| Saturday, August 30th 2014, 16:58 GMT |
Mini driver Vaclav Pech found himself in the Rally Zlin lead after all the usual European Rally Championship frontrunners had near-simultaneous disasters on day one in the Czech Republic
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, August 30th 2014, 17:05 GMT |
Santino Ferrucci dominated the first race of the British Formula 3 Championship weekend at Brands Hatch to take a pole-to-flag win
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, August 31st 2014, 00:05 GMT |
Mikhail Aleshin's condition has been upgraded to stable following his huge IndyCar practice crash at Fontana on Friday
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The Coolest Cooler (yes, a cooler) raised $13.3 million in its 52-day run. The previous record holder, the Pebble smartwatch raised $10.2 million in 2012.
Why have more than 60,000 people contributed to a cooler campaign?
Well, this cooler includes a blender, waterproof bluetooth speaker, USB charger, cutting board and bottle opener -- a "portable party," according to founder Ryan Grepper of Portland, Ore.
And those who pledged enough ($165 or more) will save at least $130 on the cooler, which will retail for $299.
Those who contributed less can still get in on a piece of Kickstarter history: A $25 contribution earned a Coolest-branded reusable party cup and a drink guide; for $55, backers receive the party cup plus a "Keep Calm and Blend On" tee.
And for the first eight backers who contributed $2,000, Grepper will fly out and help them host a tailgate party with the Coolest (before its available to backers in February 2015).
Related: The 13 most WTF gadgets
The record is impressive by any measure, but the last couple days have been a whirlwind: Backers contributed over $2 million in 24 hours.
The rush to contribute in the final days isn't all that shocking to Jason Greenberg, PhD and assistant professor at New York University's business school.
"This is something we tend to see in cultural settings where the 'rich get increasingly richer,'" said Greenberg. "A firm end date and time can precipitate this."
But it adds more pressure to satisfy consumer expectations.
"Bigger capital raises entail bigger expectations and scrutiny," said Greenberg.
Grepper is acutely aware of this obligation.
"I feel personal responsibility to each backer that has supported me and am committed making the Coolest live up to its name," said Grepper.
Related: Water balloon lovers pledge $645,000 on Kickstarter
The success of the Coolest is perhaps all the more surprising because this isn't its first time around the Kickstarter block.
Grepper unsuccessfully tried to raise $125,000 for similar model In November 2013 (he only earned $100,000),
"My confidence was pretty low because of the first campaign," said Grepper.
But a combination of seasonality (launching the campaign in July vs. November), more supporters and an improved design helped him get far more than his $50,000 goal this time around.
Setting the bar so low -- and meeting it within 36 hours of launching -- has helped him get ahead on production. He's currently in the process of locking in a final design and securing a factory to produce the coolers (which will be available in three colors: Margarita, Blue Moon and Coolest Orange).
Related: These startup ideas are money magnets
So, are the millions raised any indication of how it'll fare post-crowdfunding?
They could be.
"We've seen more and more angels and investors using [Kickstarter] as a minor league in terms of [gauging] customer demands," said Greenberg.
Grepper said he's already been contacted by "many" retailers who are interested in working with him to sell the product.
According to PrivCo, a financial data provider on privately-held companies, U.S. cooler sales totaled $635 million in 2013.
Igloo Products Corp "dominates" the market, according to Matt Turlip, senior analyst at PrivCo. The company, which ACON Investments bought from J.H. Whitney & Co. earlier this year, owns 53% of the full-size cooler market.
"Maybe in a year or two, the Coolest can hope to compete," said Turlip.
First Published: August 29, 2014: 9:19 PM ET
Vice's co-founder Shane Smith has said he wants Vice to be the "next CNN" and "next MTV." NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Vice Media is in talks with A&E about a deal that would value it at more than $2.5 billion, according to a Vice spokesman.
A&E would buy a 10% stake in the company.
Vice would also create content for the A&E cable networks, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations.
Its online content, magazine and HBO series, called Vice, specifically targets millennials.
On YouTube, the Vice channel has nearly 5 million subscribers. Its most popular video, "First Animal to Survive in Space," has 12.1 million views, followed by "The Biggest Ass in Brazil," which has been viewed 10.6 million times.
A&E, which also owns the Lifetime and History channels, is buying the stake to gain digital exposure.
Flipboard: Future of Media
A&E is jointly owned by Disney (DIS) and the Hearst Corporation. An A&E spokesman declined to comment.
Time Warner (TWC) was also interested in buying a stake in Vice, but those discussions are now over, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. (Time Warner owns CNN.)
This isn't the first time Vice has attracted investment from an established media company. Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox paid $70 million for a 5% stake last year.
Vice's other minority shareholders include marketing services firm WPP, The Raine Group and former Viacom (VIA) chief executive Tom Freston.
The company's co-founder Shane Smith has said he wants Vice to be the "next CNN" and "next MTV."
First Published: August 29, 2014: 8:41 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Geo Group (GEO)and Corrections Corporation of America (CXW) are two of America's largest for-profit prison operators. They have thousands of open beds, and they have deep relationships with the federal agencies charged with doling out contracts to house undocumented immigrants, including children.
"It's highly likely that the federal government will have to turn to the private sector for help with this crisis. Both companies are extremely well positioned," said Brian Ruttenbur, an analyst at CRT Capital Group who covers the stocks of Geo Group and Corrections Corporation of America (CCA).
Investors are clearly seeing dollar signs. Shares of both CCA and Geo Group have spiked since the border crisis landed on front pages this summer. CCA has climbed 8.5% since July 30, and Geo Group is up over 7%. That's a lot better than the S&P 500's 1.5% advance over that time span.
Related: Crisis on the border
The Obama administration has already shifted over $405 million in funds to address the crisis and is urging Congress to pass a $3.7 billion emergency supplemental bill.
"Investors see this as an opportunity. This is a potentially untapped market that will have very strong demand," said Alex Friedmann, an activist investor who owns shares of both CCA and Geo Group.
Positioned to profit: Some of the prisons CCA and Geo Group own are not filled and others are completely idle. That means they are in the unique position to offer their services to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (known as ICE).
Ruttenbur said CCA and Geo Group have both been talking to the federal government about how they can help.
"We are always in conversations with our government partners including ICE, but we don't have anything new to report," a CCA spokesman told CNNMoney. Geo Group did not respond to a request for comment.
The best outcome for these companies would be landing a contract with the government to help house some of the undocumented immigrants at existing facilities that are currently idle.
That's exactly what happened last month when the U.S. border control inked a contract with Geo Group to give its adult detention center in Karnes County, Texas a makeover. Now the facility is able to house hundreds of immigrant women and children.
Related: How far can President Obama go on immigration without Congress?
Bullish long-term trends: Of course, there's no guarantee CCA and Geo Group will end up benefiting from the border crisis. It's notoriously difficult to call the timing on any government contract.
"I've been doing this 20 years and I've never gotten that right," said Ruttenbur.
Still, analysts remain very bullish on the for-profit prison industry. Both companies reported better-than-expected earnings and raised their outlook for the rest of the year -- a double high-five that investors love to see.
Wall Street also applauded when CCA and Geo Group, which went public during the 1980s and 1990s, recently converted to real estate investment trusts, or REITs. That status, which is also used by hospitals and office building operators, gives them enormous tax advantages.
Related: Hot stocks: 10 companies trading at all-time highs
For-profit prisons are not without controversy. Some of these facilities have been criticized for poor conditions, including the CCA-run T. Don Hutto Residential Center in Texas. A 2007 lawsuit that alleged immigrant families at the center were kept under virtual 24-hour lockdown and denied adequate services. The U.S. government stopped housing families there in 2009.
But investors are attracted to prison stocks because they give generate lots of cash flow, have strong dividend yields and high occupancy rates compared to other real estate options.
"The long-term trends are very much in place right now because the federal, state and local governments aren't willing to put up the capital to build new facilities. The only group building new facilities is the private sector," said Ruttenbur.
