Incomes in January were depressed by the expiration of the "payroll tax holiday," as well as bonus and dividend payments that were made early in anticipation of tax hikes that took effect in 2013.

Excluding these factors, personal income increased 0.4% in February.

Meanwhile, personal spending continued to rise despite higher payroll taxes.

"We have yet to see the effect of increased payroll taxes on outlays," said Tanweer Akram, senior economist at ING U.S. Investment Management.

Stronger job growth, rising home prices and stocks at all-time highs have consumers feeling more optimistic about the economy recently. But it remains to be seen whether this increase in wealth will translate to a sustained rise in spending, Akram said.

"I'm cautiously optimistic, but I don't expect strong spending this year," he said.

Friday's report came one day after the government said U.S. gross domestic product rose at a 0.4% annual rate in the final three months of 2013. That was better than the previous estimate of 0.1% and the initial reading, which showed a 0.1% decline.

First Published: March 29, 2013: 10:35 AM ET

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Fortune Brainstorm Podcast: Lena Dunham

NEW YORK (Fortune)

Fortune wants to make it even easier for you to eavesdrop. The weekly Fortune Brainstorm podcast features recorded conversations from Fortune's live events.

In this week's installment, actor and writer Lena Dunham -- creator of Girls (which just wrapped up its second season on HBO) -- takes center stage with CNN's Soledad O'Brien. Recorded at last year's Most Powerful Women Summit, Dunham discusses the (other) women in her life, how artists also function as small business owners, her critics, and her career. Don't worry: No spoilers.

Subscribe to and download the podcast from iTunes.

Or stick the podcast's RSS feed into your favorite podcast app: http://fortunebrainstormpodcast.libsyn.com/rss

First Published: March 29, 2013: 11:10 AM ET

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Feds turn up heat on hedge-fund mogul Steven Cohen

Steven Cohen of SAC Capital.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Michael Steinberg, apprehended in Manhattan on Friday morning, is one of at least seven current or former SAC Capital employees to be charged in insider-trading cases over the past few years.

SAC is renowned as one of the country's top investment firms, generating annualized returns averaging more than 25% since it was founded in 1992. Cohen himself is a Wall Street celebrity, with a net worth estimated at $9.3 billion by Forbes Magazine.

SAC's mounting legal troubles, however, have brought the firm unwanted attention, and threaten to ensnare Cohen himself. With Steinberg's arrest, the government is likely hoping to "work its way up the chain" to Cohen, said Michael Weinstein, a defense attorney and former federal prosecutor.

"This is absolutely standard operating procedure for bringing a big defendant down," Weinstein said. "The government's going to continue to pressure people around him."

Related: Should Steve Cohen shut down SAC?

Steinberg, who's been with SAC since 1997, pleaded not guilty in a court appearance Friday morning and posted $3 million bail.

"Mike has conducted himself professionally and ethically during his long tenure at the firm. We believe him to be a man of integrity," SAC spokesman Jonathan Gasthalter said in an email.

Cohen himself hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing, and the firm has repeatedly denied that he has done anything improper.

But investors have been monitoring the government's SAC cases warily, requesting the withdrawal of more than $1.68 billion before the quarterly deadline to do so last month.

The firm was already under pressure after federal officials levied charges in November against Mathew Martoma, a former portfolio manager at an SAC subsidiary, accusing him of participating in a $276 million insider-trading scheme. That indictment claims Cohen made trades based on Martoma's recommendations, though it does not allege that Cohen knew Martoma had obtained information illegally.

Martoma has denied the allegations against him, though other SAC alums have struck cooperation deals with the government. That group includes former analyst Jon Horvath, whose testimony is likely to figure in the case against his one-time boss, Steinberg.

Among the charges Steinberg faces are four counts of securities fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The government has a sterling record in insider-trading cases -- 71 convictions and no acquittals since August 2009 -- and analysts say prosecutors will likely put serious pressure on Steinberg to testify against Cohen.

"They're going to start exerting pressure on Steinberg and exerting pressure on Martoma," said Michael Bachner, a lawyer who has represented defendants in insider-trading cases. "They are looking to try and get as many individuals charged who could cooperate and corroborate each other."

On the civil side, SAC agreed earlier this month to pay more than $600 million in a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the trades at issue in Martoma's case. In a court hearing Thursday, however, a federal judge reportedly questioned why the firm was allowed to settle without admitting or denying wrongdoing, raising doubt as to whether the settlement will be approved.

The firm reached a $14 million settlement with the SEC over the trades in Steinberg's case, though that also awaits court approval.

In the meantime, both the SEC and the Justice Department say their investigations are continuing. As for Cohen, he's apparently finding ways to take his mind off the controversy -- reports emerged this week that he recently purchased Picasso's "Le Reve" for $155 million, the most expensive art purchase ever by a U.S. collector.

CNN Wires staff and CNNMoney's Aaron Smith contributed reporting.

First Published: March 29, 2013: 6:49 PM ET

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EPA plans rules on clean gas

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney)

The Environmental Protection Agency will release preliminary rules on Friday that would reduce sulfur in gas, an Obama administrative official said.

The rules would take effect in 2017, and their full impact would be realized a decade later, the official added. An EPA study said the new rule could save 2000 lives a year and cut back on childhood asthma.

"We estimate the rule will reduce smog by 30%" when fully implemented, said Becker Bill Becker, executive director of the National Association of Clean Air Agencies, which represents air quality control agencies around the country.

Related: Check gas prices in your state

A big point of contention is how much the tougher rules would add to the price of gas.

Refinery and oil and gas industry groups have said such a move would force motorists to pay nearly 10 cents more per gallon, based on a study by energy consulting firm Baker & O'Brien.

The White House is expected to say the move would add less than a penny a gallon, based on an EPA study.

Representatives of the energy industry disagree.

"There is a tsunami of federal regulations coming out of the EPA that could put upward pressure on gasoline prices," said Bob Greco, a director at the American Petroleum Institute.

The rule targets sulfur, which occurs naturally in crude oil. The more sulfur, the less efficiently a car runs. The rule would force refineries to reduce sulfur content by two-thirds to 10 parts per million from 30 parts per million, according to environmental groups briefed on the rule.

The National Association of Clean Air Agencies estimates the rule would have the same effect as taking 33 million cars off the roads.

"We don't know of another air pollution strategy as effective to clean up the air," said Becker.

Refineries that serve California, the European Union and Japan must already meet the tougher sulfur rules.

The Sierra Club, in a statement Friday, lauded the plan. "We have the technology to clean up our fuels and our cars and it's critical that we put them to work," Executive Director Michael Brune said.

The rule was developed with advice from the refiners and car manufacturers, as well as state officials, according to the Obama official.

Of the 111 refineries to be covered by the rule, only 16 will have to major major investments in new equipment to abide by the rule, the official said.

-- CNN's Dan Lothian and Jessica Yellin contributed to this report.

First Published: March 29, 2013: 8:49 AM ET

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Incomes bounce back in February

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Personal incomes rose 1.1% in February, while spending rose 0.7%, the Commerce Department said.

Both figures were larger than expected. Economists were expecting a 0.8% rise in incomes and a 0.6% gain in spending, according to consensus estimates from Briefing.com.

The surprise jump in take-home pay came after incomes plunged 3.7% in January, driven lower by certain "special factors," the government said.

