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958e2e4a3d499e53bc4d22a47fc90243 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/03/us-congress-pushed-china-towards-aiib-bernanke.html | US Congress pushed China towards AIIB: Bernanke | US Congress pushed China towards AIIB: Bernanke
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben BernankeGetty Images
Beijing was pushed into launching the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank by U.S. lawmakers' refusal to give China greater clout in existing multilateral institutions, Ben Bernanke has said.
"The U.S. Congress is largely at fault for all that's happening," the former chairman of the Federal Reserve said in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
America's legislature blocked a 2010 International Monetary Fund agreement to shift 6 per cent of quota — and voting rights — to emerging economies, which Mr Bernanke believes would have "better reflected the increasing role of China" and other nations.
"The U.S. Congress has not approved it. They should, they haven't," Mr Bernanke said. "So I understand why other countries say, 'well let's take our marbles and go home'."
VIDEO1:4101:41GE: US should participate in AIIBSquawk Box Asia
The AIIB, which will be capitalized at $100 billion, now has 57 members including most big European economies.
Mr Bernanke's remarks add to those of other senior U.S. figures who argue that Washington has mishandled its response to China's ambition to play a bigger role in the international economy.
Lawrence Summers, former U.S. Treasury secretary, wrote recently that U.S. cold-shouldering of the AIIB may be remembered as the moment it "lost its role as the underwriter of the global economic system".
Read MoreIMF, World Bank throw weight behind China-led bank
Mr Bernanke said those remarks were "a little strong" but agreed it was "unfortunate" that China had felt the need to go its own way. "It would be better to have a globally unified system and allow resources to go where they are needed," he said.
However, the former Fed chairman played down the practical implications of the AIIB, saying the bank was largely symbolic.
"There's now a huge amount of private capital flows going in and out of emerging markets, including money that goes into infrastructure projects," he said.
According to a former senior official at the Asian Development Bank, which is dominated by Japan and the U.S. ADB lending accounts for less than 2 percent of Asia's infrastructure needs.
More from The Financial Times:
Creditors agree bailout offer for GreeceBlatter quits as head of FifaBombshells possible after Blatter goes
Mr Bernanke also said too much attention was being focused on the internationalization of the renminbi, which was as much a matter of "national prestige" as of practical economic value. In reality, he said, the Chinese currency's share of global reserves was "very tiny" and even its share of trade settlement was "modest".
China should continue gradual steps to open up its capital account, to deepen its bond markets and to allow a bigger role for the private sector, Mr Bernanke advised.
These were all preconditions to make the renminbi a reserve currency, he said, but they were more important as a means of improving capital allocation. The ultimate goal, he said, was to shift China's economic model from one dominated by heavy industry and investment to one in which the consumer and the service industry played a much bigger role.
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83d604a08f94e2a9b64868244357cf98 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/04/epa-says-no-evidence-that-fracking-has-widespread-impact-on-drinking-water.html | EPA says no evidence that fracking has 'widespread' impact on drinking water | EPA says no evidence that fracking has 'widespread' impact on drinking water
VIDEO1:2801:28EPA releases fracking studyHalftime Report
VIDEO2:1202:12Oil's up; fracking back? Closing Bell
VIDEO1:3201:32Stay away from fracking stocks? This expert disagreesStreet Signs Asia
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in a Thursday report that it found no evidence fracking has a "widespread" impact on drinking water.
The EPA report—a draft assessment of its findings—concluded that there are above and below ground mechanisms by which fracking have the potential to impact drinking water resources, but that the number of identified cases were "small" compared to the number of fracking wells.
Getty Images
"We did not find evidence that these mechanisms [of potentially affecting water] have led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States," the report said.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a process that involves pumping water, sand and chemicals into a well to extract oil or gas. Environmentalists say fracking poses health risks, often citing the affects on drinking water reserves.
In its report, the EPA notes that its findings could have been limited because of an insufficient amount of data and the presence of other possible contaminates that made it impossible to conclude fracking's effects on certain areas.
"The study was undertaken over several years and we worked very closely with industry throughout the process," Tom Burke, EPA's science advisor and deputy assistant administrator of EPA's Office of Research and Development, said on a conference call hosted by the agency.
He added that the limitations in data were not a function of companies' cooperation, but were—in many instances—a question of scientific capabilities.
Read MoreFeds take on fracking: What will it cost drillers?
Still, members of the energy industry were already celebrating the report.
"With this new report, it couldn't be clearer that shale development is occurring in conjunction with environmental protection and the claims by anti-fracking activists have been thoroughly debunked," a post from the Independent Petroleum Association of America's outreach campaign said.
In fact, the assessment includes several examples of fracking activities contaminating drinking waters, Burke said, adding that the report is not meant to issue a final conclusion on the process's safety.
"This is a study of how we can best protect our water resources. It's not a question of safe or unsafe," he said.
The EPA report was the result of Congress urging the group to conduct an assessment, and includes meta-analysis of prior studies and original agency research, Burke explained.
He emphasized that the draft assessment is not meant to directly inform policy, but is simply an advance in scientific understanding that can serve as a "foundation for future decisions."
VIDEO1:5101:51Is fracking behind the increase in Oklahoma earthquakes?Oil and Gas
Other than in a few select areas, the report founf fracking's potential impact on drinking water quality is relatively low, but not eliminated.
"Future problems could arise if hydraulic fracturing increases substantially in areas with low water availability, or in times of water shortages," the report said.
In March, the federal government unveiled its first set of fracking safety mandates. Affecting only federal and Indian lands, the Bureau of Land Management rule includes provisions for ensuring groundwater protection though well integrity standards, increased transparency by requiring companies to publicly disclose chemicals they use, higher storage standards, and requiring companies submit more detailed information on preexisting wells.
Read MoreFracking or water? One report says that may be the choice
The BLM estimated that those new policies will cost about $11,400 per well. Industry representatives, however, told CNBC they see compliance as potentially much more expensive.
The industry has decried the regulatory changes as redundant and based on unsubstantiated concerns. Two groups, the Independent Petroleum Association of America and the Western Energy Alliance, filed a lawsuit against the rule in the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming.
The study is set to be finalized after it is reviewed by the Science Advisory Board and submitted for public review and comment, the agency said in a press release.
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0d774fdfc1843bda6bae0e3445e4eae9 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/04/mortgage-rates-definitely-in-panic-mode.html | Mortgage rates: 'Definitely in panic mode' | Mortgage rates: 'Definitely in panic mode'
VIDEO2:2202:22How rising interest rates hit the housing marketPower Lunch
VIDEO5:3805:38Housing is a mixed bag: ProHalftime Report
VIDEO1:0401:04How is your mortgage rate determined?CNBC Explains
VIDEO4:1004:10Lennar CEO: Housing improving but at low slopeSquawk Box
Mortgage rates, which loosely follow the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury, spiked Wednesday, after a brief reprieve last week. The move higher seems to signal that while rates rock back and forth every day, they are now on a trajectory to go up.
The days of 3.5 percent on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage are over.
"Definitely in panic mode," said Matt Weaver, senior mortgage loan originator with PMAC Lending Services. "A lot of refinance clients are moving to locks immediately because the Fed talk is starting to be an eye opener for everyone." (Tweet this.)
A customer enters at a Wells Fargo branch in Hermosa Beach, California.Patrick T. Fallon | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Weaver said refinance clients who were happy to float rates just three weeks ago are now considerably more afraid of where rates will go. They're willing to take money off the table to lock in now.
The impact is equally deep on potential homebuyers. This is the heart of the busiest season for sales, and now potential buyers, already highly sensitive to rising home prices, have something else to worry about.
Read MoreMetro train transforming this DC suburb
"If the Wednesday surge of Treasury yields persists, the impact on mortgage rates is likely to result in a bout of affordability shock to many housing markets across the country," said Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist at Freddie Mac.
The shock may already be underway. Mortgage applications to refinance, which are the most rate sensitive, plunged last week, even though rates slid slightly. The fact that the 4 percent range is the new normal has borrowers pulling back. Even mortgage applications to purchase a home fell, down 3 percent last week, as potential homebuyers recalculated that ever-important monthly payment.
That calculation is far more rate sensitive than these small weekly moves might indicate. Take the first quarter of this year, for example.The average down payment for single family homes, condos and town homes purchased in the first quarter was 14.8 percent of the purchase price, down from 15.2 percent in the previous quarter and down from 15.5 percent a year ago to the lowest level since the first quarter of 2012, according to a new report from RealtyTrac.
Read MoreWeekly mortgage applications plunge 7.6% on higher rates
"When rates plunge, end-user house demand increases quickly—ergo the Q1 2015 outperformance year over year—and then when they surge, the opposite happens—ergo a year earlier when demand was dead," said Mark Hanson, a California-based mortgage analyst.
