Aereo suspends TV service...but not 'shutting down'

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The court ruling found that Aereo violates copyright law by picking up the signals of local television stations and retransmitting them via the Internet to paying subscribers.

"As a result of that decision, our case has been returned to the lower Court," Aereo founder Chet Kanojia said in an email message to subscribers on Saturday morning.

Related: The future of media

"We have decided to pause our operations temporarily as we consult with the court and map out our next steps."

The "pause" will take place at 11:30 a.m. Eastern on Saturday.

Kanojia said all subscribers (the company has never specified how many it has) will be refunded "their last paid month."

Kanojia ended his email by saying "our journey is far from done." And in a subsequent email message to reporters, an Aereo representative said "We want to emphasize that this is a pause, and that the company is not shutting down."

However, conventional wisdom following Wednesday's ruling held that Aereo would either have to close up shop or radically change its business model.

Related: 6 cool innovations we're still waiting for

"For broadcasters, this is a huge relief, and lifts a cloud of uncertainty," Needham & Co. analyst Laura Martin wrote in an investors' note on Wednesday. "Although there was a low probability the Supreme Court would decide against them, the cost would have been billions of dollars of lost revenue through lower retransmission fees."

In the wake of the court ruling, "the only option that remains available to Aereo would be to change its model and pay the broadcasters to distribute the content," just like cable and satellite distributors do, Nomura analyst Anthony DiClemente wrote in a research note. He said Aereo could essentially offer "a slimmed-down content package delivered over the Internet."

First Published: June 28, 2014: 10:27 AM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

American Apparel adopts plan to prevent a takeover

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

On Saturday, the company announced that it has adopted a one-year shareholders rights plan in an effort to prevent Charney, or any other person or group, from seizing a controlling interest in the company.

The company's "poison pill" provision kicks in once anyone purchases 15% or more of the company's outstanding stock. At that point, shareholders will be granted the right to purchase shares at $2.75 each in an effort to dilute any potential acquirer's interest.

Related: American Apparel's ousted CEO fights back!

American Apparel (APP) said the plan is in response to documents Charney filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that expressed his "intent to acquire control or influence over the Company."

On Friday, Charney submitted a regulatory filing with the SEC announcing that he's partnering with investment firm Standard General in an effort to buy large amounts of American Apparel stock.

Charney currently owns 27.2% of the company's stock, according to the filing.

Charney was ousted as chairman earlier this month. An American Apparel director told CNNMoney the decision came after the board learned of "disturbing" information that suggested "misconduct" by Charney.

Allegations of misconduct are not new for Charney, who has faced several lawsuits claiming everything from sexual harassment to assault and battery.

Related: 6 endangered brands

Charney's lawyer Patricia Glaser sent a letter to the company's board of directors last week saying the company acted in "a manner that was not merely unconscionable but illegal."

Charney founded the company in 1998 and took the company public in 2005 at $8 per share. The shares eventually rose to nearly $17. But in recent years, American Apparel has been fighting to stave off bankruptcy.

American Apparel's stock closed Friday at 97 cents a share.

First Published: June 28, 2014: 11:42 AM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Stocks: 2014 half-time report

After a tumultuous start, the S&P 500 has continued its record rise this year.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

While the all-important monthly jobs report comes out on Thursday (a day earlier than usual because of the three-day weekend), there's not much else on the economic or earnings calendars to move the markets.

But as the first half of the year comes to a close this week, we here at CNNMoney are in a reflective mood. After all, you can't know where you're going until you know where you've been.

Here's what you need to know about the markets year-to-date, and what to possibly expect for the rest of 2014.

The calm after the storm: It wasn't pretty at first. After a record run in 2013, stocks were hit by turmoil in the first quarter as harsh winter weather dampened corporate profits and the emerging markets rapidly sold off as investors worried that the tightening of Federal Reserve's easy money spigot would reverberate to those countries that were relying on cheap foreign investment to fuel growth.

Throw in the crisis in Ukraine, it it looked like investors were in for a wild ride.

But warmer Spring weather eventually came, the emerging markets' fears subsided, and the tense standoff between Russia and the West has seemingly been dialed back for now.

Related: Russian markets: They're baaack!

Stocks have been the "little engine that could," slowly pushing higher. The S&P 500 closed at a record high 22 times this year, according to Jeffrey Hirsch of the Stock Trader's Almanac.

The blue chip index has gained about 6% so far this year, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is up 5%. The Dow's rise has been less pronounced, but it is still positive at about 1.6%.

Even emerging markets have rebounded. The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF, which was battered in the first quarter, is now in positive territory for the year.

Further, as companies take advantage of a rising stock market and ultra-low interest rates, mergers and acquisitions activity and initial public offerings have been hot this year. GoPro (GPRO) is the latest mega success, having jumped 50% since its debut on Thursday.

Winners and Losers: The stocks with the most gains so far in 2014 have come from a wide range of sectors. In the S&P 500: Keurig Green Mountain Coffee (GMCR) has jolted up 65%, while Electronic Arts (EA, Tech30), the best performer on CNNMoney's Tech 30 Index, has soared 55%.

Southwest (LUV)and Delta Airlines (DAL) have both climbed over 40%, and Under Armour (UA) has risen around 35%.

In the loser category, Coach (COH) has taken the worst with an almost 40% decline, while Whole Foods (WFM) has dropped over 30%. Staples (SPLS), Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), Best Buy (BBY), and Amazon (AMZN, Tech30) aren't far behind in the unglamorous contest for the biggest loser.

Ok, now what? What will happen in the second half of the year is anybody's guess, but that doesn't mean market strategists of all stripes aren't trying to predict the future.

In a midyear report, analysts at BlackRock said that while stocks aren't cheap, the market should continue to rise. They recommend favoring large cap stocks and cyclical sectors like energy over small cap stocks and companies in the consumer discretionary sector such as retailers.

CNNMoney's most recent survey of investment strategists finds that most are still bullish. They anticipate a 6.5% gain for the S&P 500 this year. The index is well on track for that already.

Related: Excited for iPhone 6? Check out this stock

Another question for the markets going forward revolves around interest rates. Although the Federal Reserve has maintained that it plans to keep its key federal funds rate near zero for the rest of the year, the Bank of England is likely to start hiking rates in the fall, and that could have repercussions for the U.S., according to economists from Barclays.

"The lesson here is that rate expectations can change very quickly," they said.

First Published: June 29, 2014: 8:52 AM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Secret message app Wickr moves to Wall Street

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Wickr is one of them. It's a free app that offers self-destructing, encrypted messages. But its founder, Nico Sell, sees vast and untapped potential in the finance industry. To her, Wickr is more than a cross between WhatsApp and Snapchat.

"Our goal as Wickr is to run all the financial transactions in the world," she said.

That's a lofty aspiration, especially for a company that's not profitable.

But Sell wants you to think of Wickr as more than a social platform. She imagines it running in the background at big banks and stock markets.

Related story: 5 online privacy tips from an ex-FBI agent

Consider the startup's latest round of funding. It raised $30 million from a band of investors that included CME Group (CME), which runs the Chicago and New York mercantile exchanges.

CME Group wouldn't say exactly how they plan to incorporate Wickr's technology into the commodity future trading that goes on at its exchanges. But there are at least two obvious uses: securing the communication that initiates millions of dollars of trades a day -- and keeping chats between stock brokers and traders secret.

The draw? How Wickr claims to work. Text, photo, video and audio is encrypted into indecipherable code before it leaves your device. So, it's safely guarded as it travels via airwaves and wires to Wickr's computer servers and eventually to another person's device. Meanwhile, you can destroy messages you send by setting a timer.

Theoretically, this system protects you from hackers and government snooping. Anyone listening in can't figure out what's being sent.

How safe are you? Read CNNMoney's cybersecurity Flipboard

Wickr hasn't let the public dig through its code openly and look for holes. But outside experts at digital forensics company Stroz Friedberg have said Wickr is keeping to its promise of using top-of-the-line encryption and leaving behind no metadata.

And there's another aspect the finance industry might love. Imagine emails, trades and other sensitive files with an expiration date.

Currently, the Securities and Exchange Commission requires accounting firms to keep their audit records for seven years. In criminal cases, regulators can look back and find evidence of misconduct. Finance companies would be smart to destroy those records at the appropriate time. In reality, they don't.

"No one does, because they have no idea when that message was created," Sell said. "You have all this stuff waiting around for 10 or 15 years, and it becomes hazardous waste."

Related story: Why you'll keep getting hacked

As for worries that traders will use this future Wickr-inspired platform to engage in criminal behavior, Sell said she's currently devising a system that would allow the SEC limited access to traders' conversations -- but not all at once. Sell promised any solution wouldn't allow for NSA-style dragnets.

Then again, she acknowledged that traders can already keep secrets from the government by using the current Wickr messaging app.

First Published: June 27, 2014: 10:43 AM ET

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Meet Google's futurist-in-chief

SAN FRANCISCO (CNNMoney)

Kurzweil appeared before a standing-room only crowd at Google's annual software developer conference on Wednesday to discuss his work for the search giant.

He's currently leading a team that's trying to develop artificial intelligence by modeling the functioning of the human brain. The goal is to create software that can recognize language, communicate with users and understand books and documents.

