| Wednesday, October 30th 2013, 15:01 GMT |
Simon Trummer will stay with Rapax for a third GP2 campaign in 2014.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By David Evans | Wednesday, October 30th 2013, 17:09 GMT |
Malcolm Wilson says he is ready to return Mikko Hirvonen to winning ways if the Finn chose to join M-Sport for next season's World Rally Championship
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Edd Straw | Wednesday, October 30th 2013, 17:25 GMT |
Adrian Newey insists he is committed to winning more Formula 1 world championships with Red Bull after the team racked up its fourth consecutive title double
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, October 29th 2013, 15:26 GMT |
Red Bull chiefs believe that Sebastian Vettel will not be tempted by racing for another team in Formula 1 as long as they provide him with a good car.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
 |
| Tuesday, October 29th 2013, 15:39 GMT |
Jorge Lorenzo believes he is the form man heading into MotoGP's 2013 title-decider at Valencia.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Peter Mills | Tuesday, October 29th 2013, 20:38 GMT |
Tamas Pal Kiss has topped the second and final day of Auto GP testing at Jerez, the last official on-track activity for the category in 2013.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, October 28th 2013, 16:35 GMT |
Lotus believes that Pirelli was too cautious with its recommended maximum stint lengths ahead of the Indian Grand Prix.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Pablo Elizalde | Monday, October 28th 2013, 17:18 GMT |
Lotus boss Eric Boullier has apologised for the radio exchange between Kimi Raikkonen and Alan Permane during the Indian Grand Prix
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Peter Mills | Monday, October 28th 2013, 19:34 GMT |
Meindert van Buuren topped the first day of Auto GP's post-season test at Jerez on Monday for Super Nova
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble | Sunday, October 27th 2013, 15:02 GMT |
Red Bull was genuinely concerned Sebastian Vettel's 2013 Formula 1 title celebrations were going to be dampened by a car failure in the Indian Grand Prix
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Sunday, October 27th 2013, 21:38 GMT |
Jeff Gordon scored his first NASCAR Sprint Cup race win of 2013 at Martinsville, as title rivals Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson drew level in the standings
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
Subscribe to Premier Sports TV to watch all Sprint Cup events live in the UK. Visit www.premiersports.tv for more information.
| By Jamie O'Leary | Saturday, October 26th 2013, 16:12 GMT |
Jari-Matti Latvala led Dani Sordo by just 1.6 seconds at the end of a second day of the Rally of Spain that remained remarkably free of tactical driving
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jamie O'Leary | Saturday, October 26th 2013, 18:14 GMT |
Red Bull junior drivers Carlos Sainz Jr and Antonio Felix da Costa sealed qualification for the Macau Grand Prix with a clean sweep of Snetterton's F3 Cup race on Saturday
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By David Evans | Saturday, October 26th 2013, 18:29 GMT |
Jari-Matti Latvala says his chances of winning Rally of Spain depend solely on the weather conditions
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
Kirk Hammett (right) may want to wear a shirt with sleeves when Metallica plays in Antarctica this December.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
"After over 30 years as a band, we have been unbelievably fortunate to visit just about every corner of the earth . . . except for one," announced the band on its web site. "That is all about to change as we are set travel to Antarctica, the only continent that Metallica has never played on until now!!"
The heavy metal band, known for such classics as "Trapped Under Ice," said it is partnering with Coca Cola Zero for a performance on Dec. 8 near a heliport at the Carlini Station in the South Pole. The base is located on King George Island, also known as Isla 25 de Mayo, and controlled by Argentina.
Coca Cola (KO, Fortune 500) and the band are inviting fans from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico to enter a contest via Twitter. A total of 10 winners will be chosen to take an eight-day cruise from Tierra del Fuego to Antarctica to attend the concert, which features the band's frontman James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich as well as Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo.
Related: Megadeth's Mustaine rips Men's Wearhouse
The band and Coca Cola did not explain why only five countries are covered by the promo.
December is the peak of summer in the Southern Hemisphere, so Metallica is playing during the warmest time of the year. However, anticipating some inclement weather at the frigid pole, they're planning to perform under a dome.
The band didn't respond to CNNMoney's inquiry as to whether they'll be playing "Trapped Under Ice." 
First Published: October 25, 2013: 12:40 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Gross, who runs the giant bond fund Pimco Total Return (PTTAX), raised eyebrows Thursday after he picked a Twitter fight with Icahn, who had just demanded that Apple buy back $150 billion of its own stock.
"Icahn should leave #Apple alone & spend more time like Bill Gates," Gross said on Twitter, referring to the Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) chairman who's now famous for his philanthropic efforts. "If #Icahn's so smart, use it to help people not yourself."
The harsh words were surprising coming from Gross, an avid yoga fan who prefers to wear his ties undone. There's also the fact that Gross is known more for his calls on Treasuries and interest rates, not tech stocks.
But it's worth remembering that Apple sold $17 billion worth of bonds in May, the largest corporate debt offering in history.
For the record, Pimco doesn't appear to own any Apple bonds, which are not listed among the holdings in the ETF that tracks Pimco's Investment Grade Corporate Bond (CORP) fund. It's also not listed as holding in the ETF that mirrors the Total Return Fund (BOND).
Pimco does own a small stake in Apple's common stock, according to FactSet. A spokesman did not immediately respond to questions about whether Pimco owned any Apple bonds.
Related: Apple at $532: Look whose price targets are underwater now
In theory, Icahn's plan for a huge stock repurchase poses a threat to Apple's credit quality. If Apple gives in to Icahn's demands, it would end up with less cash and more debt on its balance sheet.
This is troubling for Apple bondholders, since part of the company's appeal is that it has a lot of cash and not much debt. There aren't that many high-quality corporate bonds out there. Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ, Fortune 500) are among the few AAA-rated issuers. Apple's bonds are rated AA by the rating agencies.
What's more, Apple has already shown a willingness to listen to activist investors, including David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital.
Although Apple did not agree to Einhorn's proposal to issue preferred shares, Apple did increase its existing buyback program to $60 billion from $10 billion in April. The bond sale, a surprising move by the usually fiscally conservative Apple, was done to help finance the repurchase of stock.
Gary Jenkins, credit analyst at Swordfish Research, pointed out that bondholders are nervous because Apple already made a move to appease a vocal shareholder. So that makes it more likely that Apple may do something to quiet Icahn,
While Apple may not borrow as much as Icahn wants, "they probably will gradually change the structure of the balance sheet over time so that the credit profile is more in line with a single A rated credit," said Jenkins.
Still, there are reasons to doubt that Icahn will be successful, despite his veiled threat of a proxy fight.
For one, Apple's share price has risen 30% since it upped its share buyback program in April. So buying back stock now would be more expensive and seems less necessary.
Additionally, Icahn lost a similar battle at Transocean (RIG) in May, when shareholders approved a smaller dividend increase than he wanted.
The real threat for Apple bond holders is the general trend of rising interest rates, said Jody Lurie, corporate credit analyst at Janney Capital Markets.
She said Icahn is not an immediate concern, but acknowledged that "there is a certain level of discomfort when an activist investor comes into company and stirs up talk of additional shareholder rewards."
But in a somewhat surprising show of restraint, Icahn didn't push back against Gross. Speaking on CNBC Thursday, the notoriously scrappy New York native, who publicly sparred with hedge fund manager Bill Ackman this year, said he respects Gross and other top investors who have criticized his methods.