Incomes in January were depressed by the expiration of the "payroll tax holiday," as well as bonus and dividend payments that were made early in anticipation of tax hikes that took effect in 2013.

Excluding these factors, personal income increased 0.4% in February.

Meanwhile, personal spending continued to rise despite higher payroll taxes.

"We have yet to see the effect of increased payroll taxes on outlays," said Tanweer Akram, senior economist at ING U.S. Investment Management.

Stronger job growth, rising home prices and stocks at all-time highs have consumers feeling more optimistic about the economy recently. But it remains to be seen whether this increase in wealth will translate to a sustained rise in spending, Akram said.

"I'm cautiously optimistic, but I don't expect strong spending this year," he said.

Friday's report came one day after the government said U.S. gross domestic product rose at a 0.4% annual rate in the final three months of 2013. That was better than the previous estimate of 0.1% and the initial reading, which showed a 0.1% decline.

First Published: March 29, 2013: 10:35 AM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Fortune Brainstorm Podcast: Lena Dunham

NEW YORK (Fortune)

Fortune wants to make it even easier for you to eavesdrop. The weekly Fortune Brainstorm podcast features recorded conversations from Fortune's live events.

In this week's installment, actor and writer Lena Dunham -- creator of Girls (which just wrapped up its second season on HBO) -- takes center stage with CNN's Soledad O'Brien. Recorded at last year's Most Powerful Women Summit, Dunham discusses the (other) women in her life, how artists also function as small business owners, her critics, and her career. Don't worry: No spoilers.

Subscribe to and download the podcast from iTunes.

Or stick the podcast's RSS feed into your favorite podcast app: http://fortunebrainstormpodcast.libsyn.com/rss

First Published: March 29, 2013: 11:10 AM ET

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

The new CNNMoney Portfolio

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

You'll see that it is leaps ahead of the last portfolio you used, bringing together your entire investing life into one simple tool.

Check out some of what it can do and you'll see what we mean:

- Automatically sync all your brokerage, IRA and 401(k) accounts and show them in a single view.

- "Tell a story in an eye-blink" charts and graphs, instantly showing real-time performance and risk.

- Run more than 100 tests on your holdings and trading behavior to give the best possible personalized advice.

- Get up to the second quotes, breaking news and commentary from 500-plus sources.

With the markets at all-time highs, we know you demand and need this real-time utility paired with our latest news and analysis.

With the addition of our new portfolio, we aim to help you make even better investing decisions.

Welcome! And let us know what you think.

- Chris Peacock, Executive Editor / Vice President

First Published: March 28, 2013: 9:26 AM ET

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Furlough means I can't pay my student loan

Laurie Vroman, a single mom to three kids, including Micah, 8, will have to delay paying off $10,000 in student loans if furloughs cut her pay by 20%.

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney)

Laurie Vroman has already made her decision. She has three young children and makes $37,000 a year as a management assistant at an Army arsenal near Albany, N.Y.

Come May, furloughs will slice her pay by $410 each month, forcing her to cut back on expenses. One casualty would be the $250 monthly payment on the $10,000 she owes the government in Stafford student loans.

"I have to put a roof over my head, and I have to drive, so paying off my student loans is going on the back burner," said Vroman, 31, an Air Force veteran, who pays $985 in rent and $250 for her car each month.

Federal workers nationwide have been preparing months for the forced unpaid time off, triggered by the $85 billion in budget cuts that took effect earlier this month.

Furloughs are scheduled to kick in at government agencies like the Justice Department the week of April 21, and at Defense by May 6, at the earliest.

It's unclear, how many federal workers have student loans. But roughly 200,000 of some 2.1 million federal workers are in their 20s, according to the Office of Personnel Management.

Related: Federal defense workers fret over two-week furlough delay

Delaying student loan payments seems like an obvious option for defense employees, who are in the worst situation among federal workers. They've been warned to expect the longest furloughs -- up to 22 days between May and September, or a 20% pay cut for five months.

Joe Hyde has already filled out the forms to put his $13,000 in federal student loans into forbearance, where he would ask for more time to repay the debt.

Hyde, 25, a travel assistant at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterrey, Calif., says he'll file the paperwork as soon as he gets his furlough notice.

He makes $41,000 a year, and will make $683 less each month if furloughed. Hyde spends $1,400 a month on rent, which eats up most of his paycheck, and his student loan payments amount to $227 each month.

"If we only end up getting furloughed a few days, I think I can take it," said Hyde, who graduated from California University of Pennsylvania in 2010 with a degree in sports management. "But if we're going to get a 20% pay cut, see ya later student loans."

Vroman, meanwhile, is just five weeks away from getting a criminal justice associate's degree from the University of Phoenix. She hopes it will help her land a better-paying job in law enforcement, as an investigator.

Deciding to delay student loan payments wasn't easy, she said.

"There's no other way for me to support my family," said Vroman, an Air Force veteran. "It's not just a 20% pay cut, it's a complete lifestyle change."

She's already traded in her Hyundai Santa Fe for a more fuel efficient Sonata, and cut dinners out with her family.

"We're doing more free museums and things that don't cost," she said.

First Published: March 28, 2013: 9:36 AM ET

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S&P 500 finally hits new record high

Click the chart for more stock market data.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The benchmark index rose almost 3 points to 1565.58, inching just above its record closing high of 1565.15 reached in October 2007.

Despite the new milestone, trading was relatively calm Thursday as investors monitored the ongoing crisis in Cyprus and mulled over new economic data in the United States. The Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were up between 0.1% and 0.2%.

But the first quarter of 2013 has been far from quiet. The Dow, which has been trading at record highs since early March, is up more than 11% and poised to book its best first quarter since 1998. The S&P 500 is up almost 10%. The Nasdaq is up 8%.

Despite the big run-up, experts argue that valuations remain attractive for U.S. stocks. The S&P 500 is trading at just 16 times 2012 earnings. At its all-time high in October 2007, the S&P 500's valuation was just above 17 times profits for the past 12 months.

And looking at earnings projections, stocks still appear reasonably valued. The S&P 500 is trading at just 14 times 2013 estimates.

Volume is expected to remain low Thursday, ahead of Good Friday, when markets will be closed in the United States and most of Europe.

Banks in Cyprus reopened Thursday morning after being closed since March 16. The island nation plans to limit the amount of money that depositors can withdraw in an attempt to prevent bank runs.

Cyprus agreed early Monday to raise billions of euros from big depositors at the Bank of Cyprus and Popular Bank of Cyprus, and to shrink its banking sector in return for a €10 billion European Union bailout.

Back in the United States, the government released its weekly data on initial jobless claims and its final reading on fourth-quarter GDP.

Jobless claims totaled 357,000 in the week ended March 23, an increase of 16,000 from the prior week and much worse than expected. The forecast called for a total of 335,000, according to a consensus of economists complied by Briefing.com.

The final government report for fourth-quarter GDP showed an annual increase of 0.4%, slightly higher than the expected increase of 0.3%. The prior reading showed the economy grew at a 0.1% pace.

Fear & Greed Index gets greedy

In corporate news, struggling smartphone maker Blackberry (BBRY) reported a surprise profit before the opening bell, but sales missed forecasts. The stock rose 2.5% in morning trading.