Kurzweil ended up at Google in late 2012 after meeting with CEO Larry Page to give him an advance copy of his book, "How To Create A Mind." Kurzweil was looking for an investment in a company he was planning to launch that would focus on reverse-engineering the brain.

Related: Ray Kurzweil on the future of humanity

Page invited him to do it at Google (GOOGL, Tech30) instead.

"It's been terrific," the 66-year old Kurzweil said of his time with Google. "It's really the only place I could do this project."

Kurzweil is known for provocative statements about how technology will shape our future, and critics have accused him of being long on hype and short on substance.

He didn't disappoint his fans (or critics) at Google I/O. He said Wednesday that we'll be 3D-printing our clothing by 2020, and he hopes to live long enough to achieve "functional immortality" by uploading his consciousness to a computer.

Kurzweil clearly has a tendency toward the grandiose, but there's no doubting his technical chops.

In addition to his best-selling books, he's developed pioneering technologies ranging from music synthesizers to a print-to-speech reading machine for the blind.

Kurzweil said Wednesday that supercomputers can already provide the processing power required to match the raw number of calculations the brain makes each second. The challenge his team is facing is figuring out how to model the development of hierarchical ideas that depend on one another.

Current search technology "is not fully modeling the ideas that you have when you write an article or a blog post," he said. "That's what we'd actually like to understand, and then you'd be able to dialogue with your search engine to give it complex tasks and interact with it the way you would with a human assistant."

Kurzweil said his current work at Google, while cutting edge, is just the latest development in a decades-long project.

"I've been thinking about thinking for 50 years," he said.

First Published: June 27, 2014: 8:07 AM ET

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Stocks flat in sleepy summer Friday trading

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are flat . The Dow and S&P are a tad lower while the Nasdaq is slightly higher. But there are still many high-profile companies making news. Here's what you need to know before you take off early on this summer Friday.

1. It's the shoes: Nike (NKE) and sneaker store chain Finish Line (FINL) both gained in early trading after the companies reported earnings and sales that surpassed Wall Street expectations.

Nike, up about 2% said in its earnings report that the best news is coming out of Europe, with 18% sales growth. And with all the focus on the World Cup in Brazil, it should come as no surprise that sales from the company's soccer segment were also up sharply. Finish Line is more than 3% higher.

Shares of Nike rival adidas (ADDDF) and Finish Line competitor Foot Locker (FOOT) also rose slightly after the market opened.

Related: Adidas vs. Nike at World Cup 2014

2. Big debuts -- Michaels IPO: Investors are lukewarm toward crafts retailer Michaels (MIK). It started trading Friday morning -- eight years after private equity firms Blackstone and Bain Capital took it private -- on the Nasdaq with the symbol "MIK". The company's shares priced at $17, raising $472 million for the company, and the stock is still hovering around the $17 price since trading began.

Shares in GoPro (GPRO), the sports-oriented camera maker, are up more than 16% Friday, even after yesterday's momentous 30% spike.

The biggest IPO news this week came out yesterday though, when Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba chose to take what could be the U.S.'s largest-ever IPO to the New York Stock Exchange.

Related: Alibaba spurs tech-heavy Nasdaq to go with NYSE

3. BNP pares dividend: The Wall Street Journal is reporting that BNP Paribas (BNPQF), the French banking giant that's nearing a $9 billion settlement with the Justice Department, will be cutting its dividend by an unspecified amount because the payment will hurt its balance sheet. The Paris-listed shares of the bank rose a bit on the news.

Barclays (BCS), another big European bank in the spotlight because of a dark pool-related lawsuit from the New York Attorney General, is treading water after yesterday's 6.5% drop.

Related: NY Attorney General says Barclays failed to investors about "predators" in its dark pools

4. International markets: Asian stocks finished the day mixed, with Chinese and Indian stocks closing slightly higher. European markets were up in afternoon trading as well.

First Published: June 27, 2014: 9:58 AM ET

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Stocks: Media hot after Aereo ruling

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Here's what you need to know:

1. Stocks on the rise: The Dow and S&P 500 are up over 0.3%, while the Nasdaq is also climbing over 0.2%. It's a turnaround from Tuesday when the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 119 points, its biggest one-day percentage drop in more than a month.

2. Aereo ruling sparks media madness: CBS Corporation (CBS) skyrocketed as much as 7% after the Supreme Court said streaming service Aereo's business model violates broadcasters' rights by using tiny antennas to snap up content on public airwaves. Shares of Disney (DIS), which owns broadcaster ABC, also jumped on the news, as did Comcast (CMCSA), owner of NBC, and Twenty-First Century Fox (FOXA).

Related: Supreme Court rules against Aereo

3. Ugly GDP figures aren't a huge concern: The Commerce Department said the economy shrank 2.9% in the first quarter, even uglier than the 1.8% decline that economists from Briefing.com had predicted. Analysts were expecting a weak final figure for the period, which included unusually harsh winter weather. In that regard, investors are largely shrugging off the bad news, and have donned their forward-thinking caps.

Related: Three reasons NOT to freak out about -2.9% GDP

4. Movers and shakers -- Barnes and Noble, General Mills, Apollo Education: Barnes and Noble (BKS) shares soared as much as 10% after the struggling bookseller said it has begun taking steps to separate its retail and Nook segments.

General Mills (GIS) stooped after the cereal maker reported disappointing earnings that were stymied by expensive promotional activity that didn't translate into greater sales.

Apollo Education (APOL) ticked up after the for-profit college operator beat earnings estimates. Still, the company said degree enrollment sank significantly at the University of Phoenix.

And Monsanto (MON) is up over 5% after the company announced a big share buyback and strong quarterly results that topped Wall Street expectations.

Related: CNNMoney's Tech30

5. M&A still hot: Shares of Hanesbrands (HBI)jumped after the company said it planned to acquire French apparel-maker DBA Apparel in an all-cash deal. Mergers and acquisitions activity has spiked this year as companies try to capitalize on their high stock prices by using the cash to buy other companies.

6. International action: The Dubai stock market suffered a dire tumble to start the week, as concerns about continued turmoil in Iraq damaged investor confidence and one of Dubai's biggest construction companies reported trouble. However, the benchmark Dubai Financial General Market Index recovered about 6% on Wednesday.

Russia's main Micex index declined by nearly 1% on reports that the West might slap more sanctions on Russia.

The Micex has been on a wild ride this year, dropping by over 20% and then fully recovering as worries about the Ukraine crisis and sanctions intensified and then receded.

All major European markets were lower Wednesday. Asian markets ended in negative territory.

First Published: June 25, 2014: 9:52 AM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

David Muir to replace Diane Sawyer on "World News"

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

David Muir, the weekend "World News" anchor, will replace her starting September 2.

The announcement ends months of speculation about a transition at ABC's anchor desk.

In a first-of-its-kind arrangement, Muir will not be the main anchor for big breaking news stories or elections -- that spot will go to "Good Morning America" co-host George Stephanopoulos, who will have the title "chief anchor."

Sawyer took over the "World News" chair in 2009, becoming the first woman to solo-anchor the famed newscast.

Inside ABC, Muir has been seen as her heir apparent for some time. That impression was cemented earlier this year when Stephanopoulos renewed his contract at "GMA" with no mention of a "World News" role.

Related: Future of media

"After wonderful years at 'World News' I decided it is time to move to a new full time role at ABC News," Sawyer said in a statement.

Last week, with Sawyer away, Muir anchored "World News" for the full week.

The appointment of Muir, 40, to succeed Sawyer, 68, also represents a generational change for a television time slot sometimes stubbornly resistant to change.

"I can't wait to continue bringing more of my specials to prime time and appearing on all ABC News broadcasts, as well," Sawyer said. "And to my friends and colleagues George and David -- congratulations. I look forward to exciting work together and great times ahead."

First Published: June 25, 2014: 9:53 AM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Supreme Court rules against Aereo

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

"Today's decision is a victory for consumers," Paul Clement, the attorney representing the broadcasters, said in a statement. "The Court has sent a clear message that it will uphold the letter and spirit of the law just as Congress intended."

The ruling essentially protects billions of dollars in retransmission fees that broadcasters collect for their signals. Broadcaster stocks soared on the news Wednesday morning.

Ever since Aereo was introduced in early 2012, its biggest financial backer, Barry Diller, has said that there is "no plan B" if the courts concluded that it was operating illegally.

He did not immediately respond to requests for comment from CNN, but he told CNBC that he thought the ruling was a "big loss for consumers who seek alternatives to the cable bundle. "We did try, but now it's over," he told CNBC.

Using thousands of miniature TV antennas, Aereo scoops up the freely available signals of local stations in cities like New York, Boston and Atlanta. It then delivers those signals to the smartphones, tablets or computers of paying subscribers.

Subscribers pick what to watch through a traditional on-screen guide. They can also record shows and stream them later.

Related: What the heck is Aereo anyway?

A group of broadcasters sued Aereo in early 2012, before it had even launched in its first market, New York City. The broadcasters asserted that Aereo violated copyright laws by allowing "public performances" of their TV shows. Aereo said it was only enabling private screenings, just like off-the-shelf TV antennas do.

The issue reached the Supreme Court last fall and the case was heard in April.

The formal issue before the court was "whether a company 'publicly performs' a copyrighted television program when it retransmits a broadcast of that program to thousands of paid subscribers over the Internet."

