| By Charles Bradley | Sunday, June 29th 2014, 22:00 GMT |
A late-race restart changed the course of United SportsCar's Watkins Glen Six Hours, as the Spirit of Daytona Corvette DP's straightline speed advantage over the LMP2 OAK Morgan proved decisive
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Mark Glendenning | Sunday, June 29th 2014, 18:56 GMT |
Houston officials are co-operating with IndyCar to avoid a repeat of an incident on Sunday morning in which two people managed to walk onto the track during a live session
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Mark Glendenning | Sunday, June 29th 2014, 22:18 GMT |
Simon Pagenaud dominated the second race in this weekend's Houston IndyCar double-header to lead Mikhail Aleshin across the line for a Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsport one-two
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Charles Bradley | Saturday, June 28th 2014, 21:55 GMT |
Alex Brundle took pole for United SportsCar's Six Hours at the Glen in his OAK Morgan, outpacing Christian Fittipaldi by over six tenths at the legendary Watkins Glen road course
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jack Nicholls | Saturday, June 28th 2014, 20:50 GMT |
The M-Sport Bentley squad moved to the top of the Blancpain Endurance Series after a thrilling 'into the night' race at Paul Ricard
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Mark Glendenning | Saturday, June 28th 2014, 22:23 GMT |
Carlos Huertas was the shock winner in a bizarre opening race of this weekend's IndyCar double-header in Houston
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
SAN FRANCISCO (CNNMoney)
That's the takeaway from the search giant's annual I/O developer conference, which wrapped up on Thursday in San Francisco. The gathering was a showcase for versions of the company's Android software adapted for cars, televisions and wearable tech.
Nothing Google unveiled this week qualifies as groundbreaking (except perhaps for its cardboard virtual-reality goggles). The smartwatch- and car-focused software essentially save you the trouble of taking your smartphone out of your pocket, while Android TV doesn't appear much different than existing platforms from Apple (AAPL, Tech30), Roku and Amazon (AMZN, Tech30).
But what was noteworthy about the announcements this week is the scale of Google's ambition.
Google essentially wants to unify the user experience across all connected devices. That means allowing you to respond to text messages via your watch, order pizza from your TV, control your home from your car, and accomplish it all via a common voice-command interface that remembers your appointments and preferences.
Related: Meet Google's futurist-in-chief
Speaking during a breakout session at the conference, Android TV manager Chris McKillop encouraged developers to think of the project not as a distinct platform, but simply "a new form factor for Android" -- just one part of a broader constellation of Android-powered devices.
It's a shrewd strategy. As Internet-enabled products become more commonplace, we're not going to want to manage a huge variety of accounts. It's more convenient to have a common digital identity that moves with you across devices. The company that provides that single software identify is poised to reap massive rewards.
Google made what seemed like an admission of defeat earlier this year when it announced that it was selling its Motorola Mobility smartphone unit to Lenovo for for $2.9 billion, after acquiring the business for $12.5 billion in May 2012. But with its "Android everywhere" strategy, it doesn't need to make devices itself; it's better off working with as many hardware manufacturers as possible to ensure that its software is ubiquitous.
Apple's vision for its iOS software is similarly ambitious -- the company already has a success with Apple TV, it announced plans for health- and home-focused software earlier this month, and it's reportedly working on its own smartwatch. But Google's greater willingness to partner with hardware makers may give Android the advantage in the emerging connected device market.
Related: Google touts Android TV, smartwatches and cars
That dynamic has already played out in the smartphone and tablet markets, where Android now dominates because Google hasn't forced phone buyers to stick with one line of devices the way Apple does with the iPhone.
Samsung (SSNLF) and LG released smartwatches this week running Android Wear, with one due out from Motorola later this year. Android TV-enabled products are pending from companies including Sharp, Sony and Asus, and over 40 automakers have signed on to carry Android Auto.
Google is also well-positioned to be the primary entry point to the world of connected devices, given the wealth of data it already has on people who uses free services like Gmail and Google Docs.
Data collection is the name of the game for the company, whether it's in the home (see its $3.2 billion purchase earlier this year of smart appliance maker Nest Labs) or in outer space (this month's $500 million acquisition of satellite start-up Skybox Imaging). The more data it collects, the more fully it can adapt its software to individual users' needs.
Of course, whether you want to give a single company the power to track your sleep, monitor your communications, recommend TV shows, track your location and and access your finances is another question. But if you do, Google's ready for the job.
First Published: June 27, 2014: 11:57 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The court ruling found that Aereo violates copyright law by picking up the signals of local television stations and retransmitting them via the Internet to paying subscribers.
"As a result of that decision, our case has been returned to the lower Court," Aereo founder Chet Kanojia said in an email message to subscribers on Saturday morning.
Related: The future of media
"We have decided to pause our operations temporarily as we consult with the court and map out our next steps."
The "pause" will take place at 11:30 a.m. Eastern on Saturday.
Kanojia said all subscribers (the company has never specified how many it has) will be refunded "their last paid month."
Kanojia ended his email by saying "our journey is far from done." And in a subsequent email message to reporters, an Aereo representative said "We want to emphasize that this is a pause, and that the company is not shutting down."
However, conventional wisdom following Wednesday's ruling held that Aereo would either have to close up shop or radically change its business model.
Related: 6 cool innovations we're still waiting for
"For broadcasters, this is a huge relief, and lifts a cloud of uncertainty," Needham & Co. analyst Laura Martin wrote in an investors' note on Wednesday. "Although there was a low probability the Supreme Court would decide against them, the cost would have been billions of dollars of lost revenue through lower retransmission fees."
In the wake of the court ruling, "the only option that remains available to Aereo would be to change its model and pay the broadcasters to distribute the content," just like cable and satellite distributors do, Nomura analyst Anthony DiClemente wrote in a research note. He said Aereo could essentially offer "a slimmed-down content package delivered over the Internet."
First Published: June 28, 2014: 10:27 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
In an exclusive interview that aired Saturday on CNN's "Smerconish," former GM manager Bill McAleer told host Michael Smerconish that employees who work at GM were "faced with a culture where you get fired if you do talk about quality and safety issues, and you get fired if you don't talk about them."
GM (GM) is dealing with a backlash for delaying the recall of 2.6 million vehicles for an ignition switch defect that's been tied to at least 13 deaths. Some GM employees knew the part was causing trouble more than a decade before the recall was issued in February.
McAleer, who started on the assembly line in 1968, says he was in charge of the Global Delivery Survey from 1988 to 1998 that GM used to help assess the quality of its cars before they were delivered to dealers.
Related: Two died in 2006 Cobalt crash. But GM counts only one
He says he found a "wide variety" of what he called "catastrophic defects" beginning in 1995, when GM added a routine obstacle course drive to its quality checklist. Problems ranged from gasoline leaks to steering linkage issues that pointed to overall quality defects.
McAleer said that while the company seemed responsive to fixing problems in the mid '90's, that changed.
"In 1997 something happened internally in GM where no problem could be admitted. Whether it was safety or any kind of problem. We couldn't have a problem," he said.
"That's what happened with the ignition switch," he added. "People knew there was a problem, but problems were not acceptable. They just ignored it."
McAleer eventually was laid off from GM in 2004. He tried to sue the company under a whistleblower law but said he was unsuccessful.
Related: GM's recall nightmare
McAleer said he sent a letter to the GM board of directors to tell them about the overall quality problems and the lack of action by management, but he thinks that the letter might have been intentionally misdirected once it got there.
GM issued a statement saying,"If McAleer's concerns were submitted by an employee today, they would be thoroughly investigated within the safety organization, however that is not to imply that in this particular case, his issues weren't."
The company also said that while McAleer lost his case against GM, it will still look at his allegations to see what "we can learn."
First Published: June 28, 2014: 9:13 AM ET
GM's recalls continue as the automaker announces four more, affecting nearly 430,000 vehicles in the U.S. NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The recall covers nearly 30,000 air bag inflators in 2013-2014 model year Chevrolet Cruze sedans. GM (GM) says the inflators could fail or rupture, which could propel metal pieces that could injure the driver. GM says its aware of one injury related to the issue.