European markets were higher in afternoon trading, while Asian markets ended lower. The FTSE 100 in London, the DAX in Frankfurt and the CAC 40 in Paris all made gains. The Nikkei closed lower by 1.3%, the Hang Seng dropped 0.9% and the Shanghai Composite was off 2.8%.

The dollar fell against the euro, British pound and the Japanese yen.

Oil and gold prices edged lower.

The price on the 10-year Treasury slipped, pushing the yield up to 1.86% from 1.85% late Wednesday.

First Published: March 28, 2013: 9:58 AM ET

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British banks need $38 billion to fill cash gap

Bank of England says UK banks need to be raise capital this year

LONDON (CNNMoney)

The Bank of England said it would ensure that all major British lenders take action to plug the gap by the end of 2013 after regulators found that the industry was underestimating medium-term risks.

Losses on commercial real estate and high-risk loans to eurozone borrowers could exceed existing provisions by about £30 billion, and the cost of future misconduct cases -- such as the recent Libor scandal -- was understated by about £10 billion.

Related: Stakes high as Cyprus sweats bank controls

A more prudent approach to the assessment of risk also revealed a £12 billion shortfall, the central bank said.

"Taken together, the effect of these three adjustments would be equivalent to around a £50 billion reduction in the regulatory capital of the major U.K. banks and building societies," the bank said in a statement.

Related: RBS plans Citizens IPO within two years

British banks such as HSBC (HBC), Barclays, RBS (RBS) and Lloyds (LLDTF)have been fined billions of pounds for the improper sale of payment protection insurance and interest rate swaps.

Barclays and RBS have also paid big penalties for their roles in attempting to rig the Libor benchmark interest rate, while HSBC paid $1.9 billion last year to settle money-laundering claims by U.S. authorities.

Related: Europe financial sector is fragile, says IMF

Some banks already have the capital they need to make higher provisions, but the total shortfall for those that do not was around £25 billion at the end of 2012. Others have begun to take measures to strengthen their balance sheets by issuing new bonds or reducing dividend payments to retain a greater proportion of earnings.

Those that haven't will need to achieve a core capital ratio of at least 7% of risk-weighted assets by the end of 2013 as a first step, to give them the capacity to absorb future losses without restricting lending to individuals and businesses.

The Bank of England, which has assumed responsibility for bank regulation from the Financial Services Authority, said capital ratios would need to rise further after 2013 to comply with a global set of rules known as Basel III and the government's plans to make the industry safer by separating retail and investment banking activities.

First Published: March 27, 2013: 7:34 AM ET

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Honda unveils minivan with built-in vacuum cleaner

The built-in vacuum in the new Honda minivan, on display Wednesday at the New York Auto Show.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

At the New York Auto Show on Tuesday, Honda unveiled its 2014 Odyssey minivan -- and the feature getting most of the attention was a vacuum cleaner from Shop-Vac in the rear of the van.

Honda said the hose and attachments on what it is calling the HondaVac, can reach anywhere in the minivan and includes a replaceable filter and canister bag. It can run continuously while the engine is running or run for eight minutes with the engine off.

It comes in the Touring Elite version of the minivan and will go on sale this summer.

The Odyssey was the No. 2 selling minivan in the U.S. market last year, with about 126,000 sold. That put it behind only the Dodge Caravan, but ahead of the Toyota (TM) Sienna and the Chrysler Town & Country. But the minivan segment has been shrinking for years.

Related: New wheels from the New York auto show

General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) and Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500) stopped making minivans years ago as families in need of the space for hauling children, pets and other items have turned to SUVs and crossover vehicles. There were only 540,000 minivans sold in the United States last year, according to sales tracker Autodata, which is just less than half the sales that the segment achieved 10 years earlier.

Related: Iconic Jeep Cherokee's controversial return

Honda (HMC) has been an innovator in the segment, introducing the first van with a fold-down rear seat more than 10 years ago. Its sales have held up better than most in the segment, falling only 4% since 2001.

First Published: March 27, 2013: 7:50 AM ET

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Stocks pull back from near record levels

Click for more market data.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrial average both fell about 0.5%. The Nasdaq declined 0.6%. Trading volume on Wall Street is likely to be thin amid the Passover holiday and ahead of Good Friday and Easter.

European markets were also down sharply, driven lower by the banking sector. Shares of Deutsche Bank (DB) fell 4% on a rumor that the German bank could have its credit rating downgraded, said Dave Rovelli, managing director of U.S. equity trading at brokerage Canaccord Genuity.

Bracing for bank run in Cyprus? Rovelli added that investors are concerned that there will be a bank run in Cyprus when banks reopen Thursday after being closed since March 16. Some form of capital controls will be applied when the banks eventually reopen. Details are due to be published later Wednesday.

The island nation agreed early Monday to raise billions of euros from big depositors at the Bank of Cyprus and Popular Bank of Cyprus, and to shrink its banking sector in return for a €10 billion European Union bailout.

Meanwhile, two reports from the European Union highlighted the gloomy economic and business outlook in Europe. The EU business climate indicator fell 0.14 points in March, extending a downturn that goes back to Sept. 2011. A separate survey showed that economic sentiment in Europe fell in March, while consumer confidence was little changed.

Also in Europe, British banks need to raise £25 billion, or about $38 billion, this year to buffer against the potential for future financial turmoil.

"Europe's getting demolished. The banks are getting crushed," said Rovelli. "That's weighing on our banks and taking down our markets, but we were due for a sell-off."

U.S. stocks finished higher Tuesday, with the S&P 500 less than two points away from its all-time closing high of 1,565.15, following better-than-expected reports on the U.S. economy and easing concerns about Cyprus. The Dow Jones industrial average hit a record closing high of 14,559.65.

A rare bit of weak news about home sales. On the economic front, the National Association of Realtors said pending home sales, a measure of purchases that have not yet closed, fell 0.4% in February. Economists had expected the index to have risen 2%, according to a Briefing.com consensus of economist forecasts.

NAR said the limited number of homes for sale in certain parts of the country was holding the market back. Despite the drop in February from March, the index is up 8.4% versus February 2012.

Related: Fear & Greed Index gets extremely greedy

Asian markets ended higher. The Shanghai Composite and Nikkei added 0.2%, while the Hang Seng advanced 0.7%.

However, worries over attempts to rein in runaway real estate prices and rapid growth in China have capped Chinese indexes so far this year, while Japanese stocks have soared.

In corporate news, shares of Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF, Fortune 500) were down nearly 12% in early trading. The stock, which has been the worst performer in the S&P 500 this year, was hit with two analyst downgrades Wednesday.

First Published: March 27, 2013: 9:41 AM ET

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Consumers remain wary about economy

Worries about the forced federal budget cuts made consumers wary about the U.S. economy in March, according to the Conference Board.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The Conference Board, a business research group, said its index of consumer confidence fell to 59.7 in March from 68 in February. The decline was paced by a sharp drop in expectations about future growth.

Lynn Franco, the group's director of economic indicators, said the March drop mirrored one seen in December and January, when Americans were worried about the impact of the fiscal cliff on the nation's economy.

"The recent sequester has created uncertainty regarding the economic outlook and as a result, consumers are less confident," Franco said in a statement.

Related: 57 ways sequester could sting

The Conference Board said consumers were less likely to call economic conditions "good." They were also less likely to say available jobs were "plentiful," although they were also less likely to describe jobs as "hard to get."