The owners of ABC, CBS (CBS), Fox (FOXA), NBC, Univision and other broadcasters put up a united front against Aereo. (Time Warner (TWX), the parent company of CNN and CNNMoney, was not a plaintiff in the case, but did support the broadcasters.)

Related: Aereo's Supreme Court destiny

Fueling the feeling that Aereo was David battling Goliath, the Justice Department and the United States Copyright Office took a public position against Aereo and called it "clearly infringing."

"What Aereo is doing is really the functional equivalent of what Congress in the 1976 [Copyright] Act wanted to define as a public performance," Malcolm Stewart, a deputy solicitor general at the Department of Justice, told the Supreme Court justices during oral arguments in April.

Aereo and its supporters strongly disagreed -- they said the service was expressly created to abide by the law.

"Aereo is, essentially, simply an antenna device that replaces technologically what you used to have to do — to go up to your rooftop and erect an antenna," Diller said.

But on Wednesday the Supreme Court agreed with the broadcasters that Aereo qualifies as a "public performance."

Aereo had no immediate comment about Wednesday's ruling.

Diller, in a CNN interview in April, said that a ruling against Aereo would "have profound effects on the development of technology."

But one of the plaintiffs, The Walt Disney Company, weighed in right away: "We're gratified the Court upheld important Copyright principles that help ensure that the high-quality creative content consumers expect and demand is protected and incentivized."

--CNN's Bill Mears contributed reporting from Washington, D.C.

First Published: June 25, 2014: 10:27 AM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Meet the Marxist behind Seattle's wage hike

Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant wants more cities to adopt her hometown's new $15 minimum wage.

SEATTLE (CNNMoney)

Now, fresh off Seattle's historic passage of a $15 minimum wage, the self-described Marxist is ready to make it a national fight.

Sawant -- whose full name is pronounced "Shah-mah Sah-want" -- emigrated to the U.S. from India and earned a PhD in economics from North Carolina State University before taking a teaching position at Seattle Central Community College. She says she was radicalized politically by the gaping inequality she observed upon arriving in the world's richest country.

The veteran activist, who supported the Occupy movement that cropped up in the wake of the Great Recession and bank bailout, ran for city council last year under the banner of Socialist Alternative, an organization that calls for "international struggle" against global capitalism.

The "Socialist" label is practically an epithet in many parts of the U.S., but Sawant says it "wasn't really any kind of barrier" in her meetings with voters.

"Everybody said, 'Don't call yourself a Socialist,' but every speech I gave, I started with saying that I'm a member of Socialist Alternative," she said in a recent interview at her City Hall office. "People are hungry for an alternative, but that alternative isn't there."

The cornerstone of Sawant's campaign was her call for a $15 minimum wage, an issue the local press credited her with placing on the city's agenda.

Seattle's city council unanimously passed the wage increase earlier this month, and it will be phased in over several years based on a scale that considers the size of and benefits offered by an employer. It will apply first to many large businesses in 2017 and then to all businesses by 2021.

Related: Some Seattle small business owners say new minimum wage is unfair

Washington already has the nation's highest state-level minimum wage, at $9.32, a rate that also applied to Seattle. The current federal minimum stands at $7.25. Some Democrats in Congress have been pushing for a gradual increase to $10.10, but so far without success.

While Seattle's $15 minimum is a first for a major U.S. city, it's not as if workers will be living lavishly. Working full-time, year-round for $15 an hour with two weeks off yields an annual pre-tax income of around $30,000.

"The cost of everything is going to go up," said Selena Bevers, a convenience store clerk in downtown Seattle. "You're still going to be where you are now."

Annette Kousin, who works at a nearby coffee shop, worries about how the bill will impact food stamps and other federal benefits.

"I have a ton of student loans I need to pay off," she said. "I'm having trouble just surviving."

Local businesses, meanwhile, have complained that the legislation will hurt their bottom lines and harm the local economy.

Supporters counter that the economy could actually see a boost as workers gain more disposable income to spend.

"It has the potential to really help the economy," said Olivia Anderson, a clerk at a Seattle ice cream shop. "I know it will affect small businesses, but big corporations have the money to do this right now."

Related: Massachusetts approves $11 minimum wage

Sawant concedes that she has a number of concerns about the bill that ended up passing. She says it was "watered down" by business interests and the Democratic party establishment. She'd like to shorten the phase-in period, get rid of an allowance for sub-minimum "training wages" and leave tips out of businesses' wage calculations for workers.

But despite those caveats, she called the legislation a major victory, estimating that it will benefit 100,000 low-wage workers and transfer $3 billion from businesses to low-wage workers over the next decade.

Seattle's minimum wage push gained momentum following protests by fast food workers and a vote in the nearby city of SeaTac last fall to raise its minimum wage to $15. Now, Sawant hopes Seattle's example will help the cause of activists fighting for a $15 minimum elsewhere.

Related: Wages are falling in Manhattan and L.A.

Agitation for a higher minimum wage is on the rise, with low-wage workers staging demonstrations across the country in recent months.

She and Socialist Alternative launched an organization in January called 15 Now that has gained chapters in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

Sawant said there is "a deep disconnect " between young people today and older generations that grew up with the "American Dream" ideal of hard work leading to a more prosperous life.

"That is not going to happen for most people now, statistically speaking," she said.

First Published: June 24, 2014: 10:09 AM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Stocks lost in summer doldrums

Click for more market data.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 both gained about 0.2%, which was enough to push tthe S&P 500 to a new intraday high and the Dow just shy of one. The Nasdaq was up about 0.6%.

The gains came after a measure of consumer sentiment rose to the highest level since Jan. 2008. The Conference Board's index of consumer confidence increased to 85.2 in May from 82.2 in April, suggesting that Americans remain optimistic about the economy.

There was also good news on the housing front. Home prices nationwide continued to rise in April. The S&P/Case-Shiller index measuring the value of residential real estate in 20 U.S. cities increased 1.1%. Separately, the government said sales of new homes rose more than 18% in May from April.

Related: Will the Dow crack 17,000 this week?

Stocks to watch -- Buffalo Wild Wings, Carnival, Walgreens: The World Cup has been good for business at Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD), according to one analyst. Shares of the sports-themed restaurant chain jumped 6% Monday after an analyst at Wunderlich Securities increased his price target for shares after seeing all the demand for the flagship wings for soccer games. But the stock was down in trading Tuesday as the enthusiasm waned a bit.

Carnival Corp (CCL)reported quarterly results that topped expectations, but the company's forecasts for the rest of the year weren't as rosy. The stock dropped over 2%. The cruise line operator blamed fuel prices and currency exchange rates, which it said will reduce earnings full-year by 6 cents per share.

Walgreens (WAG) said earnings rose nearly 16% in the first quarter, but the results missed analysts' expectations. Shares fell more than 1%.

You might not have heard of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX), but it's worth looking up today. Shares soared 40% after the company said a study of its cystic fibrosis drug produced positive results.

Related: CNNMoney's Tech30

Dubai enters bear market. Stocks in Dubai have been battered by concerns about the growing turmoil in Iraq, where insurgents have been gaining ground in the oil-rich nation.

The Dubai DFM General index plunged more than 6% overnight. It was the worst one-day drop since Oct. 2008, according to a note from analysts at ETX Capital. The index is down more than 22% so far this month, putting the Persian Gulf Emirate in a bear market.

"There is a possibility that traders are liquidating positions as a result of the current situation in Iraq which has eaten at sentiment in the Emirate region," the analysts wrote.

Abe lets another arrow fly in Japan: Japan's government has released details on the third and final phase of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ambitious plan to jolt the country's economy out of stagnation. Companies may pay less tax as a result, but the response in the stock market was muted. The Nikkei ended flat.

Related: Fear & Greed Index still extremely greedy

European markets were mixed in afternoon trading.

The ruble and Moscow stock index were stronger, continuing their recovery from sharp losses earlier this year as fears about an escalation of the crisis in Ukraine fade. A ceasefire between government forces and pro-Russian separatists declared last Friday appears to be holding. Sentiment was also improving after Abbott Laboratories (ABT) said Monday it would buy Russian pharmaceutical company Veropharm for as much as $495 million, underlining the waning threat of sanctions.

First Published: June 24, 2014: 9:53 AM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Home prices jump nearly 11% in April

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Still, they are 18% below the peak set in July 2006, according to S&P/Case-Shiller. And price gains are slowing.

"Although home prices rose in April, the annual gains weakened," says David Blitzer of S&P Dow Jones Indices. "Last year some Sunbelt cities were seeing year-over-year numbers close to 30%, now all are below 20%."

Low mortgage rates, which the Federal Reserve is expected to keep reined in through mid-2015, and gains in the job market should continue to help the housing market, according to Blitzer.

But don't get too comfortable.

Home sales are being supported by all-cash buys and low supply, said Blitzer. And he says qualifying for a mortgage is still a problem.

"First time home buyers are not back in force," he said.

Related: Dream beach houses for sale

First Published: June 24, 2014: 9:09 AM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Aereo's Supreme Court destiny

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

That's obvious now, two years after the streaming TV service came online in New York City and incurred the collective wrath of all the country's major broadcasters. The court's ruling in the copyright infringement case could come as soon as Wednesday; a victory for Aereo could have profound effects on the television business.

At first, I didn't see what the big deal was. I was ambivalent, and briefly even downright dismissive, when a public relations person contacted me in February 2012 and offered an embargoed look at the startup. I worked at The New York Times at the time, and she wanted me to write the very first story about Aereo's launch. "Time is of the essence," she said, because a media briefing was scheduled for Valentine's Day.