"I think that Bill Gross certainly has a right to his opinion," said Icahn, who proceeded to compare his push to get Apple to reward shareholders with President Theodore Roosevelt's trust busting campaign in the early 1900s.
First Published: October 25, 2013: 12:53 PM ET
Click chart for more markets data.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
That helped push the S&P 500 to an all-time high Friday. The index ended the week up nearly 1%.
The Dow and the Nasdaq rose Friday as well and also ended the week up about 1%. The Nasdaq is within striking distance of 4,000, a level it last hit in September 2000.
Friday's tech titans: Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500) posted a loss, but sales were much better than forecasts. Amazon's shares soared nearly 10%.
Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) easily topped estimates for sales and profits. Those results helped push its stock up nearly 6%.
Even Zynga (ZNGA), the troubled online video game company, surprised Wall Street by reporting losses that were slimmer than expected, sending shares up nearly 6%.
Related: Amazon trumps Wall Street predictions
Other prominent tech companies, such as Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) and LinkedIn (LNKD), fell.
Traders on StockTwits were closely monitoring the tech sector.
AheadoftheNews noted that Amazon and Microsoft were moving up at the expense of Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) and Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500): "so little cash on sidelines, players have to rotate out of $GOOG and $AAPL to buy more $AMZN and $MSFT. M-A-N-I-A."
For Microsoft, which had been a market laggard the past few years, the jump was a welcome surprise. "$MSFT havent see this move like this for many years," wrote bullvsbear.
Several traders were wary of the big moves in Zynga, which has been struggling this year: "$ZNGA what justifies this jump? Revenue dropped, users dropped by 50%. Only 1 game in top 50 grossing on mobile. Just don't see growth Bearish," span77 wrote.
Don't fight the Fed ... and are consumers really less confident? Investors have been pleased by earnings reports, but they also remained convinced that the Federal Reserve will delay winding back its massive bond-buying program. The Fed has a policy meeting next week and is widely expected to say it will continue buying $85 billion in bonds and mortgage-backed securities a month.
The University of Michigan's October reading on consumer confidence fell far below expectations and was also below September's levels.
Related: Fear & Greed Index continues to show greed is good
Still, UPS (UPS, Fortune 500) is confident that consumers will be shopping in force over the holidays. The shipping giant predicted a robust holiday season, which sent shares up more than 1%. The company also reported quarterly income that exceeded forecasts. Earlier this week, UPS rival FedEx (FDX, Fortune 500) said it thought that Cyber Monday, the first Monday after Thanksgiving, will be its busiest day ever.
Twitter's IPO is coming soon: Twitter revealed late Thursday that it plans to raise upwards of $1.4 billion in its initial public offering, selling 70 million shares at between $17 and $20 per share. At the high end of that range, Twitter would be worth nearly $11 billion.
First Published: October 25, 2013: 9:47 AM ET
Nationwide gas prices are falling in the wake of weak demand.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The average price of unleaded gasoline dropped to $2.991 per gallon in Missouri, cementing its status as the state with the lowest gas prices in the country, according to motorist club AAA.
Missouri's proximity to refineries in the Midwest are a big reason for its low prices, according to oil trader Dan Dicker, author of "Oil's Endless Bid."
"It's about supply and transport costs," he said. "Basically, the states closest to the refiners will get a greater benefit than those further away.
The Midwestern refineries get their oil from the Bakken shale formation in North Dakota and Montana, and the Eagle Ford formation in Texas, which have been experiencing a glut in supply, said Dicker.
Related: Chamber of Commerce: Raise gas tax to fix roads
In addition to its proximity to refineries in Illinois, Kansas and Oklahoma, the state of Missouri "is served by numerous pipelines carrying petroleum products," said Michael Right, spokesman for AAA in Missouri. He said it helps that Missouri has no sales tax on gas and also charges a relatively low gasoline tax of 17 cents per gallon.
The last time statewide average prices were below $3 per gallon was on Feb. 7.
After that, prices climbed from worries over the war in Syria and unrest in Egypt. More recently, there's been relative calm in the Middle east.
Related: States' pledge could boost electric car business
Gas prices have been falling nationwide. The average price for a gallon of unleaded gas was $3.315 on Friday, compared to $3.360 a week ago and $3.599 a year ago.
The partial government shutdown during the first half of October also sapped demand for gas, as it fueled anxiety among consumers, said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst with Gasbuddy.com.
Kloza said nationwide gas prices might stay close to the $3-per-gallon mark between early November and Christmas, before demand for holiday travel may drive them back up again.
"People have a very, very dim outlook for the economy," he said. "That tends to manifest itself in less purchasing."
First Published: October 25, 2013: 11:43 AM ET
Click the chart to track Tesla's stocks.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
"The stock price that we have is more than we have any right to deserve," he said in London Thursday at the opening of a Tesla showroom in London. And he's got a point. Shares are up 400% this year and are trading a nearly 100 times 2014 earnings estimates.
It's not the first time Musk has said that Tesla (TSLA) shares are flying too high, but investors haven't really bothered to pay attention. He used almost the same language about the stock's valuation during an interview with CNBC in August. But the stock has climbed 10% since then.
Musk's latest comments come just a few days after Netflix (NFLX) CEO Reed Hasting's note of caution about his company's stock. In a letter to shareholders that accompanied the company's earnings report, Hastings said some of the "euphoria" for the stock feels like 2003, when shares of Netflix rallied 400%. The stock plunged in 2004 and has been fairly volatile for the past decade.
Related: Carl Icahn dumps more than half of his Netflix stake
This year, Netflix's stock is up a considerable 260%, making it the second best-performing stock in the S&P 500. Shares are trading at 85 times 2014 earnings estimates.
"Momentum investors" are "driving the price more than we like normally," Hastings added during a conference call with analysts to discuss its strong third-quarter earnings.
It's fairly rare that CEOs try to talk down their stocks, given that one of their goals is to boost shareholder value. Experts say investors should take heed.
"If the guy who runs the company and has insight is saying something, you need to read those tea leaves," said Joe Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading.
In September 1999, Steve Ballmer, who was then president of Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500), warned that the overvaluation of technology stocks at the time was absurd. He included Microsoft in that category. Shares of Microsoft eventually plummeted with the rest of tech after the dotcom bubble burst in 2000. (Ballmer is now Microsoft CEO, but he will be retiring at some point within the next year.)
Related: Tesla: A trap for small investors?
Investors should also keep an eye on what insiders and other big investors are doing with momentum stocks, Saluzzi said. Earlier this week, billionaire Carl Icahn said he dumped more than half his stake in Netflix and booked a sweet profit.
Still, it's difficult to call a top for momentum stocks.
"The market can be irrational, and who knows how high these stocks can go," Saluzzi said.
Short-sellers, investors who bet certain stocks will go down, have all but given up on the high flying names. Short interest, which is the number of shares being held by short sellers, in Netflix has declined from almost 15% of outstanding shares in January to less than 2% now. In Tesla, short interest dropped from almost 25% earlier this year to just 10%.
"It's very difficult to short these stocks" Saluzzi said. "Even if investors have good reasons they think the stock should go down, they can get their faces ripped off."
And even though Musk warns Tesla's stock is too high now, he is optimistic that somewhere down the line, Tesla will grow into its current valuation.
"We're going to do our best to fulfill the expectations of investors, and I think in the long term that stock price is going to seem fair," he said.
But would you really expect him to say otherwise?
