| By Sam Tremayne | Sunday, April 28th 2013, 14:24 GMT |
Tom Coronel took BMW's first World Touring Car win of the season with an assured drive in the Slovakia Ring finale.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Kevin Turner | Sunday, April 28th 2013, 16:16 GMT |
Mark Webber believes the new BRDC Formula 4 Championship has a bright future after attending the inaugural event at Silverstone.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Hal Ridge | Sunday, April 28th 2013, 16:24 GMT |
Liam Doran took victory in the Supercar final at the second round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship, held at Montalegre in Portugal.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
Find out more about FIA European Rallycross with our 2013 season guide
| By Sam Tremayne | Saturday, April 27th 2013, 17:00 GMT |
Gabriele Tarquini and Tiago Monteiro hailed as a 'miracle' Honda's 1-2-3 in World Touring Car qualifying at the Slovakia Ring.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Sam Tremayne | Saturday, April 27th 2013, 17:55 GMT |
Rob Huff has been put back 10 places for the first World Touring Car race in Slovakia after his car failed a post-qualifying ride height check.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Charles Bradley | Saturday, April 27th 2013, 17:57 GMT |
Jan Kopecky won the Rally Azores, the fourth round of the European Rally Championship, to score his first-ever victory on a gravel event.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
J.C. Penney (JCP, Fortune 500) shares finished up 11.6% Friday following news late Thursday that hedge fund mogul George Soros has taken a large stake in the retailer, and a report from CNBC Friday afternoon that Goldman Sachs has secured $1.75 billion in financing for the company.
Earlier this month, the troubled retailer announced that CEO Ron Johnson was leaving after just a year and a half.
Johnson, a former Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) executive, had instituted ambitious changes at J.C. Penney stores in an attempt to remake the brand. Sales plummeted during his tenure, sinking 28% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier.
J.C. Penney tapped Mike Ullman, Johnson's predecessor as CEO, to take the reins once more. The company has since consulted with investment firm Blackstone (BX) in an attempt to raise up to $1 billion and remain solvent.
The financing reportedly secured by Goldman could solve this cash problem. Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) and J.C. Penney declined to comment. 
First Published: April 26, 2013: 4:03 PM ET
If you're Googling financial terms like "debt," "economics" and "inflation," that might mean it's time to sell your holdings.
LONDON (CNNMoney)
New research published in the journal Scientific Report shows that you can use Google Trends to track the search volume of important financial terms, which can indicate whether markets are set to rise or fall.
Researchers from the U.S. and U.K. found that, between 2004 to 2011, when search volumes rose for terms such as "debt," "money," and "unemployment," markets generally fell. When search volumes for those words declined, markets often rallied.
The report's co-author Helen Susannah Moat, a social scientist from University College London, explained that when people are Googling financial terms such as "inflation," "economics," "and "NASDAQ," it indicates that they're getting concerned about the markets and are likely to start selling.
When they're not searching those terms, they're probably feeling content and markets will push higher.
Related: Betting on boring stocks pays off
The researchers looked at nearly 100 different search terms and found that "debt" was one of the best terms for predicting market moves between 2004 to 2011, leading the researchers to a 326% profit when they tested out their hypothetical trading strategy on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Co-author Tobias Preis, a behavioral finance professor at Warwick Business School, said that when search volumes for the word "debt" started rising, the researchers would short the market for a week.
Then when search volumes fell, they'd go long for a week, Preis told CNNMoney. This weekly long-short trading strategy led them to the 300%-plus gain, but a long-only or short-only strategy would have also yielded some good returns, he added.
But investors shouldn't start trading with this strategy immediately, the researchers warned.
Preis said that times have changed and words like "debt" might no longer be useful at predicting market movements. The strategy needs updating as new keywords become more relevant to the markets.
Furthermore, Moat pointed out that now that their research paper has been released, other investors will try to use the strategy, diluting the impact in the long run.
This study follows research from 2010 that showed that weekly transaction volumes for S&P 500 companies were correlated with online searches related to those companies.
First Published: April 26, 2013: 9:31 AM ET
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.
At last year's Brainstorm Green conference, Ford (F, Fortune 500) CEO Alan Mulally spoke of his "One Ford" plan to keep the automaker on course during a difficult global market. This week, Ford announced its earnings for the first quarter of 2013, so the Brainstorm podcast brought on Fortune senior editor-at-large Alex Taylor III to shed light on the progress the company has made since he spoke. As Taylor explains, some of the nuances of where, exactly, Ford makes its profit say a lot about the company's progress towards its global expansion goals.
Tune in to this week's podcast for a front row seat at a "own hall-style talk with Mulally, the American auto industry's straight-shooter CEO.
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: April 26, 2013: 12:07 PM ET
Record unemployment has sparked protests in Madrid against the government's austerity drive.
LONDON (CNNMoney)
Unveiling a program of structural reforms aimed at reviving the economy, the Spanish government said gross domestic product was likely to shrink by about 1.3% this year, after suffering a similar contraction in 2012, before returning to growth in 2014.
It also published new estimates of government borrowing, revising up sharply the budget deficit for 2013 to 6.3% of GDP from 4.5%. The deficit should fall to 5.5% next year but won't be brought under the 3% EU target until 2016, two years later than originally planned.
Spanish government debt would hit almost 100% of GDP in 2015.
The European Commission said earlier this month that Spain's high level of domestic and external debt continued to pose "serious risks for growth and financial stability", and the government's response would be assessed by EU officials at the end of May.
Related: Unemployment misery deepens in Spain, Greece
But EU budget hawks have been under pressure this week as criticism that rigid adherence to a policy of austerity is self-defeating has grown louder.
Spain's new timetable for debt reduction won immediate and unequivocal support from the International Monetary Fund, which has been warning for some months that some countries are trying to cut too fast in the face of weak or non-existent growth.
"I strongly support the Spanish government's objectives of restoring a sound fiscal position while securing a recovery and creating jobs," IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said in a statement.
"Today's announcement to pursue a more gradual consolidation path is a welcome step toward meeting these goals, building on major reforms and structural fiscal improvements last year."
EU officials have signaled this week that they may be prepared to give some countries more time to bring down borrowing, given the dire economic backdrop, but insist that the eurozone must not stray from its goal of sound finances.
The government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is still grappling with the fallout of a real estate and banking crisis that tipped Spain back into recession in 2011. An austerity drive since then has accelerated the decline.
It was forced to bail out several banks, with EU assistance, but has so far managed to avoid following Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus in requesting a full-blown sovereign rescue.
Spain has been helped by a sharp decline in borrowing costs after the European Central Bank's announcement last year that it would backstop weaker eurozone states, as well as the banking sector assistance.
GDP figures due next Tuesday are expected to confirm that the Spanish economy shrank by 0.5% in the first quarter. That would be the seventh straight quarter of contraction in the eurozone's fourth-biggest economy and underscore the difficulty heavily indebted European states face in bringing down debt while their economies are going backwards.
Unemployment has hit a eurozone record of 27.2%, and more than half of all young Spanish workers under 24 are without a job. The government said it expected the jobless crisis to begin to ease in 2014.
First Published: April 26, 2013: 12:56 PM ET
Airline delays could end this weekend, if Congress passes a bill that would end furloughs of air traffic controllers.