I hesitated, but she insisted that I come to the headquarters of Barry Diller's IAC (IACI) for an in-person demonstration of the product, which she called an "online TV platform." Once I was there, I understood. "Surprisingly high-quality signal," I scribbled in my notebook. "Place- and time-shifting!"

Aereo empowered users to both place-shift broadcast TV (by making it portable via a smart phone) and time-shift it (by including an Internet digital video recorder). The service scoops up public signals of local TV stations and retransmits them to paying subscribers via the Internet. The broadcasters say this amounts to copyright theft on a grand scale; Aereo's backers say it is perfectly legal.

Related: What the heck is Aereo, anyway?

Looking back at my notes from February 2012, the contours of the eventual legal case are evident. "It's an antenna per person," Aereo founder and CEO Chet Kanojia told me. "It's a private exhibition of that content." (The broadcasters say it is a public exhibition, which is a violation of copyright law.)

When we first spoke, Kanojia had already been working on Aereo in stealth for well over a year. Diller, his biggest financial backer, had gotten involved in the summer of 2011.

In an interview for my story, I asked Diller about the potential for legal action against the service. He wouldn't comment directly. But he told me that "when I first heard about this, I thought, 'There must be something wrong here. This can't be.' And I kept scratching at it, as did our lawyers — every lawyer we could find. And I could not find a flaw."

Diller said he didn't expect Aereo to "break the neck of cable-satellite," but that it would present an alternative to a hefty monthly cable bill by providing a small bundle of broadcast TV. That helped to sell my editors on the story.

What intrigued me most about Aereo was the statement it made to broadcasters and cable companies. It was as if Kanojia was saying, "This is the way TV should be -- streamed to any device, anytime, live or on-demand, inside or outside the home, no set-top-box or rabbit ears needed."

Legal action seemed inevitable. During Kanojia's demo, I raised the specter of lawsuits. "We understand that when you try to take something meaningful on, you have to be prepared for challenges," Kanojia said, somewhat sidestepping the question.

Notably, he did say that the company had "talked to everybody, shown them what we're doing" -- he meant local station owners -- and "invited discussion, invited criticism."

When I contacted those local stations and asked them to comment on launch day, they were mum. But they were paying close attention -- they filed two lawsuits against Aereo on the first day of March 2012, two weeks before the service even became available to the public in New York City.

"A plaintiffs' win in this case will ensure the continued availability of this programming to the viewing public," the broadcasters' main Washington lobbying group said when the suits were filed. (Was the group foreshadowing what CBS (CBS), Fox (FOXA) and Univision warned in 2013 -- that their stations might leave the public airwaves if Aereo wins?)

Some observers immediately predicted that the case would make its way to the Supreme Court. At the South by Southwest conference in mid-March 2012, Diller called the suits "absolutely predictable," a case of protectionist behavior by the broadcasters.

"It's going to be a great fight," he said.

And it has been, culminating in a hearing this April at the Supreme Court. Afterward, the normally affable Kanojia declined to say much to the reporters waiting for him on the courthouse steps.

"It's over," he said, as he and his family walked to a waiting car.

Is it? The justices of the Supreme Court will tell us very soon.

First Published: June 23, 2014: 8:06 AM ET

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

No. 2 Republican hates Export-Import bank

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Rep. Kevin McCarthy told Fox News on Sunday that the private sector can do "what the Ex-Im Bank does."

The Export-Import Bank is an 80-year-old federal agency, which provides loans and guarantees to foreign countries so they can buy U.S. products.

In essence, the federal government subsidizes exports to give U.S. corporations a leg up against foreign companies, especially if they receive their own government subsidies, like those in China.

These guarantees have helped finance sales of Boeing (BA)'s 787 Dreamliners to India, Poland and Ethiopia and General Electric (GE) trains to Pakistan.

Related: U.S. economy shrinks, but it's not a big deal

In 2012, Congress reauthorized the Ex-Im Bank for four years, and raised its loan limits to $140 billion from $100 billion, largely thanks to support from House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

However, Cantor will soon be out of office after losing a primary in Virginia.

The Ex-Im bank's ability to make new loans runs out this year. Congress will vote to decide whether the bank will continue making new loans or let its borrowing authority to expire.

Five things to know about Kevin McCarthy

McCarthy's criticism of the Ex-Im Bank came in his first national television interview since his election to the job as the next House majority leader.

Conservative Republicans groups like the Heritage Foundation and the libertarian Cato Institute have said the Ex-Im Bank is corporate welfare, because giant companies like Boeing, General Electric, Caterpillar (CAT) and Bechtel account for most of the dollars loaned by the bank.

Big Business groups, like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Manufacturers, say the bank supports higher paying manufacturing jobs and helps the U.S. compete globally.

"Allowing the Ex-Im Bank to close would be a gift to our competitors and would result in the loss of manufacturing in the United States," said Linda Dempsey, vice president of international economic affairs at the National Association of Manufacturers.

The White House and the Senate have been supportive of renewing the bank's ability to make loans.

First Published: June 23, 2014: 10:49 AM ET

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iraq, oil price fears spook market

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is around 20 points lower in early trading. Many hope this could be the week the Dow cross the 17,000 mark for the first time, but it's not looking promising today. It's largely a psychological barrier, but it illustrates that the index has continued unabated the bull run that saw it close above 16,000 for the first time just seven months ago.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are flat to slightly lower.

Related: What does Dow 17,000 mean, anyway?

Here are the top things to watch in today's trading:

1. Turmoil in the fashion industry -- Lululemon & American Apparel: Lululemon shares are bouncing this morning after the Wall Street Journal reported that the company's founder Chip Wilson hired Goldman Sachs to help him strengthen his role at the company, where he is the largest shareholder. Lululemon (LULU) shares are up over 2%

American Apparel (APP) shares are over 1% higher this morning on rumors that the company make be a potential takeover target. It's the latest twist impacting the brand. Last week the company fired controversial CEO Dov Charney. Now Charney has fired back, writing a letter to the board challenging his dismissal. The company continues to struggle to turn around its brand. The stock is trading for less than $1.

2. Real estate picks up: The National Association of Realtors released data Monday showing that pace of May existing home sales rose to 4.89 million a year, which is above the market's expectations for an annual rate of 4.73 million. Homebuilder stocks like Toll Brothers, (TOL) PulteGroup (PHM) and Lennar (LEN) and all positive.

The NAR said that May's uptick, at nearly 5%, was the fastest month-to-month growth since August 2011.

"Home buyers are benefiting from slower price growth due to the much-needed, rising inventory levels seen since the beginning of the year," said Lawrence Yun, the NAR's chief economist. "Moreover, sales were helped by the improving job market and the temporary but slight decline in mortgage rates."

3. Big deal for Micros: The computer giant purchased MICROS Systems (MCRS), one of its largest customers, for more than $5 billion. Micros specializes in providing software applications to the hospitality and retail sectors, and has worked with Oracle for more than 15 years. Oracle shares are flat, and Micros stock is up 3%.

4. Oh la la -- GE finally snags French prize: General Electric (GE) has finally closed the deal on French company Alstrom (ALSMY) to the tune of $17 billion, much more than its initial $13.5 billion bid. The French government had opposed the deal because it was concerned the merger would lead to job losses and a dilution of Alstom's French Brand. GE stock is down 1%, as are Alstom's French shares.

5. Buying power in energy stocks: Wisconsin Energy (WEC) announced this morning that it will acquire Integrys Energy Group (TEG) for for $71 per share in order to increase its natural gas business and its footprint in the Great Lakes region. Wisconsin's stock is flat, and Integrys shares have jumped over 14% to nearly $70.

6. BNP Paribas on verge of settlement with U.S.: The bank is on the cusp of a $9 billion settlement with the U.S. Justice Department on allegations that it did business with off-limits countries. The French bank's shares are flat at the moment.

Related: The fine could hurt BNP's credit rating

7. Oil prices: As fighting in Iraq intensifies and Israel continues launching rockets into Syria in retaliation for the killing of an Israel teen, keep an eye on oil prices. After a steady rise last week, WTI crude oil has backed away from the $107 barrier and is now down 0.4% for the day. It's been near that mark for a few days, but any increase in oil that could affect gas prices won't be welcome news amid America's peak driving season.

Related: Rising oil prices trigger economic growth concerns

8. International Markets: European stocks are largely down, with the FTSE 100 down slightly in afternoon trading. Asian markets are also a mixed bag, as are Chinese stocks are doing well after the country's manufacturing showed its first expansion in six months. The Hang Seng fell 1.7%, but shares traded in Shenzen were up nearly 1.1%.

First Published: June 23, 2014: 10:08 AM ET

22.16 | 0 komentar | Read More

From cancer survivor to millionaire

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The science teacher and textbook author was fighting off a rare and terminal form of cancer as he watched the Great Recession swallow up 40% of his investment portfolio. Friends in finance warned him to dump his stocks because they feared the Dow would soon plummet from its already depressed 8,000 level to 1,000.

Despite those daunting challenges and ominous warnings, Eimer poured cash into the stock market at the depths of the crisis, a decision that has left him and his wife Gayle on track to become millionaires.

"I didn't jump ship. It was scary buying back into the market at that time," said Eimer, who lives in Horsham, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia.