The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage is now up three-eighths of a percentage point since mid-May to about 4.125 percent. While three-eighths may not sound like a lot, it's not the actual number, or the $40 or $50 more on the monthly payment, but the new trend higher.
"It's more of what it's going to look like, where we're going. Is it a train that's not stopping? When we see an eighth, a quarter, now it's starting to become typical language," said Weaver. "We would normally see a little bit of a pullback, and then it goes up again, and now that's not happening. We're slowly steadily increasing."
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de9e0b6999d9ffb6045502852ff0a8f5 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/04/need-a-job-go-west-study.html?__source=yahoo%7Cfinance%7Cheadline%7Cheadline%7Cstory&par=yahoo&doc=102698784 | Need a job? Go west: Study | Need a job? Go west: Study
VIDEO4:1304:13How the unemployed can get back into the job marketPower Lunch
If you're looking for a new job with a good mix of work- and personal-life attributes, explore west of the Mississippi River.
The top 10 places for jobs all are in cities dotting the western two-thirds of the country, according to a recent study conducted by WalletHub.com. In fact, you have to scroll down to No. 17 to get to an East Coast city: Raleigh, North Carolina.
The top cities "have more variety of industries than a lot of East Coast cities," said Jill Gonzalez, spokesperson for WalletHub.com. "Most of the top cities also have [a majority of] employees with insurance through work."
The Seattle skylineSankar Raman | Flickr | Getty Images
WalletHub ranked the 150 most-populated U.S. cities using 16 metrics that ranged from job openings and poverty rates to crime rates, housing affordability and nightlife options.
Read MoreOverseas jobs pose risks
Topping the list is a city almost as far west in the U.S. mainland you can go: Seattle.
The Emerald City, which also is one of the fastest-growing cities and the country's 21st largest, boasts a variety of large employers, like Amazon, Starbucks and Nordstrom. About 30 minutes away, in Redmond, Washington, is Microsoft.
The study also said that the average one-way commute for Seattle workers is 25.4 minutes and 85.3 percent of workers have insurance through their employers.
Workers in Seattle earn a median salary of $65,277, according to 2013 data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Adjusted for cost of living, however, that number drops to $54,957, according to the WalletHub report. The national median is $53,046.
Taking a city's cost of living into consideration is crucial when job hunting, as $50,000 in some places has as much purchasing power as $100,000 in more costly places.
For instance, the median value of homes in Seattle is $433,800. That compares to $176,700 nationally and $118,200 in Des Moines, Iowa, which ranked second overall in the WalletHub list.
With a population roughly a third the size of Seattle's 652,000 people, Des Moines boasts an annual job-growth rate that ranks among the fastest in the country, at 2.73 percent.
Its workforce is also spread across a variety of industries, which WalletHub used as a metric in its study. Additionally, 76.9 percent of workers have work-based health insurance. Its median annual income is $49,646, adjusted for cost of living.
Ranking third on the WalletHub list is America's largest incorporated town, with a population of 230,000: Gilbert, Arizona.
Located about 30 minutes from Phoenix, Gilbert's population has doubled every five years since 1980.
Read MoreTop 5 cities for jobs
Although its cost of living is above the national average, its adjusted median household income stands at $76,276. The median value of homes in Gilbert is $225,800.
Other pluses: 86.2 percent of workers are insured through work, and Gilbert has a low crime rate as well as a low unemployment rate: 2.7 percent for workers with at least a bachelor's degree, and 4.9 percent for those with only a high school diploma.
Ranking fourth on the list is Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The city, with a population of 164,676, boasts the lowest unemployment rate for college grads (1.7 percent). The unemployment rate for high school is 5.1 percent. On the plus side, the average commute time is just 16.9 minutes and 84.1 percent of workers have insurance.
The median household income in Sioux Falls stands at $49,495; the median home value is $132,400.
In fifth place is Fremont, California, whose population is 224,922. Located near Silicon Valley, the city boasts a median salary of $71,593 (adjusted for cost of living). Its starting monthly salary, $3,714, also is above average. Additionally, 88.5 percent of workers have health insurance.
However, the city's cost of living far outpaces the national average, as illustrated in its housing costs: The median home price in Fremont is $600,300, which is more than three times the national average.
Read MoreTips for career changers
Certified financial planner Ben Tobias emphasized the importance of considering the cost of living by sharing his own experience when, several decades ago, he moved from New York to Miami and his salary remained unchanged.
"My net pay went up greater than what any kind of salary increase would have been, just because I no longer had to pay New York City and New York State income taxes," said Tobias, president of Tobias Financial Advisors. "My standard of living increased significantly, while my savings also increased."
Some cities have a stigma that they shouldn't. With Washington, D.C., some people think if they head there, they can only work in politics.Jill Gonzalezspokesperson for WalletHub.com
Financial advisors also caution that when relocating to an unfamiliar city, wait a while before purchasing a home.
"You won't know traffic patterns, and it might take you six months or a year to get the lay of the land," said Niv Persaud, a CFP and managing director of Transition Planning & Guidance. "And while you wait, you can put money into your emergency reserves so you'll have a cushion when you do decide to buy a house."
Rounding out the top 10 cities for jobs on the WalletHub list were Chandler, Arizona, in sixth place; Omaha, Nebraska, in seventh; Salt Lake City, eighth; Scottsdale, Arizona, ninth; and Plano, Texas, in tenth.
Looking solely at job opportunities—job openings minus the number of unemployed people—the nation's capital ranks first. But its cost of living is high, and it's possible that potential workers have a narrow view of Washington, D.C., making it harder to fill its available jobs.
Top 10 cities for jobs1. Seattle2. Des Moines, Iowa3. Gilbert, Arizona4. Sioux Falls, South Dakota5. Fremont, California6. Chandler, Arizona7. Omaha, Nebraska8. Salt Lake City9. Scottsdale, Arizona10. Plano, TexasSource: WalletHub.com
"Some cities have a stigma that they shouldn't," said Gonzalez of WalletHub. "With Washington, D.C., some people think if they head there, they can only work in politics. Or they think if they head to San Francisco, they can only work in technology."
Meanwhile, America's two largest cities fall at the very bottom of the job-opportunity list: Los Angeles and New York. And yet these cities continue to grow despite the tougher local job market.
"If you look at the cities with some of the worst numbers, they still are places that people head to anyway," Gonzalez said.
—By Sarah O'Brien, special to CNBC.com
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5ab31e27489a8b6312e2245eb04a3c2c | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/05/fda-panel-supports-female-libido-drug-with-risk-management-plan.html | FDA panel supports female libido drug with risk management plan | FDA panel supports female libido drug with risk management plan
VIDEO2:1602:16FDA panel backs female 'Viagra'Closing Bell
A drug to treat low female sexual desire should be approved with strict measures in place to ensure patients are fully aware of its risks, an advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concluded on Thursday.
Eighteen panelists voted in favor of approving the drug with a risk management program. Six voted against approval. None voted to approve the product without such a program.
The benefits of the drug are marginal, panelists said, but meaningful for some patients. Serious side effects include the risk of fainting at unpredictable times, accidental injury and low blood pressure.
The FDA, which has twice rejected the drug, flibanserin, is not obliged to follow the advice of its advisory panels but typically does so.
The panel's recommendation follows months of lobbying by the drug's developer, privately held Sprout Pharmaceuticals, aided by a number of women's advocacy groups which accused the FDA of gender bias, a charge the agency rejects.
Tom Grill | Getty Images
The drug works differently from Viagra, which is used to treat erectile dysfunction and has been available since 1998. Flibanserin works on the brain while Viagra affects blood flow to the genitals.
Potential risk management measures suggested by the panel included requiring physicians to be certified before being allowed to prescribe the drug and requiring pharmacies to confirm the physician's certification.
Recommendations also included establishment of a patient registry and additional safety studies after the drug is on the market. Some panelists recommended a warning against the use of alcohol when taking the drug.
Dozens of women spoke to the panel about the distress caused by their low sexual desire and urged the FDA to approve the drug, whose proposed trade name is Addyi.
Others characterized Sprout's lobbying campaign as an attempt to bully the FDA into approving a drug with modest benefits and real safety concerns. Some panelists said they were concerned that patients could faint while behind the wheel of car or in other circumstances that could lead to serious injury or death.
Flibanserin is a pill that must be taken daily. It was originally developed as an antidepressant by Boehringer Ingelheim, which sold the drug to Sprout following a negative advisory panel meeting in 2010.
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b7c45df189eb1d0c12b177645d72b05a | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/05/forget-it-brainwaves-may-replace-passwords.html | Forget it: Brainwaves may replace passwords | Forget it: Brainwaves may replace passwords
Media For Medical | Universal Images Group | Getty Images
Always forgetting your not-so "memorable" data? Never fear – the end of the password could be in sight, as our brains might be able to do the work for us.
Researchers at Binghamton University, New York, have been looking into the way our brains react to words, and found that brainwaves could be used to replace passwords.