WASHINGTON (CNNMoney)
On Friday, the House voted 361-to-41 to give the Federal Aviation Administration more power to move $253 million around to stop furloughs of some 15,000 air traffic controllers, as well as other FAA staffers.
President Obama is expected to sign the bill, which sailed through the Senate Thursday night. But White House spokesman Jay Carney called it a "band aid covering a massive wound to the economy."
"Congress should do the responsible thing and stop dealing with these issues from crisis to crisis. . .and eliminate the sequester through balanced deficit reduction," Carney said.
It's a lightning-fast response for Congress. Since Sunday, furloughs of air traffic controllers have delayed more than 3,000 flights, thanks to spending cuts Congress imposed.
The FAA expects to tell controllers to go back to work as soon as this weekend, although details had yet to be worked out as of Friday morning, according to a source who wasn't authorized to talk about plans.
While Friday is normally one of the busiest travel days, the air space in the New York area was especially clogged, in part because fewer controllers reported for duty.
Flights leaving Newark Liberty International Airport were delayed up to 90 minutes. Tampa-bound passengers stuck on LaGuardia Airport's tarmac were told that controller staffing shortages had delayed their flight by 50 minutes.
Paulo Pacheco, a New York gastroenterologist on that flight with his husband and kids, said he hoped Congress would be able to get controllers back on the job in time for his return to New York on Sunday.
"I have to get back. I have patients scheduled at 7 a.m. on Monday," said Pacheco, who had prepared for the Friday airport delays with books, fruit and iPads for son Niko, 2, and daughter, Isabel, 7. "We're becoming numb to delays."
Forced spending cuts have led the Federal Aviation Administration to bench about 1,500 controllers from the job each day. Starting last Sunday, several busy airport towers in the New York area, Los Angeles and Chicago have had to space out flight landings, causing delays that ranged between 15 minutes and two hours.
The FAA has said it had no choice. The agency had to cut $600 million from its spending by September, and was planning to achieve that goal by forcing all 47,000 FAA workers to take 11 furlough days, or one day per pay period, through Sept. 30.
Its part of the $85 billion in automatic, across-the-board forced spending cuts that went into effect on March 1.
Spending cuts: Reality of furloughs hits home
Air traffic controllers weren't the only workers being forced to take unpaid time off. Furloughs also kicked in Sunday for the Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of Management and Budget, joining federal public defenders and Department of Labor employees.
If the bill sparing controllers becomes law, FAA employees would join an elite group of federal workers that includes federal meat and poultry inspectors, who were kept on the job thanks in part to lobbying by industries that depend on them.
"Airlines for America commends the Senate for passing the measure to end air traffic controller furloughs," said Victoria Day, a spokeswoman for the trade group for airlines, which had also filed a lawsuit trying to block the furloughs last week.
The bill allows the FAA to dip into a pot of money for airport improvements to stop furloughs.
One area still unclear is whether the FAA will use some of its new powers to restore funding to control towers for regional airports now scheduled to close June 15.
The FAA earlier this year announced it would close 149 contract towers, which operate at small- to medium-size airports, to meet its sequester-related cuts.
J. Spencer Dickerson, head of an association that represents the towers, said his group hopes the FAA will reverse its decision on the closures.
The original bill, by Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, had directed $220 million to end the controller furloughs as well as $25 million to keep contract towers open.
But the bill approved by Congress removed references to the furlough or contract towers, leaving it up to the FAA to decide how to apply funds, he said.
-- CNNMoney's Tami Luhby contributed to this report.
First Published: April 26, 2013: 10:48 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
If Congress wanted to go by the book, it would do so in May, when the country's borrowing is expected to approach the debt ceiling.
But lawmakers expected to have about two months of wiggle room after that point since Treasury can use "extraordinary measures" to keep borrowing just below the legal limit. Such measures include temporarily not reinvesting federal workers' retirement savings in short-term bonds.
Now, however, thanks to higher-than-expected revenue and lower spending, the real deadline for raising the debt ceiling will come later than most people believed -- most likely either early September or early October, according to a new analysis by the Bipartisan Policy Center.
If the Center's estimates are correct, Congress may well be forced to do two things at once -- both pass an increase to the debt ceiling and approve funding for fiscal year 2014, which starts Oct. 1.
But the road to Oct. 1 will be bumpy. The budget process is as tangled as ever on Capitol Hill. The Senate and House have each passed their own budget but they're far apart from each other and there's no plan yet to negotiate the differences.
House Republicans, meanwhile, will expect something in return for agreeing to raise the ceiling -- either significant spending cuts, moves toward entitlement reform or a guarantee of tax reform.
And there is still little agreement on what to do about the automatic spending cuts that went into effect on March 1 because lawmakers couldn't come up with a more sensible plan.
First Published: April 26, 2013: 2:08 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The battery is covered even if an owner fails to follow charging guidelines laid out in the owners' manual. "Any product that needs a manual to work is broken," Musk said.
The only cases in which Tesla (TSLA) would not honor a battery warranty would be a case in which a customer deliberately attempted to damage or destroy the battery, he said.
"If you take a blow-torch to the battery pack or blow it up or use it for target practice" the warranty would be voided, Musk said. Also, of course Tesla would not cover battery damage resulting from a crash. Car insurance will have to pay for that.
The Model S batteries will continue to be covered by either an eight year, 125,000 warranty or an eight-year unlimited mile warranty depending on the size of the battery pack in the car. (The Model S is sold with two different size battery packs.)
So far, Musk said, Tesla has not had a single problem with the batteries themselves failing. Any failures that have occurred have been due to faulty computer chips and other components.
The automaker also announced other improvements to the service it offers Model S owners including nicer loaner cars. "Our service is OK and it needs to be great," Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a conference call with reporters.
When the vehicles need service, rather than having owners bring their cars to Tesla service centers themselves, Tesla will pick up the cars and owners will be given loaner cars. Tesla's loaner car fleet will now include only top-of-the-line Model S cars, equipped with the 265 mile long-range battery packs, and Tesla Roadster sports cars.
Gallery - 8 collectible SUVs
The loaner cars will also be available for sale, at a discounted price, should a Tesla owner decide he or she likes the loaner better than the car he already owns. Tesla also made the previously-required annual service visit entirely optional. The warranty will now be honored even if a Tesla owner never brings the car in for service.
Tesla cars are repaired at service centers that are separate from the showrooms in which the cars are sold. It's a novel system that has brought Tesla into conflict with traditional auto dealers in some parts of the country.
"I've told the Tesla service division that their job is never to make a profit," Musk said. Most auto dealerships make a large portion of their profits from the service department which, Musk pointed out, creates a conflict of interest when it comes to product quality.
"I hate the idea of making money because our product broke," said Musk. "That's just wrong."
These changes to Tesla's service come shortly after Tesla announced new financing options for its electric cars. Tesla is working on improvements to the recently announced financing plan, Musk said in an interview.
"We're going to come out with a modified or improved version as soon as we can get things squared away with our banking partners," he said.
So far, Tesla has sold about 7,000 Model S cars since they went on sale late last year.
First Published: April 26, 2013: 4:05 PM ET
Click chart for more market data.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Investors digested uninspiring economic reports Friday, including a weak reading on U.S gross domestic product.
Gross domestic product -- a broad measure of what the economy produces -- increased in the first quarter but fell short of what economists expected.