Consumers also were less likely to believe that business conditions will improve in the next six months, that there will be more jobs in the months ahead, or that their incomes will increase.

First Published: March 26, 2013: 10:45 AM ET

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Home prices: Biggest rise since housing bubble

Home prices posted their biggest gain since 2006 in January.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The S&P Case-Shiller index, which tracks prices across the 20 largest markets in the nation, showed the rise in January was the biggest year-over-year gain in prices since June 2006.

"This marks the highest increase since the housing bubble burst," said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Related: Home shopping - should you buy new?

In a separate government report Tuesday, new homes sold at a 411,000 annual rate in February, down nearly 5% from the January sales pace but up 12% from year-earlier levels. The typical price of a new home sold in the month was $246,800, up about 3% from both the January and year-earlier median price.

The Case-Shiller report shows the recovery in home prices is widespread. All 20 markets posted a year-over-year gain in home values, and the pace of increase picked up in every market except Detroit.

Some of the markets hurt the most by the bursting of the housing bubble have enjoyed the biggest gains in the last year, led by a 23% rise in Phoenix. Prices were also up more than 10% in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Detroit, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Miami, all markets hit hard by foreclosures due to the skid in prices after the bubble popped or economic problems associated with the recession.

New York posted the smallest rise, up only 0.7%, but that was a reversal from a slight decline in the December reading.

But even with the recent rise in prices, the overall index is down 28.4% from the 2006 peak in prices.

Related: Big money betting big on housing

Home prices have been helped in recent months by a number of factors, including tight inventory of homes available for sale, near record-low mortgage rates and a drop in homes in foreclosure. All those factors have driven up home sales. A decline in unemployment is also helping the housing recovery.

The housing recovery itself is helping support overall economic growth, as builders scramble to hire workers to meet the renewed demand. The lift goes beyond the impact of increased construction on the economy, as the rise in home prices lifts household wealth.

Rising home prices also reduces the number of people owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. That, in turn, can help them to refinance those loans at a lower rate, freeing up money to spend on other goods and services.

First Published: March 26, 2013: 9:08 AM ET

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Stocks bounce back

Click the chart for more stock market data.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.7%, while the S&P 500 added 0.5% and the Nasdaq rose 0.3%. The S&P 500 is once again just a few points away from eclipsing the all-time high it set in October 2007.

Investors were encouraged by reports showing more signs of strength in the U.S. economy. According to the S&P Case-Shiller index, home prices rose 8.1% in January from a year ago, marking the biggest year-over-year gain in prices since June 2006.

New home sales came in at an annual rate of 411,000 in February, down from January and below forecasts. But "conditions remain favorable in the housing market, with prices rising and sales volume still on an upward trend," said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors.

The U. S. Census Bureau reported that durable goods orders rose 5.7% in February, more than expected. But excluding transportation, new orders decreased 0.5%, a bigger drop than expected.

The Conference Board's consumer confidence index came in at 59.7 in March, which was below expectations and lower than February's reading. But a reading above 50 reflects overall optimism.

Related: Fear & Greed Index: Getting greedy

Meanwhile, investors continued to monitor the turmoil in Cyprus but considered the situation with a new sense of calm. Cyprus' banks will remain shut until Thursday to give regulators time to guard against a run on deposits. Some form of capital controls will be applied when the banks eventually reopen.

The island nation agreed early Monday to raise billions of euros from big depositors at the Bank of Cyprus and Popular Bank of Cyprus, and shrink its banking sector, in return for a €10 billion European Union bailout.

European markets were slightly higher in afternoon trading, recovering some ground lost Monday when bank stocks were hit by concern that the Cyprus bailout could serve as a model for future eurozone rescues. Shares of Banco Santander (SAN) and Deutsche Bank (DB) continued to trend lower.

U.S. stocks closed lower Monday as investors fretted over Cyprus, but Mediobanca analyst Christopher Wheeler said that those jitters, which "sent the banks into a tailspin" on Monday, seems to be wearing off. Shares of Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) edged higher in early trading Tuesday.

"I think today there's a bit more settling down, a feeling that the concerns yesterday were a bit overdone," said Wheeler.

Related: Check out CNNMoney's new portfolio tool!

Children's Place (PLCE) reported that sales and profit jumped in 2012. But the company also issued a weak forecast for the first quarter of 2013, citing "the unfavorable weather and weak macro-economic environment." The stock dropped almost 2% in early trading.

In other corporate news, Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) completed the first test flight for its troubled 787 Dreamliner since redesigning the aircraft's battery system.

Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite lost 1.3%, the Nikkei declined 0.6% and the Hang Seng added 0.3%.

The dollar declined against the euro, but rose versus the British pound and Japanese yen.

Oil prices edged higher, while gold prices fell slightly.

The price on the 10-year Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 1.93% from 1.91% late Monday.

First Published: March 26, 2013: 9:48 AM ET

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Icahn, Blackstone make buyout bids for Dell

Dell said that it has received two buyout bids for the company, in addition to the offer by founder Michael Dell.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The board said it will enter into negotiations with both groups. It also said that CEO Michael Dell has agreed to the "possibility of working with third parties" regarding their buyout proposals.

The announcement does not close the door on Dell's bid, though. Several reports Monday suggested that Michael Dell may agree to raise his bid in response to the new offers.

Blackstone (BX) says its offer would value Dell in excess of $14.25 per share. Icahn values his offer at $15 a share. Financing is not firm for either deal, however.

Both the Icahn and Blackstone bids would allow Dell shareholders to continue holding their stakes in the company, with stock continuing to be traded publicly. Money managers Southeastern Asset Management and T. Rowe Price (TROW), two of the largest institutional holders with more than 10% of Dell shares between them, are on record desiring to keep their Dell holdings, according to the Icahn bid letter.

Shares of Dell (DELL, Fortune 500) rose about 3% to $14.58 in early trading Monday following the announcement.

Michael Dell announced a $13.65-a-share offer to take Dell private on Feb 5. Michael Dell, who owns 15% of the shares of the company he started in his college dorm room, joined with private equity firm Silver Lake Partners in making the bid. He also would get a $2 billion loan from Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) to help finance the deal.

The Dell board entered into a "go-shop" period following that offer to see what other bidders were interested in the company.

Fortune reported last week that Blackstone would prefer to have Michael Dell on its side. But if he prefers to remain with Silver Lake, Blackstone has started using back channels to reach out to potential CEO replacements. Top candidates, according to Fortune, include Mark Hurd, the former Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, Fortune 500) CEO who currently serves as president and a board member of Oracle (ORCL, Fortune 500), and Michael Capellas, the former boss of Compaq Computer and First Data.

Fortune also reported that rival computer makers Lenovo (LNVGY) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, Fortune 500) also weighed bids for Dell during the go-shop period but decided against doing so.

First Published: March 25, 2013: 7:21 AM ET

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S&P 500 nears record high after Cyprus deal

Click chart for more market data.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The S&P 500 gained 0.3%, nearly topping its all-time closing high of 1,565.15.

The Dow Jones industrial average hit a new intraday high of 14,547 shortly after the open, but was trading little changed by mid-morning. The Nasdaq added 0.3%.

European markets rallied nearly 1% in afternoon trading, while Asian markets ended mixed. The dollar rose against the euro, which was trading around $1.29.