The scientists looked at the brain signals of 45 volunteers as they read a list of 75 acronyms, such as FBI and DVD, and recorded their reaction to each group of letters. Each participants' brain reacted differently to the acronyms, meaning that the computer was able to identify each volunteer with 94 percent accuracy.
It is this "brainprint" that could be used by security systems to verify a person's identity, the academics said in the study, which was published in the academic journal Neurocomputing this week.
New and more accurate methods of identification have become increasingly popular over recent years, following a string of high-profile data breaches and cyber-attacks.
Read MoreUS officials report massive breach of federal personnel data
Security measures now available including fingerprint, voice, face and biometric identification.
But Sarah Laszlo, assistant professor of psychology and linguistics at Binghamton University and co-author of the report, said "brainprints" had some benefits over these other methods of identification.
"If someone's fingerprint is stolen, that person can't just grow a new finger to replace the compromised fingerprint -- the fingerprint for that person is compromised forever. Fingerprints are 'non-cancellable'," she said in a release.
"Brainprints, on the other hand, are potentially cancellable. So, in the unlikely event that attackers were able to steal a brainprint, the authorized user could 'reset' their brainprint."
However, Zhanpeng Jin, who is also at Binghamton University, expressed reservations over the wide-scale use of brain scans.
"We tend to see the applications of this system as being more along the lines of high-security physical locations, like the Pentagon or Air Force Labs, where there aren't that many users that are authorized to enter," he added.
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dde08353e98fe6d10d1093bbee48220a | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/05/plan-ahead-to-cut-summer-vacation-fun-costs.html | Plan ahead to cut summer vacation fun costs | Plan ahead to cut summer vacation fun costs
VIDEO1:1901:19Save Me: Summer Vacation
Travel savings strategies shouldn't stop once you've secured a decent airfare and hotel rate. What you do at your destination—from dining out to visiting local attractions—can often be cheaper with a little planning.
Take some of your regular smart-shopping strategies on the road, said Trae Bodge, senior lifestyle editor for RetailMeNot.com. For example, if your family favors chain restaurants or has travel plans including a movie or spa day, picking up discounted gift cards is a smart strategy, she said. GiftCardGranny.com aggregates offers from different providers, with discounts ranging as high as 30 percent, depending on the brand.
Comparison shop online to see if you can find promotions for the attractions you want to visit, said Gabe Saglie, senior editor for deal site Travelzoo. Amusement parks in particular tend to offer online-only deals to shoppers who buy before they arrive. For example, at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, single tickets are as much as $20 cheaper online, while Web sales at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, knock $12 off the gate price.
Read MoreOne amusement park line that's worth skipping
Other tourist spots, tours and restaurants may have discount vouchers available through local deal sites like Groupon, Amazon Local, Travelzoo and Gilt City. LivingSocial, for example, has 38 percent off deals for a bus tour/paid-museum pass combo in Washington, D.C.
Pedestrians walk near the entrance to Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif.Getty Images
Another easy way to cut costs? "Make sure you're aware of all the perks your credit cards are giving you," said Bodge. That might be a waived airline bag fee, a free room upgrade, or the opportunity to redeem points for travel expenses. A 2014 CardHub.com study found that all of the major issuers offer some rental car insurance coverage, a benefit that could help consumers eliminate or reduce that expense.
Put your AAA or AARP cards, if you have them, in your wallet, too, said Bodge. Both include discounts on local entertainment and restaurants. (And of course, travel, if you haven't already booked.)
Read MoreThis vacation disruptor could really cost you
You might even want to rethink that hotel rate if it's refundable. "The hotel package is getting a bit of a makeover," said Saglie. Paying a slightly higher package rate could yield savings when its components include better rates on amenities you'd pay for anyway (like breakfast or valet parking), or experiences already on your itinerary (like a baseball game or museum visit). But check the pricing—you're not always getting a break compared with paying a la carte.
At the very least, sign up for the free hotel rewards program. Even brand-new members get free Wi-Fi at chains including Marriott and Intercontinental Hotels Group, while MGM Resorts' M Life program includes discounts to the Las Vegas properties' shows and stores.
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1316ef5d7dc31f0fc3136948ef085ba5 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/05/s-trying-to-catch-in-the-streaming-music-market.html | Who Apple is trying to catch in the streaming-music market | Who Apple is trying to catch in the streaming-music market
VIDEO7:1807:18Swisher's view of Apple Pay's rolloutSquawk Alley
For a change, Apple is playing catch-up in a technology market.
Last year revenue for Ascap—the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers—surpassed $1 billion for the first time. Ascap also tracked 500 billion performances of songs last year. A big part of the success: streaming music. The actual streaming of tracks surged 54 percent from a 106 billion songs in 2013 to 164 billion in 2014.
If Apple's download-based iTunes empire isn't finished yet, it's certainly threatened. Consumers are showing a willingness to make the switch—and psychological shift—from actual ownership of music to subscription-based streaming. And Apple knows it.
The Beats Music appBeats
When Apple paid $3 billion last year for Beats Music, it wasn't just for the premium headphones market that Beats dominates. Next week Apple is expected to unveil its new version of Beats' streaming music service at its Worldwide Developers Conference.
Recent reports indicated that Apple had failed to convince record companies to allow it to offer a streaming service at a better price point than the existing players, a sign that with the rise of streaming it was harder for Apple to command the respect—even deference—it has come to expect.
Read MoreApple CEO lashes out at Google, Facebook apps
Apple may offer a free trial period to hook users, and with 800 million people with iTunes accounts, converting just a small percentage could be a windfall, quickly making Apple the leader in streaming music. But the company has its work cut out for it. While Apple hasn't always been first—it's just usually been regarded as best—in launching new products, the streaming music space already has a significant number of successful options.
Here are the main competitors in the streaming-music market with a head start on Apple.
Jonathan Nackstrand | AFP | Getty Images
Streaming-music service Spotify, which came to life in Sweden as a response to music piracy, has arguably had one of the biggest disruptive influences on the music business in the industry's history. Even the idea of a musical genre is being upended by streaming, according to a recent New York Times report. It's no surprise that Apple is expected to launch celebrity playlists with its streaming-music service.
The service has upended the radio industry and music publishing alike and generated a lot of money in the process, with estimated 2014 revenues of $1.3 billion—though profits remain elusive. It has made the CNBC Disruptor 50 list for three years in a row.
That sort of success spurs competitors to try harder and lures new ones to the field. Spotify is trying to stay one step ahead of Apple and everyone else in streaming, and to steal a little of Apple's thunder, it recently announced that it will add video streaming. (You can argue that's as much about fending off Google's YouTube as competing with Apple. YouTube is planning to launch its own music service, called Music Key, though it remains invite-only right now.)
Either way, the competition has never been more fierce for Spotify, particularly from the following streaming-only companies.
Source: iHeartRadio
It may not get as much press as Spotify, but iHeartMedia's free streaming service is running a competitive race against Spotify when it comes to registered users. iHeartRadio now has 70 million users—and claims to be the fastest among streaming services to reach that milestone.
The ad-supported service offers live and custom stations, rather than playlists. One difference between its model and others in streaming comes by leveraging its history—it used to be Clear Channel Communications before rebranding to iHeartMedia last year.
Read More
It gives users access to more than 2,000 terrestrial radio stations, so listeners in remote areas have access to some of the country's top-rated morning and afternoon drive-time programs.The company is making a concerted effort to transfer its dominance in over-the-air broadcasting to a digital base.
Patrick Fallon | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The oldest of the music-streaming services, Pandora takes a different track than Spotify, focusing only on its online radio service rather than music on demand. But it still boasts an incredibly large audience of 79.2 million active listeners as of late April, a number that's notably higher than Spotify (and they listen for more than 22 hours per week).
The company is embroiled in a battle with record companies, though, over royalty rates and is having mixed luck. This month a federal appeals court agreed with a lower court ruling keeping Pandora's rate for Ascap steady, but licensing agency BMI (Broadcast Music) won its battle to raise its rates.
Its stock price has fallen 26 percent in the past year and, since a March 2014 all-time high, has been cut in half.
Source: Rdio
Spotify's Achilles heel might be the price of its paid premium service—Apple seemed to think so if reports are accurate that it wanted record companies to allow it to offer Beats Music at a lower price point.
Rdio's basic service is set at the same $9.99 monthly fee for ad-free listening as Spotify, but Rdio has drastically undercut that with Rdio Select—and it hopes that might be a differentiated selling point. The cheaper service only allows up to 25 downloaded tracks at one time—Spotify's $9.99 service, in comparison, offers the ability to download up to 3,300 tracks, while the main Rdio service has unlimited on-demand track capabilities.
The smaller competitor unveiled the $3.99 per month premium service in May. It offers ad-free streaming, unlimited song skipping and lets users select up to 25 songs per day from Rdio's library for on-demand listening.
