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34261a1ece83b64b39a93003165b88f8 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/12/gov-jindal-maybe-im-not-what-a-conservative-looks-like.html | Gov. Jindal: ‘Maybe I’m not what they think a conservative should look like’ | Gov. Jindal: ‘Maybe I’m not what they think a conservative should look like’
VIDEO3:3003:30'Who is Bobby Jindal?'Politics
Quick—name the most conservative Republican exploring a 2016 presidential bid.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, maestro of the 2013 government shutdown? Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, with his narrow libertarian's vision of the role of government? Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, fierce foe of organized labor?
Bobby Jindal wants you to think it's him.
The Louisiana governor calls himself a "full-spectrum conservative" and has been working hard to prove it.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby JindalTom Williams | CQ Roll Call | Getty Images
He has refused to raise taxes despite a looming $1.6 billion state budget deficit, which he blames on a decline in revenues produced by falling oil prices. He embraced Rudy Giuliani after the former New York mayor questioned President Barack Obama's love of country, endorsed the letter to Iran signed by Republican senators seeking to undercut nuclear talks, and decried Muslim "no-go zones" in Europe that the mayor of London said do not exist.
Read More10 questions for Bobby Jindal
A Brown University graduate and Rhodes scholar, Jindal opposes gay marriage and declines to express belief in the theory of evolution.
Everything about his career has moved at lightning speed. At 24, he headed Louisiana's state health department, the largest in state government. By 33, he was in Congress, by 36, he was governor, and nearly two years later, to poor reviews, he delivered the Republican response to Obama's first State of the Union address.
Read MoreRick Perry: 'Oops' won't be my obituary
Now, at 43, he's the youngest among potential Republican candidates. He's also distinctive for his ethnicity—and how he talks about it as a public official. A child of Indian immigrants, he rejects the idea of "hyphenated Americans" and calls for those of different national origins to fully assimilate as a means of strengthening the American fabric.
That, he said, is why he decried Muslim "no-go zones," which he insists that researchers have documented. "If we are not careful, if we do not insist on assimilation and integration," Jindal said, "we will develop those same kind of areas in our country."
He rejects accusations from Democrats and Republicans alike that he is pandering to conservative primary voters. "This goes back to the arrogance of the left, the folks that say you can be smart or conservative, you can't be both," he said. "It's not just the president, it's not just the liberal media—there are some folks in our party that as soon as they get to Washington they give up trying to fight for their principles."
Read More
"I think it's confusing for a lot of people to see a guy who went to Brown University and is a conservative," Jindal said. "Maybe I'm not what they think a conservative should look like. There's an arrogance that thinks that everybody that has an education must think a certain way."
The odds against Jindal remain long. He faces an array of better-known and better-funded candidates, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. But he hasn't abandoned White House hopes yet.
The governor, who converted to Catholicism as a young adult, said he's "praying about" a possible race for the White House and intends to decide by summer.
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744bdaabe1307f62ce9738f0149b0042 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/12/how-boeing-will-continue-to-crush-the-competion.html | VIDEO7:1607:16Boeing CEO: Like commercial side growthMad Money with Jim Cramer
In the past 10 years, Jim Cramer has developed an eye for searching for cycles. He can smell a cycle from far away and knows when it will transcend into a multiyear money-making machine.
Right now, Cramer sees that we are right in the middle of an aerospace cycle. Airlines are rolling in cash, thanks to the major decline in the cost of oil.
This is exactly why Cramer is convinced that Boeing will crush the competition and head higher. He sat down with Boeing CEO Jim McNerney to find out how taking a long-term perspective in planning has paid off for the company.
"You've got to have a 20-year perspective on the market...The people that we compete with who don't take that long view; they don't satisfy customers as well. You've got a 25-year relationship with the customer after you sell them stuff," McNerney said.
Jim McNerney, CEO of Boeing.Adam Jeffery | CNBC
Cramer pointed out that there are entire continents around the world who are hoping that Boeing does not do well. Is the CEO worried about this?
"Not at all, because we are going to win," he replied.
Boeing also recently also took steps to thank the shareholders when it announced a $12 billion buyback in December, and a 25 percent raise in dividend. However Cramer asked if that money was put into production instead of shareholder's pockets, would this have increased growth in the company?
"Yes. We have doubled our production in the last five years. We are going to take it up another 30 percent over the next four years. Those plans are baked; there is profitability and there is scale advantages associated with that. There are new planes that we have already sold that are in our backlog. We are in a good spot," McNerney said.
The CEO also takes this long-term view in perspective of the price of oil. Cramer had heard rumblings that the lower cost of oil would reduce demand for the fuel efficient planes that Boeing makes, as demand for those planes would not be as high.
"I suppose you could talk yourself into them not needing fuel efficient planes if the price of oil was zero. Then I'd buy that. But the facts are that a fifth of the outlay is for the new plane, and four-fifths is living with that plane for 20 years. The efficiency at almost any oil price really pays back for these guys," McNerney said.
---------------------------------------------------------- Read more from Mad Money with Jim Cramer Cramer Remix: I'm making a bold call on oil Cramer: Forget oil—crash hasn't happened & won't Cramer: Stop worrying about stocks—Time to listen! ----------------------------------------------------------
At the end of the day, McNerney conveyed that his stewardship for Boeing is one that he is proud of, especially the role it played in shaping American democracy in WWII.
"It's a stewardship that is humbling. Our company produced 91,000 airplanes during WWII," McNerney said. "Democracy won that war and has enabled the next 50 years that we get to participate in. That's exciting and motivates the hell out of us every day when we get up in the morning."
Questions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC
Want to take a deep dive into Cramer's world? Hit him up! Mad Money Twitter - Jim Cramer Twitter - Facebook - Instagram - Vine
Questions, comments, suggestions for the "Mad Money" website? madcap@cnbc.com
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67eef920eb322ec6f7ca38cc037d62a4 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/12/lightning-round-good-chance-this-is-downgraded.html | It's that time again! The Lightning Round bell has rung, and Jim Cramer gives his take on a few favorite audience stocks:
Novavax: "You're right to be concerned, and this is not the kind of market for Novavax. If you want to go spec, you do Regeneron. You would have to buy one share versus 100, but that's what I would go for."
Lam Research: "It's really good! You have to be careful because there's a good chance someone will downgrade it tomorrow because of the Intel, but I like Lam."
---------------------------------------------------------- Read more from Mad Money with Jim Cramer Cramer Remix: I'm making a bold call on oil Cramer: Forget oil—crash hasn't happened & won't Cramer: Stop worrying about stocks—Time to listen! ----------------------------------------------------------
Mastercard: "A great buy right now. They did that spot secondary which was just a guide going from B to A. I think you definitely want to buy it here while it's down on a discount."
Seattle Genetics: "No. I like it, but I do like others better. There's nothing I can do, I like the BioMarin better and I do like Isis better."
Questions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC
Want to take a deep dive into Cramer's world? Hit him up! Mad Money Twitter - Jim Cramer Twitter - Facebook - Instagram - Vine
Questions, comments, suggestions for the "Mad Money" website? madcap@cnbc.com
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ac86e580a5b1a20c7c43e10699200c21 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/12/make-it-harder-for-some-americans-to-get-ahead.html | Robots may make it harder for some Americans to get ahead | Robots may make it harder for some Americans to get ahead
Ryan Etter | Getty Images
More linebacker than running back, Baxter is a tough, reliable worker. His arm span is wide and he takes instruction well, all valuable assets on a manufacturing shop floor.
Baxter is a robot and made by Rethink Robotics, a start-up founded by Rodney Brooks, who produced the Roomba vacuum when he was at iRobot in the 2000s. Robots and more broadly automation have been around for decades, especially in the auto industry. We're talking six-figure robots in cages that are so big they could hurt workers if the machines toppled onto humans.
Robots have since advanced and are smaller, nimble and more affordable. Small- to medium-sized businesses are introducing automation onto shop floors. Some economists see a future where robots will push down labor costs and lift productivity so companies will think twice before offshoring U.S. jobs.
Read MoreSome robots are giving back with jobs
Automation is forecast to raise productivity by as much as 30 percent in many industries, and cut labor costs by at least 18 percent in the coming decade, according to recent research from The Boston Consulting Group. As an example, "We're thinking about something like a 16 percent drop in the labor costs for manufacturing plants over this time period," Hal Sirkin, a senior partner at The Boston Consulting Group, told CNBC. The researchers did not spell out how labor cost savings might translate into potential number of jobs lost to automation.
This is the embedded "botsourcing" fear. More robots = lost jobs. Or seen another way, higher wage pressures = more automation. And maybe even more worrisome is a suspicion that robots will not only jeopardize jobs but make it even harder for less-skilled workers to remain employed, let alone get ahead.
From 1995 to 2013, technological changes accelerated America's output per worker. But those gains were offset by income inequality and a drop in labor force participation. Those working or looking for work have declined to around 62.8 percent from prerecession levels of around 66 percent, suggesting more Americans are getting discouraged and disappearing permanently from the workforce. President Barack Obama laid out how middle-class stagnation is dragging down the economy in the 2015 Economic Report of the President released by the White House last month.
So if advanced robots knock out more automatable jobs, will lower-skilled workers fall further from the pack and essentially vanish from the American jobs landscape? This is a big debate among economists and experts on robotics.
Economic growth has been more and more concentrated not just at the top, but at the tippy top of the pay scale.Jared Bernsteineconomist
The recovery after the Great Recession has been dominated by job gains in lower-wage industries, according to analysis from the National Employment Law Project. Higher-wage sectors have accounted for 33 percent of new jobs, while mid-wage industries pulled in 26 percent of new positions from July 2013 to July 2014. But lower-wage sectors have ricocheted higher during the same period, raking in 41 percent of new jobs.
"Economic growth has been more and more concentrated not just at the top, but at the tippy top of the pay scale," said economist Jared Bernstein, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, D.C.
As more automation seeps into industry and everyday consumer lives, there's a concern robotic innovation may sideline more Americans—workers already buckling under low employment levels and stagnant wages.
Bill Gates, founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.Emmanuel Dunand | AFP | Getty Images
It's been eight years since Bill Gates predicted a robot in every home. "I can envision a future in which robotic devices will become a nearly ubiquitous part of our day-to-day lives," wrote Gates in the January 2007 edition of the Scientific American.
States are passing laws on driverless cars. Amazon is developing small, unmanned aerial vehicles, known as drones, to deliver packages to customers' homes. The U.S. military is researching robots for search and rescue operations. And there are surgical robots to treat soldiers in remote regions. U.S. venture capital investments in robotic start-ups nearly tripled to $172 million in 2013 from 2011 levels. That's according to PwC's MoneyTree survey, which tracks VC investments.
But the promise of new machines—and its presumed preference for higher-skilled workers—also highlights how innovation can weed out some workers. About 47 percent of U.S. employees—nearly half—are in jobs that could be at risk of being displaced by computerized technology, according to a 2013 University of Oxford study.
Measured another way, the portion of automatable tasks done by robots globally is projected to reach nearly 25 percent in 10 years, up from 10 percent at current levels, according to the International Federation of Robotics and The Boston Consulting Group. In China, for example, where wages are rising, the nation ordered more robots in 2013 than any other country, some 37,000, according to research published last year from PwC and the Manufacturing Institute.
Read More'Made in China' is increasingly 'Made in USA'
Other economic data show the emerging gulf between pockets of workers, as U.S. employment levels are historically low and productivity keeps rising.
Bernstein at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has tracked how labor productivity and private employment became decoupled in the late 1990s. The U.S. employment-to-population ratio is lower than any time in at least 20 years.
The gap between productivity and employment can partly be explained by weak labor demand. The U.S. job market had been slack but recently has tightened. The unemployment rate dropped to 5.5 percent in February, according to the Labor Department.
"It's not just automation that leads to that gap. It can also be weak labor demand," Bernstein said.
VIDEO2:0702:07Where the jobs are: Rise of roboticsSquawk Box
Jared Bernsteineconomist
Of course, companies aren't just deploying robots to slash human-powered jobs. The math behind automation isn't that simple. Next generation robots will require college-educated electrical and mechanical engineers and higher wages.
And despite robotic advances, some tasks still need that nuanced human touch and decision-making that can't be replicated, so far, by machines.
Consider the gestures of a health-care worker helping an aging patient. "There are actually lots of low- and middle-wage occupations that are hard to replace by labor-saving technology," said Bernstein. "I don't think robots have sealed our fate as much as people think they have," he said.
The Baxter robot is an adaptive, affordable machine that’s being used on more shop floors.Source: Rethink Robotics
Rethink Robotics, based in Boston, makes Baxter, which sells for about $25,000 or a fraction of what robots cost a generation ago. And while older robots operated inside cages, Baxter and newer robots operate freely, right on shop floors next to humans. Baxter has arms and a computer screen that renders facial expressions—telegraphing to co-workers their next moves.
Factory workers can also guide Baxter's arms through physical tasks on an assembly line—in essence programming Baxter through demonstrations, and cutting the need for specialized software or technicians. Reprogramming older machines for automated tasks used to be expensive. A lot of shops have graveyards of dusty, boxy robots that simply became too costly to reprogram and repurpose.
Back then, "you had to create the programming to do the jobs," said Jim Lawton of Rethink Robotics. "It was like buying an iPhone with no apps."
Looking ahead, four sectors in particular are forecast to employ roughly 75 percent of robots through 2025—the transportation, machinery, computer and electrical fields, according to the Boston consultancy's report, released last month.
(In some sectors) robotic price/performance is better than or near parity with manual labors costs.The Boston Consulting Group
And robots over human labor already makes economic sense. Robotic price and performance are better than—or near parity—with manual labor costs in the U.S. auto and electrical equipment industries, according to the consultancy's research. In other areas like the U.S. furniture industry, robots could surpass manual labor in the next decade.
Beyond labor cost savings, some companies are using automation to expand and improve product quality and increase production. The 'bots are not only here, they're multiplying.
Justin Rose is a manufacturing expert for The Boston Consulting Group. He studies trends like how robotics and other economic shifts are contributing to American re-shoring. Years ago, Rose first encountered Baxter, roaming free on a shop floor and without a cage.
"For the price of a car, you can have a robot that can run 24 hours a day with impressive capabilities," Rose said. "This is the beginning of that revolution."
Read MoreInside America's arms race for innovation
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39f06229919a072917d1b6eb28dae608 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/12/us-stocks-open-higher-as-dollar-falls-mixed-data-eyed.html?utm_source=wnd&utm_medium=wnd&utm_campaign=syndicated | Stocks positive for year as Fed fears subside; Dow up 250 points | Stocks positive for year as Fed fears subside; Dow up 250 points
VIDEO2:3102:31Roger Altman: Job market not that strongSquawk Box
VIDEO2:5002:50Pisani's market open: Fast casual slows
VIDEO5:0005:00What weak retail sales mean for the Fed
U.S. stocks traded higher on Thursday as mixed economic data indicated to some investors that the Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates as early as anticipated.
The market rebound is "probably in response to a lot of folks (who) think the Fed will not be raising rates. The U.S. economy seems to be cooling," said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at RW Baird, citing weak retail sales that offset an encouraging decline in jobless claims.
Read MoreWatch out for market mood swings
Bittles added that at the beginning of the year his firm had expected the Fed not to raise rates because of strength in the dollar and instability in the global economy, two ongoing conditions.
The Dow and S&P gained more than 1 percent to trade moderately higher for the year. The Nasdaq extended gains for the year.
"I think it was just a reversal of yesterday," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank. "I understand the concern (about the rapid dollar rally) but perhaps investors are overly concerned about the Fed and the dollar."
The U.S. dollar fell about half a percent, pausing its recent rally. The euro edged higher to $1.06, up from 12-year lows hit on Wednesday.
"At least on a one-day basis we have a reprieve from the (strong dollar)—very much analogous to the decline we saw in oil prices," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities.
Read MoreEuro-dollar parity: It's now in Yellen's hands
The Federal Reserve said on Thursday that household net worth rose by $1.5 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2014 to a record $83 trillion, with gains driven by real estate.
"I think (the market rally) has something to do with yesterday's Federal Reserve findings on the stress tests," said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Boston Private Wealth. "I think that's helping lift the overall market (along with) initial unemployment claims. With the most recent pullback some people are looking at this as a buying opportunity."
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up more than 250 points, with Disney leading gains and Goldman Sachs rising 3 percent as the second greatest blue chip advancer. After passing its stress test on Wednesday, Goldman announced it will increase its quarterly dividend by 5 cents to 65 cents a share.
While 29 banks passed, Deutsche Bank and Santander failed the stress tests, with the Fed objecting to the capital distribution plans proposed by their U.S. units. These banks will be barred from issuing dividends or buybacks until a new plan is approved (though Deutsche's U.S. unit had not planned any dividends or buybacks in the first place).
Bank of America's approval was contingent on submission of a revised capital strategy to the Fed by the end of September.
The S&P 500 surged 1.26 percent to hold above its 50-day moving average, after falling below it on Tuesday.
"I think this is just a bit of a temporary rally and we'll see resumption of that decline. This rally is not going to be long lasting," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital.
Intel fell on the firm's lowering of its first quarter revenue outlook, noting weaker demand for business desktop PCs and that inventory levels are lower than expected. Microsoft also declined, as the second greatest laggard in the Dow.
and further declines in sales pushed the number of months it would take to clear shelves to the highest since July 2009, which suggests a stock draw down in the months ahead.
Retail sales for February fell 0.6 percent, missing expectations of a slight gain.
"For the last 3 to 4 years, that first-quarter performance has been choppy in general," said Calvin Silva, senior retail specialist with Nasdaq's Advisory Services unit. "Online stores saw an increase. Not a silver lining but an example of how consumers will shift their preference based on their situation."
Retail sales excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services were unchanged after a 0.1 percent decline in January.
Read MoreGrowth slows at fast casual restaurants
The ex-auto figure is "still on the weak side, but not as weak as the headline numbers suggest," Cardillo said. The "drop in jobless claims basically is a return to normalcy after the winter months.
Weekly jobless claims fell more than expected to 289,000, below the prior week's 320,000.
"The employment picture is kind of setting up for some more optimism come summer time," Silva said, citing that winter weather might create pent-up demand for increased spending during the warmer months.
Import prices for February rose 0.4 percent, versus a revised decline of 3.1 percent in January. Export prices declined 0.1 percent, less than January's decline of 1.9 percent.
"I think the market is looking at the numbers and saying the economy is in good shape," said Scott Clemons, chief investment strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman. "We're in the sixth to seventh year in the bull market. Earnings growth has begun to wear thin, so we'll need a boost besides (earnings). Consumer spending is the key."
Dollar General matched estimates with quarterly profit of $1.17 per share, though revenue was slightly below estimates.The discount retailer also initiated a quarterly dividend of 22 cents per share. However, the discount retailerforecast profit below estimates.
The retailer announced on Saturday plans to expand into Oregon, Maine and Rhode Island, taking its presence to 43 states.
Shake Shack, which recently went public, reported a fourth-quarter loss and said same-restaurant sales growth would slow this year.
Lumber Liquidators surged more than 10 percent after the company defended its products in a conference call on Thursday.
Alibaba will invest $200 million in Snapchat, as the mobile messaging company engages in another funding round.
Hewlett-Packard edged higher despite Barclays downgrading the firm to "equal weight" from "overweight," saying it may be hit harder by the slide in the euro than previously thought.
Read MoreEarly movers: SHAK, BOX, DG, HPQ, UTX, LL & more
"I do think this is a stock pickers' market because there are some parts that do better than others," said Scott Clemons, chief investment strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman. We're going to "end the year higher with lots of volatility along the way."
Major U.S. Indexes
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 259.83 points, or 1.47 percent, to 17,895.22, with Disney surging more than 4 percent to lead gains and Intel leading four decliners.
The entertainment and media company announced on Thursday that it is working on a sequel to the hit animated film "Frozen" and that the eighth installment in the "Star Wars" film franchise is set for May 2017 release.
The closed up 25.71 points, or 1.26 percent, at 2,065.95, with financials leading nine sectors higher and energy the only laggard.
The Nasdaq closed up 43.35 points, or 0.89 percent, at 4,893.29.
About three shares advanced for every decliner on the New York Stock Exchange, with an exchange volume of nearly 748 million and a composite volume of about 3.4 billion in the close.
Crude oil futures settled down 2.3 percent at $47.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures settled up $1.30 to $1,151.90 an ounce.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury note yield traded near 2.11 percent.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, traded near 16.
U.S. stocks closed mildly lower on Wednesday as equities failed to recover from Tuesday's selloff, amid continued concern over dollar gains and the timing of a Fed interest rate hike.
As of Wednesday's close:
The Dow Jones industrial average was within one standard deviation below its 50-day moving average. Since 1981 the index has been in this position 4.38 percent of all trading days, according to quantitative analytics tool Kensho. The probability of the index moving lower is 43.3 percent and the probability of it moving higher in the days following is 56.7 percent. The S&P 500 was within one standard deviation below its 50-day moving average. Since 1980 the index has been in this position 4.00 percent of all trading days, according to Kensho. The probability of the index moving higher in the days following is 58.5 percent and the probability of it moving lower is 41.5 percent. The Nasdaq composite was within half a standard deviation above its 50-day moving average. Since 1980 the index has been in this position 4.69 percent of all trading days, according to Kensho. The probability of the index moving lower is 43.2 percent and the probability of it moving higher is 56.8 percent.
—Reuters and CNBC.com contributed to this report.
Disclosure: CNBC's parent NBCUniversal is a minority investor in Kensho.
On tap this week:
Thursday
Earnings: Ulta Salon, Aeropostale, Civeo, El Pollo Loco
Friday
Earnings: Ann
8:30 am: PPI
10:00 am: Consumer sentiment
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272f3c0fa13cb79b2c67b95b74534d4f | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/12/with-stock-tanking-box-ceo-responds-to-complaints.html | With stock tanking, Box CEO responds to complaints | With stock tanking, Box CEO responds to complaints
VIDEO2:5102:51Box CEO: Great quarter, still pushing on growthClosing Bell
VIDEO1:0701:07Trader on Box: Stay awayHalftime Report
VIDEO4:0604:06Box CEO says analysts got it wrongSquawk Alley
VIDEO1:5201:52Box shares plunge after earnings reportSquawk Box
Box's stock price is the victim of confused analysts, CEO Aaron Levie said.
He said Thursday on CNBC's "Closing Bell" that he did not want to overemphasize results' relation to Wall Street expectations, but he did want to set the record straight about his company.
"On every metric in the last quarter—on revenue, on operating income, on billings—we beat the estimates from analysts," Levie said. "So we think we had a great quarter."
Shares in the cloud storage company tanked Thursday—down about 15 percent just before Levie spoke with CNBC, but paring those declines by the market close—after it reported fiscal fourth-quarter results after the bell Wednesday.
CEO of Box Aaron LevieRichard Mcblane | Getty Images
Box posted a loss of $1.65 per share, which initially appeared to be a major miss because some consensus estimates called for a loss of about $1.17 per share.
Levie told CNBC Wednesday night, however, that that consensus figure was wrong because some analysts had based their expectations on an incorrect share count. In fact, he said, the actual consensus was for a loss of $1.99—meaning Box topped what Wall Street projected.
Read MoreBox CEO: Cloudy results due to analyst confusion
Responding to one analyst's complaint that he was being too defensive for a company CEO who just had his first earnings release since going public, Levie said he wanted to make sure Box sets "appropriate expectations."
Still, he said "for the most part, we're just focused on execution."
Box's quarterly revenue easily topped Street projections, rising to $63 million, compared with estimates for $58 million.
The company forecast revenue growth of about 30 percent in the current fiscal year, which would mark a slowdown.
As for another analyst's complaint that Box spends too much on advertising, Levie said that ad spending has fallen as a percentage of revenue, but "our job right now is to go capture as much adoption as possible."
—CNBC's Josh Lipton and Karma Allen contributed to this report.
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279b912d064dc44623c45c5079561ae0 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/13/ackmans-herbalife-comments-are-borderline-manipulative-expert.html | Ackman's Herbalife comments not manipulative, but on border: Expert | Ackman's Herbalife comments not manipulative, but on border: Expert
VIDEO3:3103:31Ackman associates questioned about Herbalife: WSJSquawk Box
VIDEO2:5202:52What's the full side of Herbalife story?Squawk Box
VIDEO3:5703:57Bill Ackman: Herbalife's a criminal enterpriseSquawk Box
Bill Ackman's comments about nutritional supplement company Herbalife do not appear to add up to market manipulation, former federal prosecutor Jacob Frenkel said Friday.
"In terms of what he has said so far, it may be borderline manipulative, but it does not yet appear to be stock manipulation because a lot of the statements he's making are general statements, but they are conclusory," Frenkel said in an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box."
Read MoreBill Ackman: I haven't traded around Herbalife short
The FBI and federal prosecutors are investigating whether Herbalife's stock has been manipulated, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Sources told the publication the authorities have interviewed people connected to Ackman, who shorted Herbalife's stock and waged a public battle with the company over the course of more than two years, alleging the nutritional supplement distributor is a pyramid scheme and insisting the stock price will go to zero.
"I'm puzzled by the story. We have not heard from the FBI or Department of Justice," Ackman told CNBC. "If they have any questions for me I'm happy to answer them. I stand by every statement I've made about Herbalife. The company has never identified anything we've said that is false."
Ackman took a short position against Herbalife in May 2012, and went public with it the following December.
What followed was a contentious period during which Ackman came under fire from Herbalife and other well-known investors, including Third Point founder Dan Loeb and billionaire investor Carl Icahn. Ackman aggressively defended his position—including during an on-air battle with Icahn during CNBC's "Fast Money: Halftime Report."
In February, the Pershing Square Capital Management founder told CNBC he was through with disclosing his short positions to the public.
Read MoreAckman: After Herbalife, I'm done with 'public shorts'
Frenkel said Ackman's campaign against Herbalife was notable for its highly public profile.
The real quality short sellers do a lot of this work behind the scenes," he said. "They're trying to get their message to the government to understand their analysis to understand why the company is not as strong as the company wants the public to believe."
VIDEO3:0903:09Feds probe HerbalifeSquawk Box
In March 2014, Herbalife announced that the Federal Trade Commission had opened an investigation into its business model.
It is not terribly likely that continuing to build on short positions can be considered manipulative because the government does not disclose the progress of its investigation to the short sellers or those working on their behalf, said Frenkel, a partner at law firm Shulman Rogers.
"What they're looking at is whether there was any materially false or misleading information that was being given to the government for the purpose of helping to drive the stock, because there's clearly pecuniary interest," Frenkel said.
Read MoreFeds interview Ackman allies over Herbalife: DJ
Ron Geffner, former SEC enforcement attorney, told "Squawk Box" the case is likely going nowhere and represents the cost of doing business for Pershing Square.
He said that Ackman would likely avoid any possible charges of stock manipulation so long as investigators determined he genuinely believed his comments on Herbalife were true. It would be challenging for prosecutors to find a "smoking gun" that proves Ackman or his associates had no fundamental belief behind the research or statements they released publicly or presented to regulators, he added.
Authorities will also seek to determine whether a group of people acted in concert to drive down the price of Herbalife's stock, he said.
Herbalife also weighed in on the investigation on Thursday, saying in a statement, "Mr. Ackman has a $1 billion bet against Herbalife, and a direct financial interest in hurting our company. For more than two years, he has spent over $75 million orchestrating a false and fabricated attack against Herbalife, all in an effort to enrich himself,"
—CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin contributed to this report.
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855f6c9032a6ff6e7bcee57125556d00 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/13/flash-boys-author-michael-lewis-still-thinks-market-rigged.html | Michael Lewis: 'Flash Boys' market still 'rigged' | Michael Lewis: 'Flash Boys' market still 'rigged'
Michael Lewis participates in a discussion at George Washington University on April 4, 2014.Getty Images
A year after his "Flash Boys" book rocked Wall Street, Michael Lewis thinks the stock market is still rigged.
Last March, the author ignited a prolonged, heated dedbate about high-frequency trading, which uses sophisticated computer algorithms to execute orders in fractions of a second. Lewis profiled Brad Katsuyama and IEX, which developed a system that seeks to level the playing field for investors.
In an essay for Vanity Fair, Lewis said the market's "invisible scalp" persists, even though regulators have taken action against several Wall Street institutions over the past year due to trading violations.
"The rigging of the stock market cannot be dismissed as a dispute between rich hedge-fund guys and clever techies," Lewis wrote for the magazine's April edition. "It's not even the case that the little guy trading in underpants in his basement is immune to its costs."
VIDEO4:1104:11'Flash Boys' fight that stopped NYSE trading
Lewis said he was both surprised at the intensity of the controversy since the book's release and disappointed that the furor against high-frequency trading hasn't become more widespread. He specifically mentioned a heated debate, televised live last April by CNBC, between Katsuyama and William O'Brien, the president of the BATS exchange, that virtually stopped Wall Street in its tracks.
Some supporters argue that HFT has helped lower trading costs while others say the only ones penalized are hedge fund managers whose frequent trades can get front-run by the lighting-fast systems. Lewis rejected both arguments.
Read MoreAckman 'borderline manipulative' on Herbalife: Expert
As for Katsuyama, Lewis praised the way he has handled the firestorm following the publication of "Flash Boys."
"The controversy that followed the book's publication hasn't been pleasant for them, but it's been fun for me to see them behave as bravely under fire as they did before the start of the war," Lewis said. "It's been an honor to tell their story."
For more on the story, go here.
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afa2700595f982e0a2ae4dbc80f7f3c9 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/13/paying-college-athletes-pending-lawsuits-create-new-complications-for-ncaa-budgets.html | Pay for play: NCAA schools keep eye on legal cases | Pay for play: NCAA schools keep eye on legal cases
Ed O'Bannon of UCLA in 1995Getty Images
With March Madness right around the corner, the National Collegiate Athletic Association is using some tenacious defensive play in the courtroom—and its entire concept of the amateur athlete may be at stake.
Next week, oral arguments are set to begin in an appeal made by the college sports association in the case of O'Bannon v. NCAA, a suit originally brought by Ed O'Bannon, who played on the 1995 national championship basketball team from UCLA.
Last August, federal Judge Claudia Wilken in O'Bannon v. NCAA ruled that the association violated antitrust law by prohibiting athletes from the Football Bowl Subdivision—the roughly 125 schools formerly known as Division 1-A—and Division 1 men's basketball from being compensated for use of their names, images and likenesses.
Wilken ordered that schools be allowed to offer the athletes full cost-of-attendance scholarships and place up to $5,000 per athlete, per year of eligibility, into a trust. Cost-of-attendance scholarships allow universities to increase the amount of money they provide to athletes to cover cost-of-living expenses that fall outside of the bounds of current NCAA scholarships.
The NCAA did not respond to a request for comment.
Read MoreNCAA pool is worth $15,000—if you can write code
Some conferences have begun allowing members to offer full cost-of-attendance scholarships. Now, schools have to figure out how to cover for the extra cost.
"Funding full cost of attendance scholarships will impact our budget by approximately $1.7 million," said Phil Esten, Penn State's deputy director of athletics and chief operating officer, who added that some schools are funding them "from their operational budget, while others are seeking increased university subsidies. In many cases, it's a combination."
Schools in conferences without lucrative television deals have fewer options from which to find funding.
"Some mid-major conference schools are scratching their heads, asking how they'll get the money," said an athletics director at a mid-major university who wished to remain anonymous. "Some are raising ticket prices. Others are asking their state legislature."
VIDEO1:2001:20What's in store for sports in 2015?
Despite that, some scholars and economists believe that every Division I school has money to pay for the extra costs. They just need to find it.
"Finding the money is about reallocation. We have seen a tremendous building boom in athletic facilities. Once the debt service is taken care of, the money is there," said Stephen W. Dittmore, associate professor of recreation and sports management at the University of Arkansas.
Economist Andy Schwarz, who worked on the O'Bannon case, agreed.
"The question is whether awarding full cost-of-attendance scholarships is a good use of funds. The answer for most schools is that it is," he said, noting that the five biggest, most high-profile athletic conferences have already said they'll do so. "With the 'Power Five' saying that they'll offer full cost-of-attendance scholarships, competition is driving the schools who are barely hanging on in the FBS to make that decision, too."
Read MoreNCAA tourney run can bring billions (with a 'B')
One challenge is that it's not just the big revenue sports whose athletes are likely to claim that they should have their full cost of attendance covered. But schools looking to cut costs by offering such scholarships only to football and men's basketball athletes may want to think twice before they do.
"Title IX might come into play," said Marc Edelman, an associate professor of law at Baruch College, referring to a law that requires gender equity in college sports. "There are reasonable arguments that if full cost-of-attendance scholarships are paid to male athletes, they need to be paid to female athletes."
Another case, Jenkins v. NCAA, seeks the creation of a free market to pay FBS football and Division I men's basketball players. The case is set for a hearing to determine if it should be certified as a class action.
Edelman doesn't think the Jenkins case would ever result in all athletes being paid equally, however: "Athletes that generate higher revenue could receive higher compensation, even if this means male athletes get paid more than female athletes."
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b9aed8a9b2bd26b7a66ca93577a15df7 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/13/plan-to-freelance-in-future-what-you-should-know.html | Plan to freelance in future? What you should know | Plan to freelance in future? What you should know
VIDEO0:0000:00Freelance the right wayInvestment Strategies
There's a major workplace demographic shift in the making.
More than 53 million Americans are doing some sort of freelance work today, according to the Freelancers Union. And by 2020, many experts predict this group of independent workers will grow enough to make up half of the labor force.
"That's going change not only their life, but it's going change the way that Corporate America works," said small business expert and corporate consultant Michael Parrish DuDell.
Read MoreHow freelancers are fueling the new economy
Freelancing has many benefits: flexible hours; exposure to a variety of clients and projects; and the potential to make more income by taking on more work. But there's also more responsibility.
When you call the shots, you're not just responsible for managing your business. You're also responsible for managing other details that are equally important to your success, including your taxes, healthcare and retirement planning.
Svetikd | Getty Images
As a freelancer you're responsible for paying your own taxes, and you will most likely be required to pay taxes quarterly, not just once a year on April 15. So get in the habit of setting aside a portion of every paycheck, based on your tax bracket, to go toward taxes to pay back Uncle Sam.
Read MoreThese missed tax breaks may be costing you
One of the biggest perks freelancers give up when working for themselves is health insurance coverage provided by an employer. Instead, you'll not only have to provide insurance to yourself, but maybe even to a staff if you employ one.
FreelancersUnion.org offers information on health plans. The website curates benefits for independent workers—and lays out all of your insurance options, including healthcare, disability, and life insurance.
Freelancers must also give up employer-sponsored retirement accounts. But there are several individual retirement account (IRA) options available to independent workers, including a SIMPLE IRA, SEP IRA and Solo 401(k), which all provide vehicles for saving a portion of your income in a tax-advantaged account. There's also the option of a Roth IRA for those with earned income under the IRS limits.
Keep your business and personal matters separate. You'll want to do this because business expenses will qualify for tax deductions.
A freelance columnist can deduct the cost of an internet connection, a computer, conferences they attend, writing supplies—pens & paper, you name it. And if you work out of your home, you can deduct a home office (the percentage of your home that is used for work). Talk to an accountant to understand what deductions are allowable and what documentation you would need to provide.
A business checking account and credit card help you keep track of the money coming in and out of your freelance business, and helps you separate business expenditures with personal spending. Many banks and credit unions have special offers for small business checking, so take advantage of the rewards or perks that you might get.
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577a868b3e9ca5d692b184633179357c | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/16/ealth-coverage-under-obamacare-government.html | 16.4M gain health coverage under Obamacare: Government | 16.4M gain health coverage under Obamacare: Government
Obamacare has led to the biggest decrease in the numbers of Americans lacking health insurance in four decades—with minorities and young adults seeing the largest gains in coverage, the federal government said Monday.
A total of 16.4 million previously uninsured adults nationwide obtained health coverage since the Affordable Care Act became law, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Read MoreObamacare's new 'special' sign-up period for tardy
And the uninsured rate among adults dropped from 20.3 percent in October 2013 to 13.2 percent by March 4 of this year—the time during which Obamacare marketplaces have been selling health plans, HHS said.
Terry Donald, a beneficiary of the Affordable Care Act, is flanked by Sen. Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, and Sen. Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, during a news conference to discuss the Affordable Care Act case being heard at the Supreme Court on March 4, 2015, in Washington, D.C.Getty Images
That is a 35 percent reduction in the rate of people without health coverage. As of this month, there were about 26 million American adults without health insurance, compared to about 40 million without coverage just before the Obamacare insurance marketplaces launched in the fall of 2013.
HHS credited the large decrease in the overall uninsured rate to Obamacare's creation of those government-run marketplaces that sell health insurance, the loosening of Medicaid eligibility requirements in more than half of the country and to the Affordable Care Act provision that allows young adults to stay on their parents' health plans until they turn 26. The provision related to young adults began in 2010.
"This is an historic drop in the uninsured, and nothing since the adoption of Medicare and Medicaid even comes close," said Dr. Richard Frank, HHS's assistant secretary for planning and evaluation, during a call with reporters.
HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said, "When it comes to the metrics of affordability, access and quality, the evidence shows that the Affordable Care Act is working, and families, businesses and taxpayers are better off as a result."
The plunge in the overall uninsured rate was matched by drops across all major races and ethnic groups, officials said. However, minorities saw the largest decreases in their uninsured rates.
Read MoreFewer people lost health plans due to Obamacare
Latinos had a 12.3 percentage point reduction in their uninsured rate, and the uninsured rate for African-Americans fell by 9.2 percentage points, HHS said. Whites saw a 5.3 percentage point reduction in their uninsured rate.
In terms of sheer number, 6.6 million white adults gained coverage, 2.3 million African-American adults added coverage and another 4.3 million Latino were newly insured, according to HHS. After those gains, just 9 percent of white adults lack health coverage, and 13.2 percent of African-American adults remain uninsured.
But Latinos, by far, retained their status as the leader among the uninsured—29.5 percent of Latino adults still lack health coverage.
Among young adults between the ages of 19 to 25, the uninsured rate dropped from 34.1 percent to 26.7 percent since 2010, the year in which the ACA was signed into law.
The decline in the overall uninsured rates "was especially strong" in states that have expanded the eligibility standards for the Medicaid programs that they jointly run with the federal government, according to HHS. The ACA originally mandated that states expand their Medicaid programs to cover nearly all people who earn less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level—$16,242 in most of the U.S.—but a 2012 Supreme Court ruling left the decision to expand up to individual states.
Currently, 28 states and the District of Columbia have expanded their Medicaid programs. Another 22 states kept their stricter restrictions on Medicaid eligibility.
In so-called nonexpansion states, the overall percentage of people without any health insurance was 23.4 percent as of October 2013. Since then, the uninsured rate in nonexpansion states has decreased by 6.9 percentage points, according to HHS.
Read MoreEven the insured struggle to pay medical bills
And in those states, the uninsured rate among people who earn less than 138 percent of poverty level fell by 7 percentage points.
But in so-called expansion states, there was a 7.4 percentage point drop in the overall uninsured rate. And there was a 13 percentage point drop in the uninsured rate among the poor, or nearly twice the drop seen in nonexpansion states among that same group of people.
HHS did not release a state-by-state breakdown of the uninsured rate.
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beb62e20b7b11454f3ec2f493ba7da85 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/16/jessica-albas-honest-to-expand-to-china.html | Jessica Alba's Honest to expand to China | Jessica Alba's Honest to expand to China
Actress Jessica Alba speaks at 'Inc. Presents: The Honest Company' during the 2015 SXSW Music, Film + Interactive Festival at the Austin Convention Center on March 15, 2015 in Austin, Texas.Heather Kennedy | Getty Images
Jessica Alba's nontoxic consumer products brand Honest is exploding.
As the keynote speakers at South by Southwest on Sunday, chief creative officer Alba and CEO Brian Lee announced the company generated $150 million in revenue last year, triple the company's revenue in 2013. In an exclusive interview, Lee revealed plans to expand into China as early as the end of this year. Alba, announcing the company's launch of baby feeding products is going "really well," said it is just the beginning.
"Our customers are demanding that we go even further and offer solids and snacks and later stage foods as well," said Alba. "And our customers have also asked us to do more personal care, so feminine care is a vertical we're launching in the summer, and in the fall—beauty. Both of those verticals we've been working on for years, it's just now that we're at the point we can finally launch them."
"It's been very exciting developing and I'm very anxious to see how our customers respond," said Alba. "It's my third baby and I've put my heart and soul into it."
VIDEO0:5400:54Jessica Alba on acting versus running a business
And now they'll see how customers will respond in Asia. "We're looking at China in particular. We believe our brand will really resonate with the Chinese family looking for nontoxic lifestyle choices," Lee said. "We believe it's a very large market for us."