The automaker told dealerships to stop selling those Cruze models on Tuesday, but lifted that stop-sale order late Wednesday, after identifying all the affected vehicles.
Related: Steps to a recall nightmare
The part in question was manufactured by Japanese company Takata, a supplier tied to airbag problems in millions of cars that other automakers recalled earlier this week. The Cruze problem stems from a defective part instead of a chemical issue that affected other recalled vehicles, said GM spokesman Jim Cain.
The Cruze is GM's best-selling car in the United States. It sold 248,000 of them last year.
Also covered in today's announcement: Transmission software in nearly 400,000 trucks and SUV's that needs updating so that the vehicles don't slip into neutral on their own. Vehicles covered are four wheel drive versions of the 2014-2015 Silverado and GMC Sierra models; 2015 Tahoes and Suburbans; and the 2015 GMC Yukon and Yukon XL.
In addition, GM says it will inspect, and replace if necessary, the windshield wiper assemblies in about 5,000 2013-2014 Caprice police cars and SS sport sedans. The company says if gears get stripped the motors may fail and the wipers might not operate.
Finally, GM says it will replace the two rear shock absorbers in nearly 2,000 2014 model year Corvettes to repair a weld that could potentially lead to failure of the shock absorbers.
The news comes as the automaker is already in damage control mode for delaying the recall of 2.6 million vehicles for an ignition switch defect that's been tied to at least 13 deaths. Some GM employees knew the part was causing trouble more than a decade before the recall was issued in February.
Now, GM is facing dozens of lawsuits and a number of investigations concerning how it handled that recall.
The company has also issued a number of additional recalls this year for problems unrelated to the faulty ignition switch. It has recalled more than 20 million vehicles worldwide since January.
On Monday, the automaker and Kenneth Feinberg will unveil a compensation plan to victims and their families. Feinberg is a consultant who also determined payouts after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the BP oil spill, and the Boston Marathon bombing.
First Published: June 27, 2014: 6:54 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
On that front, it looks like Nike just scored a goal.
Nike (NKE) shares were up nearly 2% in late-morning trading Friday after the sports apparel company's latest financial results blew past expectations.
The world's leading athletic footwear brand said late Thursday that total revenue was up 11% in the fourth quarter to $7.4 billion.
For the full fiscal year, which ended May 31, Nike reported double-digit sales growth in its largest product lines, including running, basketball and women's training.
But the company's fastest growing division was football, a.k.a. soccer.
Revenue from Nike's soccer business rose 18% in the company's fiscal year to $2.3 billion.
"Our football business has never been stronger," Nike brand president Trevor Edwards told analysts in a conference call.
Related: How Adidas plans to win the World Cup
Nike, which started out making running shoes, is a relative newcomer when it comes to selling soccer gear.
While it is not an official World Cup sponsor, Nike is on a mission to generate as much buzz as possible at the World Cup, which is expected to break records in terms of viewership.
The Oregon-based company currently sponsors the most teams at the tournament. And there are more players in Brazil wearing Nike "boots" than all other brands combined, according to Edwards.
"Our comprehensive offense on the pitch and in the marketplace drives our leadership as the world's best football brand," said Edwards.
Nike sponsors the U.S. men's soccer team, which lost Thursday against Germany, but still scored enough points to advance to the next round of the tournament.
With Nike on offense, it seems that Germany's Adidas is playing defense, at least in the stock market.
Shares of Adidas (ADDDF), which trade in Frankfurt and also have a small listing in the U.S., are down 7% since the World Cup started on June 12, though they were bouncing back Friday. Nike shares are up more than 5% over the same period of time.
Adidas has set a goal of generating 2 billion euros, or about $2.7 billion, in sales from its soccer business this year. The company will report results for the first half of 2014 in August.
Related: How people watched the World Cup at work
Unlike Nike, Adidas sponsors the World Cup at the highest level. It has been an official sponsor of FIFA, which governs global soccer, for decades.
Adidas sponsors several teams and has marketing deals with many of the most well-known players in the world, including the Argentinian star Lionel Messi. But team Adidas may soon be down one man.
The company is reconsidering its sponsorship Uruguayan soccer striker Luis Suarez after he bit an Italian player during a game earlier this week. FIFA suspended Suarez suspended him for four months from any football activity, which means he will miss the rest of the World Cup. (Uruguay plays Colombia on Saturday.)
Elsewhere in the sneaker world, shares of athletic shoe retailer Finish Line (FINL) were up nearly 3% on strong earnings. And the company's top competitor, Foot Locker (FL), gained ground Friday too.
First Published: June 27, 2014: 11:39 AM ET
Argentina's economy is already on shaky ground. It could get worse if the nation is forced to default on its debt again. NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
While the South American nation may be busy celebrating the heroics of its star soccer player Lionel Messi in the World Cup, a federal judge Thursday blocked one path for the country to avoid default.
The dollar-starved country, which just slipped into recession, faces a Monday deadline to pay two groups of bondholders. The way things proceed from here will determine Argentina's ability to move past its 2001 default and regain access to much-needed foreign funds.
The basics: Argentina owes $900 million to the so-called "exchange" group of bondholders who were willing to lose some money and accept discounted bonds tied to Argentina's default on $93 billion in debt in 2001. It deposited a payment to that group on Thursday.
But Argentina also owes a $1.3 billion payment to the so-called "holdouts," led by hedge funds Aurelius Capital Management and Elliott Management subsidiary NML Capital, who refused to take the discounted bonds.
Last week, the Supreme Court declined to hear Argentina's appeal of an earlier decision by a federal judge that required the country to pay the holdouts in full. The country's stock market fell 10% and bond yields spiked (yields rise when prices fall). So Thursday's payment may be a violation of the Supreme Court's ruling, though the federal judge in the original case, Thomas Griesa, blocked it from going through.
Related: Here's some context on the Supreme Court decision
Recent developments: Argentina had been asking for time beyond June 30 to reach a deal to pay the holdouts, but Griesa denied the request Thursday. The country has a 30-day grace period to pay before thing get really hairy.
Argentina claims that the cost of servicing both its exchange debt and its holdout debt is equal to half their foreign currency reserves.
"No country could pay half of its reserves, and Argentina cannot afford to be left without the means to manage its currency or handle the rest of its economy, including meeting the needs of its citizenry," the country's lawyers wrote in a letter to Judge Griesa on Monday.
The Argentine government has said the costs would be as much as $15 billion, though David Rees, an emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, thinks the cost to paying the holdouts is about half of what the government claims.
The more serious issue, he says, is that paying the holdouts in full would anger the exchange bondholders. That group might want similar treatment.
"This is presumably going to be a key constraint on any deal that is negotiated," he said.
Related: Why does Argentina need the money so badly?
What's next?: From here, Argentina's options are limited. The grace period might allow them to work out a deal with the holdouts or the exchange bondholders without triggering new lawsuits or a default.
But the prospects for a deal with the holdouts seems dim. A court-appointed mediator said Wednesday that Argentina and the holdouts failed to reach an agreement after two days of talks. Argentina could continue trying to avoid paying the holdouts, but without the ability to get the exchange payment off the table, that's a dicey proposition.
Finally, Argentina could just default on the debt. But after years of trying to rebuild credibility following the 2001 default, this is the least desirable outcome. Argentina already devalued its currency earlier this year and its foreign reserves are running low, which would make future debt payments even harder to manage.
Argentina now has a lot less wiggle room. And the clock is ticking.
First Published: June 27, 2014: 3:32 PM ET
Red Bull North America has settled with the U.S. over alleged Cuba sanction violations NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The Treasury Department said Friday that the company has agreed to pay $89,775 over allegations it failed to get authorization from the Treasury to travel to Cuba in 2009.