That reading is the latest sign of what many investors see as a directionless economy that the Federal Reserve can't quite resuscitate. The Fed continues pumping billions of dollars a month into bonds and mortgage-backed securities to fuel the economy, but has seen lackluster results.
The Dow Jones industrial average moved up 0.1% Friday and ended the week up 1.1%.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq dropped between 0.2% and 0.4% Friday, but gained 1.7% and 2.3% for the week.
Related: Fear & Greed Index still idling in neutral
Mixed bag of earnings: D.R. Horton's (DHI) stock price surged, after the home builder reported a near doubling of quarterly net income on Friday, riding the wave of the recovering housing market.
Burger King Worldwide (BKW) rose after it reported an increase in profits.
Starbucks (SBUX, Fortune 500) came under pressure after issuing downside guidance for the current quarter and reaffirming its revenue outlook for the year.
Tech stocks tumble: Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500) shares fell precipitously, after the online retailer reported a profit decline. Shares of Chinese search firm Baidu (BIDU) dropped more than 8% on weak earnings.
Shares of Expedia (EXPE) were the biggest drag on the Nasdaq. The online travel site lowered its guidance for the year, blaming a slowdown in hotel reservations.
In other corporate news, shares of J.C. Penney (JCP, Fortune 500) surged after hedge fund mogul George Soros said late Thursday that he had taken a 7.9% stake in the ailing retailer. CNBC also reported that Goldman Sachs had secured $1.75 billion in financing for the company.
Related: 7 big winners in Nikkei surge
Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite declined 1% and the Hang Seng added 0.7%.
The Nikkei lost 0.3% after the Bank of Japan said it would maintain its stimulus program. A separate report showed prices fell 0.5% last month in Japan, underscoring the monumental task facing policymakers as they attempt to reverse 15 years of deflation.
European markets closed lower, following three consecutive days of significant gains. The Euronext 100 index declined by roughly 1%.
The dollar lost ground against the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen.
Oil and gold prices fell.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury dipped to 1.67%.
First Published: April 26, 2013: 9:43 AM ET
Lawmakers effectively canceled the furloughs of FAA air traffic controllers in an effort to end airport delays. Critics say Congress shouldn't pick favorites for reprieve from supposed across-the-board budget cuts.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
But advocates for everyone else directly affected by the so-called sequester are miffed with the selective undoing of what were supposed to be across-the-board cuts.
"We've got to save the traveling public but I ask the question about 5,000 children in Texas that will lose Head Start or the millions of seniors or our military families that will lose the support because we've got the sequester," Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat from Texas, said Friday.
Joseph Beaudoin, a former federal air traffic controller who now heads the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, was glad to see Congress reverse his former colleagues' furloughs. But he is worried about all the other federal government workers who aren't so lucky.
"Last month, Congress took action to ensure that furloughs could be avoided for TSA agents, meat inspectors and border patrol agents. However, hundreds of thousands of federal employees providing services across the United States still face furloughs," Beaudoin said in a statement. "We've had enough of the reactionary legislative response. It is time for Washington to come together to agree to smart, sensible approaches to tackling the budget."
Weary air travelers to get break from furloughs
The liberal activist group MoveOn.org was more scathing, contending the reversal was "solely to appeal to wealthy contributors who fly frequently." It issued an online petition to "demand that any emergency legislation to eliminate airline delays caused by the sequester also restore cuts to Head Start, cancer clinics, housing assistance, food pantries, and unemployment insurance."
Meanwhile, NDD United -- a coalition of 3,200 groups focused on public health, medical research, education and other areas -- sent a letter to Congress before the FAA reprieve was passed. "Damage control is not a sound fiscal policy. We urge you to reject any efforts to pick favorites and instead fix sequestration, once and for all," the letter said.
First Published: April 26, 2013: 5:06 PM ET
LivingSocial is requiring all customers to change their passwords after a cyberattack on its systems.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The daily deals site recently suffered a cyberattack on some of its servers, and customer data for more than 50 million users may have been accessed, the company said late Friday. Credit card data was not affected.
Some users who attempted to log in on Friday were greeted with a message about the "unauthorized access," and were required to reset their passwords.
A LivingSocial spokesman sent CNNMoney a copy of an email that the company is sending to customers, which says the hackers may have accessed names, email addresses, encrypted passwords and the dates of birth for some users.
All LivingSocial users had some data stored on the hacked server, the spokesman said, except for customers in Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. Those countries use TicketMonster and Ensogo, which are on different systems.
The company declined to comment further on details of the hack, instead sharing an internal memo that CEO Tim O'Shaughnessy sent to employees earlier today about it. Tech blog AllThingsD first reported on the hack, citing that internal memo.
Related story: Stop hackers in their tracks
In the message that greeted users attempting to log in, LivingSocial said it is "actively working with law enforcement to investigate this issue."
News of the LivingSocial hack comes three days after the Associated Press Twitter account was compromised. The hackers sent a tweet falsely claiming an attack on the White House had left President Obama injured, sending stocks sharply lower for a brief moment.
First Published: April 26, 2013: 5:37 PM ET
| Friday, April 26th 2013, 18:27 GMT |
Jan Kopecky hung on to his lead at the end of the second day of Rally Azores while Robert Kubica rolled.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Charles Bradley | Friday, April 26th 2013, 18:31 GMT |
Robert Kubica has taken the blame for his roll on the second day of the Rally Azores, but claims he "wasn't pushing" when the accident occurred.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Friday, April 26th 2013, 22:41 GMT |
Joe Gibbs Racing responded to a week of bad penalty and injury news by taking a front row sweep for Saturday night's Richmond NASCAR Sprint Cup race
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Subscribe to Premier Sports TV to watch all Sprint Cup events live in the UK. Visit www.premiersports.tv for more information.
| By Peter Mills | Thursday, April 25th 2013, 16:40 GMT |
The Auto GP Series will race at Mugello on July 14 this year, replacing a provisional meeting scheduled to take place at Zandvoort.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Thursday, April 25th 2013, 18:04 GMT |
Robert Kubica leads Rally Azores, his first attempt at a European Rally Championship gravel round, by nine seconds at the end of day one
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Charles Bradley | Thursday, April 25th 2013, 21:20 GMT |
Robert Kubica admitted his first day of Rally Azores was "demanding" despite holding a nine-second lead overnight on his European Rally Championship gravel debut
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Sam Tremayne | Wednesday, April 24th 2013, 13:18 GMT |
Chinese driver Ho Pin Tung will compete at this year's Le Mans 24 Hours with the KC Motorgroup squad
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Edd Straw and Matt Beer | Wednesday, April 24th 2013, 15:00 GMT |
Mark Webber says he is happy with his own performances despite his disappointing points tally and will bring himself back into contention once Formula 1 returns to Europe
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Sam Tremayne | Wednesday, April 24th 2013, 15:02 GMT |
Ben Spies will miss MotoGP's forthcoming Jerez race due to injury, with Ducati test rider Michele Pirro replacing him in the satellite Pramac squad
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, April 23rd 2013, 15:26 GMT |
Pirelli wants to have a more detailed look at the damaged tyre from Lewis Hamilton's car in Bahrain, amid suspicions its failure in practice may not have been down to debris
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Gary Watkins | Tuesday, April 23rd 2013, 18:39 GMT |
Former IndyCar and DTM driver Katherine Legge will race the DeltaWing at the next round of the American Le Mans Series at Laguna Seca next month
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Mark Glendenning | Tuesday, April 23rd 2013, 18:45 GMT |
IndyCar driver Simon Pagenaud will spearhead a 10-vehicle line-up from Honda at this year's Pikes Peak hillclimb
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Kevin Turner | Monday, April 22nd 2013, 15:35 GMT |
British Touring Car supremo Alan Gow has confirmed Kia is considering joining the championship in future
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Sam Tremayne | Monday, April 22nd 2013, 16:39 GMT |
Tio Ellinas will retain his Manor GP3 drive and also earn his first Formula 1 experience at the 2013 young driver test, Marussia has confirmed
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Mark Glendenning | Monday, April 22nd 2013, 17:12 GMT |
Takuma Sato singled out the immediate chemistry between himself and the AJ Foyt Racing team as the key to his breakthrough win at Long Beach on Sunday
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Sunday, April 21st 2013, 20:28 GMT |
Jorge Lorenzo hailed Marc Marquez as 'phenomenal' following the Spaniard's record-breaking MotoGP victory at Austin
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By David Evans | Sunday, April 21st 2013, 21:56 GMT |
Former Formula 1 driver Scott Speed has won gold in the rallycross element of the Brazilian X Games today
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Mark Glendenning | Sunday, April 21st 2013, 23:03 GMT |
Takuma Sato claimed his first IndyCar victory in a chaotic race around the streets of Long Beach
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
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.