First Published: August 29, 2014: 3:29 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
So with stocks near record highs, should investors be worried about a big September swoon once the Hampton Jitney returns to Wall Street after Labor Day?
Many experts say no. Here are 4 reasons why.
1. September has a bad reputation. Yes, September is often a terrible month for the market. The numbers (and the Stock Trader's Almanac) don't lie. The S&P 500 has recorded an average drop of 0.5% in September since 1950.
But recent history may be more important to consider. During the past five Septembers, stocks have enjoyed solid gains every year except in 2011 -- the month after Standard & Poor's cut the credit rating of the United States and while the euro debt crisis was in full swing. (September 2008 was, of course, a month to forget as well.)
So don't use the calendar to make your investing decisions.
If you sold in May of this year and went away, here's what you missed.
When stocks have gone down in September, it's not because it was September. It was because there was bad news to justify a sell-off. Which brings me to my next point ...
2. The U.S. still looks healthier than the rest of the world. The economy bounced back in the second quarter after a horrible first quarter. The job market is heating up. Earnings growth has been decent and revenues are actually on the upswing too -- a sign that businesses are benefiting from actual demand and not just cost-cutting.
"When push comes to shove, Corporate America is doing really well," said John Norris, managing director with Oakworth Capital Bank.
Related: Apple and other well-known stocks are at all-time highs
Yes, there are lots of scary things going on around the globe. ISIS. Ukraine. Ebola.
But Norris said investors often tend to look inwards when global risks are mounting. And American investors aren't the only ones who realize this.
3. The rest of the world loves the U.S. too. U.S. stocks aren't the only financial asset in the middle of a bull market. American bonds have continued to rally this year, defying expectations for a big pullback that many experts were predicting as the year began.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury is hovering around 2.34% as investors keep buying bonds and push rates lower. The yield at the beginning of 2014 was slightly above 3%.
Shouldn't bond prices be plunging and yields soaring as investors pull money out of these so-called safer assets and plow them back into stocks? To quote my kindergarten-bound son's new favorite saying: What the heck?
Related: Find the right investment mix for your retirement portfolio
Simply put, investors in Europe and Asia are interested in U.S. bonds and stocks because of geopolitical turmoil. Anthony Valeri, market strategist at LPL Financial, says that the threat of deflation in Europe is a key reason why U.S. assets are more attractive.
"Europe has a strong gravitational pull on the market right now," Valeri said.
China and Japan, which each own more than $1 trillion in U.S. government debt, may keep buying bonds as well. Due to such strong foreign demand, Sharon Stark, chief market strategist with D.A. Davison, said that she would not be surprised to see the 10-year yield fall as low as 2.15% in the next few weeks.
4. Investors STILL doubt the bull market. This is key. Even though the S&P 500 is staying near the gaudy sounding level of 2,000 and private startups like Snapchat, Uber and Airbnb are commanding valuations above $10 billion, most stocks are still trading at reasonable, if not exactly cheap, levels.
This is not a bubble like 1999. And that's because many investors have remained on the sidelines due to memories of the financial crisis. CNNMoney's Fear and Greed Index, a measure of seven gauges of market sentiment, has been in Fear mode for the past month.
"Unlike the late 90s, people think stocks are still risky. Everyone has the bad taste of 2008 in their mouth," said Marty Leclerc, chief investment officer of Barrack Yard Advisors.
Related: S&P 500 finally tops 2,000
Now this may not mean that stocks are going to have a huge rally in September. Valeri said a brief pause for the market makes sense as traders come back from vacation, the corporate news cycle picks up and volume increases.
At some point, the people who keep questioning the market may have no choice but to hold their nose and jump in. Stark points out that investors waiting for bond rates to rise and stocks to fall "have left a lot of money on the table."
As cliche as it may sound, sometimes you just can't fight momentum -- even if it doesn't seem to make sense.
"The psyche for the market is for stocks to go up," Norris said.
Reader Comment of the Week! Apple (AAPL, Tech30) finally made it official and said that it will be holding a big event on September 9. The iPhone 6 (with a bigger screen) is expected and so is a long-awaited iWatch. One of my Twitter followers joked that Apple may want to expand beyond mobile and wearables into the lucrative oral hygiene market as well. And he appears to also like a popular Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) ETF.
A guy going by the Twitter handle of ActionJackson85 (but sadly is not Carl Weathers) asked this.
"When does the $AAPL #iToothBrush come out? I want to listen to my favorite tunes while #FightingTartar . $qqq" he tweeted.
Ha! The iToothBrush probably won't come out until after Samsung launches the Gear Flosser first. I just hope it's curved.
First Published: August 29, 2014: 11:45 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas signed on August 26, and the current period of calm, has given aid workers access to the rubble to size up the damage.
The United Nations and its partners are asking for an additional $367 million for humanitarian relief. At least half, or $164 million, will be spent on providing food security for about 500,000 people.
The remaining funds will go to housing ($128 million), water and sanitation ($31 million), and educational assistance for schools that have been shelled or turned into temporary shelters ($11 million).
Relief agency Oxfam describes the destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza as the worst in nearly 20 years.
According to the U.N Development Programme, more than 10,600 homes were destroyed as of August 3. Rebuilding could take as long as four years, aid workers say.
Oxfam says at least 15 hospitals and the territory's sole power plant have been destroyed.
Related: Israel and its neighbors - Decades of war
In Israel, rocket fire from Hamas did relatively little damage to cities.
The Israel Tax Authority says it doesn't have specifics on numbers of homes affected, but it estimates that rebuilding infrastructure will cost approximately $11 million.
The Israeli government is reimbursing civilians for property damage. So far, about 3,700 claims have been filed -- more than half for structural damage to homes. Of those claims, 1,193 came from residents of Ashdod, a city in Southern Israel with the most infrastructure damage.
The Israel economy also saw lost productivity because many workers stayed home to avoid rocket fire.
Businesses in southern Israel are still required to pay those workers. The Israel Tax Authority reimburses businesses for the cost of wages and lost productivity.
Israel will finance that public spending through taxes on real estate transactions.
Officials also say Israel's tourism sector has suffered significantly.
There is no formal word yet on how much the conflict has cost Israel for artillery, weaponry and tanks. Israeli media are reporting it could be between $1.2 billion and $2.3 billion.
In Washington, Congress recently approved $225 million to restock Israel's Iron Dome, which according to Israel intercepts nearly 86% of rockets fired.
More than 2,000 Palestinians have been killed during the conflict, along with nearly 70 Israelis.
Related: Can you cover Israel-Gaza without controversy?
Related: Israeli investors unshaken by conflict
First Published: August 29, 2014: 12:30 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
That's the market with the nation's lowest gas price heading into Labor Day weekend -- an average of $3.09 a gallon, according to industry observer GasBuddy.com.
The good news for drivers is that prices like that could come soon to a station near you -- as long as you don't live on the West Coast or some other pockets of high-priced gas.
The nationwide average price stands at $3.44 a gallon, down about eight cents from a month ago and nearly 12 cents from this time last year.
The summer driving season will end with the cheapest Labor Day gas prices since 2010. And prices will drop even further when stations stop selling the more expensive summer blends of gasoline in late September.
Related: What's the gas price in your state?
"We think the national average will bottom out in the $3.15 to $3.25 range later this year, but that is actually inflated by the high prices on the West Coast," said Tom Kloza, GasBuddy's chief oil analyst. "From the Rocky Mountains, east, most people will be able to find gas at or below $3."
Gas prices are already approaching $3 a gallon in parts of South Carolina, and prices at or below that level could be common later this fall. South Carolina is the state with the lowest statewide average with an price of $3.17 a gallon.
"South Carolina has one of the lowest state gas taxes. And states supplied by Gulf Coast refiners, they tend to have the cheapest wholesale prices," said Kloza.
Kloza said the Gulf Coast refineries are producing gasoline at record levels right now, helped by the fact they have avoided disruptions from hurricanes or major accidents this summer.