It has been a very busy six months for Honest. It has grown its employee base from 250 to 320, expanded its total number of stock keeping units from 450 to 625, and widened its retail presence from 2,800 to 3,500 stores, including Target, Whole Foods, Nordstrom, Costco, BuyBuy Baby and independent boutiques. But three-quarters of Honest's revenue is online, and 80 percent of that is via subscriptions to one of four monthly bundle options.
One place you will not find Honest products is on Amazon. Alba said she wants to maintain the one-on-one relationship with the customer and does not want to give up control of the customer experience to Amazon.
The company is also selling a growing variety of products. In addition to the newly added baby feeding category, which includes formula and a range of products for nursing moms, it is ramping up the number and range of collaborations with other brands in its "gear & more" category. There's everything from Honest-branded products like diaper bags and swim shirts, as well as partnerships like craft kits from Seedling, swaddle blankets from Aden + Anais, strollers and cribs.
It is a billion-dollar idea—that is how its most recent round of fundraising in August valued the company. It has raised a total of $127 million, and is expected to file to go public this year. What's behind that billion-dollar valuation? Beyond the $150 million in revenue and fast growth rate, its e-commerce-first business model has a couple of key advantages.
By selling direct to the consumer, Alba and Lee are cutting out the middle man, which means higher margins, and it allows them to charge lower prices. And the fact that so much of its revenue comes from monthly subscribers allows the company to better predict demand and manage inventory.
Read More Farfetch, the 'unicorn' that may be worth $1 billion
Lee said there are no plans at the moment to file for an initial public offering. He noted that the company has a strong balance sheet so is not in any rush.
Nevertheless, Lee and Alba stressed that Honest is more than a nontoxic version of Unilever or Procter & Gamble headed for an IPO. "We're not just a CPG (consumer products) company. It really is a lifestyle and a way of life. And we're also an education platform," Alba said. "In so many ways it's a different idea."
Alba added she sees demand for these nontoxic products rising, led by millennials and parents in particular. "The core of the business truly is to create a nontoxic world," Lee said.
Harriet Taylor contributed to this report.
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6dadcb2cafd693c570c8e340cb8dbd3a | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/16/mcdigital-are-millenials-lovin-mcdonalds-at-sxsw.html | McDigital: Are millennials lovin' McDonalds at SXSW? | McDigital: Are millennials lovin' McDonalds at SXSW?
McDonald's had a prominent presence at this year's SXSW in Austin, Texas.Harriet Taylor | CNBC
McDonald's has come to the land of farm-to-table artisinal BBQ and cutting-edge startups. For the first time, the fast food chain is an official sponsor of SXSW. The festival has long attracted big brands trying to cultivate the affection of hipsters who flock to Austin for panels about startups, back-to-back bands, and indie movie premieres.
The fast food giant is the latest to do so, aiming to get the early adopters and taste-makers who attend the festival on board with its brand.
In Austin this week, the golden arches are everywhere. They're emblazoned on a charging station in the convention center. There's a McDonald's food truck, offering fries, Shamrock shakes on St. Patrick's day, all-day breakfast for hungover partiers, as well as wi-fi. The company also hosted a private cocktail party on Saturday and a musical showcase.
For a city with a penchant for local restaurants rather than big chains, the giant logo seems even more out of place than the other big corporations with a presence at the festival.
But McDonald's is trying to communicate that it's interested in more than just upgrading its image. It's looking for new ideas to change the way it does business. McDonald's hosted three pitch competitions, targeting start-ups on areas where the company wants to innovate: "Reinventing the Restaurant Experience," "Advancing Content Creation," and "Mobilizing Transportation and Delivery." The prize: a trip to headquarters to pitch a concept to McDonald's senior team.
Read More Waiter, can I get a Big Mac? McDonald's unveils test
The winner of one of the competitions was particularly apt: Hello Sponsor, which helps brands manage and track their event sponsor activity. Hello Sponsor CEO Greg Kubin said he thinks his company can help McDonald's tap into local communities and initiatives.
"I'm really excited to pitch the c-suite at their headquarters," said Kubin. "It's an incredible opportunity, and it's something where I think we can add a lot of value to the organization." Does McDonald's sponsorship of SXSW make sense? It's "a really good opportunity for them to really engage with cutting-edge innovation," said Kubin.
Aat its lounge at the Hilton near the convention center, McDonald's is targeting entrepreneurs with panels on topics totally unrelated to fast food: "Leveraging the Gray Area Between Digital and Physical," "Wire-free and Worry-Free: The Time for Wireless Charging is Now," and "How Your Scale and Reach Can Change the World."
It's all part of new CEO Steve Easterbrook's strategy to rebrand, innovate, and better compete with the likes of Chipotle, which has won over millennials with humanely-sourced meats and a more eco-friendly reputation.
VIDEO1:0901:09The week ahead: SXSW weekInvesting
The question is whether McDonald's attempt to win over cutting-edge types could backfire. (Does a cocktail party with Maple-Bacon Burbon Old-Fashioneds make sense for the brand?) There are also rumblings that it's a sign that SXSW, which earned its indie street cred screening Super Size Me, a documentary about the poisonous effects of eating too much fast food, has gone one step too far.
Backlash started even before the festival did. The company was publicly shamed by a band it booked because it hadn't planned on paying for the performance. It was forced to reverse its policy and agree to pay all the bands it's working with. The critique on social media was that the burger giant was trying to exploit an indie band.
The folks CNBC talked to at McDonald's various events were reluctant to bash the brand on the record, but on background a number of people commented that the burgers couldn't hold a candle to the tacos down the street.
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0b3a4d5c2065448d638baa96cebf5609 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/16/tom-lee-watch-out-for-the-dollar.html | Tom Lee: Watch out for the dollar | Tom Lee: Watch out for the dollar
VIDEO2:5202:52Headwind for earnings if dollar stays: Tom Lee
Investors should be wary of the strong , Tom Lee told CNBC on Monday.
"If the dollar stays at this level, it's going to be a headwind for earnings for the rest of the year, because we know there's a translation effect on inflation and GDP. One of the things I think is uncertain is where the dollar [will be] six months from now," the Fundstrat Global Advisors founder said on "Squawk on the Street." "If investors think it will be stronger, there is going to be a headwind."
The dollar index was down 0.70 percent at 99.57 late morning Monday as the euro edged off 12-year lows against the greenback. The DXY's downward turn comes after it hit 100.27 last week, its highest levels since 2003.
"When I speak to clients, they're really focused on this Europe bond-proxy trading. The opportunity that's taking place in Europe with QE, so I think there's money flowing from the U.S. into Europe," Lee also said.
Read More The Fed could put the brakes on the dollar rally
U.S. stocks were up Monday, with the Dow Jones industrial average adding more than 190 points.
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2e235cbe20454eae0d2d05bdf004a3c9 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/16/using-social-media-to-advance-your-career-and-your-company.html?utm_source=Social+Media+CNBC&utm_campaign=CNBC+Social+Media&utm_medium=email | Using social media to advance your career—and your company | Using social media to advance your career—and your company
The numbers speak for themselves.
LinkedIn is host to 107 million U.S. users and 332 million worldwide. Twitter boasts 232 million active users, and Facebook enjoys a whopping 1.35 billion postings.
Positioning and promoting oneself in cyberspace can be complicated, and electronic engagement should be treated like any other business interaction, as communication is currency.
Brent Lewin | Bloomberg | Getty Images
In just one year alone, online activity has doubled, from 21.5 to 41.9 billion "actions" online. In the financial industry, LinkedIn had more than 2 million members as of 2013, with two people signing up for a LinkedIn account every second.
Identity tools from business cards to email signatures now routinely include URLs for LinkedIn profiles, as well as links to Twitter accounts and Facebook pages. Individuals and organizations with minimal—or absent—electronic footprints are not only less visible but often less respected, as online visibility is no longer optional.
Read MoreRare CEO skills that an Ivy MBA won't give you
Whether you are building a career or a company, if you're not online, you don't exist.
"Relationships, brands and even businesses can be built by using social media," said Jennifer Openshaw, executive director of the Financial Women's Association (FWA). "It's a megaphone for extending your current content and communications more broadly and making powerful connections in seconds."
How can you leverage this new medium for you and your company?
The world has turned upside down. Would you believe a whopping 94 percent of recruiters use LinkedIn to vet candidates? HR leaders are now bypassing headhunters and opting for the ability to find their best candidates using smart search capabilities.
That's why those seeking new careers or positions should pay careful attention to the quality and currency of their LinkedIn profiles.
Executive search expert Stacy Musi of Chadick Ellig, a New York-based recruiting firm, said, "Every executive should have a current and descriptive LinkedIn profile that clearly articulates their personal brand and highlights their areas of greatest expertise."
But that doesn't mean you should ignore face-to-face and phone connections.
"Many searches are still filled the old-fashioned way: through real-time networking," Musi pointed out.
Read More11 CEOs who need to do more to earn their millions
Alexandra Tyler, vice president of integrated campaign management for a leading financial services firm, pointed out that "keywords in your online profile enable you to be found easily in search engines by top recruiters. So be purposeful in crafting your online summary and profile to get to the top of search-engine pages."
One of the failures of corporate branding is forgetting to humanize. Most marketers place ads or push out a message, when it's those companies who create a connection that can take a brand to another level.
That's why Linda Descano, managing director and global head of content and social at Citi, believes "it's key to put a human face on big corporations. This can be done through tweeting, posting, writing and then gauging the success of these initiatives."
She adds, "This is also true for individuals. You must always manage and maintain a digital brand, as this enables you to be known for what you want and simultaneously helps you to better protect your specific brand."
Read MoreWhere the lending gap is closing fast
And that branding needs to be consistent. While Openshaw notes very different purposes and audiences between, say, LinkedIn and Facebook or Twitter and Instagram, keep in mind what Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg once said: "You have one identity. The days of you having a different image for your work friends or co-workers and for the other people you know are probably coming to an end pretty quickly. Having two identities for yourself is an example of a lack of integrity."
Openshaw, the author of "The Socially Savvy Advisor," points to the "convergence" of all media.
"The idea that there are clear lines between personal and professional identity has always been a myth," said Kristin Johnson, senior advisor at Logos Consulting Group. "Social media hasn't changed that, but it has cast a brighter spotlight on the interconnectedness of our personal and professional relationships, therefore putting greater responsibility on people to consider how perceptions from online identities feed into relational outcomes—both personal and professional—in the 'real,' offline world."
Indeed, positioning and promoting oneself in cyberspace can be complicated, and electronic engagement should be treated like any other business interaction, as communication is currency.
Whatever social media platforms you choose to use, be sure to keep these four C's in mind:
Be current: Keep all information, including head shots, up to date.Be consistent: With your language, tone and profile photos (to be recognizable on each platform).Be compelling: Every posting should be as clear, concise and clever as possible.Be critical: Don't accept just anyone into your network; vet them appropriately.
And finally, regarding the company you keep, follow the words of wisdom of Citi's Linda Descano:
"Accepting someone via your own social media channels is an endorsement of that individual. You must ensure they're people of stature with high character who reflect your personal values. Stay true to yourself and conduct yourself online as you would offline at all times."
—By Raleigh Mayer, special to CNBC.com
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5d40657b2e739da0e0e547238d421fcd | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/17/alibaba-loses-its-magic-ahead-of-lockup-expiry.html | Alibaba loses its magic ahead of lockup expiry | Alibaba loses its magic ahead of lockup expiry
Krisztian Bocsi | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Major banks are slashing their expectations for the world's biggest e-commerce company ahead of Wednesday's lockup expiration, citing near-term challenges to Alibaba's growth outlook.
Barclays was the third major bank in the past week to cut its price target and earnings estimates for the e-commerce giant. In a note on Tuesday, analysts lowered their 12-month price target to $100 from $107, and slashed full-year (FY) 2015 and 2016 revenue estimates by 0.6 and 2.6 percent, respectively.
"We will watch closely for any signs of potential further slowdown in revenues and earnings growth that might result from the rising competitive threat on market share stability," Barclays said.
Last week, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse announced similar decisions. The former cut its price target to $98 from $105.10 on Thursday, while the Swiss bank lowered its price target to $112 from $113 and projected 2 and 7.1 percent declines in 2015 and 2016 earnings, respectively.
To be sure, all three banks still have "buy" calls on Alibaba but cite issues like counterfeit merchants, management changes at Tmall and China's suspension of online lottery sales as reasons for their lowered price targets and earnings estimates.
The lowered price targets come amid a wave of bearish sentiment on the Hangzhou-based company. Year-to-date, Alibaba's stock is down nearly 20 percent with prices currently at $84 from an all-time high of $120 in November.
Even further selling pressure is expected after Wednesday, which marks the end of Alibaba's lockup period. A lockup is essentially a restriction that prevents insiders from selling stock for 180 days after the initial public offering. Roughly 437 million shares - around 18 percent of shares outstanding - will become eligible for sale.
VIDEO3:4603:46BABA upgraded to buy; lockup a coin toss: Analyst Halftime Report
"In the near term, we believe that Alibaba is likely to see not only technical selling pressure but transition risks to fundamentals until it can demonstrate an operational turn around and growth rates closer to peers," warned Bradley A. Gastwirth, CEO at ABR Investment Strategy, in a note.
Barclays agreed, expecting an overhang on the share price to remain in place until the company reports its March quarter results.
Three key factors are expected to hurt earnings potential in the short-term, Barclays, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse warned.
CEO Jack Ma has come under fire in recent months for permitting fake goods to be sold on Alibaba websites as well as failing to crack down on vendors for falsifying sales volumes.
Read MoreHow Alibaba-Snapchatdeal could pay
Meanwhile, Tmall - one of Alibaba's key online marketplaces -reshuffled senior management this month due to allegations of data fraud and inflated sales figures. And China's suspension of online lottery sales this month is expected to hurt the gross merchandise value of Taobao, another website belonging to Alibaba and China's largest online lottery sales platform.
"We see little in terms of positive near-term catalysts. Core operations could remain under pressure longer than expected, investments may not see near term contribution and competition is increasing," said Gastwirth.
Alibaba will also see lower revenue following last month's sale of its small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) loan business to affiliate Ant Financial, Barclays said. "In 3Q FY15 (December quarter), Alibaba recorded a total of 1.919 billion renminbi in the 'others' revenue line; we estimate slightly over 50 percent of this revenue came from interest income generated from small loans."
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c27352a1017d1d5ceab75d7fbec244ab | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/17/inside-donald-trumps-7-million-private-chopper.html | Inside Donald Trump's $7 million private chopper | Inside Donald Trump's $7 million private chopper
Interior of Donald Trump’s private helicopter.Source: International Jet Interiors
Donald Trump doesn't just have a private jet—he has a private air fleet.
Along with his giant Boeing 757, Trump also has an array of personal helicopters. He recently upgraded one of his personal choppers to a Sikorsky S-76, the manufacturer's top-of-the-line for private aviation. To make the interior Trump-worthy, he hired Eric Roth, the famed aircraft interior-designer based in New York's Long Island.
Read More$1M? That won't get you a big apartment here...
Roth took "Secret Lives of the Super Rich" inside the Trump chopper makeover—or we should say "gold-over." While Roth couldn't comment on the owner's identity, it was hard to keep a secret—the words "TRUMP" are emblazoned in red letters along the side of the Sikorsky.
VIDEO0:3800:38Trump: I could make this country great again
Roth did Trump's plane in 2011. And when Trump bought the used Sikorsky, he called Roth to gut renovate the interior, which was old and outdated.
Pre-owned Sikorsky S-76's usually sell for $5 million to $7 million. To redo the interior, Trump probably spent at least another $750,000—though Roth won't say how much exactly.
Read MoreThese are the richest billionaires under 40
"We gutted the whole helicopter and started fresh," Roth told "Secret Lives."
That meant out with the old and in with the gold.
The Trump family crest painted in gold inside Donald Trump’s private helicopter.Source: International Jet Interiors
The whole interior is outfitted with 24-karat gold-plated hardware—from the seatbelts to the handles. Trump also had his family crest painted on the side, in gold of course. And the shelves of the Trump chopper were stocked with water—Trump Ice spring water.
"If it's got the Trump name on it, it's got to be the best of the best," Roth said. "And this helicopter is worth of his name."
Watch "Secret Lives of the Super Rich" on Tuesday, March 24, at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
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88fa03c6b66f8c4fd361efb969b41410 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/17/kraft-recalls-242000-cases-of-mac-cheese.html | Kraft recalls 242,000 cases of Mac & Cheese | Kraft recalls 242,000 cases of Mac & Cheese
Getty Images
Kraft Foods on Tuesday said it would voluntarily recall about 242,000 cases of its Macaroni & Cheese Dinners because they could contain pieces of metal. More than 6.5 million boxes are included in the recall, the company told CNBC. (Tweet this)
The food producer said it has received eight consumer complaints about product, but no injuries have been reported.
"We deeply regret this situation and apologize to any consumers we have disappointed," the company said in a statement.
Kraft said the recall is limited to the 7.25-oz. size of the original flavor of boxed dinner with the "Best When Used By" dates of Sept. 18, 2015, through Oct. 11, 2015, with the code "C2" directly below the date on each individual box.
However, Kraft notes that some of the boxes were packed in multi-pack units that have a range of different code dates and manufacturing codes.
—CNBC's Ryan Ruggiero contributed.
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c27eb1ac5404a9ef259c5281242afa95 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/17/lumber-liquidators-sends-thousands-of-customers-idiot-proof-test-kits.html | Lumber Liquidators Sends Thousands of Customers 'Idiot-Proof' Test Kits | Lumber Liquidators Sends Thousands of Customers 'Idiot-Proof' Test Kits
Mike Blake | Reuters
Lumber Liquidators has sent thousands of customers free "idiot-proof" formaldehyde test kits after a "60 Minutes" report accused the company of selling contaminated laminate flooring from China.
Last week the company had directed customers to request the kits via phone, email, or online form, but at times, consumers calling its customer care line were directed to voicemail. The company has now created a new page on its site to process requests: lumberliquidators.com/ll/testkit.
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"They're almost idiot-proof," said Bryan Tyler, a spokesman for Enthalpy Analytical Inc., a North Carolina-based testing lab.
"If used correctly, [they] can provide acceptable results," said an OSHA spokesperson.
Should elevated levels of formaldehyde be found, it doesn't necessarily mean the floors are at issue.
"It's not an 'oh my gosh' kind of test," said Alan Wozniack, president of the Florida-based Environmental Diagnostics Laboratory, which manufactures and analyzes the test kits. "It's a first step in a process."
Read More Lumber Liquidators won't stop selling Chinese products
Here's how a customer can request and then use the test kit:
Fill out the online questionnaire to determine eligibility. The lab sends the kit the same day by USPS Priority Mail. The kit contains a plastic disk tester inside a small black bag, instructions, and a mailing pouch. Following all manufacturer instructions, place the disk white side up on an open area where the flooring is installed, at least four feet off the ground. Note the start time on the chain of custody document. Allow the disk to rest with open airflow across it for 24-48 hours. Write down the end time on the paperwork, seal the paperwork and the tester inside the mailing pouch and drop the pouch in a mailbox. Results will be emailed to the customer within 7-10 business days.
If formaldehyde levels are over the acceptable threshold, the test lab will notify both the customer and Lumber Liquidators. The flooring company may then decide to have the lab do a "home health check."
Read More
That involves questioning the homeowner and running more tests, which may include particle counts, "thermography," taking wall samples, and also probing other building materials and furnishings in the home, including glues and kitchen cabinets.
Lumber Liquidators has not said whether it would then pay to replace the customer's floors or not.
Wozniack estimated the lab had so far sent 3,000 to 5,000 of the kits to Lumber Liquidators customers. The same kits were used in FEMA trailers deployed after Katrina that were found to be emitting toxic levels of formaldehyde.
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5b3ac19b9e3bba2b94645e1390a0232f | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/17/nasdaq-says-nasdaq-options-market-experiencing-system-issues.html | Nasdaq Options Market resolves 'system issues' | Nasdaq Options Market resolves 'system issues'
Scott Mlyn | CNBC
The Nasdaq Options Market suffered "system issues" on Tuesday afternoon that were fixed by 3:35 p.m. EDT, Nasdaq said.
"All issues have been resolved and all systems are operating normally," according to an update on NasdaqTrader.com.
Errors affected orders entered through the options market's Financial Information eXchange (FIX), Nasdaq said. Additional problems occurred in its OMX BX and PHLX on orders routed away to other markets, Nasdaq said.
Read MoreDot-com 'new economy' has come of age: Nasdaq CEO
Orders entered over the options market's Specialized Quote Interface (SQF) and OUCH to Trade Options (OTTO) were not affected.
Nasdaq first reported the issues in its system around 3:15 p.m.
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f59f37062bd09e1151f87f79390f7e6d | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/17/nintendo-enters-mobile-gaming-with-dena.html | Nintendo’s Super Mario is karting towards your smartphone | Nintendo’s Super Mario is karting towards your smartphone
There's no need to dig out that dusty Nintendo 64 console to save Princess Peach, as it turns out that Mario and the gang could be karting their way towards your smartphone in not the too distant future.
On Tuesday, DeNA — a provider of mobile and online services including games and e-commerce — launched a "business and capital alliance" with none other than gaming giant Nintendo. The venture will bring Mario, Bowser, Zelda and other Nintendo favorites onto smartphone devices — a move that many game analysts did not predict.
The alliance could potentially benefit both companies.
Akio Jon/Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
DeNA hopes to strengthen its gaming business and expand beyond its base in Japan, where it currently operates a range of services, including DeNA Shopping and Mobage, a social platform with more than 50 million users.
In a statement online, DeNA said it hoped the alliance would provide a high-quality gaming experience to loyal customers, adding that "only new original games optimized for smart device functionality will be created."
"As these consumers enjoy the unique kind of gameplay found only with Nintendo, they will have the opportunity to explore even more premium experiences on Nintendo's dedicated video game platforms," DeNA added.
Read MoreWe're spending more time playing mobile games
In addition, DeNA announced that the companies hoped to develop a joint online membership service and launch it during 2015's fall season. This online program will be made available on smartphone devices, alongside Nintendo and PC console systems.
Anders Drachen, a data scientist at Aalborg University in Copenhagen, said that the joint venture seemed a boon for DeNa.
"Partnering with Nintendo seems like a win-win, given the strong brands the company is bringing to the table. It will be interesting to see how they translate the console/handheld experience to mobile," he told CNBC via email.
Read MoreAs you wish: There's now a 'Princess Bride' game app
VIDEO4:2004:20This expert has a solution for NintendoSquawk Box Asia
For Nintendo, the joint venture gives the opportunity to expand into the smartphone market, and compete against other gaming app developers like King of Candy Crush Saga fame. The Japanese company has received criticism in the past for failing to enter the mobile arena, despite struggling sales for its Wii U console.
"Nintendo is late in entering the smartphone market, but they do so before it has become saturated, so there is every chance that their powerful brands can find success," Drachen told CNBC.
"What Nintendo will need to consider, just like any other company moving into the mobile and free-to-play market, is what the purpose of the move is. Care will need to be taken to not alienate existing players."
Drachen added that Nintendo should be careful not to "water down" its market space in console/handhelds by migrating players to mobile.
"The strategy should focus on improving the offerings to existing Nintendo players, and attracting new players to the various franchises," he told CNBC.
As part of the partnership, both organisations have agreed to acquire some of each other's treasury shares. DeNA will acquire 1,759,400 of Nintendo's shares, whilst Nintendo will purchase 15,081,000 from DeNA.
Read MoreGamers rejoice: 'Zelda' series may come to Netflix
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f0e2c06a0f5d05ca2c9b960698817f76 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/18/big-california-insurer-stripped-of-tax-exempt-status.html | California 'blues': Insurer stripped of tax exemption | California 'blues': Insurer stripped of tax exemption
The Golden State soon could be getting a good deal of gold from this big insurer.
California has stripped its third-biggest health insurer, Blue Shield of California, of its state tax-exempt status and ordered the non-profit to file tax returns retroactively to 2013, it was revealed Wednesday.
The move, which Blue Shield is protesting, could leave the insurer owing tens of millions of dollars annually to the state, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Read More3.3M kids at risk of losing insurance
The Times also noted that the move by the California Franchise Tax Board was "highly unusual," and came as Blue Shield has been criticized "over its rate hikes, executive pay and $4.2 billion in financial reserves."
Source: Blue Shield of California
But the newspaper wrote that the tax board—which actually took the action in August—would not explain its decision, which came after an audit of Blue Shield's status.
The insurer, which had $13.6 billion in revenue in 2014, already pays federal taxes.
Blue Shield's director of public policy resigned last week after saying the company had been "shortchanging the public" for years by operating like for-profit insurers in the state.
Read More16.4M gain coverage underObamacare
The Times reported that the former director, Michael Johnson, on Wednesday plans to launch a campaign "calling on executives to convert the insurer into a for-profit company and return billions of dollars to the public that could be used to bolster the state's health-care safety net."
Read the full LA Times story here.
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4e82526d51d1004439724adc334d7945 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/18/can-medical-weed-compete-with-recreational-pot-as-sales-dip-in-colorado.html | Medical marijuana business may have met its match | Medical marijuana business may have met its match
An employee packages a patient's cannabis at a medical cannabis center in Lakewood, Colorado.Matthew Staver | The Washington Post | Getty Images
Medical marijuana has new competition, and it's fierce: Sales of recreational pot in Colorado are growing faster than sales of medical pot, even though medical marijuana is cheaper because of a lower tax rate.
That trend will continue, according to the most thorough analysis yet of the two, side-by-side legal markets.
GreenWave Advisors, which provides analysis for the cannabis industry, reports that medical marijuana sales growth in Colorado dipped in 2014, as did the number of new medical cardholders.
"We forecast the average patient count will continue to decline from approximately 114,000 in 2014 to 99,000 by 2020," GreenWave said. At the same time, GreenWave predicts that the recreational side will see compound annual growth of 20 percent, "with likely upside as the market expands into new jurisdictions."
VIDEO1:1601:16How to eat marijuana Marijuana
Is the future of medical marijuana going up in smoke? GreenWave said current fundamentals indicate that eventually, there will be only one legal marijuana market—one that combines medical and recreational under one set of regulations and a single tax rate.
There's also a chance that medical pot will find ways to differentiate itself from the for-fun kind.
Read MoreMarijuana may be less harmful than alcohol, tobacco
"We believe that the medicinal use market will recalibrate when the pipeline of new, more targeted medications become available and as the medical profession gains more comfort in 'pushing' a marijuana treatment rather than a patient having to 'pull' a prescription," writes GreenWave's Matthew Karnes.
Leslie Bocskor, managing partner of Electrum Partners, an incubator for legal cannabis start-ups, took that prediction about medical pot's future even further last week. He told a group in Las Vegas that one of marijuana's most promising future markets will take cannabis beyond easing problems to curing them. He said there will be markets for pharmaceutical and "nutraceutical" products—meaning supplements and the like. "There will even be a veterinary market," he said.
One problem for those who'd like to see a separate medical marijuana market is that cannabis remains a Class I drug, which means the federal government sees no health benefit to it. Jan Carlos Byl of pot-cultivation consulting firm MedCanna said he would like to see the drug given a less restrictive classification "sooner rather than later, because it opens up research."
Byl said that while many proponents claim there are elements in the cannabis plant that could be very helpful in terms of health, legally recategorizing marijuana "is a key element to being able to definitely, or at least with a higher degree of certainty, say, 'yes or no—this is hogwash or this is legitimate.'"
CORRECTION: This version corrected the description of GreenWave Advisors: It's provides analysis for the cannabis industry.
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e225a9fc3809aed32e7e56c4e9632dce | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/18/fedex-posts-earnings-of-201-a-share-vs-187-estimate.html | FedEx profit jumps on higher package volumes, yields | FedEx profit jumps on higher package volumes, yields
The driver for an independent contractor to FedEx Corp. delivers packages in Midtown Manhattan in New York.Victor J. Blue | Bloomberg | Getty Images
FedEx delivered quarterly earnings that topped analysts' expectations on Wednesday, citing higher package volumes and yields.
The Memphis-based company reported fiscal third-quarter net profit of $580 million, or $2.01 per share, up 53 percent from $378 million, or $1.23 per share, a year earlier. Analysts had expected earnings per share for the quarter of $1.87.
Revenue rose to $11.72 billion from $11.3 billion a year ago.
Wall Street forecast FedEx would deliver revenue of $11.79 billion, according to consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters.
The company forecast full-year earnings below analysts' estimates as it looked for the global economy to grow at a lackluster rate.
Memphis-based FedEx also said fuel expenses were reduced by 30 percent due to low oil prices but its international business was hurt by falling fuel surcharges and the strong dollar.
The quarter included the company's crucial peak holiday season in the United States.
"We had a very successful peak season as volumes grew across all our segments," Chief Executive Officer Fred Smith said on a conference call with analysts.
Last month, FedEx's main rival, United Parcel Service, reported a disappointing quarterly profit due to soaring costs during peak season. Atlanta-based UPS mobilized more workers and equipment for an anticipated surge in holiday packages, but the extra business failed to materialize, forcing the company to begin applying surcharges for residential packages during this year's peak season.
VIDEO3:2803:28FedEx delivers on profits
FedEx's operating expenses rose just 1 percent during the quarter, while UPS' expenses jumped nearly 16 percent during the fourth quarter, which also included a charge related to pensions.
FedEx said on its earnings call it expects the U.S. economy to grow at a rate of 3.1 percent in both 2015 and 2016.
The company expects full-year earnings in a range of $8.80 to $8.95 per share, which it said "assumes continued moderate global economic growth." Analysts have been looking for earnings of $8.97 for the full fiscal year ending May 31.
FedEx said package volumes in its international economy business were up 4 percent during the quarter, while daily volumes in its U.S. ground package delivery business rose 7 percent.
The company said average daily volume for its less expensive SmartPost product fell 7 percent due to reduced business from a major customer.
Revenue in the express business was flat at $6.66 billion due to lower fuel surcharges and the stronger U.S. dollar. But revenue at the U.S. ground package delivery and freight units rose 12 percent and 6 percent, respectively.
In early trading, FedEx shares were down 1.1 percent at $173.95. (Click here to track its shares.)
Although the package shipping company missed analysts' expectations last quarter, its operating margins surged to 8.5 percent from 7.3 percent a year earlier. In January, FedEx announced that it had completed its acquisition of logistics provider GENCO, in a move to tackle the evolving retail and e-commerce markets.
During the past year, FedEx stock rose nearly 28 percent to $175.
—Reuters contributed to this report.
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6827ea69a89d5192798f37538328359c | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/18/full-steam-ahead-for-asias-cruise-industry.html | Full steam ahead for Asia’s cruise industry | Full steam ahead for Asia’s cruise industry
VIDEO7:3907:39Guess who's the growth driver of Asia's cruise market?Squawk Box Asia
Following years of double-digit growth, Asia's cruise industry is set for a "record-breaking year" in 2015, thanks to booming demand from Chinese holidaymakers, a new report shows.
The number of Asians taking cruise trips has grown at a compound annual rate of 34 percent since 2012, reaching 1.4 million last year, according to research by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) released Wednesday. Growth was fueled by a 79 percent jump per year in the number of Chinese travelers over that period.
"The Chinese love cruises and the market's growth rate is the fastest in the world… yet that is only a drop in the bucket in terms of total Chinese outbound travel, so we see much more potential," Adam Goldstein, chairman of the Cruise Lines International Association and also the president of Royal Caribbean, told CNBC Asia's "Squawk Box."
"2015 will be a record-breaking year in Asia, with more travelers cruising the region than ever," he added.
Read MoreCruising'snew frontier: Chinese tourists
In 2014, 697,000 Asian cruise travelers hailed from the world's second-biggest economy, nearly equaling the combined number of tourists from other regional markets. This has caught the attention of global cruise operators who are eager to grab a slice of the booming Chinese market, which could balloon to nearly $10 billion in cruise package sales by 2018 from around $6.8 billion in 2013, according to data from Euromonitor.
For one, the world's largest cruise operator Carnival Group relocated its chief operating officer to Shanghai from Miami last September and is beefing up capacity by adding a third Costa-branded ship in China this year. It also tweaked its offerings on board, in terms of language and food, and was in talks with state-owned companies like China Merchants Group to venture into the building of cruise ports and ships.
"China will overtake the U.S. and Europe at some point to be the largest cruising market in the world, so we are really excited to be here," Arnold Donald, president & CEO of Carnival, told CNBC last month.
Amid the attention, it's not surprising that the region's passenger capacity grew at a compound annual rate of 20 percent, making Asia the fourth biggest market behind the Caribbean, Mediterranean and Europe. This year, Asia's total capacity will likely hit almost 2.2 million, CLIA's report noted.
The international luxury liner Costa Romantica arrives at the Tianjin International Cruise Homeport in China.ChinaFotoPress | Getty Images
Cruising trends
The study also challenged perceptions of cruise trips being the least preferred type of vacation among younger leisure seekers.
4 in 10 Asians who opt for a holiday at sea are below the age of 40, much lower than the global average of 49 years old, according to CLIA. While the notion that cruises appeal more to the older crowd remains prevalent in developed markets like the U.S., it's nearly non-existent in Asia where cruises represent a new concept of traveling.
"Why we are seeing more young passengers is because [Asia] has little understanding of a cruise trip, which means no misconceptions that may prevent them from cruising," CLIA's Goldstein said. "So [the talk about cruises being boring and uncool] isn't what you'll hear in Asia, especially China."
Read MoreCEO seeks reluctantcruise takers
Another trend that CLIA highlighted was a preference for shorter holidays among Asians, with the majority (48 percent) spending 4 to 6 days at sea in 2014. A 2 to 3-day-long cruise is the second most preferred option with 38 percent, while only 12 percent went on a trip spanning 7 to 13 days.
CLIA says Asian cruise operators have moved fast to cater to this demand, offering short-haul voyage routes that depart from the ports of Shanghai or Hong Kong for destinations in Japan or South Korea.
This has seen an increase in port calls in the region, with Japan likely to be the top destination this year with 646 port calls scheduled. Malaysia (580 port calls), South Korea (377), Singapore and Thailand (374 each) round out the top five cruising hotspots in Asia.
— CNBC's Leslie Shaffer contributed to this report
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054aa9f3ecaef966227e395e1699a2f3 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/18/japan-wage-hikes-are-they-enough.html | Japan wage hikes: Are they enough? | Japan wage hikes: Are they enough?
Chris McGrath - Getty Images
Japan's spring wage negotiations yielded strong results this year, but economists are questioning whether it will be sufficient to help lift the country out of its economic mire.
Annual labor-management negotiations, known as shunto, concluded on Wednesday. Toyota Motor, Japan's largest company by operating profit, announced that it will increase monthly pay by 4,000 yen, up from last year's wage hike of 2,700 yen. Panasonic employees will receive a base-pay hike of 3,000 yen, versus a 2,000 yen increase last year, and Nissan Motor offered a 1.4 percent, or 5,000 yen, raise. All increases exclude automatic increases in seniority pay.
The results mark two consecutive years of wage growth and are encouraging, Masayuki Kichikawa, managing director and chief Japan economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML), told CNBC on Wednesday.
However, two major questions remain: will small-and-medium sized firms (SMEs) follow their larger counterparts; can the increases offset the three-percentage-point increase in Japan's consumption tax last year?
Read MoreLife without nukes:Japan Inc thrives
Wage hikes are crucial to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's goal of achieving 2 percent inflation. Since coming to power at the end of 2012, the Japanese leader has persistently asked corporates to increase hiring, raise salaries and lift capital expenditure as part of his plan to boost consumption, a task that became particularly hard after the April 2014 consumption tax increase tipped the country into a technical recession.
Smaller firms are expected to follow suit with wage hikes but not to the same extent as bigger firms, experts say.
"Last year, we saw a 0.4 percent increase in base pay across all companies, according to official data. So we'll probably get something like a 0.6 percent rise this year if the ratio between big firms and small firms remains the same," Marcel Thieliant, Japan economist at Capital Economics, said over the phone.
However, that's still below the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) expectations, he said. In January, major media outlets reported that the central bank believed a 1 percent gain in average base wage pay was needed to support the government's reflation program.
VIDEO4:3304:33Here's the 'encouraging news' for Japan inflation
The yen's 20 percent depreciation against the U.S. dollar over the past 12 months has hit small and medium-sized firms particularly hard. A report from Japanese research firm Teikoku Databank earlier this year showed a record number of small businesses declared yen-related bankruptcies last year.
A Reuters poll released on Tuesday showed that only 14 percent of 230 firms surveyed would increase wages by a higher amount than last year.
BofAML's Kichikawa was more optimistic: "There's a good chance that wage hikes at large companies will spread over to smaller companies [this year]," noting that even in companies with less than 29 employees, wages are still seeing year-on-year growth, compared to declines last year.
Sentiment is mixed whether this year's wage growth will translate into higher spending, especially as the collapse of oil prices weighs on consumer price inflation and as households tone down inflation expectations.
Oil prices have declined around 50 percent over the past year to six-year lows, foiling the BOJ's reflation efforts. In January, core consumer inflation excluding the impact of the consumption tax hike was 0.2 percent, down from a peak of 1.5 percent last April.
"We should see a continued improvement in private consumption, but not huge," said Thieliant.
On the other hand, Harumi Taguchi, principal economist at IHS Global Insight, said in a note that progress on wages was good enough to make the BOJ less concerned about the impact of lower oil prices on inflation.
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7d1cc8f581f387954ccda0749e3cf227 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/18/riots-outside-the-ecb-.html | Riots at the European Central Bank | Riots at the European Central Bank
German riot police officers clash with a protestor (3L) outside the new European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters during riots in Frankfurt March 18, 2015. Thousands of anti-capitalist protesters clashed with riot police near the new headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt on Wednesday, hours before the ceremonial opening of the 1.3-billion-euro ($1.4-billion) building.Kai Pfaffenbach | Reuters
Rising tensions from anti-austerity moves in Europe came to a head when thousands of protesters rioted at the opening of the new European Central Bank headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany.
Cars were set on fire and dozens of people were injured, including police officers.
Tensions have been high surrounding policies by the ECB, which is trying to revive Europe's sagging economy. A bailout plan for Greece has led to sharp exchanges between the Greek and German governments.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi defended ECB policies at the opening ceremony, while protest organizers told Reuters reporters that Greece was being "asphyxiated" by belt-tightening austerity.
Click ahead to see scenes of the confrontations, and see more video coverage here.
—By CNBC's Anita BalakrishnanPosted 18 March 2015
Four German police cars set on fire by anti-capitalist protesters burn near the European Central Bank (ECB) building hours before the official opening of its new headquarters in Frankfurt March 18, 2015.Kai Pfaffenbach | Reuters
German police cars burn near the ECB building. The protest was organized by a group called Blockupy, named after the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011, according to Reuters.
An anti-capitalist protester dressed as a clown shouts behind policemen near the European Central Bank (ECB) building before the official opening of its new headquarters in Frankfurt March 18, 2015.Michael Dalder | Reuters
Blockupy says it represents grassroots critics of the ECB, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund, whose inspectors monitor countries that have received bailouts.
A police officer stands next to a security barrier topped with barbed wire outside the European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters as the inauguration ceremony for the new building takes place in Frankfurt, Germany, on Wednesday, March 18, 2015. Anti-austerity protesters seeking to spoil the inauguration of the European Central Bank's new headquarters in Frankfurt's east end set vehicles alight, erected barricades and left a trail of destruction across the city.Martin Leissl | Bloomberg | Getty Images
A police officer stands next to a security barrier topped with barbed wire.
Tarek Al-Wazir, Deputy Minister-President and Minister of Economics, Energy, Transport and Regional Development of Hesse state, European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi and Peter Feldmann Lord Mayor of Frankfurt (L-R) cut the ceremonial tape during the inauguration of the ECB's new headquarters in Frankfurt MarchWolfgang Rattay | Reuters
Despite protests, Draghi (center) cut the ceremonial tape as planned on the new 185 meter (600 foot) high skyscraper.
Activists march in a demonstration organized by the Blockupy movement to protest against the policies of the European Central Bank (ECB) after the ECB officially inaugurated its new headquarters earlier in the day on March 18, 2015 in Frankfurt, Germany.Getty Images
Activists march in a demonstration, while shops in downtown Frankfurt stayed shut.
Riot Police form a cordon as a Police car burns on the opening day of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on March 18, 2015.Odd Andersen | AFP | Getty Images
Riot police form a cordon as a police car burns. Germany, the site of the protests, has been pushing the austerity measures as a way stabilize the EU's economy.
A burning police car is seen during Blockupy movement protests against EUs austerity measures on the day the European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters official opening in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, on March 18, 2015.Mehmet Kaman | Anadolu | Getty Images
"The atmosphere is highly aggressive," police spokeswoman Tessa Koscheg said
Activists march in a demonstration organized by the Blockupy movement to protest against the policies of the European Central Bank (ECB) after the ECB officially inaugurated its new headquarters earlier in the day on March 18, 2015 in Frankfurt, Germany.Getty Images
The ECB, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund together are known as the "troika" for their strict oversight of the $252 billion Greek bailout.