Given that tech giant Yahoo reported first-quarter earnings on April 16, this week's podcast features a rare public interview with Marissa Mayer, the company's CEO as of last July. Last November, in her first interview as chief, Mayer sat down with Fortune's Pattie Sellers to discuss her turnaround plan. Since then, Mayer has made good on her promise to upgrade Yahoo's tech talent, but she has also faced widespread criticism for her decision to discourage employees from working remotely. As Sellers explains, the goings on at Yahoo are more complicated than they might seem.
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
Editor's note: In our podcast recording, we assert that Marissa Mayer had not publicly discussed Yahoo's decision to discourage employees from working from home. Mayer discussed this issue in public for the first time yesterday. Here's Fortune's take on the event.
First Published: April 19, 2013: 11:33 AM ET
Streamline your finances. Consider combining retirement accounts at one financial services company -- you may pay lower fees.
(Money Magazine)
After all, there's a good chance you're so overrun with statements from multiple investment and bank accounts that you find it tough to keep track of what you've got.
In one poll, nearly 25% of respondents admitted they had lost or forgotten about a key financial document; only 40% thought they could find needed paperwork at a moment's notice. These steps will help you get your financial house decluttered, once and for all.
Purge, merge and back up
A good filing system is crucial. To establish one...
Pare down. Use the table below to determine which papers to file and which to toss. Ultimately, you'll save only docs that are necessary for tax purposes or for tracking your finances over the long term.
Create a taxonomy. Most families maintain a combination of paper and digital records. Identify a central filing drawer for the former, and make space on your hard drive for the latter. Then name folders with broad categories and tax year, like PAYSTUBS 2013, says Darla DeMorrow, a professional organizer in Wayne, Pa.
Sort by date. Dump paper statements into paper folders as they arrive, newest on top. DeMorrow advises renaming digital files, "starting with the year, then the two-digit month, then the name of the institution."
Have a Plan B. To avoid hassle in the event of a PC meltdown, back up electronic files with a service like Carbonite ($59 a year). Or use Dropbox (free for the first two gigabytes), a program that syncs docs across your devices while also storing them in the cloud.
Sweep up your accounts
About half of Americans have at least one retirement account from an old employer, according to an ING Direct survey, and many have multiple taxable accounts as well.
Related: Ways to bank (and save) smarter
Consolidate them at a single financial services company; that will make it easier to keep track of your assets and may result in lower fees.
"You will be amazed at how much more in control you will feel," says Peter Canniff, a financial planner in Nashua, N.H. Another option: Download Wikinvest Portfolio Manager, a free app that pulls together your investment account information so that you can easily follow your performance.
Freshen your settings
Use this time also to tidy up your tax withholding. Last year, 75% of taxpayers got a refund from Uncle Sam (average amount: $2,803).
Related: Help with taxing problems
If you were among them -- or, if you were in the other camp and owed a lot -- use the withholding calculator at irs.gov to determine how much to have deducted from your checks, advises Jude Coard, a tax partner with Berdon in New York City.
While in updating mode, review beneficiary designations on your retirement accounts and life insurance policies. Doing so regularly has an ancillary benefit, says Canniff: "It makes it easier to keep your finger on where everything is."
What to keep, what to toss
Whether you have digital or paper records or a combination, rid yourself of clutter by shredding or deleting all but the following key financial documents.
| Keep for one year | Paycheck stubs until you get your W-2 in January to check its accuracy |
| Bank statements to confirm your 1099s | |
| Brokerage statements until you get your annual summary (keep longer for tax purposes if they show a gain or loss) | |
| Receipts for health care bills in case you qualify for a medical deduction | |
| Utility bills to track usage (seven years if you deduct a home office) | |
| Keep for 7 years | Supporting documents for taxes, including W-2s, 1099s, and receipts or canceled checks that substantiate deductions. The IRS has up to three years after you file to audit you but may look back up to six years if it suspects you substantially underreported income or committed fraud. Keep documentation for 2012 until 2019. |
| Keep indefinitely | Tax returns with proof of filing and payment |
| IRS forms that you filed when making contributions to a traditional IRA or Roth conversion | |
| Receipts for capital improvements that you've made to your home until seven years after you sell the house | |
| Retirement and brokerage account annual statements | |
| Receipts for big-ticket purchases for as long as you own the item, to support warranty and insurance claims | |
| Toss | ATM receipts once recorded |
Bank deposit slips once the funds show up in your account | |
| Credit card receipts after you get your statement, unless you might return the item or need proof of purchase for a warranty | |
| Credit card statements that do not have a tax-related expense on them |
First Published: April 19, 2013: 8:37 AM ET
LONDON (CNNMoney)
In a joint letter to the ministers, meeting in Washington this week, associations representing New York, London, Hong Kong and other financial markets, said the proposed Financial Transaction Tax would hurt the world economy at a time of significant uncertainty.
Eleven EU countries have agreed to enact the tax with the aim of raising billions of euros from the financial services industry and detering speculation.
"If this goes ahead the impact will go well beyond of the 11 member states who are currently considering the proposal," said Simon Lewis, head of the U.K.-based Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA), one of the signatories to the letter.
"At a time of poor economic growth in many parts of the world, that is completely counter-productive," he told CNNMoney.
The countries planning to introduce the tax include the eurozone's top four economies, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
While the tax is only set at 0.1% of financial transactions and 0.01% of derivatives, analysts say the levy will have big economic consequences that will reverberate around the world. If levied on each party to a transaction, the costs could spiral out of control.
Related: IMF cuts global growth forecast
"0.1% could quickly become 1% if they charge at every stage of the transaction," said Lewis.
The associations' letter explains that the tax will apply to all transactions where the buyer or seller resides in one of the 11 nations, and also if a security is issued in one of participating countries. That means that if a French company sells corporate bonds to a Japanese bank, the tax will still apply and hit both parties.