Drivers are also benefiting from increased production of U.S. crude, which has kept oil prices below global averages despite unrest in the Middle East.
The increased fuel economy of U.S. cars, which has limited demand for gas, also helps.
Related: Your Labor Day BBQ will cost more
Finally, low natural gas prices are helping to keep gasoline prices low, since refineries use natural gas to heat the crude oil in order to refine it into gasoline, jet fuel and other products.
There can be short-term disruptions, such as hurricanes or refinery accidents, that could cause gas price spikes. But Kloza said he expects the downward pressure on U.S. gas prices will continue for at least the next few years.
First Published: August 29, 2014: 12:38 PM ET
The companies reached a deal, just three days after cutting ties. NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
It's been just three days since the nation's largest airline said it was cutting ties with the online booking agent.
Consumers should see that available flights are back on the site immediately, said Orbitz Friday in a statement. The agreement applies to tickets for both American Airlines and US Airways, which merged to form American Airlines Group (AAL) last year.
The companies had disagreed over the portion of ticket sales that Orbitz would receive.
The online service also offers tickets for United Airlines (UAL), Delta Airlines (DAL) and JetBlue (JBLU), as well as many smaller carriers.
Shares of Orbitz (OWW) rose more than 1% on the news.
8 must have travel apps
Annoying airline fees add up to $31.5 billion
First Published: August 29, 2014: 5:39 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
And it had every marking of trying to attract Masters of the Universes and ladies who lunch -- what was made to look like copper-stamped ceilings, exposed brick walls, faux Tolix chairs, and a full bar with artisanal bloody marys and prosecco on tap.
Owner Rahul Marwah said he envisions the restaurant filled with a Wall Street crowd, given that it's situated at the gateway to the financial district. That's why he modeled the interior after local dining institutions like Delmonico's and Locande Verde -- both of which charge upwards of $30 for dinner entrees.
Related: Would you order this $78 taco?
The real proof that this Denny's is trying to be the highest brow of all the 1,700 Denny's is the $300 take on the traditional Grand Slam breakfast. The Grand Cru Slam takes the storied combination of bacon, pancakes and eggs and adds a bottle of 2003 vintage Dom Perignon champagne. The meal also comes with a high five from the bartender.
Only the 1% didn't seem to be flocking there. In fact, residents from the ritzy condo building in which the restaurant is located filed suit last year to try and stop it from opening.
At 8:30 a.m. on Friday, there was not a single suit in the restaurant -- business, Chanel, or otherwise -- apart from the one Marwah was wearing.
The crowd mostly consisted of people in jeans or workout gear and members of the media.
Related: This doctor cures hangovers for $250
"It's a very New York-style Denny's, but it's still a Denny's," said Joshua Ness, a Texas native living in Brooklyn who grew up frequenting a Denny's that had floral wall paper and a glass case filled with cakes spinning on trays. The food, he said, was not much different.
Ness and his friend Kelli Mears didn't order the Grand Cru Slam. Mears had chicken fried steak and Ness had some eggs. The $300 meal option is not something they'd order on a random Friday, he said.
Their check came to about $30, and they were headed out the door to work, him at a start-up and her as an executive assistant.
"It was a good breakfast, but I'm really sleepy now," she said. "Maybe chicken fried steak was a bad idea."
$60,000 vacations of a lifetime
First Published: August 29, 2014: 11:54 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
A weekly collection of design, data and interactive links.
Design/Data viz
Forms of color | Vintage illustrations exploring color systems
Police Punishment: CCRB vs NYPD | Interactive analyzing NYPD complaint data
Futuristic UI | Video and stills from the short SIMIAN
Photo/video
Serendipity | Every second, a few people hit "play" on the same track at the same time
Zaha Hadid | Zaha Hadid's Wangjing Soho complex nears completion in Beijing
Instagram programming | A look at what goes on behind the scenes at Instagram
See last week's links
Have a nice weekend!
@dubly and @talyellin
First Published: August 29, 2014: 7:08 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The company, which started selling its Model S in China earlier this year, said in an e-mailed statement to CNNMoney that it will build the stations at China Unicom retail outlets in 120 cities. It will also build 20 superchargers at China Unicom locations as well. Superchargers, as the name implies, allow for even quicker charges and tend to be near major highways.
China Unicom is one of the largest telecom companies in China. Tesla already has a relationship with China Unicom -- it provides the 3G in-car technology for Model S vehicles in China.
The move is significant because it adds a lot of new chargers to its network. Tesla said that it already has more than 200 charging points in China.
Tesla said that its customers in China will be able to use the new charging points free of charge.
Shares of Tesla (TSLA) rose more than 2.5% Friday. China Unicom (CHU) rose more than 3%.
Related: Will Tesla's bet on China pay off?
Tesla's stock is now up nearly 80% this year. That follows a more than 330% pop for the stock in 2013.
CEO Elon Musk has said he believes his company will be able to sell 500,000 cars a year by 2020. But, in order to do that, it must be successful in emerging markets in China.
The company has yet not disclosed vehicle sales for China. It merely said when it reported second-quarter results in July that the "Model S is off to a very encouraging start in China."
In addition, Tesla settled a long-standing trademark battle with a Chinese businessman earlier this month.
It also will need to be able to produce more cheaper vehicles whose batteries can last longer between charges.
Related: Don't bet against Elon Musk -- the real Iron Man
The company is planning to build a gigafactory that will enable it to make more lithium-ion batteries for a more affordable Tesla vehicle that's been dubbed the Model III. There are hopes that this car will cost under $40,000. The Model S costs nearly $70,000 and Tesla's upcoming crossover, the Model X, is expected to sell at a price closer to the Model S.
Trip Chowdhry, an analyst with Global Equities Research, wrote in a report Friday that he said it would not surprise him if China Unicom now decides to invest in the gigafactory. Panasonic (PCRFF) has already partnered with Tesla.
He added that the China Unicom deal is a huge win for Tesla. He currently has a price target for Tesla of $385 a share -- which is more than 40% higher than its current price.
And Chowdhry now thinks that his stock price target is conservative.