Eimer, who in 2005 had been given just two years to live, said he stuck to his belief that you've got to be in the market to make money.

Besides, he said, "If the Dow goes down to 1,000, then all of us have a lot more problems than losses in stocks. You're talking about the collapse of our economy."

Related: How a 77-year-old trader is cashing in on growth stocks

'Prepared for the worst' Eimer's courageous investing during the financial crisis was made possible by his family's frugal, debt-free lifestyle.

Unlike most Americans, he didn't lever up during the mid-2000s on luxury cars, over-the-top houses or second mortgages.

Instead, Eimer and his wife saved half of his salary and invested heavily in their retirement and college savings funds. They paid off a mortgage on their two-bedroom condo in 2003 and bought a new Toyota Corolla for just $15,000. Later they "splurged" on a Honda Element for $18,000.

"Frugality was grounded into me from a young age," said Eimer, whose grandfather lost everything in the Great Depression. "If we had not prepared for the worst, we would be faced with financial disaster."

Eimer said he converted his wife from a "spendthrift" when they first met to a frugal manager of the household budget. "Without her, we wouldn't have been able to do any of it," he said, noting the family gets by on just a single prepaid cell phone.

Related: U.S. recovery hits 5-year mark, but has long way to go

Beating the odds: Disaster struck in 2005 when Eimer was diagnosed with an extremely rare and terminal form of thyroid cancer. That forced him to give up his lucrative side career making up to $200 an hour writing textbooks for McGraw-Hill, Prentice Hall and other publishers.

There was one doctor on the whole planet who was researching this form of cancer, Eimer said, and she developed an experimental chemotherapy drug that helped save his life.

While the drugs extended his life considerably, he still deals with chronic pain, fatigue, abdominal pain and loss of his hair, which has since returned. But Eimer has been able to continue teaching middle school science at Phil-Mont Christian Academy in Springfield, Pa.

Almost a decade after receiving his grim diagnosis, Eimer has beaten the odds and is currently in stable condition. He's also beaten most retail investors by actually participating in the bull market that has left many everyday Americans behind.

"I went through the dotcom bubble, but this seemed worse," Eimer said about the 2008 crash after Lehman Brothers collapsed in September of that year. He said friends who were financial advisors told him to "ditch all stocks and buy silver."

Related: Why hasn't Main Street recovered like Wall Street?

Buying at the bottom: But Eimer did the exact opposite of those dark warnings: He scooped up beaten down stocks and bonds at what turned out to be historically-low prices.

Eimer said he felt confident enough to do this because he had no debt and a ton of fresh powder: 25% of his portfolio had been in cash when the market cratered. At that point, he had bigger problems as he braced for cancer to take his life.

Related: I sold my startup to Cisco. Here's why

Rather than risk trying to find individual stock winners, Eimer continued a strategy that he's implemented since the 1990s: Buy a diversified variety of index and mutual funds.

Bad luck while investing in individual stocks led Eimer to conclude: "It was only my broker who was getting wealthy."

One mutual fund that's been particularly kind to him is the Vanguard PRIMECAP Fund (VPMAX), which invests mostly in technology and biotech stocks like Google (GOOGL, Tech30) and Amgen (AMGN). The fund has soared 133% since the start of 2009, besting the S&P 500's 123% gain.

"Today, our portfolio is up about 2-1/2 fold from the recession lows. We have zero debt, we're on target to become millionaires in about three years and I'm still alive," Eimer said. "We count ourselves blessed!"

First Published: June 21, 2014: 7:43 AM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

American Apparel's ousted CEO fights back

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

In a letter to the company's board, Glaser, who heads Glaser-Weil's litigation department, claims American Apparel "violated its legal and contractual obligations to Mr. Charney in numerous respects" that have resulted in "substantial professional, reputational and financial injuries to Mr. Charney."

Charney, who founded American Apparel (APP) in 1998, was ousted by the board last week.

According to sources familiar with the situation, Charney was given two options: either step aside quietly and take a creative role that would pay around $1 million a year, or face being fired with cause.

"By presenting Mr. Charney with this absurd and unreasonable demand, the Company acted in a manner that was not merely unconscionable but illegal," Glaser claims in her letter to the board.

Last week, American Apparel board member Allan Mayer told CNNMoney that the board had learned earlier this year of "disturbing" information that suggested "misconduct" by Charney.

Related: 'Disturbing misconduct' at American Apparel

Charney was notorious for controversial behavior, including a series of sexual harassment suits filed by employees in recent years.

Mayer said the board was aware of these reports, but said this time it had "concrete facts," which led to an internal investigation.

A person with knowledge of the internal investigation said it was related to Charney's response to allegations of sexual harassment.

Mayer told CNNMoney last week that the company was prepared for a fight. "[Charney] certainly indicated that he was not going to accept it," he said.

Both Mayer and Charney declined to comment for this story.

Glaser was also unavailable for immediate comment.

Related: American Apparel ousts founder, CEO

American Apparel has been struggling for years. Company shares, which topped $15 as recently as 2007, now trade for less than $1.

Mayer thinks the firing will ultimately be a plus for the struggling retailer.

"There are people who will tell you that Dov's reputation was a real drag on the company. There were people and firms unwilling to do business because Dov ran the company," said Mayer. "Since we announced the decision, we've been contacted by mainstream, top of the line, institutions that have not been interested in supporting us."

Glaser is demanding a meeting with the board no later than Monday, June 23, "to negotiate a process whereby Mr. Charney will be fully reinstated to his positions within the Company and to attempt to negotiate a process whereby Mr. Charney's business reputation can be restored."

First Published: June 21, 2014: 2:46 PM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Will the Dow crack 17,000 this week?

Click for more market data.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The Dow Jones industrial average is about 50 points away from crossing 17,000 for the first time ever. The blue-chip average closed at a record high Friday, as did the broader S&P 500 index.

The Dow index of 30 of the biggest and best known U.S. brands has been breaking through these "psychologically important" milestones with remarkable speed. It's considered a good gauge of the health of corporate America.

If the Dow crosses 17,000 this week, it will be less than six months after it first crossed 16,000. It rose above 15,000 for the first time just over a year ago.

In 2007, the Dow went from 13,000 to 14,000 in about four months.

But it wasn't always this way. It took about seven years for the Dow to plow through 12,000.

When the Dow rose to 10,000 for the first time in 1999, floor traders broke out commemorative baseball caps to mark the occasion.

Most analysts say the round numbers are not technically important, but they are a good indication of the current mood among investors.

Stocks have been in a bull market for more than five years, and the bulls don't seem ready to throw in the towel any time soon.

CNNMoney's Fear & Greed index is at a level indicating that investors are feeling extremely greedy. The index stood at 95 out of 100 on Friday.

With greed driving the market, fear seems to have vanished.

Related: Where's all the fear in the stock market

The market's so-called "fear gauge," the VIX (VIX), is at the lowest levels since 2007. Some are starting to say that investors are complacent.

Stocks jumped Wednesday after Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen reiterated that the central bank is unlikely to hike interest rates in the near future.

The Fed's policies, along with a gradually improving economic backdrop, have powered the bull market thus far. Investors seem confident that this fortuitous combination will remain in place for a while longer.

But there are some mixed signals below the surface.

The top performing Dow stock this year is Caterpillar (CAT), which is up 20% since January.

That suggests investors are optimistic about the global economy, since the heavy equipment maker sells products used to construct buildings and infrastructure around the world.

Related: Rich investors worry about stock market

But banks and consumer-oriented companies are among the worst performers on the Dow this year.

Visa (V) is down nearly 6% since January, making it the worst performer in the index. Goldman Sachs (GS) and JPMorgan (JPM) are also down year-to-date.

Bank stocks have had a strong run over the past few years, so it's not surprising to see them underperform. But a healthy banking sector is usually considered a prerequisite for a robust economic recovery.

Wal-Mart (WMT)and Nike (NKE) are also bringing up the rear on the Dow. That suggests investors don't have much confidence in the outlook for consumer spending.

First Published: June 22, 2014: 9:04 AM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Smith & Wesson: Americans are buying fewer guns

Smith & Wesson shares run out of ammo as gun enthusiasts slow down the stockpiling.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Shares of the gunmaker plunged 12% in premarket trading Friday as it dawned on investors that the once high-flying gun industry is coming down to Earth.

The gun industry has experienced an intense run-up in demand over the last couple years, fueled by concerns of more rigorous gun restrictions in the wake of President Obama's reelection and a series of mass shootings including the Sandy Hook massacre in Newtown, Conn.

Related: Gun silencer sales are booming

Gun enthusiasts stockpiled the military-style semiautomatic rifles that are often referred to as assault rifles, exhausting the supply and driving up the prices. But Obama failed to get a bill through Congress that would have placed restrictions on these guns, alleviating concerns that they would be hard to come by.

But there are still signs of growth. Smith & Wesson recently reported a hefty increase in handgun sales, buoyed by growing consumer interest in self-defense and concealed carry.

Related: Gun range with a bar opening soon

"Compact guns and polymer guns are selling really well," said Brian Ruttenbur, gun analyst for CRT Capital. "They are ramping up production dramatically."

Ruttenbur said that Smith & Wesson's latest line of M&P compact pistols is so popular that supply is running thin.

"You can't find an M&P gun on the shelf," he said. "This is their competitor to Glock."