Market associations in Australia, Canada, Japan and Korea also signed the letter.
First Published: April 19, 2013: 9:22 AM ET
The 2012 CRV is among the vehicles affected by the Honda recall.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
In the U.S., the recall affects roughly 128,000 Honda CR-V's and 59,000 Odysseys from model years 2012 and 2013, as well as 17,500 Acura RDX's from 2013, Honda said in a statement. Some 14,000 CR-V's, 4,500 Odysseys and 2,300 RDX's in Canada are also being recalled.
Honda said that in sub-freezing temperatures, these vehicles may be shifted out of park even with the brake pedal isn't depressed. There haven't been any complaints, crashes or injuries reported in connection with this issue, the Japanese automaker said.
Honda (HMC) will notify vehicle owners of the problem and direct them to dealerships where the issue will be resolved free of charge. Owners can check if their vehicle needs to be repaired at www.recalls.honda.com and www.recalls.acura.com.
This week's recall follows several similar headaches in the past few months.
In January, the company announced the recall of 748,000 Odyssey minivans and Pilot SUVs because of problems with their airbags. In March, the automaker ordered the recall of 180,000 vehicles in the United States, and almost 250,000 worldwide, because of a defect that could potentially cause the brakes to be applied inadvertently.
Just last week, Honda announced the recall of 1.1 million vehicles in order to replace their passenger airbag inflators.
In all cases, the company said it was not aware of any injuries resulting from the problems.
First Published: April 19, 2013: 12:53 PM ET
Friend Brooke Gibbs has raised more than $100,000 through her "Bucks for Bauman" campaign for Jeff Bauman, who lost both his legs in the bombing.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
A handful of efforts led by some victims' close friends and family members have gone viral, attracting thousands of donations from across the country and the world.
"Help for Patrick and Jess" -- a campaign on crowd fundraising site GiveForward.com -- raised $200,000 within 24 hours to benefit Patrick and Jessica Downes, newlyweds who both suffered severe leg injuries. So did the "Celeste & Sydney Recovery Fund," set up on GoFundMe.com for Celeste Corcoran and her teenage daughter Sydney, both severely injured by the blast.
The campaigns have now each reached nearly $400,000 and are continuing to grow, setting records for the most funds ever raised on their respective web platforms. Two other funds have already reached more than $100,000, while several others have raised tens of thousands of dollars. A few newer ones have raised a few thousand each.
"All of those people that were wondering what they could do to help, they suddenly had a resource," said Desiree Vargas Wrigley, chief executive officer and co-founder of GiveForward. "Most of these campaigns have exploded because of social media."
Tragedy in Boston: How to help
The campaigns appeal to both friends and complete strangers because people can give in a more personal way and see more immediate results, she said. Many of the organizers provide detailed descriptions of the victims and have already begun posting photos and updates on their condition.
"People get angry. They want to get involved. They want to help," said Brad Damphousse, chief executive officer of GoFundMe. "Crowdfunding is actually really empowering for donors."
The fundraisers' beneficiaries all suffered severe injuries, and are expected to incur hundreds of thousands of dollars or more in medical and rehabilitation costs.
*Medical bills are going to start rolling in, let's get a head start on helping out Bauman and his family. Every dollar counts!" organizer Brooke Gibbs wrote on her "Bucks for Bauman" page for Jeff Bauman, who lost both of his legs in the bombing and was the subject of a widely publicized photo showing an ashen Bauman being aided by a man in a cowboy hat. By Friday morning, the fund had raised more than $135,000.
Broader funds to help all 183 victims have also been created. "The One Fund Boston," established by Boston Mayor Tom Menino and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, has received millions of dollars in corporate commitments. Another campaign, "Technology supports victims of Boston Marathon Bombing" by local nonprofit Technology Underwriting Greater Good, said it raised nearly $200,000 as of Friday morning. That effort is also being aided by web fundraising efforts.
Related: Beware bogus Boston Marathon charity websites
Both GoFundMe and GiveForward, which charge transaction fees of about 5%, employ a variety of safeguards to deter scams and ensure that the funds go to the intended victims. GoFundMe requires organizers to link efforts to a legitimate Facebook profile and has a team that vets any suspicious campaigns. GiveForward assigns a live "fundraising coach" to each campaign, who both vets and guides the efforts, and will only write checks in the name of the named beneficiary, not the campaign organizer.
The campaigns have grown quickly as friends and family members of the victims tap their networks to get the word out, Damphousse said.
For example, the "Ann + Eric Whalley Recovery Fund" had raised more than $65,000 by Friday morning. The Whalleys, whose 25-year-old son Richard attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, were enjoying a walk along the marathon route when the bombs went off.
RIchard's former classmate Praveen Subramani learned on Facebook that both of Richard's parents had been severely injured by the explosions, and set up the fund on Tuesday from Santiago, Chile, where he is currently a Fulbright scholar. The MIT network immediately jumped to action to promote the efforts.
"It's been an incredibly testament to the power of networks and also technology to enable these kinds of things," Subramani said. "It's been a tragic experience, but also one that has contained a lot of hope for us."
The "Celeste & Sydney Recovery Fund," started by Celeste Corcoran's cousin Alyssa Carter, was originally set up with a goal of $20,000. Celeste lost both her legs in the bombing while her daughter Sydney, a high-school senior, suffered severe injuries from being hit by shrapnel.
Alyssa used her large family's Facebook network to promote the fund, and said the family has been touched by the overwhelming response from across the country and the world.
"It's just so much easier for them to focus on recovering and not thinking about everything that they're going to need," Carter said Friday morning. "Celeste is going to need lifelong support. They're going to need modifications to their home, prosthetics. It's going to be a struggle."
First Published: April 19, 2013: 12:28 PM ET
Who doesn't love Shamu? Investors do. SeaWorld made a big splash with its initial public offering.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Shares of the beloved killer whale's parent company SeaWorld Entertainment (SEAS) surged more than 24% on their debut on the New York Stock Exchange, where penguins, an otter and a lemur walked through the trading floor.
Backed by private equity firm Blackstone Group (BX), the amusement park giant raised $702 million by offering 26 million shares at $27 a piece, the top of its expected range. At that price, SeaWorld's market value comes in at about $2.5 billion. Blackstone bought SeaWorld from brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD)in 2009.
With the proceeds from the offering, the company plans to pay down some of its debt, said SeaWorld CEO Jim Atchison in an interview with CNN at the New York Stock Exchange.
Related: Q&A with SeaWorld CEO Jim Atchison
SeaWorld is also preparing for the opening of Antarctica: Empire of the Penguins at its Orlando theme park next month. Atchison, who began his career at the company nearly three decades ago as a parking attendant, said Antarctica will be home to 250 penguins and is one the company's most ambitious attractions.
The company, which operates a total of 11 theme parks including three SeaWorld locations as well as Busch Gardens, said it will pay shareholders a dividend of $0.80 a year, for a dividend yield of about 2%. Though dividends aren't typically associated with the IPO market, a growing number of newly public companies are making quarterly payouts.
Related: The IPO market's hottest craze: Dividends
Under Blackstone's ownership since late 2009, SeaWorld has increased its revenue and profits. In 2012, the company posted a 7% jump in revenue to $1.4 billion and a more than quadrupled its profit to $77.5 billion compared to the prior year.