Anti-capitalist protesters rest in the central square in Frankfurt's old town March 18, 2015, after the inauguration of the European Central Bank (ECB) new headquarters. Anti-capitalist protesters clashed with riot police near the new headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt on Wednesday and set fire to barricades and cars, casting a pall over the ceremonial opening of the billion-euro skyscraper.Kai Pfaffenbach | Reuters
Anti-capitalist protesters rest in the central square in Frankfurt's old town. Police were able to clear the area around the ECB in time for Draghi's speech, while riots took place elsewhere in Frankfurt, reported CNBC's Annette Weisbach, live in Frankfurt.
A protester throws a stone during riots with police near the new European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt March 18, 2015. Thousands of anti-capitalist protesters clashed with riot police near the new headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt on Wednesday, hours before the ceremonial opening of the 1.3-billion-euro ($1.4-billion) building.Kai Pfaffenbach | Reuters
A protester throws a stone during riots with police. Despite hundreds of arrests, Blockupy was still tweeting the start of big march through Frankfurt on Wednesday afternoon, U.S. time.
https://twitter.com/Blockupy/status/578223221121630208
A German police officer who was hit by a paint bomb by anti-capitalist protesters looks at a burning police car near the European Central Bank (ECB) building hours before the official opening of its new headquarters in Frankfurt March 18, 2015.Kai Pfaffenbach | Reuters
A German police officer who was hit by a paint bomb looks at a burning police car.
Read MoreGerman police use tear gas in anti-ECB protest
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11939391f97e1e4527be722bc9b4397b | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/18/there-are-now-more-uber-cars-than-yellow-taxis-in-nyc.html | There are now more Uber cars than yellow taxis in NYC | There are now more Uber cars than yellow taxis in NYC
VIDEO3:1803:18More Uber cars than taxisSquawk Alley
More Uber cars now drive New York City's streets than yellow taxis. (Tweet This)
The ride-sharing company has 14,088 cars operating in New York, compared to the 13,587 yellow medallion cabs allowed to drive at any one time, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission told CNBC on Wednesday. Uber—which is valued around $40 billion—has faced opposition from traditional taxi services since its founding in 2009.
Read MoreThe Uber debate: Gladwell and Gurley go toe-to-toe
The company allows users to hail a car from a mobile app. Riders pay their fare in advance, a distinct difference from traditional taxis.
Yellow cabs still provide more rides than Uber cars, though, TLC Commissioner Meera Joshi said in a statement.
Outnumbering New York's traditional yellow cabs marks another step in Uber's rapid expansion. Its growth, though, has brought its share of issues.
Drivers often make more money than traditional cab operators. They are independent contractors to Uber, not employees, which has prompted an ongoing lawsuit from drivers in California.
Read MoreWhat the Uber, Lyft lawsuits mean for the US economy
Uber is also facing legal issues in Western Europe, where French police on Wednesday raided its Paris office as part of an investigation into its UberPop service. Separately on Wednesday, a German court issued a nationwide ban on Uber services.
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bedc957595fe0c1eca9335633ca730ab | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/18/what-an-interest-rate-hike-could-mean-for-your-money.html?page=3 | What an interest rate hike could mean for your money | What an interest rate hike could mean for your money
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen speaks with reporters at the Federal Reserve in Washington, Dec. 17, 2014.Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
When the Federal Reserve Board will raise interest rates is still a matter of debate.
It could come as early as this week...or maybe not till next year. But one thing is certain: it's coming.
Read MoreMore of Wall Street sees later rate hike
And while the long-term result of a rate increase will be positive for consumers, short term, it's likely to be costly, said economist Richard Ebeling, the BB&T distinguished professor of ethics and free enterprise leadership at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. "This entire time of quantitative easing has meant they have had access to artificially low interest costs for consumer loans, auto loans, home loans," he said. "Even a modest increase by the Fed will start nudging up all the related interest rates."
With that in mind, the shortening timeline for rising interest rates will affect your financial to-do list in these six key areas.
—By CNBC's Kelli B. Grant. Updated September 14, 2015
Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Most credit cards on the market have variable rates, so expect rates to rise in tandem. If the federal funds rate increases to 1.125 percent by the end of the year (as some central bankers had forecast in the spring), consumers will pay an estimated $2 billion more in finance charges, according to comparison site CardHub.com.
More recent surveys indicate rate increases may come at a slower pace. As of last week, the CME's FedWatch gauge assigns just a 21 percent probability for a September move, down 24 percent from the day before and 45 percent a month ago. Most traders now believe December is the most likely date.
But regardless of when or how much the rate increase will be, it's a smart idea to put any extra cash toward paying down that high-rate credit card debt now, said Odysseas Papadimitriou, chief executive of CardHub.com. Start with your highest-rate card first. Doing so will help minimize interest charges and knock out the debt faster.
Read More Do you have the best credit card in your wallet?
Snag zero-percent balance transfer offers sooner rather than later, said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate.com. "As the Fed moves away from zero percent interest, credit card issuers will as well," he said.
As a long-term strategy, focus on improving your credit score. "No matter how much the Fed raises rates you can counter that by moving your credit standing to the next tier," said Papadimitriou.
Comstock Images | Getty Images
"Fixed mortgage rates often move in anticipation of what the Fed is going to do," said Keith Gumbinger, a vice president at mortgage information site HSH.com. There's likely to be some creep up from current levels even before the Fed officially makes a move (even if rates have remained relatively steady in recent days).
So if you're thinking about refinancing, don't wait. "Fixed mortgage rates are still below 4 percent, and that's not likely to persist the closer we get to the Fed raising short-term interest rates," said McBride. Ditto with fixed-rate home equity loans, whose rates are also likely to rise.
Read More Is it time to refinance—again?
Consumers in the market to buy a home should also get a move on—not necessarily because rates are poised to rise, but because demand could. "Anticipation of higher rates generally pulls people off the fence," said Gumbinger. "That could worsen the problem of finding a house you love at a price you love."
No need to rush on securing variable-rate home equity lines of credit, which will rise when rates do. But if you're paying down a balance on one now, this is another debt that could benefit from an early pay-down strategy. "Chip away at variable rate debt now before interest rates begin to climb," said McBride.
Doockie | Getty Images
Here's the upside of a rate increase: you might actually see your savings account balance generate a little interest. The average money market and savings account currently offers 0.47 percent, according to Bankrate.com, and many consumers are earning even less. But expect a lag in increases: Banks' terms allow them to be slower to raise rates on savings products than they are on loans and credit cards, said Nick Clements, co-founder of MagnifyMoney.com. "It's usually a rate that the bank determines and can change at their regard," he said.
Read More 8 important money questions many people can't answer
Before the Fed raises rates, avoid locking cash into any long-term certificate of deposit, he said. Rates that are high now won't be as favorable in a few months compared to other options. (Already locked in? Check the terms. It can still be beneficial to break the CD early and pay a penalty of one to two months' interest, said Clements.)
After the rate hike comes down, shop around for a better savings rate. The best tend to be with online banks, which want deposits and often compete on rates to get them, said Clements. (Currently several, including GE Capital Bank, EverBank and Synchrony Bank, are offering rates of 1 percent or better.) "As rates go up, they will be most likely to raise interest rates," he said. You could even make the switch now. "Personally, I would not wait, because it's incredibly easy to switch savings accounts," said Clements. "That's a 10-, 15-minute max process."
Comstock | Stockbyte | Getty Images
"There's definitely a reason to think that if rates rise, it could have a rapid hit to car buying," said Karl Brauer, senior director of insights for Kelley Blue Book. Average transaction prices have climbed in recent years, he said, leading more consumers to finance vehicle purchases—and for longer terms on those fixed-rate loans.
Drivers with six months or less left on a lease would be smart to consider trading in ahead of a Fed announcement. Interest rates play into lease terms, even though drivers are borrowing the car rather than cash, said Brauer. Dealerships often let drivers end a lease a few months early, to lock you into a new contract on a new vehicle. You won't need to twist any arms. "They'll often initiate that conversation," he said.
Read MoreAutomakers to drivers: Get that car fixed!
Buyers have more incentive to move fast. Not only are loan rates likely to be more favorable ahead of a Fed hike, but vehicle prices also tend to be more favorable in September as dealerships clear out the rest of last year's models and get an early sale push on the new ones. But there's no need to accelerate a purchase, either. "It's never good advice to buy a car purely because it's a good deal," Brauer said. "Or because the deals aren't going to be as good in the future."
Laurie Rubin | Getty Images
A Fed interest rate hike has less of a direct influence on federal student loan rates, which are set each year based on the May auction of the 10-year Treasury note. A Fed hike could influence T-bill prices for next year's reset, said Mark Kantrowitz, senior vice president at Edvisors.com. "That can affect the affordability of a college education," he added.
Whether rates rise or fall, student borrowers can't do much about it. Federal loan rates are fixed, so borrowers won't see any change to their existing loans. (Undergraduate Stafford loans dispersed after July 1, 2015, and before July 1, 2016, are fixed at 4.29 percent for the life of the loan.) Private loans may be fixed, or have a variable rate tied to the Libor, prime or T-bill rates—which means that if the Fed raises rates, borrowers will likely pay more, although how much more will vary by the benchmark.
Read MoreWhat Obama's plan means for student loan borrowers
The new federal loan rates went into effect July 1, when borrowing began for the 2015-16 academic year. If rates rise, there's no way to edge around them, said Kantrowitz. The best upperclassmen can do is explore borrowing more for the current 2015-16 academic year if they haven't borrowed to the limit, he said—and that isn't necessarily the best long-term solution.
Nikada | Getty Images
Any Fed announcement is enough to move the market, but investors may want to pay particular attention to their bond holdings. A Fed rate hike often pushes up yields. That said, it's not easy to strategize. "Trying to time interest rates is almost as bad as trying to time the stock market," said certified financial planner Carolyn McClanahan, director of financial planning at Life Planning Partners in Jacksonville, Florida.
Read MoreStocks rip higher as fed drops 'patient'
Consumers' best bet is to have an investment policy in place that considers their time horizon and risk tolerance. "If you're in retirement, I don't care that interest rates are low," she said. "You have to have safety in your portfolio"—and that's bonds and CDs. Those investors should consider laddering their bonds or keeping terms short so they can take advantage of rising rates as the bonds mature, she said.
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5dd31dfa1618161e4f59ee1eab03d3cb | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/19/ira-or-vacation-more-savers-value-time-off.html | Savers value vacation over IRAs | Savers value vacation over IRAs
David Franklin | Getty Images
Pity the lowly IRA.
Savers would rather set aside their cash for any other goal—including a beach vacation or a nice refrigerator—than put money in an individual retirement account, or IRA, according to a new survey by TIAA-CREF.
Only 8 percent of savers listed contributing to an IRA as their first priority, which is roughly the same percentage of people who had no idea what their top savings goal was.
"People are not relating to IRAs," said Dan Keady, director of financial planning at TIAA-CREF. "They are seeing the information, but not connecting with what IRA contributions can do for them down the road."
Only 18 percent of those surveyed are currently contributing to an IRA.
Read MoreWhy brokers are clamoring for your IRA money
A lack of understanding about what exactly an IRA is may diminish enthusiasm for them.
Individual retirement accounts come in two types. A traditional IRA lets savers contribute pretax dollars to an investment account so contributions can grow without capital gains and dividend taxes, but withdrawals from the account are taxed.
With a Roth IRA, people contribute after-tax income to an account, contributions grow tax-deferred and withdrawals are tax-free.
TIAA-CREF found that the more money people make, the more they know about IRAs. Eighty-one percent of the people surveyed who had an income of $100,000 or more knew what an IRA was, compared with 42 percent of people with an income of less than $35,000.
But take heart: People's savings priorities aren't totally screwed up. One-quarter of the 1,000 people polled by TIAA-CREF said their top savings priority is to contribute to their employer's retirement plan.
Contributing to both an IRA and a 401(k) can boost a person's retirement savings, but financial experts usually say it's best to contribute to a 401(k) up to the employer's match before investing in an IRA.
Read MoreHow to get lucky with your savings
Putting retirement plan contributions on automatic can help savers meet both their short-term and long-term goals, financial advisors say.
"Any dieter knows we can only deprive ourselves for so long before we go out and splurge. Clients can set themselves up for success on two fronts," said Abby Kovach, a financial planner in Erie, Colorado. "First, set up automated transfers from the account where their paychecks hit to their retirement accounts. If they don't ever see the money, they are less likely to spend it. Second, indulge in smaller pleasures."
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61f96a500d8b75d2c5a61845984a7864 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/19/native-americans-debate-whether-to-jump-on-the-green-wave-.html | Native Americans debate the legal marijuana business | Native Americans debate the legal marijuana business
VIDEO0:5500:55Tribal debate: Should reservations go to pot?Marijuana
Some Native American tribes have done very well for themselves in the casino business. But for tribes whose lands are far off the beaten track, that business won't work. Finding new economic opportunities can be difficult.
Many are being encouraged to look for jobs in the energy sector or develop e-commerce ventures, but some are being told they could make millions of dollars using wide open spaces on reservation land growing a very lucrative crop: marijuana.
This month in Las Vegas, the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development held a reservation economic summit. In a standing-room-only breakout conference at Mandalay Bay, tribal leaders listened to the pitfalls and opportunities of growing cannabis
Read More Medical marijuana business may have met its match
"We've been approached by several companies wanting us," said Priscilla Blackhawk Rentz, a councilwoman for the Mountain Ute tribe in Colorado, a state where marijuana is legal. She was at the conference to get more information about growing and selling pot in the Colorado market. "They're telling us that we could possibly create $3 million a year for our tribe alone."
There are 566 recognized tribes in the United States, and there are almost as many opinions about the marijuana business. "The Navajo will never do it, they're too conservative," one man told me.
Alcohol and drugs are already problems on many reservations. "Is marijuana going to add to those realities?" asked Mountain Ute councilwoman Deanne House.
Some tribes within Washington state, where marijuana is also legal for medical and recreational purposes, have banned pot on the reservation, "and others are looking at going into the business," said Charles Galbraith, a former federal prosecutor and member of the Navajo Nation who now consults with Washington tribes.
The possibility of growing marijuana popped up in December, when the Justice Department surprised tribal leaders with a memorandum suggesting that the agency may consider looking the other way if tribes got into the cannabis business, in much the same way it's backed off enforcement in states that have legalized pot, as long as certain rules are followed.
Read More Marijuana may be less harmful than alcohol, tobacco
The feds recommended that tribal leaders meet with their local U.S. Attorney "on a government-to-government basis," adding that "each United States Attorney must assess all of the threats present in his or her district, including those in Indian Country, and focus enforcement efforts based on that district specific assessment."
Robert Alexander | Getty Images
"This was definitely not a blanket legal authorization," said Lael Echo Hawk, an attorney working with tribes in Washington state. She said, however, that the market potential for tribes is huge. Beyond growing marijuana as a drug, Echo Hawk said tribes could take advantage of the industrial hemp market, which comes from the same plant. The U.S. is already importing $500 million in hemp, since U.S. farmers are still not allowed to grow it, and the plant is used in a variety of products.
Galbraith stressed that tribes should get into the cannabis business only if they are located in states where pot is legal. That would give them an "extra level of protection" if the Justice Department were to decide to crack down. For example, if the feds were to move against tribes inside Washington state, Galbraith said, "they'd also have to go after Governor (Jay) Inslee," the Democrat who helped steer the state toward legalization.
Some investors are waiting for tribes to give them the green light. "People are saying this is going to be bigger than bingo," said Leslie Bocskor of Electrum Partners. His firm would like to help tribes set up a banking system for the marijuana industry.
Read MoreCNBC Top States for Business 2014: Colorado
"If there's a way that we can find to create a financial institution that can be an acquiring bank, that can clear credit card transactions by using the sovereignty that's available to Native Americans, we believe that that would be an extreme game-changer that is unparalleled in the industry," Bocskor said.
But there are problems with riding the green wave.
One is that some reservations spread across state lines. The Mountain Ute's tribal lands spread across Colorado into New Mexico and Utah, where marijuana is still illegal. "We may be a tribe and have our sovereign rights, but what happens once they cross the border?" asked Councilwoman House.
Problems are also cropping up even within states where medical marijuana is legal. In California's Mendocino County, the Pinoleville Pomo Nation has contracted with FoxBarry Farms in Kansas to build a $10 million grow operation. Plans are on hold, however, as the Mendocino County sheriff says the operation may violate local law.
Read More Marijuana edibles set for kosher certification
Then there are concerns marijuana could add more problems than it solves. Attorney Robert Odawi Porter, former president of the Seneca Nation in New York, claims data show the social cost of legal marijuana is only 12-28 percent of the social cost of alcohol, that is, the fallout created like violence, crime or driving under the influence.
"You can't ignore that. At worst, you're moving alcoholics to being stoners, and you're improving life for the rest of the people in society," he told the crowd.
One person who's hoping tribes don't focus too heavily on the potential of pot is Gary Davis, CEO of the enterprise development center that ran the summit and a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. "We have to look at the opportunity, but it's not as simple as just, 'Let's go sell marijuana,' or 'Let's get into that marijuana sector,' and do we want to," he said.
He emphasized that just because Justice Department said it might allow American Indians to grow pot, "there are so many things out there that make billions and billions of dollars."
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72fd01e80805a4e84bc2635acc875517 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/19/sen-grassley-time-to-stand-up-to-china-on-currency.html | Sen. Grassley: Time to stand up to China on currency | Sen. Grassley: Time to stand up to China on currency
VIDEO4:4604:46Sen. Grassley on currency manipulation
Both Democrats and Republicans have exercised too much caution in dealing with China on the issue of currency manipulation, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said on Thursday.
"We've never wanted to charge them with manipulation and I think our caution has been to the disadvantage of the American consumer, to the disadvantage of our producers in this country," he told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street."
Chinese officials have leaned on the excuse that American concerns about currency manipulation amount to interference in China's domestic policy, said Grassley, who sits on the Senate's Committee on Finance and the Joint Committee on Taxation. He continued to say he would encourage the Chinese to open a dialogue with the United States on aspects of its own domestic affairs with which they disagree.
Read More Why Europe is breaking ranks with US on China bank
Measures taken by independent central banks that result in currency devaluation are valid, but monetary policy that aims to weaken a currency for the purpose of subsidizing exports ought to be an issue that is addressed in trade negotiations, Grassley said.
He said this tactic is used most often in China, and to some extent in Japan. A weaker currency makes a nation's goods more affordable in foreign markets.
China has long been accused of keeping the artificially low, and the People's Bank of China has recently launched stimulus measures, including reducing the amount of cash it requires banks to hold in reserve, which allows them to originate more loans.
The Bank of Japan is currently buying 80 trillion yen ($661 billion) per year in government bonds and other assets as part of a massive stimulus program. Prior to the program's launch, Japanese officials denied it was intended to weaken the country's currency, saying it was engineered to end two decades of deflation in the country.
Read More BOJ keeps massive monetary stimulus unchanged
Grassley said politicians had not interfered with the U.S. Federal Reserve, which ended a third bond-buying program in October after roughly six years of stimulus. The central bank has kept interest rates near zero, as well.
VIDEO2:3302:33Dollar dominance getting political?Squawk Box
Asked whether a confrontation could spark a trade war, Grassley said the issue should be broached cautiously.
China has only allowed its currency to fall modestly over the last year, but the country's leaders could let the yuan weaken further to manage current economic conditions, Rebecca Patterson, chief investment officer at Bessemer Trust told CNBC last week.
A fall in the yuan of 5 to 10 percent against an already strong dollar would help China at the margins, but could politicize trade agreements and spark what Patterson called "devaluation contagion."
"If China devalues, then Japan goes, Korea goes, Taiwan goes, Singapore goes," she said in a "Squawk Box" interview. "All of that pushes up the dollar more. Then we have a bigger hit on the U.S. economy and a greater risk that it becomes really political and ugly."
Read More Beijing's next task: balancing debt and growth
The United States is negotiating the terms of a pair of major trade deals: the Trans-Pacific Partnership with countries in Asia, the Pacific and South America and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with Europe.
Congress is considering whether to grant President Barack Obama the authority to "fast track" trade deals through an expired provision known as the Trade Promotion Authority. The TPA would presumably expedite negotiations with foreign partners by assuring them that the terms would not later be changed in Congress.
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89d2e6d51bd337be03f5471701858a41 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/19/whos-afraid-of-apple-not-swiss-watchmakers.html | Who’s afraid of Apple? Not Swiss watchmakers… | Who’s afraid of Apple? Not Swiss watchmakers…
VIDEO2:1002:10Are Swiss watchmakers afraid of Apple?Tech Transformers
The Apple Watch may not be hitting stores until April, but many of the world's leading watchmakers haven't been shy in sharing their opinions on the hotly anticipated device.
At the watch industry's leading trade show, BaselWorld in Switzerland, many companies were debating whether to head high-tech or stick with a centuries-old formula of watchmaking.
The president of LVMH's watch division and CEO of Tag Heuer, Jean-Claude Biver, told CNBC that the Apple Watch, which will cost up to $10,000, cannot be compared to similarly priced Swiss timepieces.
Read MoreThe best $10K investment: Apple Watch or Rolex?
"Can it repaired in 1,000 years or can it be repaired in 80 years?" Biver asked. "Can your children wear the watch? No -- because it won't work anymore! The technology will be gone."
Biver also went on to argue that in the upper end of the watch market, tradition would beat evolving technologies that could be obsolete in a matter of decades.
Watchmaker Longines also said that it was not involved in developing a smartwatch.
"We respect the brands that have the courage to go in this field, (but) Longines will not go in this field. We will stay with our traditional analogue watches," President Walter von Kanel told CNBC.
Read MoreHow to turn your Apple Watch into an office
"A watch is not only giving time, it's a status symbol and I don't think you'll get a status symbol in an Apple Watch with two billion functions that no one understands."
There was, however, one Swiss company that has welcomed smartwatch technology.
Mondaine's Helvetica smartwatchMondaine
Mondaine is the first Swiss watchmaker to unveil its own smartwatch. The digital and analogue face watch will be capable of tracking users' steps and how much sleep they have had.
The company said the battery would last two years and the watch would connect to both iOs and Android phones.
"I think there are many young people that never wear a watch and i think they will become first time wearable people," the company's co-founder, Ronnie Bernheim, told CNBC.
"I think the whole market is expanding I think it is something positive."
Added competition from the Apple Watch comes at a difficult time for the Swiss watch industry, which has been hit hard by a strengthening Swiss franc after the country's national bank unpegged the currency from the euro.
When the Swiss National Bank announced the shock move in January, the boss of watchmaker Swatch slammed it as a "disaster." A stronger franc makes Swiss exports more expensive on the global market.
Read MoreSwiss franc strengthens after SNB keeps rates on hold
On Thursday, Citi reported that Swiss watch exports continued to fall in February, down 2 percent year-on-year in February.
- CNBC's Katrina Bishop contributed to this report.
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d8e47b27c9303d8dc3e3e5c8262d6c3b | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/19/why-the-apple-watch-has-some-security-pros-worried.html | Why the Apple Watch has some security pros worried | Why the Apple Watch has some security pros worried
Robert Galbraith | Reuters
Much like how cyber criminals are increasingly targeting mobile devices over PCs, it's a virtual certainty that as wearable devices go more mainstream they'll be targeted by hackers.
"Once people see the power of a new technology and they start adopting it, they'll start using it for things like payments, storing sensitive data, business communications and when people start doing that, now there's an incentive for attackers to go after the device," said Kevin Mahaffey, chief technology officer at the security firm Lookout.
Read MoreBiggest hacking threat to business? Wearables
Which leads us to the Apple Watch.
While the watch doesn't hit shelves until April 24, security researchers are already trying to figure out what vulnerabilities might exist. And while there's no way to identify risks until the watch is in hand, the reality is anytime a device becomes connected to the Internet there's the potential for problems.
"The more ways we make data more convenient, the more risk there is to access the data and access things without your knowledge," Mahaffey said. "Just like adding another door to your house, it's just adding another way for bad guys to get in." (Tweet This.)
For now, Apple's watch appears to be the most secure of the emerging smartwatch landscape, said Geoff Vaughan, a security consultant at Security Compass.
It's essentially like adding a second monitor to your iPhone, since it requires one to perform most functions, Vaughan said. Thus, it's limited functionality without the iPhone actually makes it more difficult to steal valuable information, he said.
"All of the data at rest will be on the mobile device, which is in contrast with other watches where almost everything is on the watch. Those certainly have a larger threat landscape," he said.
It's worth noting that the Apple Watch can still be used for Apple Pay without the iPhone, but there are security measures in place to help ensure the owner of the Watch is the only one using it.
Read More How to turn your Apple Watch into an office
For example, the Apple Watch comes with an opt-in PIN similar to those used on an iPhone which requires users to enter it in each time they use Apple Pay with their watch. It also requires a PIN to be entered anytime the watch is removed and put back on.
The potential weakness that concerns most security pros, however, is when data is communicated between the Watch and iPhone.
Apple's Watch, which supports both WiFi and Bluetooth, requires that the Bluetooth be turned on for the device to pair with the iPhone. While this technology is generally safe, there have been cases when the encrypted communication has been breached.
In December, the security firm Bitdefender demonstrated how Bluetooth communications between Android smartwatches and smartphones could be vulnerable to attacks that enabled the interception of messages.
And while it's too soon to tell if this can be hacked with the Apple Watch, it's certainly a possibility, Vaughan said.
"There may be implications of always having Bluetooth always enabled on your phone," Vaughan said. "People who are security-conscious could choose to turn Bluetooth of NFC or WiFi or anything off when they are worried about security in particular areas, but having the watch means you have to have Bluetooth on all the time. So what are the implications of that? It extends your exposure to potential attackers."
A spokesperson for Apple said the company declined to comment on rumors or speculation.
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2ef072bca4c9e798f277e2d640453e68 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/20/dcs-batgirl-triggers-unlikely-furor-over-sexism-censorship.html | DC's 'Batgirl' triggers unlikely furor over sexism, censorship | DC's 'Batgirl' triggers unlikely furor over sexism, censorship
A comic book cover, something that only the most ardent comic geeks fuss about, is normally not considered front page news. Last week, however, a limited edition version of an upcoming "Batgirl" issue ignited a fierce debate across social and traditional media.
Comic book giant DC Comics decided to publish an edgy alternative cover for its "Batgirl" series that recalled one of the series' more popular narratives.
DC Comics
The artwork in question depicted the menacing villain Joker smearing his trademark grin—and with gun in hand—across the face of a terrified and weeping Batgirl. The cover was one of 25 variants DC Comics planned to release in June to celebrate the Joker's 75th anniversary. But the publisher announced last week it was pulling this particular variant of Batgirl no. 41 at the request of Rafael Albuquerque, the artist at the center of the brouhaha.
The art immediately touched off a fierce debate about free speech and sexism. A loud but vocal minority of fans and editorialists objected to the image of a strong female heroine as helpless, or worse, a potential sexual assault victim.
Using Twitter and Tumblr to amplify their battle cry, they urged publisher DC Comics to "#changethecover." Another group of readers and supporters of the cover pushed back, decrying the chilling effect on free speech.
Piper tweet
Brandon Morse
Variant covers are not new to the industry, but they have proliferated in recent years as publishers have gotten smarter about creating demand for them, said Jonathan Jackson Miller, an author and industry expert who analyzes comic book sales on his website, the ComicChron.
For example, publishers now make one or more variants per issue, which are sold exclusively for sale at large comic book shops and mail order services. The art on variant covers does not necessarily reflect the story told in the issue. They are printed in limited runs and typically appeal to completists and speculators.
By fronting the same content with different covers, publishers can often multiply sales of a single issue in one fell swoop.
"By doing it this way, you have a retailer that's behind that particular variant, pushing it and controlling supply," he explained.
Read MoreWhy comic books are big business
In a statement to CNBC, a DC spokesperson said that variant covers are created within the editorial group at the company. The creative teams that produce the series on an ongoing basis are not involved in developing variants.
Amid the controversy, comic publishers in general are looking to boost sagging sales and generate interest with a provocative story and art. In some cases, that has made them a target for offended readers on social networks, and socially-aware blogs such as io9 and The Mary Sue.
It also underscores how comic story lines are creating warring factions among comic book bedfellows. In December, DC's creative team issued an apology after fans complained about a story featuring a cross-dressing villain that some said made trangendered citizens look mentally unstable and deceitful.
Supporters of the "Batgirl" cover point out it is based on one of DC's most iconic story lines—which never stirred up much of a fight when it was first published nearly three decades ago.
Albuquerque said in a statement his cover was an homage to Alan Moore's classic 1988 Batman tale, "The Killing Joke," in which the Joker shoots and paralyzes Barbara Gordon, aka the original Batgirl.
The Killing Joke is widely considered to be among the best Batman stories ever told and won an Eisner Award—the Oscar of comics—for best graphic novel in 1989. It also redefined Barbara Gordon's role in the DC universe: Her character became a paraplegic, but she made herself indispensable to heroes by becoming an elite computer hacker codenamed Oracle. That story held up until 2011, when DC made the controversial decision to restore her ability to walk.
Read MoreGet your own life-size Avenger for $40,000
DC stopped short of an issuing an apology for the "Batgirl" variant, but was forced to acknowledge the imagery at the heart of the controversy.
"Regardless if fans like Rafael Albuquerque's homage to Alan Moore's THE KILLING JOKE graphic novel from 25 years ago, or find it inconsistent with the current tonality of the "Batgirl" books—threats of violence and harassment are wrong and have no place in comics or society," DC said.
VIDEO2:3902:39How to invest in comic booksWorldwide Exchange
Meanwhile, DC is far from the only publisher to have a variant cover elicit outrage. Last fall, fans assailed Marvel Comics after it released a variant cover for Spider-Woman #1 that showed the heroine in a contorted, sexualized pose that drew attention to her posterior.
Read MorePow! Bam! CEOs get Batman treatment in comics
In an interview with trade website Comic Book Resources, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso apologized for the incident, saying: "We are aware of the growing sensitivity to covers like this, and we will be extra-vigilant in policing their content and how we use them in our marketing."
He noted that Marvel knew the cover would not appeal to everyone, and would not have used it for the standard edition in wide circulation.
Nearly every title in the top 100 every year has at least one variant cover because publishers know a small minority of their readership will scoop them up, ComicChron's Miller said. With so many variants hitting the shelves, it seems unlikely Albuqurque's Batgirl cover will be the last to stir the pot.
In fact, collectors stand to strike a profit by buying the controversy.
Read MoreThe most valuable comic books of all time
Chicago-based comic book store G-Mart was asking $200 for a copy of the controversial Spider-Woman variant, and a seller on EBay was asking for $175 as of late last week.
Assuming the seller bought the issue at the original cover price of $3.99, that's a roughly 4,300 percent return on investment.
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9474cdd41ae1d90ee670b52ab0d67d99 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/20/investing-in-the-caribbean-energy-trends-in-cuba-venezuela-and-puerto-rico.html | Why energy investors are looking at the Caribbean | Why energy investors are looking at the Caribbean
The energy landscape in the United States has transformed radically in the last few years, and its neighbors' has, too.
Tourists take in the sites from a tour bus in Havana, Feb. 28, 2015.Getty Images
Caribbean countries import nearly 99 percent of their energy, largely in the form of petroleum products. Two countries in the region, Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago, have for years played a big role in covering the energy needs of the rest of the region. But with Venezuela experiencing an economic implosion, other Caribbean nations are looking for new sources of energy.
U.S. interests are in a particularly good position to invest in the Caribbean's energy needs as oil prices have fallen, the United States has under gone a natural gas boom and relations with Cuba have shifted.
Read MoreIs renewable energy ready to disrupt fossil fuels?
"The Caribbean could offer investors tremendous opportunities," said Charles K. Ebinger, senior fellow in the Energy Security and Climate Initiative at the Brookings Institution. Opening relations with Cuba this year could be "quite dramatic," he said.
VIDEO1:1001:10CNBC Explains: The crash in oil pricesOil
Cuba is planning wind projects and hopes to produce 24 percent of its own electricity in 15 years, and Puerto Rico hopes that 20 percent of its electricity comes from renewable energy by 2035.
Between 2009 and 2013, foreign direct investment in the Caribbean nearly doubled to $217 billion, according to data from the World Bank.
That capital is finding its way into a variety of Caribbean industries, including energy, said Edgar van der Meer, a senior analyst at NRG Expert, a London- and Toronto-based energy intelligence and market research publisher.
Read MoreIs steam power the answer to our energy problems?
Recent advances in hydraulic fracturing—so-called fracking—horizontal drilling and the growing shale gas production they have produced mean the U.S. is importing less fossil fuel from Caribbean islands like Trinidad and Tobago, historically a producer for the region.
"Now, we are in a position to sell to them at a cheaper price," said Andrew Holland, senior fellow for energy and climate at the American Security Project, a nonpartisan think tank. "And once the government allows (more exports) and the infrastructure is there, we can export liquefied natural gas and other natural gas products to them."
Investors interested in the Caribbean region should look to the wind and solar energy markets, said Ebinger, as well as the tourism market, which will benefit from cheaper and more efficient energy.
Cuba is an important destination for potential investors, said Holland, as its economy has picked up after five decades of practically no growth.
Read MoreWill plunging oil force energy dividend cuts?
The Obama administration in December took steps to begin an economic and diplomatic rapprochement with the communist nation, which for its part has begun to experiment with free market business on a small scale.
"You can't yet run your island on solar or wind power, but you can do a lot," Holland said.
It's one of the only places in the world where you can throw up as much solar and wind power as possible.Andrew Hollandsenior fellow for energy and climate, the American Security Project
The cost of generating electricity in the Caribbean is higher than much of the rest of the world, which can impede direct investment. In Jamaica, consumers pay 38 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity. In Puerto Rico, that figure stands at 25 to 30 cents per kilowatt hour. In contrast, the average American household pays 10.13 cents per kilowatt hour, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
"That (makes it) very difficult to make business and investment decisions; like if you're a rum distiller, you want to make sure you have assured access to electricity," said Holland.
Read MoreHow far will oil fall? 'No one can tell you'
Some islands are trying to fill the gaps through renewable energy. Grenada, Aruba and St. Martin, for example, have invested heavily in solar energy. St. Croix, of the U.S. Virgin Islands, recently switched all of its electric generation from oil to propane, which typically burns 30 percent cheaper.
"They become cost-effective without subsidies," said Holland. The Caribbean, he said, is "one of the only places in the world where you can throw up as much solar and wind power as possible."
Read MoreWhat's next for Cuba?
As Venezuela heads toward what seems to be an almost inevitable economic implosion, island nations like Jamaica are likely to see a sudden hole in their budget, since they rely so heavily on Venezuela for energy.
"They wouldn't have access to this low-cost oil, so you'd see energy prices spike," Holland said. "You could see inflation and a spike in unemployment."
"They put their own [energy] security in the hands of Venezuela," he said, "and it seems like that may not have been a good idea."
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15733f1ea1858fdeba93eca01db81958 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/20/next-frontier-for-internet-of-things-babies.html | Next frontier for 'Internet of Things': Babies | Next frontier for 'Internet of Things': Babies
A mamaRoo, by 4MomsSource: 4Moms
We use trackers to measure our daily footsteps, sleep, calories burned, UV ray intake, heart rate, stress levels—and that's just for us. Imagine if you had another human inside of you.
As the connected world spills over into every aspect of life, technology is making its way to babies and toddlers. New devices include Bluetooth and wireless-equipped pacifiers to bottles and connected onesies.
Some examples: A baby car seat clip from Intel that informs parents if their child is properly clipped in, or a smart pacifier (Pacif-i) that measures a baby's temperature while keeping them from crying.
"I've personally seen devices to potty train, track the baby's movements, and to monitor baby's heartbeat from just a webcam," said Shashi Jain, IoT Innovation Manager at Intel.
If firms get it right, the stakes for companies focusing on connected baby products could be huge. IDC, a market research firm, predicts that the global market for Internet of Things (IoT) devices and services will exceed $7 trillion by 2020, up from $1.9 trillion in 2013.
With that kind of money at stake, expect to see more products focused around enhanced safety and convenience for first-time parents.
Want to monitor the temperature of a sick child? Just fasten the TempTraq, a flexible patch that works as a digital thermometer. For 24 hours, the patch will send temperature updates to any smartphone—yours, grandma's or the babysitter's—connected to its accompanying app. If the child surpasses a pre-set fever level, the app will send an alert.
"Babies can't speak and so they can't say if they are too hot, too cold, hungry or choking. But sensors could," said Surj Patel, Thing Tuesday founder, an Internet of Things meetup, in Portland, Oregon.
If that doesn't meet parents' needs, they can try the Sproutling sensor-based anklet for babies. Out of the four million babies born every year in the U.S., 75 percent of their parents purchase a baby monitor or tracker, according to Sproutling. But this baby monitor is different.
At first glance, the Sproutling looks a little like a high-tech house-arrest anklet for babies, but it actually monitors their vital signs, tracks heartbeat, body temperature and the noise level in the room, while they sleep. Think of it like a Fitbit for babies.
Read MoreBritain legalizes 3 parent babies
Over time, it also learns the baby's patterns and behaviors and can make predictions about when the infant will wake up, for instance, and whether they'll be fussy or happy when they do.
There's also the Owlet Baby Monitor, a small electronic device strapped to a sock at bedtime. The monitor silently checks a baby's oxygen, heart rate, sleep, temperature and rollover alerts and notifies parents of potential problems. The device is designed to give parents peace of mind and maybe even a full night's sleep, according to Kurt Workman, CEO of Owlet.
Also: The Baby Glgl bottle, named after the glug-glug sound of a feeding baby, is meant to help prevent gas or colic. Built with an inclinometer, the Baby Glgl tracks the weight and angle of the bottle and lights up with arrows informing the parent to adjust accordingly to ensure that the baby isn't gulping air.
On the other end of the infant-to-parent spectrum is Bellabeat, the maker of a trio of health trackers for moms and moms-to-be.
"Any parent who has the means will buy things that help ensure the safety and well being of their child," said Patel.
The Leaf is one of three items in Bellabeat's lineup of health trackers for women, which also includes the Bellabeat Shell–a monitoring system for expecting moms–and the smart scale called the Bellabeat Balance.
The start-up's first batch of pre-orders have sold out, and those 10,000 sales generated $1.2 million in revenue, according to Sandro Mur, co-founder and CEO of BabyWatch, who has been building pregnancy and baby-related products for the past two years.
Owlet baby monitorSource: Owlet
While many of these gadgets appeal because they promise to take the guesswork out of parenting, it's unclear whether all consumers hot on the "smart everything" trend, and some of these devices may not be entirely useful.
In a survey by Nielsen's Affinnova group, just over 40 percent of U.S. adults said that the smart products they've seen so far seem like gimmicks, and 59 percent said they need real value to spend money on a smart product.
"Being a hot smart device doesn't mean that device is necessarily useful, it means that the device is delivering good experience and people are spreading the word about it," said Mur. "The real challenge is how to improve them over the time to make use of the awareness they're raising."
Unlike the fitness wearable space, the customer mindset is really different and the "experience is valued more than just data," said Mur. The challenge is "how to provide an experience while solving real problems and not maximizing them with overconcern."
Parents should be aware that data are only as good as the analysis—a fact that many scientists and skeptics across lots of disciplines are well aware of. A deluge of big data is useless on its own. Additionally, it's hard to know how well companies will transform their data into useful information.
"The biggest issue in the IoT for babies is that most people are just taking existing IoT devices and making them smaller," said Mur. He added that design is crucial. "It needs to be really simple and really warm. IoT devices should focus on only a few functions and do them really well, because there is no room for mistakes.
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130e69f1502f9c8bccce05365e91d2a8 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/20/reinventing-fashion-with-a-silicon-valley-twist.html | Reinventing fashion with a Silicon Valley twist | Reinventing fashion with a Silicon Valley twist
VIDEO2:1402:14Incubating jobs in fashionPower Lunch
Just eight miles away from New York City's Garment District, the newest member of Manufacture New York is setting up shop.
Richie Kim said he is getting a second chance at turning a profit with the company he founded, Noah Kim Fashion Studios.
"My entire career, all I have focused on is the craft. Now for the first time, I think I can make some money," Kim said.
Before Manufacture New York, Kim said he was facing rising rents in the Garment District, and the prospect of giving up on his dream for good. That's where Bob Bland, founder and CEO of Manufacture New York entered the picture.
Read More'Made in USA' fuels new manufacturing hubs in apparel
With the help of a $3.5 million grant from New York City, Manufacture New York is taking a page from the Silicon Valley playbook and supporting fellow fashion designers who are starting their own businesses and creating jobs. The goal is to establish a foundation for keeping fashion industry design and manufacturing jobs in New York.