For the fourth quarter, Smith & Wesson (SWHC) reported a decline in net sales of more than 4% to $170 million and a 13% drop in income from continuing operations to about $25 million.

Related: Buy your own tank, or missile launcher

Company executives preferred to emphasize record sales of $626 million for the fiscal year, up 6% from the prior year

"We are very pleased with our record results for fiscal year 2014, which include the highest sales, gross margin and profits in the company's history," said Smith & Wesson Chief Executive Officer James Debney, in a press release. "Our successful performance was driven by robust consumer demand for our products, combined with carefully managed increases in our manufacturing capacity."

Smith & Wesson projects that net sales for fiscal year 2015 will dip to a range of $585 million to $600 million.

First Published: June 20, 2014: 9:30 AM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Is Russia trying to stop Europe fracking?

The head of NATO says Moscow has been trying to obstruct Europe's efforts to develop its own shale gas industry.

LONDON (CNNMoney)

NATO says Russia is working with activists who are trying to stop shale gas projects that are part of the region's plans to diversify its energy supply.

"I have met allies who can report that Russia, as part of their sophisticated information and disinformation operations, engages actively with so called non-governmental organizations, environmental organizations working against shale gas -- obviously to maintain European dependence on imported Russian gas," said NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

The former Danish prime minister said Europe needed to develop alternative supplies so that "one single energy supplier is not able to blackmail one single nation."

Related: Russia cuts off gas supplies to Ukraine

Europe relies on Russia to supply 30% of its natural gas -- at a cost of about $50 billion a year. Half of that is piped through Ukraine, where Russia's annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in the east have sparked the worst crisis in relations with the West since the end of the Cold War.

The U.S. and Europe have responded with limited sanctions against Russian officials and a few companies. But deep energy and trade ties with Moscow have complicated Europe's search for a more robust response.

Ukraine has served as a wake-up call to European leaders to get moving with efforts to wean themselves off Russian gas. Governments are ramping up renewable energy production, and looking to increase imports of liquified natural gas.

Both are expensive options and many governments would love to tap the estimated 470 trillion cubic feet of recoverable shale gas reserves in Europe.

Related: Russian stocks and currency rebound

There are many obstacles to getting a shale gas industry off the ground, however, not least concerns about the extraction process known as fracking.

Greenpeace, which has campaigned against fracking in the U.K., dismissed the idea that it was a puppet of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Rasmussen should spend less time dreaming up conspiracy theories and more time on the facts," it said.

"Fracked gas will probably cost more than Russian imports, there's little chance fracking will generate more than a small fraction of Europe's gas needs and it won't even do that for at least 10 years."

First Published: June 20, 2014: 11:11 AM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Stocks: Pushing higher on Friday

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Stocks opened slightly higher, with the S&P 500 opening to a new record high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 30 points (0.18%). It is about 20 points shy of its record. But tech stocks are struggling, especially after a very poor quarterly report from Oracle (ORCL, Tech30). The Nasdaq is flat to slightly negative.

1. Low volatility: The stock market is seeing incredibly low volatility this week. The so-called "VIX" index of volatility is back below 11. It touched that point briefly earlier in June, but before that, the VIX wasn't below 11 since 2007.

"We're into sort of a catalyst light June Friday," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist for Wunderlich Securities.

Related: Rich investors worry about the stock market

2. The Land of Saints and Tax Shelters: AbbVie and its US tax liabilities are trying to take a trip to Ireland this summer, but Ireland-based Shire (SHPG) has rejected its unsolicited $46 billion bid for two reasons: it thinks its being undervalued and it it sees too many risks with AbbVie (ABBV) looking to move its tax base to the U.K. Shire shares are up 19%, and AbbVie stock is flat Friday.

3. Earnings moving stocks: Oracle (ORCL, Tech30) disappointed Wall Street, and now it's getting punished. Its stock is down about 6%.

Related: See how Oracle stacks up against the rest of CNNMoney's Tech 30

Darden Restaurants (DRI), which owns brands including Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse reported poor earnings as well. The stock has fallen 3.4% this morning. Bring the bread sticks and salad.

4. Oil and gold: Worry about the situations in Iraq and Russia have investors -- and the world -- keeping an eye on oil and gold prices. Crude oil is up Friday, but it is still below the $107 level that set off alarm bells earlier in the week.

Gold had an incredible jump Thursday and is now trading well over $1,300. It is holding around that level on Friday. Gold tends to go up when investors are fearful.

5. Foreign stocks mixed: European markets were up-and-down, with the FTSE 100 up about third of a percent in afternoon trading. After U.S. stocks chalked up another strong finish Thursday, Asian markets were mixed

.

First Published: June 20, 2014: 10:46 AM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

New bus companies aim to hack your commute

New bus services are using data from user's smartphones to predict where riders are, and where they want to go.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

New bus services are using data from user's smartphones to predict where riders are, and where they want to go. They aim to get commuters to their destinations faster, and more comfortably, than public transportation can for just a few dollars more.

Boston's Bridj bus service and and Chicago's BlackLine service both launched this spring. The start-ups say they're combining data from public transportation systems, users' smartphones and GPS devices on board their buses to determine where to add or cancel routes on a day-to-day basis, and even to avoid traffic snarls.

The buses also offer with reserved seats, WFi and express service. A ride that costs about $2.50 on Boston's T transit system costs about $5 via Bridj. Bridj is in "beta" now, so tickets are free, but it says that so far "thousands" of users have signed up for the service.

"We're essentially reinventing your commute," said Ryan Kelly, marketing manager at Bridj.

But Bridj's success will depend on whether its service becomes popular enough to get a critical mass of commuter data.

Sarah Baston, who has used Bridj since it began operating at the beginning of June, says the company's routes are already a big improvement on her old commute from Brookline, Mass. to her job in Cambridge.

Related story: Uber CEO: "Our growth is unprecedented"

It used to take Baston 50 minutes to get to work via train and then a bus. Now she can get into the office in 20 minutes.

"It was a need in the city," she says. "It's unbelievable how much better my commute is."

A similar demand-driven bus service called Leap Transit is coming to San Francisco soon.

Still it's doubtful these upstarts will put public transportation out of business any time soon.

Baston says her daily bus is only half full. Boston's public transportation authority, meanwhile, serves 1.3 million people each day.

And while both companies say they've secured the proper licenses and insurance, some cities may resist opening up public transportation to competition from private business.

As Uber knows, struggling with local regulations can mean a bumpy ride for a new transportation service.

Still, Kelly of Bridj says the company has big ambitions to carve out a market position between cramped-but-cheap public buses and more expensive and comfortable rides from taxis and Uber.

"Optimistically within a year, we want to have other cities open," Kelly said. "We want to be national."

First Published: June 17, 2014: 10:48 AM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

What to expect at Amazon's mystery event

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The company is hosting an event near its Seattle headquarters on Wednesday in which CEO Jeff Bezos will unveil a still-unknown product widely suspected to be a high-end smartphone.

A smartphone would be a first for Amazon (AMZN, Tech30), which has steered clear of the handset market in the past few years as fellow tech giants Apple (AAPL, Tech30) and Samsung (SSNLF) have swallowed it up, and companies like Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) and BlackBerry (BBRY, Tech30) have struggled.

According to industry analysts and leaks in the tech press, Amazon has been developing a smartphone with a screen that displays 3-D images without the need to wear special glasses.

"Using retina-tracking technology, images on the smartphone would seem to float above the screen like a hologram and appear three-dimensional at all angles," the Wall Street Journal reported last year, citing anonymous sources.

Related: 5 gadgets that changed Amazon

The mobile technology website BGR reported in April that the rumored device will respond to the movements of users, changing the information it displays if it's tilted from side to side. A second, cheaper Amazon smartphone is likely later this year, BGR said.

Amazon itself hasn't revealed any details ahead of Wednesday's event, though it did post a teaser video on YouTube earlier this month featuring people gazing down in wonderment at a product outside the frame.

"It moved with me!" one exclaims.

While the rumored 3-D display would make for a cool gimmick, the success of a potential Amazon phone will likely depend more on other factors like pricing and software features.

Amazon added fuel to the smartphone rumors Monday with a press release proclaiming that its app store has tripled in size over the past year, now boasting over 240,000 apps and games. But that still places it well behind Apple and Google (GOOG), which each boast more than a million mobile apps for their platforms.

One way Amazon will likely look to differentiate itself is on price. The company has a history of selling devices like the Kindle e-reader and the Kindle Fire tablet at close to break-even prices on the assumption that buyers will spend more money on Amazon's media and retail products.

Victor Anthony, an analyst with Topeka Capital, speculated earlier this month that Amazon would use its smartphone to drive additional subscriptions to its Amazon Prime specialty service, users of which spend for more money on the site than non-Prime users. The phone could even come bundled with a Prime subscription, which usually costs $99 a year.

Related: Amazon stabbed me in the back

Amazon Prime users already get access to a streaming video service that competes with Netflix (NFLX, Tech30). Amazon made the service even more attractive to mobile device users last week, launching a Spotify-like streaming music service for Prime customers.

Through deals with wireless carriers, Amazon could sweeten the deal even further by stipulating that the use of its streaming services won't count against customer's regular monthly data caps. One potential dance partner, T-Mobile (TMUS), is holding a mystery press event of its own in Seattle on Wednesday following the Amazon presentation, raising the possibility of a partnership.