First Published: August 29, 2014: 12:57 PM ET
| By Mark Glendenning | Saturday, August 30th 2014, 00:35 GMT |
IndyCar technical advisor Tony Cotman has carried out a track inspection at Mosport in anticipation of the likely need for a back-up venue for Toronto due to 2015 scheduling conflicts
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, August 29th 2014, 22:55 GMT |
Helio Castroneves boosted his title hopes by securing pole for Fontana's IndyCar finale, while a catastrophic session for Will Power leaves the points leader at the rear of the field
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Saturday, August 30th 2014, 00:26 GMT |
Kevin Harvick claimed his sixth pole position of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup season in qualifying for Sunday's Atlanta Motor Speedway night race
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Andrew van Leeuwen | Thursday, August 28th 2014, 20:56 GMT |
Heikki Kovalainen made his DTM testing debut for BMW at Lausitz on Thursday
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, August 28th 2014, 15:22 GMT |
New Toro Rosso Formula 1 recruit Max Verstappen believes his driving style is most reminiscent of double world champion Fernando Alonso among the current crop of drivers.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Thursday, August 28th 2014, 21:16 GMT |
Three-time NASCAR Cup champion Tony Stewart will return to racing this weekend for the first time since he was involved in a Sprint Car crash that killed another driver
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Mark Glendenning | Wednesday, August 27th 2014, 15:09 GMT |
Outgoing IndyCar champion Scott Dixon believes that internal distractions over the winter played a role in his Chip Ganassi team's slow start to the 2014 IndyCar season
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, August 27th 2014, 15:56 GMT |
McLaren thinks a major update programme that kicks off at the Singapore Grand Prix could lift it on terms with Red Bull by the end of the 2014 Formula 1 season.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Mark Glendenning | Wednesday, August 27th 2014, 22:51 GMT |
IndyCar has confirmed that NOLA Motorsports Park will join its schedule in 2015, marking the first time that the series has raced in New Orleans
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, August 26th 2014, 14:11 GMT |
Kimi Raikkonen believes the Ferrari Formula 1 team is becoming stronger as the 2014 season wears on, after recording his best result of the campaign at the Belgian 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 | Tuesday, August 26th 2014, 15:29 GMT |
JR Hildebrand is in the frame to join Josef Newgarden at the newly-merged CFH Racing team in next year's IndyCar season
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 Ben Anderson | Tuesday, August 26th 2014, 16:20 GMT |
McLaren is weighing up 2015 Formula 1 options for its junior driver Stoffel Vandoorne, but has not ruled out keeping him in GP2 for another season
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, August 25th 2014, 16:37 GMT |
Nico Rosberg has denied Lewis Hamilton's claims that he confessed to deliberately not avoiding the collision with his Mercedes Formula 1 team-mate at the Belgian Grand Prix
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, August 25th 2014, 18:52 GMT |
Sebastian Vettel has become the first Formula 1 driver to lap the new Sochi circuit, which will host October's Russian 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, August 25th 2014, 21:32 GMT |
IndyCar teams will be limited to 14 test days and no in-season, on-track team testing under new regulations for 2015, although open tests prior to selected races will be reintroduced
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, August 24th 2014, 19:16 GMT |
Jack Harvey dominated Sunday's Indy Lights season finale at Sonoma, although the Brit's win was not enough to prevent title rival Gabby Chaves from securing the championship on a countback
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Sunday, August 24th 2014, 23:20 GMT |
Giancarlo Fisichella made a last-lap pass on Wolf Henzler to claim victory for himself and Risi Ferrari team-mate Pierre Kaffer in a thrilling all-GT United SportsCar encounter at Virginia
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, August 24th 2014, 23:30 GMT |
Scott Dixon emerged victorious from a bizarre Sonoma IndyCar race, while Will Power recovered from a mishap to salvage 10th and maintain the points lead into next weekend's Fontana finale
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, August 23rd 2014, 21:21 GMT |
Helio Castroneves was quickest in a busy second IndyCar practice session at Sonoma on Saturday
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, August 23rd 2014, 20:05 GMT |
Jack Harvey set himself up for a championship showdown in Sunday's Indy Lights finale after dominating the opening race of this weekend's double-header at Sonoma
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, August 24th 2014, 01:29 GMT |
Will Power will start the IndyCar race at Sonoma from pole position for Penske after a dramatic qualifying session late on Saturday afternoon
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
The Secret app is supposed to keep you anonymous. But until last week, it was possible to trace posts directly to you. NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Hackers at Rhino Security Labs figured out a way to dupe Secret's system.
To join Secret's community, the app imports your contacts. It then labels which posts are from your friends.
To prevent you from tracking a particular person, Secret requires that seven of your contacts post to the network before it labels their posts.
But here's the hack: Fill your phone's contact list with fake people and only one real contact -- your target. If you control posts coming from these dummy Secret accounts, it's easy to spot when your real "friend" is posting.
"Poison the data on the outside, bring it in as trusted data, and voilà ! You make the system work for you," said Bryan Seely, a Rhino researcher in Seattle.
Why does it matter? Consider these recent posts.
Related story: Hospitals can't protect patient data
From someone in Tel Aviv, Israel: "I am an Arab. I live near Jerusalem. I am against war, and I believe in democracy. Hamas is bad for all Muslims! Stop Hamas! If someone found out I said that, I would be executed!"
A person in Utah: "Having an invisible illness is killing me. Literally. And I'm only 24."
And someone in Poland: "I told everyone that cat made those scars."
CNNMoney's cybersecurity Flipboard magazine: How safe are you?
The security researchers notified the San Francisco startup last week, and Secret said it issued a fix immediately. Now, if you import a bunch of fake friends and only one real one, the real one won't be tagged as a "friend," Seely said. It's security through obscurity.
Secret CEO David Byttow blamed an app software update, saying the hack was "arduous," not 100% accurate and only possible for a short time.
"We're incredibly grateful to these folks for coming to us. We patched a similar issue back in May," Byttow said, adding, that the problem was fixed within 'a matter of hours.'
But consider this a reminder about a mantra in the hacker community: Nothing you do in the digital realm is truly anonymous. Eventually, it will be traced back to you.
First Published: August 22, 2014: 10:59 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The popular West Coast corndog chain was rescued from bankruptcy via a $12.2 million deal, Thursday.
The buyer, Global Franchise Group, also owns Great American Cookies, Pretzelmaker, MaggieMoo's and Marble Slab Creamery. It is part of private equity shop Levine Leichtman Capital Partners' portfolio, which includes Quizno's, another restaurant chain that filed for bankruptcy in March.
Related: Eight of the world's craziest fast food items
Hot Dog on a Stick got its start in 1946 in California, when founder Dave Barham sold the famous corndogs on a Santa Monica beach and at county fair stands hooked up to his Lincoln Continental. It later became a staple in mall food courts in the 1970s, and even played a cameo in the 1982 movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
But business dried up when the recession hit. Stuck with a bunch of struggling storefronts with expensive leases, the company filed for bankruptcy in February when it couldn't negotiate better rent.
First Published: August 22, 2014: 1:52 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
"We have a flow of tour buses coming in every day now," said Toni Fox, owner of 3D Cannabis Center, a Denver dispensary with an influx of Japanese and Saudi tourists. "We even get charter buses from Texas!"
Fox is billing her dispensary as a "tourist friendly" destination. It has a living-room-style reception room and an 80-foot long viewing corridor with rows of windows so customers can see inside the marijuana greenhouse.
"You can literally watch the cannabis you are purchasing grow right in front of your eyes!" boasts the dispensary's web site.
Fox estimates that 70% of her 200 daily customers are from out of state.
In Boulder, the Terrapin Care Station recreational dispensary gets at least of third of its income from out of state, according to manager Jarrod Guaderrama.
"I can definitely tell that all the people from Texas, Georgia, California made this their vacation spot because of legal marijuana," he said. "They'll say they're here because it's beautiful and they're going skiing. They'll say right after that, 'Plus, there's legal pot here.'"
The Colorado Office of State Planning and Budgeting says the state took in $19 million in tax revenue from recreational marijuana during the first half of the year.
Colorado dispensaries like the 3D Cannabis Center in Denver are sparking a boom in marijuana tourism. But the state doesn't calculate how much of that is from tourism versus local buyers, and hard numbers are difficult to come by.
Colorado retailers began selling recreation marijuana on New Year's Day, and in what may or may not be a coincidence, the state also posted a record ski season for 2013-2014. Colorado hosted 12.6 million ski visits according to a local industry group, up 10% from the prior season, but industry executives can't say whether legal pot was a factor.
Most ski resorts and hotels don't allow smoking, but there's a niche industry popping up offering so-called "420-friendly" lodgings catering to this segment of tourists. Some bars and music venues also allow smoking in outdoor areas.
Related: Want a job? Try the pot industry
Entrepreneurs from outside Colorado are also cashing in. Rick Moore owns a bus tour company in Dallas, and started running buses to Denver dispensaries after marijuana was legalized. He charges $400 for the 12-hour trip, which leaves on Thursday and returns on Monday at 3 a.m., and includes two nights in a hotel. Colorado tours now account for about a quarter of his business.
"Some people might try to bring something back, but I discourage it," he said. "It's legal in Colorado but outside Colorado it's not, so I don't want anybody bringing it on the bus."
He added that not all of his Texan tourists smoke weed, but they still want to visit the dispensaries.
"They just want to go because they're curious," he said.
First Published: August 22, 2014: 9:31 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
That was Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's main message Friday in a much anticipated speech.
"It speaks to the depth of the damage that, five years after the end of the recession, the labor market has yet to fully recover," she said.
The debate now is whether the job situation in America is healthy enough for the Federal Reserve to start raising interest rates, which have been at historic lows in recent years in an effort to jump start the economy. Yellen, however, said little new on Friday, and U.S. stock markets stayed flat.