The more than half-century old U.S. boycott of Cuba strictly prohibits businesses from visiting the island without first obtaining a license.
The Treasury says that between June 8 and June 18, 2009, seven representatives of Red Bull North America traveled to Cuba in order to film a documentary, without first obtaining approval.
In a statement, Treasury said Red Bull had prior knowledge of U.S. sanctions on Cuba and took steps to conceal the visits. It also said that Red Bull's management had approved of the film and the travel involved.
The penalties could have been worse. The government says the maximum penalty could have been $455,000.
Red Bull North America did not respond to a request for comment.
First Published: June 27, 2014: 4:03 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Swartz faced multiple charges for breaking and entering into an MIT wiring closet and downloading academic journals, including two counts of wire fraud and 11 counts of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Swartz, who was battling the court, also battled with depression. Prosecutors dropped the charges after his death.
I first met Swartz's father, Robert, last year as he explained his mission to fight for his son's memory by helping to change outdated laws. He wanted answers about why he lost his son.
His son's story is now the subject of a new documentary called "The Internet's Own Boy: The story of Aaron Swartz."
More than a year after his death, Robert Swartz still seeks answers, which he discussed with me this week.
How would you describe your son's impact?
Robert Swartz: He was someone who tried to understand technology and use it as a force for good. He came up with the notion of Wikipedia before Wikipedia started. It was very clear that he felt that putting academic research behind a pay wall was wrong and that it limited the diffusion of knowledge.
11 out of the 13 charges against your son were violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Do you believe the law is outdated?
There's no question the law is outdated. At the moment, that law makes it a felony for you to give your password to HBO to a friend. That has to be changed.
You believe the criminal justice system failed your son. If it weren't for the charges, do you believe Aaron would still be alive?
Without question.
How does that make you feel?
Like one who's gone into the abyss.
Describe what Aaron went through.
I remember after he was arrested, he got a call from MIT saying could he come back and get his backpack and bicycle, which they had seized. I was in Cambridge [Massachusetts] and he asked if I would accompany him. We waited there for a long period of time and finally a policeman came out and went into a room and retrieved his bicycle and said to us, 'The rest of this is in the hands of the Secret Service.' And we looked at each other and realized at that point that this was much more serious than we'd imagined, and we couldn't make any sense of it. We were just devastated.
How did this affect him?
It was overwhelming. He was afraid, he was concerned. [The police] went to his apartment, went through all his personal effects. He was worried about his phone being tapped. He couldn't go to MIT, he couldn't go to Harvard. He couldn't leave the country because they took his passport. The prosecutor was cruel and vindictive and bordered ... on sadism. They strip-searched him and they left him in solitary confinement for hours and after he met his bond, they kept him in solitary confinement for three or four hours with absolutely no explanation -- all with the goal of attempting to break him. This is not a system in which people are treated fairly or reasonably. They're bullied and destroyed.
What is your message to the judicial system?
We need to do a better job. Rather than trying to prosecute someone who's trying to make the world a better place, there are immense amounts of cybercrime going on where people are exploiting credit cards and doing things that are really bad. Even if you argue, which i think is completely false, that Aaron was guilty of something, there was no proportionality in the way that they acted.
[Apple founders] Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak started a business by selling a box that allowed criminal fraud against the phone company. Bill Gates started in business at Harvard without paying for the computer time to write BASIC. Edwin Land who invented the Land camera broke into Columbia University to do experiments.. Mark Zuckerberg, in a similar way to Aaron, scraped the data off of Harvard's computer system to start Facebook. These people are lionized for their accomplishments despite the fact that they did things that weren't exactly legal.
In Aaron's case, he did things that were not illegal and he was destroyed for it. And he was trying to make the world a better place. We need to celebrate people who do this . We need more Aaron Swartzes.
First Published: June 27, 2014: 4:13 PM ET
If the World Cup were played in the stock market instead of on the soccer field, the U.S. would be winning big time. NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The S&P 500 has risen 1.4% since the World Cup started on June 12, making it the best performer among the 16 countries that survived the first round of play.
Granted, there's no real connection between soccer and stocks. But in the spirit of a little friendly competition, here's how the World Cup nations stack up in terms of stock market performance since the games started.
Uruguay is the second best performing market in the group of 16.
The Bolsa de Valores de Montevideo is lightly traded and consists mainly of fixed-income assets, so it's not exactly a fair comparison. Still, the BVM has gained 0.2% since June 12, giving it an edge over its larger rivals.
The Mexican stock market is in third place. The Bolsa Mexicana de Valores is basically unchanged since the games started.
Related: Retailers score with $90 World Cup jerseys
All of the remaining markets are in negative territory...some more than others.
Countries with relatively modest losses include: Chile (-0.1%), Algeria (-0.3%) and Colombia (-0.3%). The Netherlands and Belgium are tied, with both markets down 0.9%.
Next on the list are Nigeria (-1.2%), Germany (-1.3%), Switzerland (-1.5%) and France (-2.5%).
There hasn't been much of a bounce for the host nation. Brazil's benchmark Bovespa index is down 2.9% since Latin America's largest economy welcomed soccer fans from around the world.
Still, Brazilian stocks have been on a tear over the past few months. After a rough start to the year, the Bovespa has gained more than 18% since bottoming in March.
Stocks in Argentina have had a rough few weeks as well. The Merval index in Buenos Aires has dropped 3% since Lionel Messi and crew arrived in Brazil.
Related: Cashing in on World Cup fever
Investors in Argentina were rattled by default fears after a U.S. court ruled in favor of creditors in a dispute with the government of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. But the stock market in Argentina is one of the top performing global markets so far this year.
Greece, which had its own brush with default a few years ago, is one of the worst performers. The Athens stock exchange is down 6.5%.
The stock market in Costa Rica (-7.4%) is in last place, but it's also one of the smallest. There are just 11 companies listed on the benchmark exchange.
(Based on benchmark stock market data from June 12 to June 26.)
First Published: June 28, 2014: 7:59 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
On Saturday, the company announced that it has adopted a one-year shareholders rights plan in an effort to prevent Charney, or any other person or group, from seizing a controlling interest in the company.
The company's "poison pill" provision kicks in once anyone purchases 15% or more of the company's outstanding stock. At that point, shareholders will be granted the right to purchase shares at $2.75 each in an effort to dilute any potential acquirer's interest.
Related: American Apparel's ousted CEO fights back!
American Apparel (APP) said the plan is in response to documents Charney filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that expressed his "intent to acquire control or influence over the Company."
On Friday, Charney submitted a regulatory filing with the SEC announcing that he's partnering with investment firm Standard General in an effort to buy large amounts of American Apparel stock.
Charney currently owns 27.2% of the company's stock, according to the filing.
Charney was ousted as Chairman by the board in June. An American Apparel director told CNNMoney the decision came after the board learned of "disturbing" information that suggested "misconduct" by Charney.
Allegations of misconduct are not new for Charney, who has faced several lawsuits claiming everything from sexual harassment to assault and battery.
Related: 6 endangered brands
In a letter to the company's board of directors, Charney's lawyer Patricia Glaser said the company acted in "a manner that was not merely unconscionable but illegal."
Charney founded the company in 1998 and took the company public in 2005 at $8 per share. The shares eventually rose to nearly $17. But in recent years, American Apparel has been fighting to stave off bankruptcy.
American Apparel's stock closed Friday at 97 cents a share.
First Published: June 28, 2014: 11:42 AM ET
| Friday, June 27th 2014, 20:35 GMT |
Sebastien Ogier will lead Rally Poland into Saturday's stages by just 0.9 seconds over his Volkswagen team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen
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| By Mark Glendenning | Friday, June 27th 2014, 20:45 GMT |
Simon Pagenaud finished the opening day of practice for this weekend's IndyCar double-header in Houston on top
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Friday, June 27th 2014, 22:43 GMT |
Brad Keselowski claimed his third pole of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup season as he denied Penske Ford team-mate Joey Logano the top spot in Kentucky Speedway qualifying
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Ben Anderson | Thursday, June 26th 2014, 16:35 GMT |
Formula 1 will introduce standing restarts after safety car periods from next season, after the FIA ratified a number of rule changes for 2015.