First Published: October 25, 2013: 12:39 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Twitter set the preliminary price range for its initial public offering at $17 to $20 per share late Thursday. At the top of that range, the company would be worth $11 billion.
That's lower than the $15 billion to $20 billion valuation that some experts had predicted.
Even the $11 billion figure might sound high given that Twitter is unprofitable. But investing in a company is about belief in its future potential, not its current situation.
In a note to clients on Friday, SunTrust analyst Robert Peck said Twitter "wisely started the pricing conservatively" -- and he expects the company to raise its range, which isn't binding, over the next few weeks.
"[Twitter] left room to raise the range based on potential investor demand, which we anticipate will be strong," Peck said. He based that demand prediction on discussions with several investors over the past few weeks, which leads him to believe the deal will be "well received."
In fact, Peck set a $50 price target on Twitter.
Related story: Why is Twitter spending so much on R&D?
Morningstar analyst Rick Summer hasn't yet set his price target, but he noted that Twitter's valuation is "rich" when comparing its financial performance with that of Facebook (FB, Fortune 500) and LinkedIn (LNKD). Still, he's extremely positive about the company's offerings and business model.
"Twitter is a very unique medium, and we think that speaks extremely well of the company," Summer said. "It's not just about selling ads on the side of a page and measuring impressions."
Twitter runs ads for corporate accounts, specific tweets and topics, and the sponsored content is tucked right into users' feeds. Advertising accounted 85% of Twitter's revenue in 2012.
"They've done a good job of offering unique advertising and not forcing products that don't work," Summer said. "They dominate their market and really partner with companies, which use Twitter to distribute their content widely. It's attractive."
Twitter has also been quick to offer those ad products on mobile. Three-quarters of Twitter's monthly active users accessed the service on a mobile device last quarter, and mobile ads brought in 70% of its total ad revenue.
Mobile was the big area where Facebook suffered -- and, as a result, so did its stock. So it's a big plus that Twitter has figured out this important part of its business.
But Nate Elliott, lead social analyst at Forrester, cautioned against judging Twitter through the lens of Facebook.
Twitter was founded more than seven years ago, while Facebook had eight years under its belt when it went public in 2012. That's not too much of a difference from a timeline perspective, but Elliott pointed out that the two social networks have very different histories.
Related story: Twitter hires NBC's Vivian Schiller as news chief
"The big comparison everyone is making is how Twitter stacks up to Facebook," said Nate Elliott, lead social analyst at Forrester. "But Twitter is at a much earlier stage of business than Facebook was when it went public. Twitter is still figuring out how to best serve its audience."
Twitter may be more green than Facebook, and is certainly less popular -- it has about a fifth of Facebook's user base. But that newness could be to Twitter's advantage.
"We've had advertising partners tell us they're kind of burned out on Facebook, but they haven't gotten to that point on Twitter yet," Elliott said. "That doesn't mean they're necessarily sold on Twitter. But they're listening."
First Published: October 25, 2013: 12:55 PM ET
A jury has awarded $3 million in the case of a fatal crash involving this Toyota Camry.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The settlement was reached the day after a $3 million jury verdict that was the first court loss for Toyota in an unintended acceleration case. On Thursday, the Oklahoma City jury awarded $1.5 million each to the injured woman and the survivors of the woman who was killed.
The jury also found Toyota liable of "reckless disregard" for the public's safety. It was due to start consider whether Toyota would pay additional punitive damages to the victims. But the plaintiffs' lawyers announced Friday they had reached a settlement with Toyota for an undisclosed amount that would cover both the damages and the potential punitive payout.
"While we strongly disagree with the verdict, we are satisfied that the parties reached a mutually acceptable agreement to settle this case," said Toyota in a statement. "We will continue to defend our products vigorously at trial in other legal venues."
According to plaintiff attorney Cole Portis, Toyota continues to deny it was at fault in the settlement. But he said the agreement ends the chance for Toyota to appeal the verdict and will get the money for the elderly plaintiffs without delay.
"We are fully convinced that Toyota's conduct from the time the electronic throttle control system (ETCS) was designed has been shameful" said Portis. "We appreciate that the jury had the courage to let Toyota and the public know that Toyota was reckless. Hopefully, Toyota will recall all of their questionable vehicles and install a computer that will be safe."
Toyota has already agreed to pay $1.1 billion to settle a class-action suit by car owners who saw the resale value of their cars decline. A little more than half of the settlement went toward installing a "brake override" system in affected vehicles. But that settlement does not cover cases in which personal injury or death occurred. According to financial filings, the automaker still faces more than 700 unintended acceleration cases.
Related: Toyota recalls 870,000 vehicles for spider-related problems
Incidents of unintended acceleration were a major problem for Toyota in 2010, forcing it to temporarily halt both production and sales of eight of its models, and to recall 2.3 million vehicles. The recall caused significant damage to Toyota's reputation for vehicle quality and safety, and hurt its market share even after it resumed selling the recalled models.
Toyota eventually paid more than $66 million to U.S. safety regulators in four separate fines after an intensive 10-month federal investigation into the problem. Authorities found no fault with the automaker's electronic throttle control systems, but they did conclude Toyota failed to report in a timely manner problems with floor mats that held down the accelerator pedal, as well as faulty gas pedals that got stuck.
Related; Toyota Corolla struggles in new crash test
The Japanese carmaker has started to recover some of its lost market share, and recaptured its title as the world's top automaker in 2012. But Thursday's verdict is an unwanted reminder of its recent problems.
The crash involved Jean Bookout, who was driving the 2005 Camry, and her passenger Barbara Schwarz. They were driving near Lake Eufaula in Oklahoma when the car started to accelerate. Bookout, who was 76 at the time of the accident, said she not only used the brake but the emergency brake to try to stop the car.
Toyota lawyers in the case argued that Bookout must have hit the gas rather than the brake. But the plaintiff's attorneys argued that there were 150 feet of skid marks at the scene of the accident.
Related: Tesla doges full investigation after fiery crash
The plaintiff's attorneys argued the accident was caused by defects in Toyota's electronic throttle control system, specifically in the embedded computer system. While Toyota cited the federal probe that found no fault with the electronic control system, the jury was not convinced.
First Published: October 25, 2013: 10:34 AM ET
Passengers were stuck on planes for stretches ranging from just over three hours to nearly four-and-a-half hours.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The DOT said the penalty is the largest for such a violation since a rule limiting long tarmac delays took effect in April 2010. The rule states that U.S. airlines with with 30 or more passenger seats on their domestic flights can't allow their planes to remain on the tarmac for more than three hours without giving passengers the opportunity to disembark.
Passengers on 13 United flights were stuck on their planes during severe thunderstorms on July 13, 2012 for stretches ranging from just over three hours to nearly four-and-a-half hours. Bathrooms were inaccessible on two planes for portions of the delays, the DOT said.
"It is unacceptable for passengers to be stranded in planes on the tarmac for hours on end," Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement.
Related: Toyota settles acceleration case after $3 million jury verdict
United said it was "committed to complying with the tarmac delay regulations, and we continue to improve our procedures while maintaining the safety of our customers and co-workers."
The fine amounts to a slap on the wrist for a company that reported $590 million in profits for the third quarter.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that United was pursuing a merger with US Airways. The proposed merger is between American Airlines and US Airways.
First Published: October 25, 2013: 2:42 PM ET
It's been a rough year for JPMorgan.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The bank has also been in talks with the Justice Department and other government officials over another potential settlement based on similar claims. That settlement will likely be even more expensive for JPMorgan.