Cyprus' new bailout program includes a deep restructuring of the country's banking sector, but will also protect deposits will less than €100,000. A plan to tax all bank accounts, a key sticking point that had enraged Cypriots, was shelved.

Without a deal, the tiny state risked losing emergency funding from the European Central Bank as early as Tuesday. That would have meant financial collapse and almost certain exit from the eurozone.

Now that a deal has been reached, investors are breathing a cautious sigh of relief.

Related: Fear & Greed Index: Still greedy

Aside from Cyprus, Dell (DELL, Fortune 500) shares popped more than 3%, after the PC maker said early Monday that it had received two competing bids to founder Michael Dell's buyout offer. Both Carl Icahn's Icahn Enterprise (IEP, Fortune 500), and Blackstone Group (BX) submitted separate buyout offers, which Dell said may turn out to be superior.

Related: A 3-way fight for Dell

Shares of Apollo Group (APOL) rallied 10%, after the company reported earnings that blew past estimates, even as enrollment at University of Phoenix declined nearly 16%.

BlackBerry (BBRY) continued to come under pressure, after its new Z10 phone received a lukewarm reception by U.S. consumers. Goldman Sachs also downgraded the smartphone maker to neutral, calling the U.S. launch "disappointing."

Shares of Dollar General (DG, Fortune 500) rose after the retailer's profit topped expectations.

In the commodities market, oil prices rose nearly 2%, while gold prices edged lower.

The U.S. dollar rose the British pound and Japanese yen.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged down to 1.95% from 1.93%.

First Published: March 25, 2013: 9:49 AM ET

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Startups have a sexism problem

Sexism at startups came to light in a viral off-color remark at a recent PyCon tech conference event.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

It all began when two male attendees made a joke about "big dongles" and "forking," a play on tech terminology at software developer conference PyCon on March 18. Tech developer and evangelist Adria Richards, sitting in front of the men, took offense. She snapped a photo of the two and posted the image along with their joke to Twitter.

The backlash was extreme. One of the men, who worked for mobile gaming platform Playhaven, was fired. Richards started to receive death threats, hackers exposed her private information, and both her personal site and SendGrid, her employer, were hit with cyberattacks. Soon after, Richards was fired for "publicly shaming the offenders," according to a blog post by SendGrid CEO Jim Franklin.

All this raises the question: is the tech world, a sector largely dominated by men, a safe place for women to work and voice their concerns?

"This incident is indicative of larger problems in the tech industry," said Nikki Stevens, director of Engineering at Refinery29, a fashion startup. "What's hard is she isn't the first person to get fired for speaking out, and she won't be the last."

Related story: Black, female, and a Silicon Valley 'trade secret'

The root of those problems, some say, is a lack of awareness rather than a willfulness to do harm.

"There are so many incidents in my career of guys saying stuff like that," said Merrill Beth Ferguson, vice president of technology at data analytics startup Jirafe. "It does occasionally go too far. It's the rare occasion that I have thought there was anything going on other than cluelessness."

That absence of sensitivity in a field already lacking diversity has become part of the public conversation this month. Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's (FB) chief operating officer, addressed the issue in her new book, "Lean In."

To combat sexism in the workplace, Sandberg encourages women and men to conduct open conversations about gender issues.

"We need a national conversation that examines the barriers that hold women back and prevent us from achieving true equality," Sandberg wrote in a CNN editorial. "The blunt truth is that men still run the world."

Carol Mirakove, the head of quality assurance at link-shortening site Bitly, agrees. She has worked as a leader in the tech industry for more than a decade, and though she says her current job is a great place for women, others have been the opposite. At previous jobs, office chat rooms and email lists would be filled with sexual and misogynistic jokes and images, she recalled.

Related story: Tech industry's diversity problem starts in college -- and earlier

Mirakove said the PyCon incident was "unfortunate," coming at a time where the stakes are particularly high.

"The technology industry cannot afford for this conversation to be shut down any longer," she said. "It has more open jobs than skilled workers to fill them, and all tech workers are entitled to a fair and safe work environment."

Yet Facebook's Sandberg and others admit that having the conversation isn't enough. Her book has generated sizable controversy for asking that women change their behavior and attitudes to advance their careers.

"Women shouldn't have to grow 'thick skin' to go into a technical field," wrote Eric Matthes, a PyCon attendee who describes himself as a programmer and hacker, on his blog.

To really bring about change, many startup insiders argue that tech companies must hire more women in leadership roles and promote strong female leaders.

"It's up to the leaders of a company to create the culture that they foster," said Jirafe's Ferguson.

But incidents like the one at PyCon could dissuade women from getting involved in tech to begin with. To get women interested in those roles -- and to stick with them -- they must be encouraged, and startups must become safe places for women to work and voice their opinions.

"Women in technology need consistent messaging from birth through retirement they are welcome, competent and valued in the industry," said Richards on her blog.

First Published: March 25, 2013: 10:07 AM ET

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Cyprus endgame: What happens if its banks collapse?

A banking collapse would likely lead to Cyprus' exit from the eurozone. The ramifications of that are unknown.

LONDON (CNNMoney)

The European Union wants the beleaguered country to find nearly €6 billion to add to a €10 billion bailout program backed by the International Monetary Fund to save the country's insolvent banks.

And Cyprus is scrambling to put together a plan that will satisfy its would-be rescuers, while not further inflaming depositors.

Amid great uncertainty, one thing is clear -- the collapse of the tiny island nation's banks would lead the 17-member eurozone into uncharted waters.

Without agreement on a European rescue, emergency funding from the European Central Bank that has been keeping Cypriot banks afloat is due to end on Tuesday.

But will the ECB carry out its threat to yank the funding, knowing it would start a chain reaction that would almost certainly end in Cyprus abandoning the euro after just five years?

Some experts believe it will.

"Extending the emergency liquidity assistance without a clear deal could lead to a significant transfer of risk toward the ECB, and questions over its credibility," noted the Open Europe think tank.

"This would be a particularly poisonous debate in Germany, something which neither the ECB nor the German government would want."

Related: Cyprus sitting on natural gas gold mine

Banks in Cyprus have been closed to prevent a run on deposits after initial plans for a tax on all accounts -- since abandoned -- were revealed last weekend. ATMs have continued to function but long queues have formed at some banks.

In the absence of a rescue, Cypriots and foreign depositors will rush to withdraw cash as soon as they can. The government could extend the bank holiday again, and impose limits on financial transactions, but that would only delay the inevitable.

"The longer the restrictions on withdrawing and transferring assets continue, the more it increases the chances of drastic capital flight once they are lifted," wrote IHS Global Insight analyst Sean Harrison in a report.

Restricting the movement of capital wouldn't solve the country's banking crisis but only further depress activity in a recession-hit economy dependent on financial services and tourism, exacerbating the government's debt crisis.

Cyprus could close its two weakest banks -- it is already working on a plan to restructure one of them, Popular Bank of Cyprus -- but depositors would face big losses, further undermining confidence in the system as a whole.

Unable to restore trust in its banks and with an economy locked in a downward spiral, social and political unrest would escalate quickly. At that point, Cyprus may decide it has no option but to abandon the euro and start printing its own currency.

A new Cyprus pound would be worth much less than the euro, imposing even more pain on depositors than the original bank levy rejected by parliament on Tuesday.

What would a Cyprexit mean for the eurozone?