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, June 26th 2014, 17:41 GMT |
Formula 3 is to get a winter series in the Middle East, as predicted by AUTOSPORT
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Thursday, June 26th 2014, 19:17 GMT |
Sebastien Ogier completed the first day of the World Rally Championship's return to Poland with a slender 2.8 seconds advantage over Andreas Mikkelsen.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Wednesday, June 25th 2014, 16:05 GMT |
Valentino Rossi says he and Yamaha are not yet ready to announce a new MotoGP deal, but that a two-year extension is a formality.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Ben Anderson | Wednesday, June 25th 2014, 15:22 GMT |
Mercedes believes rival Red Bull deserved to enjoy a stronger showing at the Austrian Grand Prix, and that its poor performance was bad for Formula 1.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Wednesday, June 25th 2014, 19:47 GMT |
IndyCar has announced it has withdrawn the penalties handed to Sebastien Bourdais following the race at Texas Motorspeedway.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Dieter Rencken and Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, June 24th 2014, 13:11 GMT |
Red Bull boss Christian Horner believes that the only way for effective cost control rules to work in Formula 1 is if the teams are not involved in agreeing them.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Tuesday, June 24th 2014, 14:30 GMT |
Carl Edwards says his potential exit from Roush Fenway Racing after the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup season is having no ill-effects on their current campaign together.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Ben Anderson | Tuesday, June 24th 2014, 15:16 GMT |
The Williams Formula 1 team believes a sequence of small errors were to blame for Felipe Massa not converting pole position into a better result at the Austrian Grand Prix.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By David Evans | Monday, June 23rd 2014, 16:54 GMT |
Robert Kubica is determined to enjoy the show in this week's Rally Poland and says he feels no extra pressure to get a result in his World Rally Championship homecoming
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, June 23rd 2014, 15:23 GMT |
Kimi Raikkonen has expressed his frustration at being told to look after his brakes early in the Austrian Grand Prix, saying Ferrari cannot afford for such things to happen.
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, June 23rd 2014, 18:59 GMT |
Michael Schumacher's management fears that stolen medical records from the seven-time Formula 1 world champion are being offered for sale
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Rene de Boer | Sunday, June 22nd 2014, 20:35 GMT |
Audi celebrated another 24-hour race win just one week after its Le Mans success, as the Phoenix team came out on top in the 42nd Nurburgring 24 Hours
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Ben Anderson | Sunday, June 22nd 2014, 18:11 GMT |
The Mercedes Formula 1 team was caught out by the extent of the cooling issues its drivers suffered in the Austrian Grand Prix, according to team boss Toto Wolff
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Sunday, June 22nd 2014, 22:20 GMT |
Carl Edwards won Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup round after a gruelling 110-lap, caution-filled road course race at Sonoma, the first non-oval victory of his career
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Peter Mills | Saturday, June 21st 2014, 18:58 GMT |
Campos racer Dusan Borkovic and factory Honda driver Tiago Monteiro will be demoted from their provisional qualifying positions for the opening World Touring Car Championship race at Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Saturday, June 21st 2014, 20:06 GMT |
Freddy Loix took a dramatic ninth win on the Ypres Rally as the other major players in the fight for victory capitulated on the last day
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Saturday, June 21st 2014, 21:19 GMT |
Renowned motorsport artist and long-time AUTOSPORT cartoonist Jim Bamber has passed away after a long battle against cancer.
A former art editor of CAR magazine and Autocourse, Jim's well-loved cartoons became a weekly staple of AUTOSPORT magazine, and his impishly satirical weekly views also featured on the AUTOSPORT.com website.
Bamber's rally-based Yumping Yarns and Formula 1 series of books, The Pits, were also fan favourites over the past three decades.
Jim passed away peacefully on Friday afternoon at St Christopher's hospice, where he had spent the past few weeks.
The next issue of AUTOSPORT magazine will feature a full tribute to Jim and a selection of his classic cartoons
A tall latte will cost between 15 and 20 cents more after Tuesday. NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
On average a drink will cost between 5 and 20 cents more, depending on what you order and where you're making the purchase.
The price of a tall or venti sized latte will go up by between 15 and 20 cents, for example. But the price of a grande (medium in plain-speak) sized latte won't change at all. The cost of a tall brewed coffee and any sized frappuccino won't change either.
The company estimates that the orders of fewer than 20% of its customers will be affected. The price is only changing in U.S. stores, but it will change more in some markets than others.
Related: Starbucks workers could pay $23,000 for 4-year tuition
Starbucks is also raising the price of its packaged coffee sold in grocery stores by about 8%, beginning July 21. While retailers ultimately set the price, customers can expect to pay about $1 more per 12 oz. bag.
The change will actually bring the price back up to what it cost in April 2013, when the company cut the cost, spokesman Zack Hutson said.
He would not specify why the price hike is going into effect, but said the company considers factors like "competitive dynamics" and its overall cost structure.
Hutson said the price hike is not a knee-jerk reaction to the recent rise in coffee prices, which have skyrocketed due to a severe drought in Brazil. Starbucks buys its coffee beans ahead of time and already has enough for the rest of the fiscal year, and some of the next, he said.
The price hike at Starbucks (SBUX) comes about two months after J.M. Smucker (SJM) raised the price of its coffee products, including those for Folgers and Dunkin' Donuts, by 9%.
First Published: June 20, 2014: 2:54 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
A weekly collection of design, data and interactive links.
Photo/Video
Seismik | Herman Kolgen explores vertical layering dislocations
8-Bit 3D Art | Ron Burgundy and Boba Fett rendered in 3D printed pixels
Kodama | 20syl's new music video
Milky Way | Michael Shainblum shares 3 tips for photographing the Milky Way
Design/Data viz
Maschinenangst | Vera Idelson's costume and set design illustrations for the Italian Futurist play The Anguish of the Machines
The Story of EBoy | Watch the video, it's great
Visualizing MBTA Data | An interactive exploration of Boston's subway system
LazerBlade | The affordable laser cutter and engraver
Can you find Benghazi? | Can you accurately locate Benghazi?
Code
ArnoldC | A programming language based on the one liners of Arnold Schwarzenegger
Web Starter Kit | Boilerplate & tooling for multi-device development from Google
See last week's links
Have a nice weekend!
@dubly and @talyellin
First Published: June 20, 2014: 4:21 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Someone figured out how to hack Yo, the ridiculously popular messaging app that lets users send the word "Yo" to contacts.
What did the hackers take advantage of? Pretty much everything the app has to offer: They can spam users with custom messages and even spoof other users.
Or they could. The app's developer, Or Arbel, said that particular vulnerability had been fixed since he learned about it at 1 a.m. He had it fixed by business hours.
Chintan Parikh, who hacked the app with two friends, told CNNMoney that the it took about an hour on Thursday night.
"We were actually just messing around," said Parikh, 19, a student at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
He said he also discovered how to get into users' phone numbers and view their contacts. The skills necessary for the hack -- or the one he did on Tinder last year -- are specialized but not necessarily difficult, according to Parikh, who detailed the vulnerabilities in an email to Arbel after he found them.
Arbel says these issues have been addressed, but he admitted there are other vulnerabilities on the app that was released in April and which he created in just eight hours.
"Some of them have been fixed, and we're working on every one," Arbel said.
He declined to elaborate, saying he didn't want to give hackers too much information.
Another widely publicized hack was shown in a Vine, where a user's phone plays Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" instead of the app's standard "Yo" (which comes in the form of sound and text).
Related: Simple tips to avoid getting hacked
When asked about the Vine hack, Arbel told CNNMoney he wasn't aware of it. After watching the video, he claimed that hackers can do this to their own phones but can't do it to others' remotely.