The claims relate to conduct at JPMorgan and at Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual, which JPMorgan purchased in 2008. At issue are allegations that the firms sold risky mortgages and mortgage securities while misrepresenting their quality.
Among the purchasers were Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-backed housing finance giants that required a massive bailout in 2008 when their housing investments soured.
The deal was announced by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which has overseen Fannie and Freddie since their 2008 rescue.
Agency head Edward DeMarco said the accord "provides greater certainty in the marketplace and is in line with our responsibility for preserving and conserving Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's assets on behalf of taxpayers."
"This is a significant step as the government and JPMorgan Chase move to address outstanding mortgage-related issues," DeMarco said.
The firm reached the agreement without admitting or denying wrongdoing.
Related: More banks in crosshairs
JPMorgan will pay $4 billion to resolve claims related to the alleged misrepresentation of mortgage-backed securities -- investment products created by bundling payments from individual loans.
It will also repurchase $1.1 billion worth of mortgages sold to Fannie and Freddie between 2000 and 2008 that the firms say do not meet their quality standards.
JPMorgan (JPM, Fortune 500)said the settlements "are an important step towards a broader resolution of the firm's [mortgage-backed-securities]-related matters with governmental entities, and reflect significant efforts by the Department of Justice and other federal and state governmental agencies."
JPMorgan acquired Washington Mutual in 2008 after the failed bank had been taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. It's unclear whether JPMorgan will be able to pursue reimbursement claims with the FDIC for the portion of the settlement related to WaMu.
This issue has been a point of contention in JPMorgan's negotiations with the Justice Department, which wants to prevent the bank from passing on any settlement costs.
Securities sold by WaMu accounted for roughly $1.15 billion worth of the FHFA settlement.
Related: Half of nation's foreclosed homes still occupied
Investors initially shrugged off the news, which has been rumored for weeks. JPMorgan shares were up slightly in after-hours trading Friday, and have gained 20% so far this year.
JPMorgan is just one of 18 banks sued by the FHFA back in 2011 over the alleged misrepresentation of mortgage-backed securities, and is only the fourth to reach a settlement.
UBS (UBS) agreed to a settlement with the FHFA in July for $885 million. The agency has also settled with Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) and General Electric (GE, Fortune 500) for undisclosed sums.
JPMorgan is large enough to easily absorb the settlement costs. It's the biggest bank in the nation, with assets of $2.5 trillion and net income of $21.3 billion in 2012.
The bank has been buffeted by legal problems in the past few months, however.
It has paid over $1 billion in fines in connection with last year's "London Whale" trading debacle, and $80 million more over its allegedly unfair credit card billing practices.
In July, the bank agreed to pay $410 million to settle charges that it manipulated electricity prices in California and the Midwest. It is also facing scrutiny over its hiring practices in China and its alleged involvement in the Libor rate-fixing scandal.
JPMorgan posted a loss for the third quarter based on its massive legal expenses. CEO Jamie Dimon called the loss "painful" and warned that litigation costs could continue to be a drag on earnings for several quarters.
First Published: October 25, 2013: 5:26 PM ET
There are currently about 11.9 million bitcoins in circulation, according to the website Blockchain.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Bitcoin, which allows users to conduct online transactions while obscuring their identities, was the only currency accepted on Silk Road. Law enforcement officials arrested the site's alleged proprietor, Ross Ulbricht, earlier this month, and have shuttered the operation.
Ulbricht faces a potentially lengthy prison sentence for charges ranging from narcotics trafficking to computer hacking to money laundering. Federal officials have now seized over $33.6 million worth of bitcoins in connection with the case.
"This seizure sends a clear notice to those who think they can commit crimes and conceal the fruits of their criminal activities in digital anonymity," IRS Special-Agent-in-Charge Toni Weirauch said in a statement.
Ulbricht's lawyer could not be reached for comment.
Related: How porn links and Ben Bernanke slipped into Bitcoin's code
Silk Road operated on an anonymous network known as Tor, making activity on the site virtually untraceable.
The use of bitcoin gave buyers and sellers an extra layer of protection. The currency is anonymous, decentralized and can only be used in digital form.
To process bitcoin transactions, Silk Road used what the FBI described as a "tumbler," a complex system that used countless dummy transactions to digitally conceal a payment's origins.
Over the past two and a half years, federal officials say the site generated sales of more than 9.5 million bitcoins, a sum valued at about $1.8 billion at Friday's exchange rate. In addition to illegal drugs, the site offered weapons, hacking software and other illicit products.
Bitcoin surged in value earlier this year, when a banking crisis in Cyprus shook confidence in government-issued currencies.
First Published: October 25, 2013: 9:31 PM ET
| Friday, October 25th 2013, 17:44 GMT |
The funeral of British racing driver Sean Edwards has been postponed from its original date of October 29 to November 11.
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| Friday, October 25th 2013, 21:02 GMT |
Denny Hamlin will start the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville from pole position after topping qualifying on Friday
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
Subscribe to Premier Sports TV to watch all Sprint Cup events live in the UK. Visit www.premiersports.tv for more information.
| By Jamie O'Leary | Friday, October 25th 2013, 21:37 GMT |
New World Rally champion Sebastien Ogier topped every stage of the opening night of the Rally of Spain to open up an 8.8-second lead over Jari-Matti Latvala
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| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, October 24th 2013, 14:31 GMT |
Daniil Kvyat might have been better off turning down the 2014 Toro Rosso Formula 1 seat, reckons Jenson Button.
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| Thursday, October 24th 2013, 20:14 GMT |
Four-time Formula 1 world champion Alain Prost will enter a team in Formula E in partnership with leading French outfit DAMS
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|
| Friday, October 25th 2013, 01:57 GMT |
MotoGP practice at Motegi has been delayed indefinitely due to fog
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| By Gary Watkins | Wednesday, October 23rd 2013, 15:41 GMT |
British race engine specialists Zytek and Judd are developing powerplants for the 2014 energy-based LMP1 formula
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By David Evans | Wednesday, October 23rd 2013, 15:48 GMT |
Rally GB chief Andrew Coe says a 100 per cent increase in entries for the event has vindicated the decision to move Britain's World Rally Championship round north
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Wednesday, October 23rd 2013, 15:58 GMT |
Lotus driver Marlon Stockinger set the pace on an interrupted second day of Formula Renault 3.5 winter testing at Barcelona
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jamie O'Leary | Tuesday, October 22nd 2013, 13:48 GMT |
European Formula 3 Championship squad Van Amersfoort Racing will test American teenager Gustavo Menezes at Spielberg this week as it looks towards its 2014 line-up.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Mark Glendenning | Tuesday, October 22nd 2013, 16:10 GMT |
Todd Parrott has split from Richard Petty Motorsports following his suspension for violating NASCAR's substance abuse policy.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
Subscribe to Premier Sports TV to watch all Sprint Cup events live in the UK. Visit www.premiersports.tv for more information.