"The vision of the space is kind of like a 21st century Garment District, within a building, where it's really everything that you could possibly need from concept to the shipping out the door of the fashion product. What we really see is a everything from incubator and accelerator space, to fashion tech R&D labs, to a wholly produced media center onsite for photo and video shoots," said Bland.
VIDEO1:5201:52New Garment District
With 160,000 square feet of space at the Liberty View Industrial Plaza in Brooklyn, Manufacture New York has plans to become the home of as many as 30 manufacturers, 75 designers and 25 fashion technology companies, in addition to being open to the public for classes, tours and events.
The mission-based, for-profit company aims to be both a profitable model for the businesses they help incubate, while creating a transparent, sustainable supply chain in fashion through the member businesses willing to produce their product locally in New York.
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"We have the opportunity to reclaim the middle class for New York City and one of the only ways to feasibly do it with the current workforce that we have is through creating middle class manufacturing jobs and providing a diverse range of training that combines craftsmanship and technology together, and that's what we're going to do here at Manufacturer New York," said Bland.
Together with the grant from New York City's Economic Development Corporation, the group plans to create nearly 300 jobs this year and train 1,000 people a year thereafter in their workforce training center in cooperation with the federal government.
Designers like Mimi Prober and Celine Semaan Vernon are already experiencing the benefits of the Manufacture New York business model.
"Manufacture New York has introduced me to amazing designers, amazing makers, press, and people, and it's just been a great collaboration. There's no way I could afford a space on my own in Manhattan, so Manufacture New York has really provided that platform and ability to showcase my pieces in a professional setting," said Prober, owner of Mimi New York, which specializes in making one-of-a-kind, handmade pieces out of antique textiles.
Celine Semaan Vernon, owner of Slow Factory, said in addition to using the Brooklyn space as a showroom and for storage of her products, she looks forward to future collaborations with other designers who want to utilize her expertise in printing imagery on fine silk and other organic materials.
"Being surrounded by makers, experts, seamstresses, and designers is just going to grow our potential and also the potential in creating new garments, new styles, different designs. That's why I'm so excited to be a part of Manufacture New York, for specifically the community," said Vernon.
In addition to the real estate and partnership revenue streams Manufacture New York's business model is based on, the company is focusing a large portion of their efforts into merging fashion and technology and to a field known as "fiber science."
Read MoreExcuses, excuses. Luxury prices at a tipping point
"I'm not looking at the future [of] wearables as gadgets, I'm looking at it as full integration—so invisibility—so you're not going to know that you're wearing wearable technology," said Amanda Parkes, Manufacture New York's chief of Technology and Research.
What she's talking about is the possibility of embedding circuitry or batteries within textiles that could enable you to change the color of your shirt with the touch of your smartphone or wear clothing that could regulate your body temperature.
Manufacture New York said they are already working with several major tech companies that can't yet be named, but the goal is to have the fashion and tech industries collaborate on products that can be brought to market profitably.
iStock | Getty Images Plus
Designer Cri Gabriele of Heart and Noble already sees the potential for her line of 3D jewelry and accessories.
"You can be sitting in the café drawing on a napkin or making a 3D mold with Fimo [clay], or whatever it is you feel easiest to mold an object with, and you can take that to the tech department, and essentially in the afternoon, if the process is straightforward, you could have a rendering and actually maybe a 3D-printed model or prototype of what you had been imagining that morning," said Gabriele.
Perhaps the most anticipated innovation coming out of Manufacture New York this fall, though, is what Parks calls the "Tesla" high heel. Parks is also the Fashion Scientist for Thesis Couture, which is working with an astronaut from Elon Musk's SpaceX venture, an orthopedic surgeon and an Oculus engineer, among others, to come up with a comfortable high heel.
"Thesis Couture is kind of taking the Tesla model, which is really redesigning the shoe inside out, and applying it to high heels. It's going to look like a really high-end couture shoe—and that's the whole point, that you're not going to know," said Parkes.
If it's successful, you can bet that hundreds of thousands of women will be willing to pay top dollar for that.
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41d4666ffaba1c01ddbe789cd8a8b425 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/21/40m-art-collection-of-goldmans-sachs-former-chairman-john-whitehead.html | VIDEO3:3803:38John Whitehead's art collectionPower Lunch
For major auction houses, spring is in the air—which also means priceless works will soon hit the auction block. On May 14, one of the more anticipated collections will come from the estate of the late John Whitehead, former chairman of Goldman Sachs.
Whitehead, who died in February at age 92, possessed a treasure trove of impressionist and modern art that industry watchers expect will net more than $40 million. The 90-piece collection includes rare works by Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Amedeo Modigliani and Pierre Bonnard.
Judging by the amounts some of the pieces in his collection may fetch, it's possible that Whitehead's Midas touch has survived his demise. Among the highlights from the Whitehead collection is a 1916 Modigliani canvas called "Portrait de Béatrice Hastings," that carries an estimated price tag of $7 million to $10 million.
Achim Moeller, an art advisor and the owner of a fine art gallery, worked with Whitehead on his art acquisitions for more than three decades.
"Although I was careful to avoid ever being an arbiter of John's taste, I provided him with an overall assessment of the work's value. I am grateful to John for his trust and faith in me over the past thirty-four years," Moeller told CNBC via e-mail.
"Naturally, I have always esteemed the relationship between the collector and his art advisor. For this reason alone, I regard my own with John Whitehead as an achievement, akin to noteworthy collector-advisor associations that have existed through a great part of art history," he added.
Read MoreArt scandal threatens to expose mass fraud in art market
Another highlight in the sale is a rare 1888 Claude Monet, "Paysage de matin," estimated at $6 million to $8 million.
Paintings owned by the late John Whitehead are going up for auction at Christie's in New York. On display here (L) is Amedeo Modigliani's "Beatrice Hastings" oil on canvas (estimated at $7 to $10million) , and Claude Monet's "Paysage de Matin" oil on canvas (estimated between $6 and $8million).Adam Jeffery | CNBC
Whitehead served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, where he commanded a landing craft at Omaha Beach, in the D-Day invasion of Normandy. In 1947 he graduated Harvard Business School and went to work for Goldman Sachs with a starting salary of $3,600 a year, remaining at the Wall Street giant for nearly four decades.
Read MoreJohn Whitehead dies at age 92
Over his career, culminating in senior partner and chairman, the man who was once referred to as "the moral compass of Goldman," oversaw the firm's rise to dominance in trading, IPOs and mergers.
Whitehead left the firm in 1984 to serve as deputy secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan. He later went on to serve as chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, was a board member of the New York Stock Exchange and chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. after the Sept. 11 attacks.
A lion of finance and a leader in philanthropy, Whitehead proved equally adept at identifying and collecting a personal museum of fine art.
In his biography "A Life in Leadership: From D-Day to Ground Zero," Whitehead recounts his early days learning how to bid on impressionist paintings. He used his Wall Street savvy to assess the art market, picking up a Modigliani for $10,500 simply because it was "the least expensive item" in the catalog.
"This sort of appraisal was entirely new to me, nothing like anything I'd had to do at Goldman Sachs or any other aspect of my life ... but I remained enough of a financier that I took an interest in the prices, and I tried to predict what price an individual piece would go for at auction."
The collector loved his art so much he insisted on moving his valuable paintings and sculptures back and forth from his Manhattan townhouse to his various offices—so he might always enjoy looking at them wherever he was working. In the process, he earned a reputation for having a very discerning palate for artwork.
Read MoreArt market hits record $53.7 billion worldwide in 2014
According to Christie's chairman emeritus, Stephen S. Lash, Whitehead was "immensely modest ... [and] was also a devoted and accomplished collector who lived surrounded by the works of his favorite French impressionists."
His business acumen and artistic eye certainly paid off, as dozens of pieces in his collection multiplied in value over the decades he owned them.
This landscape last sold at Sotheby's in 1985 for $418,000. Christie's, a veteran in art sales, has sold numerous paintings at high prices. The auction house holds the world auction record for a work by Monet at $80.4 million, and sold more than $1 billion worth of impressionist art in 2014 alone.
As for potential buyers, Conor Jordan, deputy chairman, impressionist and modern art at Christie's, told CNBC's "Power Lunch" Thursday "We have already had interest from a number of people who are collectors, who knew John Whitehead well. But we are also seeing interest from other regions in the world. Of course Europe, even Asia, where the Whitehead name has great resonance."
The late John C. WhiteheadPhoto: Peter Vidor | Christie's Images LTC. 2015
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136082c9756a541b71c2c7f9ac0d0b3e | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/22/starbucks-ends-race-together.html | Starbucks ends 'Race Together' campaign in stores, effort not over | Starbucks ends 'Race Together' campaign in stores, effort not over
Starbucks' baristas across the country have begun writing "Race Together" on coffee cups as part of a wider company effort to raise awareness on race relations.Source: Starbucks
Starbucks head Howard Schultz told employees on Sunday they will no longer be encouraged to write "Race Together" on drinks cups, but the company's effort to promote discussion of racial issues "is far from over."
The world's biggest coffee chain kicked off a U.S. race relations campaign last week when it published full-page ads in major U.S. newspapers with the words "Shall We Overcome?" at center page and "RaceTogether" and the Starbucks logo near the bottom.
Employees behind the counter were also given the option of writing "Race Together" on customers' cups.
Read MoreOkay Starbucks, let's have the talk
The campaign was met with skepticism on social media, with many complaining the company was overstepping it boundaries with a campaign on sensitive cultural topics that had no place in the coffee shop's lines.
Starbucks said the phase of the campaign that involved messages on drink cups was always scheduled to end Sunday.
"I know this hasn't been easy for any of you - let me assure you that we didn't expect universal praise," Chief Executive Schultz wrote in a letter to staff and released by the company on Sunday. "We leaned in because we believed that starting this dialogue is what matters most."
Schultz said Starbucks plans more "Race Together" activities, including efforts to expand into urban neighborhoods, hire 10,000 "opportunity youth" over the next three years, and produce advertising on the campaign with Gannett Co.'s USA Today.
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b0633bd9c9de4cdb9c909e0063872076 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/23/gopros-found-a-floor-and-heres-how-to-play-it-trader.html | GoPro's found a floor and here's how to play it: Trader | GoPro's found a floor and here's how to play it: Trader
VIDEO1:5601:56GoPro's found a floor and here's how to play it: TraderTrading Nation
The only thing crazier than GoPro videos has been the performance of the company's stock.
After rising 200 percent from the June 2014 IPO price, GoPro's shares have lost more than half their value since topping out in early October. But one trader who relies heavily on both the charts and the options market to make his trades says despite the volatility, the camera maker's stock is bottoming out.
"We're starting to see some consolidation at the $40 level. And I think it's interesting right here," Andrew Keene said Monday on "Trading Nation."
The founder of the Keene on the Market website points out that if "you take a look at a daily chart, we go from the IPO price of about $30 [per share] then the stock starts to move up in a series of higher highs and higher lows. Then it got up to the [all-time] high of about $96 [per share] and it rolled over."
Cyran Cunha | GoPro | Facebook
But according to Keene, "there's massive support at that IPO price of around $30."
Curiously enough, while GoPro is a "high-momentum, high-beta" name, prices of its options have fallen of late, and are now at their lowest point since last September.
Still, Keene is loath to pay up for GoPro calls and instead is using an options strategy that mitigates his costs. Specifically, he is buying the January 2016 50/60 call spread for $2.60, while simultaneously selling the January 2016 30/20 put spread for an equal amount.
The trade is most profitable if GoPro hits $60 per share by January and represents a low-cost bet that the stock will retrace all its year-to-date losses.
"If we look at it on expiration in January 2016," said Keene, "I have a break even between $30 and $50. If the stock is below $30 I lose money, but anything above $50 is pure profits."
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d8bacd9600dc2e4d6f78fcf644037fe2 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/23/greece-will-stay-in-euro-barroso.html | Barroso: Greece should blame itself | Barroso: Greece should blame itself
VIDEO3:3003:30Did we hear Grexit? Former EC chief Barroso weighs inStreet Signs Asia
Greece's problems can be laid at its own door and the country needs to provide a clear commitment to reform to reach an agreement with its creditors, Jose Manuel Barroso, the former president of the European Commission, told investors in Hong Kong.
"The Greek people went through extremely difficult moments, hardship. But these difficulties of Greece were not provoked by Europe," Barroso said in an address at the Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong.
"It was provoked by the irresponsible behavior of the Greek government."
"The situation of Greece is the result of unsustainable debt that was created by the Greek government, mismanagement of their public finances, huge problems with tax evasion and tax fraud [and] problems of the administration," he said, noting that the country had also misled the European Union by filing false figures on its economy.
Read More Why Tsipras needs to turn on the charm with Merkel
Kevin Winter | Getty Images
Greece's place in the euro zone has been hanging in the balance since the anti-austerity Syriza Party won elections this year.
Athens' new government has sought to renegotiate the austerity measures imposed on the country as part of its 240 billion euro bailout package. Recent talks over Greece's debt and European Union imposed fiscal austerity have become increasingly tortured.
Barroso was generally unsympathetic to the Greek stance.
"There is nothing that condemns Greece to be in a difficult situation. There are reforms they can make and they are as able as any other country to do," he said.
"There is an ideological difficulty that exists in the Greek government to understand that the way for Greece to recover the confidence of the markets is in fact for to go on with structural reforms that Greece has committed to."
His remarks appear to match impatience seen in current leadership in the European Union.
Following a euro zone finance ministers' meeting about Greece in Brussels on March 9, an exasperated Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem even told Athens to "stop wasting time."
Sniping between Germany and Greece has marred talks over the past weeks, but some bridge building appears to be on the cards. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin later on Monday.
And, despite polls suggesting the majority of Germans are willing to let Greece leave the euro, Barroso said the EU itself is committed to keeping Athens in the euro zone.
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855d07acaaced3261088f27f2770f426 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/23/hot-shot-golfer-greg-norman-.html | Golf legend Greg Norman launches small-biz equity fund | Golf legend Greg Norman launches small-biz equity fund
Greg NormanSource: Greg Norman
Wearing a navy Ralph Lauren suit and crisp white shirt, Greg Norman is traveling through the crowded streets of Manhattan in the back of a black chauffeured Lincoln Navigator. He's headed to his Gulfstream G550 at New Jersey's Teterboro Airport after a New York City media tour with "TODAY," "Fox & Friends" and The Wall Street Journal.
Although the 60-year-old famed Australian golfer no longer plays competitive golf—he held the world No. 1 spot for 331 straight weeks in the 1980s and '90s—he is back in the media spotlight, prepping for the start of his new TV career: In June he will co-host (along with Joe Buck) Fox Sports' first U.S. Open broadcast. It's the start of the network's 12-year, $1 billion deal with the U.S. Golf Association (he'll also do the Women's Open, Senior Open and Amateur this summer).
As a "living brand," Norman thinks his higher profile should have a positive effect on his business empire, which is comprised of 20 fully- or partially-owned divisions, including course design and management, apparel, real estate, wine, beef, event management and GPS technology. The company named after his famous nickname—the Great White Shark—reportedly posted $300 million in revenues in 2014.
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That's impressive when you consider the U.S. golf industry is in the rough since its pre-recession heydey. The sport has contracted by 10 percent to 15 percent when you add up all the factors: course closings, decline in participation and golf-company earnings.
Norman's success is due to his global diversification strategy. Not only has he entered into many lines of business, he's also gone after hot emerging markets ripe for growth.
The 7th hole at the Course at Wente Vineyards in Livermore, California, which opened in 1998Source: Greg Norman Golf Course Design
The newest division at Great White Shark Enterprises he's most excited about is the Great White Shark Opportunity Fund, an asset-based debt-lending fund that provides alternative and flexible capital to small- and mid-cap companies. Norman won't reveal what companies they've invested in so far but said they have $75 million in capital.
"It's a good place to be in right now, because a lot of small, entrepreneurial businesses can't get capital to grow their business," he said in his familiar Australian accent. "Many years ago my partner, David Chessler, and I invested in a couple small business and just saw the returns we were generating, in the high 20s and even above. We started off very small, but now we're growing at a comfortable pace, and we have institutions interested because we have a performance track record that's very positive. We don't want to be a $20 billion fund. We just want to be like the space we're in."
Norman's most profitable division is his golf course design company, which charges $1.5 million for a "signature" design. It has opened 95 courses worldwide and has another 42 projects in various stages of development with almost all of them in Asia, Mexico and South America, where the golf economy is not as negatively affected as in the U.S.
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But like with any business, the Great Recession took its toll (back in 2007, his design fee was $2 million). "It's the hardest recession I've ever been through, and I've probably been through four recessions since I started my company in 1992," he said. "But once you come up the backside of it and people see that your credibility and business model has survived the negative test of time, your business is in a really good place to grow."
Since GWSE is such a closely held company, Norman won't disclose what his gross revenues were last year but does claim they increased by 63 percent.
"Business is good, actually," he said. "We've weathered the storm and are seeing things turning around, especially on a global front where we've reached only 20 percent of our potential. Banking regulations in the U.S. have kind of killed the entrepreneurial spirit a little bit, but there are places in this country where you can do well and make money. That's why I started the investment fund. There are a lot of opportunities out there because of the regulations in place."
One division that's still lagging is wine. Norman has been a connoisseur and collector since 1976, when he won a bottle of the award-winning Australian red Penfolds Grange. Twenty years later he partnered with California-Australian conglomerate Beringer Blass (now Treasury Wine Estates). The company, Greg Norman Estates, makes 13 different varietals and shipped 160,000 cases last year to Australia and the U.S.—down about 90,000 cases from 2006—with the majority made in his native country. (A Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand will debut in April.)
Read More4 costly marketing mistakes for start-ups
"Part of business is identifying the divisions in the company that need to be helped a little," he said. "And now, with the Australian dollar below par, our margins are improving on wine. It's a business I really want to start focusing on and getting it back up to where it was pre-recession."
Norman's business savvy first became apparent when in 1997 he earned $40 million from a $1.8 million investment in Cobra Golf after the company was bought by Fortune Brands. Norman rolled that money into his new wine business.
He also learned the importance of branding in the mid-'90s through Reebok founder Paul Fireman, who started Norman's clothing line in 1994 but allowed him to own his iconic shark logo that Reebok created for the apparel.
"He gave me the big push in understanding what marketing and branding are all about," Norman said. "Roger Penske is another one. I've been very lucky to get some guidance and direction from some incredible businessmen and human beings. I also like to build things, but I had no goal to build GWSE into the business it is today. It just evolved. I knew I didn't want to be just an endorsement-related player, where I couldn't build value in my own brand."
Human resources can make or break you. You can have a fantastic product, but if you don't have the right people in the right place running it the right way, you can screw up big time, and it takes you a long time to recover.Begin with the end in mind. Always have an exit strategy. If you go into something with no vision for the future, you are destined to fail in the long run.Stay the course and compartmentalize. You're always going to hit bumps in the road; no business transaction is ever easy, but you've got to plow ahead and stay focused on the task at hand. I cannot do five things 100 percent, but I can do one thing 100 percent.
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c32d8c3fae1fad858466bed783b53a11 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/23/inside-the-minecraft-billionaires-ultimate-bachelor-pad.html | Inside the Minecraft billionaire's ultimate bachelor pad | Inside the Minecraft billionaire's ultimate bachelor pad
VIDEO1:0601:06Tour Minecraft mansion Millionaires & Billionaires
When Minecraft founder Markus Persson bought his $70 million mansion in Beverly Hills, California, he tweeted out a picture of his feet perched on a table in the gleaming white lounge.
That picture was all the public got to see of the house from Persson, but "Secret Lives of the Super Rich" got a full tour of the 23,000-square-foot modern mansion from its builder, fashion magnate Bruce Makowsky—and ours were the only TV cameras allowed inside.
"When I was building this house, my mission was to build the most beautiful house in Southern California," Makowsky told CNBC.
Read MoreThe Lamborghini 'Ice Capades'
Whether it's the most beautiful will be debated, but it is undoubtedly among the most expensive—and clearly the most expensive ever sold in Beverly Hills.
Makowsky, a former handbag and leather-goods tycoon who is attempting to reinvent luxury-home building in California, said he applies many of the same principals from creating a fashion brand to building homes.
Read MoreThe secret lab where a $2.6 million watch was made
"When I was building my shoes and my handbag collections, it was always about using the finest quality materials and having a lot of textures," he said. "It's an explosion of the senses."
Some say the $70 million Beverly Hills, Calif., mansion Minecraft founder Markus Persson bought is the ultimate bachelor pad.Source: Rodeo Realty | Bruce Makowsky
Some of the details he included are:
A massive living room with a 54-foot retractable wall of glass that opens to an infinity pool and one of the best views of Los Angeles and the ocean in all of Beverly Hills.The ultimate candy bar. The house has a massive wall of candy dispensers with more than $200,000 worth of candy. Conveniently, it's right next to the home gym.A gallery for your Bugatti. Every bachelor needs a place to keep their Lambo. But Persson's new garage is more of a high-tech viewing gallery, with hydraulic floors that lower cars into the home's downstairs lounge and giant rotating floors to turn the car to the perfect viewing angles.A Bentley living room set. The living room has a sofa and chair set built by Bentley Motors, with its signature leather and wood. The cost? $500,000.The wine cellar is stocked with hundreds of bottles of Dom Perignon and other fine champagnes and wine, so Persson will never go dry.The 24-person dining table has place settings by Roberto Cavalli, priced at $3,700 each.A lot of skin. There are rare animal hides everywhere in the house. The drawers of the men's dressing room are lined with alligator skin and the door to the cinema room (one of the most expensive in LA) is lined with Italian lizard skin.Logos everywhere. From the Fendi logos on the rugs to the Bentley "B" on the couches, and logos in the paintings, this house screams status. The walls of the master bedroom suite were covered in a highly crafted material found only in Louis Vuitton stores.Tons of art. From a giant Leica camera to a replica of James Dean's motorcycle and a massive $250,000 sculpture of a hand grenade and antique machine gun, the art in this house is plentiful but manly.A gold toothbrush. Persson can move right in, since everything in the house is included. He even gets a special gold toothbrush made specifically for the house.
Watch "Secret Lives of the Super Rich" on Tuesday, March 24, at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
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48f80d9da08eb9dc3d4d91025122ea67 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/24/job-hunting-tips-for-millennials.html?__source=yahoo%7Cfinance%7Cheadline%7Cheadline%7Cstory&par=yahoo&doc=102527615 | Job hunting tips for millennials | Job hunting tips for millennials
VIDEO1:3701:37How to upgrade your jobJobs
The good news is the job market is finally rebounding. About 295,000 jobs were created last month, according to the latest Labor Department report, and unemployment fell to just 5.5 percent, the lowest rate in nearly seven years.
The bad news, at least for millions of millennials, is that finding a job is still not easy.
Even with the improvement in the job market, the unemployment rate among millennials remains stubbornly high at 9.1 percent—or 14 percent if you include those who have given up looking for work. (And that's a sizable population at 1.1 million.)
"They have had a tough time in the job market," admitted Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen in recent testimony before Congress.
Whether you're looking for your first or your fifth job, it can be a frustrating experience, particularly when you're competing with older candidates who have more experience. "Millennials face a different situation than most generations when entering the workplace," explained Andrew Challenger, vice president at Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "There's a huge build-up because there wasn't a job in 2008 so a lot of people were under-working or went back to school and now ... they are fighting for jobs with people graduating today."
There are ways to up your odds of a landing the job you want, though.
Employee Bethany Sander greets to a job seeker during a Virgin Hotels job fair in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2014.Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Networking is key, said workplace consultant Alexandra Levit. She recommends mining social media networks such as LinkedIn for contacts at a company you're interested in as well as commonalities like mutual friends or professional associations that can give you a way to connect with them.
"Send a quick email introducing yourself and ask for 15 or 20 minutes of their time to ask about their career path and how they got to where they are," said Levit. Even if there's not a particular job posting, establishing a connection now can open doors later. When a job does open up, they may remember your conversation and think of you.
Don't send out mass resumes. Instead, focus your efforts on a few applications at a time for the jobs you really want and are best qualified for. "Most people don't want to hear this, but you have to customize your resume if you want results," said Levit, who recommends integrating key words from the job description into your resume.
A summarizing paragraph on your resume that explains who you are as a candidate can also help you stand out. Research the company where you're applying and adapt your description accordingly. "Make it clear that you are a good fit for the culture," said Challenger. "These people want to know that they could manage spending the next 10 years of their life with you."
Read MoreHow to get lucky with your savings
So what if you have a job but are ready for an upgrade?
First, don't rush to leave the company, said Levit, especially if you enjoy where you work. Instead, look for ways to expand your role within the organization. Are there opportunities to move up within your department? Or to move into another department?
If it's just a pay raise or promotion that you're after, make sure to track and quantify your accomplishments so you can share them with your manager when you have your review. Specifically, look for ways that you've added value to the company's bottom line. (Did you increase sales by a specific amount, say? Or help bring in new business? Did you find ways to streamline processes that saved time and money?)
Read MoreMillennial money habits worth breaking
Once you've established a strong track record in your current role, don't be shy about asking your manager what it would take to move up to the next level.
If you've concluded that there are no opportunities within your company and have started looking around, keep in mind that the process can often take several weeks. In the meantime, you don't want to do anything that could jeopardize your current position. Remember it's easier to get a job when you have a job.
Whether you're actively job seeking or not, Levit stresses the importance of establishing relationships with people in your field. "It's always best to connect when you don't need them," she said, "and you can be laying down the groundwork."
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cd56c34a19ba7e632e27c32670c357ab | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/25/how-much-should-you-draw-down-in-retirement.html | Why post-retirement planning is harder than ever | Why post-retirement planning is harder than ever
VIDEO0:0000:00How to reduce retirement needsReturn on Retirement
You have heard the exhortations to save, save, save. Perhaps you have even managed to sock away a decent retirement nest egg. If so, good for you.
But do you have a plan for how to draw down that money?
For millions of Americans, the answer is no. While 401(k) plans usually offer a defined array of investment choices, online tools and other guidance, there is no such system in place for when workers retire.
Those with financial advisors may have the benefit of expert advice, but even with that, there are no longer any set rules of thumb for how to draw down savings—many advisors caution that the so-called 4 percent rule won't suffice—and at what pace. For people who can't afford expert advice, all bets are off.
"It's obvious [a lot of] people are not getting advice if they are doing what they are doing" with their retirement savings, said Robbie Hiltonsmith, a senior policy analyst at Demos.
One challenge in seeking out guidance is that the rules governing investment advice after retirement are different from those related to 401(k) plans. There are strict regulations requiring advisors to act in 401(k) savers' best interest, but when it comes to advice relating to IRAs, including rollover IRAs, those rules may not apply. Brokers, for example, only have to recommend investments that are "suitable" for a client, even if they may come with higher fees.
The change in rules on investment advice is not actively publicized, and it occurs at a time in savers' lives when they may be contending with physical infirmity, declining cognitive abilities and more. In addition, it affects an enormous number of retirees: even though IRAs were never intended to be anyone's primary retirement account, assets in IRA accounts now top those in 401(k)s, mostly thanks to all of the rollovers.
"If you roll your money over from a 401(k) to an IRA, it's really the wild west," said Anthony Webb, a research economist at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
How costly is that possibly conflicted advice? The Council of Economic Advisors has examined the impact on savers of recommendations to buy funds that are suitable but come with high fees, and it found that the cost can reach $17 billion every year.
Read MoreHow much are you paying in 401(k) and IRA fees? You'd be surprised
VIDEO1:0401:04Retire well: Best and worst states to retireDebt
Another challenge for retirees or people close to retirement is the near absence of guidance on complicated financial questions like how long their money needs to last—something actuaries study long and hard to learn how to do. This was not a big issue when defined benefit pension plans supported more people, but they no longer do.
Read MorePensions struggle to live up to their promises
"People shouldn't be expected to estimate how long they will live," said Hiltonsmith. He said most people are withdrawing their money too quickly, leaving little or nothing for their final years, partly because they underestimate how long they are likely to live and partly because they do not have enough savings.
In the past, financial professionals used to talk about a 4 percent drawdown as a good rule of thumb for retirement. But that approach is no longer so apt, said David John, senior strategic policy advisor at the AARP Public Policy Institute. It's not safe anymore to assume that your investments will earn what that 4 percent rule was based on. Given current rates of return, the 4 percent rule "gives you a 15 to 30 percent chance that you will run out of money," he said.
But determining how much to draw down isn't easy. Unlike savings calculators, which many financial firms offer online to help investors determine what they need to put away, tools for calculating retirement spending are rare. "When it comes down to retirement income, you can find annuity calculators, but you really can't find anything that's more complex," said John.
Read MoreFor millions of Americans, the 401(k) experiment is a failure
Yet another challenge for retirees is the prospect that they may have to make complicated financial decisions on their own later in life, when their cognition is declining. Studies have shown that even a moderate decline in cognition can have an outsized effect on financial decision-making ability.
"You don't want to reach a time where you have been retired for 20 years and now find you have some incredibly difficult decisions to make," said John. "This is something that is best handled to the extent that you can as close to retirement as possible."
There are some changes underway. The White House has proposed requiring all investment advisors to abide by a "fiduciary" standard, acting in the best interest of clients and not just offering choices that are suitable. (In a white paper released this week, the financial industry argues that brokers are already "thoroughly" regulated and that existing investor protections "prohibit recommendations of investments at unfair or unreasonable prices.")
There are also new rules aimed at encouraging the use of deferred annuities in retirement, so that investors can make sure they have some income in their last years.
Read MoreAfraid of outliving your money? Here's one solution
Still, the problem of how to draw down savings remains—and becomes most immediate at a vulnerable time in investors' lives.
"The group getting the most protection are the middle-aged workers. We've got this exactly wrong," said David Laibson, a professor of economics at Harvard who has studied decision-making over the life cycle. "It should be that the most vulnerable population is getting a helping hand."
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68259ef30ed47848606e8101fc1e8b80 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/25/how-to-protect-your-portfolio-against-greece.html | How to protect your portfolio against Greece | How to protect your portfolio against Greece
VIDEO4:4804:48Time to worry about Greece?Trading Nation
Greece and Germany appear to be playing a game of financial chicken. The question is whether that means stocks are set to get roasted.
Reuters, citing a source, reported Tuesday that Greece is set to run out of money by April 20 if it doesn't receive more financial aid.
A plan is on the table for the European Union to provide Greece with an infusion of euros, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel insists that Greece pledge to institute reforms before the money is handed over. A meeting Monday between Merkel and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tspiras appeared to produce little in the way of tangible compromise.
Read MoreGreece and Germany — all talk and no action?
U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said Tuesday that "ill-will" between Greece and the rest of the EU is raising the chances of Greece leaving the union.
"The key point to keep in mind here is that this has been an exercise in brinksmanship, and the brink (when Greece runs out of money) is approaching," said Brown Brothers Harriman global head of currency strategy Marc Chandler in a note Tuesday.
As the stakes rise, Greek bond yields do so, too, given that they price in greater and greater risk of a default. Greek 2-year bond yields have doubled in 2015.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras following talks at the Chancellery in Berlin March 23, 2015.Hannibal Hanschke | Reuters
What does it all mean for stock investors?
If the situation deteriorates, "then getting long volatility is a decent idea," said Larry McDonald, the head of U.S. strategy for Societe Generale's macro group.
"A lot of people are in positions that may not be liquid, especially in fixed income bonds. So if you are worried about a, say, 5 to 10 percent correction, just positioning some money in the VIX or an ETF that gets long the VIX can give you a nice bit of protection," McDonald said.
Stacey Gilbert, head of derivative strategy with Susquehanna, also likes the idea of putting on trades that profit as market volatility rises. But she would prefer buying put spreads to getting exposure to a volatility index like the VIX.
Read More This could be the best way to bet on stocks now
Buying put spreads on the allows one to make a defined-risk bet that stocks will drop, protecting against a fall of a given magnitude within a given time.
A put spread "is going to give you some exposure in protecting your U.S. assets if, in fact, there is a pullback here," Gilbert said.
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1a2ce70a3eb07f6dd0fd15cfc2943ffb | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/25/kraft-foods-group-and-hj-heinz-merge-to-create-the-kraft-heinz-co.html?fb_action_ids=10152952308939177&fb_action_types=og.shares | Buffett's HJ Heinz to merge with Kraft Foods | Buffett's HJ Heinz to merge with Kraft Foods
VIDEO3:2903:29Buffett in Kraft Heinz stock 'forever'Squawk Box
Kraft Foods Group stock surged Wednesday after the company announced a merger deal with H.J. Heinz financed in part by Warren Buffett.
Buffett told CNBC that his Berkshire Hathaway company will have $9.5 billion worth of common stock in the newly merged H.J. Heinz-Kraft Foods company. It will be headed by Heinz Chief Executive Bernardo Hees.
Read MoreWe have about $9.5B in the new Kraft-Heinz: Buffett
Shares of Kraft Foods were were trading 37 percent higher at about $84 on Wednesday after opening at a new all-time high going back to Kraft's spinoff from its snack food business—now Mondelez International—in October 2012.
Earlier, the companies said Kraft shareholders will receive stock in the combined company and a special cash dividend of $16.50 per share, financed by a $10 billion investment from private equity firm 3G Capital and Berkshire Hathaway.
Under the terms of the deal, Heinz will return to the public market with a 51 percent ownership of Kraft. Current holders of Kraft stock will own 49 percent of the company.
The new company will have revenue of about $28 billion, the companies said. That's less than half that of market leader PepsiCo in 2014. It will have eight brands worth more than $1 billion each and five worth $500 million-$1 billion each, the companies said.
The deal is unlikely to face antitrust hurdles because there's little overlap in the companies' products, analysts said. Kraft sells cheese, Oscar Mayer meats, packaged meals and Maxwell House coffee, while Heinz makes ketchup, sauces and frozen foods.
Brazil's 3G and Berkshire Hathaway bought Heinz for $23 billion and took the company private in 2013 in the largest ever deal in the food industry. Since then, Heinz has fired hundreds of workers and closed factories.
Read MoreKraft recalls 6.5M boxes of Mac & Cheese
While the deal can save costs through economies of scale, combining the companies does not create long-term revenue growth potential, Ken Goldman, senior food analyst at JP Morgan, told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street."
The special dividend is the clear upside for shareholders, Alexia Howard, U.S. food analyst at Sanford Bernstein, told CNBC's "Squawk Box," adding that the rest of the deal simply represents a merger of two entities.
Investors should focus on the relative EBITDA, or earnings before certain expenses, of the combined companies for a better read on its future. The deal also offers investors clarity on the future of Kraft following months of speculation over how it would remedy its beleaguered business, she said.
VIDEO3:4603:46Reasons why Kraft merge is a great deal
Kraft has struggled to keep up with the changing consumer tastes in recent years, and in November it fired most of its advertising agencies amid slowing sales and declining volume.
The following month, it replaced CEO Tony Vernon, who led the company for two years, with its board chairman, John Cahill, whose experience includes a tenure at private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings
Kraft's brands are currently focused in the United States, so combining with Heinz provides a platform for international distribution, Erin Lash, senior equity analyst at Morningstar, told CNBC.
Lash said she will be looking for guidance on cost savings that 3G and Berkshire Hathaway expect the deal to generate, as well as signs for how the partners will handle the mix of brands in the portfolio.
"Kraft continues to operate with still some lackluster brands like Jell-O that they've been unable to turn around despite several attempts to do so," she said on "Squawk Box."
Read MoreVelveeta shortage sparked by high demand, Kraft says
In addition to Jell-O, the company has struggled with other high-margin, heavily processed foods, including Velveeta cheese, Crystal Light and Kool-Aid beverages, and Macaroni & Cheese. Kraft's Oscar Meyer and Philadelphia cream cheese brands have been performing well, she said.
Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway held nearly 193,000 Kraft shares as of the firm's most recent SEC filing.
Asked whether Buffett is making a mistake by getting involved in a processed food company at a time when Americans are shifting to smaller, more nutritional brands, Howard noted that 3G's cost-saving structure has allowed Heinz to become more profitable, despite the fact that it's frozen foods business is shrinking.
"From a profit perspective and a shareholder value perspective, it makes a lot of sense, but in terms of the long-term growth algorithm on the top line of the industry, I think they are coming down," she said.
—CNBC's Gina Francolla and Reuters contributed to this story.
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c1c7d570840bda72de4d60def1fcdfff | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/25/stocks-sell-off-as-bad-news-turns-bad.html | Stocks sell off as bad news turns bad | Stocks sell off as bad news turns bad
VIDEO3:1203:12Trend going forward, bottoms up stock picking: ProPower Lunch
VIDEO2:4102:41Why could stocks be down? Power Lunch
VIDEO1:1401:14Pisani's market close: No obvious catalyst for declines Closing Bell
Traders dumped high fliers and the broader stock market was slammed amid worries about the first profit decline in six years and more signs of nagging weakness in the U.S. economy.
Stocks fell sharply, as the jumped more than 13 percent. The VIX is a measure of volatility and is viewed as a fear meter for stocks. The was off 292 points at 17,718 Wednesday, and the S&P 500 fell nearly 1.5 percent to 2061. The , affected by selling in tech and biotech, lost 2.4 percent.
"It had a big run. It's only natural to see a correction," said Steve Massocca, Wedbush managing director. "We had excessive ebullience and some of that is burning off. I think that durable goods numbers weren't particularly good today. I think people are starting to get concerned that king dollar is going to cause earnings issues. A lot of companies are in their quiet periods so the stock buybacks are halted."
Traders work the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.Adam Jeffery | CNBC
Stocks tanked in late morning but had been weaker early after a surprising decline in February's durable goods showed soft business spending for a sixth month. That was met by a slashing of growth forecasts for the first quarter. According to the CNBC/Moody's Analytics rapid update, economists now see first-quarter growth at 1.8 percent.
Traders were also watching headlines from Yemen, which sent oil prices higher and unsettled the stock market. Reports that Saudi Arabia moved heavy military equipment near its border with Yemen and that Yemen President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi fled the country fed fears of a broader conflict.
Read More
Interestingly, as the stock market sold off, it was met with a selloff in bonds, somewhat odd in that the two markets don't often move in tandem. The dollar also sold off, and that more often than not recently had been considered a positive for stocks.
"I think we were in a trending market. Now we're going to be in a consolidating, sideways market, and that's a prelude to another trend," said Marc Chandler, Brown Brothers Harriman's chief currency strategist. "I think we'll have another move up in the dollar as we get stronger economic data."
Chandler said the markets had been trending together before the Fed meeting last week, but now the markets wait for news on the economy and earnings. "Now we're going back to a market that lacks conviction," he said. The dollar turned sharply and violently lower after the Fed released new forecasts, reducing its outlook for economic growth but also slowing the path of interest rate hikes.
Massocca said he does not expect a major selloff in stocks. "I think we trade back down to where we were before the FOMC meeting, and then it's going to be 'wait and see' on how bad earnings are. I don't think we'll retest the February low, but we may retest the March low," he said, pointing to the 2,040 range on the S&P 500.
Read MoreDollar dings stock market confidence
The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF IBB fell more than 4.7 percent. The semiconductor sector, vulnerable to a weaker dollar, was also off sharply.
"It's the poster boy for stock market speculation," said Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at The Lindsey Group. "(Biotech) had the most extraordinary run. It went parabolic last week, and I think that was noteworthy and it should not be ignored. You had poor economic data this morning. You've had five months in a row of poor durable goods numbers."
Traders have been worried about the prospect of a weak first quarter for corporate earnings, and the poor data underlined that concern. According to Thomson Reuters, earnings are expected to be down 3.1 percent for the S&P 500, the first decline since 2009. Earnings are expected to be hit by the stronger dollar's impact on foreign sales. Falling oil prices are also expected to take a bite out of energy company earnings.
"Today and tomorrow are critical to see if there's a short-term floor put in," said Scott Redler, partner at T3Live.com. "Look at the transport group. It went from the highs to the lows of the range without stopping, and if you wanted to buy a dip, you got run over. I think people are being cautious because the market's flat and nobody has to chase right now. The theme of 2015 has been, there's no rush."
Redler said the economic data were also a factor. "I think people are confused. The narrative was bad news was good news. The market has a little bit of an identity crisis, where it doesn't know if good news is good news," he said.
Traders also pointed to the proximity to the end of the quarter, and said some investors may be selling their winners and buying weaker names. For instance, beaten-down energy stocks were the top market performer as oil moved higher Wednesday.
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42cf4f2462b32b107dfa1902c2be65bc | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/25/well-have-about-95-billion-in-the-new-kraft-heinz-warren-buffett.html | We'll have $9.5B in new Kraft-Heinz: Buffett | We'll have $9.5B in new Kraft-Heinz: Buffett
VIDEO2:5902:59'Krafty' deal 'matter of negotiations': Warren BuffettSquawk Box
VIDEO4:1904:193G buying to keep: Warren BuffettSquawk Box
VIDEO0:5700:57Inside Kraft Heinz structure: Warren BuffettSquawk Box
Warren Buffett said Wednesday that Berkshire Hathaway will have about $9.5 billion worth of common stock in the newly merged H.J. Heinz-Kraft Foods company.