Rival theme parks Six Flags (SIX) and Cedar Fair (FUN) rose more than 1% Friday. And both have had strong runs so far in 2013, with Six Flags shares up more almost 20% and Cedar Fair's stock up almost 25%.
First Published: April 19, 2013: 10:14 AM ET
Toyota Motor president Akio Toyoda, shown here in an image from 2010, announced Friday that the company is bringing Lexus production to Kentucky, adding 750 jobs.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Toyota Motor (TM) President Akio Toyoda announced that the company would build the Lexus ES sedan at the Kentucky plant where Toyota currently builds Camry, Camry Hybrid, Avalon Hybrid and Venza models.
"Lexus was founded in the United States, so it is only fitting that we are bringing the production of luxury sedans for our U.S. customers back to where the brand was born," said Toyoda, in a press conference.
Related: Car makers take Silicon Valley
The company does not currently build any Lexus models in the United States. It plans to begin making Lexus cars at the plant in 2015, adding 50,000 vehicles per year to the factory's production.
In a bid for the expansion, Kentucky gave Toyota nearly $150 million in state and local tax incentives, according to state documents.
The company said it is investing $360 million in into the factory.
Jim Lentz, chief executive officer of Toyota USA, told CNNMoney that the driving force behind building the Lexus ES in the U.S. was the tsunami that devastated part of Japan in 2011. He said the company can't afford to have another major manufacturing disruption like that. Adding ES production in the U.S. gives Toyota the option, should anything happen to stop production in Georgetown, of looking to Japan to continue the supply of cars.
The Kentucky plant will produce about 50,000 Lexus ES sedans annually, supplying almost all the Lexus ES cars to be sold in the U.S. Hybrid ES cars and only a few non-hybrid cars would continue to be imported from Japan.
Related: Remington jobs rule the Rust Belt
Kentucky's state unemployment rate currently stands at 7.9%, slightly higher than the national average of 7.7%. Scott County, where the plant is located, has an unemployment rate of 7%.
The plant is located on a 1,300-acre plot, and has a capacity to build 500,000 vehicles and engines, making it Toyota's first and largest factory in North America, according to state documents.
CNNMoney reporter Peter Valdes-Dapena contributed to this story.
First Published: April 19, 2013: 10:10 AM ET
Click chart for more markets data.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
But while the world watched the lockdown in Boston, the fear gripping the city showed few signs of spilling into the stock market Friday.
The Dow closed slightly higher despite concerns about the health of tech giant IBM (IBM, Fortune 500). Shares of IBM, which carries the biggest weighting in the Dow, dropped more than 6% Friday following weak earnings.
Yet the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ticked higher, gaining 0.9% and 1.3% respectively.
Mixed bag of earnings reports: Some of the world's biggest companies handed investors big surprises, but they offered no easy takeaways about the health of corporate America.
"No broader trend has emerged yet," said BTIG's chief market strategist Dan Greenhaus. "A lot of what we have seen is company specific."
Related: Fear & Greed Index stuck in fear
Take industrials. General Electric (GE, Fortune 500) spooked investors by noting its big backlog of equipment and services. Its stock fell 4%.
Yet, appliance maker Honeywell (HON, Fortune 500) reported an increase in first-quarter earnings, pushing up its stock price by 4%.
And Big Macs are not so hot. McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500) shares dropped after the hamburger maker noted a decline in same-store sales.
But Chipotle (CMG) -- one of hedge fund manager David Einhorn's least favorite stocks -- rose more than 10%. The Mexican food chain reported earnings that showed increases in revenue, income and same-store sales.
The contrasting reports continued in the tech sector. While IBM fell drastically, other tech stocks fared better. Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) got a big boost in its latest earnings report from strong Windows 8 sales.
Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) earnings topped estimates, even as the search giant faces challenges with how to make money off mobile ads and its Motorola smartphone unit.
Analysts expect earnings for S&P 500 companies to rise by 2% for the first quarter, according to S&P Capital IQ. But earnings season is far from over. So far, 104 S&P 500 companies have reported, with 70 beating forecasts, 23 missing and 11 coming in in line.
Apple, Dell and other M&A news: Shares of Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500), which have been in freefall lately, closed slightly lower, hitting another new 52-week low.
Meanwhile, Dell's (DELL, Fortune 500) stock slid more than 3% following reports that Blackstone (BX) had dropped its bid to buy the PC company.
Shares of PepsiCo (PEP, Fortune 500) and Mondelez (MDLZ) rose 2% and 5% respectively, after activist investor Nelson Peltz raised his stake in PepsiCo, according to an SEC filing. Peltz, who also holds a stake in Mondelez, is expected to push for a merger between the two, or some sort of combination of their food and snack businesses. PepsiCo said that it has been meeting with Peltz's Trian fund to reevaluate its business.
A mega beer merger received the Department of Justice's blessing. The DOJ agreed to allow the merger of Anheuser Busch InBev (BUD) and Grupo Modelo after Modelo sells certain U.S. assets to Constellation Brands (STZ).
SeaWorld (SEAS) debuted Friday with the amusement park operator's stock jumping more than 25%.
Related: Bitcoin bubble re-inflates
European markets closed mixed, led by a 1% gain on the CAC 40 in Paris.
Asian markets ended firmer. The Shanghai Composite closed up 2.1%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 2.3% and Japan's Nikkei up 0.7%.
The dollar rose against the pound and the Japanese yen, but fell against the euro.
Oil and gold prices edged higher.
The price on the 10-year Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 1.71%.
First Published: April 19, 2013: 9:52 AM ET
The Federal Aviation Administration cleared Boeing to make fixes to the battery system of the 787 Dreamliner. That paves the way for the aircraft to start flying again.
WASHINGTON (CNNMoney)
Nearly 50 Dreamliners have been grounded for the last four months, after two fires on Japanese jets prompted the FAA to order the planes grounded on Jan. 16.
Since then, Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) has redesigned the battery system. Next week, all airlines that have the 787 aircraft will start to install the new systems with the help of special teams deployed by Boeing, said spokesman Marc Birtel. He couldn't say when the 787 Dreamliners would begin flying again.
Boeing basically revamped the internal battery components to minimize the chances of a short circuit. It also improved the insulation of the battery cells, and created a new "containment and venting" system that is supposed to prevent overheating from affecting the plane.
"Safety of the traveling public is our number one priority. These changes to the 787 battery will ensure the safety of the aircraft and its passengers," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
The move to approve the planes for flight has been expected. FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta predicted at a Senate hearing on Tuesday that it would happen soon.
Boeing has already completed 20 tests with the new battery technology, Huerta said during that hearing.
United Airlines (UAL, Fortune 500), which has six of the jets, is the only U.S. airline to take delivery of the Dreamliners so far. Boeing's customers are eager to get them into service, since they use lightweight composite materials that greatly improve fuel economy.
The Dreamliner has sold well in Asia and the Middle East, where airlines depend on long-range flights for much of their business, and can benefit most from the improvements in fuel economy.
The problems with the new battery technology have already prompted Boeing's European rival Airbus to revert to standard nickel-cadmium batteries in its A350 plane. The A350 had been designed to compete with the Dreamliner, and is due to make its first test flight in the middle of this year.
The approval for the battery fix comes just a few days before the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates traffic and aircraft incidents, will convene for a two-day investigation into the fires.
Boeing's shares were up 2% Friday afternoon.