| By Pablo Elizalde | Tuesday, October 22nd 2013, 20:07 GMT |
Carlos Sainz set the pace in the opening day of Formula Renault 3.5 testing at Barcelona on Tuesday.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Matt Beer | Monday, October 21st 2013, 19:51 GMT |
Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost is confident that Daniil Kvyat will be a successful Formula 1 driver despite his lack of experience
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Edd Straw | Monday, October 21st 2013, 20:23 GMT |
The revelation that Daniil Kvyat will race for Scuderia Toro Rosso next year came as a shock to most, but unexpected as it was it would be wrong to say it came entirely from nowhere such is the progress he has made this year.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Gary Watkins | Sunday, October 20th 2013, 12:40 GMT |
Toyota has reversed its decision to run only one car at the next round of the World Endurance Championship at the Shanghai circuit
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jamie O'Leary | Sunday, October 20th 2013, 13:38 GMT |
Timo Glock took his maiden DTM victory in a sensational season finale held on a wet, but drying track at Hockenheim
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Sunday, October 20th 2013, 21:26 GMT |
Jamie McMurray took his first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory in three years as he led the final 16 laps in a tense finish at Talladega
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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 Dan Cross | Saturday, October 19th 2013, 17:13 GMT |
Aric Almirola will start Sunday's Talladega NASCAR Sprint Cup race from pole position after qualifying was rained off on Saturday afternoon
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
Subscribe to Premier Sports TV to watch all Sprint Cup events live in the UK. Visit www.premiersports.tv for more information.
| By Scott Mitchell | Saturday, October 19th 2013, 21:05 GMT |
Rebellion Racing trio Nick Heidfeld, Neel Jani and Nicolas Prost dramatically took the lead of the 2013 Petit Le Mans at mid-distance after the rival Pickett Racing HPD struck trouble
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Dan Cross | Sunday, October 20th 2013, 01:37 GMT |
Rebellion Racing entered the history books as the last-ever overall winner in the American Le Mans Series, as Nick Heidfeld, Neel Jani and Nicolas Prost claimed victory in the 2013 Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
NEW YORK (Money Magazine)
The main reason to set up an entity like a corporation is to protect your personal assets against a lawsuit -- say, if someone gets injured on your property.
Instead of incorporating, though, Richmond real estate attorney Katja Hill suggests you set up a limited liability company, or several LLCs, to hold your properties.
LLCs are easier to maintain, she says, than the "S corp" corporate structure that's also used by small businesses.
Related: Finding financial planning professionals
A lender may make it hard for you, however, to move a mortgaged property to an LLC. A transfer might also trigger a tax hit (not likely in Virginia, but rules vary by area). In both cases, the best fallback for shielding assets is umbrella insurance. In fact, even with an LLC, Hill advises getting a policy to be extra safe.
Related: Was my home a good investment?
First Published: October 18, 2013: 4:18 PM ET
Investors often chase stocks with the highest dividend yield. They should look for companies that can steadily boost their payouts.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Dividend stocks are great because in addition to profiting from any upward moves in the stock price, the quarterly payouts sweeten the pot. Many investors also prefer to reinvest their dividends to buy more shares instead of taking the cash -- which can help the value of their portfolio grow further.
But investors who simply chase the stocks with the biggest dividend yields -- which is the annual payment divided by the stock price -- often get burned when dividends are cut or eliminated.
That's why you need to look for companies that have sustainable and growing dividends.
Here's how to find them.
Related: Don't let government drama derail your 401(k)
It helps to focus on rock-solid companies have very reliable cash flow. A simple screen to run on any potential investment is the percentage of profits returned to shareholders via dividends, or the dividend payout ratio. Simply divide annual dividends by the earnings per share and that tells you how much of the company's cash is going to investors and how much is going elsewhere.
A payout ratio that's too high may not give a company a lot of wiggle room to increase the dividend if earnings growth is sluggish. Take a look at Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500), for example. It pays $2.12 in annual dividends. That's a hefty 76% of projected earnings per share of $2.79 this year, according to estimates by Capital IQ.
Related: How to cash in on stock buybacks
Verizon's dividend yield is a very solid 4.5%. But the dividend itself has only increased by 37% over the past ten years. That's much lower than the dividend growth rates for other blue chips like Johnson & Johnson (JNJ, Fortune 500) and McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500). And their payout ratios are lower than Verizon's.
Here are five more stable companies with low payout ratios, which should mean they can keep raising their dividends at an above-average clip for years to come.
• Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) -- yield of 2.4%, payout ratio of 28%
• Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500) -- yield of 3%, payout ratio of 32%
• Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500) -- yield of 2.9%, payout ratio of 33%
• Comcast (CMCSA, Fortune 500) -- yield of 1.6%, payout ratio of 32%
• Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) -- yield of 2.5%, payout ratio of 36%
Of course, a lot more goes into buying a stock than a low payout ratio. And none of these companies are guaranteed to increase their dividends -- especially in uncertain times.
But a company that has enough profits to use for dividend payments -- or for simply growing the business -- is never a bad investment. The best companies are able to do both.
Jeff Reeves is the editor of InvestorPlace.com and the author of "The Frugal Investor's Guide to Finding Great Stocks." Write him at editor@investorplace.com or follow him on Twitter @JeffReevesIP.
As of this writing, Reeves did not own any of the stocks named here.
First Published: October 18, 2013: 11:04 AM ET
Federal workers like these will see their first cost-of-living pay hike in 3 years come January 1.
WASHINGTON (CNNMoney)
The deal Congress passed Wednesday to end the government shutdown allows the Obama administration to raise government employees' pay by 1% after Jan. 1 -- the first raise of its kind in three years.
The 2.1 million federal workforce has missed out on cost-of-living increases each year since 2010, although merit-based raises have been allowed.
Related: Federal workers to be paid Oct. 25.
For federal workers, the raise is the one bright spot in a tough year. They just returned to work Thursday, after 16 days of furlough or unpaid work. Workers will get back pay beginning Oct. 25.
Indeed, the 1% pay hike is mostly symbolic, said John Palguta, vice president for policy at the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit that advocates for efficient government.
"A lot of what was happening with the shutdown was a fundamental questioning of the value of public service," Palguta said. "Symbolically this is saying: Yes, what you're doing is important. . .and we're going to put our money where our mouth is."
The shutdown came weeks after the last round of furloughs that agencies were forced to implement when $85 billion in forced budget cuts kicked in on March 1.
Another problem for the workforce: many federal agencies froze hiring this year, so workers who remained on the job had larger workloads to compensate for colleagues who have retired or left public service.
House Republicans have argued over the years that federal workers are one of the reasons behind the large deficit. Republicans suggest that their pay and benefits are more generous than the private sector.
A 2012 report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that federal employees get 46% better benefits on average compared to the private sector.
But when it comes to pay, it isn't that simple. Federal employees, on average, make $77,414 a year in wages, about 44% more than private-sector employees' $53,463, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The difference in pay is due to higher education levels in the federal workforce, more white-collar jobs and the concentration of jobs located in Washington, a more expensive place to live than other parts of the nation.
Democratic lawmakers praised the promised pay hike, calling it long overdue.
"The promise of a modest pay raise and back pay for furloughed government employees are good first steps in recognizing the value of federal workers," said Sen. Barbara Mikulski, a Maryland Democrat.
First Published: October 18, 2013: 2:05 PM ET
The paint color on this car is a custom-made shade called "Rosso Veneno," but buyers can choose any color they like.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
While the car is priced at $4.5 million -- $500,000 more than the Veneno coupe -- it will actually be easier to get, provided you can afford it. Lamborghini's plans to build the car were announced in August.
Gallery - Lamborghini Veneno up close
That's because Lamborghini will produce nine of these cars during 2014. Production of the coupe was capped at just four, one of which is being kept at the Lamborghini museum.