The deal to create the third-largest food and beverage company in the North America—announced hours before Buffett's interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box"—was in the works for about four weeks, the billionaire investor said.
"It moved along quite promptly," he said, but stressed he's in it for the long haul.
On the news, Kraft shares surged more than 30 percent at the open on heavy volume—trading at all-time highs dating back to its 2012 spinoff from then Kraft Foods Inc., which was renamed Mondelēz International.
"The short term doesn't make much difference to us, because we will be in this stock forever," Buffett said. "This is a business with us. It's not really a stock. It's a company that we'll own 26 and a fraction percent of."
"It's where the new Kraft Heinz Co. is 10, 20, 50 years from now that counts to Berkshire," he added. "These are brands I liked 30-plus years ago, and I like them today. And I think I'll like them 30 years from now."
Besides the Kraft brand, Kraft Foods is behind other household names such as Capri Sun, Jell-O, Kool-Aid, Lunchables, Maxwell House, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia cream cheese, Planters and Velveeta.
In addition to ketchup and sauces, Heinz owns Ore-Ida potato products, Weight Watchers Smart Ones entrees, and T.G.I. Friday's snacks.
Read MoreBuffett bonanza? Heinz and Kraft to merge
Buffett's involvement in Heinz started in 2013, when Berkshire and Brazilian private-equity firm 3G Capital bought it for $23 billion and took it private.
"We put in $4.25 billion to buy common stock of Heinz initially," he said "[Now] we're putting in a little over $5.2 billion, ... so we'll have $9.5 billion roughly in the common stock. And we'll own 320-odd million shares of the new company."
Under the terms of the deal, Heinz will return to the public market with a 51 percent ownership of the new company. Current holders of Kraft stock will own 49 percent.
"There are presently about 600 million Kraft shares outstanding. After the deal, there will be roughly 1.2 billion [shares] or so," Buffett said.
Kraft shareholders will receive stock in the combined company, and a special cash dividend of $16.50 per share, financed by a $10 billion investment from 3G and Berkshire.
Buffett said there will be six directors on the board of the new company from the Heinz side—three from Berkshire and three from 3G—and five directors from the former Kraft operation.
"I like the management a whole lot," he said—putting faith in Heinz CEO Bernardo Hees who will run the new company.
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33040dc6d6fdd67638d59fd30791634c | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/26/the-gold-chart-looks-great-heres-my-target-trader.html | The gold chart looks great. Here's my target: Trader | The gold chart looks great. Here's my target: Trader
VIDEO2:2002:20The gold chart looks great. Here's my target: TraderTrading Nation
is rising for a seventh straight day, and according to one technician, the charts are predicting even more gains.
On Thursday's "Trading Nation," Rich Ross, head of technical analysis at Evercore ISI, said bullion is in the midst of creating a key bullish technical formation that could lead to an additional 8 percent rally.
Specifically, Ross says that gold has formed what technicians call a "double bottom" around the $1,140 level. This is important to him because according to his chart work, this formation "should provide a solid foundation for a run higher" and establishes a near-term floor.
Read MoreTraders say to buy the Nasdaq—'so bad, it's good'
Ross also said that in the very short term, traders need to watch the 100-day moving average, which corresponds to the $1,206 level. Technicians often use moving averages to identify key inflection points, and according to Ross, gold is nearing one. "I think we have what it takes to punch through this moving average," he said. "It's had some success along the way calling the lows and providing support early last year."
VIDEO1:4701:47Using support and resistance levelsTrading Nation
The fundamental backdrop for gold is also positive, Ross noted.
"In recent sessions we've seen a rise in both and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East," he said. "And importantly we've seen the strong ease."
Read MoreSelloff shows Fed bubble has lost air: Analyst
Assets denominated in the U.S. currency—like gold and oil—often fall as the dollar rises. With the torrid run in the greenback easing, Ross says gold's seven-day winning streak should continue for at least another $100.
"If we are able to get through $1,240, I think it could set us up for a run at old highs coming in at $1,300," said Ross. "Play gold for a trade."
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c1775a3b1c245a913a07919be67ffd4a | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/27/car-insurance-is-cheaper-if-youre-married-new-study-shows.html | The one time when being married may cost you less | The one time when being married may cost you less
In the broad landscape of auto insurance, there are a host of issues that affect rates. But one surprising thing can be a driving factor behind paying less: Marital status.
A new study from InsuraneQuotes.com concludes that being married could help you save money on car insurance in most states. As it happens, the difference between married and single rates is fairly large.
Getty Images
"If you're 20 and you're single, you're paying a much higher rate than you would if you were married at 20 years old. We're actually seeing a 21 percent difference, so a married 20-year-old is paying less than a single 20-year-old," Laura Adams, senior analyst at InsuranceQuotes.com, said in an interview.
Read More6 in 10 teen crashes involve distracted driving
To be sure, there are a host of variables that go into calculating insurance rates, including driving history, geographic location, and the type of car being insured. Yet, InsuranceQuote's study sheds new light on what is effectively the reverse of the so-called "marriage penalty" paid by joint tax filers.
Generally, some insurers—but not all—see married male drivers as relatively more responsible than young single ones, which data suggests are more likely to be involved in drinking while driving incidents. The basis for this idea comes from a widely cited 2004 study by the National Institutes of Health, which showed that singles were twice as likely to get into motor accidents than married car operators. Insurers like State Farm also acknowledge that rates drop for men under 25 when they tie the knot.
Adams added that married consumers over age 30 also receive lower rates, yet those prices are not as favorable as what married people between the ages 20 and 25 receive. Car insurance rates for married over-30-year-olds only falls about 2 percent, the study found.
There are two other factors significantly affecting drivers' auto insurance quotes, the study said.
Your age group is one factor that could affect auto insurance rates, according to InsuranceQuotes. Insurance rates drop 41 percent from ages 20 to 25. Rates also drop another 18 percent from ages 25 to 60.
Nevertheless, rates for drivers of at least 75 years of age are 17 percent higher than that of 60-year-olds, the study found.
"Rates are quoted based on your group profile," Adams said. "If the insurance company knows that, in the past, 75-year-old drivers have submitted claims, they're going to factor that into their rate going forward."
InsuranceQuotes.com's study also found that gender influences policy prices.
Twenty-year-old men pay 22 percent more on auto insurance than 20-year-old women for the same coverage, with the gap narrowing only 3 percent at age 25. Interestingly, women between the ages of 30 and 55 are seen by insurers as a greater risk than men of the same age group—a reversal of the discount young female drivers sometimes receive.
Read More The most—and least—expensive cars to insure
Variables such as driving history, and the make and model of the driver's car, play an important role in determining how much insurance will cost, according to InsuranceQuotes' Adams. "Whether you drive an Audi or a 2010 Toyota makes a big difference in the coverage amount," she said.
Also, consumers should be aware that their credit will play an important role in determining how much auto insurance will cost them, Adams added. "I can tell you is that it is growing in importance. More and more companies are really factoring it in."
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fddaab344a6d005a54c44791f0b51441 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/27/is-russia-back-in-the-game.html | Is Russia back in the game? | Is Russia back in the game?
Getty Images
With the ruble surging to new 2015 highs, a better-than-expected earnings report and a brief rally in the price of oil, analysts have been contemplating whether the Russian economy has turned a corner.
Benoit Anne, the head of emerging market strategy at Societe Generale said he was bullish on the Russian currency which gained around 1.7 percent against the dollar on Thursday before easing back lower on Friday morning.
"The ruble, I really like it. It's actually trading on its own planet which, by the way, is a good thing these days," Anne told CNBC Thursday.
"The short term dynamics are much better, volatility is much lower. And it's a behaved currency these days and the oil price up, that's a good thing for the ruble."
Pierre Andurand, the managing partner and chief information officer of fund management firm Andurand Capital, predicts that oil prices will rise this year and told CNBC Thursday that this would benefit a Russia which doesn't have "too much debt" and companies that are performing well.
VIDEO1:3401:34Ulmart CEO: Our IPO might be in Russia
A weaker dollar and higher oil prices have been the main driver for Russian assets this week as investors focus on tensions in Yemen and how it could affect a key trade route in the region. Russia is heavily reliant on the commodity for its oil and has also been hit by Western sanctions since the annexation of Crimea a year ago.
Russian stock markets have been fallen and the ruble was one of the worst-performing currencies of 2014 despite emergency measures by the country's central bank. The currency has, nonetheless, seen a 20 percent rally from the lows seen in the depths of the crisis and the greenback was trading at 57.327 against the ruble on Friday morning.
Meanwhile, Russian officials have previously estimated that the economy will fall into a recession during 2015. Alexei Ulyukayev, the economy minister, estimated Wednesday that the Russian economy had contracted by 1.5 percent in the first two months of the year, according to Reuters.
Research firm Dealogic said Thursday that international mergers and acquisitions (M&A) with Russian firms were at their lowest year-to-date level since 2001. Domestic M&A was also at its lowest level since the same year, it added.
Aside from currency traders, contrarian investors have been speaking of the benefits of picking up cut price stocks despite the tensions in Ukraine being far from over. Dmitry Kostygin, the CEO of Russian e-commerce firm Ulmart, is naturally bullish on his own country. Ulmart has been one of the better performing companies during the geopolitical tensions and told CNBC Thursday that he was trying to snap up competitors that hadn't been as lucky.
VIDEO1:3401:34Tide is turning in Russia: CFO
"There are a few opportunities in Russia right now, most people are scared," he said. "Many of them (investors) see opportunities but most of them kind of miscalculate what's going on."
Sberbank is Russia's largest lender in terms of assets and reported a 20 percent drop in profits for 2014. However, it managed to beat market expectations and its stock rallied on Thursday helping the MICEX to post gains before the wider market, and the "risk-off" sentiment, pulled the bourse lower.
Meanwhile, Russia's five-year credit default swaps - the price it costs to insure its debt over a 5-year period - fell below 400 basis points for the first time since December 9 on Thursday, according to Reuters.
"The ceasefire in Eastern Ukraine has alleviated fears of further sanctions against Russia," Simon Colvin, a research analyst at data firm Markit, said in a note on Thursday.
"Russian investors will also take solace in the latest bounce in oil prices...however, the commodity still has a long way to go to reach the level where it can balance the Russian budget. The country is still expected to enter a deep recession in the coming year."
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34e5a0d6b9652f5399ec4fedb1c61a87 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/27/kitty-litter-mix-up-caused-nuclear-waste-explosion.html | Kitty litter mix-up caused nuclear waste explosion | Kitty litter mix-up caused nuclear waste explosion
Swheat Scoop Kitty LitterSource: Amazon.com
It's official. Kitty litter caused a nuclear explosion.
Savannah River National Laboratory released a report last week confirming that the February 2014 incident at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico was the result of an employee using the wrong type of cat litter to absorb liquid nuclear waste.
Drum 68660, brought to WIPP from the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), ruptured while housed underground. The report deemed that the Swheat Scoop brand litter used by LANL was chemically incompatible with the contents of the drum. The organic ingredients reacted with the waste and created gases that increased the pressure of the drum. The materials self-heated and combusted.
The breach contaminated 21 workers with low-level doses of radiation and caused a temporary shutdown of WIPP.
"Traditional cat litter is made from various inorganic geologic silicate minerals like diatomaceous earth, zeolites or bentonites, materials that are excellent in absorbing and stabilizing chemical species like nitrates, ammonia, and urea," explains Dr. James Conca, a Senior Scientist of UFA Ventures in an opinion-editorial with Forbes.
"This is the very reason we use minerals for cat litter...organic litters do not have the silicate properties needed to chemically stabilize nitrate the correct way," he added.
According to The Albuquerque Journal, the Obama administration requested $243 million in its 2016 budget to aid the plant. This is about $77 million less than a nuclear waste repository near Carlsbad will get in 2015 for recovery operations.
Earlier in March, the U.S. Department of Energy noted that WIPP would remain closed "until the source of the February 14 event is isolated and mitigated". The total cost for recovery and restart of disposal operations at the plant has not been estimated by the DOE at this time.
"Everything nuclear is proceduralized," Conca told The Verge. "It's well laid out and everything everyone does is supposed to go up and down the chain of command. When you decide on a procedure for doing something like treating this waste, you don't deviate from it. Ever. And when someone decides to deviate, that is a bad, bad thing."
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b54178bd82deca5bd409a0e02316936a | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/27/why-im-feeling-much-better-about-stocks-siegel.html | Jeremy Siegel: Why I'm feeling much better about stocks | Jeremy Siegel: Why I'm feeling much better about stocks
VIDEO1:5201:52Dow's bumpy ride to 20,000: Jeremy SiegelSquawk Box
Despite four-straight down trading days, longtime stock bull Jeremy Siegel said Friday he feels more relaxed about the prospects for stocks than he did two weeks ago.
The last time the Wharton school finance professor was on CNBC's "Squawk Box," a week before the Federal Reserve's mid-March meeting, he said stocks may be in for a correction by summer if the central bank moves to raise interest rates.
But now, he's more comfortable with the Fed's more tempered stance on rates. "I think the Fed gets it; mostly gets it. I thought they were being way too aggressive in their projections of interest rates. And they have come down on that."
Many economists believe the first move from near-zero percent could be in September or October. The last time the Fed increased rates was in 2006.
Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart, a centrist, told CNBC on Thursday he would increase interest rates midyear or even later, because the economy is throwing off "mixed signals."
Rounding up a busy week of Fed-speak, central bank Chief Janet Yellen is scheduled to deliver a speech in San Francisco right before the stock market closes this afternoon.
Siegel has been calling for 20,000 as fair value for the Dow Jones industrial average. If all goes well, he predicted, that level could be reached by year end.
But he cautioned near term of a "choppy market," with range-bound trading on the Dow of 17,000 to 18,500.
On Thursday, the Dow closed at 17,678. The blue-chip average and the were slightly lower for the year before the open Friday.
Meanwhile, the dollar—which has risen more than 20 percent in the past year—remains a big drag on corporate earnings, and the move has been "tantamount to a Fed tightening of maybe up to 50 basis points," Siegel said.
"Four to 5 percent would be the slowest growth of earnings that we had since the Great Recession," he added.
As for stocks outside the U.S., he said, "Europe is looking more attractive because of the euro risk has been taken out mostly from that trade," as market watchers wonder if the single currency will drop to parity with the dollar.
The euro zone economy will benefit from the European Central Bank's massive bond-buying program, he added, but argued that long-term fiscal reforms there are also needed.
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db68c12c5e1219dab81e1a5f211d0630 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/28/karzai-islamic-state-is-not-in-afghanistan.html | Karzai: Islamic State is not in Afghanistan | Karzai: Islamic State is not in Afghanistan
VIDEO2:2002:20Ex-Afghan President: Resolve Yemen through talks
The Islamic State does not have a presence in Afghanistan because it lacks the necessary support, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai told CNBC.
"As far as ISIS is concerned in Afghanistan, so far it's only a slogan," Karzai told Martin Soong on 'The CNBC Conversation'. "[There's] a lot of media hype in Afghanistan, [but] there is no physical evidence of them per se."
But that doesn't mean the Islamic State won't make its way into Afghanistan.
"You'll see that one day a white flag of the Taliban is turned into the black flag of ISIS. The individuals may remain the same, but the change of name is something that can occur easily," the former president said.
However, for that change to occur the Islamic State would require a support base.
Read More What's going on in Yemen—and why are Saudis involved?
"ISIS as an organization the way they were in Iraq, the way they were in Syria, is not going to have an impactful body without an organized element of support behind them," he said. "Without that they will not be [in Afghanistan]. With that support they may find a place there."
Where the Islamic State's current backing comes from remains unclear, but Karzai said it's "definitely not Iran, because Iran is fighting [ISIS]".
The war on terror
Conflict can only be settled through negotiations as militaristic means rarely yield a solution, Karzai said referring to the war on terror and ongoing conflict in Yemen.
"We have an example in Afghanistan," he said. "We've been engaged in a [military] campaign – some in the West call it a war on terrorism – for so many years, but eventually it is going to take negotiations to bring about a settlement, and that's what I'm hoping for in Yemen [too]".
Prakash Singh | AFP | Getty Images
A change in policies is the key to overcoming terrorism, he said, not military campaigns.
"The rise of the so called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is the direct result of events in Iraq. The U.S. invasion of Iraq, the collapse of the regime there, and then the anarchy that followed [and] the sectarian violence – it's directly the result of that."
"I believe very strongly that…there has to be a change in policies," he said. "The U.S. and its Western allies must bring about a change in their approach to fighting extremism [and] terrorism."
U.S. troops in Afghanistan
Karzai disagrees with U.S.President Barack Obama's decision on Tuesday to slow the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.
The current complement of 9,800 U.S. troops will remain in Afghanistan through the end of 2015, according to a statement from the White House. The original plan was to reduce the number to around 5,500 by year-end.
"The U.S. was in Afghanistan for 13 years to fight the Taliban and to fight Al Qaeda and to fight radicalism. And today we have exactly the same fight going on as we did 13 years ago," he said. "The war on terror has failed to bring an end to terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan."
"One hundred and fifty thousand U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Pakistan did not defeat [the terrorists], so how can 10,000 defeat them?" he said.
Read More ISIS Is the World's Richest Terror Group, But Spending Money Fast
It's not the presence of troops that will make a difference, Karzai said, "there has to be a change in policies."
Not against US relations
While Karzai doesn't agree with the U.S.'s approach to fighting terrorism, he does value Afghanistan's relationship with the country.
"I am not against relations with the U.S. I very much want a very deep, very strong, very strategic relationship with the U.S. But I don't believe that the presence of the U.S. military in Afghanistan is going to help the country or the war on terror the way it has been dealt with so far," he said.
A difference in values was at the heart of Karzai's long-standing refusal to sign a bilateral security agreement with the U.S., he said – a decision that soured ties between the countries.
VIDEO4:2004:20Karzai: Pakistan must 'change their approach to life'
"I began to feel that there was a fundamental difference in values [between Afghanistan and the U.S.]. I felt that the war on terror that the U.S. had come to Afghanistan to fight… was not conducted the way it should have been," he said.
"The talk was in one direction, but the walk was in another direction. The talk was towards Pakistan and sanctuaries in Pakistan, but the action was taking place in Afghanistan against Afghan civilians," he added.
Mental health
Karzai dismissed claims by U.S. officials and intelligence sources that he is under treatment for a bipolar condition because he is a manic-depressive.
"They were wrong," Karzai said.
"This is an example of how propaganda was conducted… to tarnish my image and weaken me and throw me into insignificance," he said. "But it had the reverse effect in Afghanistan. The more I was attacked, the more I found a place with the Afghan people."
Political comeback?
The former Afghan president has ruled out the possibility of a political comeback.
"I've done my time," he said. "It would be a failure on my part and on the part of Afghanistan if I were to return."
"We must have a new generation of Afghans. We must have new presidents [and] continuity of the political process of our constitution rather than stagnation," he said.
"My return… would be stagnation, and that's not good for Afghanistan."
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a11c9e0f49149a3c5c0f3b57b0a5f879 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/29/major-77-quake-strikes-off-papua-new-guinea-tsunami-warning-issued.html | Major 7.7 quake strikes off Papua New Guinea, tsunami warning issued | Major 7.7 quake strikes off Papua New Guinea, tsunami warning issued
Chris Hyde | Getty Images
A major earthquake with a magnitude 7.7 struck off Papua New Guinea on Monday, official monitors said, and a tsunami warning was issued soon after.
The epicenter of the 33 km (22 mile) deep quake was near the town of Rabaul in the northeast of Papua New Guinea, The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said "hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 1,000 km (620 miles) of the earthquake epicenter along the coasts of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands".
Tsunami waves reaching 1-3 metres (3-9 feet) above the tide level are possible along some coasts of Papua New Guinea, said the center.
No destructive, Pacific-wide tsunami was expected, it said.
"Persons located in threatened coastal areas should stay alert for information and follow instructions from national and local authorities," it added.
Rabaul, a town on East New Britain Island, lies in the shadow of Mount Tavurvur, an active volcano. Rabaul was destroyed in 1994 during a severe eruption.
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03abf0bbac25ecc2374e25e71b009148 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/30/california-drought-swimming-pool-industry-struggles-with-lack-of-water.html | Drought puts screws on California's swimming pools | Drought puts screws on California's swimming pools
Swimming pools have been part of California's lifestyle for decades, but as the state struggles through its fourth year of a worsening drought, communities are putting bans on filling pools or restricting new pool construction.
A swimming pool in California’s San Fernando Valley.Jeff Daniels | CNBC
A handful of cities and water districts statewide have implemented restrictions on swimming pools, ranging from moratoriums on swimming pool construction to restrictions on draining and refilling pools. The California Pool and Spa Association, a trade group, has responded to restrictions with a "Let's Pool Together" campaign that gives consumers tips on being more water-efficient.
"They're trying to hammer us with the 'we're the culprits' because we do pools," said Blaine Enbody, who runs Enbody Custom Pools in Moorpark. "But if homeowners put in (landscaping), they are wasting more water than if they had a pool."
Read MoreIt hit 63 degrees in Antarctica last Tuesday
The strictest water rules are found in Montecito, a wealthy community that's home to Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Berkshire Hathaway's Charlie Munger. New pool construction is banned in Montecito, where nearby water sources, such as Lake Cachuma, are drying up.
There are bans on emptying and refilling swimming pools in at least two communities in the San Francisco Bay area. A ban on filling pools in several Orange County communities in the Santa Margarita Water District was rescinded last year after the pool industry argued that it was being singled out unfairly. The Los Angeles suburb of Glendale considered a moratorium on building new pools last summer but backed off and implemented tougher outdoor irrigation rules instead.
I had one guy who didn't want to buy a pool unless he could get certainty he could get water to fill the pool. I told him I can't control that and to call the water company.Ray Aldereteowner, Alderete Pools, San Clemente, California
Last month, a moratorium on new swimming pool construction in Coalinga, a Fresno County community hard hit by the drought, was lifted in part to help attract a new Best Western Hotel that wanted a pool. Coalinga still limits the emptying of swimming pools to once every 12 months, although most swimming pools have the same water for up to seven years.
"Some people are deciding to build sooner to avoid possible moratoriums if there is one," said Greg Kearns of Fresno-based Wildwood Pools, a builder in the drought-stricken San Joaquin Valley. "People are extremely eager to get a pool in, particularly in Coalinga, because they were shut off a year or so."
Read MoreCalifornia drought: It was bad. It's getting worse
That said, drought and cost worries also are keeping some homeowners from rushing into putting in a new pool. The average new pool with the latest equipment and decking can cost upwards of $50,000, according to builders.
"Pools are not the kind of thing people put in right after they move in, particularly now with the drought and the cost of a pool," said Mona Flaum, a real estate broker with Pinnacle Estate Properties in Los Angeles. "A few years back, there were more people putting in pools after they moved in."
VIDEO1:4301:43Industries most impacted by drought
All that said, the number of new pools is still rising in California, albeit more slowly than in other areas of the United States.
The number of new pool construction permits in California rose 2.5 percent to 5,200 permits in 2014 from the year prior, according to figures compiled by Metrostudy, a company that tracks real estate data. Last year represented a slowed growth in percentage terms, although the actual number of permits was much higher than the industry experienced during the Great Recession when annual permit numbers sank to below 1,100 permits in 2010 and 2011.
"We're seeing double-digit pool permit growth in certain areas of Texas, Florida and the Carolinas," said Toby Morrison, who tracks the pool market for Metrostudy. "We're not seeing that same growth in California; without the drought, it would be stronger."
Read MoreSome California farmers are near 'survival mode'
There are approximately 1.18 million residential swimming pools in California, according to Metrostudy. The typical residential pool requires from 10,000 to 30,000 gallons of water to fill, and the current trend is to build shallower pools since diving boards and slides are less popular than in the past because of insurance risk. The shallower depth also means less water to fill and heat, so it can reduce overall maintenance costs.
"I had one guy who didn't want to buy a pool unless he could get certainty he could get water to fill the pool," said Ray Alderete, owner of Alderete Pools in San Clemente, California. "I told him I can't control that and to call the water company."
Some of the new water regulations around the state require swimming pool owners to use covers to cut water loss from evaporation. Fewer than 30 percent of pool owners in California currently have pool covers, according to industry estimates.
Meanwhile, there's also discussion in the state's pool industry about so-called "water neutral pools," which were developed in Australia, which is in the grips of a seven-year drought. The pools harvest rainwater in tanks that are connected to the pool; they also rely on covers to cut evaporation. The water neutral pool does not use potable water and essentially becomes self-sustaining, and there's typically extra water available in the storage tank that can be used for watering plants.
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34031f6e8228301d83bc0c10db7c6cdd | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/30/currencies-uk-and-greece-the-hedge-fund-verdict.html | Currencies, Fed and Greece: The hedge fund verdict | Currencies, Fed and Greece: The hedge fund verdict
Volatility has been creeping back into markets, creating headaches for investors as they try to navigate wild swings in currencies and oil, geopolitical uncertainty and diverging moves by global central banks.
But although traders have been forced to accept a new era of choppy trade, some hedge fund managers argued this is not all bad.
"Finally, some volatility is coming back to the market," Salvatore Cordaro, chief investment officer (CIO) at Tages Capital, told CNBC, highlighting that it was "quite unusual" to have volatility in government bond yields, for instance, even as they were moving lower.
"I think it is a reflection of people trying to anticipate what logical normalization, especially on the rates side, will mean for markets - the rates markets, but also equities and the rest."
As fears from Ebola and a global slowdown spread, stocks plunged on October 15, with the Dow falling more than 400 points during the afternoon before recovering slightly.Getty Images
One of the major drivers of volatility is the U.S. Federal Reserve, and markets have been hanging on every word from the central bank since a policy statement earlier this month, which prepped markets for an interest rate rise.
While the Fed dropped "patient" from its statement, referring to the normalization of monetary policy, Fed Chair Janet Yellen added that the central bank was not "impatient" either. She referenced the current weakness in inflation and the strength of the U.S. dollar.
Read MoreHow the smart money is set up for a rate hike
Other pressure points include unpredictable oil price moves, in the face of air strikes against Yemen and the possibility of an Iran nuclear deal, and Greece, which is in the midst of laboured talks with its euro zone creditors in an effort to establish long term financing.
Meanwhile, the dollar has advanced against almost all major currencies. Tages Capital's Cordaro said currency market volatility was creating massive opportunities for his firm at the moment, and it is a key play in his portfolios.
"The one thing that is very risky about currencies today is if their positioning in the market is in the obvious places," he said, speaking at the sidelines of the Investors Choice awards in London.
Read MoreNew hedge funds net most cash since 2004
Rather than looking at obvious currency pairs such as euro/dollar, Cordaro said he was looking to play the currency markets' less obvious trades, adding that some of the currencies with pegs to the dollar looked interesting.
"The Swiss franc in January was a very interesting development that nobody expected and I have to say, almost disappointingly, most people were not exposed to," he added.
While the U.K. has been shielded from much of the volatility created by a renewed Greek debt crisis and weak euro zone growth prospects, investors are gearing up for what looks to be one of the closest general elections in decades.
Fund manager at Smith & Williamson, Mark Swain, has taken short positions -- or bets on a price decline -- in some U.K. sectors ahead of the vote in May.
"The sectors I would worry about if Labour were to get in would be the banks and the utilities, so much so we have put a small short on the utilities sector as a bit of a hedge against that," he told CNBC.
Swain added that supermarkets – which were a big theme last year and looked set to remain so – were also in focus.
"In the rhetoric we have heard they have cut thousands of prices and reconnected with the consumer, but I think that tells you all you need to know about the margin," he said. "We still think Sainsbury's and Morrisons are not a good place to be at the moment, so that is something we remain short in."
Greece has been another major theme for investors since radical leftist anti-austerity party Syriza won the Greek general election in January, with a promise to renegotiate the country's bailout. Greece is now set to present a list of reforms to EU leaders this week in an effort to seal a new funding package.
Read MoreCrunch time: Greece risks rising once again
CEO and CIO of RBR Capital, Rudolf Bohli, said he expects a deal between Greece and its international creditors soon, which will ultimately be a positive for the country's banking stocks. RBR Capital is a long/short equity hedge fund, which takes long positions in stocks that are expected to appreciate and short positions in those that are expected to fall.
"The reigning party in Greece promised maybe a bit too much -- like most of the politicians do when they want to get into power -- and now they have to find a compromise, but so does the euro zone," Bohli told CNBC.
"The chances of Greece leaving the euro are rather small, so if you have a settlement that is going to be positive for banks, I think it's time to put a little bit of money into Greek banks."
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bb575d04471e0415f4a095efd257c36a | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/30/furor-over-indiana-law-whats-wrong-with-politics-carly-fiorina.html | Furor over Indiana law what’s wrong with politics: Carly Fiorina | Furor over Indiana law what’s wrong with politics: Carly Fiorina
VIDEO1:3901:39Fiorina: Indiana bill what's wrong with politicsClosing Bell
Indiana's "religious freedom" law has been misunderstood and is an example of everything that is wrong in politics, former Hewlett-Packard Chairman and CEO Carly Fiorina told CNBC on Monday.
The legislation, signed last week, has sparked an outcry from critics who say it could give businesses the right to refuse service to gay people.
"I think everybody needs to sort of step back and cool off here and look at the facts, on both sides," said Fiorina, who is considering a run for the Republican presidential nomination.
She told "Closing Bell" the bill, which is based on a national law President Bill Clinton signed, is not about protecting discrimination, but safeguarding religious liberty.
"Basically what this law says is that someone can have a remedy against the federal government for imposing on their religious beliefs."
Read More Religious Freedom Restoration Act: What You Need to Know
Big technology names have jumped into the controversy. Apple CEO Tim Cook has called the law dangerous and bad for business and Salesforce.com's chief executive announced his company would cancel any events that required employees to travel to the state.
Fiorina believes it is incumbent on every CEO to take advantage of all the talent out there, including in Indiana.
"It's not in any company or particularly a technology company's interest to discriminate in any way and that's not what this law does. This law doesn't condone discrimination," she said.
"I guess what I wish is that everyone could cool off and look at the facts before they jump onto Twitter and condemn something that clearly there's a huge amount of misunderstanding about."
Fiorina also said she thinks the technology industry isn't taking advantage of the huge pool of talented women around the world.
"Women represent half the talent of this nation and of this world. So when technology companies aren't taking advantage of all that talent, they're shortchanging themselves."
The issue of sexism in Silicon Valley has been in the spotlight since Ellen Pao sued her former employer, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, for sex discrimination. Last week, a jury rejected her claims.
VIDEO1:2301:23Carly Fiorina in 2016?Closing Bell
Meanwhile, Fiorina, who is currently working with the nonprofit organization Good 360, reiterated she is 90 percent sure she'll jump into the 2016 presidential race.
"I am continuing to go through a process of assessing support and building a team," she said. "I'm looking forward to making that final decision and a final announcement as I think I've said on a number of occasions—sort of late April, early May."
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b7e53decd1168d03f4f1647e1e54c64a | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/30/mcdonalds-all-day-breakfast-will-be-tested-report.html | McDonald's to test all-day breakfast soon | McDonald's to test all-day breakfast soon
VIDEO1:1301:13McDonald's to test all-day breakfast hereFood & Beverage
Fast-food giant McDonald's is making an early step toward extending breakfast hours to all-day long. (Tweet this)
The chain plans to test all-day breakfast in the San Diego area starting next month, the company confirmed to CNBC.
"We look forward to learning from this test, and it's premature to speculate on any outcomes," wrote spokeswoman Terri Hickey in an email. "We're excited to serve our customers in this area some of McDonald's great-tasting breakfast sandwiches, hash browns and other favorites all day long."
Big chains such as McDonald's usually test an item in a limited number of locations to work out the kinks before deciding whether to roll out it nationally.
Typically, locations stop serving breakfast after 10:30 a.m. local time during the week and as late as 11 a.m. on the weekends.
Testing 24/7 breakfast "makes sense" to Janney analysts, who note, "We believe customers generally want to see McDonald's offer breakfast items all day."
In the past, McDonald's has stressed how limited grill space hampers its ability to serve all-day breakfast.
McDonald's plan to test 24/7 breakfast comes amid increased pressure in morning sales from Taco Bell's breakfast menu, which launched last year. As part of its domestic turnaround effort, McDonald's has doubled down on breakfast as a key focus for growth through coffee promotions and its emphasis on cooking with eggs it cracks in the kitchen.
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f43367c6c337ab35cf9dda775d96c994 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/30/organic-cropland-for-cash-yes-please.html | VIDEO9:2709:27Silicon Valley star on seismic shift in food chainMad Money with Jim Cramer
Jim Cramer has been one of the biggest supporters behind the natural and organic food wave that has swept the country. He considers it one of the most lucrative trends of our era.
Yet, there are some people who still have doubts about this movement. They say that organic food is just for rich people or that it's not an economical way to approach agriculture and can't feed the world. Try telling that to stocks like WhiteWave, Hain Celestial and Chipotle, who have made fortunes from feeding people in a natural and sustainable way.
Cramer was inspired when he saw a TED talk by Ali Partovi and knew he had to interview him for "Mad Money." Partovi is a visionary angel investor, startup advisor and serial entrepreneur who has previously co-founded and sold two high-profile start-ups. He was also one of the first investors who saw the potential in Facebook.
Partovi has recently embraced a new venture for Farmland LP. This is a company that buys regular cropland and makes it more profitable by turning it organic. In the TED talk that Cramer saw, Partovi spoke about how organic farming is actually more profitable, more efficient and less expensive than industrial agriculture.
Could turning organic crops to cash catch on for the rest of the farming community? To find out, Cramer spoke with Partovi.
Ali Partovi speaks at The New York Times Food For Tomorrow Conference At Stone Barns, NY on November 12, 2014 in Pocantico Hills, New York.Getty Images
Partovi explained that he first started to wonder why organic food was so expensive when he had his first child and started caring about the type of food he was feeding her. He felt guilty that he was able to afford nutritious and organic foods, just because he was more affluent than others.
"I felt like it should be possible for everybody regardless of their economic status to be able to feed their kids the healthiest, best food," he said.
When Partovi began looking into why organic food was so expensive, he discovered it was because of a simple mismatch between supply and demand. Wal-Mart recently surveyed its customers and discovered that 91 percent of customers want to eat organic and natural foods.
Thus, the demand for organic food is enormous, and the supply is not able to grow fast enough to keep up with the demand.
"Anytime you have that kind of situation, you have a systemic shortage, this means there are a lot more people who want organic food than there is product available for them, and that's what leads to high prices," Partovi said.
He attributed this imbalance between supply and demand to government programs that tilt the playing field for agricultural farmers. Essentially, he said, the government subsidies are set up to reward those farmers who grow maize, or corn, and soy rather than those who grow fruits and vegetables. Thus, the supply for corn and soy is now beyond the amount that humans can eat and the price of vegetables has increased dramatically.
---------------------------------------------------------- Read more from Mad Money with Jim Cramer Cramer Remix: Bottom in biotech?Hardly Cramer: 4 horsemen of biotech & semis are back Cramer game plan: Fear this next week, not the Fed ----------------------------------------------------------
"I believe in capitalism, but the invisible hand hasn't been able to do its job properly. It's had little invisible handcuffs," he added.
Partovi further explained that there are not enough policies rewarding organic farmers for making the three-year transition to turn their fields organic. And while organic farming does cost a little bit more in terms of how much land is needed, he stated that the overall cost of organic farming is less than traditional agricultural methods because it takes a lot less fossil fuels and chemicals.
"If you can find a way to farm that reduces those inputs, the total product at the end of the day might be able to produce as much food at lower total cost," Partovi added.
Questions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC
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Questions, comments, suggestions for the "Mad Money" website? madcap@cnbc.com
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a226dcb4da139a06294c1a581d58f065 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/30/the-james-bond-yacht-flipper.html | The James Bond yacht flipper | The James Bond yacht flipper
Like many of today's rich, John Staluppi has a thing for yachts and James Bond. But unlike most of the rich, Staluppi has found a way to enjoy them both together and even make money in the process.
Staluppi, one of the nation's largest private car dealers, has owned 18 yachts over the course of his life. All of them were named after James Bond films.
John Staluppi names all his yachts for James Bond films. Pictured here is “Diamonds Are Forever.”Source: John Staluppi
There was "Goldfinger," "Diamonds Are Forever," "GoldenEye," "Octopussy," "The World is Not Enough" and the latest, which is under construction, is the 237-foot "Skyfall."
Read MoreYour own scent? You'll need $30K
When completed, it is expected that Skyfall will cost more than $60 million.
Over the past year, Staluppi gave "Secret Lives of the Super Rich" a tour of two of his recent boats—"Diamonds Are Forever" and the stand-in for "Skyfall" until the new boat is completed.
"James Bond is exciting, and I'm all about excitement," he told CNBC.
A rendering of “Skyfall.”Source: John Staluppi
Staluppi said his Bond fixation started as a kid growing up in Brooklyn, when he watched "Goldfinger" in the theater. (His favorite Bond film is "Moonraker.")
After making his fortune, he started building Bond boats.
When asked how much he's spent on Bond boats over the years, he said. "I have no idea. I never tried to add that up. I'd be scared."
Read MoreA $500,000 gold mountain bike!?!
But while yachts are mostly seen by the wealthy as a money pit, Staluppi has been a wise investor. He's flipped several of his Bond boats for a profit, and he charters them when he's not using them.
"My last boat, we made very good money," he said. "After the season was over, we made over two million bucks, after paying the expenses."
He said he usually gets tired of a boat after two years.
"It keeps me young, it keeps me motivated and keeps me working hard, so I can afford the next big boat," he said.
Watch "Secret Lives of the Super Rich" on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT.
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d5082f154c226ee976559aa2ead83d8c | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/30/what-meerkat-periscope-mean-for-sports-broadcasts.html | What Meerkat, Periscope mean for sports broadcasts | What Meerkat, Periscope mean for sports broadcasts
Seattle Reign soccerGetty Images
The Seattle Reign of the National Women's Soccer League has live-streamed a preseason contest on Twitter's Periscope app—a tool that lets people send video to their followers in real time. Fans are also pulling out smartphones to broadcast their perspective at games on rival streaming app Meerkat.
As the real-time video apps grow, they've allowed Twitter users to broadcast live events to their followers from concerts to games. But free, accessible social media live streams likely will not shake the foundations of the lucrative—and jealously guarded—world of sports broadcasting.
Read MoreTwitter's Periscope tackles live streaming, Meerkat
Twitter challenged Meerkat—a start-up that gained traction at this month's South by Southwest conference—by launching Periscope last week.
VIDEO4:3404:34Meerkat vs. Periscope: What's the difference? Mobile
The apps' sudden and growing influence has raised the question of how they will affect sports TV, a vital revenue source for big leagues like the NFL and NBA. Meerkat and Periscope may not immediately threaten to steal broadcast money, but they serve as a form of "grass roots competition," said John Vrooman, a Vanderbilt University sports economist.
Still, Vrooman said that competition is no real threat, for now at least.
"Streaming apps that allow simultaneous media consumption and production are not in themselves a clear and present danger to sports leagues," Vrooman said.
Sports leagues may have to find ways to use such technology to their advantage. Annual TV rights fees for the four major American sports surged 61 to 400 percent from their previous to current deals, all of which stretch past 2020, according to Vrooman. If live-streaming spreads, it could threaten the current "explosion" in sports broadcast rights fees, he said.
Read MoreNFL TV move appeases Uncle Sam
Big sports organizations would have to figure out how to use the new technology to their advantage, Vrooman said. Usually, as technology evolves, leagues have looked to cash in by "jamming and internalizing them," he added.
The new streaming platforms provide a marketing opportunity for teams and leagues, said Manish Tripathi, an Emory University marketing professor and co-founder of Emory Sports Marketing Analytics. Ultimately, they can use content from fans to their advantage by increasing engagement.
"I think these apps will be viewed as ancillary to the actual broadcasts. In fact, you could see teams and leagues using the fan generated content from these apps as opportunities to enhance their marketing," Tripathi said.
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7c50137e13f1649c8146877f94f42f41 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/31/apprenticeships-more-bang-for-your-buck.html | Apprenticeships: More bang for your buck | Apprenticeships: More bang for your buck
At the beginning of 2015, more than four million young people under 25 were unemployed across the 28 member countries of the European Union.
While these figures from the EU's official data provider Eurostat are heading in the right direction, down from the same time last year, some countries are still suffering the effects of the economic crisis that has hit Europe hard over the last seven years or so.
And it seems to be the young who are the hardest hit. While the overall unemployment rate for the EU in January 2015 was 9.8 percent, it was nearly 22 percent for those aged under 25. In Spain and Greece, every other young person is unemployed – the countries' youth unemployment rates are around 50 percent.