Beyond media consumption, a smartphone would give Amazon additional customer data with which to make targeted product recommendations and offer personalized deals.

A smartphone, Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey says, offers the company "a way to make sure customers think of Amazon not just a few times a month, or even a few times a week, but dozens of times a day, creating the opportunity for Amazon to convert as many of those interactions into purchases as possible."

First Published: June 17, 2014: 10:24 AM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hollywood eyes Bowe Bergdahl's story

U.S. soldier Bowe Berghdal returned the the U.S. last week after five years in Taliban captivity

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Bergdahl's "life rights" are "still up for grabs," according to The Hollywood Reporter, one of the entertainment news outlets that wrote about the competing projects on Monday.

Either film could still be made without those rights.

One of the projects is being developed by Mark Boal, who wrote and produced "The Hurt Locker" and "Zero Dark Thirty." The other project is by Todd Field, who wrote and directed "In The Bedroom" and "Little Children."

Field has the rights to "America's Last Prisoner of War," the prescient 2012 Rolling Stone magazine article about Bergdahl. The article was written by Michael Hastings, the acclaimed reporter who died in a car crash in Los Angeles last year.

Film portrayals of real-life events like Bergdahl's release matter because they can have a big impact on how people understand the events.

Related: The future of media

If that sounds familiar, it's because I wrote the exact same thing two weeks ago about two films in development about Edward Snowden and his mass surveillance leaks.

Any Bergdahl film would be complicated by the fact that the circumstances surrounding his disappearance are still not fully known. Some of the soldiers who served with him in Afghanistan have called him a "deserter."

To reiterate what I wrote about the Snowden films: We'll see which, if either, film makes it into theaters.

First Published: June 17, 2014: 10:51 AM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

GM victims' families face tough choices

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney)

Natasha Weigel, 18, and friend Amy Rademaker, 15, died from their injuries in October 2006 after their Chevrolet Cobalt hit a tree in St. Croix County, Wis.

In coming months, their parents must decide what they want from General Motors (GM), who they sued in March.

The two families recently agreed to freeze their lawsuit for a few months until they hear from GM about its plans to compensate families of victims who died because of faulty ignition switches. Compensation expert Kenneth Feinberg is working on drafting a plan.

Though they were both in the same car, GM only counts Amy on their list of 13 deaths from ignition switch failures. That's because GM counts only those in the front seat of cars whose airbags didn't inflate.

Related: Two died in 2006 Cobalt crash. But GM counts only one

Natasha is not on the list of confirmed deaths tied to the recalls, because she was in the backseat, which didn't have airbags.

It took GM 10 years after it learned about the faulty switches to issue the recalls. The crisis has triggered congressional and criminal probes. GM has said it will cost at least $1.7 billion to repair the recalled cars, and it may have to pay out millions to crash victims and their families.

It's unclear if Feinberg will include victims like Natasha in his plan to compensate victims.

For the two families, however, it's not an easy choice.

Moving forward with the lawsuit will cost them thousands of dollars in legal fees. Plus there's the risk they may get nothing from the lawsuit even though their attorney, Robert Hilliard of Texas, said they and other families he represents have a good case.

Related: 1 in 10 U.S. cars and trucks recalled

Neither girls' parents have said what kind of money they want from GM. However, they want GM to acknowledge its misdeeds killed their daughters, according to interviews with CNN's Poppy Harlow.

"What I want them to do is, for our case, to acknowledge Natasha's death," said Jayne Rimer, Natasha's mother. "I don't need an amount of money, because you will never replace our daughter's life. I want you to acknowledge that my daughter died in your car."

Margie Beskau, mother of Amy Rademaker, said it's impossible to put a value on being robbed of a chance to see her daughter grow up and get married.

"If we get money, fantastic. But it's not gonna bring my daughter back. It's not gonna bring Natasha back," Beskau said.

GM declined to comment on the lawsuit. But spokesman Greg Martin said that GM is "taking steps to treat these victims and their families with compassion, decency and fairness."

First Published: June 16, 2014: 10:17 AM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Alibaba grows 39%, but is that good enough?

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The sprawling Internet company's robust revenue growth appears to have hit a speed bump in the first three months of 2014, according to amended documents filed Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Alibaba said total revenue grew 39% in the first quarter of 2014 from the same period a year earlier. In the fourth quarter of 2013, revenue was up nearly 62% compared with the year before.

The news weighed on shares of Yahoo (YHOO, Tech30), which has a 23% stake in Alibaba. Shares were down 5% in early trading.

Alibaba also named all nine of its future board members, including Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang and Mike Evans, a top banker at Goldman Sachs (GS).

Related: Five things to know about Alibaba

The first-quarter data comes as Alibaba prepares to make its debut as a public company. It filed for an IPO in the United States earlier this year.

The filing did not contain any new details on how many U.S.-listed shares Alibaba will offer or at what price. But analysts have said it could haul in more than the $16 billion Facebook (FB, Tech30) raised in its 2012 IPO.

The whole company could be worth more than $170 billion, and some sky-high estimates are now pushing the $200 billion mark.

Alibaba is often described as a combination of Amazon (AMZN, Tech30) and eBay (EBAY, Tech30), with some PayPal sprinkled in to boot. But the shorthand fails to capture the breadth of the company's diverse business model.

Related: Alibaba makes U.S. debut with 11 Main

By one estimate, almost four out of every five dollars spent online in China happen in Alibaba's marketplaces.

The company's top two e-commerce sites, Taobao and Tmall, attract more than 100 million unique visitors each day. According to the filing, Taobao handled transactions worth 295 billion renminbi (about $47 billion) in the first quarter, while Tmall's market volume was 135 billion renminbi ($22 billion).

But Alibaba is more than its flagship marketplaces -- it also runs a wholesale operation and a cloud computing business. The company is also linked to a hugely popular digital payment service, Alipay. In a first step into finance, Alipay has started to offer investment funds. Alibaba even operates a taxi-hailing app.

Alibaba recently launched a new, invitation-only online shopping hub in the United States called 11Main.com. In China, the company continues to expand it's reach, announcing last week that it bought up the remaining stakes of UCWeb to take full control of the Chinese mobile internet software company.

-- CNN Money's Charles Riley and Matt Egan contributed to this report.

First Published: June 16, 2014: 10:02 AM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Stocks up. Investors shake off Iraq jitters

Click image for more market data.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Here are the four things you need to know:

1. Stocks move beyond Iraq jitters: The Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes are now trading slightly higher, with the Nasdaq leading the way by rising almost over 0.2%

Related: CNNMoney's Fear & Greed Index still in 'extreme greed' mode

Oil prices ticked above $107 a barrel Monday amid concerns the fighting in Iraq could threaten the country's ability to export oil. Natural gas prices were mostly flat, but investors will continue to monitor for signs of higher energy costs to Western consumers and businesses.

There are also worries that images reportedly showing the mass execution of Iraqi soldiers could spawn an all-out sectarian civil war in the country. The White House said it is considering military options and may even work with Iran to help Baghdad fend off the terrorist threat.

"Last week's fast-paced developments in Iraq have the potential to turn into a serious threat for the bull market," Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research, wrote in a note to clients. "My hunch is that the latest geopolitical crisis could set the market up for yet another relief rally."

Meanwhile, Russia said it has cut off supplies to Ukraine after negotiators failed to fix a payment dispute before a key deadline.

Related: Russia cuts off natural gas supplies to Ukraine

"Pictures of atrocities in Iraq, the breakdown of talks between Ukraine and [Russia's state-owned gas supplier] Gazprom, even scandal within the Polish central bank ... it all makes for a risk averse start to the week," said Kit Juckes, a strategist at Societe Generale.

The geopolitical concerns helped drive European and Asian stock markets mostly lower on Monday.

2. Merger mania: On the positive side, cheap borrowing rates and tax policy continue to drive M&A activity.

Medical device giant Medtronic (MDT) unveiled a $42.9 billion takeover Irish rival Covidien (COV). The deal is the latest "tax inversion" combination aimed at taking advantage of relatively low tax rates in some foreign countries by relocating corporate headquarters.

Related: Medtronic buys Covidien for $42.9 billion

There were also a number of smaller deals flying around.

Level 3 Communications (LVLT) agreed to scoop up business ethernet provider TW Telecom (TWTC) for $5.7 billion in cash and stock. TW stock jumped over 8% Monday.

Steven Spencer on Stocktwits wondered if there was something fishy about the trading of TW stock

"#SEC really needs to take a look at friday's trading activity in $TWTC. #insidertrading," he wrote.

Williams Cos. (WMB) spiked 22% as investors cheered the energy company's $6 billion deal to take full control of Access Midstream Partners (ACMP).

In the tech world, SanDisk (SNDK) inked a $1.21 billion buyout of smaller data-storage company Fusion-io (FIO), representing a 21% premium to its closing price on Friday.

3. Corporate movers -- Yahoo, Goodyear: Yahoo (YHOO, Tech30) retreated as much as 5% in early trading after Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant it owns a chunk of, revealed new details of its planned initial public offering. The latest documents show Alibaba's revenue growth has slowed, though it was still up 39% year-over-year.

Related: Alibaba grows 39%, but is that good enough?

Shares of Goodyear Tire (GT) revved 3% higher after Barron's said the tire maker's stock could surge 50% within two years thanks to stronger demand.