The Veneno Roadster is not a convertible. It has no roof at all, only a roll bar for crash safety. The all-wheel-drive car is powered by a 750 horsepower 6.5-liter V12 engine and can go from zero to 62 miles an hour in just 2.9 seconds, according to Lamborghini. The car's top speed is 221 miles per hour.
The Roadster is made almost entirely from carbon fiber-reinforced polymers. Even soft interior materials are made from a woven carbon fiber fabric. Unike the Veneno coupe, which was available to the public only in three pre-determined color schemes, buyers will be able to choose their own paint colors for this car.
First Published: October 18, 2013: 9:59 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
A weekly collection of design, data and interactive links.
Photo/Video
It's paper | Digital paper animation by Pingo van der Brinkloev
Frozen bubble lake | Canada's Lake Abraham
bitsweep | Fun project made with Cinema 4D
Design/Data viz
Seene | iPhone app to create and share 3d photos
Pizza place geography | Visualization of pizza chains nationwide
Visualizing 3 billion tweets | Geotagged tweets since Sept. 2011
Raw | From spreadsheets to vector graphics
GED Viz | Visualizing complex economic relations
Music
Piano projections | Keyboard projection system to learn the piano
Symphonies | Visual comparison of six iconic symphonies
Verdi and Wagner | A timeline of symphonies
Hardware
Phonebloks | Component based phone concept
Triggertrap Redsnap | Affordable high-speed photography
See last week's links
Have a nice weekend!
@dubly and @talyellin
First Published: October 18, 2013: 11:06 AM ET
Bank of America is considering a new overdraft-free checking account.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Even if the new checking account is introduced, Bank of America will still offer its existing checking account -- which will remain unchanged.
For more than two years, the bank's checking accounts have not allowed customers to overdraw funds at the point of sale, like when you're checking out at a cash register.
Related: Overdraft fees cost bank customers hundreds a year
The new account would not only stop overdrafts from happening at the point of sale, but it would also prevent them from occurring on any other transactions, including ATM withdrawals, automatic bill payments and checks. Currently, customers are dinged with a fee of $35 each time they overdraw their accounts in these ways.
Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) declined to comment on any specifics. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news, but a source familiar with the bank emphasized that the account is just a consideration at this point and does not mean the bank is getting rid of overdraft protection altogether -- it would simply be another option for customers.
Related: How your checking account stacks up
First Published: October 18, 2013: 2:51 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The CEO of Starbucks already mobilized his customer base, gathering signatures to reopen the government and hike the debt ceiling in order to stave off a U.S. default.
The 1.7 million petition signatures that his baristas collected may or may not have had anything to do with the end of the stand off. But Schultz is convinced it helped.
On Friday Starbucks published ads in USA Today and the Washington Post taking a victory lap of sorts for the shutdown petition, saying "We are all reminded and inspired how a spirit of civility and common purpose can help move America forward."
Now he plans to call on his customers to push Washington to solve its budget woes. When Congress voted Wednesday night to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling, it set new deadlines that will likely result in another budget showdown.
Related: Would you like some bipartisanship with your latte?
So in a second letter to the 300 other business leaders, Schultz has vowed to do more.
"I continue to believe we cannot be bystanders about our collective future," he wrote. " We are going to have to become more engaged so that Washington doesn't fall back into this kind of unnecessary crisis every few months."
Schultz didn't offer any details about his plans for the future. But he did say that the response to the petition drive "has inspired me to think more about what we can do at Starbucks to continue to use our scale for good."
Related: Starbucks CEO holds his ground on gay marriage
In December 2011, as Congress debated the so-called "fiscal cliff," he asked employees at its approximately 120 D.C.-area stores to write "Come Together" on coffee cups when serving customers. Earlier that year Schultz lead a group of more than 100 CEOs who pledged to halt all political campaign contributions until lawmakers, as Schultz put it, "stop the partisan gridlock in Washington, D.C."
Related: Starbucks to customers - please don't bring your guns
Schultz has also taken high-profile positions on several other controversial issues that have little to do with Starbucks' business.
Last month he issued a public plea asking customers not to bring their guns into Starbucks. He has also been an outspoken advocate of same-sex marriage, telling shareholders who don't agree "you can sell your shares of Starbucks."
First Published: October 18, 2013: 2:54 PM ET
Twitter will soon go public. But will the stock actually do well? That's up for debate.
SAN DIEGO (CNNMoney)
Cohen, founder and CEO of leading startup accelerator TechStars, said he's a fan of Twitter. He'll probably even own a stake of it through one of the many funds he is invested in. But he suggested that Twitter's stock price may not rise too dramatically over the long-term.
The comments came during a conversation at the Stocktoberfest investing conference in San Diego Friday hosted by StockTwits. The social investing site's chairman Howard Lindzon asked Cohen whether he would take a long or short position on a certain companies.
Cohen said he would go long on Google (GOOG, Fortune 500), Nike (NKE, Fortune 500), Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) and Facebook (FB, Fortune 500), but that he would hold, or go "not as long" on Twitter.
Related: Who'll be getting rich off Twitter
"Twitter needs to become more of a platform on the web," said Cohen in a follow-up conversation with CNNMoney. "If Twitter went away today, people would just turn to Facebook. If Facebook went away, people would start screaming -- it's so universal."
Cohen said Twitter has the potential to become a more essential web platform, but it's not there yet.
Though Twitter is not yet profitable, the company's user base and mobile business is growing. In fact, Twitter's monthly active users grew nearly 40% during the third quarter, and mobile ads brought in 70% of the company's total advertising revenue. But the key going forward will be whether Twitter can secure a steady revenue source without pushing users away.
Still, Cohen said he believes it's the right time for Twitter to go public. Twitter is slated to sell $1 billion in stock through an initial public offering next month.
First Published: October 18, 2013: 4:26 PM ET
Click for more data on Google.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The stock surged nearly 14% to end at $1,011.41 a share, well above Google's previous all-time high of $928 set in July.
Late Thursday, Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) reported earnings and revenue that blew past investors' expectations, driven by strength in the company's core search business.
The stock could head even higher, according to a raft of analyst reports published Friday.
Deutsche Bank was one of the most bullish, raising its price target for Google to $1,220 from $970.
Credit Suisse hiked its price target to $1,200 and Jefferies now thinks Google can hit $1,150 at some point over the next year.
Shares of Google are now up more than 40% this year. Amazingly enough, the stock has lagged the performance of two key rivals in 2013: Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) is up nearly 70% while Facebook (FB, Fortune 500) has more than doubled.
Google is the second blue chip tech company to recently top $1,000 a share. Online travel site Priceline (PCLN, Fortune 500) became the first S&P 500 company to hit a four-digit stock price last month. Its stock is currently hovering around $1,050.
At $1,000 a share, Google is trading at about 19 times 2014 earnings estimates. But those estimates are likely to be raised in light of the company's recent results. Deutsche Bank, for example, hiked their full-year earnings outlook to $54.30 a share. The current consensus is for Google to earn about $51 a share.
By comparison, Yahoo currently trades at nearly 20 times next year's earnings estimates, even though it's still a turnaround story. Facebook, which is growing more rapidly than Google, is trading at nearly 55 times earnings forecasts for 2014.
Related: Apple's iPad problem
Analysts pointed to a number of factors behind their rosy outlook, including revenue from Google's "enhanced campaigns," which help marketers more easily run targeted ads on both desktop and mobile. YouTube in particular is expected to benefit from a shift in ad dollars away from traditional television.
Google is not alone in its quest to make more money off of mobile advertising. It's a main focus for Yahoo and Facebook as well. And Twitter, which will soon go public, is expected to be a force to be reckoned with in mobile ad sales too.