Compare this with German and Austrian youth unemployment at the beginning of this year – 7.1 and 8.2 percent respectively – and it's clear to see that a great deal of work still needs to be done.
CNBC takes a look at one way to get more young people in Europe back to work: Apprenticeships.
What does a 'European style' apprenticeship look like?
For many, when it comes to apprenticeships, Germany's are the gold standard. So what do they involve?
According to the website of Make It In Germany – a portal operated by Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy – a German apprentice will usually spend three or four days a week training at a company, with the rest of their time spent, "at a vocational school, where apprentices receive a theoretical grounding in their future job."
Make It In Germany go on to explain that an apprenticeship in Germany will usually last between two to three and a half years, with apprentices earning around 650 euros a month from a 'training allowance'. Once their apprenticeship is completed many go on to gain full time employment with the company they learnt their trade at, with opportunities for further training and managerial roles if they perform well.
Read MoreEurope's tasty, iconic exports
Apprenticeships can be taken on in a range of sectors, from nursing to manufacturing. According to the website of Germany's Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), "About 525,300 juveniles in Germany concluded a new apprenticeship contract within the dual system (enterprise/vocational school) in 2013."
The picture is not all rosy, however. Destatis went on to conclude that, based on provisional figures, the number of young people completing vocational training was down 4.3 percent compared to 2012.
Ulrich Baumgarten | Ulrich Baumgarten | Getty Images
Aiding growth
For Bob Bischof, Vice-President of the German British Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of the German British Forum, the importance of apprenticeships should not be underestimated. "They are important in every respect, not just in aiding growth but [in] making the transition from school to work life," he told CNBC.com in a phone interview.
Bischof added that the strong ties between apprenticeships and the German Mittelstand – small to medium-sized enterprises that are described as "the backbone of German industry" – shows just how well the schemes can work.
Read MoreThis firm survived the euro zone crisis: Here's how
"They skill them properly and hang on to them in good times and in bad times. If you have a hire-and-fire culture like we have in America and in the U.K., that doesn't sit very well with training people properly for two or three years in apprenticeships, because it costs money."
Benefiting business
It might cost money to train an apprentice, but the figures seem to show that any outlay is money well spent. The U.K. government's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills estimates that for every pound the government invests in apprenticeships, the economy gets £28 back.
For Bertie Stephens, CEO and co-founder of London based online start-up Flubit, the apprentices he has taken on – there are currently three at the business – have enriched and added value to his company. "What you'll find with apprenticeships is that the people… are wanting to deliver for you," Stephens told CNBC.com in a phone interview.
Stephens went on to add that having a motivated, clued-up apprentice is also crucial.
"If you can work with them on that you can turn them into a team member who is perfect for you," he said. "If you have a continual influx of apprentices like that, then in two to three years you'll have the core basics of a team which have learnt with you, have experienced with you, have grown with you and are delivering for you," he added.
Retaining talent
Mike Thompson is Head of Employability and Early Career Programmes at U.K. lender Barclays. For Thompson, the ability of a business to "mould" an apprentice and instil specific cultural and working practices is another reason for why the schemes should be encouraged.
"If you hire somebody from another company and another organization they may have a different set of values that they've been working with, or a different culture, and therefore you have to re-educate that individual on how your business operates and the values that your business has," he said.
"If you take an apprentice, you're taking them really fresh," Thompson added. "You're able to help them understand your values and make sure that they fit into your organisation… what you also see is that you get a huge amount of loyalty from apprentices."
Read MoreWhat can kick-start Europe's economic powerhouse?
In an article for HR Magazine last month, Thompson wrote that in 2014, "Barclays' own programme hit the milestone of hiring 2,000 young people into apprenticeships." Barclays has made a commitment to employ 2,800 apprentices by the end of 2015.
And Thompson told CNBC.com that Barclays' retention levels for apprentices were, 'very, very high'. Why? "You're investing in their education and you're giving them a career… That in itself engenders loyalty, which you perhaps don't get through hiring just in the open market."
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a07bf55df00b5f3eee86798ce516c507 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/31/buffetts-automotive-group-goes-shopping.html | Buffett: Tesla doesn't threaten me | Buffett: Tesla doesn't threaten me
VIDEO2:4602:46Buffett: Our auto biz will get 'a whole lot bigger'Power Lunch
VIDEO2:2702:27Buffett: We do deals when we see one we likePower Lunch
VIDEO3:1903:19Van Tuyl: Cheap gas boosts car sales on some modelsPower Lunch
VIDEO2:4002:40Buffett: Very important Iran doesn't have nuclear weaponPower Lunch
VIDEO2:0102:01Buffett: Euro zone has to work in harmonyPower Lunch
VIDEO1:1401:14Buffett's view of euro/dollarPower Lunch
VIDEO1:0001:00Buffett: If RFRA discriminates, they better get rid of itPower Lunch
Warren Buffett's new auto dealership business isn't under any threat from Elon Musk or his Tesla distribution model, the billionaire said Tuesday.
Speaking to CNBC at a forum hosted by the National Automobile Dealers Association, J.D. Power and the New York International Auto Show, Buffett said he did not anticipate much of a threat from the electric car company's direct-to-consumer model because of Tesla's relatively small market.
"I would doubt if it picks up much steam," he said of the company's sales model. "What Tesla does with it, we'll find out. But I do not see the distribution system changing in any major way."
Berkshire Hathaway Automotive Chairman Larry Van Tuyl agreed, saying at a panel that he did not see Tesla as much of a threat to the network of 81 dealerships that he oversees.
Read MoreBillionaire car dealers could multiply
"I don't see any serious volume potential there, and their pricing for what they build may be fine, but it's certainly at the upper end, so I just don't see it as a volume product," he said.
Buffett also dismissed the notion of an near-term takeover of self-driving cars, saying "I think it's a long way off and I don't think everybody will adopt it." The billionaire said that he would bet there is less than a 10 percent penetration rate for self-driving cars by 2030.
He did admit, however, that "if it's a safer way of driving, it's good for society and it's bad for our insurance business."
Buffett also revealed Tuesday that he has big plans for his newly acquired unit, and that it is already on the prowl for new deals. (Tweet This)
"I'd be very surprised if five years from now we aren't a whole lot bigger," he said.
Buffett acquired the Van Tuyl Group earlier this year, renaming the largest private chain of car dealers Berkshire Hathaway Automotive. Van Tuyl became the chairman of the unit when it was officially launched this month.
Van Tuyl told CNBC the group is largely looking at acquiring higher-volume U.S. targets that are reasonably priced.
"We like volume," he said later Tuesday at a panel, adding that the unit is also interested in acquiring real estate. He said the business is considering expanding out of its current 10 states, but will likely stay within the country.
Buffett said that any purchases will be made with a long-term outlook, so he is not worried about inflated prices from the strong car sales market this year.
"This is the beginning of a journey that will have no end," Buffett said in a March press release. "Cecil and Larry [Van Tuyl] have given us the ideal platform with which to build an auto dealership business that will be thriving and growing 50 and 100 years from now. The fun has just started."
Buffett originally announced his intention to buy the Van Tuyl Group on CNBC in October. At the time of the announcement, the business was No. 5 overall in U.S. auto dealerships, boasting about $9 billion in revenue.
Turning to his involvement in other recent business moves, Buffett said the planned merger between H.J. Heinz and Kraft Foods would not necessarily be the end of his food acquisitions.
Read MoreBuffett's HJ Heinz to merge with Kraft Foods
"We would hope it would not be the last major transaction, but we would only do transactions that are friendly ... but there is no finish line," he said, adding that he has not discussed any potential targets with private equity firm 3G Capital.
"We may talk about different people's businesses, but it would probably be a question of somebody coming to us," he said.
Still, as Buffett said later at the panel from the forum, "I think about owning everything." (Tweet This)
He also addressed the situation in Europe, saying that a Greek exit from the euro zone "may not be a bad thing for the euro."
"The euro is not dead and it may never be dead," he said. "But it does have to work in greater harmonization of financial matters in its constituent countries."
Read More Warren Buffett's advice to LeBron James
Buffett said he doesn't have a bet on which way things will go in Europe.
The billionaire also answered questions about the nuclear talks with Iran. He stressed his belief that it is important Tehran never control nuclear weapons.
Turning to the U.S. economy, Buffett said he "wouldn't do much" if he were at the Federal Reserve.
"Things are working pretty well and I would be worried that if I raised rates significantly with negative interest rates in Europe, I would be very worried about what that would do to the flow of funds," he said.
Extrapolating on that point, Buffett said he thought it "would throw a big monkey wrench into things if we were to move rates up a lot." He added that the Fed still has a long road ahead for nursing the U.S. economy back to perfect health from the financial crisis.
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e18324391cecdc7340ea0f425f9b04d0 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/31/is-russia-greeces-last-hope-of-survival.html | Is Russia Greece's last hope of survival? | Is Russia Greece's last hope of survival?
As Greece's reserves run low and its relations with the rest of Europe look increasingly strained, Russia is starting to look like it might be the country's last hope for financial survival.
A meeting between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled for April 8 and speculation is mounting that an offer of aid from Russia could be back on the table.
Russia has said it was willing to offer Greece money before but Greece has so far stuck with aid from its fellow euro zone countries and the International Monetary Fund -- but that was before the country had badly burned its bridges and flirted with defaulting on its debt.
As it stands now, Greece has yet to receive a final tranche of aid from the bodies overseeing its bailout program – the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund – and is predicted to run out of money by April 20.
Read MoreIs Greece about to cosy up to Russia?
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras gestures during a cabinet meeting at the parliament building in Athens March 29, 2015.Kostas Tsironis | Reuters
Pressure has mounted on Athens to produce a credible list of reforms so that will enable it to receive the last tranche of aid worth around 7 billion euros ($7.6 billion). It has yet to do so to the satisfaction of lenders, however, with its latest reform list rejected by lenders this weekend. As such, the aid remains under lock and key.
Speaking in parliament Monday, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said his country will be unable to repay massive bailout debts.
"There is the recognition (from lenders) of the need to finally begin a debate on the necessary restructuring of the Greek debt," he said, according to an Associated Press report Monday. "Because without such an intervention it is impossible to repay it."
Greece is reliant on the last tranche of aid being released as it has more loan repayments to make in April – the first being 450 million euros due to the IMF on April 9. Time is also running out of its bailout program, which was extended by four months in February.
Against this backdrop, Greece's meeting with Russia on April 8 is timely and could provide Greece with apparent "no-strings" financial aid. In fact, it has already made the offer in the past.
Read MoreRussia extends olive branch to Greeks
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told CNBC in January, just after Tsipras and his leftwing Syriza party was elected, that Russia would consider giving financial help to debt-ridden Greece although the offer was not taken up.
Greece has various cultural ties with Russia – they share the same Christian Orthodox tradition -- and has been critical of Europe's sanctions on Russia following its annexation of Crimea and part in the conflict in east Ukraine. German newspaper Der Spiegel reported Sunday that the Greek government was going to negotiate a reduction in gas prices from Russia and the lifting of the embargo on certain types of Greek products, such as fruit.
Zsolt Darvas, senior fellow at European think tank Bruegel, told CNBC that if Greece goes to Russia for money, it could have "wide-ranging consequences."
"I really do hope and believe that Tsipras and other members of the Greek government understand that they're a member of Europe and their future is in Europe," he told CNBC in a phone interview Tuesday.
Read MoreHow to protect yourportfolio against Greece
"If Greece ignores its European commitments and goes to Russia for money, it could have wide-ranging consequences," he said, believing that it could cause more mistrust between Greece and its neighbors.
The probability of Greece striking a deal with Russia was small, he believed, although the Kremlin was likely to reiterate its offer of financial aid. He said Greece should think twice before accepting, however.
"The probability of Greece taking financial aid from Russia is not zero but I think it is very, very unlikely," he said. Darvas believed that, ultimately, Greece needed a third bailout of around 30 to 40 billion euros spread over the next three or four years.
With trust between Greece and its lenders, particularly Germany, at a low ebb and its current bailout not going to plan, it could be hard for more money to be offered to Greece.
Wolfango Piccoli, managing director of Teneo Intelligence, said in a note Monday that a resolution of Greece's funding problems ahead of the Easter holidays "remains unlikely" and that the government needed to reform fast if it wanted the money.
Read MoreThe European tiesRussia is binding closer
"Even if principal agreement about a reform program were to be achieved this week, it is unlikely that creditors would agree to the disbursement of (aid) without at least partial prior action by the government in Athens," he said in a note Monday.
"With the ECB equally unlikely to quickly soften its stance, Greece will likely have to bring at least some measures through parliament to qualify for further financial assistance."
Follow us on Twitter: @CNBCWorld
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62016175dda3ac05590f3b46f39afa3c | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/31/pete-najarian-buys-apple-ahead-of-watch-release.html | Pete Najarian buys Apple ahead of Watch release | Pete Najarian buys Apple ahead of Watch release
Robert Galbraith | Reuters
Pete Najarian bought shares of Apple for his Halftime Report Portfolio on the belief that the Apple Watch and new iPhones this year will drive the shares higher.
Najarian made the trade live on CNBC's Halftime Report after host Scott Wapner complained that he hadn't made one move all quarter for the contest.
"I've owned Apple personally for a decade," said Najarian. "Everyone talks about valuation, but it's not that. It's the next catalyst."
Shares of Apple are up 14 percent in 2015, but off their highs over the last month on concerns about demand for the Apple Watch and the device's battery life. It goes on sale on April 24.
"A lot of the excitement over the Apple watch has tempered down."
Najarian, considered by many to be among the best traders to appear regularly on the show, sold shares of Baxter to make room for Apple in the five-stock portfolio. Foot Locker, Citigroup, UPS and American Express make up his other holdings.
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d975caf3739132d0d95d7d27e4b5b9c6 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/31/silicon-valley-sexism-is-tragic-roger-mcnamee.html | Silicon Valley sexism is tragic: Roger McNamee | Silicon Valley sexism is tragic: Roger McNamee
VIDEO3:4903:49McNamee: Silicon Valley sexism talk long overdueClosing Bell
Silicon Valley venture capital firms are missing out on the opportunity for better returns by not recruiting more women, Elevation Partners co-founder Roger McNamee told CNBC on Tuesday.
The problem, he said, is that there is a notion that women have to act like men in order to be successful.
"You're missing out on the huge opportunities that would happen if we said 'wait a minute, women have a lot to bring to this party because they are women, because their experience is different and oh, by the way, we are in a consumer era today so 52 percent of the costumers are women,'" McNamee said in an interview with "Closing Bell."
"To me, it's tragic what's going on."
The issue of women, or the lack of them, at top venture capital firms was thrust into the spotlight after Ellen Pao sued Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers for sexual discrimination. Last week, a jury rejected her claims.
Read More In light of Pao: Where are women at top VC funds?
One of the problems, McNamee said, is that many people in engineering "his age" may have very well gone through college and graduate school without ever interacting with women in a professional setting.
"You almost need a generational change to get past that fear of treating women as real people," he said.
McNamee believes it is up to the partners to get rid of any predators in the firms and start supporting women.
"Even if you don't believe in the moral issue, which I personally think is a big deal, you have to focus on it as a returns issue because venture had no return at all from 2000-2012 as a category," he noted.
"It's long overdue. We're giving up great opportunities because we have this incredibly narrow-minded narcissistic view that in order for people to be successful they have to be just like us."
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6bab0f32ddf35f5b90feaa36b1d9c103 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/01/rethinking-reverse-mortgages-bad-move-or-bright-idea.html | Rethinking reverse mortgages: Bad move or bright idea? | Rethinking reverse mortgages: Bad move or bright idea?
Reverse mortgages are the ugly stepchildren of the home-lending industry, and not just because they get hawked by celebrity spokespeople like Henry "the Fonz" Winkler on late-night infomercials.
Most financial advisors see the products as a last resort for cash-strapped seniors—and a bad one at that. They are expensive, restrictive and usually don't provide enough income to help borrowers meet their financial needs for very long.
MoMo Productions | Stone | Getty Images
"The concept is sound—people have equity in their homes and can generate income from it, but the products in the marketplace still leave a lot to be desired," said Ric Edelman, CEO of Edelman Financial.
He has never recommended a reverse mortgage to any of his more than 26,000 clients. "Between the expenses and the limitations on them, we don't feel they solve the problem of seniors who are tight on cash," Edelman said.
Read MoreShifting gears on reverse mortgages
A reverse mortgage enables homeowners of at least 62 years of age to get a lump-sum payment, a stream of payments or a line of credit they can tap based on the amount of equity they have in the property.
The amount someone can borrow depends on the value of the home (up to a maximum of $625,500), their age and prevailing interest rates. The higher the property value, the older the borrower and the lower the interest rate, the more people can borrow.
Now is a particularly good time for [reverse mortgages], with interest rates so low. If I were 62 years old, I would be getting one.John Salterwealth manager with Evensky & Katz Wealth Management
The Federal Housing Administration, which insures most reverse mortgages, passed rules recently limiting loans to 50 percent of home value in the first year. As long as borrowers continue to pay their taxes and maintain the property, they will never have to leave the house or "pay back" the loan.
Edelman, however, said the income from reverse mortgages is often not enough to get people very far if problems arise—health-care costs being the most common issue. If they do have to sell or leave the house after a few years, anyway, the deal gets very expensive, as most of the high costs of reverse mortgages (origination fees, insurance and closing costs) are booked upfront.
"People are better off selling the house and finding someplace more affordable to live," he said.
Lazetta Braxton, a a certified financial planner serving a large number of middle-income clients, also thinks people need to be very wary of tapping the equity in their homes if they have no other assets. "I see problems for people who don't have other options and don't get educated about [reverse mortgages]," she said.
Braxton, too, has yet to recommend them to clients but has helped people on a pro bono basis who have used them. "If you need the money to live, you're going to tap it, but people have to understand the consequences," she said. "If it's your last asset and you deplete it, you're done. You have to have a Plan B."
Yet not all advisors are down on reverse mortgages. John Salter, a CFP and wealth manager with registered investment advisor Evensky & Katz Wealth Management, thinks that everyone should at least be considering them as part of their retirement planning.
Read MoreMore retirees staying put
Salter, who holds a Ph.D. in financial planning, is particularly keen on the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) Saver, a line of credit developed and insured by the Federal Housing Administration in 2010. It has more limitations on the amount you can take out in the first year than previously, but the upfront fees are lower, and borrowers can pay off the loan without penalty.
In a paper co-authored with colleague Harold Evensky and Shaun Pfeiffer, an associate professor at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania, Salter argues that this more affordable and flexible line of credit can be used in conjunction with investment portfolio management to help people stretch their savings significantly further. "Now is a particularly good time for [reverse mortgages], with interest rates so low," said Salter. "If I were 62 years old, I would be getting one."
The basic strategy for clients with an investment portfolio is to tap the equity line to cover living expenses during bear markets. "When the portfolio is down, you don't want to sell depreciated assets, so you tap the line of credit," explained Salter. "When the portfolio recovers, you take money out to pay off the loan."
Salter ran the numbers for portfolio withdrawal rates of 4, 5 and 6 percent under various market conditions, assuming a home value of $250,000 and a portfolio value of $500,000. If the portfolio value dropped more than 20 percent over a 12-month period, the line of credit would be used to meet cash needs. Otherwise, the sale of portfolio assets would cover costs.
Read MoreDo you really need life insurance?
Salter concluded that the strategy worked for all three withdrawal scenarios, helping portfolios last longer and improving overall retirement distributions. "This is about risk management," said Salter. "If you're trying to protect yourself for 30 years down the road, you want the letter of credit."
The other arguably worthwhile use of reverse mortgages is to enable people to delay filing for Social Security until 65 or 70 years old, in order to get a bigger benefit.
Edelman, however, is still not sold on the idea. "I've seen [Salter's analysis], and I don't agree with his premise or conclusions," he said. "It comes down to the income you receive, and it's usually not enough. Things happen in life, and the loan has to be repaid. In the real world, it doesn't work."
—By Andrew Osterland, special to CNBC.com
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4c821d36b5275f79f345d10477f0eac8 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/01/rporate-april-fools-day-pranks-of-2015.html?page=12 | The best corporate April Fools' Day pranks of 2015 | The best corporate April Fools' Day pranks of 2015
Ryan McVay | Getty Images
Tech giants like Google, Sony and Amazon led the charge on Wednesday with their April Fool's Day shenanigans, but they definitely aren't the only companies having a little fun with pranks this April 1st.
Here's a list of the best corporate pranks of 2015.
Source: Netflix
Netflix subscribers are getting an intervention. The company has created 13 different Public Service Announcements that warn against the dangers of binge-watching. Subscribers are urged to go outside, call their mothers, and shower.
The PSAs are triggered if more than two episodes of a show are played consecutively, but can also be found by searching "binge responsibly" on the Netflix site.
Source: Samsung Tomorrow
Samsung has unveiled the ultimate cooking companion. The Galaxy BLADE Edge is the world's first smart knife with smartphone capabilities.
The device runs the latest OS and features sensors and algorithms that analyze your grip, dexterity and strength. Equipped with KNOX security, Samsung's latest tech has a sensor which automatically contacts emergency services in the event that the blade makes contact with human blood.
Source: Honda
Currently in beta testing, Honda's HR-V SLF is the first automobile on the market with built-in selfie technology.
Many cars have a back-up camera, but this vehicle has 10 selfie cameras throughout the interior and exterior. Drivers can snap photos while the car is in park and upload them immediately to their social media pages.
Google has some April Fool's fun with their homepage.Source: Google
Google has launched a new version of its classic search engine—http://com.google. The site not only displays the Google logo backwards but all search results are displayed in reverse.
Source: ThinkGeek
Online retailer ThinkGeek, known for its nerdy and pop-culture merchandise, released several new products on Wednesday. Fanboys (and girls) can now purchase their very own "Game of Thrones" Clue boardgame, a Voltron inspired cat condo, and "Guardian's of the Galaxy" inspired Groot Beer.
The company is also offering a steam-powered gaming cabinet and "Mad Max" inspired Power Wheels Desert Drifters so your children can experience the excitement of a dystopian wasteland in their own backyard.
Source: DeviantArt
Online art community DeviantArt has launched a new, innnovative tool that is sure to revolutionize the art world. The site hopes to bring the sophistication of digital art into the real world with Stylus IRL.
The product is pressure sensitive and uses DeviousInk through a ballpoint tip. The device is compatible with all surfaces, even paper and you'll never need to worry about battery life again.
Source: Groupon
The "cat's out of the bag and behind the wheel" boasts Groupon's newest app Grøüber, a transportation service that lets you order cars driven by cats from your mobile phone. Grøüber uses GPS-guided red lasers to direct feline drivers from pickup to destination.
Hypoallergenic and hairless cats are available at no extra cost and tip percentages can be calculated within the app. Just remember that catnip tips are only accepted in Colorado and Washington.
Source: Sonyplaystation
Gaming immersion is about to meet submersion with Sony's PlayStation Flow. The company's newest wearable technology will enhance gameplay experience by taking gaming out of the living room and into the swimming pool.
The Flow captures the gamer's every movement and sends real-time updates to the PS4 system. The device beaks through traditional gaming barriers by streaming game footage directly to the Playstation Flow goggles. "You don't even have to be in a pool to experience it," says Ariel Iganarre from PlayStation's Wearable Entertainment Technology (PWET) group.
Source: Amazon
Visitors to Amazon.com were greeted with a blast from the past on Wednesday. The site has been redesigned to mimic its 1999 skin and sports recommendations for prank-related merchandise.
Clicking on any link on the page will redirect you to the company's current design, however.
Source: Microsoft Lumina
Feeling nostalgic? Then download Microsoft's MS-DOS mobile app. Marketed as the simplest OS yet, the MS-DOS is all about getting back to BASICs.
"Turning our back on graphics was hugely liberating," says Daniel Glass, the lead designer on the project, "We've dropped the resolution, and in doing so re-discovered our roots."
Source: TinderforUber
Uber and Tinder have joined forces to bring two new apps to your mobile device. The Tinder for Uber program will match you with an Uber driver and if you swipe right, he'll split the fare with you.
The Uber for Tinder app, however, will hire a driver for you and your match so you can meet up immediately.
Source: Google Panda Product
Google is about to change its search interface with "a product so brilliant you can ask it anything and so cute you are going to want to hug it," says Chris Yerga, vice president of engineering.
The Google Panda effectively eliminates the search box. Engineered with emotional and conversational intelligence, this device will answer any question in under a second guaranteed. It also comes with shock-absorbing abilities for the on-the-go user.
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674948df49ccfdc4e6add75868b42f29 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/02/11-must-follow-twitter-accounts.html | 11 must-follow Twitter accounts | 11 must-follow Twitter accounts
Leon Neal | AFP | Getty Images
Twitter is only as good as the accounts you follow.
Beginning with their initial sign-up, Twitter users are greeted by a pre-existing feed of recommended accounts to get them into the swing of how the platform works and to help them figure out what they want to gain from this specific social media space. While most users quickly gather a large collection of news media, entertainment outlets and favorite celebrities, finding the right balance between fun and interesting accounts is vital to getting the most out of Twitter.
Whether an account offers thought-provoking insight, interesting photos or something to lighten the mood of your day, they all play a specific and important role in this space alongside all of the celebrity gossip and hard-hitting news.
Here's some of the most unusual Twitter accounts in the space, sure to liven up your feed.
HISTORY: @History_Pics
Traditional history books tend to take a very standard approach to showcasing the past and, very often, many of the same photographs are associated with key events in history. Take a slightly different look into the past with some awesome historical photos.
History Tweet
ADVERTISING: @Brilliant_Ads
Clever advertising at its finest. From laugh-out-loud funny ads to those focusing on more serious subjects, @Brilliant_Ads shares the best ads the world has to offer.
Advertising Tweet
REAL-TIME DISCOVERY: @PeriscopeTV
Live-streaming is all the buzz in social media right now. Apps Meerkat and Periscope are gaining a lot of attention for providing users with the ability to be an active participant in events around the world through live-streaming via Twitter. Twitter launched Periscope after reportedly purchasing the app in January for $100 million, and the app has continued to take off. @PeriscopeTV re-tweets all of the best Periscopes, giving users instant access to the most interesting live-streams.
Periscope tweet
SHORT FORM COMEDY: @FunnyVines
Vine is a short-form video sharing service, acquired by Twitter in October 2012, which allows users to record, edit and view six-second-long looping video clips. If you don't want to weed through the massive amount of videos available on the Vine app, @FunnyVines isolates all of the funniest videos.
Vine Tweet
APPLE GEEKS: @iPhoneTeam
While Apple does not have an official Twitter page dedicated to all things iPhone, this unofficial account provides Apple rumors, memes and information — everything an Apple geek needs to make it through the day.
Apple geeks
TIME TRAVEL: @TweetsofOld
Local newspapers are often a true reflection of a community. See just how much time has changed (or hasn't) by following these one-line excerpts from old newspapers. Each Tweet ends with the year and state in which it was published for added perspective.
Old tweet
MARVEL AT THE WORLD: @FascinatingPics
The clue is in the name — this account shares incredibly fascinating photos. The funny, meaningful and uplifting photos shared by @FascinatingPics is a quick way to broaden your feed.
cool pic tweet
HUMOR: @FacesPics
Look a little closer at everyday items and what will you see? A face staring back at you. That concept is exactly what has gotten @FacesPics over 500,000 followers. From X-Ray machines to Starbucks cups, this account isolates the most mundane items to find a very life-like expression.
potato tweet
LOOK AT THE LITTLE THINGS: @ThingsWork
Possibly one of the most interesting Twitter accounts available. @ThingsWork uses GIFs to explain and offer new perspectives on how ordinary things work or are made. Guaranteed you'll never be bored scrolling through your feed again.
macaroni tweet
PEEK INSIDE THE NEWSROOM: @OHnewsroom
Ever wondered what it's like working in a crazed-newsroom environment? Thanks to @OHnewsroom, you now have the best overheard comments and conversations in any newsroom at the tips of your fingers. And for all you journalists out there, feel free add to the fun by submitting your own overheard comments by tweeting at the account.
newsroom tweet
TEXT PRANKS: @Textastrophe
@Textastrophe is a collection of prank text messages aimed at people who have posted their phone number in a public places such as personal ads or job postings. Most conversations start out seemingly normal but quickly take a turn. This account will definitely have you laughing, every time.
textastrophe tweet
Have any must-follow Twitter accounts of your own? Tell us about them below.
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01f56d9d2f55645c7675bd274bd901e5 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/02/breastaurants-and-more-where-vice-means-booming-business.html | Meet the 'breastaurant': Sin is in at these booming eateries | Meet the 'breastaurant': Sin is in at these booming eateries
At some restaurants, the seven deadly sins aren't just vices: They're big business, too.
By channeling the lust and gluttony of its patrons, these restaurants have delivered blockbuster growth in an industry that has struggled to move the sales needle.
Following the model pioneered by the Hooters chain with scantily clad waitresses and ice cold beer, Twin Peaks saw sales soar 45 percent last year. That made it the fastest-growing full-service large chain in America, according to Technomic's top 500 restaurants report.
Source: Twin Peaks Restaurants
Another chain encouraging vice, Fogo de Chão, also made the top five fastest-growing restaurant chains.
"We talk about weapons of mass distraction as one of our branding points," said Kristen J. Colby, Twin Peaks' senior director of marketing, in a phone interview.
The chain sees itself as the "ultimate sports lodge" with TVs everywhere and classic, made-from-scratch bar food, such as Buffalo wings, and more adventurous picks like a venison chili burgers.
Read MoreMcDonald's to test all-day breakfast
Twin Peaks is the fastest growing member of the "breastaurant" restaurant category of chains that prove sex appeal can help drive meal appeal. Competitor Tilted Kilt saw total sales rise 5 percent last year with a Celtic-themed sports bar concept.
"I think people are looking for more," said Ron Lynch, president and founder of Tilted Kilt's franchising brand. "If they are going to spend hard-earned money, they want to get good food and be entertained at the same time."
Lynch stressed that Tilted Kilt, which began in Las Vegas, did not just set out to copy Hooters, an early forerunner of the "breastaurant" category. One requirement of waitresses is they have to fit in the chain's costumes.
"[I]t's extra small, small, medium, and we don't make a large," Lynch said.
Like Twin Peaks, Tilted Kilt said the majority of its customers are men. The ratio of men to women diners is roughly 75 to 25. "We do have loyal female customers, and I hear them say, 'We enjoy coming here because this is where the guys are,' " he added.
Read MoreThe fight that could change franchising
At Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chão, it's not lust but gluttony that's the guilty pleasure motivating some patrons. The indulgent chain has an all-you-can eat option with 16 different fire-roasted meats that guests can sample.
Like Twin Peaks, Fogo sales surged last year to the tune of 19 percent.
Creating unique experiences like those at Tilted Kilt or Twin Peaks is key for chains to differentiate themselves in the restaurant space, says Darren Tristano, executive vice president at food industry research firm Technomic, in a phone interview.
"I think it's crucial going forward to have a sustainable and growth oriented approach you have to be able to do something uniquely different and do something better," he said.
Correction: This article has been corrected to include updated figures from Technomic for full-service restaurant rankings.
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60686639a1674160dac871da64e93a3d | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/02/lufthansa-faces-mounting-challenges-as-details-of-crash-emerge.html | Lufthansa faces mounting challenges as details of crash emerge | Lufthansa faces mounting challenges as details of crash emerge
Lufthansa was supposed to be celebrating the 60th anniversary of its postwar rebirth this month.
Instead, on Wednesday, the day of that anniversary, the German airline faced perhaps the worst crisis in its history after acknowledging that it had been aware that the co-pilot who deliberately crashed one of its planes in the French Alps last week, killing himself and the other 149 people on board, had a history of severe depression.
Getty Images
In Germany, the home country of nearly half of the victims, anger was increasingly directed toward the airline and its 48-year-old chief executive, Carsten Spohr, who only a week ago was boasting that Lufthansa had the best pilots in the world.
Mr. Spohr and Thomas Winkelmann, the chief executive of Germanwings, the low-cost subsidiary of Lufthansa that operated the plane that crashed, visited the French village of Seyne-les-Alpes, near the crash site, on Wednesday.
"We are learning more every day about the cause of the accident," Mr. Spohr told reporters in France. "But I think it will take a long, long time for all of us to understand how this could happen." Mr. Spohr did not respond to questions shouted by the reporters.
In the German town of Haltern am See, residents gathered to remember the 16 students and two teachers killed on Flight 9525 as they returned from an exchange trip with a Spanish school near Barcelona, the flight's departure point.
Lufthansa said late on Tuesday that in 2009, Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot, had told the flight school operated by the airline about a "previous episode of severe depression." Mr. Lubitz provided the information about his depression after he had taken a break of several months from the flight school, as he was trying to resume his training, Lufthansa said.
Read MoreAir crash payouts:How they work
The airline is facing a long list of serious challenges, including heightened competition on both short- and long-haul routes and tense relations with the pilots' union that have led to a series of costly strikes.
"At a time when Lufthansa was already facing significant competitive and industrial relations challenges, this tragedy only places more pressure on the company's management," said John Strickland, an independent aviation industry consultant in London.
On Tuesday, the German tabloid Bild and Paris Match, a popular French magazine, claimed to have obtained video from a mobile phone recovered from the crash site that depicted chaos aboard the plane in the final seconds before it crashed.
But French officials have expressed doubts about the veracity of those reports. On Wednesday, Brice Robin, the Marseille prosecutor in charge of the French criminal investigation, said no videos were currently among the evidence held by investigators.
"In the event that someone is in possession of such a video, they should promptly give it to investigators," Mr. Robin said.
VIDEO2:5002:50Germanwings crash: Whose fault?Power Lunch
Statements made by Mr. Spohr last week, in which he insisted that Mr. Lubitz had been fit to fly, are now coming back to haunt him. The Westdeutsche Zeitung, a newspaper covering the region that includes Düsseldorf, the German city to which the plane was flying, said Lufthansa's admission that it had known of Mr. Lubitz's mental health problems was "a helpless attempt to prevent company chief Carsten Spohr, with his fatal words '100 percent flightworthy,' " from appearing "as a liar ripe for resignation."
The possibility that a pilot was able to hide problems well enough to keep flying could also blemish one of Lufthansa's main selling points, its reputation for technical excellence and safety. Until last week, Lufthansa and its subsidiaries had not had a fatal flying accident in 22 years.
Since taking over as chief executive of Lufthansa in May, Mr. Spohr has responded to competition from no-frills airlines like Ryanair by putting more emphasis on Germanwings.
But questions are being raised about whether European procedures allow inexperienced pilots to have too much responsibility.
Mr. Lubitz had 630 hours of flight time when, according to investigators, he slammed the Airbus A320 into a mountainside. Mr. Lubitz had apparently locked the more experienced pilot out of the cockpit.
"How was it that this guy could have had only 630 hours and already be flying an A320?" asked Amy Fraher, a former United States Navy commander and United Airlines pilot. "It is a big, sophisticated aircraft with a lot of power and, in this case, 150 people on board."
"It troubles me," said Ms. Fraher, who also lectures at the University of Birmingham in Britain.
More from the NYT: Doubts intensify about reports of a video made during crash Lufthansa: Germanwings pilot reported deep depression Andreas Lubitz's home city Is left to clear away
"I see evidence that in the interests of cost-cutting, pilot training has become condensed" to just a few years, rather than the seven or eight years that was once the industry norm worldwide, she said. "Such an accelerated career path doesn't give young pilots time to become more professional and properly seasoned."
Others, however, doubt that Lufthansa's training practices played a role in the Germanwings crash.
"We have no evidence there has been cost-cutting on safety," said Christoph Drescher, general secretary of the European Cabin Crew Association, which represents flight attendants.
"The colleagues from Germanwings are very well trained," Mr. Drescher said. "The regulatory standards are upheld and exceeded."
Mr. Spohr, who has held numerous management roles in his 20 years at the Lufthansa group, including stints running its global airline partnerships and cargo businesses, is also a licensed Airbus A320 pilot.
He was the head of the main Lufthansa passenger business before assuming the role of chief executive.
VIDEO3:3003:30Airbus A320: Legal implications for Lufthansa
Analysts with knowledge of the company describe him as generally well liked and respected among the group's 118,000 employees, and in particular among its 5,400 pilots.
Speaking to a small group of reporters in Frankfurt in December, Mr. Spohr said his background as a company insider was an asset at a time of rapid change.
"I have my roots probably in the perfect soil," Mr. Spohr said then. "I know our weaknesses; I didn't start from scratch."
At the time, however, some analysts worried privately that Mr. Spohr's reputation as a nice guy was a handicap when Lufthansa was under intense pressure to move quickly to reduce costs, particularly those associated with labor and retirement benefits, which represent around one-fifth of the airline's annual revenue.
Efforts to scale back an early-retirement deal for pilots, alongside changes to pay and working conditions, have been at the heart of the series of strikes by Lufthansa's pilots over the past year, including a three-day walkout in early December that forced the cancellation of thousands of flights.
Germanwings pilots, who work under a separate contract, have largely refrained from joining the strikes, although they did stage a two-day walkout in February that resulted in the cancellation of more than 300 flights.
Those strikes, and others by security staff members, cost Lufthansa a total of 232 million euros, or about $250 million, in 2014, contributing to an 11 percent drop in profit at its core German airlines division, made up of Lufthansa and Germanwings.
But the unions have rallied around Lufthansa and Germanwings since last week's crash, and they have declined to criticize airline management.
Lufthansa reported a net loss of $460 million in the last quarter of 2014, which it attributed largely to one-time factors like an increase in pension contributions.
The company had already postponed indefinitely an anniversary celebration that had been planned for April 15.
Instead, Lufthansa will take part in a memorial celebration for the victims planned for April 17 in the main cathedral in Cologne, Germany.
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a1b9bb7860ed1bf25876f0acb1ba7660 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/02/lumber-liquidators-march-same-store-sales-fall-178-pct.html | Lumber Liquidators March same-store sales fall 17.8 pct | Lumber Liquidators March same-store sales fall 17.8 pct
Mike Blake | Reuters
Lumber Liquidators posted a drop in sales of its hardwood flooring products in March after a media report alleged that the company's laminates had higher-than-permitted levels of a cancer-causing substance.
The company said sales at stores open at least one year fell 17.8 percent last month, dragging down sales at these stores 1.8 percent in the first quarter ended March 31.
Lumber Liquidators is facing U.S. government probes over the levels of formaldehyde in its flooring products, and has offered free indoor air quality testing for qualifying consumers.
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5d0f3190021245b7bda2c2f3fcd16bb2 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/02/progress-bias-heres-what-it-is-and-why-you-may-suffer-from-it.html | Have another bite: Do you suffer from 'progress bias'? | Have another bite: Do you suffer from 'progress bias'?
DreamPictures | Getty Images
You're been good all week, so what's the harm of having a donut for breakfast on Friday? Or shelling out for those new shoes? It could be the reason your bank account is empty but your belly is, ahem, a little full.
There's no harm in splurging once in a while, of course. The harm comes when we forget what we've splurged on, but we remember each and every donut we didn't eat. New research suggests we fallible humans often give ourselves outsize credit for all those moments of denial, but fail to properly weight the failures.
It's a phenomenon that's been labeled "progress bias" by University of Colorado researcher Margaret Campbell in a new paper published in the Journal of Consumer Research called "When One Step Forward Seems Larger Than One Step Back." Campbell ran a series of tests and found that people exaggerate the impact of their good choices and let mistakes slip their minds.
In one simple experiment, Campbell and fellow author Caleb Warren of Texas A&M measured people's reactions to either saving $45 or spending it. The savers credited themselves with 20 percent more progress than the spenders debited their mental accounts.
In a world where investors are fighting for every 1 percent they can find, understanding progress bias could make an enormous difference. You can't build up your savings by spending wisely 29 days each month, then blowing your budget on the 30th day—even if that feels like progress.
Read MoreWhy 'moneyball' doesn't work for business
"It's very hard to repeatedly deny yourself the things you like ... that's why people seem to have a hard time pursuing these goals where they have to repeatedly do things that move them towards a goal," Campbell said. "You give yourself points and think you are a hero when you resist, but give yourself a bye, and think it's not such a big deal, when you fail. That's why you think, 'Wow, I'm making progress,' when you aren't."
Margaret CampbellSource: University of Colorado
Here's a real-life example of how progress bias works: Consumers who perceive goal-consistent behaviors may "make up" for eating 300 extra calories one day by consuming 200 fewer calories the next, or they may reward themselves for avoiding 300 calories at lunch by consuming an additional 400 at dinner.
Progress bias can also help explain a phenomenon that's often observed in weight loss: People who begin exercise programs often gain weight. They reward themselves for walking on a treadmill for 30 minutes by eating a juicy hamburger. Sadly, the treadmill activity burns perhaps 200 calories, while the hamburger weighs in at 350 calories. And let's not even to mention the bacon and cheddar.