"If a collapse were to occur, we maintain our view that Cyprus is so different from any other eurozone country and banking system that contagion is far from obvious," said Unicredit chief economist Erik Nielsen.

While European stock markets and the euro took a hit this week, government bonds in Italy and Spain held steady. And U.S. stock markets ended the week down a little less than 0.5%.

Still, it's possible the ECB could feel pressure to take emergency steps to prop up markets by, for example, purchasing government bonds.

Spain has secured an EU-backed bailout of its banking industry, and policymakers and investors appear at this point to be relaxed about the absence of a government in Rome, pointing to measures already taken to control its borrowing.

Some analysts believe it's more likely that another small eurozone country -- Slovenia -- could move center stage if Cyprus collapses.

Slovenia has an economy twice the size of Cyprus, but it has already been forced to bail out its banking sector, which is plagued by a high and rising rate of bad loans, and a new government may struggle to fund the recapitalization.

The International Monetary Fund says Slovenia may need to provide an extra €1 billion in capital for its three largest banks, at a time when the country's debt burden is rising due to a recession caused by poor export demand and austerity measures.

First Published: March 23, 2013: 7:17 AM ET

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Cyprus bailout: Bank tax plan still unresolved

LONDON (CNNMoney)

The tiny island nation needs to find a way to raise nearly €6 billion to satisfy the conditions of a €10 billion EU rescue or face economic meltdown when banks reopen Tuesday after a 10-day hiatus.

Late Friday, after a long debate, lawmakers passed bills to create a sovereign wealth fund, nationalize pension assets and impose strict limits on the movement of capital.

But the most important vote -- on introducing a tax of 20% to 25% on deposits of more than €100,000 euros at Bank of Cyprus, the country's biggest lender -- was still to come.

The timing of a vote on the tax was uncertain. Cypriot officials and EU finance ministers were in talks this weekend over the 11th-hour effort to agree on a plan. They plan to meet Sunday in Brussels at 1 pm ET.

Officials have been scrambling to find ways to raise Cyprus' share of an EU bailout since the country's parliament threw out an unprecedented plan to tax all bank deposits.

Without a rescue, the European Central Bank has said it will cut off the emergency funding that has been keeping the country's biggest banks afloat since Tuesday, potentially leading to Cyprus' exit from the eurozone.

Cyprus' plan includes an overhaul of its bloated and largely insolvent banking sector.

The country's second largest bank, Popular Bank of Cyprus, would be broken up and depositors under €100,000 protected. As a first step, the country agreed to sell the Greek branches of its two biggest banks to Athens-based Piraeus Bank.

Cyprus' top bankers said a tax on bank deposits that protected small savers with less than €100,000 was still the best option to prevent catastrophe.

"In my opinion, if we had done the haircut on deposits ... it would have been a much better solution because the banks would be safe," Takis Phidias, Popular Bank's acting CEO told CNN.

The Bank of Cyprus also called for the adoption of the eurozone proposal, fearing that a lack of viable alternatives would lead to a collapse, putting all deposits at risk.

"We want to highlight that any return to the Cypriot pound means significant loss of asset value and [would] lead to a vicious circle of devaluation and hyperinflation," the bank said in a statement, according to Reuters.

The proposed tax on all accounts, including deposits covered by the national guarantee program, outraged Cypriots and prompted widespread condemnation for undermining the principle that ordinary savers should not pay for bank failures.

Cypriots have been queuing at cash machines since the levy was first announced on March 16.

Related: Cyprus is sitting on a natural gas gold mine

Cyprus has been brought to its knees by the losses that its oversized banking sector sustained on investments in Greece, and a deep recession.

Eurozone policymakers want Cyprus to stump up cash from its banks as part of the rescue to ensure the country's debt doesn't become unsustainable. The total funding required to recapitalize the banks and meet government commitments is almost equal to annual gross domestic product.

And the EU believes wealthy foreigners who have profited from Cyprus' low tax rates should contribute. More than half of bank deposits are held by foreigners, many of them Russian.

On Friday, Cyprus' Finance Minister Michalis Sarris returned from talks in Moscow empty handed. He had been hoping Russia would ease the pressure by relaxing the terms of an existing €2.5 billion loan, and possibly invest in the island's offshore gas reserves.

Russia would wait for a decision by Cyprus' European partners and the International Monetary Fund before deciding whether to take part in a rescue, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said.

Moody's rating agency estimates that Russian banks have lent $30 billion to $40 billion to Cyprus-based companies of Russian origin, equivalent to up to 20% of the banks' capital base.

-- CNN's Jim Boulden and Fred Pleitgen contributed to this article.

First Published: March 22, 2013: 2:33 PM ET

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'Only hard choices' for Cyprus

LONDON (CNNMoney)

Negotiations between Cyprus and its would-be bailout partners at the European Union and International Monetary Fund continued through the weekend as the clock ticks down on the country's financial system.

"The events of recent days have led to a situation where there are no longer any optimal solutions available," Olli Rehn, the EU's top economic official, said Saturday. "There are only hard choices left."

A meeting of European Union finance minister has been set for Sunday, at 1 pm ET in Brussels.

Related: What happens if the banks fail?

The tiny island nation needs to find a way to raise nearly €6 billion to satisfy the conditions of a €10 billion EU rescue or face economic meltdown when banks reopen Tuesday after a 10-day hiatus.

Late Friday, after a long debate, the Cyprus parliament passed bills to create a sovereign wealth fund, nationalize pension assets and impose strict limits on the movement of capital.

Still unresolved is one of the most controversial parts of the bailout plan -- a tax on bank deposits.

The original EU bailout plan called for an unprecedented tax of on all bank deposits. Since then talks have focused on proposals that would protect deposits of less than €100,000 euros but impose a heavy tax -- perhaps 20% to 25% -- on larger accounts.

Officials have been scrambling to find ways to raise Cyprus' share of an EU bailout since parliament threw out the original terms last week.

Under the financial restructuring being considered, the country's second largest bank, Popular Bank of Cyprus, would be broken up and depositors under €100,000 protected.

The proposed tax on all accounts, including deposits covered by the national guarantee program, outraged Cypriots and prompted widespread condemnation for undermining the principle that ordinary savers should not pay for bank failures.

Related: Cyprus' natural gas gold mine

Without a rescue, the European Central Bank has said it will cut off the emergency funding that has been keeping the country's biggest banks afloat, potentially leading to Cyprus' exit from the eurozone.

Cypriots have been queuing at cash machines since the EU bailout proposal was first announced on March 16.

Cyprus has been brought to its knees by the losses that its oversized banking sector sustained on investments in Greece, as well as a deep recession.

Eurozone policymakers want Cyprus to stump up cash from its banks as part of the rescue to ensure the country's debt doesn't become unsustainable.

And the EU believes wealthy foreigners who have profited from Cyprus' low tax rates should contribute. More than half of bank deposits are held by foreigners, many of them Russian.

First Published: March 24, 2013: 7:45 AM ET

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Google Keep is a note-taking app with great potential

Google Keep has a lot of potential.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Before the arrival of Keep, which Google launched this week, there was no default note-taking app for Android. It was a glaring hole, considering that Apple's (AAPL, Fortune 500) iPhone has built-in Notes and Reminders apps that can be powered by Siri.