Jamie McCarthy | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
The streaming service from Jay Z and other major artists launched to a wave of criticism for, among other things, a monthly subscription fee of $20. But it's a little too early to completely rule it out as a threat. Because it claims to be more artist friendly, Tidal is able to offer perks to listeners, such as the chance to meet stars, and rumors of a joint Beyoncé/Jay Z album that will be streamed only on Tidal.
The company is in image-repair mode now, but if it locks down enough exclusives, it could still become a force in the market. And even if Jay Z and Beyoncé don't launch the Tidal-only album, the service does have Jay Z at its disposal. That leads to opportunities like his recent rap attack on Apple, Google and Spotify, among others, which included this lyric:
"You bought nine iPhones and Steve Jobs is rich, Phil Knight is worth millions, you still bought them kicks, Spotify is nine million, they ain't say s**t."
One can expect that Apple's attempt next week to win the hearts and minds (and ears) of the growing consumer streaming-music market will be made in slightly different terms of showmanship.
—By Chris Morris, special to CNBC.com
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ab18a49d4537c49be9db66d69ab79cf2 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/05/singapores-iconic-ku-de-ta-undergoes-big-makeover.html | Singapore’s iconic Ku De Ta undergoes big makeover | Singapore’s iconic Ku De Ta undergoes big makeover
VIDEO4:0604:06L Capital Asia's Ku De Ta renamed to Ce La ViSquawk Box Asia
Ku De Ta – the swanky bar perched on the boat-shaped rooftop of Singapore's iconic casino resort Marina Bay Sands – is undergoing an extreme makeover, including a name change.
Now called Ce La Vi, the nightspot will go through a major refurbishment this summer as its owner L Capital Asia, the private-equity fund backed by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, looks to enhance the customer experience and cement its position as a leading "adult playground."
The name is a play on the French phrase, 'c'est la vie' which means 'this is life'.
L Capital Asia, which bought a majority stake in the bar last year, has been involved in the ongoing litigation over the name Ku De Ta, already being used by a popular beachfront bar in Bali.
Ce La Vi restaurant, overlooking the Singapore skyline.
In December, the Singapore Court of Appeal ruled that the "Ku De Ta" trademarks registered in Singapore should be transferred to the Bali partnership, according to the Straits Times. These marks had been registered by a company set up by an Australian businessman Arthur Chondros, one of the partners of Ku De Ta Bali.
L Capital Asia will launch other nightspots under the brand Ce La Vi as it looks to grow its presence in the high-end dining and entertainment scene in the region.
So far, the firm has secured a space on the top three floors of Hong Kong's California Tower, located in the city's main dining and entertainment district - Lan Kwai Fong. The venue will be open for business in July.
Read MoreAnd, the world's best restaurant of 2015 is…
The company has plans to launch the brand in other key urban centers around the world, with expansion into Dubai and Taipei already under way.
"As the company builds this global dining and entertainment brand, we are on the lookout for sites in cosmopolitan capitals further afield, from Europe to the USA and wherever opportunities arise," Ravi Thakran, managing partner at L Capital Asia, said in a statement.
"We will only select locations that are the most coveted spot in the city, nothing less than a commanding presence with breathtaking panoramic views in the world's lifestyle capitals," he said.
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b93bf777a2a29b8d7d6add5389e2bd30 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/05/this-is-the-best-doughnut-for-your-dollar.html | This is the best doughnut for your dollar | This is the best doughnut for your dollar
VIDEO1:4101:41Is this the best doughnut for your dollar?Food Products
So many doughnuts, so little time.
In honor of #NationalDonutDay on Friday, CNBC took a closer look with experts from New York-based Tasting Table. We asked two mavens to try a dozen varieties—six glazed/original doughnuts and six specialty ones—to find the one that gives the best bang for your buck, based on taste.
Krispy Kreme, Dunkin' Donuts, Tim Hortons, Doughnuttery, Dough and Donut Plant each contributed two doughnuts (one glazed and one specialty) to the test. The catch? Tasting Table's Kat Kinsman, who skipped church as a child to eat doughnuts, and Andy Baraghani, who has acquired a special sweet spot for the treats, did a blind test.
The pair was asked to price each doughnut after taking a bite. Here's what they found.
Dough
Glaze
• Andy's price: $1.95
• Kat's price: $2.50
Actual price? $2.75
Specialty
• Andy's price: $4
• Kat's price: over $3
Actual price? $2.75
Dunkin' Donuts
Glaze
• Andy's price: 85-90 cents
• Kat's price: 60-75 cents
Actual price? 1.09
Specialty
• Andy's price: $1-1.50
• Kat's price: $1.25
Actual price? $1.09
Krispy Kreme
Glaze
• Andy's price: $1
• Kat's price: $1.25
Actual price? $1.10
Specialty
• Andy's price: $2.75
• Kat's price: $2.75
Actual price? $1.30
Doughnuttery
Glaze
• Andy's price: 25-50 cents for one; $1.50 for 6
• Kat's price: 3 for $1; $1.50 for 6
Actual price? 6 for $6
Specialty
• Andy's price: 3 for $1 with sauce at an extra 50 cents each
• Kat's price: 3 for $1 with sauce at an extra 50 cents each
Actual price? 6 for $6; sauce $1 each
Tim Hortons
Glaze
• Andy's price: 75 cents
• Kat's price: 60 cents
Actual price? $1.09
Specialty
• Andy's price: $3
• Kat's price: $3
Actual price? $1.69
Doughnut Plant
Glaze
• Andy's price: $1.75
• Kat's price: $2
Actual price? $3.50
Specialty
• Andy's price: $5
• Kat's price: $3.75 but would pay over $4
Actual price? $4
Now we know what these two experts thought the doughnuts were worth, but what did they say after finding out brand names and prices?
Dough takes the cake in both glaze and specialty categories, in terms of quality and price.
In regards to the three chain brands, Kat and Andy agreed that Tim Hortons redeemed its sub-par glazed doughnut with the specialty Nutella doughnut — beating out Krispy Kreme and Dunkin' Donuts.
To see some of the taste testing, check out the video above.
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8e1da310f993e47958cfd1565bd1a04e | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/05/this-is-the-most-used-emoji-on-instagram.html | This is the most-used emoji on Instagram | This is the most-used emoji on Instagram
InstagramGetty Images
Emojis are changing social media in a big way.
At the end of April, the application released a new feature that allows users to include the tiny characters in hashtags. That way, people can search for specific emojis (or emoji combinations) when exploring content on the platform.
It's quickly becoming a trend.
Read More13 cool tricks you didn't know about Google
Over a one-month period, individual emojis on Instagram were hashtagged more than 6.4 million times, according to Curalate, a visual marketing and analytics firm. But the capability reaches beyond the traditional Instagram user. Brands are also using hashtagged emojis to connect with their audiences in hopes of cashing in via social media.
Similar to the GIF, emojis have become a universal language, and have—in many cases—eliminated the need for text altogether. No brand knows this more than Dominos. The company is taking the power of the emoji to the next level by allowing customers to purchase a pie by simply sending a pizza emoji or the hashtag #EasyOrder to the @Dominos account.
dominos tweet
As it relates to Instagram hashtags, the most-used emoji is the standard red heart. It's followed by five different faces, two pink hearts, a winking face, red lips and a thumbs up—all ranking in the top 10 most used.
For a look at the top 100 hashtagged emojis on Instagram, check out the infographic below, courtesy of Curalate. Does your favorite make the list?
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28d63c927ee1de475f313e18b0fdd1d2 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/08/avoid-student-loan-default-pay-interest-when-in-school.html | Avoid student-loan default: Pay interest when in school | Avoid student-loan default: Pay interest when in school
At a staggering $1.2 trillion, it's no secret that student-loan debt is one of the largest crises facing our nation today. The New York Federal Reserve released some alarming information on student-loan defaults. The report revealed that up to 25 percent of all borrowers in the last nine years have defaulted on their loans, and 37 percent have missed at least one payment.
Yin Yang | Getty Images
Outstanding interest is one of the major reasons why federal student-loan borrowers have defaulted on their loans. It's important to note the amount of interest that accumulates on your loan from month to month.The interest rates on Federal Stafford loans are fixed, meaning that they do not change over the life of the loan.
Current interest rates for the 2014–15 academic year are 4.66 percent for subsidized and unsubsidized Federal Stafford loans to undergraduate students, and 6.21 percent for unsubsidized Federal Stafford loans to graduate and professional students. The interest rates on federal student loans are set by Congress.
Read More A 6-step plan to defeat student-loan debt collectors
Interest accrues on your student loan daily from the day it's disbursed to the day it's fully paid off. To calculate your daily interest accrual, you can use this simple formula:
Interest rate × current principal balance ÷ number of days in the year = daily interest
On subsidized loans, your interest does not accrue while you're in school. However, interest on unsubsidized loans will begin racking up from the moment you sign on the loan and it is disbursed. If you don't pay this interest while you're in school, it'll start to add on to the loan's principle, and this process is called capitalization. In simple terms, this means that you'll be paying interest on the total of what you borrowed on top of the interest that builds up while you're in school.