It's easy to translate this phenomenon to money. Imagine walking past a store display every day that hawks a suit or dress to your liking, and repeatedly denying yourself the pricey purchase. That's good. Then, in one moment of weakness on Friday, you click a few times and empty your Amazon shopping cart. One step up, two steps back.
Read MoreHow to teach your kids about money? Get 'radical'
The example above shows that the problem isn't just overweighting the good choices and underweighting the bad ones—it's that a single moment of failure can undo dozens, or even hundreds, of good choices. That's why some diets build in "cheat" days, while other nutritionists warn that falling off the wagon can undo weeks of healthy eating. It's also why it's better to set up a vacation fund before you leave for Las Vegas than simply allowing yourself to "cheat" on your budget when holidays arrive.
Progress bias is a little bit like a phenomenon that's often discussed in behavioral research: optimism bias (or confirmation bias). Most people tend to think they are better-than-average looking or better-than-average drivers. It's always easier to see facts when they agree with the reality you like, and to ignore facts that aren't in harmony with your world view.
With progress bias, people are too optimistic about their progress towards goals. But there's another critical element that makes progress bias a particularly vexing form of optimism bias: It's a failure to measure progress properly over time. Apparently, our human nature often betrays us as we work towards goals because we are pretty bad at assessing our own progress.
Want proof? Just think about your disappointment the last time you opened your credit card bill and were surprised by the high balance.
Human nature is a delightfully complex beast, however, and much to Campbell's surprise, progress bias isn't always a bad thing. Plenty of research shows that people are much more likely to stay on the wagon when goals seem nearby and attainable, and much more likely to give up when they seem distant or impossible. Sometimes, lying to yourself can be a good thing, this research suggests, as it wards off the fatal "What the hell" phenomenon ("releasing the goal," in technical terms) that can accompany despair.
Read MoreWhy you should never work more than 50 hours a week
Campbell isn't encouraging self-delusion, however.
"I think accuracy outweighs the motivational component," she said. Her husband struggled for years with weight until he adopted a more scientific approach and carefully logged his eating habits, she said. The harsh truth helped, and he's much healthier now.
So how can consumers who want better savings or eating habits apply progress bias to their own lives? Well, we're all in luck. A new wave of apps and gadgets make accountability and accuracy much easier.
Wearable fitness monitors and smart watches can help—and with 100 million of the gadgets expected to be sold in 2015, according to research firm Gartner, they are certainly helping several companies' bottom lines. The gadgets work best when users religiously use them to log eating habits along with daily activity. Campbell is also optimistic about a new wave of financial apps, such as BillGuard, LevelMoney and Spendee, that do a more balanced job of helping consumers keep track of both their savings and their spending—counting both steps forwards and backwards.
Read MoreKnowing when to walk away from an investment
"If you are in a situation where you are having a hard time with goals, try to set up methods to monitor your behavior," Campbell said. "Be scrupulous about setting goals and setting sub-goals. Don't allow yourself to have a sense of progress. Force yourself to see what you are really doing."
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a45e97049ffe7df98805d5b63de15c95 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/02/stock-split-could-cost-google-over-500-million.html | Stock split could cost Google over $500 million | Stock split could cost Google over $500 million
An unorthodox stock split designed to ensure Google CEO Larry Page and fellow co-founder Sergey Brin retain control of the Internet's most profitable company could cost Google more than half a billion dollars.
Page, 42, and Brin, 41, have maintained control over Google since they started the company in a rented Silicon Valley garage in 1998. Their ideas and leadership have spawned one of the world's best known and most powerful companies with a market value of $375 billion and a payroll of about 54,000 employees.
Read MoreEU preparing antitrust charges against Google: Report
Yet many investors have become frustrated with Page's unwavering belief that Google should be spending billions on far-flung projects ranging from driverless cars to diabetes-controlling contact lenses that may take years to pay off and have little to do with the company's main business of search and digital advertising. The big spending is one reason Google's stock price is about 2 percent below where it stood at the end of 2013, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has climbed 11 percent.
Sergey Brin and Larry Page, founders of Google, in 2004Getty Images
To maintain the power to drive Google's direction, Page and Brin initially accumulated virtually all of the company's class "B" shares, which have 10 votes for each "A" share. The duo, though, worried that control would erode as Google issued more "A" shares to pay for acquisitions and reward other workers. A year ago Thursday, Google split its stock to create a new category of "C" stock with no voting power that would allow more Google shares to be issued without undercutting Page and Brin.
Class "A" shareholders were outraged, skewering the maneuver as a textbook example of shoddy corporate governance. Google argued there wouldn't be much difference between the price of "C" and "A" shares because Page and Brin held majority control anyway with the "B" shares. To settle a class-action lawsuit challenging the split, Google agreed to compensate "C" shareholders if the average price of "C" stock fell more than 1 percent below "A" shares through the first year of trading.
Read MoreCramer: Google's weakness presents opportunity
Google's theory proved wrong, said BGC Financial Partners Colin Gillis. The difference turned out to be between 1 percent and 2 percent, though the final gap won't be announced for up to 30 days as Google works with outside experts to determine the figures under a complex formula.
"This shows the market does place a value on owning a voting stock," he said.
VIDEO3:5603:56Fast Money Madness: Facebook vs. GoogleFast Money
Google disclosed in a recent regulatory filing that it would have owed about $593 million to class C stockholders had the calculations been done on Dec. 31. Based on that estimate, the class C stockholders would receive roughly $1.74 per share in cash or additional stock. Calculating the exact amount that Google owes will start after the stock market closes Thursday.
The Mountain View, California, company has until early July to pay the money. It's something that Google can easily afford, given the company holds $64 billion in cash. And the damage could have been a lot worse: Google would have had to pay $7.5 billion, or about $22 per share, had the first-year spread between "A" and "C" shares was 5 percent or more.
Class C shareholders should ask themselves if the money they are getting is enough to compensate for relinquishing their voting rights and ceding control to Page and Brin, said Charles Elson, director of the University of Delaware's Weinberg center for corporate governance.
Shareholders "are getting this cash for giving up their say in effective management," Elson said. "This could be a case of `penny wise, pound foolish.'"
Google declined to comment.
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089a3bb91c3d0a7536530b260384e38f | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/05/aussie-on-tenterhooks-ahead-of-rba-meeting.html | Aussie on tenterhooks ahead of RBA meeting | Aussie on tenterhooks ahead of RBA meeting
Reserve Bank of Australia in Sydney Saeed Khan | AFP | Getty Images
With the Australian dollar trading around the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) preferred level of $0.75, will the central bank hold off on cutting rates at Tuesday's meeting?
Markets are pricing in an 80 percent chance of a cut, but analysts were largely divided over whether it would come in April or May. The S&P ASX 200 was up more than 1 percent Tuesday ahead of the decision.
According to Mitul Kotecha, head of FX strategy, Asia-Pacific at Barclays, the RBA is likely to pull the rate cut trigger sooner rather than later given the recent collapse in iron ore prices – a key export for Australia.
"It's interesting, the RBA had said they were comfortable with the Aussie dollar at $0.75, but the reality [is] now commodity prices, [such as] iron ore, have fallen even further. They probably want to see[the Australian dollar] even lower now," Kotecha told CNBC.
Last week, iron ore prices fell below $50 a tonne for the first time in a decade on concerns over a supply glut and soft Chinese demand. Iron ore accounts for close to one-fifth of the value of Australia's total exports.
"I think $0.75 is gone, I think it's probably in the region of towards $0.70 if anything," Kotecha said, adding that Barclays recently moved its call for a rate cut forward to April from May.
VIDEO4:1104:11RBA's financial stability review: What to expect
The RBA last cut rates in February by 25 basis points to 2.25 percent – a new record low.
Kotechais not alone in his outlook for an April rate cut.
Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy and chief economist at AMP Capital said whileit's once again a close call given strength in pockets on the country's property market, the central bank will likely opt for easing.
"The additional 21 percent fall in the iron ore price since the RBA's last meeting has added urgency to the case for the RBA to cut rates again at a time when the growth outlook remains subdued, the outlook for business investment is poor, inflation remains benign," he said.
"The trend in the [Australian dollar] is likely to remain down as the Fed is still likely to raise rates this year whereas the RBA remains on track to cut and the long-term trend in commodity prices remains down," he added.
Read MoreThese G-10 currencies are in for a bumpy ride
Oliver expects a fall to $0.70 this year, and further declines into $0.60 range in the years ahead.
The Australian dollar fell 7 percent against the U.S. dollar in the first quarter of the year, putting it in the ranks of the world's worst performing major currencies. A combination of a strengthening U.S. dollar, falling commodity prices and lower interest rates has driven the currency lower.
Moody's Analytics believes it's an even chance between April and May.
"We favor a 25 basis point cut in May to get confirmation March quarter(consumer price index) data were low. The RBA indicated in March it was happy to sit still to get a better gauge of how the economy was responding to February's rate cut, more uncertain given the low interest rate environment," Moody's Analytics said.
It expects an additional 50 basis points in rate cuts this year.
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27e5b2df778405456ca0f7ca285910f6 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/06/prepaid-debit-cards-on-rise-thanks-to-millennials.html | Millennials give prepaid debit cards a boost | Millennials give prepaid debit cards a boost
A woman holds her Green Dot prepaid debit card in Monrovia, Calif.Damian Dovarganes | AP
Millennials, the generation weighed down with student loans that abhors taking on more debt, are embracing a once-derided financial product: Prepaid debit cards.
A third of Americans 18-34 years old have used a reloadable prepaid debit card compared with only a quarter of Americans overall, according to a new survey by TD Bank. And 60 percent of millennials would consider using one compared with half of the overall population.
"These cards are much more mainstream than many people think," said Tami Farrow, TD Bank's head of retail deposit payment products.
One reason: They've cleaned up their act. Prepaid debit cards used to be notorious for charging high fees, including several prepaid cards promoted by celebrities, such as Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian. But criticism from consumer advocates—and cheaper offerings from American Express and Chase in recent years—put pressure on the bad actors to lower fees or leave the market, McBride said.
A 2014 Pew study found that fees on prepaid debit cards offered by large banks were "economical compared to the cards studied in 2012."
TD Bank found that 21 percent of prepaid debit card users has more than $100,000 in income. Among prepaid debit card users, 46 percent said the cards let them budget and keep track of their spending better. That number rises to 60 percent among millennials.
"One of the benefits that came through loud and clear in the survey is that millennials like the convenience, the simplicity and the predictability of the cards," Farrow said. TD Bank launched its own prepaid debit card in March.
Read MoreElite credit cards 2X as likely to be hit by fraud
Unlike with credit cards, users can receive prepaid debit cards without going through a credit check and will not be denied a card because of a bad credit score.
"Prepaid debit cards are a great tool for consumers who want to minimize the risk of overspending," said Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com, a website for credit card information.
VIDEO1:1301:13Save me: Credit scoreCredit
More than half of prepaid debit cards have no monthly fee or will waive the monthly fee if a certain amount is loaded on the card, according to a new Bankrate.com survey. "It's easier to avoid fees altogether on prepaid debit cards," said Greg McBride, Bankrate's chief analyst.
Bankrate found that 48 percent of prepaid debit cards have an activation fee, which ranges from $1.88 to $9.95, depending on where the card is purchased.
Read MoreDon't miss a payment on this credit card
That's not to say that some prepaid debit cards don't come with stupid fees. Bankrate found that 16 percent of prepaid debit cards still charge for customer service calls (down from 27 percent in 2014).
"You should always closely review the terms and conditions of any card to find those hidden fees," Hardekopf said.
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a065c45a105a99bf860521f57c9b1640 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/06/this-is-when-to-worry-about-the-us-market-tom-lee.html | This is when to worry about the US market: Tom Lee | This is when to worry about the US market: Tom Lee
VIDEO2:5102:51Poor economic data 'temporary': Thomas LeeSquawk Box
Known for his bullish outlook on the U.S. stock market, Fundstrat Global Advisors founder Tom Lee is not overly worried about Friday's disappointing jobs report. He said, however, that it would be cause for concern if the sluggish pace of economic growth in the first quarter continues in the second.
Government data showed Friday that the United States added just 126,000 jobs in March, well below consensus estimates for 245,000 new positions and the weakest report since December 2013. Lee noted that U.S. gross domestic product growth is currently tracking below the Federal Reserve's expectation of at least 2 percent.
"I think if Q2 is tracking at the same level we'd have to worry, but I think that a lot of these are temporary factors," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box." "The dollar is reversing, construction was a drag in the first quarter, government was a drag. We don't expect to see these the rest of the year."
Read More Despite poor jobs data, dollar bulls keep the faith
The question investors need to keep in mind, Lee said, is whether there is pent-up demand in the United States and whether the economy is capable of generating organic growth.
While capital spending was also weak in the first quarter, Lee expects U.S. producers to utilize more of their capacity, which is often a precursor to such expenditures.
Asked whether the Fed would now wait until after its June Federal Open Market Committee meeting to begin raising interest rates, Lee said Fundstrat never saw justification for increasing rates in June. The market would be in a better position to absorb a hike in September, when such a move would likely coincide with better growth figures coming out of Europe and Japan, where central bankers are buying bonds to stimulate their respective economies, he said.
The Fed needs to be mindful of the market and meet expectations, Lee said, but investors will not be too spooked by a hike because it signals the central bank is confident the U.S. economy is healthy and no longer needs a zero interest rate environment.
"Is it going to be seen as a positive investment signal? I would say without a question ultimately it's going to be seen as positive," he said.
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dfb5ef87ea17820771c6d8cc0b74a041 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/06/why-japans-factories-wont-be-going-home.html | Why Japan's factories won't be going home | Why Japan's factories won't be going home
Kevin Winter | Getty Images
Hopeful local media reports and a weaker yen are raising hopes that Japanese companies will move their factories back home, but we're unlikely to see an increase in 'made in Japan' labels anytime soon, analysts say.
"While the speed of offshoring may slow somewhat if the yen depreciates further, offshoring cannot be stopped, barring a long-term change in the Japanese economy's declining presence in the global economy," Goldman Sachs said in an April 2 report.
A steady trickle of media reports about companies such as consumer electronics conglomerate Panasonic and air conditioner maker Daikin moving some production back to Japan has captured the local media's imagination in a country that remains nostalgically attached to its bygone manufacturing heydays.
But "many companies remain committed to the model of local production for local consumption, and while the pace of moving production offshore may slow down, it is unlikely to be reversed," Nomura said in a report on March 31.
Going to the customers
Japan Inc has been moving its factories overseas since the 1980s and the trend has been accelerating.
In the late 1980s, less than 5 percent of Japanese companies made their products overseas, according to Nomura's calculations based on the Cabinet Office's annual corporate behavior surveys.
But the proportion of manufacturing companies that have overseas production facilities had risen to 21.6 percent by fiscal 2013 and is projected to rise to 25.5 percent by fiscal 2018, according to the Cabinet Office's survey of 867 companies listed on the Tokyo and Nagoya Stock Exchanges.
VIDEO3:5603:56Weak data won't impact Nikkei: ExpertSquawk Box Asia
And, while Japanese media has cited the weaker yen as one of the principal reasons why companies might move production back home, the Cabinet Office survey results suggest otherwise.
Just over 50 percent of manufacturers surveyed said they moved production overseas to meet existing or growing demand in the local market.
And growth is something Japan's aging and shrinking population cannot offer, analysts said.
"The general consensus among Japanese companies is that the potential growth rate of Japan's economy is in moderate decline and growth will remain weak over the medium and long term due to a lower birth rate, aging population, and other structural factors," Goldman Sachs said in the note.
The companies surveyed by the Cabinet Office expect the Japanese economy to grow by 1.3 percent in fiscal 2014.
No going back
Japan's purchasing power has been declining steadily for more than 20 years.
After peaking at roughly 9 percent in 1991, the Japanese economy's share of nominal gross domestic product had halved to around 4.5 percent in 2014 on a purchasing power parity dollar basis, according to Goldman.
If anything, a weaker yen may only encourage another round of wasteful investment, some analysts said.
The yen is merely now back at the same level it was in the early 2000s when "exporters, particularly the electronics sector, actively invested in assembly lines that turned out to be unprofitable," said BNP Paribas chief economist Ryutaro Kono in a note on Monday.
"The danger is [moving production back to Japan will not only] reverse the correction of stock oversupply that had plagued the electronics industry for years, but also mean they will adopt a business model that is only viable at super cheap yen exchange rates last seen in early 1973," he said.
In January 1973, the yen was trading at just over 300 yen to the dollar. The yen is quoted at 119.60 to the dollar in early Asian trading on Tuesday.
-- Jessy Edwards contributed to this article
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6b9b8645e0053d996a9108038e1feae0 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/07/einhorn-heres-what-im-still-long-and-short.html | Einhorn: Here's what I'm still long and short | Einhorn: Here's what I'm still long and short
David Einhorn, president of Greenlight Capital.Katie Young | CNBC
Widely followed hedge fund manager David Einhorn reiterated his belief in two existing positions at an investment conference Tuesday: A short bet against Athenahealth and a long play in AerCap, according to a person who witnessed the presentation.
The remarks were made at an event hosted by Grant's Interest Rate Observer in New York. A spokesman for Einhorn's Greenlight Capital declined to comment.
Athenahealth stock declined about 2.8 percent in morning trading and had been down more than 4 percent at one point. AerCap was up about 2.6 percent at the same time.
Einhorn recommended shorting Athenahealth at the Sohn Investment Conference nearly a year ago. He called the company part of a "basket" of "bubble stocks" he was shorting. The presentation from that event is now posted on the Greenlight website.
Read MoreThese great market minds will all be in one place
VIDEO2:2002:20How did hedge funds fare in Q1?Squawk Box
Greenlight's top positions as of Dec. 31 are Micron Technology, Apple, SunEdison, Consol Energy and Marvell Technology, according to a public filing.
CNBC previously reported that Greenlight's main fund is down 1.8 percent net of fees for the first quarter.
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cc954d183b10eeaa9aa037b21bcdf51b | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/07/global-business-may-still-be-vulnerable-to-heartbleed.html | Global business may still be vulnerable to Heartbleed | Global business may still be vulnerable to Heartbleed
Source: Heartbleed.com
One year after the massive security flaw, Heartbleed, was revealed to the public, a new study found that up to 74 percent of companies in the Global 2000 are still vulnerable to being hacked via the bug.
The flaw grabbed widespread media attention when it was revealed in 2014, and made countless businesses scramble to fix their servers. But a study released this week by Venafi, a Salt Lake City, Utah-based cybersecurity firm, shows those efforts were not always enough.
Cybercriminals can still exploit the vulnerability to gain usernames and passwords as well as sensitive business and financial data, the study found.
"Heartbleed is still prevalent," said Josh Abraham, vice president of services at Austin Texas- headquartered Praetorian, a cybersecurity company that helps organizations minimize risk. Heartbleed affects OpenSSL, a software which allows websites to communicate information securely over the Internet.
Venafi compared historical vulnerability scans for Global 2000 business over the past year and found that 1,223 companies in the Global 2000 were still potentially vulnerable to the virus. In addition, from August 2014 to April 2015, the scans found only 2 percent more companies (from 387 companies to 419 companies) had completed their Heartbleed fixes.
A separate study by researchers from Northeastern University, Stanford University and University of Maryland released in November also found that more needed to be done by businesses to fix the Heartbleed vulnerability.
Read More
In order to fix Heartbleed fully, companies need either to patch or install updated software to their servers, and then change their SSL certificates and private keys, according to Kevin Bocek, vice president of security strategy and threat intelligence at Venafi. (An SSL certificate is a small data file that encrypts data sent over the Internet to keep it secure, and a private key is used to decrypt the data.)
Even once the updated software is installed, companies could be still vulnerable if hackers were able to access the SSL certificate and private key before the vulnerability was fixed.
Another danger of the stolen SSL certificates and private keys is that websites can be spoofed, according to Bocek. Hackers can use the information gained from the Heartbleed vulnerability to set up fake websites that appear to consumers to be real.
"[Full remediation] is taking more time because it's slow to do," said Bocek.
Read More Warning: Downloading that mobile app could cost you
VIDEO3:4403:44Tech Yeah! Heartbleed a painMobile
The full dangers of Heartbleed are unknown. While well-known companies have had sensitive information stolen, sometimes in high-profile attacks, determining that a breach was caused specifically by Heartbleed is difficult, said Praetorian's Abraham.
The larger lesson is that businesses need to be better at updating their servers, say cybersecurity experts
"Unfortunately, Heartbleed was just one example of a vulnerability that needs patching and remediation as soon as possible…organizations that don't manage vulnerabilities will fall victim to trivial attacks," said Erik Heidt, a research director for Gartner, a Stamford, Connecticut-based technology research and advisory company.
Read MoreSeeking love online or with an app? How to avoid scammers
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49b4952f2b3d4862a709cfb1d9b4f12b | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/07/goldmans-top-40-cheapest-stocks.html | The Goldman Sachs booth at the New York Stock Exchange.Adam Jeffery | CNBC
Throughout the 2pm Eastern Time hour on Power Lunch today, we highlighted the new list from Goldman Sachs naming 40 of its "cheapest stocks."
This could be an essential tool as more and more investors believe this is a stock pickers' market.
Brian Sullivan and Dominic Chu listed the leading names and debated the pros and cons.
Here's the list below:
Chesapeake Energy
Delta Airlines
American Airlines
Keurig Green Mountain
Michael Kors Holdings
Southwest Airlines
Alcoa
Tyson Foods
PACCAR
Garmin
FedEx
Sandisk
Wynn Resorts
Amgen
Lam Research
Delphi Automotive
Cabot Oil & Gas
Harley-Davidson
AbbVie
Vulcan Materials
Autodesk
Discover Financial Services
Juniper Networks
Cisco Systems
Union Pacific
General Motors
Actavis
Monsanto
CF Industries
FLIR Systems
EMC
Twenty First Century Fox
Intuitive Surgical
Tiffany & Co.
Mead Johnson Nutrition
Priceline
L3 Communications
Phillips 66
Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Marathon Petroleum
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6080786610bbb5fc5404d7c1dab22260 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/07/niles-turns-bullish-on-twitter-after-shorting-since-ipo.html | Niles turns bullish on Twitter after shorting since IPO | Niles turns bullish on Twitter after shorting since IPO
VIDEO4:5804:58Twitter bear turns bullishHalftime Report
Dan Niles, senior portfolio manager at Alphaone Capital, has turned bullish on Twitter after shorting it for years.
Niles disclosed that he recently bought shares of the embattled tech stock while speaking on CNBC's "Halftime Report" on Tuesday, citing its new search deal with Google as a potential catalyst.
The deal will let Google users access tweets in real time they search. Niles says the endeavor should help boost its monthly active users, an area Twitter has struggled with.
Read MoreThe social apps with the the highest retention
Twitter shares popped as much as 5 percent in afternoon trading on unsubstantiated rumors that it had hired an advisor to help it fend off a takeover bid, according to StreetAccount.
When asked about the takeover rumors, Niles said he sees why Twitter could be seen as a takeover target. But he said that's not why he's in.
"Google is really pretty much getting killed in the social category. Who uses Google Plus? That's pretty much dead," Niles said. "If you're sort of Google or somebody else who's trying to get your growth reinvigorated, Twitter is obviously somebody that you can look at…"
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68806725faf915d15b5167844f8877f5 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/08/8-entrepreneurs-serving-the-graying-of-america.html?page=7 | How I did it | How I did it
Huntstock | Getty Images
The longevity economy, representing all economic activity serving the needs of Americans over 50, is expected to top $13.5 trillion by 2032, according to Oxford Economics. This opportunity isn't lost on savvy entrepreneurs.
Out of a total 290 entrepreneurs who attended the annual Boomer Summit last month in Chicago, 40 percent were entrepreneurs hoping to pitch their products to potential investors and get ideas on how to best appeal to this demographic. That was twice the amount as the previous year, and for the first time, they came from many different countries.
Katy Fike, co-founder of Aging2.0, a start-up accelerator program, and founding partner of Generator Ventures, a venture fund focused on aging and long-term care, said the industry is attracting graduates from top-tier business schools. Some entrepreneurs have already developed particularly successful products geared toward the demographic shift. Many of these ideas sprung from a personal experience and a desire to solve a problem endured by a loved one.
Here are 8 business owners who have already found millions in the longevity economy.
—By Julie Halpert, special to CNBC.com Posted 08 April 2015
A former newspaper reporter and corporate lawyer, Zimman was asked to partner with Michael Merzenich, a scientist and co-inventor of the cochlear implant, to launch the company in 2004. Merzenich was at the forefront of discovering the brain's plasticity—that it's capable of change, even in older people.
San Francisco, California-based Posit Science focuses on brain fitness exercises; 110 peer-reviewed published articles have shown that exercises in Brain HQ, the company's flagship product, significantly increased processing speed and improved memory and attention. Zimman, now the company's chairman, said as people age, the brain slows down, but those in their eighties can develop a processing speed just as fast as those in their twenties after the brain training. The training also leads to lower rates of depression and better health outcomes—even better balance, Zimman said.
Posit Science has partnerships with many organizations, including AAA, AARP and State Farm. It also has 10,000 subscribers who pay either a monthly or annual fee for the brain training. Annual revenues "are over $1 million but under $1 billion annually. I can't get more specific," Zimman said. The company has 40 employees.
Zimman's secret to success: "There's been a focus on what works and what people want to do. We spend money on research studies instead of advertising. Every day we try to make it better."
Charles De Vilmorin, CEO and co-founder, Linked Senior, Washington, D.C.Source: Linked Senior
De Vilmorin's grandmother suffered from Alzheimer's and was left alone all day in her nursing home in France. "The conditions are even worse in the U.S.," he said.
De Vilmorin, age 36, previously worked for Mattel's interactive division in France, specializing in Barbie and Rugrats products. Now he's designing interactive, customized video content for seniors in nursing homes—a former accountant can tap into information on balance sheets; a resident interested in sailing can access slideshows on the sport. It's difficult for a "burnt out" staff person in charge of 100 people to become a valuable assistant, De Vilmorin said. The program provides access to interactive games, trivia, cognitive exercises and music for music therapy. There's even access to a library of nostalgic songs from the residents' younger days. De Vilmorin said the product often results in reduction in the use of antipsychotic drugs to control aggressive behavior and improve mood. The company is now coordinating with an electronic health record software platform for additional clinical value and family engagement.
Linked Senior has more than doubled in the past two years, with annual revenue last year at $1 million. That number is expected to double within the next 18 months. Currently, more than 200 nursing facilities with over 30,000 residents use the service.
De Vilmorin's secret to success: Having a long-term vision, sticking to that vision without getting distracted and innovating all the time.
Joel Theisen, CEO and founder, Lifesprk, Minneapolis, MinnesotaSource: Lifesprk
Theisen's desire in starting Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Lifesprk was to change the caregiving experience so that it's less reactive and focused more on the root causes of why problems happen. A nurse by training, he launched the company in 2004 after working for a geriatric-care management company for seven years. "We're not thoughtful about how we help people who are living longer," and the result is unnecessary rehospitalizations, he said.
Lifesprk provides each client with a dedicated life-care manager, a registered nurse who serves as their personal advocate and gets to know them and provides proactive care. Theisen recalls a woman who had been hospitalized 23 times in three months before becoming a client of Lifesprk. As the care manager got to know her, it became apparent she suffered from anxiety due to loneliness and depression. Reconnecting her with family, her community and what engaged her made a significant difference. Over the next four years, her confidence returned and she was admitted to the emergency room only once.
Lifesprk's revenue reached $12.5 million in 2014, up from $10.5 million in 2013. Revenue is expected to reach $15 million this year. The company employs 570. Currently, clients are just in the nine counties in the Twin Cities area, but Theisen's goal is to scale nationally.
Theisen's secret to success: "We're committed to changing the experience for people. The idea of preventative and holistic medicine is resonating with people."
Andy Cohen (pictured left with Bankrate CEO Kenneth Esterow), now 51, had been in marketing for a variety of Silicon Valley companies when his mother, living in Chicago, was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2006 and he began regular cross-country trips to see her. "The whole caregiver experience was awful emotionally and logistically," he said, with no websites available to help those caring for aging parents.
After his mother passed away, Cohen, who previously worked at Intuit and ran Quicken.com, decided to start a site for the many adult children caring for aging parents. Forty-three million people are caring for someone over 50 in the U.S. San Mateo, California-based Caring.com was launched in 2007. The site provides emotional support, answers to questions about care and high-quality local resources, including ratings of assisted-living facilities in the U.S.
The site gets 3 million unique visitors a month—double the traffic from the previous year—mostly women in their fifties and sixties caring for parents in their eighties and nineties. Caring.com's annual revenues were $15 million in 2014. The company has doubled its growth within the last two years. Bankrate bought the company for $54 million in May 2014.
Cohen's secret to success: "Everyone here has their own caregiving story" and is passionate about helping others going through this, Cohen said. "We don't try to be the sexiest company in Silicon Valley. We're very focused on helping people."
Sherwin Sheik, CareLinx, San Bruno, CaliforniaSource: CareLinx
Sheik, age 37, was motivated to start his business after his mother, unable to find reliable caregivers for his sister—who suffers from multiple sclerosis and is blind and quadriplegic—was forced to leave her job as a research scientist to care for her. At the same time, his aunt "basically was running an ICU out of her house" to care for his uncle, who suffered from ALS and required round-the-clock care. Sheik, who formerly covered the health-care sector for Capital Markets, a hedge fund, launched San Bruno, California-based CareLinx in 2011.
Each family is assigned a dedicated family advisor to help them navigate the caregiving search—everything from a caregiver's nationality and personality characteristics to their experience and budget. All caregivers undergo regular background checks and are bonded and provided with $1 million in comprehensive liability insurance.
CareLinx provides caregivers to more than 1,000 families a month. Its caregivers are located in 3,000 cities and the top 50 metropolitan areas. There are now over 20 employees; revenues exceed $1 million a year. The company grew 160 percent from 2013 to 2014, and Sheik expects to grow three to four times that this year.
Sheik's secret to success: A personalized approach. Staff come to the job "from a place of genuinely wanting to help, not just trying to profit off this huge opportunity."
David Inns, CEO of Great Call.Source: Great Call
Inns, age 46, was running the consumer division of Bell Mobility in Canada, a wireless company, when he was brought in by San Diego, California-based GreatCall founders Arlene Harris and Marty Cooper to help launch the company in 2006. He wanted to be a part of the new venture because he realized that "the older population was being left behind by technology."
GreatCall's first product was the Jitterbug, a phone that's designed for older customers. That was followed by the Jitterbug touch, a simplified smartphone with a large font. The phones filled a special void for older consumers to help get them connected. Since then, GreatCall has expanded into many different directions, starting a digital health service in 2008. It's been offering new products, like a mobile version of a medical alert device, unveiled in 2011 and an app that provides alerts to family caregivers, as well as the Splash, a waterproof medical alert device.
Inns said annual revenues are "several hundred million a year" and that the company has been experiencing 20 percent growth year-to-year over the past three years. It's gone from zero employees in 2006 to 1,000 today.
Inns' secret to success: A customized experience from top to bottom, including required "sensitivity training" for customer service agents, where they use the products while wearing glasses that simulate glaucoma and gloves that simulate arthritis.
Geoff Nudd, CEO ClearCareSource: ClearCare
When Nudd's father was struggling to take care of his own mother who lived 1,200 miles away, Nudd, age 36, created a simple Google document for him where caregivers would report back to the family on the tasks they completed. That became the basis for San Francisco, California-based ClearCare, which he launched in 2010.
ClearCare allows home-care agencies to communicate more transparently and efficiently with caregivers. A caregiver can get an instruction of daily tasks either by calling from a landline of the senior they're caring for or by logging in through an iPad or tablet. At the end of their shift, they report back what they did, and that information is available in real time to both the home-care agency and the family. Nudd said previously caregivers relied on paper logs that would often not be collected for a week or two, often when it's too late to catch a brewing health problem.
ClearCare now provides other services to home-care agencies, including billing and payroll, so all activities can be integrated. ClearCare's revenues in 2014 were $10 million. The company has more than 90 employees and 2,000 home-care agencies as clients.
Nudd's secret to success: Tap into a fast-growing market with a crucial need for your product. Home care is the lowest-cost institutional provider segment serving the nation's highest-cost patient population, and there will be a "tidal wave of aging adults entering the system," Nudd said.
Asif Khan, founder and CEO, Caremerge, San Francisco, CaliforniaSource: Caremerge
Khan, age 44, said Caremerge's goal is to "get the right information about the right patient at the right time to the right provider so they can make the right decisions." He launched Caremerge in 2012.
His idea was shaped by the frustration he encountered when his mother faced a health emergency as his parents were volunteering in rural Pakistan. He found it hard to believe that the medical industry still relies on the antiquated practice of faxes and telephone calls to communicate medical information. Khan, who formerly had a global leadership role with GE Healthcare, saw the merits of solving the care coordination problem.
Under his system, all the information for patients in senior living facilities is collected in one place and is easily accessible to both clinicians and family members. Using an app, staff members can easily input a patient's activities that family members can track. They're alerted via their phone when they need to be aware of new information about the patient.
Caremerge now employs 30 and is used in 130 senior living facilities, with 15,000 patients in the system. Its annual revenues were $60,000 in 2013 and $600,000 in 2014; it's expected to well exceed $1 million this year.
Khan's secret to success: Solving a real-world problem. "There's tremendous value in centralizing communication around patient care in one place," Khan said.
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869f7c54420a52258d9c2c963ec1e85f | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/08/alibabas-ant-arm-launches-chinas-first-e-commerce-based-stock-index.html | Alibaba's Ant arm launches China's first e-commerce based stock index | Alibaba's Ant arm launches China's first e-commerce based stock index
Alibaba banners and the Chinese flag outside the New York Stock Exchange on the day of the company's initial public offering.Adam Jeffery | CNBC
Alibaba Group's finance arm launched on Thursday an index that tracks e-commerce activities to gauge firms' performance, marrying the China internet shopping giant's data troves with its financial services aspirations.
The CSI Taojin Big Data 100 Index, the first in China to tap e-commerce data, is composed of 100 stocks in sectors such as household durables, textiles and apparel, food and hospitality, said Ant Financial Services Group in a statement.
The index "weighs industries according to the growth in online transactions, price levels and the supply-demand situation in China", said Ant. It "relies on timely quantitative online payment and transaction data rather than quarterly earnings to provide investors accurate and up-to-date information," the statement said.
VIDEO3:3303:33Alibaba is a 'rock solid' firm: Pro
Alibaba and Ant have big ambitions for financial services in China, which have traditionally been geared towards larger and state-owned businesses and neglected individuals and smaller enterprises.
The index's launch is a step towards building a full-fledged internet finance platform, which Ant says will open up services like banking, loans and credit, insurance, payment systems and investment to new tiers of Chinese society.
Alibaba is China's biggest e-commerce company, while Alipay, operated by Ant, is the country's dominant online payment platform. Analysts say this gives Alibaba what is possibly China's best data on consumers' and small businesses' finance.
Read MoreThis chart says Alibaba's hit a floor: Trader
Alibaba and Ant are now hunting for ways to monetise that data beyond services like Alipay and Yu'e Bao, a wealth management product for individuals which since its launch in 2013 rapidly became one of China's biggest funds.
"We're hoping that our index is going to be stronger than the actual A share market," said Yuan Leiming, Ant's general manager for finance, in an interview with Reuters. Since the index started running as a pilot test on Jan. 18, it has grown by about 65 percent, broadly tracking the A-share market, he said.
Bosera Asset Management, one of Ant's partners in the index venture, will launch a fund and a note linked to the index, Yuan said. But Ant is conservative about how popular the fund will be, given that people still need to witness the value of e-commerce data, and the index has to gain acceptance, he said.
Analysts see the move as the logical next step in Ant's and Alibaba's financial ambitions.
"It's very sensible from Alibaba's perspective because they attacked the money market fund first and have seen huge success," said Howhow Zhang, director at Shanghai-based Z-Ben Advisors, ahead of the index's launch. "The next step is index funds."
Shanghai Gildata Services is the third partner in the index venture.
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c91fc50a13740ffdecbbcc37a926cc37 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/08/apple-watch-reviews-positive-with-caveats.html | Apple Watch reviews are positive, with caveats | Apple Watch reviews are positive, with caveats
VIDEO4:3004:30First-hand look at Apple Watch: Buy or ditch?
VIDEO2:3202:32Reviews pour in for the Apple Watch Mobile
VIDEO1:2801:28Apple Watch nicer than it looks in photos: Jon ForttSquawk Box
Users who got early access to the Apple Watch almost universally hailed the company's flagship wearable as a major product release, and a transformative moment in mobile technology.
But does that mean you need to run out and buy one? Maybe not.
"It took three days — three long, often confusing and frustrating days — for me to fall for the Apple Watch. But once I fell, I fell hard," Farhad Manjoo wrote for the New York Times.
Bloomberg's Joshua Topolsky weighed in with similar, albeit qualified, praise.
"So Apple has succeeded in its first big task with its watch. It made something that lives up to the company's reputation as an innovator and raised the bar for a whole new class of devices," he wrote.
But at the same time he had a caveat: "The Apple Watch is cool, it's beautiful, it's powerful, and it's easy to use. But it's not essential. Not yet."
Apple WatchDavid Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
For sure, virtually all praise for the Watch also included some criticism.
Joanna Stern, Wall Street Journal personal technology columnist, who was impressed overall, told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" that exercise kills the Watch's battery life. "[D]ays when I went to a 45-minute spinning class, it was dying by 8 or 9 pm," she said.
Still, she was impressed at how well the Watch works on its own, describing how she went out for a morning run without her iPhone, and was able to stop at Whole Foods for coffee and water and paid using only her Watch.
"For me that was one of the breaking points where I said this thing is freeing from the phone," she said.
Edward Baig, USA Today personal technology columnist, told CNBC that the watch isn't an essential item to own, but it is "awfully nice to have."
He used it to hail a ride using the third-party Uber app and although he was a little bit confused by the interface, he did get a ride. He added that Apple Pay on the Watch works better than on his phone because "you are just hitting a couple of buttons, putting it right to the register and it worked very well."
Read MoreIs the first Apple Watch just a teaser?
Re/code's Lauren Goode noted, in an otherwise positive and delighted review, that the company hasn't quite fixed at least one previously revealed flaw.
"I've used Apple Maps for turn-by-turn directions, and like the way the watch buzzes on my wrist ahead of an upcoming turn. Although the Maps app did at one point think I was on a road that was on the other side of a creek. Oh, Apple Maps."
Other complaints? NYT's Manjoo worried that the "new tech vistas" made possible by the Watch "may push us to new heights of collective narcissism." He also noted that Siri—Apple's voice-command function—is hit or miss on the Watch.
Bloomberg's Toplosky said the constant notifications on his wrist were distracting, rather than liberating.
"Isn't the promise of the Apple Watch to help me stay in the moment, focused on the people around me and undisturbed by the mesmerizing void of my iPhone? So why do I suddenly feel so distracted?"
CNET senior editor Scott Stein told CNBC's "Squawk Alley" that battery life was a big issue. Charging the watch at night meant that he couldn't use it as a silent alarm or to track his sleep. He was also concerned with how long some apps took to load, but he did say the watch could get better over time.
--Reem Nasr contributed to this report.
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7e88abdec4d4a4d78d50bdfdfab033ad | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/08/hong-kong-stocks-its-now-or-never.html | Hong Kong stocks: It's now or never | Hong Kong stocks: It's now or never
LAURENT FIEVET | AFP | Getty Images
Hong Kong stocks are a winning trade, investors say, as worries over pricey A-shares and favorable policy announcements send mainland investors bargain hunting down south.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index shot up 4 percent to its second straight seven-year peak on Thursday, playing catch up to the recent string of seven-year highs. Year-to-date, Shanghai is up 23 percent and the Hang Seng 11 percent higher, but between the two analysts say Hong Kong offers better value.
"China stocks are no longer cheap. The momentum is in place, so let's see whether it starts moving into bubbly valuations," Roger Tan, CEO of Voyage Research, told CNBC
HSBC agrees, noting that 40 percent of Shanghai-listed companies have price-to-book (PB) ratios in the range of 1X-3X. For Shenzhen-listed firms, that range increases to 5x-10x. By contrast, nearly 40 percent of Hong Kong companies have a PB below 1X, and 32 percent have a PB of 1X-2X. A low PB suggests that a stock is undervalued.
H-shares are also more attractive on a forward price-to-earnings (PE) basis, according to IG. Since March 2014, the CSI 300 has increased from 8.11X to 15.6X, while H-shares have gone from 6.3X to 9.33X, which is still relatively cheap, the spread-betting firm said in a note on Thursday.
This valuation gap has presented a juicy arbitrage opportunity for Chinese money managers. The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect saw record turnover on Wednesday as Chinese investors used their entire daily quota for the first time.