Still, even though mobile Internet usage continues to grow, advertisers won't pay as much for mobile ads as they do for desktop ones. So even as the number of ads clicked on Google properties increases, the company is commanding less money on average for each of those clicks.
Google is also facing challenges in its Motorola business, which lost $248 million in the third quarter.
Related: Al Gore tried to buy Twitter
But analysts seem to believe that Google's dominance of search and its established advertising business give it an advantage over rivals. Google should also benefit next year from expanding profit margins.
-- CNNMoney's Julianne Pepitone contributed to this report.
First Published: October 18, 2013: 10:39 AM ET
Click for more data on J.C. Penney
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Shares of J.C. Penney (JCP, Fortune 500) fell nearly 5% to end at $7.01 a share. Earlier, the stock dipped below $7, a level not seen since 1980.
The rout was sparked by a market rumor that a Canadian financing company was denying J.C. Penney credit. It was the second time this week that J.C. Penney's stock was hit by an unsubstantiated rumor. On Tuesday, the stock plunged on talk the company was consulting with a bankruptcy firm.
J.C. Penney shares are down more than 60% so far this year due to concerns about sliding sales and mounting losses at the once mighty retail chain. But the company suggested that the recent spate of rumors are a ploy by short sellers to drive the share price lower in order to make a quick profit.
In a statement issued Friday, J.C. Penney pushed back against what it called "unprecedented attacks."
"These rumors are unequivocally false and constitute nothing more than attempted market manipulation by certain types of investors for their own personal gain," said J.C. Penney spokesman Joey Thomas.
The retailer added it has made "meaningful improvements" in its turnaround plan and expects to end the year with more than $2 billion in excess liquidity.
Related: Why J.C. Penney should go private
J.C. Penney recently raised $785 million in a secondary offering of 84 million shares. It also disclosed in a regulatory filing this week that it had reached an agreement with lenders to lengthen the maturity on an existing credit facility.
Still, 2013 has been brutal for the 111-year old retailer. The company ousted CEO Ron Johnson in April after his controversial overhaul of pricing fell flat with consumers.
In August, hedge fund manager and long-time J.C. Penney investor Bill Ackman jumped ship. Once the company's largest shareholder, Ackman lashed out at the board for not listening to his suggestion to replace CEO Myron Ullman, who returned to J.C. Penney to replace Johnson. Ullman was the CEO before Johnson, who left Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) to take the top spot at J.C. Penney.
First Published: October 18, 2013: 3:11 PM ET
| By Mark Glendenning | Friday, October 18th 2013, 23:03 GMT |
Will Power took pole position for Saturday's IndyCar season finale at Fontana, inadvertently taking a point from Penske team-mate and championship contender Helio Castroneves in the process
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Mark Glendenning | Friday, October 18th 2013, 23:09 GMT |
Zach Veach topped the times in Indy Lights qualifying at Fontana to secure the first pole position of his career
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Saturday, October 19th 2013, 00:46 GMT |
Dani Pedrosa edged out Honda team-mate Marc Marquez to set the Saturday morning MotoGP practice pace at Phillip Island
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Mark Glendenning | Friday, October 18th 2013, 00:30 GMT |
A condensed schedule, an event on the Indianapolis road course, and the absence of Brazil are the main features of the 2014 IndyCar calendar
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Marcus Simmons | Thursday, October 17th 2013, 16:57 GMT |
GP2 ace Stefano Coletti will make his Formula 3 return with Ma-Con in this weekend's Formula 3 European Championship round at Hockenheim, AUTOSPORT understands
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Friday, October 18th 2013, 00:43 GMT |
Jorge Lorenzo edged Marc Marquez as the two 2013 MotoGP title contenders set a blazing pace in first practice at Phillip Island
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Kevin Turner | Tuesday, October 15th 2013, 16:20 GMT |
Rotek Racing has canned its World Touring Car Championship programme and will instead run a British Touring Car operation next season with two Audis
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Mark Glendenning | Tuesday, October 15th 2013, 17:05 GMT |
NASCAR has unveiled an almost unchanged schedule for its 2014 Sprint Cup season, with only a handful of minor tweaks to the dates that form the current calendar
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
Subscribe to Premier Sports TV to watch all Sprint Cup events live in the UK. Visit www.premiersports.tv for more information.
| By Marcus Simmons | Tuesday, October 15th 2013, 18:07 GMT |
Lotus Formula 1 team protege Esteban Ocon is to step up to Formula 3 for next month's Macau Grand Prix
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Sam Tremayne | Monday, October 14th 2013, 15:37 GMT |
Marc Marquez shrugged off his and Jorge Lorenzo's contact in MotoGP's race at Sepang, saying he was excited to be in such a ferocious scrap.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, October 14th 2013, 16:04 GMT |
Lotus does not believe there was anything it could have done differently to stop Sebastian Vettel from winning the Japanese Grand Prix
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Mark Glendenning | Monday, October 14th 2013, 16:32 GMT |
Brian Vickers will miss the remainder of the Sprint Cup season after a blood clot was detected in his right calf
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
Subscribe to Premier Sports TV to watch all Sprint Cup events live in the UK. Visit www.premiersports.tv for more information.
| By Andrew van Leeuwen | Sunday, October 13th 2013, 14:50 GMT |
Andrea Larini capped off a successful comeback to the Superstars International Series by winning the final race of the season at Vallelunga
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Kevin Turner | Sunday, October 13th 2013, 14:28 GMT |
Andrew Jordan is planning to attack in the British Touring Car Championship finale after a disastrous race two at Brands Hatch
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Kevin Turner | Sunday, October 13th 2013, 17:04 GMT |
Andrew Jordan clinched the 2013 British Touring Car crown in the Brands Hatch finale after a fine drive from the back of the field
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Kevin Turner | Saturday, October 12th 2013, 15:47 GMT |
Jason Plato took his fourth 2013 British Touring Car Championship pole in the season finale at Brands Hatch after rival Matt Neal crashed out
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Dan Cross | Saturday, October 12th 2013, 15:54 GMT |
Giandemenico Basso held off a determined Bryan Bouffier to claim his third Sanremo Rally victor
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Marcus Simmons | Saturday, October 12th 2013, 16:07 GMT |
Ferrari protege Raffaele Marciello took the honours in the first race of the Formula 3 European Championship weekend at Vallelunga after fending off Alexander Sims
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
Apple invited BlackBerry employees to a recruitment party after BlackBerry announced massive layoffs.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) used LinkedIn (LNKD) messages to invite BlackBerry employees to a Sept. 26 event near BlackBerry's headquarters in Waterloo, Ontario, according to the Financial Post. Apple said most of the positions it was offering would be based at its own Cupertino, Calif., headquarters, but the company would provide relocation and immigration assistance.
BlackBerry (BBRY) announced last month that it plans to lay off a shocking 40% of its global workforce by the end of the year. The first round of cuts began this week, with 300 employees let go.
But Apple isn't the only one circling. Just two days later, according to the Post, Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) held its own two-day "information session" at a nearby hotel. BlackBerry employees received emailed invitations to Intel's event, the newspaper said.
Ex-BlackBerry employees who don't get jobs at Apple or Intel may not have to travel too far from the Kitchener-Waterloo area to find their next jobs. The region has long been a hotbed of engineering activity, thanks in large part to the University of Waterloo. The city is home to large enterprise tech firms including OpenText and Desire2Learn, and the Communitech startup hub has helped the region gain a reputation as one of the hottest startup cities in the world.