-- CNN's Mike Ahlers contributed to this report.
First Published: April 19, 2013: 4:02 PM ET
Anheuser-Busch InBev and Grupo Modelo are currently the number-one and -three brewers in the U.S. market, respectively.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The Justice Department announced Friday that it had reached a settlement with Anheuser-Busch InBev and Grupo Modelo to resolve the anti-trust suit it filed earlier this year in response to their proposed merger.
Under the agreement, Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) can move ahead with plans to acquire the 50% of Grupo Modelo (GPMCF) it does not already own for $20.1 billion, but it must sell Modelo's U.S. business in order to preserve competition in the American beer market. It must also sell one of Modelo's brewing facilities in Mexico.
The proposed buyer is Constellation Brands -- a wine and liquor producer whose brands include Robert Mondavi and SVEDKA Vodka -- which will acquire the assets for roughly $4.75 billion. Constellation will then have the exclusive right to sell Modelo products in the U.S.
The settlement is subject to a 60-day comment period before it goes before a judge for approval.
The Justice Department's Bill Baer called the agreement "a win for the $80 billion U.S. beer market and consumers."
"Before the merger, there were two competitors -- Modelo and ABI -- and ABI owned a substantial stake in Modelo. The companies' proposed merger would have reduced those two competitors to one -- ABI," Baer said in a statement. "The proposed settlement announced today will create an independent, fully integrated and economically viable competitor to ABI."
ABI was created in 2008 when Belguim's InBev took over Anheuser-Busch in a $52 billion transaction. It currently leads all brewers with a 39% share of the U.S. beer market, producing more than 200 brands including Budweiser, Busch, Michelob and Stella Artois.
Modelo, based in Mexico, is number three in the U.S. market with a 7% share. It produces Corona Extra, the top-selling import in the U.S., as well brands like Modelo Especial and Pacifico.
Related: Small craft breweries hit it big
The two companies originally announced ABI's planned takeover last year, but the Justice Department sued to block the transaction. The companies announced a revised deal in February that was largely similar to the agreement announced Friday.
ABI said that once a judge signs off on the agreement, it will "move swiftly to complete the pending transactions" with Modelo and Constellation.
The Modelo merger "has always been about Mexico and making Corona more global in all markets other than the U.S.," ABI spokeswoman Laura Vallis said in an email. The combination, she added, will create "a significant growth opportunity worldwide from combining two leading brand portfolios and distribution networks."
As part of the new agreement, Constellation must expand production of current Modelo products for the U.S. market in order to help preserve competition. Constellation CEO Rob Sands called the deal "a significant milestone for Constellation as the most transformational event in the history of our 68-year-old company."
"Overall, this transaction will nearly double the sales of our company, significantly enhance our earnings and free cash flow, diversify our profit stream and provide new avenues for growth," Sands said in a statement.
Modelo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Constellation (STZ) shares closed up 2.5% Friday following the announcement, while Anheuser-Busch InBev rose 1.7%.
First Published: April 19, 2013: 6:02 PM ET
| Friday, April 19th 2013, 22:38 GMT |
Matt Kenseth set a new track record at Kansas Speedway to claim pole for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race
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Subscribe to Premier Sports TV to watch all Sprint Cup events live in the UK. Visit www.premiersports.tv for more information.
| By Mark Glendenning | Friday, April 19th 2013, 22:50 GMT |
Ryan Hunter-Reay went fastest in a patchy second IndyCar practice session at Long Beach, with track time interrupted four times by red flags
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Scott Mitchell | Saturday, April 20th 2013, 01:44 GMT |
Neel Jani claimed another American Le Mans Series pole position for Rebellion with a dominant performance at Long Beach
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| By Pablo Elizalde | Thursday, April 18th 2013, 16:29 GMT |
The Tech 3 MotoGP team says it is ready to compete in the Grand Prix of the Americas this weekend despite a fire in its garage overnight
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| By Sam Tremayne | Thursday, April 18th 2013, 16:36 GMT |
Toyota is hopeful the arrival of its 2013 TS030 HYBRID will allow it to once again carry the fight to Audi in this year's World Endurance Championship
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| By Gary Watkins | Thursday, April 18th 2013, 18:37 GMT |
Long-time BMW driver Bill Auberlen has been loaned out to Aston Martin for the Le Mans 24 Hours.
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| By David Evans | Wednesday, April 17th 2013, 15:54 GMT |
M-Sport's Ford Fiesta R5 could make its public debut on next month's Tour de Corse - while Citroen's DS3 R5 is expected to start testing this week after it was unveiled in Portugal last week
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| By Gary Watkins | Wednesday, April 17th 2013, 16:01 GMT |
The hydrogen fuel cell-powered prototype that will take the spot on the Le Mans 24 Hours grid reserved for an experimental car has run on track for the first time
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| By Gary Watkins | Wednesday, April 17th 2013, 19:12 GMT |
IndyCar race winner Ryan Briscoe will make his Le Mans 24 Hours debut in June with the Level 5 Motorsports squad.
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| Tuesday, April 16th 2013, 16:21 GMT |
Bahrain preview quotes: Force India
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| Tuesday, April 16th 2013, 16:41 GMT |
Bahrain GP: Lotus preview quotes
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| Tuesday, April 16th 2013, 16:44 GMT |
Bahrain GP: Red Bull preview quotes
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'); if (google_ads[0].type == "text") { for(i=0; i '; } s += '' + '' + '' + google_ads[i].line1 + '| By Scott Mitchell | Monday, April 15th 2013, 15:34 GMT |
Silverstone will host a free open day the week after the British Grand Prix to encourage people to participate in motorsport.
You have viewed over 30 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, April 15th 2013, 16:06 GMT |
Lotus insists it is not worried that Red Bull may try to lure Kimi Raikkonen away next year.
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| By Jamie O'Leary | Monday, April 15th 2013, 16:53 GMT |
Audi's 2013 DTM line-up is its best ever, according to the manufacturer's motorsport chief Wolfgang Ullrich.
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| By Gary Watkins | Sunday, April 14th 2013, 18:15 GMT |
Allan McNish pulled back a deficit of nearly half a minute over the final 40 minutes of the Silverstone 6 Hours to claim a thrilling victory for the #2 Audi he shared with Tom Kristensen and Loic Duval from the marque's sister car
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| By Edd Straw | Sunday, April 14th 2013, 19:52 GMT |
Formula 1 teams running rookie drivers during Friday morning practice are set to get an extra set of tyres from the Spanish Grand Prix onwards
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| By Leigh Armes | Sunday, April 14th 2013, 21:05 GMT |
Daniel Zampieri, Davide Rigon and Cesar Ramos claimed victory for the Kessel Racing Ferrari squad in the opening round of this year's Blancpain Endurance Series at Monza
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| By David Evans | Saturday, April 13th 2013, 17:04 GMT |
Robert Kubica has retired from the Rally of Portugal for the second day in succession
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| By Craig Scarborough | Saturday, April 13th 2013, 19:02 GMT |
Red Bull has suffered another weekend of grid penalties as result of refuelling errors in China, with Mark Webber dropped to the back of the grid after stopping out on the circuit during qualifying
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| Sunday, April 14th 2013, 02:07 GMT |
Will Davison gave Ford its first win of the 2013 V8 Supercars season in a wild third race at Pukekohe, and took the championship lead in the process
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A bankruptcy judge ruled against a $20 million severance package for American Airlines CEO Tom Horton.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
But the airline says it will continue to push for CEO Tom Horton to get the payoff. And the judge left the door open to reconsider the request in future, or for the company to approve the windfall for Horton once its merger with US Airways (LCC, Fortune 500) is complete.