"While mainland shoppers appear to be losing some of their enthusiasm for going shopping in Hong Kong, it is likely that retail investors on the mainland will soon be snapping up H-share bargains in large numbers," HSBC wrote in a report.
VIDEO4:3204:32Time to chase mainland or HK stocks?Squawk Box Asia
The disparity in prices [between the two markets] is primarily a result of the inefficiencies of the barely five-month-old Stock Connect, explained Nicholas Teo, CMC market analyst. "Without a free and completely liberated access to both sets of investors, huge imbalances remain between the supply and demand surrounding both categories. With this being the case, a spread in price may offer a fascinating trading concept," he said.
New action from regulators also appears to be spurring the resurgence in mainland buying.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) removed barriers for mainland money managers to buy H-shares last week. "The idea is not to hurt the A-share market, but to lower the valuation discrepancy between markets and spread risk," said Chris Weston, IG's chief market strategist.
Read MoreHong Kong's labor pool may be about to shrink
Moreover, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission recently allowed mainland insurance firms to invest in Hong Kong's Growth Enterprise Market for the first time.
VIDEO2:3402:34The allure of buying Hong Kong sharesWorldwide Exchange
HSBC expects additional supporting policies to be announced in the near future, including the introduction of margin trading for mainland retail investors and a removal of the 500,000 renminbi minimum stock account balance, which should increase participation in southbound Stock Connect trading.
However, not everyone believes mainland players are at the center of the action.
"Despite the recent extension of Hong Kong-Shanghai Connect to include mainland fund managers, our discussions with brokers [on Wednesday] suggest it was foreign fund manager buying, rather than mainland Chinese," noted Mark Matthews, head of research Asia at Bank Julius Baer.
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44336bd2cea9cabe84b578c05edf5dfd | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/08/parents-should-know-the-abcs-of-special-needs-trusts.html | Parents should know the ABCs of special needs trusts | Parents should know the ABCs of special needs trusts
We all want to provide for our children, and perhaps even leave a little something behind to help lighten their load after we're gone. But when you're the parent of a disabled child who may outlive you, the importance—and complexity—of putting financial safeguards in place takes on new meaning.
Indeed, the manner in which you distribute assets to a special needs beneficiary after you die not only impacts his or her eligibility for government benefits but also their quality of life going forward.
Blackred | Getty Images
"Being well-intentioned is not enough," said Michael Duckworth, a Merrill Lynch financial advisor who specializes in estate planning for clients with a disabled loved one. "There are a lot of stories of grandparents who accidentally knocked their grandchild out of a needs-based program by leaving money to him or her outright."
How so?
Children and adults with significant disabilities, either physical or mental, are eligible for essential long-term nursing care under Medicaid, along with cash assistance under Supplemental Social Income—but only if they own no more than $2,000 in countable assets or $3,000 for a married applicant—and a number of state programs, including special education classes and vocational training.
Read MoreSandwich generation squeezed
"You may have a situation whereby Grandma writes a check out in her disabled grandson's name and he gets kicked out of the program that was giving him a better life experience," Duckworth said. To get back in, the beneficiary would have to spend down his assets and reapply for the program, which causes a lapse in service and disrupts continuity of care.
Unbeknownst to many, said Duckworth, many of the best state programs—including vocational training and those designed to service individuals with specific diagnoses, such as autism—are available only through Medicaid.
"No matter how much wealth you may have, there isn't a system whereby you can write a check and get in," he said.
Enter the special needs trust.
Such trusts, also called supplemental needs trusts, are designed to enable third-party individuals, generally family members, to leave an inheritance to disabled heirs without those assets counting against them for the purpose of securing public benefits.
Because assets are titled to the trust, they are not considered part of the estate.
There is no limit to how much you may contribute.
Elizabeth Roberts, senior vice president and chief fiduciary officer at Bryn Mawr Trust, said the language in such trusts should clearly indicate that distributions are to be made exclusively for supplemental expenses, or services not covered under Medicaid, such as medical and dental expenses, recreational therapy, specialist visits, dietary supplements, transportation, travel expenses and prosthetic devices.
"Frequently, the trust specifically states that funds are intended to supplement and not supplant," she said.
For maximum protection, the language within should also note that distributions are to be made only after other assets and governmental programs are considered, Roberts said.
VIDEO4:3704:37How to gain control of your legal lifeSquawk Box
Special needs trusts can be used to receive proceeds from litigation or a personal injury settlement on behalf of the disabled beneficiary, as well, in which case it would be structured as a "first person" or self-titled trust.
Money held in a self-titled trust is similarly excluded from public benefit calculations during the beneficiary's lifetime, but there is a payback provision.
Read MoreWorst marriage money mistakes
Any assets remaining in the trust when the beneficiary dies would be used to pay back Medicaid for expenses incurred by the state in administering care. In the event that excess money remains after the debt is repaid, those assets would pass to a designated heir. If there's not enough in the trust to make Medicaid whole, that debt dies with the special needs beneficiary.
Supplemental needs trusts that are set up by a third party have no such payback provision, and thus, any assets remaining in the trust after the beneficiary dies can be distributed to subsequent heirs free and clear.
Special needs trusts serve another important purpose, too, according to Minerva Vazquez, an attorney with Miami law firm Frye & Vazquez, who specializes in the area of special needs estate planning.
They protect the assets held within from creditors and claims against the estate.
"A lot of parents think it's OK to leave money to their other, non-disabled child who has agreed to care for their sibling, but they don't consider the possibility of a lawsuit or divorce settlement," Vazquez said.
If the non-disabled child gets sued, files for bankruptcy, causes a car accident or gets divorced, she said, those assets are vulnerable.
"Under a trust, that money is protected from creditors and settlements," Vazquez said.
Everyone loves their child or grandchild, and the last thing they want is to do something that takes them out of a program they love and really benefits them.Michael Duckworthfinancial advisor at Merrill Lynch
Indeed, mistakes are common when dealing with the unique estate-planning needs of the disabled, said Duckworth at Merrill Lynch.
Some families, for example, create traditional life insurance trusts in the name of a disabled loved one but fail to stipulate that the proceeds should be directed to a special needs trust when it pays out. There again, the beneficiary would be bumped out of Medicaid as a result.
"If you buy an insurance policy, you need to leave that money to the special needs trust," said Duckworth, noting that a regular trust will not suffice. "Traditional estate planning is not the approach when you have a beneficiary with a meaningful disability."
Read MorePros, cons of long-term care coverage
Because the consequences of estate-planning missteps are so dire for disabled beneficiaries, Duckworth suggests all immediate and extended family members (parents, siblings, aunts, uncles and grandparents) who may be inclined to generosity be advised to enlist the help of a professional experienced in special needs estate planning, be it a lawyer or financial advisor.
"Individuals with special family members need to be present to the risks that are there," Duckworth said. "Everyone loves their child or grandchild, and the last thing they want is to do something that takes them out of a program they love and really benefits them."
—By Shelly Schwartz, special to CNBC.com
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3de16bdcb60eb8dcbb84458e48b48f81 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/08/shanghai-hong-kong-stock-connect-sees-record-turnover.html | Shanghai-Hong Kong stock connect sees record turnover | Shanghai-Hong Kong stock connect sees record turnover
China Photos | Getty Images
Chinese investors, for the first time, used the entire 10.5 billion ($1.7 billion) daily quota in a cross-border program buying Hong Kong stocks, boosting turnover under the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect to a record.
The buying boosted the Hang Seng Index 3.8 percent to its highest level in nearly seven years. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of Hong Kong-listed mainland companies was up 5.8 percent for the day, hitting a four-year high.
Hong Kong stock exchange Chairman Chow Chung Kong told a news conference that total turnover under the stock connect scheme reached a record high of 29.9 billion yuan on Wednesday. Total market turnover in Hong Kong also hit a record high of HK$252.4 billion, surpassing the 2007 level.
VIDEO4:3304:33China stocks are no longer cheap: ProSquawk Box Asia
"Market capitalization in total for all the listed companies in Hong Kong today reached HK$28.6 trillion...making us the highest market capitalization exchange in the world."
The milestones follow signs of rapidly rising interest in Hong Kong stocks from mainland investors, after months of tepid interest that caused the southbound leg of the stock connector to go largely unused.
"We are in the midst of a profound structural change: the gradual but accelerating opening of mainland China's financial markets," said HKEX chief executive Charles Li, who was quoted in a press release commenting on the day's performance.
Read MoreChina stocks to power ahead? Experts think so
"Our securities market provides a good investment outlet for mainland funds and is an excellent way for mainland investors to diversify their portfolios."
Chinese fund managers, however, said they are moving money more to seek arbitrage profits from the massive valuation gap between Hong Kong and Shanghai shares in the same companies, with Hong Kong shares trading at discounts between 30 to 90 percent to their mainland peers.
Chen Zhizhong, a Shenzhen-based analyst at China Merchant Securities, said that the recent three-day weekend was full of discussion in the analyst community about whether the time was right to move into Hong Kong.
The consensus answer, apparently, was yes.
"The party has begun, and you can feel the excitement today," Chen said. "It's hard to say when the music will stop."
Over the past year, China's CSI300 index has soared more than 90 percent, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index rose just 29.8 percent.
The premium China shares have over their Hong Kong-listed peers has fallen sharply over the past week on signs of increasing demand for Hong Kong shares.
Analysts say part of the reason for the increased southbound flows is that Chinese regulators last week allowed mutual funds to buy Hong Kong shares under the connect program, seen as making it easier to get around previous barriers to southbound flows, including high capital thresholds and lengthy application requirements.
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e51a574645e1620b3dc4a87374422906 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/08/these-could-be-the-next-energy-buyers-and-sellers.html | These could be the next energy buyers and sellers | These could be the next energy buyers and sellers
VIDEO2:3502:35What Shell's big bid means for oil: AnalystSquawk Box
VIDEO3:3803:38Shell to buy BG for $70B
VIDEO4:0004:00New pricing paradigm in oil: Pro
Royal Dutch Shell's nearly $70 billion buyout of BG Group is just the start of energy sector mergers, Fadel Gheit, senior energy analyst at Oppenheimer & Co., said on Wednesday.
"The industry is overdue for one, and there are so many players, the field is so crowded and cost inflation was skyrocketing. Now we are going to rebase the industry," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box."
Royal Dutch Shell announced on Wednesday it had struck a cash-and-stock deal to buy BG Group for £47 billion ($70.2 billion). The buyout would boost Shell's proven oil and gas reserves by 25 percent and its production by 20 percent on a 2014 basis, the company said in a statement.
The acquisition marks the biggest deal in the oil industry since December 1998, when Exxon bought Mobil for $80 billion. Chevron's purchase of Texaco for $36 billion in stock in 2000 capped a wave of energy sector consolidation in the late '90s.
Read MoreA signal shows more oilfield mergers may be coming
Moving forward, Exxon Mobil is a potential buyer, Gheit said, noting that the company has enough financial assets to theoretically purchase Shell, its largest rival, he said.
Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson is also facing mandatory retirement in the next two years, and he wants to do a transformational deal that can secure his legacy at the company, Roberto Friedlander, head trader at Brean Capital, told CNBC.
"This means the deal has to come sooner rather than later in order to have it fully integrated before he retires," he said.
Potential buyers also face pressure to get deals before the Federal Reserve begins to lift interest rates from near zero.
Among the energy players Friedlander sees as potential targets are integrated oil and gas company Hess as well as independent U.S. exploration and production firms Pioneer Natural Resources, Anadarko Petroleum, Whiting Petroleum, Marathon Oil and EOG Resources.
Oil majors will also have distressed resource and mining names such as Alpha Natural Resources, Arch Coal and Peabody Energy in their sights, he said.
Read More These energy stocks are rooting against crude oil
As for companies in Europe that stand out as potential acquisitions, London-based Tullow Oil is the most likely target, Michael Hewson, senior oil analyst at CMC Markets, told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." He noted that Tullow's share price has plummeted about 60 percent in the last year.
"Certainly I think in the context of picking up an asset fairly cheap, it's got a market cap of £3 billion, so you certainly wouldn't be betting the farm on acquiring maybe Tullow Oil."
While Shell's BG deal has sparked speculation about who is next, Nasdaq energy analyst Tamar Essner said it's too soon to tell whether Wednesday's announcement is a harbinger of things to come.
"In general, it's a favorable condition to have easy access to capital and a distressed commodity price environment, but more broadly, executives have been saying that they've been gun-shy about making acquisitions," she told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." "They want to make sure that whatever they buy will be accretive right away, so that will put a damper on deals in terms of this year."
VIDEO1:4901:49We've been looking at BG for years: Shell CEO Squawk Box Europe
VIDEO1:1801:18BG deal more about gas than oil: Shell CEOOil
VIDEO0:5400:54Offering fair value for BG: Shell CEOOil
Shell said the BG deal would increase its exposure to deep-water drilling and natural gas products, including LNG, or liquefied natural gas. This comes at a time when oil prices have entered a protracted period of weakness, with trading about 50 percent below its peak in June 2014.
"It's fair to say that of course the changing macro environment made this deal, apart from being a very, very good fit and a logical deal, of course a very compelling one from a financial perspective as well," Ben van Beurden, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, told CNBC on Wednesday.
The deal does not, however, represent a bet on oil prices, he said.
Read MoreShell's BG deal: The biggest oil price bet yet?
Gheit said the move made sense because it will make Shell's assets more valuable. The deal is not big for the sake of being bigger, but big for the sake of being better, he added.
Shell forecast that the transaction would create $2.5 billion in pretax synergies.
"It's a good deal because basically synergy benefits are going to be in the billions of dollars. It will vertically integrate Shell to become the largest natural gas player in the world. This is a clean fuel, cleaner than oil. It is more abundant, and it is cheaper," Gheit said.
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b877658e2d3ddadc4d1f40d967b5f4e9 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/09/earnings-season-is-the-next-test-for-stock-strategists-targets.html?__source=fincont&par=fincont | Earnings season is the next test for stock strategists' targets | Earnings season is the next test for stock strategists' targets
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.Getty Images
Wall Street's top stock strategists expect the S&P 500 to gain about 6.5 percent from current levels by year-end, but those forecasts face a formidable challenge in the next couple of weeks from corporate earnings season.
A negative outlook for company earnings is already baked in with expectations for the first profit decline in six years. But if the outlook does not brighten for the economy and earnings later in the year, some of Wall Street's rosiest forecasts are at risk.
CNBC SURVEY: MARKET STRATEGIST OUTLOOK
The average forecast in CNBC's Market Strategist Survey of 15 top Wall Street equity strategists is 2,220 for the S&P 500. The index was trading at around 2,080 midday Thursday, after starting the year at 2,059 for a gain so far of just 1 percent.
VIDEO1:1601:16What do strategists forecast? Market Insider
"The problem comes if the economic numbers don't pick up over the next month or two, as you come out of earnings season," said Julian Emanuel, equity and derivative strategist at UBS. Emanuel has a midrange target of 2,225, and he expects first-quarter earnings to beat the anticipated operating earnings decline of 4 percent.
Gina Martin Adams, institutional equities strategist at Wells Fargo Securities, said companies have done a good job of guiding expectations lower, so the market could get a lift if earnings beats outnumber misses and the outlook is seen improving after the first several weeks of reports. Earnings started with Alcoa on Wednesday, but get into full swing with major banks and technology next week.
Alcoa's earnings were better than expected, but it missed analysts' expectations for revenue. Adams said the profit beat, at least, was a good sign.
Read MoreThe stocks expected to see huge earnings moves
"The metals and mining sector is not one of the high fliers of the index, so that gives you some hope that earnings might come in better than expectations imply," said Adams. Her target for the S&P 500 of 2,222 also falls in the middle of the strategists' targets, which range between 2,100 and 2,325.
"I expect the market to consolidate. The technicals are weak, mixed at best. We've been trading sideways," she said. "On the fundamental side, even if we have some modest beats, I think you have to have confirmation in the forward guidance before the market can get another leg higher. Have downward revisions finally stopped? I think that's a key question for this earnings season."
Emanuel also expects a range-bound market until further into the earnings season, and he said the economic data also have to show signs of turning to convince the market. The first quarter is tracking at just above 1 percent growth, and Friday's surprisingly weak March jobs report raised concerns about further weakness though economists predict a spring back in the second quarter.
Read MoreEarnings season could be an 'outside' surprise
"If the economy doesn't pick up, you have to confront the idea that the entire year could be a down year for earnings, and while that's not going to kill the market, that could make later spring into early summer a more volatile period," Emanuel said.
Read MoreGoldman's Kostin: The market is hightly valued but that's good
Net income for the S&P 500 is expected to decline 2.7 percent, according to Thomson Reuters. The second quarter is also projected to be negative, with a decline of just more than a half percent, but analysts still see a slight gain in the third quarter.
Thomas Lee with Fundstrat Global Advisors, one of the most bullish strategists, said his biggest fear is that deflation takes hold later in the year. He already anticipates negative first-quarter earnings with his forecast of 2,325.
"They're not going to be great in Q1. It's negative, primarily because you have energy taking a huge wallop," Lee said. "It's almost as if you had one company out of 10 having a bad quarter. Does it mean you have to sell all 10? Earnings tend to be in the rearview mirror. The decline is going to fade as you move through the year."
Lee and Emanuel both said while the sharp drop in oil prices is slamming profits, the extent to which it is a positive for consumers and corporate users has yet to be seen and that should become an increasingly positive influence as the year goes on.
Read MoreBelski: Notion of earnings recession is 'bunk'
"Energy EPS is expected to fall 65 percent year on year," said Adams. "Bottom-up consensus thinks energy earnings will fall 50 percent for the year as a whole. A lot depends on energy, but now that we've seen oil prices start to stabilize and energy companies themselves are cutting cap ex ... we'll probably see a pretty rapid turn around in the earnings stream."
While strategists also have a wide range of S&P targets, they also have a wide range of 2015 earnings expectations for the S&P—from $117.50 to $128 per share.
Read MoreMorgan Stanley's Parker: Market is in long expansion
VIDEO2:2002:20Bounce back in Q2?Power Lunch
"We've said all along there's going to be volatility. If you end up being down 10 to 15 percent at some point this year, I wouldn't be surprised at all," said Emanuel. "To me, that point is likely to come May into June if there's a sense that the second quarter isn't going to provide economic payback we're all expecting. The countervailing force is going to be as we get later in the year, the Fed would be more patient."
The central bank's rate hike plans are clearly hanging over the market as the earnings season starts, and while the markets mostly expect a first increase in September or later, the uncertainty has made for volatility.
While some strategists see a choppy market when the Fed is ready to hike, others say that the market is prepared.
Emanuel said the market should not be surprised by a rate rise, and if the economy is too weak, the Fed will not start the process of liftoff.
But Adams said if the central bank does move faster than expected, that could be a negative. "The Fed's not going to rock the boat, but our sense is they will attempt an interest rate hike or two in the next six months or so. That could take the market by surprise, and usually the impact of a Fed policy change is felt in the multiple."
Read MoreThis is when to worry about US market: Thomas Lee
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13fb9962740582ff6db663bdae6dff94 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/09/intel-drops-talks-to-acquire-altera-sources.html | Intel drops talks to acquire Altera: Sources | Intel drops talks to acquire Altera: Sources
Visitors take pictures next to the Intel logo at Intel headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif.Getty Images
Intel has stopped its talks with Altera about a potential acquisition, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Altera stock fell about 10 percent in pre-market trading. When news of the talks first broke in March, Altera stock posted a 28 percent jump.
The two companies have not spoken in more than a week, sources said, as neither party could agree on a price.
Read More Altera shares jumped 28% on Intel interest
Those sources said Intel's offer was in the neighborhood of the low $50-range per share, and that the talks had taken place over several months.
For its part, Intel stock traded down more than 2 percent in the pre-market trade.
Another semiconductor company, , saw about a 3 percent pre-market gain—potentially on speculation that it could be the next takeover target for Intel.
—CNBC's David Faber contributed to this report.
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4d352b6bef377bb8db78d358def99871 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/09/lawmakers-should-have-final-say-on-iran-deal-sen-barrasso.html | Lawmakers should have final say on Iran deal: Sen. Barrasso | Lawmakers should have final say on Iran deal: Sen. Barrasso
VIDEO2:0502:05Sen. Barrasso: We want 60 days to review final Iran dealSquawk Box
Senate Foreign Relations Committee member John Barrasso said Thursday he's worried about the repercussions of lifting sanctions against Iran.
In a televised speech Thursday, Iran's president said Tehran would agree to a final nuclear accord with the U.S. and five other nations only if all sanctions over its disputed nuclear work were lifted.
"Iran wants the money. They say, 'Show us the money,' because it's tens of billions of dollars when you lift the oil restrictions, when you lift the banking sanctions," the Wyoming Republican, Barrasso, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" in an interview. "It's a lot of money that comes into them, and I think they are going to use it to support terrorism elsewhere."
Last week, both sides in the Iran talks announced that a framework agreement had been reached, with the goal of a final deal by June 30. But a number of issues are in dispute, including the timing of sanction relief, which the U.S. said would be phased out gradually.
Read MoreEx-Israeli PM to US: Give Iran 'or else' ultimatum
"The White House seemed fixated on getting a deal, even a bad deal," said Barrasso. That's why, he said, he's part of a bipartisan group of senators who want the final say, a demand the White House worries would hamstring further negotiations.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee plans to vote Tuesday on the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, crafted by chairman Bob Corker, Republican from Tennessee, and supported by influential Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York.
President Barack Obama, who's threatened to veto the bill, called Corker on Wednesday in a latest attempt to convince Congress that the framework agreement is the best way to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
"I want to actually review the deal. The Senate wants to review the deal" before any Iran sanctions put into place by Congress would be lifted, Barrasso said. "We want 60 days to review the final deal and say, 'Yes or no.' "
"You would think the president would want to come to the Senate," Barrasso added. "It would strengthen his hand. It would give additional validity and credibility to a deal if he had the Senate buying in and approving it."
There's one provision of the Corker bill the president particularly detests, which calls on the administration to certify that Iran has not directly supported or carried out an act of terrorism against the United States or an American anywhere in the world.
The White House is opposed to pegging any deal to U.S. concerns about Iranian support of terrorist groups. Administration officials insist they're only negotiating an agreement to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
—The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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aa49cab0012f70c2dbaaeb2b1ecb7169 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/09/samsung-wants-the-limelight-back-from-apple-watch.html | Samsung wants the limelight back from Apple Watch | Samsung wants the limelight back from Apple Watch
Amid the Apple Watch hype, Samsung is fighting for a space in the limelight for its hotly anticipated Galaxy S6 smartphone, which will go on sale on Friday—the same day as its U.S. rival's wearable is available for pre-order.
J.K. Shin, the electronic giant's mobile chief, told a press briefing in South Korea said he expects record shipments of the new device as the company looks to turn its fortunes around after a tough 2014.
Shin did not give specific figures, but as a comparison, the Galaxy S4—the most successful of Samsung's smartphones—shipped 53.7 million in its first year, according to IDC.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge smartphone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, March 2, 2015.Gustau Nacarino | Reuters
But Shin did admit that the curved screen Galaxy S6 Edge would face supply shortages due to the difficulty of manufacturing the curved screen.
The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge have already been praised by analysts for their higher quality design and use of materials – qualities critics did not find in the S5. A lot is riding on the success of this product after a year in which saw Samsung's market share remain fairly flat while Apple and others surged. In China and India, Samsung lost its top spot to local players Xiaomi and Micromax, while in the fourth quarter of last year, Samsung and Apple's market share was almost equal, according to IDC.
"The sales and results have been declining and it is important for them to show the latest device can really attract consumers back to their portfolio," Francisco Jeronimo, research director for European mobile devices at IDC, told CNBC by phone.
Samsung is upbeat on its earnings after it announced earlier this week that it expects operating profit for January to March to be its highest in three quarters, after seeing problems in its devices division previously.
VIDEO3:3903:39Can Galaxy S6 kick-start Samsung's recovery?
On the high-end of the market Samsung has been usurped by Apple, while on the low-end of the market, players such as Xiaomi offering high-spec smartphones at budget prices has eaten away at a market that the Korean company once dominated.
Jeronimo said that Samsung could still face problems concerning "loyalty to the brand", but needs to push for volumes with the new device.
"Competition in the ultra-high end is dominated by Apple. So it is very important for Samsung to keep volumes high even if they sacrifice margins to show they are the market leaders," Jeronimo added.
Shin also said the company would release a new wearable "soon" to follow on from the Gear S smartwatch but gave no further details.
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8d7489844fbe228c33d120c3b52a824e | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/09/stocks-open-narrowly-mixed-earnings-fed-eyed.html?__source=fincont&par=fincont | Stocks close higher on oil rebound; earnings, Fed eyed | Stocks close higher on oil rebound; earnings, Fed eyed
VIDEO3:1803:18Pisani's market open: March retail sales disappointing
U.S. stocks closed higher on Thursday after trading in a narrow range as investors digested a rebound in oil prices and looked for more signals on the timing of an interest rate hike.
Energy advanced 1.5 percent to lead the S&P 500 as WTI settled up 37 cents, or 0.73 percent, at $50.79 a barrel, recovering from a 6.6 percent slide on Wednesday. Both Chevron and Exxon Mobil were among the blue chip gainers.
"Oil prices led to the rally (in stocks)," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 55.62 points, or 0.31 percent, at 17,958.13, with General Electric leading advancers and Home Depot and McDonald's the greatest laggards.
The closed up 9.19 point or 0.44 percent, at 2,091.09, with energy leading eight sectors higher and utilities lagging.
The Nasdaq closed up 23.74 points, or 0.48 percent, to 4,974.56.
Stocks struggled to find direction for most of Thursday's session as investors geared up for the upcoming earnings season. "The key for the short-term direction lies with the earnings next week," Cardillo said.
On Wednesday after the bell, Alcoa unofficially kicked off the earnings season after reporting adjusted quarterly profit of 28 cents per share, 2 cents above estimates, though revenue was below analyst forecasts. CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said Alcoa's growth compared to a year earlier was due entirely from new businesses. The company's stock closed down more than 3 percent.
The beat on earnings per share but miss on revenue "probably is going to be the theme of earnings season," Cardillo said. "A lot of that is due to the stronger dollar."
JPMorgan Chase and Intel post earnings next Tuesday as quarterly reports get underway.
Before Thursday's open, Walgreens Boots Alliance reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.18 per share, beating estimates of 95 cents. Revenue, however, was below Street forecasts. The company revealed plans to close about 200 U.S. stores, and put other streamlining measures into place that will save $1.5 billion annually by the end of 2017.
Constellation Brands reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.03 per share, 9 cents above estimates, with revenue essentially in line. The company also initiated a quarterly dividend of 31 cents per share. PriceSmart reported after the bell earnings of 82 per share missing Wall Street's expectations of 98 cents.
Consensus expectations for quarterly earnings are low amid a strong dollar and oil's price decline.
In an unusual move, both rose on Thursday. The U.S dollar traded over one percent higher against major world currencies, with the euro lower below $1.07.
Nevertheless, Hogan added that Thursday's rise in the greenback is "much less of a headwind now than when we went from $1.40 to $1.05."
Stocks managed to close higher on Wednesday following the release of minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's March meeting, which showed policymakers were divided over the timing of a rate hike.
Read MoreSummers agrees with Dimon: There's a liquidity problem
"When you dissect the rest of the statement...you've got a split which on balance (puts) us back to when (Fed Chair) Janet Yellen told us on the 27th it's going to be gradual and data dependent," Hogan said.
"To me the Fed minutes provided some useful information. The conclusion coming out of the Fed statements were significant," said Eric Lascelles, chief economist at RBC Global Asset Management. "I feel like some of that dovish interpretation has faded recently. They're still fairly committed to tightening."
The overall trend in employment data indicates that March's disappointing nonfarm payrolls report was a one-time miss, Hogan said. Jobless claims came in at 281,000, slightly above lowered expectations, but an increase from last week. "We've crossed that Rubicon where bad news are good news."
Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at The Lindsey group, pointed out in a note that the four-week average on initial jobless claims fell to the lowest level since 2000.
"Bottom line, near 15-year lows in both initial claims and continuing claims is a clear sign that employers are holding on to their employees to a great extent and another sign of a tightening labor market," he said.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury note yield rose to 1.96 percent, a two-week high, following a $13 billion auction of 30-year Treasury bonds. "The 30-year bond auction was weak," Boockvar said. "The 30-year is somewhat of a different animal relative to other parts of the curve in terms of gauging market sentiment because pension funds and insurance companies are big players."
came in slightly higher than expected, up 0.3 percent. However, weak sales provide less incentive for wholesalers to build their inventories.
Costco reported a 2-percent drop in March comparable store sales, a slightly larger decrease than the consensus forecast of a 1.2-percent decline.
Intel has stopped its talks with Altera about a potential acquisition, according to sources familiar with the situation. Kim Forrest, senior equity analyst at Fort Pitt Capital, said that even though she was disappointed the talks fell through, it was "refreshing to see the markets react to specific company news."
Shares of General Electric jumped on news that the company may sell most, if not all, of its real estate holdings, which are worth about $30 billion total.
European equities closed higher on Thursday as investors reacted to fresh economic data and auto stocks posted strong gains.
Read MoreIMF's Lagarde: Greece, creditors should 'get on with the work'
Concern about Greece abated with the country raising enough funds to meet a payment to the International Monetary Fund due Thursday.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, traded near 13.
Decliners closed the session a touch ahead of advancers on the New York Stock Exchange, with an exchange volume of 725.20 million and a composite volume of 3.15 billion.
Gold futures settled $8.80 lower at $1,194.30 an ounce.
—CNBC's Peter Schacknow contributed to this report.
On tap this week:
Friday
8:30 a.m.: Import prices
8:45 a.m.: Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker on economic outlook
12:20 p.m.: Minneapolis Fed's Kocherlakota
2:00 p.m.: Federal budget
Read more from CNBC: Bad money lessons parents don't know they're teaching 10 new stores that could be headed to your mall Three reasons the Apple Watch might still flop
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d71cea86aa03dcf7e473f8eda8b755c4 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/10/a-robot-friend-to-make-doctor-visits-less-painful.html | A robot friend to make doctor visits less painful | A robot friend to make doctor visits less painful
Meet MEDi, the friendly robot designed to make painful procedures such as blood tests or vaccines stress-free for children.
Through simple techniques such as dancing or playing games, MEDi's designers believe the robot can encourage children to work through pain and anxiety while medical staff focus on procedure.
Although the medical industry has increasingly been using robotics in recent years in areas such as surgery, use of robots for patient care is relatively new.
MEDi the robot.RxRobots
Tanya Beran, a professor at the University of Calgary that developed the technology, says the response to four MEDi robots that were purchased by Canada's Alberta Children's Hospital in January has been overwhelming.
"Families were driving 40 miles to see MEDi. They began asking for MEDi. Even though we only studied children five to nine years old, we have seen MEDi provide comfort to children as young as two years of age and even up to 16 years of age," she told CNBC.
Read More Your next family member may be ... a robot
"Parents told us that when they left the hospital, their children said almost nothing about the needle and told everyone they could about the robot," said Beran, founder and chief scientific officer at Calgary-based MEDi manufacturer RxRobots.
According to research from the journal Vaccine, MEDi's use reduced children's pain in medical procedures by 50 percent.
Beran said that MEDi has the most sophisticated technology on the market and helps fill a gap where there are not enough pain management experts or where parents feel anxious themselves about how to help their child.
The robot can speak 19 languages and be can be programmed to integrate culturally.
VIDEO5:1605:16Medical procedures: Getting rid of roboticsThe Edge
According to researchers, approximately 5 percent of parents in a major city in Canada do not take their children for a vaccination because their children are afraid of needles - something which Beran hopes MEDi can change.
"Our research showed that when children interacted with MEDi, they were more cooperative in the procedure. This means that the procedure is completed more quickly, resulting in greater health care efficiency," she said.
MEDi isn't the only patient care robot being tested -- Boston Children's Hospital is involved in a pilot study on using robots in paediatric care.
Beran said the idea behind MEDi began several years ago when she noticed a teenager show empathy while interacting with a robot for an experiment. She decided to conduct her own research into how children respond to robots as there was little on the subject at the time.
"I was shocked to find that children tend to think that robots are alive," said Beran.
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17d3d7b97dbe13d03bec81ad6192ec68 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/10/fans-to-netflix-make-daredevil-accessible-to-the-blind.html | Fans to Netflix: Make Daredevil accessible to the blind | Fans to Netflix: Make Daredevil accessible to the blind
Netflix and Marvel Studios' Daredevil character.Marvel
Robert Kingett, 25, is a self-proclaimed geek who enjoys video games and comic books. So it is no surprise he was looking forward to the Netflix original series on Marvel Comics' Daredevil, which debuted on Friday.
There was just one problem: Like Daredevil, Kingett is legally blind, and Netflix does not provide audio descriptions, a feature that narrates non-verbal action on screen to help the visually impaired better enjoy filmed entertainment.
Kingett is just one of a number of comic book fans—both blind and sighted—who are lobbying Netflix to make "Daredevil" accessible to the visually impaired. And while the fact that a show based on a blind protagonist will not have audio description has stirred consternation, the issue extends far beyond Daredevil's fictional world.
The cost of audio description is "a tuppence" compared to the price of producing movies and television, said Joel Snyder, president of Audio Description Associates. The company charges about $5,000 to write, voice, and record description for a roughly 21/2-hour movie, and about $1,000 for a 22-minute sitcom.
Since October 2012, Kingett has been writing to Netflix executives under the banner of the Accessible Netflix Project, a grassroots campaign now comprised of 11 blind volunteers who want the world's largest streaming video service to provide audio descriptions. The group has since asked Netflix to audio describe "Daredevil" in particular.
Read More Marvel's Netflix shows: Sure thing or blind faith?
"It's entertainment, but accessibility is important regardless of if it's entertainment or education," said Kingett, who also lives with cerebral palsy and contributes stories to gaming publications about accessible video games for the blind.
To be sure, Netflix is not the only over-the-top service that fails to offer the feature. Neither Hulu nor Amazon Instant Video describe their originals.
Nor is the description common on broadcast television. FCC rules require local affiliates of CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox located in the top 25 markets—as well as the top five non-broadcast networks—to provide at least 50 hours of audio described programming per quarter. The regulation will expand to the largest 60 markets in July.
PBS and Turner Movie Classics offer audio description on select programming, though they are not required to do so.
VIDEO1:1401:14Netflix wages superhero battle against HBOSquawk Box
But the case of "Daredevil" has touched a nerve among comic book fans, and some feel the show presents an opportunity for Netflix to take a leading roll in streaming audio description.
Last fall, New York-based comic book creator Rich Bernatovech began calling Netflix to ask the company to add audio descriptions to "Daredevil." He said he was inspired to take action after a woman at his local dog park told him her visually impaired son was disappointed to learn the show would not be described.
Read More
Bernatovech said he got no definitive answer from Netflix, so he took to Facebook to raise awareness among his friends and network of comic book professionals.
"Am I the only person who finds it bad that there is a show about a blind superhero coming on TV and people, more importantly children, who are visually impaired will not be able to enjoy this show unless they find their own way to get audio description?" he wrote.
Kuljit Mithra, who runs the Daredevil fansite manwithoutfear.com, posted links to the Accessible Netflix Project in support of the effort after Kingett contacted him.
"I thought it was a good idea. Why shouldn't Netflix provide audio description for the show?" he said in an email to CNBC.
Read the tweet here
Read the tweet here
The outcry among fans has moved the conversation forward. National non-profit law center Disability Rights Advocates has held talks with Netflix on behalf of the American Council of the Blind—and Kingett was one of the early movers who asked the firm to take on Netflix's accessibility issue.
"Robert [Kingett] was definitely key in bringing this to our attention, as well as others at the ACB. He's been very much a motivator in getting these issues addressed," Larry Paradis, executive director at Disability Rights Advocates, told CNBC.
Read More
Disability Rights Advocates is asking Netflix to describe their own original content, contractually oblige movie studios to provide descriptive narration tracks when they are already available, and make it easier for blind customers to identify which DVDs in its library are described.
A spokesperson for Netflix told CNBC, "We are working hard to provide great entertainment to all our members, including the hearing and visually disabled. We don't have any further updates to share at this time."
VIDEO3:1203:12Netflix will become the most 'powerful media company in the world': AnalystSquawk Box
Netflix plans to triple the amount of original content it produces to 320 hours this year. Spending on originals increased 18 percent year over year to $270 million in 2014, Janney Capital Markets estimated in a recent research note.
Snyder, who holds a PhD in translation and helped pioneer audio description in the 80s, said the United States has fallen behind in the field despite getting an early start. Meanwhile, he estimated the UK now describes about 10 percent of its broadcasts, and said Canada is ramping up accessibility, too.
Read MoreNew deal brings Disney blockbuster hits to Imax
As for "Daredevil," he said he was not terribly concerned about the show being described, and cautioned that pursuing description for shows featuring blind characters might give content providers the impression that the visually impaired only want to see "The Miracle Worker."
"Blind people want to watch good television, good film—or bad television and bad film—just like sighted people," he said.
The American Foundation for the Blind estimates that 21 million people in the United States—about 6.5 percent of the population—have trouble seeing even with correction. "That's an untapped, underserved market," said Snyder.
The dearth of accessible entertainment encourages many blind people to seek out less-than-legal options in the gray market, Kingett told CNBC. He said emails circulate in the community that provide links to websites hosting unofficial content with audio descriptions.
"If [Netflix] actually did become accessible then so many of us would not have to go to the black market," Kingett said. "It's kind of an ironic joke: 'Hey, if you're blind, you know how to get accessible illegal content.'"
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1820670a08f0ac201c52ae52ff5c25bc | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/10/hillary-what-she-needs-to-do-to-not-beat-herself.html | Hillary: What she needs to do to not beat herself | Hillary: What she needs to do to not beat herself
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during a news conference at the United Nations in New York, March 10, 2015.Lucas Jackson | Reuters
Hillary Clinton will enter the 2016 presidential race with the strongest chance to win the White House of any non-incumbent front-runner in decades, from either party. That doesn't mean she will win.
Her current strength within her own party is overwhelming. The most recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed that virtually all Democratic primary voters were willing to vote for her. She may have Democratic primary rivals, such as former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley or Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. None has the star power Barack Obama had when he upset her for the 2008 nomination.
Clinton herself lost out to Obama's star power in 2008. Yet her campaign will gain a charge of electricity from the possibility of America's first woman president, just as Obama's did for shattering racial barriers to the Oval Office.
Read More Hillary Clinton to Announce Presidential Bid As Early As Sunday
She benefits from largely positive memories for her husband's presidency during the 1990s economic boom. She established an independent political identity as senator from New York, and then through loyal service to her one-time rival as President Obama's Secretary of State.
Clinton also stands to benefit from cultural and demographic shifts that, absent extraordinary circumstances, have left Democrats with a standing electoral advantage in presidential years. The Republican Party remains dependent on overwhelming support from white voters. But that base has inexorably shrunk in recent decades, from 88 percent of the electorate in 1980 to 72 percent in 2012.
Democrats dominate the swelling non-white vote. And their party's tolerant stance on cultural issues such as gay rights more closely match the sentiments of a diverse and evolving nation than those of the GOP, in which conservative Christians remain a powerful force.
Read MoreSen. Ted Cruz blames the media for distorting his image
Clinton faces significant challenges nonetheless.
The soaring poll ratings she enjoyed as Secretary of State have already begun to taper as she's viewed through the partisan lens of a presidential candidacy. They'll fade further once she begins actively campaigning and detailing her social, economic and foreign policy agenda.
Her identification with her husband's presidency, though it confers some advantages, also ties her to the past. At age 67, she could find herself on the wrong side of a debate about leadership for the future if Republicans nominate on their younger contenders such as Sen. Marco Rubio or Gov. Scott Walker. O'Malley may test drive that argument in Democratic primaries, even if lacks the capacity to win the nomination.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, though he has significant vulnerabilities of his own, is campaigning in a style that could modernize and expand the aging Republican electoral coalition. He is seeking to project greater pragmatism and optimism than his Republican rivals.
Read More
Read MoreGov. Jindal: 'Maybe I'm not what they think a conservative should look like'
Perhaps most importantly, his fluent Spanish, marriage to Mexican-born Columba Bush, experience leading Florida's diverse constituency, and openness to comprehensive immigration reform opens the door to increasing support from Hispanic voters. In a country that remains polarizing and closely divided along partisan lines, Clinton's campaign team acknowledges that Bush has the capacity to defeat her.
Her own performance on the campaign trail, of course, will also influence the outcome. She lacks the relaxed, fluid campaign style her husband has always displayed, as well as Obama's soaring speech making ability. She displays suspicion and impatience with the media that will now track her every step and utterance.
As veteran Democratic lobbyist Paul Equale put it on Twitter: "Her biggest problem is beating herself."
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