The Yo app, which premiered in April, exploded in popularity this week. Stephen Colbert even devoted a segment of Thursday's episode to it just days after it was revealed that it had raised $1 million in venture capital.
Arbel said the hacks have made users uneasy, but he believes there is little danger.
"Users are concerned, and we understand that they're concerned," he said.
The hack doesn't seem to have hurt the app too much: Yo was the sixth most-downloaded free app in the iTunes store this morning. In the hours aftrer the news broke, it moved to third.
-- Contessa Gayles contributed reporting.
First Published: June 20, 2014: 1:18 PM ET
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is signing bills that will bring $195 million in state aid to the city. NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Gov. Rick Snyder will sign a series of bills Friday to give the city the state funds, a key component of Detroit's plan to wrap up its bankruptcy reorganization later this year.
The money is part of more than $800 million that the city will receive over the next 20 years as part of a so-called "grand bargain" to help it climb out of its financial hole. The money will help preserve most pension payments to city retirees as well as prevent the city from having to sell off the art in the Detroit Institute of Arts, the city-owned world-class museum.
Other grand bargain funds are coming from a consortium of charitable foundations as well as labor groups and businesses, including automakers General Motors (GM), Ford Motor (F) and Chrysler Group.
"It's another step on getting Detroit on the path of being a great, exciting city again," Snyder told CNN Friday. "Detroit is one of the hottest places to live in the country. There are a lot of great things going on."
The economy in parts of Detroit have shown a resurgence in recent years, with a building boom and rising real estate prices downturn. But the city's finances are still struggling with $18 billion in debt, poor city services and large swaths of the city filled with abandoned properties that are not paying taxes.
Related: I've been priced out of downtown Detroit
The state bailout was controversial, with critics arguing the city wasn't doing enough to pay creditors on its own. Americans for Prosperity, a public interest group funded by the Koch brothers that advocates for smaller government, vowed to work for the defeat of any legislature to vote for the package. But Snyder and other Republican leaders in the state argued the deal was necessary to protect the state from being on the hook for the billions in underfunded pension plans in the city. The state constitution promises protections of those plans.
"This isn't a bailout. This is a settlement," said Snyder. "It really allows the [bankruptcy] case to move forward faster."
Related: Detroit vote - Key to comeback
Detroit still needs the approval of creditors of the proposed reorganization plan, including a support vote from city employees and retirees who will see their benefits trimmed. Ballots sent out to them are due back by July 11.
But while retirees are seeing deep cuts in their health care coverage, the money from the grand bargain has resulted in smaller cuts in their pension plans than feared when Detroit filed for bankruptcy 11 months ago.
Most civilian employees and retirees will have their benefits cut by 4.5% and will lose their annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLA). Police and fire fighters, whose pension fund was in better shape than the one that covered other employees, will keep their basic benefit level and lose only half of their COLA. The original proposal from Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr, who is overseeing the city's finances during the bankruptcy, was for a 34% cut in benefits for most employees and 14% for police and fire.
First Published: June 20, 2014: 11:45 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
"What on earth have you done to my house?" President Obama quipped Wednesday at the White House's first maker faire.
The event was devoted to the future of innovation. The idea: bring together makers, hobbyists and inventors to show off the creativity of American entrepreneurs.
The maker movement, which empowers folks to build their ideas on their own, has gone from niche to mainstream, and the administration has taken notice. Although the maker movement isn't new, many of the technologies that have driven the movement have recently become mainstream and accessible.
"Today's D.I.Y. is tomorrow's 'Made in America,'" Obama said. "New tools and technologies are making the building of things easier than ever. ...It gives you a sense that we are at the dawn of something big."
Related: Home 3-D printing is getting affordable
Also present at the faire: A woman who had built a cheap incubator for at-risk infants that doesn't require electricity and a formerly homeless laser-cutter who learned his skills a 3-D printing shop.
The innovations weren't all tech-related. 14-year old Sicily Kolbeck built a compact home with a functioning kitchen and bathroom, a queen-size bed, and closets. Kolbeck said she envisioned it being used for the homeless. She also said it could give people the freedom to travel with their homes.
Obama declared Wednesday 'A National Day of Making,' and said he would provide more support to startups wanting to file patents. He also pledged to team up with universities to give students more hands on experiences.
First Published: June 20, 2014: 11:53 AM ET
Gold has rallied this year but they have pulled back from their highs. Click for more market data. NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Gold prices shot up more than 3% on Thursday, the biggest one day gain since September 2013. Prices were up slightly again Friday, with futures trading at about $1,316 an ounce.
So far this month, gold prices have risen nearly 6%.
While gold bugs have regained some swagger, analysts don't expect the metal to break out of the funk it's been in for the past year.
The recent jump in gold prices comes as turmoil in Iraq has put some investors on edge. Gold and other so-called "hard" assets often find favor in times of political and economic uncertainty.
Meanwhile, Russian forces have been massing on the eastern border with Ukraine, raising concerns about an escalation of tensions in an already volatile region.
"There are a lot of reasons investors should own gold," said Donald Doyle, chief executive of Blanchard & Co., a precious metals dealer in New Orleans. The current geopolitical uncertainty "illustrates the metal's qualities as insurance when governments clash."
Doyle added that investors were also spooked by comments from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen on Wednesday. Yellen reiterated that the central bank is unlikely to hike interest rates any time soon.
Some investors see gold as an alternative to the U.S. dollar, which they believe is being undermined by the Fed's policies.
Related: Water becoming more valuable than gold
But other analysts say Thursday's rally was driven by technical factors, such as "short covering."
The price of gold rose above its 50-day moving average early Thursday, which triggered a wave of buy orders and caused investors who were betting against the metal to unwind their positions, said Carlos Sanchez, a precious metals analyst at the CPM Group.
Investors have been "short" gold for at least a year, meaning they are positioned to benefit from falling prices. Analysts say that's not likely to change anytime soon.
The summer months are historically very slow in the gold market. In addition, demand from China, which has been a big consumer of physical gold, is slowing down.
While geopolitical concerns could help support the metal in the short term, "I still think gold is headed lower," said Sanchez.
That's largely because the stock market continues to hit record highs.
And despite worries about Ukraine and Iraq, investors don't appear to be that scared. The VIX (VIXAUG), a key measure of volatility, is at its lowest point since 2007. And the CNNMoney Fear & Greed Index, which looks at the VIX and six other measures of investor sentiment, is showing signs of Extreme Greed.
Investors fled the gold market last year as they chased better returns in more risky assets. Gold prices fell nearly 30% in 2013. It was the biggest decline since 1981 and the first year-over-year drop since 2000.
Gold hit an all-time high near $1,900 an ounce in 2011, as investors worried about a global economic collapse. But the metal has fallen out of favor with stocks in the midst of a five year-old bull market.
Related: Funds dumped $40 billion in gold last year
"The fact that the equity market continues to be strong doesn't give traders much incentive to get into gold," said Rob Kurzatkowski, senior commodities analyst at optionsXpress.
Gold will probably continue to trade in the range it has been in for most of the year, between $1,200 and $1,300 an ounce, Kurzatkowski added.
"Gold may just continue to grind here," he said. "There are too many factors underpinning the market for gold to collapse, but there's not enough to spark the metal higher either."
First Published: June 20, 2014: 1:23 PM ET
San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis is publicly traded on an exchange called Fantex. Will his holdout hurt his value? NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
That may be the dilemma facing owners of a stock tied to the value of star football player Vernon Davis, who missed his team's mandatory minicamp this week.
Davis, the Pro Bowl tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, is listed on Fantex, a relatively new exchange that lets investors (and presumably lots of sports fans) track the financial performance of athletes.
There are SEC filings and everything. This is not fantasy football.
Fantex paid Davis $4 million upfront in exchange for 10% of what Fantex calls "future brand income." That includes what he earns on the gridiron as well as other off-field activities such as endorsements ... and potentially broadcasting after his career is over. So what an investor is getting from buying the stock is an investment that tracks the Fantex financial cut of its relationship with Davis.