Read MorePay for Harvard, via crowdfunding
Here is an example of how it works:
Freshman year you borrow $10,000 at an interest rate of 5 percent. Your daily interest will be $1.37. By the time you graduate in four years, what you owe would grow from $10,000 to $12,000—an increase of $2,000.
$10,000 x 0.05 ÷ 365 = $1.37 daily interest. $1.37 x 365 x 4 = $2,000
Sophomore year you borrow $15,000 at an interest rate of 5 percent. Your daily interest will be $2.05. By the time you graduate in three years, what you owe would grow from $15,000 to $17,245—an increase of $2,245.
$15,000 x 0.05 ÷ 365 = $2.05 daily interest $2.05 x 365 x 3 = $2,245
Junior year you borrow $5,000 at an interest rate of 5 percent. Your daily interest will be $0.68. By the time you graduate in two years, what you owe would grow from $5,000 to $5,500—an increase of $500.
$5,000 x 0.05 ÷ 365 = $0.68 daily interest$0.68 x 365 x 2 = $500
Senior year you borrow $10,000 at an interest rate of 5 percent. Your daily interest will be $1.37. By the time you graduate in one year, what you owe would grow from $10,000 to $10,500—an increase of $500.
$10,000 x 0.05 ÷ 365 = $1.37 daily interest$1.37 x 356 x 1 = $500
If you didn't pay the interest during your four years of school, by the time you graduate, you would have racked up an extra $5,245 onto your balance.
Read MoreStudent-loan sharks under heat
If you receive a student loan, you will be required to repay that loan with interest. It is important that you understand how interest is calculated and the fees associated with your loan. Both of these factors will impact the amount you will be required to repay, and with tuition on the rise, knowing how interest works could save you from the consequences of a student-loan default.
—By Briana Supardi, special to CNBC.com
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7cc49971ca88b4c1ada8cf389ae27766 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/08/dont-buy-into-teslas-battery-biz-bob-lutz.html | Don’t buy into Tesla’s battery biz: Bob Lutz | Don’t buy into Tesla’s battery biz: Bob Lutz
VIDEO2:5202:52Tesla: Game changer or game over?Squawk Box
Investors should hold off bets on Tesla Motors' new home battery product, Bob Lutz, a Via Motors board member and former vice chairman of General Motors, said Monday.
"I think [the battery] is greatly overvalued because having batteries as backup storage has been around for hundreds of years," Lutz said in an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box." "I can't understand the fascination with this."
Lutz made his remarks ahead of a speech by Tesla CEO Elon Musk at the Edison Electric Institute convention in New Orleans.
Tesla shares have risen nearly 25 percent since the company unveiled the Powerwall, a home battery.
Read More Narcissism actually produces results: The rise of the world changers
Still, Lutz said he believes the company remains unprofitable since its car business is "infinitely small."
"The company is also hemorrhaging cash," he said. "I'm not recommending 'sell' because I'm not an analyst, but if I was a holder, I would think that this is the top the stock's going to [reach]."
Tesla's stock rose 2.9 percent Monday.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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865df3025bc8559e747ef80ebf50a9b4 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/08/mers-what-you-need-to-know.html | MERS: What you need to know | MERS: What you need to know
Students wearing face masks in Seoul on Monday, June 8, 2015.SeongJoon Cho | Bloomberg | Getty Images
South Korea reported eight new cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and a seventh death on Tuesday. So, how worried should we be, not just about the country's already troubled economy but also the possibility MERS could spread across the Asia Pacific region? We examine the key facts.
South Korea's health ministry said on Tuesday there were eight new cases of MERS, bringing the total to 95 but representing a sharp fall in the number of daily new cases from 23 reported on Monday.
The ministry also said a patient infected with the MERS virus has died, becoming the seventh fatality in an outbreak that began in May after a businessman brought the illness home from a trip to the Middle East. South Korea is suffering the second-highest MERS infection rate in the world, after Saudi Arabia.
Elsewhere in Asia, China's Guangdong province reported an infection in late May where a South Korean man diagnosed with the illness lied about his condition when flying to the mainland.
The surge in reported cases has taken Seoul and its Asian neighbors by surprise since the disease has remained largely confined to the Gulf region since its discovery three years ago.
The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is the virus that causes the respiratory illness known as MERS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The virus is likely to have originated in animals, having been detected in camels in several countries. The first reports of humans having contracted the MERS-CoV virus emerged in 2012 in Saudi Arabia.
Presently, there is no known cure or vaccine to stop the virus.
Three to four out of every 10 people diagnosed with the illness have died, the CDC said. Common symptoms include fever, coughing, shortness of breath and gastrointestinal symptoms including diarrhea and nausea.
Like many other coronaviruses, MERS-CoV tends to spread from an infected person's respiratory secretions, like coughing. Close contact, such as living with an infected person, is also likely to spread infection.
People with diabetes, renal failure, and chronic lung disease are considered to be at high risk of severe disease from MERS-CoV infection, the World Health Organization said in recent a statement.
MERS is not a worldwide threat, according to healthcare experts.
"For a virus to go pandemic, it must be able to spread easily between people... but MERS-CoV is primarily an animal virus," Declan Butler, senior reporter of renowned scientific magazine Nature, wrote in an article last Friday.
The virus can only spread between people in hospitals, he added. And even then, it spreads very poorly and can be controlled by public-health measures, which South Korean authorities are pursuing aggressively, he noted.
"Were cases springing up around South Korea outside of hospital settings, that would be cause for alarm - but they are not."
The disease's resemblance to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has sparked memories of the latter's 2002-2003 outbreak and triggered fears that MERS could cause a similar eruption. But the coronavirus that caused SARS had the ability to spread easily between people, while MERS-CoV does not, Butler argued.
Yanzhong Huang, senior fellow for global health at the Council of Foreign Relations, echoed that view in a recent blog post.
"Compared to many infectious diseases, MERS has only limited human to human transmission. The virus is not airborne...On average, one MERS case will lead to 0.6 to 0.7 secondary cases, which makes the virus transmission rate much lower than SARS (on average two to five secondary cases per patient) or Ebola (on average one to two secondary cases per patient)."
Several countries in the region have taken precautionary measures in response to the outbreak. Malaysia has warned its citizens to avoid South Korea while Hong Kong issued a red alert against non-essential travel on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Korean news media have reported that Chinese tourists are cancelling planned package trips.
Over 2,000 South Korean schools have been closed and thousands of visitors have cancelled their travel plans in the past few weeks. President Park Geun-hye has called for a national effort to halt the spread and in a speech on Monday, finance minister Choi Kyung-hwan provided assurance that the government would take swift action to mitigate any negative economic impact.
"There are two main channels through which Korea's economy could be affected. First, consumer spending will be curtailed as people avoid public areas such as shops and restaurants to reduce the risk of infection. Second, tourism will suffer as travel bookings are cancelled," said Krystal Tan, Asia economist at Capital Economics in a note. She believes the outbreak will prompt the Bank of Korea to cut rates at its policy review Thursday since the disease comes at a time when domestic demand remains weak and exports continue to struggle.
While tourism-related Korean companies like Hotel Shilla are likely to suffer the most, the magnitude of impact remains modest at below 10 percent downside to 2015 operating profit, said Deutsche Bank in a report.
The negative sentiment has taken a hit on Korean financial markets, with the benchmark Kospi index selling off by more than 2 percent month-to-date. However, if the virus is contained within the following few months, the economic impact will be short-term and shares will rebound, Deutsche Bank added.
Data out today from the Korean Finance Ministry showed that annual sales at South Korea's department and discount stores both rose in May for the first time in three months. But the government said MERS threatened the country's recovery by building uncertainty on top of a weakened yen and a sluggish global economy.
The finance ministry added it would work towards stabilizing markets in a pre-emptive manner in case of external shocks.
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64224a93c76d5cded8f312290f853aaa | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/08/samsung-spokesmans-lebron-gives-apple-watches.html | Samsung spokesman LeBron gives Apple Watches | Samsung spokesman LeBron gives Apple Watches
VIDEO4:1804:18Big biz of LeBron: Gordon GundSquawk Box
VIDEO2:3302:33Challenges for an NBA ownerSquawk Alley
VIDEO5:0605:06Mark Cuban: NBA league has never been any betterPower Lunch
Samsung spokesman LeBron James gifted Apple watches to his Cleveland Cavaliers teammates during a get together ahead of their first NBA Finals game against the Golden State Warriors, according to Cleveland.com. (Tweet This)
The meeting, organized by LeBron, was aimed at creating a bonding experience prior to the NBA Finals. What is surprising is that LeBron, who has been a spokesman for the Korean tech giant for years, chose to give away Apple watches to his teammates as a token of gratitude.