Instead of settling for a bare bones app to fill the void, the search giant took things one step further. Keep isn't simply just a place to bank whatever random half-thoughts come to mind: Users can construct to-do lists, stash photos, and color code your notes -- all in one well-designed and easy-to-use interface.

The second you log anything into your phone, it is also accessible from a PC Web browser via Google Drive. Alternatively, you can save things while working on your computer, and it will instantly appear on your phone, ready for use while on the go.

The design may not be as progressive as the to-do app Clear, but Keep makes up for that in its simplicity and efficiency.

Everything in Keep is presented like a Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) Windows Phone-esque stream of tiles. Swiping left or right will archive those notes you no longer need (but don't want to erase entirely). At the top of the app is a text entry field that serves as your main point of entry for all new notes. And when viewing any specific note, tapping any part of that note (title, body, etc.) will allow you to edit it. The entire experience is frictionless.

That said, it's not going to conquer the world quite yet. Organization options are limited -- color coding is your only choice, and you can't re-order your notes. Sharing with others is mostly limited to email and Google+, and the desktop features are pretty bare bones.

But that's more a function of it being new, rather than poorly thought out. Like most things Google (GOOG, Fortune 500), expect the company to flesh out Keep over time and really turn it into our personal internet junk drawer.

It's easy to foresee the day the when users will be able to send anything from their Web browser or Maps directly to Keep. The prospect of Keep incorporating features of services such as Pinterest or Pocket, or even making it easy to catalog streaming media, could turn it into something big. That should scare Evernote.

Keep is not the reinvention of the wheel in any aspect -- there are a plethora of third-party apps already available for Android. But it is a well-exectuted refinement.

In filling a minor, but important gap in its mobile ecosystem, Google gives the competition one less claim of superiority over Android.

First Published: March 22, 2013: 11:35 AM ET

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Cyprus endgame: What happens if its banks collapse?

A banking collapse would likely lead to Cyprus' exit from the eurozone. The ramifications of that are unknown.

LONDON (CNNMoney)

The European Union wants the beleaguered country to find nearly €6 billion to add to a €10 billion bailout program backed by the International Monetary Fund to save the country's insolvent banks.

And Cyprus is scrambling to put together a plan that will satisfy its would-be rescuers, while not further inflaming depositors.

Amid great uncertainty, one thing is clear -- the collapse of the tiny island nation's banks would lead the 17-member eurozone into uncharted waters.

Without agreement on a European rescue, emergency funding from the European Central Bank that has been keeping Cypriot banks afloat is due to end on Tuesday.

But will the ECB carry out its threat to yank the funding, knowing it would start a chain reaction that would almost certainly end in Cyprus abandoning the euro after just five years?

Some experts believe it will.

"Extending the emergency liquidity assistance without a clear deal could lead to a significant transfer of risk toward the ECB, and questions over its credibility," noted the Open Europe think tank.

"This would be a particularly poisonous debate in Germany, something which neither the ECB nor the German government would want."

Related: Cyprus sitting on natural gas gold mine

Banks in Cyprus have been closed to prevent a run on deposits after initial plans for a tax on all accounts -- since abandoned -- were revealed last weekend. ATMs have continued to function but long queues have formed at some banks.

In the absence of a rescue, Cypriots and foreign depositors will rush to withdraw cash as soon as they can. The government could extend the bank holiday again, and impose limits on financial transactions, but that would only delay the inevitable.

"The longer the restrictions on withdrawing and transferring assets continue, the more it increases the chances of drastic capital flight once they are lifted," wrote IHS Global Insight analyst Sean Harrison in a report.

Restricting the movement of capital wouldn't solve the country's banking crisis but only further depress activity in a recession-hit economy dependent on financial services and tourism, exacerbating the government's debt crisis.

Cyprus could close its two weakest banks -- it is already working on a plan to restructure one of them, Popular Bank of Cyprus -- but depositors would face big losses, further undermining confidence in the system as a whole.

Unable to restore trust in its banks and with an economy locked in a downward spiral, social and political unrest would escalate quickly. At that point, Cyprus may decide it has no option but to abandon the euro and start printing its own currency.

A new Cyprus pound would be worth much less than the euro, imposing even more pain on depositors than the original bank levy rejected by parliament on Tuesday.

What would a Cyprexit mean for the eurozone?

"If a collapse were to occur, we maintain our view that Cyprus is so different from any other eurozone country and banking system that contagion is far from obvious," said Unicredit chief economist Erik Nielsen.

While European stock markets and the euro took a hit this week, government bonds in Italy and Spain held steady. And U.S. stock markets ended the week down a little less than 0.5%.

Still, it's possible the ECB could feel pressure to take emergency steps to prop up markets by, for example, purchasing government bonds.

Spain has secured an EU-backed bailout of its banking industry, and policymakers and investors appear at this point to be relaxed about the absence of a government in Rome, pointing to measures already taken to control its borrowing.

Some analysts believe it's more likely that another small eurozone country -- Slovenia -- could move center stage if Cyprus collapses.

Slovenia has an economy twice the size of Cyprus, but it has already been forced to bail out its banking sector, which is plagued by a high and rising rate of bad loans, and a new government may struggle to fund the recapitalization.

The International Monetary Fund says Slovenia may need to provide an extra €1 billion in capital for its three largest banks, at a time when the country's debt burden is rising due to a recession caused by poor export demand and austerity measures.

First Published: March 23, 2013: 7:17 AM ET

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Cyprus bailout: Bank tax plan still unresolved

LONDON (CNNMoney)

The tiny island nation needs to find a way to raise nearly €6 billion to satisfy the conditions of a €10 billion EU rescue or face economic meltdown when banks reopen Tuesday after a 10-day hiatus.

Late Friday, after a long debate, lawmakers passed bills to create a sovereign wealth fund, nationalize pension assets and impose strict limits on the movement of capital.

But the most important vote -- on introducing a tax of 20% to 25% on deposits of more than €100,000 euros at Bank of Cyprus, the country's biggest lender -- was still to come.

The timing of a vote on the tax was uncertain. Cypriot officials and EU finance ministers were in talks this weekend over the 11th-hour effort to agree on a plan.

Officials have been scrambling to find ways to raise Cyprus' share of an EU bailout since the country's parliament threw out an unprecedented plan to tax all bank deposits earlier this week.

Without a rescue, the European Central Bank has said it will cut off the emergency funding that has been keeping the country's biggest banks afloat since Tuesday, potentially leading to Cyprus' exit from the eurozone.

Cyprus' plan includes an overhaul of its bloated and largely insolvent banking sector.

The country's second largest bank, Popular Bank of Cyprus, would be broken up and depositors under €100,000 protected. As a first step, the country agreed to sell the Greek branches of its two biggest banks to Athens-based Piraeus Bank.

Cyprus' top bankers said a tax on bank deposits that protected small savers with less than €100,000 was still the best option to prevent catastrophe.

"In my opinion, if we had done the haircut on deposits ... it would have been a much better solution because the banks would be safe," Takis Phidias, Popular Bank's acting CEO told CNN.

The Bank of Cyprus also called for the adoption of the eurozone proposal, fearing that a lack of viable alternatives would lead to a collapse, putting all deposits at risk.

"We want to highlight that any return to the Cypriot pound means significant loss of asset value and [would] lead to a vicious circle of devaluation and hyperinflation," the bank said in a statement, according to Reuters.