The Vernon Davis stock, which trades under the ticker symbol VNDSL on Fantex, had its initial public offering in late April. It debuted at $10 and currently trades around $11.
The stock hasn't fallen below $10. It also hasn't gone any higher than $12.50. It is set to pay a dividend of 70 cents per share in August. So with a yield of 6.3%, you could call it a blue chip value holding of sorts.
Related: NFL players warn rookies to stop spending
Despite signing a five year contract in 2010 worth $37 million, Davis thinks he's worth more because of the way he's been playing. He even wrote about it for Sports Illustrated.
But if Davis holds out for the rest of the summer and risks missing actual regular season games, won't that hurt the value of his stock? I talked with Buck French, the CEO of Fantex, to find out the scoop.
French explained that Fantex would not be hurt if Davis doesn't suit up in September. That's because he is contractually obligated to pay Fantex 10% of his usual salary -- regardless of whether or not he is playing and being paid. In fact, there is a good story that goes into more detail about why the Fantex deal might hurt the negotiating leverage of Davis on the Niners Nation blog.
"He either goes back and plays under his current contract or he gets a new one. Either way it generates income for us," French said.
Still, you have to wonder if Davis is the wisest investment. He's not exactly a star when it comes to endorsements. He was in an Under Armour (UA) commercial just before the Niners drafted him out of the University of Maryland in 2006. But he's no Peyton Manning.
Davis also owns a couple of Jamba Juice (JMBA) franchises in the Bay area and an art gallery in San Jose. That's pretty cool. It might not be enough to make his stock a screaming buy though.
He is, however, the only buy on Fantex right now. The exchange has three more IPOs pending. But they are all pretty risky.
There is one for Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Mohamed Sanu ... who is not a household name and plays in a small market. There is also one for Buffalo Bills quarterback EJ Manuel. He had a promising start last year in his rookie season, but he missed several games due to knee injuries. A knee injury for an athlete is kind of like an earnings warning or too much debt for a stock. A gigantic red flag.
And then there's Arian Foster of the Houston Texans. Foster, and not Davis, was supposed to be the star attraction for Fantex. Heading into last season, he was one of the best running backs in the game. He was also set to star in the movie "Draft Day" with Kevin Costner.
But a back injury forced Foster to end his season in November. Fantex delayed his IPO as a result. And then "Draft Day" hit theaters in April and was a box office flop.
Related: Patent office cancels Redskins trademarks
I joked with French that Fantex might be the 2014 version of the old SI cover jinx or EA (EA, Tech30) Madden game cover curse.
"Arian's injury was unfortunate," he said. "But Davis generates more dialogue about Fantex."
French said that he's happy to have Davis in the Fantex roster and believes that there is good potential for him to earn more once his playing career is done. French even spun a big negative about Davis -- he was famously benched in the middle of a 2008 game by former Niners coach Mike Singletary -- as a transformational experience.
If that's true, Davis might want to report to training camp this summer. French said he hasn't talked to Davis since his holdout began. But he's not too worried.
"The market will determine the stock price. Not me," Davis said.
Fair point. I'd still probably pass on Davis as a stock. He'd be a great fit for your fantasy team though. (And I sort of know what I'm doing. I'll not-so-humbly point out that my wife and I won our league last year ... go Brooklyn Brawlers!) I just wouldn't draft him before Julius Thomas or Jimmy Graham.
That's assuming Graham still qualifies as a TE of course. But that's what his Twitter (TWTR, Tech30) bio says at least. Check out my Turner colleagues at Bleacher Report for the scoop on that bizarre story.
First Published: June 20, 2014: 1:46 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
A student who completes all four years at Arizona State University's online program could pay in the ballpark of $23,000, according to calculations based on tuition costs. Also, a significant slice of the cost won't be paid by Starbucks at all, but by its partner ASU.
Workers who are admitted will receive a scholarship from the college that will cover 22% of their freshman and sophomore year's tuition. The remaining balance will have be paid out of pocket by the student or through traditional financial aid.
Workers completing their junior and senior years will get a 44% scholarship from ASU. The rest of the cost will be taken out in student loans which Starbucks says it will pay off after students complete each semester.
Related: Other hourly jobs that will help pay tuition
Students who leave school or Starbucks mid-semester will be responsible for paying back the loan. Starbucks says research, provided by ASU, shows that funding the semester up-front increases the drop-out rate. Tuition for ASU's online program is about $15,000 per year.
"It's going to cost millions of dollars, but I don't view it as a cost," CEO Howard Schultz told CNNMoney's Poppy Harlow in an interview. "I view it as an investment. And I'm so confident that this investment is going to drive performance and value for our shareholders."
Most of Starbucks (SBUX)' 135,000 U.S. employees are eligible to apply.
ASU has recently admitted its first student under the program, and about 1,300 additional applications have been received since the partnership was announced Sunday evening, the university said.
Arizona State says the program "pays for itself" through an economy of scale; more students means more tuition money to fund the scholarships.
Students will also be encouraged to apply for federal aid, such as the need-based Pell Grant. ASU will connect each student-employee with financial aid advice.
Related: Why Starbucks is paying for college
Details of financial agreements between companies are often closely-guarded secrets. But Starbucks said it is releasing the information so that other companies can build their own programs.
"We're going to provide 100% transparency to any company that's interested and hopefully they can emulate, copy, or just refine this for themselves," he said.
First Published: June 20, 2014: 2:26 PM ET
Actress and producer Mindy Kaling was the host at an event geared toward getting more young girls interested in tech. NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Made With Code aims to address what, according to Google's own research, are the top two reasons women don't get into computer science -- exposure and encouragement.
Actress and producer Mindy Kaling hosted the Made With Code launch event for the initiative in New York on Thursday night, where supporter Chelsea Clinton was also among the 150 in attendance. Clinton is Vice Chair of the Clinton Foundation, whose No Ceilings project works to further the full participation of women and girls in all parts of society.
"It was really powerful for the girls in the room, some of whom have never coded, to see the connection between art, music, dance -- the things they love -- and coding," said Reshma Saujani, founder & CEO of Girls Who Code, a partner of the Made With Code initiative.
Girls Who Code places high school juniors and seniors in coding classes within the walls of major private sector corporations like Google (GOOGL, Tech30), Twitter (TWTR, Tech30), eBay (EBAY, Tech30) and others.
The Made With Code website is a hub for interactive coding projects, video profiles of female coders merging their tech skills with their other interests, and a directory for coding classes, camps and opportunities from partner organizations.
Video profiles on the site include women and girls working in music engineering, studying human robot interactions and at the intersection of fashion and technology.
Related: Black girls take on tech's diversity woes
For the initiative, Google recruited partners and supporters including Girls Inc., Girl Scouts of the USA, MIT Media Lab, National Center for Women & Information Technology, Seventeen magazine, and the influential industry news site TechCrunch.
Google has also pledged $50 million to support nonprofits working to teach girls computer science.
Just a few weeks ago Google released a report revealing a severe gender gap within its own ranks. Only 30% of Googlers are women, with just 17% women on their tech teams. This week, Yahoo (YAHOF) followed suit by releasing numbers on their own staff. Despite having Marissa Mayer as CEO, Yahoo is only 15% female on the tech side of its business.
Related: Google: Overwhelmingly white and male
The numbers illustrate the industry's serious gender gap. In the United States, women make up only 28% of the science and engineering workforce, according to the National Science Foundation.
"We're building a movement here," said Saujani. "We're trying to reach millions of girls and teach them to code. We have a lot of work to do. This is just the beginning."
First Published: June 20, 2014: 4:06 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The science teacher and textbook author was fighting off a rare and terminal form of cancer as he watched the Great Recession swallow up 40% of his investment portfolio. Friends in finance warned him to dump his stocks because they feared the Dow would soon plummet from its already depressed 8,000 level to 1,000.