On Tuesday, a representative for LeBron told CNBC that the watches were gifts from Beats to LeBron's teammates. The rep also noted that LeBron gave each teammate a Samsung Galaxy GS6 Edge.
Read More Russia and Qatar could lose World Cup
LeBron has embraced both brands in the past. The basketball player advertises for Beats by Dre, which was acquired in 2014 by Apple.
"'Bron is the best teammate you can ask for, because on the court he's going to give you everything and off the court he's always going to be considerate and do whatever he can to show his gratitude," the Cavs' James Jones said, according to Cleveland.com.
Click here to read the full story from Cleveland.com.
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0767bced6b949c17c2edb6768f6b55df | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/09/a-start-up-putting-you-in-charge.html | A start-up putting you in charge | A start-up putting you in charge
VIDEO5:3605:36A start-up people are amped aboutPower Pitch
It's a helpless feeling, holding a dead phone.
But one start-up is devoting a lot of energy to solving this perennial problem, and it's putting you in charge.
"We were all active people, so we thought--why can't we use the calories we burn while running, walking, biking, etc., to recharge our smartphones?" Tejas Shastry told CNBC.
So Shastry, along with co-founders Alex Smith and Mike Geier, created AMPY MOVE, a pocket-size wearable motion-charger. It's a lightweight device that transforms kinetic energy generated from everyday movement into battery power. The more you move, the more power you get.
"Your movement is your power," Shastry said.
According to the start-up, one hour of exercise creates as much as one hour of battery life. But if you're not actively using the phone, that one hour of exercise translates to five hours of standby power. So users have power when they actually need it. AMPY may also be plugged into the wall.
The cofounders named AMPY MOVE after "amp", a unit of electric current. The device itself retails for $99.
The start-up also plans to release an app that tracks the amount of energy a user generates everyday. A feature that AMPY expects will get users to "compete" with friends.
Female Running with AMPY chargerSource: AMPY
Patrick Chung is a founding partner at venture firm, Xfund. He wondered if the start-up is branding itself as a battery company or as "the holy grail of social fitness companies."
"We actually think of ourselves as defining a sort of new product category which is wearable motion chargers," said Smith.
According to Shastry other kinetic and renewable chargers on the market "are all far too big and bulky to ever fit into your life." The start-up's proprietary inductor technology allows AMPY to scale down to a wearable size. And the founders' future plans involve licensing and co-developing with outside companies to get AMPY technology into other wearable devices.
Angel investor Nat Burgess, who is president of Corum Group, said his worry is how the start-up would protect itself against competitors such as Samsung, Google, Microsoft and Apple.
Shastry said, he has confidence in the start-up's patented technology. He also said AMPY is always devising new ways to protect its technology.
Since its launch in March 2014, AMPY has raised approximately $900K in funding via competitions as well as crowdfunding.
The start-up boasts more than $15,000 in revenue each month since its Kickstarter campaign in November 2014. Shastry expects AMPY to be profitable within a year.
The start-up is headquartered in Evanston, Illinois, and has six full-time employees.
--Comments, questions, suggestions? We'd love to hear from you. Follow us @CNBCPowerPitch and join the #PowerPitchconversation
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7ef52e7c862f4388849d8a81ed3c636f | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/09/billy-graham-churches-dump-well-fargo-over-same-sex-ad.html | Billy Graham churches dump Well Fargo over same-sex ad | Billy Graham churches dump Well Fargo over same-sex ad
VIDEO1:0801:08Franklin Graham calls for boycott of Wells FargoPower Lunch
Despite some detractors over a new commercial featuring a lesbian couple adopting a deaf child, Wells Fargo said it is sticking strongly by its ad.
"The coverage to date has been overwhelmingly positive," said Valerie Williams, a Wells Fargo vice president and communications consultant. "It exceeded our expectations. We weren't naïve in terms of what to anticipate in terms of response."
Over the weekend, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's president and CEO, Franklin Graham (Billy's son), posted on Facebook that the organization was moving its accounts from Wells Fargo to another bank because its ad featured members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. He called on Christians to boycott the corporation as well as to stop patronizing other companies that supported gay rights through marketing.
A still from a Wells Fargo commercial depicting two mothers adopting a child.Source: Wells Fargo | YouTube
He further elaborated to The Charlotte Observer that he was not opposed to businesses working with LGBT community members, just those that were using shareholder money for pro-LGBT ad campaigns. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association did not respond to CNBC's requests for comment at press time.
Later Tuesday afternoon, the Observer reported that Graham has chosen BB&T to take over the accounts pulled from Wells Fargo, even though that bank has sponsored some gay-pride events, including a fundraiser for Miami Beach pride.
Reached Tuesday evening, a BB&T spokeswoman told CNBC that the bank tries to help its clients achieve economic success regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity.
"As a company and a culture, BB&T embraces diversity and inclusion for our associates and in all aspects of our business," said Cynthia Williams, BB&T's chief of communications. "However, we do not take formal positions on non-banking or social issues."
Graham's view might be the minority in this country, especially among youth. Support for LGBT rights is at an all-time high. According to a May 2014 Gallup poll, 55 percent of Americans believe gay marriage should be legal. Support among those 18 to 29 years old climbed to 78 percent.
Read More W Hotels, Jennifer Hudson stand together on gay marriage
"From a cultural standpoint in our country right now, LGBT-inclusive everything is becoming more the norm and the expectation as opposed to the opposite point of view," said Andy Bagnall, a vice president at marketing agency Prime Access. "You have the popular opinion in terms of what's happening culturally in this company. The smart advertisers right now are at the forefront of that curve. "
And from a business perspective, companies could be wrong to ignore the LGBT community. Marketing firm Witeck Communications estimated that the purchasing power of U.S. LGBT adults was $830 billion in 2013, despite the fact that just 3.5 percent of the population identifies as part of the community. For comparison, Hispanic purchasing power is estimated to hit $1.5 trillion per Nielsen, but the group makes up about 17 percent of the U.S.
"There is a complete cultural shift occurring over the acceptance of the LGBT community," LGBT marketing and communications specialist Jenn T. Grace said. "Corporate America is seeing that if they don't include the LGBT community they are going to be the ones left behind."
Other brands have included the LGBT community in their campaigns to a majority of positive press. Hallmark's "Put Your Heart To Paper" 2015 Valentine's Day campaign featured a lesbian couple. Absolut Vodka launched an "Express your Pride" campaign recently, calling on social media users to show their colors. Tiffany showcased a real-life gay couple in one of its "Will You?" ads.
Read More Financials dominate LGBT workplace inclusion index
And, when Mondelez's Honey Maid received hateful comments for its "This Is Wholesome" campaign, which included all kinds of parents from single dads to gay families, it printed out all those negative statements on paper and fashioned them into the word "love." The response has been viewed more than 4.3 million times on YouTube.
What makes the ad especially powerful for Wells Fargo is that the banking and financial services company has had a strong history of supporting LGBT rights, Grace pointed out. It is active in sponsoring community events and nonprofit organizations, and is well known for providing employee resources and internal leadership training to help LGBT employees.
"For Wells Fargo to be publicly showing equality fits with what they do," Grace said.
Wells Fargo's Williams said there's no plans yet to include more LGBT community members in future ad campaigns. However, the company does not regret its decision.
"It definitely is along the lines of our vision of values and foundationally what we think when it comes to diversity and inclusion," she said.
—Ryan Ruggiero contributed to this report.
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9ac420b4286697f17969754b95122de9 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/09/rowan-atkinson-crashes-mclaren-f1-supercar-twice-sells-for-122-million.html | Mr Bean crashes McLaren F1 twice, sells for $12.2 million | Mr Bean crashes McLaren F1 twice, sells for $12.2 million
Rowan AtkinsonErnesto Ruscio | WireImage | Getty Images
Like his trademark lime green Mini, Mr Bean has given another of his cherished cars quite a battering, but somehow has made it through with a tidy profit.
British comedian Rowan Atkinson, the man behind the comic character, has sold his McLaren F1 supercar for £8 million ($12.2 million), making well over £7 million in profit, since the model was purchased back in 1997.
Read MoreI get paid to test drive cars
The dark burgundy McLaren F1 may be a beauty with its 6.1 liter V12 engine and 240mph top speed, yet the celebrity-owned super car has been through two serious crashes.
In 2011, Atkinson escaped with an injured shoulder after crashing his McLaren into a tree and road sign, before it caught fire in Cambridgeshire. His insurance company wasn't best pleased when repairs shot up to £910,000 for the incident. Before then, in 1999, Atkinson drove into the back of a Rover Metro, causing damage to the car's bonnet.
Rowan Atkinson's McLaren F1 crash in 2011Paul Franks / newsteam | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
David Clark, owner of specialist car dealer Taylor & Crawley who sold the car, in a statement praised Atkinson as true car fan.
"He is one of the most enthusiastic car owners I have ever met, a real user of his cars and that is how he derives his enjoyment: from the using, not the having."