Related: Beware of social media and biotech stocks
Yellen is chair of the committee that sets interest rates, but she only gets one vote. Other members have differing views. The Fed board and other top economists are spending the weekend in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, debating these key issues.
Though the unemployment rate "has fallen considerably and at a surprisingly rapid pace," Yellen said problems remain.
"A key challenge is to assess just how far the economy now stands from the attainment of its maximum employment goal," she said.
Related: The unemployed psyche: Job searching for so long crushed my soul
She and some other policy makers remain hesitant to pull back on the Fed's economic stimulus campaign and raise interest rates until the employment landscape improves further.
Among her main concerns are the decline in the number of people participating in the labor market, the jump in those working part-time because they can't find full-time positions, the ranks of the long-term unemployed and the lack of wage growth.
At top policymakers' most recent meeting, they decided to stay the course on rates "for a considerable time" after its monthly bond purchase program ends in October. But Yellen did leave the door open to speeding up the time line if the job market continues to improve more rapidly than expected -- or if inflation becomes an issue.
Related: Median income is on the rise ...finally!
In her speech, she took another step in shifting the discussion to "when" the board will raise rates, not "if," said Paul Edelstein, director of financial economics at IHS Global Insight. Those who watch the Fed closely predict a rate hike is likely to come in the summer of 2015.
Timing is crucial since a change in rates -- particularly an unexpected one -- could have a major impact.
"If they move too quickly, they snuff out the economic recovery," said Kathy Bostjancic, a director at Oxford Economics. "If they are late to the game, then you have an undesired rise in inflation. That would force the Fed to raise rates abruptly, disrupting the financial markets and economic growth."
First Published: August 22, 2014: 10:04 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Twitter was founded on the idea of democratizing information and has famously been used to organize protests against dictatorships and break news in real time.
But this week, Twitter (TWTR, Tech30) was the main platform used by terrorist group ISIS to broadcast the gruesome beheading of journalist James Foley.
And for Costolo, that was the line in the sand. He condemned the actions in a tweet and vowed to suspend any accounts spreading those images.
It's a departure for Twitter -- the company rarely comments on specific cases of accounts.
But its Silicon Valley ethos is forced to evolve as its users do.
That's also meant purging Twitter accounts used by ISIS members over the last ten days, according to analyst Max Abrahm, who said the company is becoming more aggressive in choosing what its members see and whether a particular message can spread.
ISIS has become notoriously social media savvy. They attach popular hashtags to their tweets, so users searching those hashtags often stumble on ISIS tweets containing recruitment messages (for instance #WorldCup on tweets completely unrelated to the sporting event).
At one point, the group created an app that gave them the ability to tweet their message through the accounts of users who sign up. Isis recruitment videos are well produced and shot with HD cameras for the sole purpose of spreading their message and gaining a following on social networks, particularly Twitter.
"Terrorists use the media to help spread terror," analyst Max Abrahm said. "And there's been this link between terrorism and the media going back to the anarchists of the late nineteenth century. But ISIS is particularly savvy, especially [with] social media -- namely Twitter."
Related: LiveLeak bans future ISIS beheading videos
Now the question for the ever-evolving company is what is Twitter's responsibility? Is it to the users, the freedom of information, or a moral obligation? The lines between Twitter as a tech company and Twitter as a media company are increasingly blurred, which makes the question more relevant. Many would say Twitter made the right decision by purging the service of graphic imagery. Others would ask whether this stance against ISIS extends to other groups, trolls, or graphic imagery.
In an age where freedom of information is celebrated and social networks have exploded, there's a balancing act between disseminating information and an overarching respect for humanity. Twitter has taken a front seat in this debate.
First Published: August 22, 2014: 12:57 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Gus had suffered — but luckily survived — anaphylaxis, a potentially fatal reaction. Tests later revealed he had allergies to peanuts and tree nuts, like almonds and hazelnuts, the mere scent of which makes his eyes and throat itch. Now 5 years old, Gus politely refuses his friends' high fives, lest they bear traces of M&M's or other nut-containing products. Hass carries baby wipes everywhere, cleaning every surface within his reach. Yet Gus still suffers a reaction roughly once a month, and he's experienced around 20 anaphylactic episodes besides.
More from Ozy: How does money smell?
Gus knows his allergies can kill him. "He asks tough questions," Hass says. " 'What happens to kids who die from food allergies? Are there food allergies in heaven?' "
At present, no treatment exists for nut allergies. An EpiPen can quell severe reactions, but the only widely accepted preventive measure is vigilant avoidance. It's rarely vigilant enough.
That's why researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture have shifted their focus. Instead of treating people who suffer from nut allergies, they're trying to treat the nut. That means "disrupting [the] structure" of nut proteins, says Christopher Mattison, a molecular biologist at the USDA's Agricultural Research Service.
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Understanding how this works requires a bit of biology. Nut allergies typically flare when an antibody in the immune system, immunoglobulin E (IgE), binds to the nut's protein, triggering a reaction. So scientists have devised a clever tactic to trick IgE: modifying the shape of the proteins so the antibody can't recognize them.
To that end, Mattison and his colleagues treated proteins from cashew nut extract — proteins similar to those found in many other nuts — with a combination of heat and sodium sulfite, a chemical often used as a food preservative. Both disrupt crucial chemical bonds that help hold nut proteins intact, basically dicing them into smaller pieces. The researchers then mixed modified and unmodified cashew proteins with IgE from people allergic to cashews.
More from Ozy: Extreme food at state fairs
Sure enough, roughly 50 percent less IgE latched on to the altered proteins, as described in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in June — indicating that the modified cashew proteins might at least dampen the severity of an allergic reaction.
But "there's plenty of work to be done before we can extend [this] into ... a practical solution," says Mattison. So far, scientists have only extracts, not whole nuts; at this stage, it's hard to know what a modified nut would taste like. And while the scientists have reduced IgE binding, they haven't eliminated it altogether — which doesn't help patients sensitive to even the tiniest amounts of nut protein.
Still, the possibility excites Hass and others. Peanut and tree nut allergies plague an estimated 19 million kids and adults in the U.S., and the number of children with peanut allergies in the U.S. has tripled in just over a decade.
More from Ozy: Me, mom, dad, grandparents all under one roof
Earlier studies have used similar treatments, but with harsh, laboratory-grade chemicals. The new study is the first to use a compound — sodium sulfite — that falls under the Food and Drug Administration's "generally regarded as safe" category, bringing modified nuts a step closer to being made as a food product.
Still, hypoallergenic nuts probably won't appear in supermarket aisles for several years. First, Mattison and his team want to tweak the treatment process so they can use a smaller amount of sodium sulfite, or an even milder alternative. They also want to explore whether the process can be applied to other nut proteins. So far, preliminary tests have revealed that it significantly alters the the structure of some peanut, pistachio and pecan allergens.
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They're also working to modify whole cashews, not just cashew extract — and to ensure that modified nuts taste the same as their unaltered counterparts. They'll also eventually need to test the method in a living system, such as mice and actual cells.
Mattison's approach, treating the allergen instead of the patient, is the opposite of oral immunotherapy — gradually scaling up consumption of allergy-triggering foods to dull the immune system's sensitivity to them. Oral immunotherapy has shown promise, but building tolerance can take months.
In a clinical trial, 84 percent of children tolerated the equivalent of about five peanuts, but only after 26 weeks of therapy, as described in The Lancet in January. And patients could still suffer severe allergic reactions as their immune systems learn to tolerate the offending food. In contrast, nut allergy sufferers could theoretically eat however many allergy-free nuts they want, whenever they want.
Even if researchers do successfully manufacture hypoallergenic nuts, some view them as the second-best solution. "My preference ... would be to actually decrease the allergic response of the individual," says Jessica Martin, a food allergy blogger whose son is allergic to pistachios, cashews, a host of other tree nuts and about 15 other foods. Oral immunotherapy "is the holy grail in my mind. I want a cure."
But other parents, like Hass, would embrace even a quasi-fix. "Anything helps."