Despite those daunting challenges and ominous warnings, Eimer poured cash into the stock market at the depths of the crisis, a decision that has left him and his wife Gayle on track to become millionaires.
"I didn't jump ship. It was scary buying back into the market at that time," said Eimer, who lives in Horsham, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia.
Eimer, who in 2005 had been given just two years to live, said he stuck to his belief that you've got to be in the market to make money.
Besides, he said, "If the Dow goes down to 1,000, then all of us have a lot more problems than losses in stocks. You're talking about the collapse of our economy."
Related: How a 77-year-old trader is cashing in on growth stocks
'Prepared for the worst' Eimer's courageous investing during the financial crisis was made possible by his family's frugal, debt-free lifestyle.
Unlike most Americans, he didn't lever up during the mid-2000s on luxury cars, over-the-top houses or second mortgages.
Instead, Eimer and his wife saved half of his salary and invested heavily in their retirement and college savings funds. They paid off a mortgage on their two-bedroom condo in 2003 and bought a new Toyota Corolla for just $15,000. Later they "splurged" on a Honda Element for $18,000.
"Frugality was grounded into me from a young age," said Eimer, whose grandfather lost everything in the Great Depression. "If we had not prepared for the worst, we would be faced with financial disaster."
Eimer said he converted his wife from a "spendthrift" when they first met to a frugal manager of the household budget. "Without her, we wouldn't have been able to do any of it," he said, noting the family gets by on just a single prepaid cell phone.
Related: U.S. recovery hits 5-year mark, but has long way to go
Beating the odds: Disaster struck in 2005 when Eimer was diagnosed with an extremely rare and terminal form of thyroid cancer. That forced him to give up his lucrative side career making up to $200 an hour writing textbooks for McGraw-Hill, Prentice Hall and other publishers.
There was one doctor on the whole planet who was researching this form of cancer, Eimer said, and she developed an experimental chemotherapy drug that helped save his life.
While the drugs extended his life considerably, he still deals with chronic pain, fatigue, abdominal pain and loss of his hair, which has since returned. But Eimer has been able to continue teaching middle school science at Phil-Mont Christian Academy in Springfield, Pa.
Almost a decade after receiving his grim diagnosis, Eimer has beaten the odds and is currently in stable condition. He's also beaten most retail investors by actually participating in the bull market that has left many everyday Americans behind.
"I went through the dotcom bubble, but this seemed worse," Eimer said about the 2008 crash after Lehman Brothers collapsed in September of that year. He said friends who were financial advisors told him to "ditch all stocks and buy silver."
Related: Why hasn't Main Street recovered like Wall Street?
Buying at the bottom: But Eimer did the exact opposite of those dark warnings: He scooped up beaten down stocks and bonds at what turned out to be historically-low prices.
Eimer said he felt confident enough to do this because he had no debt and a ton of fresh powder: 25% of his portfolio had been in cash when the market cratered. At that point, he had bigger problems as he braced for cancer to take his life.
Related: I sold my startup to Cisco. Here's why
Rather than risk trying to find individual stock winners, Eimer continued a strategy that he's implemented since the 1990s: Buy a diversified variety of index and mutual funds.
Bad luck while investing in individual stocks led Eimer to conclude: "It was only my broker who was getting wealthy."
One mutual fund that's been particularly kind to him is the Vanguard PRIMECAP Fund (VPMAX), which invests mostly in technology and biotech stocks like Google (GOOGL, Tech30) and Amgen (AMGN). The fund has soared 133% since the start of 2009, besting the S&P 500's 123% gain.
"Today, our portfolio is up about 2-1/2 fold from the recession lows. We have zero debt, we're on target to become millionaires in about three years and I'm still alive," Eimer said. "We count ourselves blessed!"
First Published: June 21, 2014: 7:43 AM ET
| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, June 20th 2014, 17:30 GMT |
Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn says Formula 1 cost cuts agreed this week have not gone far enough
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Friday, June 20th 2014, 19:32 GMT |
Peugeot's Kevin Abbring upstaged the locals to take control of day one of the European Rally Championship's Ypres Rally
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, June 19th 2014, 17:32 GMT |
Formula 1 chiefs are hoping to conduct fresh tests to try to improve the noise of the cars after the British Grand Prix, AUTOSPORT has learned
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Edd Straw and Ben Anderson | Thursday, June 19th 2014, 17:45 GMT |
The Mercedes Formula 1 team has made changes to the cooling of its control electronics system to prevent a repeat of the problem that cost it victory in Canada.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, June 19th 2014, 18:13 GMT |
The FIA is ready to ease back on driving standard investigations from the Austrian Grand Prix in a bid to make drivers more willing to battle hard, AUTOSPORT has learned
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Wednesday, June 18th 2014, 11:54 GMT |
Ex-Formula 1 driver Jarno Trulli will race in Formula E with the new team he has formed for the FIA's electric single-seater championship
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Wednesday, June 18th 2014, 14:20 GMT |
Hendrick is a "a sesaon ahead" of its NASCAR Sprint Cup rivals in engine development, according to Penske's Brad Keselowski
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Ben Anderson | Wednesday, June 18th 2014, 14:49 GMT |
Kevin Magnussen says the mixed results he has scored since graduating to Formula 1 has not affected his self-confidence as a driver
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble and Dieter Rencken | Tuesday, June 17th 2014, 15:13 GMT |
Formula 1 chiefs are to discuss ways to make the sport more popular with fans during a crunch meeting that takes place at Biggin Hill near London on Thursday.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Scott Mitchell | Tuesday, June 17th 2014, 13:46 GMT |
Aston Martin has dedicated its Le Mans 24 Hours victory in the Pro Am class last weekend to former driver Allan Simonsen.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Gary Watkins | Tuesday, June 17th 2014, 15:15 GMT |
Marc Gene is aiming to extend his career as an LMP1 driver after finishing second in last weekend's Le Mans 24 Hours on his recall to Audi
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Monday, June 16th 2014, 16:44 GMT |
Marc Marquez topped the post-race MotoGP test at Barcelona, with included a trial of a revised layout using part of the Formula 1 configuration.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Scott Mitchell | Monday, June 16th 2014, 15:56 GMT |
A man has been arrested following an incident at Brands Hatch last weekend involving a Volkswagen Polo road car being driven onto the track during a club race
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Ben Anderson | Monday, June 16th 2014, 16:20 GMT |
Valtteri Bottas says the Williams Formula 1 team is not repeating mistakes, despite failing to make the most of a quick car this season.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Hal Ridge | Sunday, June 15th 2014, 16:26 GMT |
Latvian Reinis Nitiss stormed to his first Supercar victory in only his third event in the World Rallycross Championship at Hell in Norway.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Sunday, June 15th 2014, 20:22 GMT |
Scott Redding has dropped from 12th to 13th place in the Barcelona MotoGP results after being given a time penalty for gaining an unfair advantage while battling with Nicky Hayden
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Sunday, June 15th 2014, 20:39 GMT |
Six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson scored his first career victory on the two-mile Michigan superspeedway, taking a dominant win after picking a perfect strategy in the late stages
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| Sunday, June 15th 2014, 00:02 GMT |
The battle for GTE honours at the Le Mans 24 Hours took centre stage as Toyota edged further ahead in the fight at the front
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| Sunday, June 15th 2014, 00:58 GMT |
Audi closed the gap to Toyota at the front of the Le Mans 24 Hours as the race reached its halfway stage
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| Sunday, June 15th 2014, 02:02 GMT |
The Le Mans 24 Hours lead battle was reduced to two cars in the 13th hour of the race, as the #1 Audi hit trouble
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LONDON (CNNMoney)
Oil experts say the 4% price spike since June 6 -- which has taken a barrel of crude to $107 for the first time since September 2013 -- is being driven by fear that exports could be hit later this year, just as world demand peaks.
An al Qaeda splinter group occupied Iraq's second biggest city -- Mosul -- earlier this week and has pushed on towards the capital, Baghdad. The group is trying to establish an Islamic state straddling the Iraq-Syria border.