Related story: BlackBerry co-founders want to buy the company
Just last month, Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) announced it would open a Motorola Mobility office in Waterloo. Google itself already employs 250 people in its existing Waterloo office, where staffers focus on social and mobile efforts -- and enjoy a giant in-office slide (sorry, only Googlers are allowed to try it). Google also chose Communitech as one of seven North American hubs to join a new "Entrepreneurs Tech Hub" network.
Also in September, Square -- a payments company created by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey -- announced it will open an office in Kitchener-Waterloo sometime in 2014.
First Published: October 11, 2013: 10:46 AM ET
A hedge fund manager who thrived in 2008 says the debt ceiling is not a black swan. But he's still worried about an eventual Washington crisis hurting the market.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
"The debt ceiling is much ado about nothing" said Spitznagel. "This is a sideshow."
Spitznagel knows a thing or two about investing in a crisis. His fund manages several billion dollars and promises portfolio protection in the event of a market correction or crash. In 2008, it returned more than 100%, while the S&P dropped by more than 40%.
Universa also has Nassim Taleb, who's famous for coining the term "black swan" to explain unforeseen events that wreak havoc on global markets, as an advisor. Spitznagel does not think a potential debt default would be such a black swan. There's been too much discussion about it.
Related: Market needs to plunge to force Congress to act
But Spitznagel is still worried about Washington. He says the real problem facing the market is the nation's overall debt burden -- not the arbitrary debt ceiling set by Congress.
Spitznagel expects Congress and President Obama to do what it takes to avoid a near-term default. But he's concerned that neither can control the Federal Reserve's bloated balance sheet.
The Fed's ongoing bond buying program has added roughly $4 trillion to the central bank's balance sheet since the financial crisis.
"The Fed has created massive market distortions," said Spitznagel. "This kind of monetary distortion will end in a credit collapse."
Related: Wake us up when the US defaults, hedge funds say
Spitznagel's views are not widely accepted on Wall Street. While many investors and analysts are concerned about the disconnect between the stock market's rally and anemic economic growth, they often cite the Fed's easy money policies as a reason for optimism.
But Spitznagel says the Fed can only pump up the market for so long. Those gains will be fleeting if they can't kick start the economy and hiring. "The Fed is pushing on a string. At some point what they're doing will no longer matter," he said.
He is convinced that both the Fed and U.S. government need to rein in spending to avoid a major collapse.
If Congress and the President were to allow the U.S. to default on its obligations, Spitznagel says investors may finally be forced to grapple with the nation's "unsustainable level of debt." It won't be a good thing for the market. But the U.S. has to deal with its debt at some point.
To Spitznagel, a short-term deal to raise the debt ceiling is even more worrisome, because it would just prolong the inevitable day of reckoning.
"The system needs to repair itself, and it will be ugly," he said.
So while the black swan may not be spreading its wings over the nation's capital this month, it could sometime in the future.
First Published: October 11, 2013: 12:01 PM ET
Federal worker Pete Randazzo is among thousands whose Friday paycheck was sliced by 40% thanks to the shutdown furloughs.
WASHINGTON (CNNMoney)
For most employees, their paycheck is 40% lighter.
Federal workers get paid every two weeks. Friday was officially payday for work completed from Sept. 22 through Oct. 5., according to the General Services Administration. This paycheck was the first to reflect furloughs due to the federal shutdown.
Paychecks normally cover 10 working days. But for those affected by the shutdown, the paycheck only reflected six days of pay. And even some of those workers who remained on the job this week are seeing lighter paychecks until a budget on some sort is approved.
Related: Unemployment claims surge, partly due to shutdown
"This pain is much more significant than during the furlough days (that were part of this year's sequester)," said Pete Randazzo, an information technologist at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., where 1,500 workers were on furlough last week. "There was just no time to prepare."
Randazzo, who is also the local National Federation of Federal Employees president, said he had a tough time figuring out the total he lost. But he noticed the amount he sets aside to go to his mortgage was $900 less than usual.
Some workers will get paid Tuesday, the 15th, because the date the paycheck or electronic transfer is released depends on the payroll provider each federal agency uses, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
That's the case for Jeanne Gerardi, an IRS worker from Patchogue, N.Y. who expects her trimmed paycheck to post electronically to her bank account Monday. And despite news that House Republicans appear willing to eventually pay back furloughed workers stuck at home, Gerardi said she has her doubts.
"The country hates the IRS right now, and they don't realize it's mostly a bunch of peons like me," said Gerardi, whose husband continues to work. "And we're all unemployed right now with looming rent, medical payments, other monthly bills."
Luiza Jewitt said the biweekly paycheck from her husband's civilian defense job in Evans, Ga., posted to their bank account on Thursday. The pay cut was about $1,000, she said.
Related: Furloughed? Try Moonlighting
"This is really hurting us," Jewitt said. "I think Congress is disgusting doing this to us and all of the other people who work so hard keeping the country safe, while they are getting their paychecks the whole time."
Thanks to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, all 400,000 civilian defense employees who had been on furlough -- including Randazzo and Jewitt -- should return to a full paycheck in two weeks.
But Jewitt said the damage has been done. She knows colleagues who've had to call landlords and car loan providers and ask for more time to make bills.
"We have savings, but a lot of friends live paycheck-to-paycheck," she said.
First Published: October 11, 2013: 11:54 AM ET
North Carolina has restarted its program to provide help to women and children which had been halted by the federal government shutdown.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The state announced late Thursday that it had found the funding to restart the Women, Infant and Children nutrition program and keep it operating through the rest of this month. North Carolina stopped issuing vouchers for the federally funded, state-administered program on Oct. 8, saying the federal government shutdown meant it no longer had funds available.
But on Thursday, the state said it can use lapsing funds from the previous fiscal year, additional contingency funds from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and product rebates from WIC formula manufacturer Nestle Foods (NSRGY) to keep the program operating through the end of October.
Related: CNNMoney's shutdown and debt ceiling coverage
"Our state is one of the highest volume states for the WIC program, so we take the impact of the shutdown very seriously," said Aldona Wos, secretary of the state's Department of Health and Human Services. "Because of the uncertainty of the federal shutdown, we know this may only be a temporary solution. But we are committed to meeting the needs of the people of North Carolina."
The WIC program is a national program that is run by each individual state. Other states have not yet cut off the funds available for food assistance, but the problems in North Carolina will be repeated elsewhere in the coming weeks unless Congress ends the shutdown by authorizing spending for the federal government's fiscal year that started Oct. 1.
Officials are concerned the 9 million participants would struggle to get food if the shutdown stretches into November or beyond.
Related: Confusion and worry over aid for women, infants and children
The program includes grocery vouchers for infant formula, baby food and nutritious foods for mothers. It also provides medical check-ups at non-profit and state-run clinics.
Shana Hanson Lovejoy is a mother of two who cleans rooms at a motel near her Nebraska home, and is also studying to be a counselor specializing in child psychology. The WIC benefits make a difference in her ability to buy formula for her 6-month-old son, Myles.
Related: Shutdown hits preschoolers, parents
"We scrounge every day to make sure our kids are taken care of," said 24-year-old Hanson Lovejoy .
Hanson Lovejoy has vouchers covering her through later this month, but she's not sure whether she'll get her next set of vouchers.
First Published: October 11, 2013: 12:35 PM ET