First Published: August 22, 2014: 3:10 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Starting this fall, Keurig (GMCR) will partner with Kraft (KRFT) to offer Maxwell House, Yuban and Gevalia K-Cups.
Kraft has been selling a "single serve" coffee product for awhile that works in Keurig machines, but this will be the first time the companies are collaborating on branding and distribution.
Call it the morning beverage friendship. It's already caffeinating returns, at least for Keurig Green Mountain. The company's stock soared 13% Friday, sending the stock to its highest price ever -- over $135 a share.
To put it another way, you can buy roughly 220 K-Cups at the grocery store for the same price as one share of Keurig stock.
The deal hasn't done much for Kraft, however. Its stock was flat after the announcement.
Related: Should Coke buy Keurig Green Mountain?
Keurig Green Mountain stock popped another 13% after its deal with Kraft Keurig already has dozens of K-cup partnerships, including ones with Dunkin' Donuts (DNKN), Starbucks (SBUX) and Snapple (DPS). This latest deal also adds McCafe, the McDonald's (MCD) coffee that is sold in stores, to the K-Cup offerings, since Kraft helps promote and distribute McCafe.
"They have all these partner brands. This really gives the consumer what they want," says Marc Riddick, a senior analyst at Williams Capital who covers the stock. "Keurig doesn't need to dictate to a consumer what they should chose."
Keurig's stock is up an incredible 77% since the start of the year, as the home coffee and tea brewing machine gains in popularity. The company joined forces with Coca-Cola (KO) in February, and there are plans for a cold beverage Keurig machine.
Related: Green Mountain soars on Coke partnership
"I am positive on the management team, but the bigger issue is the growth that is available in this beverage space," says Riddick. He notes that consumers are voting with their dollars and shifting more to coffee and tea and away from carbonated soft drinks.
The Kraft deal makes Keurig's device even more integral to a typical home. In some ways, Keurig has managed to do what smartphone makers have done -- the coffeemaker is now the focal point device for consumers to access a wide variety of beverages, much like apps on smartphones.
Investors are sensing there could be even more partnerships in the works.
First Published: August 22, 2014: 2:50 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The McDonald's (MCD) kids meals, as well as those from Burger King (BKW) and Wendy's, are in the cross hairs of the New York City Council, which is considering restrictions on any fast food meals that includes a toy.
Councilman Benjamin Kallos introduced a "Healthy Happy Meals" bill Thursday that requires them to have no more than 500 calories and 600 milligrams of sodium.
Additionally, less than 35% of those calories should come from fat, less than 10% from saturated fats and less than 10% from sugar. The meals will also have to contain a serving of fruit, vegetables or whole grains.
Related: Russia shuts down Moscow McDonald's
"It is difficult enough for parents to give their children healthy food without the fast food industry spending hundreds of millions of dollars per year advertising to children, and nearly half of that on toys," said Kallos in a press release. "If restaurants are going to incentivize children, they should incentivize them to eat healthy."
The New York City Department of Health says that half of the city's elementary school children are overweight, Kallos added, and cites a report from the Federal Trade Commission that found the fast food industry spent $714 million on marketing to children in 2009.
The bill has to be approved by the city council's health committee, then the city council and will go to Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Related: The real budget of McDonald's workers
Of the three Happy Meals on the McDonald's online menu, only one - the Chicken McNugget meal - adheres to the bill's proposed guidelines, with 415 calories, 550 milligrams of sodium and a serving of apples. The other meals featuring cheeseburgers or hamburgers, exceed the calorie and sodium limits. The cheeseburger alone contains 680 milligrams of sodium, bringing the meal's total to 880 milligrams.
McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
San Francisco imposed similar restrictions on Happy Meals in 2011. But McDonald's sidestepped the ban by changing its policy to only provide toys with meals at the request of parents, and charging them an extra ten cents.
First Published: August 22, 2014: 12:24 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
More than 46,000 people think so. The Coolest Cooler has raised over $9.2 million on Kickstarter -- and it still has a week to go.
It's described as a "portable party" and includes features like a blender, waterproof bluetooth speaker, USB charger, cutting board and bottle opener.
It's the second highest grossing campaign ever, ranking just behind the Pebble (the smartwatch that raised a record $10 million in 2012).
"There's a point where products derive much more attention than any rational expectation would suggest," said Jason Greenberg, PhD and assistant professor at New York University's business school, "In a market where potato salad can raise $55,000, it's not that surprising."
What's more surprising is that this isn't Coolest's first time around the Kickstarter block.
Related: The 13 most WTF gadgets
Ryan Grepper of Portland, Ore., unsuccessfully tried to raise $125,000 for similar model of The Coolest In November 2013. He only raised about $100,000.
On Kickstarter, Grepper detailed the biggest changes this time around: Seasonality (July vs. November), more supporters and an improved design.
It's certainly worked -- but are the millions any indication of how it'll fare post-crowdfunding?
They could be.
"We've seen more and more angels and investors using [Kickstarter] as a minor league in terms of [gauging] customer demands," said Greenberg.
Related: Water balloon lovers pledge $645,000 on Kickstarter
According to PrivCo, a financial data provider on privately-held companies, U.S. cooler sales totaled $635 million in 2013.
Igloo Products Corp "dominates" the market, according to Matt Turlip, senior analyst at PrivCo. The company, which was acquired by VC firm J.H. Whitney & Co. earlier this year, owns 53% of the full-size cooler market.
"Maybe in a year or two, with $9 million in funding, The Coolest can hope to compete," said Turlip.
Those who pledged enough for the cooler ($165 or more) will have to wait until February 2015 to get the product (which will come in Margarita, Blue Moon and Coolest Orange).
But they will have saved a cool $130 -- it'll retail for $299.
First Published: August 22, 2014: 5:22 PM ET
LONDON (CNNMoney)
Many are reporting slower Russian sales and, in some cases, store closures as the Ukraine-Russia conflict drags on. Some have seen their share price get pummeled since the start of the year.
Cold War-style tensions and escalating sanctions are slamming these companies, as American and European leaders blame Russian President Vladimir Putin for the unfolding crisis and violence in Ukraine.
Here are 10 of the highest profile, worst hit companies:
1.McDonald's: Russian officials and regulators have been cracking down on the restaurant chain. Officials shut a handful of popular McDonald's (MCD) restaurants in Moscow this week, and state media report that Russia's consumer watchdog will be conducting checks on outlets as part of a food standards investigation.
Meanwhile, Wendy's (WEN) was recently forced to exit Russia due to what it said was a change in management at its local partner Wenrus. Wendy's had been in Russia since 2011.
2. Coca-Cola: The drinks giant said this week that quarterly sales declined by about 5% in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Coca-Cola (KO) blamed "economic instability in the region," but global sales increased by 3%.
3. Carlsberg: The Danish brewer warned this week its annual results will be weaker than expected, as Russian demand dries up. Carlsberg (CABGY) estimated that industry-wide Russian beer sales fell by as much as 7% in the first six months of 2014 due an uncertain economic environment, leading it to also lose market share. Carlsberg beer is the most popular beer in Russia by a wide margin. The company's stock has fallen 15% since the start of the year.
4. Adidas: In late July, the German sportswear company announced it was shutting stores and scaling back expansion plans in Russia. It said that "tensions in the region" had hurt consumer spending, and that the decline in the Russian ruble hurt profitability. Adidas (ADDYY) slashed its 2014 earnings forecast by 20% to 30%, partly because of Russia. Shares have plunged 37% since the start of 2014.
5. Volkswagen: The German automaker blamed an 8% drop in its Russia car sales during the first six months of the year on political tensions, and it said it believes i sales industry wide fell about 25% in July. Volkswagen (VLKAY) shares are down 13% since the start of the year.
6. Ford: A weakening ruble and slower sales in Russia have hurt Ford's (F) bottom line.
7. Renault: The French car maker has warned investors about a sharp slowdown in Russia and other emerging markets. Russia is Renault's (RNSDF) third largest market in terms of sales.