Despite being 18 years old, its original model costing around £540,000, along with all its former prangs, the super car still sold for a record value. The original value of the model was priced around £540,000, however, reports suggest Atkinson may have paid up to £640,000 for his in 1997.
Read MoreThe 10 greatest sports cars of all time
In terms of making such a profit, Neil King, automotive analyst at Euromonitor International said that the model's rarity and its celebrity ownership would've significantly helped elevate the car's value.
"Classic supercars have soared in value in recent years, partly as they are now seen as a safer investment than gold. However, the pedigree and rarity of the McLaren F1 (even after two crashes) has granted it access to the most exclusive car club that is mainly frequented by just a handful of the rare Ferraris such as the 250 GTO Berlinetta that sold at the record auction price of £22 million last year.
"As for the impact of it being Rowan Atkinson's car, this has undoubtedly added a premium but it would probably be an incredible challenge to find a McLaren F1 for sale now that hadn't been owned by a celebrity or renowned entrepreneur," King told CNBC.
Read MoreVintage Ferrari could sell for $14M at auction
Rowan Atkinson as "Mr Bean" in a 1976 British Leyland Mini 1000 carMJ Kim | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
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08efd4d3c34a7e10e41351eb0bc8cec7 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/09/state-incentives-business-boon-or-corporate-welfare.html | State incentives: Business boon or corporate welfare? | State incentives: Business boon or corporate welfare?
VIDEO2:0902:09The subsidy factorPower Lunch
New York is a big state with a long history of doing things big. That is especially true when it comes to subsidizing business.
According to the watchdog group Good Jobs First, the Empire State has awarded nearly 72,000 subsidies to corporations, mostly since 2007, worth $22.6 billion. That is more than any other state and nearly twice the amount of its nearest competitor, Washington state.
Source: Start-Up NY
New York is not shy about its generosity. The state's economic development arm, Empire State Development, lists as its mission the promotion of a "vigorous and growing" state economy "through the efficient use of loans, grants, tax credits, real estate development, marketing and other forms of assistance."
Read MoreAmerica's Top States for Business 2015: Our methodology
The "efficient" part is the subject of plenty of debate in New York and every other state. For now, it seems the subsidies—and the businesses that receive them—are winning.
"This is the dark side of the war among the states," said Good Jobs First Executive Director Greg LeRoy, who has been tracking the subsidies for more than 30 years. And he added that things are not getting any brighter.
While the number of deals sought by businesses began declining before the Great Recession and remains depressed, the assistance being offered by states is going up. The result, LeRoy said, is that a relatively small number of companies have increasing leverage, and "they're taking it to the bank."
That is especially evident when it comes to what Good Jobs First calls "megadeals," worth $75 million or more. Since 2008, the group said, the number of giant awards per year has more than doubled from the previous decade. They include the record $8.7 billion that Washington state awarded to Boeing in 2013.
[Subsidies are] the dark side of the war among the states.Greg LeRoyexecutive director of Good Jobs First
Are the subsidies making the states that award them any more competitive?
"Very marginally," said LeRoy noting that state and local taxes—which the majority of deals target—make up less than 2 percent of business costs.
Workers are the new weapon in the battle for business.
"Incentives rarely work or can rarely make a difference," he said. Even when they seem to be working, the effect is often short-lived.
Read MoreState House to the White House? How the governors stack up
In New York's case, the subsidy figures are so large because they include billions of dollars in free or discounted power from the state's utilities. The state agreed to provide $5.6 billion in electricity discounts over 30 years to Alcoa in exchange for a $600 million investment in one plant and an agreement to preserve at least 900 jobs at the facility. But New York found that, as is the case in many such agreements, this one was built on shifting sands.
After the company began laying off workers elsewhere as part of a nationwide cost-cutting plan last year, the state sweetened the pot with more electricity discounts, described at the time by Gov. Andrew Cuomo as a move to avoid layoffs.
"This agreement … applies firm job commitments that Alcoa must adhere to for its continued use of some of the lowest-cost electricity in the country," Cuomo said in a statement March 31, 2014. Alcoa has stayed put—for now.
LeRoy said it is no coincidence that some states that are most generous with subsidies are also facing budget issues. In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie has awarded more than $5 billion in subsidies—including half a dozen deals that were worth more than $200 million apiece. State officials have defended the incentives as a way to attract investment and save and create jobs. But this year, the state suffered its ninth credit downgrade since the governor took office.
Even states that have tried to back away from subsidies are finding it is not as simple as it may seem.
Soon after taking office in 2011, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder called for an end to some of the state's most generous incentives.
"Let's stop the tax credits—and realize in many cases that the only reason they're in the tax code is because someone had more political power," he said that year.
Read MoreAn American workplace war that's reached a tipping point
But the state agreed to continue to honor credits it had previously granted, some dating back to 1995. The result: Four years after the credits ended, Michigan taxpayers are still on the hook for nearly $9.4 billion, state officials say.
Other states have been trying to move away from subsidies by pursuing what are known as "sector strategies"—a big buzz phrase these days in economic development circles.
The idea is to target a state's existing strengths, like a big concentration of health-care professionals, and build on that. Money that might be spent on incentives to lure a specific company might instead be spent on enhanced training programs and facilities to lure multiple companies to the region.
But while economic development professionals may be pushing the idea, LeRoy said, "They have to answer to elected officials who want to cut ribbons."
Because of that, and because businesses are happy to take any subsidies they can get, the war of incentives is unlikely to end anytime soon.
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e8086e73aeffd43d368bc17afe586166 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/09/the-10-most-popular-celebrities-on-facebook.html | The 10 most popular celebrities on Facebook | The 10 most popular celebrities on Facebook
Since its founding 11 years ago, Facebook has become an outlet for connecting, networking and sharing interesting content.
As the largest social network, the platform boasts 1.39 billion monthly active users, many of whom include big-name celebrities. But who takes the crown as the most-popular user?
Here's a breakdown of the most-liked people on Facebook, according to social media tracking firm Fan Page List, counting down from number 10.
*All net worth and salary estimates are courtesy of Celebrity Net Worth.
10. Justin Bieber – 72,724,746 likes
Gregg DeGuire | WireImage | Getty Images
Among the thousands of "Justin, I love you" and "Justin, I hate you" posts, Justin Bieber's Facebook page is largely populated with selfies and screen grabs of his magazine covers. His social media presence is, however, surpassed by his bank account. With a reported net worth of $200 million, the pop star has sold more than 25 million albums globally, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
9. Bob Marley – 73,513,881 likes
Bob Marley, circa 1976Erin Combs | Toronto Star | Getty Images
Bob Marley's Facebook page is an outlet for inspirational quotes and a walk down memory lane. Even 34 years after his death, the posts on the performer's page receive thousands of "likes" and comments from fans.
8. Will Smith – 73,691,492 likes
Getty Images
"West Philadelphia, born and raised," Will Smith has a whopping net worth of $220 million. In addition to his massive social media following, the actor and rapper has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards and two Academy Awards.
7. Michael Jackson – 75,300,478 likes
Nearly six years after his death, Michael Jackson still edges out some of music's biggest names in terms of followers. His Facebook page mostly consists of #MJTrivia and photos from his glory days. In October, he topped Forbes' list of the highest-earning dead celebrities.
6. Lionel Messi – 77,881,494 likes
Amilcar Orfali/STR | LatinContent WO | Getty Images
Lionel Messi is sixth on the most-followed list, and he's also among the wealthiest soccer players in the world. Messi, who plays for Argentina and FC Barcelona, has a net worth of approximately $180 million and an annual base salary of nearly $45 million. He also pulls in about $20 million to $30 million in endorsements each year.
5. Rihanna – 81,549,344 likes
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Whether she's singing, acting or cashing in on endorsements, Rihanna's Facebook page is sure to keep fans clued in. The performer, whose empire is worth an estimated $140 million, is also the founder of The Believe Foundation, an organization that helps terminally ill children.
4. Eminem – 91,991,971 likes
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Eminem is no stranger to social recognition. Over the years he's had 12 No. 1 singles, won an Academy Award and scored six Grammys. As a rapper, producer and actor, Eminem has a net worth of $190 million. Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?
3. Vin Diesel – 93,172,315 likes
Vin Diesel's well-liked account is a compilation of inspirational tidbits paired with (often shirtless) glamour shots that provide a relatively personal view into his life. Best-known for his roles in "Saving Private Ryan," "The Chronicles of Riddick" and the "Fast and the Furious" franchise, Vin Diesel's net worth is approximately $75 million.