4. Focusing on the economy: Home builders like PulteGroup (PHM) and Lennar (LEN) ticked higher after an industry group said home builder sentiment has climbed to the highest level since January.

Manufacturing activity in the New York area gained momentum in June, a new report showed. The New York Fed's manufacturing index unexpectedly ticked up this month to 19.28 from 19.01.

Investors are also looking ahead to Wednesday's Federal Reserve decision. The central bank is expected to once again dial back its bond-buying program even as it dims its economic growth outlook.

Likewise, the International Monetary Fund trimmed its forecast for U.S. economic growth this year to 2% amid the struggling housing market. Despite the gloomier view, the IMF still expects the U.S. to grow 3% next year.

First Published: June 16, 2014: 9:49 AM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Jetblue's answer to first class

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

That's what Jetblue is hoping to sell to its customers starting Sunday, when the airline launches a new service called "Mint." It will begin with only the New York to Los Angeles route, and will offer the kind of amenities usually seen on international flights.

Billing it "coast-to-coast without the cost," travelers can expect seats that become private suites with a door, food lifted from the menu of a trendy New York City restaurant and tiny bottles of fancy beauty products. There's also a signature cocktail and organic ice cream from a Brooklyn scoop shop, all for about $600 a ticket, each way.

It's not exactly flying behind the first class curtain (there is, in fact, no curtain separating the cabins) but it's close, and built for the everyday business traveler willing to spend a little more.

"I think they can expect a refreshing surprise," said Brad Farmerie, the executive chef of Saxon + Parole, the restaurant behind Mint's food.

He said passengers will be offered options like octopus with truffled portobello mushroom mousse for dinner, and French toast stuffed with banana and homemade Nutella for breakfast.

Related: jetBlue pilots vote to unionize

The beauty company Birchbox will supply the amenities for Mint, with gift boxes filled with products like moisturizers, sunscreens and hair products. Birchbox co-founder and co-CEO Katia Beauchamp said that she hopes the kits will make traveling easier "and more glamorous!"

There are gift boxes for women, and separate ones for men.

The cost for all this luxury? Seats are currently offered at $599 one way, if booked by next week for travel later this year. A non-refundable economy class ticket taken during a similar time is about $330. All the amenities are included with the ticket price.

JetBlue's new service comes at a time when more and more airlines are building in extravagant options for fliers willing to spend. AirFrance recently announced its new La Première cabin, which has four private suites and will debut in September.

Etihad Airways' A380 offers a one-bedroom "residence" on one of its long-haul planes departing from London, at a cost of $21,000 a ticket.

While all that luxury comes with a hefty price tag, JetBlue's decision to keep things less astronomical may signal a trend that combines the casual with the costly.

Like Virgin Atlantic's rather whimsical new option for its higher-paying passengers -- a onesie pajama bodysuit with feet. The airline dubbed the onesie a "fun alternative" for the first class flier.

First Published: June 14, 2014: 9:17 AM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

The death of U.S. savings bonds

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Americans bought over 40 million of the most popular savings bonds in 2000. Last year, the U.S. sold a mere 400,000 of them.

They were often given to students, newly married couples or anyone having a birthday. It was akin to gifting cash, but better. The bond certificate looked extra official, and it encouraged young people to save for the future -- whether for further study, a car or a house.

Savings bonds offer some interest each year -- much like money held in a bank's savings account -- but if you hold the bond to the end of the 10 to 30 year duration, you often make more money due to various adjustment procedures. It's akin to a bonus payment.

But these bonds are going the way of the landline telephone, and there are several reasons why.

For starters, savings bonds, which have been around since the 1930s, are no longer an attractive investment.

Related: Investors chase higher yields in scary places

"The interest rates are so low these days that people just don't even get involved in them anymore," says Jim Moore, a Wells Fargo financial advisor based in St. Louis.

The fixed-rate "EE" bond offers a mere 0.5% interest rate for the next 20 years, barely better than putting money under a mattress. Bonds issued at the end of last year were yielding an even more lousy 0.1% rate.

Moore recommends buying a good quality, high paying dividend stock or exploring other savings options instead. Many parents and grandparents utilize 529 savings plans for colleges that are run at the state level. Investment growth in a 529 plan is tax deferred, and any money taken from the 529 to pay for college isn't taxed at the federal level.

Related: Tax-savvy college savings options

But it's the Internet that really killed off demand for savings bonds.

You can no longer buy a paper savings bond. On January 1, 2012, the government stopped sales of over-the-counter paper bonds and forced people to buy them online via TreasuryDirect.

That's when the big plummet occurred. The goal was to save money, but in the process, the government made it harder for potential buyers.

Many older Americans were raised on ads to be patriotic and buy these bonds to help the country (and yourself). There were slogans such as "Back Your Future." The savings bonds were sold in many places, including local banks and brokerages.

Now you have to go online and fill out cumbersome forms with your taxpayer ID number, the intended recipient's Social Security number, your bank account and other information. It's even more complex if you try to gift a savings bond to someone under 18.

Related: Fewer students have jobs on graduation day

Kate Warne, investment strategist for Edward Jones, says the only time she hears about savings bonds these days is from clients telling her how hard the website is to navigate.

"The complaint I get is 'I have trouble. What should I do instead?'" Warne says.

Those formal looking certificates that made such lovely accompaniments to graduation degrees are history. The only way to get one now is to ask for your federal tax refund to be returned to you as savings bonds.

Even that is convoluted. The bonds are only issued in $50 increments, so unless your refund is perfectly divisible by 50, you get savings bonds plus a check for the difference. It's a small program according to the Treasury Department.

The government has no plans to revive paper savings bond sales. There is a mock certificate people can print out online to wrap up in a box and give as a gift. But that just doesn't have the same appeal.

First Published: June 14, 2014: 9:10 AM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More

Costa Rica aims to win World Cup ad game

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Many experts, including Goldman Sachs, predict Costa Rica (and the U.S.) won't make it out of the first round, but the Central American nation has it sights on another goal: Winning the World Cup ad game.

"Essential Costa Rica" is a print and TV ad campaign running in major cities in the U.S., U.K. and Germany during the World Cup. The message is simple: Costa Rica is more than a pretty place to vacation, come invest and partner with us.

Related: Brazil 2014 set to smash TV records

It's a push to shed the country's image as a Banana Republic. Only 6% of the country's GDP is agriculture today, although the sector remains a large employer. The U.S. is its biggest trading partner, accounting for about half of its exports and foreign direct investment.

The country is growing its technology industry and promoting the fact that 16% of its population has college degrees now.

President Solís is a good example. His grandfather had no schooling. His father made it to about high school, and he has a master's degree. Before he was elected president in April, much of his life was spent as a history professor and scholar. He ran as a "third party" candidate.

CNNMoney interviewed President Solís in New York this week. This is an excerpt of the conversation.

Q: Intel (INTC, Tech30) and Bank of America (BAC) recently announced 3,000 job cuts in Costa Rica. What are you doing about it?

Solís: Within one month of taking office, I am here in the United States speaking with investors, those already working in Costa Rica and those who may want to go. As a result, we've been able to get an announcement from Intel that their Mega Lab will be installed in Costa Rica, which is extraordinarily important for us, thus moving us from manufacturing to research and development of new products. I hope this will bring about significant change in how we're seen in the international community.

We also have a VMWare (VMW) announcement saying they are expanding their activities in Costa Rica. I hope this will clear any doubt that may exist regarding the commitment of the new government to the private sector or the conditions of the country for direct investments.

Q: Several analysts cut your GDP forecasts in half. Is that fair?

Solís: This is not what the central bank in Costa Rica is saying. In our estimation and that of the World Bank, we are going to grow at a rate of 3.7% this year. I think it's going to go up, not down. I hope so because this is the best way we can deal with a number of challenges that we have: Fiscal, monetary and other ways.

Related: The world's largest economies

Q: How do you move the Costa Rican economy beyond tourism and agriculture?

Solís: It has happened in the last 25 years. We were an early exporter of coffee to Europe. Now we have more than 250 multi-national companies, especially in manufacturing and services.

We have 14 different free trade agreements -- 50 countries -- with China, North America, Europe, etc. Coffee exports today are only 3% of our goods. Bananas are 7%. Services represent 33%. We have already moved beyond agriculture.

Related: CNN selects Costa Rica as one of the top 11 travel spots for 2014

Q: Your currency the colón has fallen a lot against the dollar in recent months. Will this continue?

Solís: Before the government entered into office, the colón depreciation started to jump in the band system that we have. We're going to keep the bands, but we are going to lower the volatility by flattening the bands. The central bank has enough reserves to prevent this volatility without tampering with the trend -- the slow trend -- towards devaluation, which has been good news for the Costa Rican exporters and the tourism industry. We are almost at the level we were before the crisis.

Q: What would you like to see evolve in your relations with the United States?

Solís: I would like to see the relationship evolve in an official way to move more from security issues related to drugs into talk of the environment, green energy and social development issues. These policies will help prevent violence, including narcotraffic.

Q: A mysterious kidney disease is impacting your agriculture workers. What are you doing about it?

Solís: We are researching the problem to begin with because we don't know where it comes from. We were also asked about arsenic. We're trying to find out what the problem is because it seems to be associated with certain regions.

First Published: June 14, 2014: 9:36 AM ET

22.17 | 0 komentar | Read More