Attacks by insurgents had already shut off exports from Iraq's northern oil fields in early March, but it's the threat they could post to exports from the south -- the heart of the country's oil industry -- that's worrying traders.
Related: U.S. considering military options as Islamists advance
"The driver [of prices] has been, what if they get to the south, which is where the bulk of Iraq's production and exports are, and what if we see disruptions there?" said Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at Energy Aspects.
"Seasonally we are coming to the peak demand period. We know that Libya is already off line and this is why there is such impetus for an upward movement in oil prices now," she told CNN.
Demand tends to peak as U.S. and European drivers guzzle gas on their summer vacations, and then as refineries ramp up heating oil output before winter.
Libyan supplies have collapsed to about 100,000 barrels per day, from 1.4 million a year ago, as rebels occupied oil fields and major export terminals.
Iraq, which has the world's fourth largest reserves of oil, produces about 3.3 million barrels a day, making it the second biggest producer in OPEC after Saudi Arabia. Exports were running at about 2.5 million barrels per day in April.
A surge in production by non-OPEC nations, including the United States, and increased output by Saudi Arabia -- the oil market's "central banker" -- has made up for the shortfall from Libya and northern Iraq, helping markets cope with a modest acceleration in demand growth in 2014.
Still, the dependence on OPEC oil will rise later this year, according to the International Energy Agency.
Related: Gas prices could climb on Iraq conflict
The Paris-based oil market monitor said Friday it expected global demand in the second half of 2014 to average 2 million barrels per day more than in the first half. Demand would peak at about 94 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter.
OPEC will need to supply nearly 31 million barrels per day, one million more than the cartel's production target for 2014, which oil ministers reiterated as recently as Wednesday.
"Given that Libya is pretty much offline ... the only country that has spare capacity to meet any rise in demand is Saudi Arabia, which would have to increase production in any case in Q3," said Sen.
"If you get any supply disruption in Iraq, that is going to be the challenge for the market --- how does it counteract that?"
The IEA says 60% of the growth in OPEC crude production capacity for the next five years will come from Iraq, underscoring the risks to oil supplies in the medium term if the insurgency spreads to other parts of the country and deters foreign investors.
Sen said production was likely to fall back slightly this year as international oil companies begin to pull some of their staff out of the country because of the rising threats to their security.
First Published: June 13, 2014: 9:46 AM ET
Canadian firm Amaya is buying the company that operates PokerStars. LONDON (CNNMoney)
Amaya (AMYGF), which is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange, is buying Oldford Group, which runs PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, another gambling site.
"The transaction will result in Amaya becoming the world's largest publicly-traded online gaming company," said the companies in a joint press release. The statement also said they plan to expand in the U.S. market.
PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker are the world's most popular online poker brands, with more than 85 million registered players.
However, the games have had their fair share of problems. In July 2012, the U.S. Justice Department announced a $731 million settlement with PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker to resolve allegations related to the company circumventing federal laws against Internet gambling.
Former Full Tilt CEO Raymond Bitar pleaded guilty last year to multiple gambling and fraud charges. He faced a substantial prison sentence but was released because of health problems.
Related: Macau's gambling industry dwarf's Vegas
Gervais Williams, a fund manager at Miton Group, said the timing of the deal is important.
"The timing of the transaction reflects the fact that the U.S. online gaming market is deregulating, with the prospect of it becoming one of the most valuable online poker markets in the world. The enlarged Amaya business will be a formidable participant going forward," he said.
"We believe that the online gaming market in California is close to being opened up, and following this transaction Amaya will clearly be working hard to fully participate when the time comes," said Williams.
Amaya offers a variety of online casino and poker games, and also offers physical gambling products and technologies that are used inside casinos.
Amaya will be issuing new debt and shares to raise the money for the deal.
First Published: June 13, 2014: 9:53 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
That's what Jetblue is hoping to sell to its customers starting Sunday, when the airline launches a new service called "Mint." It will begin with only the New York to Los Angeles route, and will offer the kind of amenities usually seen on international flights.
Billing it "coast-to-coast without the cost," travelers can expect seats that become private suites with a door, food lifted from the menu of a trendy New York City restaurant and tiny bottles of fancy beauty products. There's also a signature cocktail and organic ice cream from a Brooklyn scoop shop, all for about $600 a ticket, each way.
It's not exactly flying behind the first class curtain (there is, in fact, no curtain separating the cabins) but it's close, and built for the everyday business traveler willing to spend a little more.
"I think they can expect a refreshing surprise," said Brad Farmerie, the executive chef of Saxon + Parole, the restaurant behind Mint's food.
He said passengers will be offered options like octopus with truffled portobello mushroom mousse for dinner, and French toast stuffed with banana and homemade Nutella for breakfast.
Related: jetBlue pilots vote to unionize
The beauty company Birchbox will supply the amenities for Mint, with gift boxes filled with products like moisturizers, sunscreens and hair products. Birchbox co-founder and co-CEO Katia Beauchamp said that she hopes the kits will make traveling easier "and more glamorous!"
There are gift boxes for women, and separate ones for men. The cost for all this luxury? Seats are currently offered at $599 one way, if booked by next week for travel later this year. A non-refundable economy class ticket taken during a similar time is about $330. All the amenities are included with the ticket price.
JetBlue's new service comes at a time when more and more airlines are building in extravagant options for fliers willing to spend. AirFrance recently announced its new La Première cabin, which has four private suites and will debut in September.
Etihad Airways' A380 offers a one-bedroom "residence" on one of its long-haul planes departing from London, at a cost of $21,000 a ticket.
While all that luxury comes with a hefty price tag, JetBlue's decision to keep things less astronomical may signal a trend that combines the casual with the costly.
Like Virgin Atlantic's rather whimsical new option for its higher-paying passengers -- a onesie pajama bodysuit with feet. The airline dubbed the onesie a "fun alternative" for the first class flier.
First Published: June 14, 2014: 9:17 AM ET
The 2014 Chevy Camaro is one the cars included in the latest GM recall NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
GM said that the problem is similar but not identical to the flawed ignition switch in 2.6 million Chevrolet Cobalts that has been tied to at least 13 deaths. In that recall, the ignition switch itself was faulty and needed to be replaced. In the case of the Camaro, the design of the ignition key and the attached fob makes it susceptible to being bumped out of the "run" position, similar to what happened with the recalled Cobalts.
But GM said the ignition switch does not need to be replaced in the Camaro. Instead it is issuing a new key and fob which aren't attached to each other.
Related: 1 in 10 U.S. cars and trucks have been recalled
GM (GM) said the problem with the Camaro has been traced to at least three accidents and four minor injuries, but no deaths or serious injuries.
GM said that it is acting much faster in response to reports of problems than it did with the Cobalts, which the automaker waited 10 years to recall.
"Discovering and acting on this issue quickly is an example of the new norm for product safety at GM," said Jeff Boyer, vice president of GM Global Safety.
GM is under fire over the 10-year delay in the Cobalt recall. It had to pay the maximum $35 million fine to federal safety regulators and faces criminal probes as well as Congressional investigations over that recall. The automaker has also said it will set up a fund to compensate those crash victims.
The Camaro recall covers the models years from 2010 through the current 2014 model. The company said it applies to 465,000 Camaros in the United States, while the rest are in Mexico, Canada or overseas.
Related: GM's botched recall due to 'a pattern of incompetence and neglect.'
GM also announced three other minor recalls in which there were no accidents or injuries reported, including about 30,000 Saab convertibles due to a problem with the seat belt retractor. Saab, which GM jettisoned as part of its 2009 bankruptcy, is one of the few GM brands that the automaker had not recalled before now.
GM is also recalling 25,000 Chevy Sonics, and 15,000 Buick LaCrosses.
All told, Friday's recall brings GM's recall total for the year to 14.4 million U.S. cars and trucks, and 16.5 million worldwide.
First Published: June 13, 2014: 10:23 AM ET