8. BP: The British oil giant BP (BP) owns a large stake in Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil company, and warned that unit will suffer from tougher U.S. sanctions. Investors are also worried about other energy companies, including Total (TOT) and Exxon Mobil (XOM), which have significant ties with Russia.
9. Societe Generale: Profits at the French bank's Russian unit fell 36% in the second quarter.
10. Danone: The French food multinational said first-half results were hurt by a decline in the ruble, and that it was forced to hike prices for some products in Russia due to strong inflation.
-- CNN's Olga Pavlova contributed to this report.
First Published: August 23, 2014: 10:12 AM ET
| By Edd Straw and Andrew van Leeuwen | Friday, August 22nd 2014, 17:18 GMT |
Andre Lotterer declared himself happy with his first day as a Formula 1 driver, following his solid showing for Caterham through Friday's Belgian Grand Pix practice sessions
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Ben Anderson | Friday, August 22nd 2014, 17:29 GMT |
Renault says reigning Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel will escape a grid penalty for the Belgian Grand Prix by reverting to the engine he used in Hungary.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Friday, August 22nd 2014, 22:56 GMT |
Kevin Harvick took his fifth pole position of 2014 and set a new track record at Bristol Motor Speedway in NASCAR Sprint Cup 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 and Dieter Rencken | Thursday, August 21st 2014, 19:09 GMT |
Max Verstappen will likely make his Formula 1 debut in free practice for November's United States Grand Prix, according to Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost
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, August 21st 2014, 19:16 GMT |
Jean-Eric Vergne says he will bounce back from losing his Toro Rosso seat to Formula 3 prodigy Max Verstappen and prove he deserves to continue his career in Formula 1
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Mark Glendenning | Thursday, August 21st 2014, 21:26 GMT |
Toyota has pledged to improve its NASCAR Sprint Cup performance following criticisms from Denny Hamlin at Michigan Speedway last weekend
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Ben Anderson and Jonathan Noble | Tuesday, August 19th 2014, 16:22 GMT |
Williams has its best chance of the season to take Formula 1 wins at the next races in Belgium and Italy, reckons Valtteri Bottas
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Tuesday, August 19th 2014, 17:08 GMT |
Carl Edwards will race for Joe Gibbs Racing in next year's NASCAR Sprint Cup season, it has been confirmed
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Tuesday, August 19th 2014, 17:37 GMT |
Sebastien Buemi topped the final Formula E pre-season test at Donington Park, as more ex-Formula 1 drivers joined the field
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| Monday, August 18th 2014, 19:21 GMT |
Leon Camier will stay on with Aspar Honda for his home MotoGP round at Silverstone after Nicky Hayden delayed his return.
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| Monday, August 18th 2014, 19:41 GMT |
Max Verstappen will race in Formula 1 at the age of 17 when he joins the Toro Rosso team next year, the Red Bull-owned squad announced on Monday.
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| By Marcus Simmons | Monday, August 18th 2014, 19:56 GMT |
Analysis: Why Max Verstappen can handle F1
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, August 17th 2014, 18:35 GMT |
Zach Veach capitalised on a late restart to win this weekend's Indy Lights race at Milwaukee, and close to within eight points of Gabby Chaves in the championship fight
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
| Sunday, August 17th 2014, 20:27 GMT |
Jeff Gordon took his third NASCAR Sprint Cup win of the season at Michigan, in a race bookended by yellow flags and a dogged fight with Joey Logano
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| By Mark Glendenning | Sunday, August 17th 2014, 22:22 GMT |
Will Power gave his championship hopes a lift with a commanding win in Sunday's IndyCar race at Milwaukee, while Juan Pablo Montoya finished second to complete a Penske one-two
You have viewed over 20 free stories this month. Why stop there? Click here to find out how to continue reading.
Youth unemployment fell last month to the lowest summer level since the recovery began. NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The 16-year-old from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania has been working at Wendy's for a year. She was hoping to get a new gig, but she didn't get many interviews.
Her situation is a good illustration of what many teenagers face in this job market.
Young people across America are having a much better time getting some sort of employment than they have had at any point since the recession.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a report Wednesday that the July unemployment rate for ages 16 to 24 was the best in six years.
It hit 13.6% in July, almost as low as the summer of 2008 -- just before the financial crisis. It's certainly down significantly from last year's 15.5% unemployment rate.
But it's still tough, as Goodjoin learned when she tried to look elsewhere. Teen unemployment is much higher than the 6.2% rate for all Americans. Young people always have a harder time breaking into the job market because they don't have as many skills, but the gap in the unemployment rates is wider now than it was before the downturn.
Related: These folks are happy to share their #newjob selfies
The Philadelphia Youth Network is on the front lines of the job hunt for young adults. The non-profit helps place teens into jobs. This year the center had 7,600 slots for more than 15,000 applicants, a fairly similar scenario to recent years.
On the upside, the employment slots are becoming more stable as businesses have better financial footing.
Related: Works to see 3% pay hike next year
"While we're seeing more opportunities available, I definitely think it's not where it could be," said Stephanie Gambone, the organization's executive vice president.
Goodjoin tells other teens to stay optimistic. Among her own circle of friends, many have found jobs.
"I would tell them to keep searching because eventually someone will hire you," she said. "Don't get discouraged."
First Published: August 15, 2014: 9:11 AM ET
The militarization of local police in the U.S. came into focus this week as heavily armed police faced off against protesters in Ferguson, Missouri. NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The Department of Homeland Security pumped $1 billion into local law enforcement last year, according to a report from the ACLU, while the Department of Defense kicked in another $449 million worth of equipment for police forces.
Related: Complete CNN coverage of Ferguson shooting and protests
The extent to which local police in the U.S. have become militarized came into focus this week as heavily armed police faced off against protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, which itself received two Humvees from the Pentagon last fall.
The scene "resembles war more than traditional police action," wrote Sen. Rand Paul, a potential Republican presidential candidate, in an opinion piece for Time.
Attorney General Eric Holder also expressed concern. "We must seek to rebuild trust between law enforcement and the local community," he said. "I am deeply concerned that the deployment of military equipment and vehicles sends a conflicting message."
Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson denied his department has become militarized.
Related: Gun stores near Ferguson say sales are soaring
"It's not military, it's tactical operations," he said on Thursday. "That's who's out there, police. We're doing this in blue."
The Defense Department began arming local police with surplus equipment in 1997 as the Cold War wound down. Since then, the DoD has distributed more than $5 billion worth of vehicles, weapons and other supplies. Separately, after 9/11, a Homeland Security program launched providing cash grants to help small towns and big cities alike prepare for terrorist attacks and other disasters.
Critics say that local police don't need much of the equipment. For instance, twenty mine-resistant, ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles were distributed to police departments all over Missouri in the last eight years, although none went to Ferguson.
"An MRAP is built to withstand armor-piercing bombs. This is not something that we need in American communities," said Kara Dansky, who authored the ACLU report on militarization. "Increasingly the police are trained to view the people in the communities that they're supposed to be protecting and serving as enemies."
Related: Ferguson's economy - Tough times but signs of progress
Some experts worry all this heavy equipment could lead to the use of more deadly force than might otherwise occur.
"You bring out the equipment, you add to the likelihood that you might be shot at," said Tom Fuentes a former FBI assistant director and a CNN Law Enforcement Analyst.
Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin said in a written statement Friday that Congress established the program out of concern that local law enforcement agencies were literally outgunned by drug criminals. But he said his committee will review the program to determine "if equipment provided by the Defense Department is being used as intended."
But others say there can be a legitimate need for the supplies, and that anticipating who will need it is impossible in advance.
"When it comes to equipment like this, it's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it," said Mike Brooks, a CNN law enforcement analyst.
-- CNN's Evan Perez, Brian Todd and Dugan McConnell contributed to this report.
First Published: August 15, 2014: 4:43 PM ET
The guy who wrote the code for the first pop-up ads says he's sorry for creating them. NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Ethan Zuckerman worked for the webpage hosting site Tripod.com from 1994 to 1999, when it was struggling to develop a revenue model.