Horton is losing his CEO position when American and US Airways merge, which is expected to take place later this year. US Airways CEO Doug Parker, who pushed for the deal that Horton initially opposed, will get the corner office instead, although Horton will hold the position as non-executive chairman for a year.
Horton became CEO the day American parent AMR (AAMRQ, Fortune 500) filed for bankruptcy in November 2011, having served as president of the Dallas-based airline before then.
The $20 million payday, which would be half in cash and half in stock in the new merged airline, was opposed by the bankruptcy court trustee, who is appointed to protect the interests of creditors in the case.
Related: Bankruptcy judge OKs American-US Airways merger
Judge Sean Lane agreed with the trustee's argument that the payment was too great to be approved as part of the court's approval of the merger. He said the law was changed after bankruptcies at Enron and WorldCom to make court approval of such golden parachutes more difficult.
The new law "eradicate(s) the notion that executives were entitled to bonuses simply for staying with the company through the bankruptcy process," the judge said.
But Lane did say in the ruling that it is possible he could approve the payoff later in the bankruptcy process, just not as part of his initial approval of the merger itself. He said that if he had approved the case at this point on the bankruptcy case, it would have locked the severance plan in a way that could not be changed.
American's statement Thursday indicated it will seek the court's approval of the proposed $20 million golden parachute later in the process.
Related: How 10 airlines got down to the "Final Four"
Lane also pointed out that, if it wants to, the newly merged company can give Horton the $20 million severance package once the new company is out of bankruptcy.
"Although the court is constrained by [bankruptcy code] ...requirements in considering the proposed severance now, [the merged airline] will not have such restrictions and instead will answer only to its shareholders," Lane wrote.
First Published: April 12, 2013: 11:04 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The campaign to fund a low-budget feature film based on the TV series, which ran from 2004 to 2007, was launched last month by series creator Rob Thomas and star Kristen Bell.
The campaign was set to end at 11 p.m. ET Friday, and with less than seven hours to go, it had raised more than $5.5 million from more than 88,000 backers. According to the campaign page, this gave the film the most Kickstarter backers in history, topping the 87,142 backers for Double Fine Adventure's video game last year.
"We did it! We did it! This is amazing! You all are amazing!" Thomas tweeted. "My phone is vibrating non-stop. This is so much fun!"
The campaign already made Kickstarter history when it raised $1 million in a record 4 hours and 24 minutes. In less than 24 hours, it surpassed its $2 million goal.
Although progress slowed after the initial push, its funding continued to grow, topping $5 million on Wednesday. Throughout the campaign, Thomas and Bell actively solicited new donors, adding perks for different funding levels in an effort to break the record for the most-supported project. They even added a $1 donation, which would fetch Thomas and Bell's "eternal gratitude" and give access to project updates.
Still, many of the most coveted (and expensive) perks -- like naming one of the movie's characters or being an extra in the film -- went quickly.
Related: The first day of the Veronica Mars campaign
Veronica Mars starred Bell as a teenage detective in a fictional California town, and has maintained a loyal fan base for years. A feature film nearly became a reality a few years ago, but Warner Brothers ultimately decided there wasn't enough interest to commit to a major studio movie.
But now, thanks to the campaign's success, Thomas and Bell say the film will shoot this summer for a scheduled 2014 release.
"We have the funds now to make a rocking movie for you guys," Bell said in a video on the Kickstarter page. "We are so excited, so grateful and you've surpassed anything that we thought you could do."
Warner Brothers is committed to distributing and marketing the film, but it is unclear whether they will commit any additional funds to the movie's budget. Warner Brothers declined to comment. (Warner Brothers is owned by CNNMoney parent company Time Warner (TWX, Fortune 500).)
Supporters say the campaign has paved a new way for cult film projects to find funding, but critics question whether Kickstarter is the right venue for a studio film.
Either way, Hollywood has taken notice.
"We can't say definitely where this will lead for us, for filmmaking, or for Hollywood," Peter Binazeski, vice president of public relations for Warner Brothers Digital Distribution, wrote on a company blog. "But we can say this: Yes, there will be a Veronica Mars movie."
First Published: April 12, 2013: 5:21 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The 25-acre property boasts 42,500-square-feet of living space, including a main house and pool and guest houses, according to listing agent, Douglas Newby.
Originally built in the late 1930's for an Italian count named Pio Crespi, the property is currently owned by Tom Hicks, a financier and the one-time owner of the Texas Rangers.
Hicks and his wife, Cinda, bought the home for an undisclosed amount 16 years ago and have since spent roughly $100 million on renovations.
Related: Mansion for sale. Swim in your own living room
The home's original designer, Swiss-born Maurice Fatio, re-purposed fixtures and materials from old European estates for use in the home, said Newby. The library shelves are carved walnut originally made in the 1800s for a Palazzo in Bologna, Italy and there's a 19th-century parquet floor from France and 10th-century Delft tiles from Holland.
Hicks imported workers from Europe to replicate the carvings and finishes. He even went to the quarry in Indiana to get the original limestone that was used in the home.
"Not only to the quarry but to the same spot in the quarry to get limestone that matched," said Newby.
Related: Slide through NYC's penthouse playroom
There are modern updates too, including a media room with four rows of big, stuffed chairs and a well-equipped gym.
The home's listing price is based on area land prices, which average about $2 million an acre, said Newby. And the buildings were valued at about $2,000 a square-foot, close to what the renovations cost.
"So many of the great estate houses have been converted to public purposes so it's quite remarkable that a house like this is still in private hands," said Newby.
First Published: April 12, 2013: 11:14 AM ET
The U.K.'s consumer protection agency is concerned that children are being pressured into making online purchases in 'free' apps.
LONDON (CNNMoney)
The Office of Fair Trading said it was concerned that some apps and games may be "misleading, commercially aggressive or otherwise unfair," which would breach consumer protection rules.
The government's consumer protection agency said it had contacted companies that offer free web or app-based games to learn more about their marketing tactics. It said it would not identify the companies.
Smartphone ownership among British children aged 5 to 15 shot up to 28% in 2012 from 20% in 2011, according to U.K. telecom regulator, Ofcom.
Related: Wanna invest like Buffett? There's an app for that
Phone regulator PhonepayPlus recently published a report saying complaints related to children and online apps had risen by 300% over the last year.
Earlier this year Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) settled a U.S. lawsuit filed by parents who said their kids downloaded free games from the mobile App Store and racked up hefty bills by buying in-game extras.
Apple agreed to offer a $5 iTunes gift card to any U.S. parent who claimed that their child paid for extras without their knowledge. The company said it would offer larger credits or cash refunds to people who could prove that their bills were larger than $5.
Related: Apple's controversial cash cow: Free apps that sell extras
In the past few years, the 'freemium' business model has become increasingly popular in mobile and social gaming. Zynga (ZNGA)'s "FarmVille" led the way for games that are free to download and play but then require players to pay for in-game upgrades or premium content.
First Published: April 12, 2013: 11:51 AM ET