The proposed tax on all accounts, including deposits covered by the national guarantee program, outraged Cypriots and prompted widespread condemnation for undermining the principle that ordinary savers should not pay for bank failures.

Cypriots have been queuing at cash machines since the levy was first announced on March 16.

Related: Cyprus is stiing on a natural gas gold mine

Cyprus has been brought to its knees by the losses that its oversized banking sector sustained on investments in Greece, and a deep recession.

Eurozone policymakers want Cyprus to stump up cash from its banks as part of the rescue to ensure the country's debt doesn't become unsustainable. The total funding required to recapitalize the banks and meet government commitments is almost equal to annual gross domestic product.

And the EU believes wealthy foreigners who have profited from Cyprus' low tax rates should contribute. More than half of bank deposits are held by foreigners, many of them Russian.

On Friday, Cyprus' Finance Minister Michalis Sarris returned from talks in Moscow empty handed. He had been hoping Russia would ease the pressure by relaxing the terms of an existing €2.5 billion loan, and possibly invest in the island's offshore gas reserves.

Russia would wait for a decision by Cyprus' European partners and the International Monetary Fund before deciding whether to take part in a rescue, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said.

Moody's rating agency estimates that Russian banks have lent $30 billion to $40 billion to Cyprus-based companies of Russian origin, equivalent to up to 20% of the banks' capital base.

-- CNN's Jim Boulden and Fred Pleitgen contributed to this article.

First Published: March 22, 2013: 2:33 PM ET

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The wedding is off! Who gets the engagement ring?

Many courts have ruled that the ring is a "conditional gift" that must be returned to the person who bought it.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

More than $5,000 is spent on the average engagement ring. And deciding who gets to keep the ring when the big day gets called off is such a hotly-contested issue that most states have laws governing its ownership.

Some bitter lovers even take the case to court.

Colette DiPierro, 31, thought her broken engagement was behind her when she learned that her ex-fiancé Christopher Reinhold was suing, demanding the return of her $17,500 diamond engagement ring.

They had dated for almost two years when Reinhold proposed in May 2009. But the couple began to fight, often about money, and they split four months later, said DiPierro, a physician assistant in Staten Island, N.Y. The following spring, he filed a lawsuit. Reinhold and his attorney did not respond to requests for comment.

Poll: Who do you think should keep the ring?

According to DiPierro, she held onto the ring because he hadn't repaid her for his share of $40,000 worth of living expenses. Their deal: she had paid for rent, food, car payments and other bills while Reinhold saved for the ring.

"I helped him save so I felt that I was holding onto the ring for collateral," she said.

Laws vary by state, but many consider the ring a "conditional gift" until the couple says "I do," -- meaning that regardless of who gets cold feet, the ring must be returned to the person who bought it, said Alton Abramowitz, a New York-based attorney and president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

But it's not always that simple.

A New York judge ruled in 2006 that a woman could keep her 3.4-carat diamond engagement ring because her ex had not yet been divorced from his previous wife when he proposed. The Montana Supreme Court, meanwhile, has shot down the conditional gift theory entirely, ruling that the ring is the rightful property of its recipient.

In certain states, determining who gets the ring rests on who called off the wedding. And, to complicate matters further, some states treat an engagement ring given on a holiday differently than one given on a non-holiday.

In DiPierro's case, because the ring was given to her on her birthday, she argued that it should be hers to keep.

Related: How to ask a friend to pay you back

New York State law was on her side, said George Muscato, a Lockport, N.Y.-based attorney who recently represented a female client in an engagement ring-related suit. He did not represent DiPierro.

"If you give her that ring on a holiday like Christmas or Valentine's Day or her birthday, then you are making a gift to her as a present [that is] unconditional," he said.

But as legal proceedings dragged on for more than a year, DiPierro said she ultimately agreed to a financial settlement with Reinhold.

While she's glad her time in court is behind her, DiPierro said it drastically changed her perspective on money and romantic relationships.

"I guess, in some cases, I was naive," she said. "Money became very complicated in every future relationship."

First Published: March 22, 2013: 7:47 AM ET

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Fortune Brainstorm podcast: Sheryl Sandberg

NEW YORK (Fortune)

Fortune wants to make it even easier for you to eavesdrop. The Fortune Brainstorm podcast is a weekly show that features recorded conversations from Fortune's live events.

In this week's installment, Facebook's (FB) Sheryl Sandberg sits down with Fortune's Pattie Sellers to talk about her new book and the most pressing challenges facing women in business today. You'll also learn the No. 1 bad word in the Sandberg household ...

Subscribe to and download the podcast from iTunes.

Or stick the podcast's RSS feed into your favorite podcast app: http://fortunebrainstormpodcast.libsyn.com/rss

First Published: March 22, 2013: 10:24 AM ET

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Stocks higher on Cyprus hopes

Click for more market data.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were all up about 0.6% in early trading. The Dow was back above 14,500 while the S&P 500 was once again just a few points from passing the record high it set in October 2007.

The advance came after a government spokesman in Cyprus said officials could make a decision on "the hard dilemmas" facing the country later Friday.

"This is being interpreted as a step towards a solution," said Frank Davis, director of sales and trading at LEK Securities. "We don't know what that solution will be, but there seems to be something in the works."

Davis said investors were also encouraged by "various other fundamental news," including upbeat earnings data and a large share repurchase.

Cyprus is facing a deadline Monday to come up with €5.8 billion in order to secure a €10 billion bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

Talks between Russian officials and the Cyprus government broke up early Friday, with no agreement on a cash infusion that could help the island nation skirt a default. Nearly a third of the money in Cyprus' outsized banking sector is from Russian depositors.

"After several days of meeting with Russian officials, Cypriots have come back empty handed," said Marc Chandler, strategist for Brown Brothers Harriman, in an early note to investors, though he added, "One must be impressed with how well the markets have absorbed the still unresolved Cyprus situation."

Related: Russia bails on Cyprus

While a default is potentially disastrous for Cyprus, it wouldn't necessarily destabilize the European economy on its own. But investors are watching to see how the situation is resolved and if it could set a precedent for larger economies that may face similarly dire straits in the future.

U.S. stocks fell Thursday, with technology stocks weighing on the broader market following lackluster earnings from Oracle (ORCL, Fortune 500).

Early Friday, shares of Micron Technology (MU, Fortune 500) spiked higher after the company's earnings blew past estimates, sparking a slew of analyst upgrades.

Shares of BP (BP) rose after the oil giant said it was moving ahead with plans to buy back up to $8 billion of stock after completing the sale of its 50% stake in TNK-BP to Rosneft.

Nike (NKE, Fortune 500) shares surged after the apparel giant reported quarterly earnings on Thursday that beat expectations.

Tiffany's (TIF) stock jumped after the jewelry retailer reported a jump in quarterly profit.

Related: Fear & Greed Index slips back to greed

European markets were mixed in midday trading, reversing some of their losses as investors reacted to developments in Cyprus. Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite added 0.2%, while the Hang Seng lost 0.5% and the Nikkei declined 2.4%.

The Ifo Business Climate Index for German manufacturing and trade slipped in March, as companies lost enthusiasm about their business outlook compared to February. But the index also showed that Germany -- Europe's strongest economy -- continues to prevail, buoyed by domestic spending. Construction is at its strongest point since reunification of East and West Germany, more than 20 years ago.

First Published: March 22, 2013: 9:41 AM ET

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