"Along the way," he writes in The Atlantic this week, "we ended up creating one of the most hated tools in the advertiser's toolkit: the pop-up ad."
The pop-up ad started as a solution to a complaint from a car maker upset that its banner ad was running on a page containing sexual content. Zuckerman wrote the code to launch ads in separate windows, laying the groundwork for what would become one of the Web's biggest nuisances.
Related: You can't change the color on Facebook -- it's a virus
"It was a way to associate an ad with a user's page without putting it directly on the page, which advertisers worried would imply an association between their brand and the page's content," Zuckerman wrote. "I'm sorry. Our intentions were good."
Zuckerman works these days at MIT, where he's the director of the Center for Civic Media and principal research scientist at the MIT Media Lab. He says he'd like to see the Internet evolve away from ad-supported businesses, perhaps through greater use of subscription models or direct "micropayments" to creators of content.
"20 years [into] the ad-supported web, we can see that our current model is bad, broken, and corrosive," Zuckerman writes.
First Published: August 15, 2014: 10:10 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Buffett's holding company Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) bought nearly 3 million shares of GM (GM) during the second quarter, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The vote of confidence from America's leading value investor comes as GM struggles to recover from a historic recall crisis. GM has recalled millions of cars for faulty ignition switches and other problems this year, and the fund it set up to compensate victims has received 63 death claims so far.
GM shares have tumbled nearly 17% so far this year. While the stock rallied in the second quarter, shares plunged more than 11% in July.
The combined costs from recalls and victim compensation slashed GM's profits about 80% in the second quarter from a year ago. It was the second straight quarter that recall costs have wiped out all the company's profits.
But Buffett is known for making long-term investments in companies when shares are priced at a discount. He's widely recognized as one of the nation's best investors. Berkshire's Class A shares rose above $200,000 per share for the first time Thursday. It's the highest priced stock in the U.S. market.
Related: Warren Buffett stock tops $200,000 a share
Buffett is one of GM's largest shareholders and a staunch supporter of current chief executive, Marry Barra.
"She's dynamite, you couldn't have a better executive," he told CNN in May.
In addition to loading up on GM stock, Buffett is also a proud owner of GM cars. He purchased a new Cadillac CTS in July and was so pleased with the experience that he sent a glowing letter to Barra praising the sales staff at the local Cadillac dealership in his home town of Omaha, Neb.
GM has staged a major comeback since it was rescued by the federal government during the financial crisis. After emerging from bankruptcy in 2009, GM returned to the public market a year later and Buffett has been invested since at least 2012.
Despite the attention to the recall problems, GM's car sales remained relatively strong in the second quarter. U.S. sales rose nearly 7% to 806,000 cars and trucks as its market share stayed unchanged in the second quarter.
The company also reported record sales in China, its largest market. Sales declines in South America and Europe left global sales little changed at 2.5 million vehicles, but the company posted increased revenue.
First Published: August 15, 2014: 11:25 AM ET
Famed department store Saks Fifth Avenue has warned a company called Snaks 5th Avenchew to back off. NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Snaks 5th Avenchew, a purveyor of organic gourmet pet treats, has received a cease and desist order accusing it of infringing on the retailer's name, according to Snaks owner Carrie Sarabella.
Sarabella wouldn't say whether she plans to change the name of her company, an online retailer that makes baked goods for dogs and horses.
A spokeswoman for Saks Fifth Avenue, which is owned by Hudson's Bay Company, wouldn't say whether the retailer plans to sue Snaks.
Meanwhile, Snaks is still selling pet treats online. Horse snacks include the Birth-Neigh Cake for $32, which comes in apple caramel and carrot cinnamon, and Pony Poppers, which look like doughnut holes, available in batches of 50 for $27.
Dog treats include the B-Ruff-Day Cake for $30, which comes in peanut butter, red velvet, banana or carob. There are also Mini PupCakes, for $15 a dozen, Pup Tarts for $2.50 apiece and Puptato Chips for $5 a bag.
First Published: August 15, 2014: 11:33 AM ET
Albertson's and Shop 'N Save became the latest companies to experience a data breach of its debit and credit card data. NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
The chains announced the data breach Friday morning. The massive hack impacts their umbrella of stores, as well.
That includes Albertson's Acme, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's and Star Market supermarkets, as well as SuperValu's Cub Foods, Hornbacher's, Farm Fresh, Shop 'N Save and Shoppers Food & Pharmacy.
The extent of the damage isn't yet clear, and the grocery chains haven't yet said how many customers might be affected. SuperValu said it knows hackers broke into the computer network that processes card payments, but it's unsure whether they managed to take the data.
If they did, hackers made off with the typical information stored on a credit card's magnetic stripe: your name, card number, expiration date and the three-digit security code.
Related story: 'Smart credit card' terminals can be hacked too
SuperValu said the virtual break-in affected credit cards swiped at 228 stores between June 22 and July 17. Albertson's did not say how many of its 1,060 locations were affected by the hack. But it believes more than 700 were affected.
That includes every Acme, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's and Star Market -- plus all Albertson's stores in Southern California, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming and Southern Utah.
SuperValu and Albertson's share the same technology system that was attacked. It's unclear which store or stores was hit first.
Cybersecurity: How safe are you? -- a custom Flipboard magazine
SuperValu said the security hole has been plugged and customers can now safely use card swiping terminals at its stores.
This event will only add to this sobering statistic: Half of American adults have been hacked this past year.
First Published: August 15, 2014: 11:48 AM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Among the most recent: A video showing a Chicago photographer on hold for more than 3 hours trying to cancel his service, only to be told in a separate call that the office that handles disconnects was closed for the day.
Aaron Spain's video on You Tube has 1.4 million views in the three days since it was posted.
In the video, Spain holds up the phone to show the original call passing the 3 hour and 25 minute mark. "That's how long I've been on hold, and they're closed," he said. "I'm pissed."
Spain said he was able to cancel the service -- in just 17 minutes -- when he called back the next day. He said once the video went viral, a Comcast (CMCSA)executive called him to apologize. "It seemed genuine," Spain said.
"Under no circumstances is this the experience we want our customers to have," said a Comcast spokesperson. "Our goal is to be respectful of our customers' time and fix any issues the first time. We take this very seriously."
Last week Tim Davis, another unhappy Comcast customer. posted a recording of his battles to get an improper charge from a service call dropped from his bill. He was told in the complaining call that the only way to have the charge removed was to have a recording of someone at Comcast telling him that there would be no charge to fix the problem.
He called the bluff, playing back a tape of the earlier customer service representative assuring him there would be no charge, and got the charge dropped. The incident was reported by The Washington Post. The video has about 770,000 views.
Last month, Ryan Block, a former editor of Endgadget, and his wife Veronica Belmont, posted a recording of an abusive Comcast customer service representative who refused to cancel their service despite repeated requests to do so. There are more than 500,000 views of the various YouTube postings of his call.
Comcast issued statements apologizing for both the Davis and Block-Belmont calls.
"This is not the type of experience we want our customers to have. We have spoken with the customer and apologized to him," said Comcast about Davis' video.
First Published: August 15, 2014: 1:54 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
A weekly collection of design, data and interactive links.
Design/Data viz
A Spacecraft for all | Chrome experiment for the ISEE-3 Reboot Project
Marka | Beautiful icon transformations
X to close | The origins of the use of [x] in UI design
Lipsum Pro | Superfast lorem ipsum generator
Where people were born | Detailed look at every U.S. state
A better queue | Filter and browse Netflix instant movies with Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer
Photo/video
Steampunk gifs | Gifs made from the Smithsonian's steampunk prints
Time Collapse | Skateboarding Time Collapse: Shot with the Lumia 930
Ground Floor | Subjective city of a mistaken mind
80sTV | Relive the 80s through this video based time portal
First-person hyperlapse videos | New research from Microsoft
See last week's links
Have a nice weekend!
@dubly and @talyellin
First Published: August 15, 2014: 3:14 PM ET