2. Shakira – 100,732,587 likes
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With talents including singer, songwriter and belly dancer, Shakira has built herself quite the fan base—with the social media following to prove it. With a net worth of $220 million, she's been nominated for a Golden Globe Award and two Grammy Awards, according to IMDb. She's also a member of President Barack Obama's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, a UNICEF ambassador and the founder of the Barefoot Foundation, an organization benefiting impoverished children.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo – 103,576,615 likes
How big is Ronaldo's Facebook following? Big enough that he can ask what underwear he should put on and have more than 28,000 users respond. Not only is the famed Portuguese and Real Madrid soccer player No. 1 on the most-followed list, but he is also the second-richest soccer player in the world (after David Beckham) with a net worth of $250 million and an annual salary of $45 million.
Massive bank account and massive social media following? Check and check.
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fdb553f71427d7e1503a080f978cf958 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/10/surprise-obamacare-insurers-desire-double-digit-hikes.html?__source=healthpocket | 'Surprise'—Obamacare insurers desire double-digit hikes | 'Surprise'—Obamacare insurers desire double-digit hikes
VIDEO2:4802:48Does Obamacare hurt jobs?Squawk Box
VIDEO4:4304:43Obama: Health care exchanges should not be overturned
VIDEO0:3700:37Health insurance rates may go upObamacare
VIDEO4:1804:18Obamacare unraveling could be lose/lose for both sides: Kavita PatelSquawk Box
Many Obamacare customers could be looking at surprisingly large price increases next year—if insurers get their wishes.
Health insurance premiums for individual plans in major U.S. cities would rise by an average of 12 percent in 2016 if the newly proposed prices are approved, a new analysis finds.
And prices would increase even more—14 percent on average—for people enrolled in the most popular type of Obamacare plans, known as "silver" plans, the HealthPocket study reveals.
Customers insured in health maintenance organization (HMO) and exclusive provider organization (EPO) plans—which as a rule don't cover treatment from providers outside of their networks—would be facing average increases that are higher still—20 percent for HMO plans and 18 percent for EPO plans.
"Given the rate of general inflation in the country, and the economic situation, the rate increases were surprising to us," said Kev Coleman, head of research and data at HealthPocket, a health-plan comparison tech company.
"I was expecting somewhere between the 6 to 8 percent range," said Coleman, whose company looked at proposed rates in and around the largest cities in 45 states for a 40-year-old nonsmoker.
HealthPocket's analysis comes on the heels of the federal government releasing information about only those insurers who are asking for price increases of 10 percent or more. The company looked at rate filing requests for all insurers in the major cities, not just those who want double-digit hikes.
The proposed prices, if approved, will come as a shock to the millions of Obamacare customers who pay the full retail price for their plans since they are ineligible for subsides that offset the cost of insurance for those with low and moderate incomes, Coleman said.
Read More10 drugs to hit fed budget by $50B over decade
"I think they're going to be frustrated," Coleman said. "We tend to forget that millions of people are unsubsidized ... these people are paying full freight."
On the other hand, about 8.7 million people currently receive federal subsidies worth an average of $272 per month to reduce the cost of their monthly premiums, a fact the Obama administration often cites when touting the benefits of the Affordable Care Act. For those people, the proposed price hikes, if approved, would weigh less heavily in absolute dollar terms.
This is really the first time that America's really seeing true Affordable Care Act rates.Kev Coleman, HealthPocket's head of research and data
And not all nonsubsidized customers in the U.S. would necessarily face double-digit increases. Actual prices will depend on an individual's age and location.
There is also likely to be a downward adjustment in some rate proposals before they are finalized this fall. In New York state, for example, Coleman noted that insurers for 2015 had asked for average price hikes of 13 percent, but ended up getting approved for less than half of that, 5.7 percent. This year, insurers in New York are asking for a 13.5 percent increase.
The proposed price hikes that HealthPocket studied come as insurers, for the first time, have a fuller understanding about how health benefits are being used by Obamacare customers. That usage data are being factored into their price proposals as they seek to balance their desire for enrollment against the costs of insuring their customers.
Before 2014, when the first Obamacare prices were set, insurers had no such data about how benefits would be used, and there was pressure to keep prices attractive to lure customers to the new government-run exchanges.
When insurers proposed prices for 2015, there was very little, if any, helpful data because their recommended prices had to be submitted just months after most people had enrolled for 2014. There was also a 25 percent increase in the number of insurers in the Obamacare market in 2015, which helped keep prices competitive. For 2016, there isn't a similar large influx.
"This is really the first time that America's really seeing true Affordable Care Act rates," Coleman said.
CNBC last week revealed how one big insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, was asking for average rate hikes of nearly 20 percent for its Obamacare-compliant plans. In its rate filing, BCBS cited the fact that it had suffered a loss of as much as $400 million from covering customers in those plans.
Not all insurers are proposing rate hikes that steep. But HealthPocket's analysis reveals that double-digit proposed increases are more the norm in many population-heavy areas of the country than not.
The analysis found that a hypothetical 40-year-old nonsmoker enrolled in an Obamacare silver plan would be looking at an average proposed rate of $389.49 per month next year, compared to the average $341 she pays now, HealthPocket found.
Read More
Silver plans are, by far, the most popular type purchased on government-run exchanges such as HealthCare.gov, with 67 percent of all customers enrolled in such plans.
In silver plans, insurers pay 70 percent of the covered medical benefits of their customers, with enrollees paying the balance in the form of out-of-pocket costs such as copayments and deductibles.
Proposed price increases for bronze plans are lower, on average. About 22 percent of exchange customers are enrolled in bronze plans, which are the second most-popular type and tend to be the least expensive. In these plans, about 60 percent of benefits are covered.
HealthPocket found that a nonsmoker enrolled in a "bronze" Obamacare plan would be faced with average prices rising 9 percent from $292 per month this year to $319.04. The rate increases would be even lower, 4 percent on average, for people enrolled in a preferred provider organization bronze plan, where customers pay less if they visit doctors in their network. But people in PPO bronze plans already pay $319.06 per month on average this year, and would see those rates rise to $331.48 next year.
The hypothetical customers in a gold plan, which pays 80 percent of covered benefits, would see rates rise an average of 16 percent, from $397.65 per month now, to $459.34 next year, HealthPocket found. Just 7 percent of Obamacare exchange enrollments came from gold plans.
Read MoreObama touts health law as ruling looms
The least popular plans, which are also the priciest, platinum plans, would see the lowest average hike. Platinum prices are proposed to rise an average of just 6 percent, going from $525.39 per month to $558.62 per month next year, HealthPocket found. Only 3 percent of enrollees are in platinum plans, which pay for 90 percent of covered benefits.
A woman speaks with a health insurance agent regarding the Affordable Care Act.Getty Images
In a surprising twist, HealthPocket found the biggest proposed percentage increases were in HMO and EPO plans.
Coleman said that finding was "really confusing," because HMOs and EPOs, by design, are intended to hold down costs by restricting covered benefits in all but emergencies to medical providers in their network, where providers agree to accept set payments in exchange for the business.
Coleman said that while he was surprised by that finding, and by the overall average proposed increases, these numbers will seem small if the Supreme Court rules this month that subsidies cannot be given to Obamacare customers who buy insurance in 34 states served by HealthCare.gov, the federal exchange. The high court is considering arguments from plaintiffs who claim that only customers of state-run marketplaces can get such financial aid.
If the subsidies are taken away in HealthCare.gov states, "you'll have incredible increases in health insurance rates," Coleman said.
That's because insurers are expected to face a massive exodus of subsidized customers from their plans, particularly by people who cannot afford to pay the full retail price or whose health is good enough that they are willing to go without insurance at the nondiscounted price. Without such customers balancing out sicker, older customers, insurers will have to raise their premium prices to cover costs by as much as 50 percent in the affected states, analysts say.
Even without such increases, customers who currently receive subsidies would face premiums that are in many cases hundreds of percentage points higher if they are compelled to pay the full price.
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c233d50f203a14a4b5e9cacc6c40e13d | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/11/green-google-in-talks-to-back-massive-african-wind-project.html | Business Beyond Tomorrow | Business Beyond Tomorrow
Construction site for the Lake Turkana Wind Power project in Kenya, 2015.Source: Lake Turkana Wind Power
Google gets lots of attention for expanding into novel technologies like driverless cars and artificial intelligence. But the technology giant also has put big bucks—more than $2 billion to date—into the next generation of energy production.
Now, the company is in discussions to back the largest wind power project in Africa, a fast-growing but power-starved continent, according to people familiar with the situation.
Google is negotiating to become an investor in the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project, a more than $700 million, 40,000 acre undertaking in Kenya. It's the largest private investment in the history of the East African country—where less than a quarter of the population has access to power—and the project's 310 megawatt capacity is expected to boost Kenya's installed energy capacity by 20 percent.
The deal is not finalized, according to the people, and, even if completed, Google's would be a minority stake.
A spokesman for Google declined to comment, and Turkana representative Rizwan Fazal said, "Google is not involved in LTWP at present and LTWP has no agreement or understanding of any nature with Google."
Most of Google's renewable energy investments have been domestic, largely in wind and solar farms in places like West Texas and California's Mojave Desert. But the environmentally conscious company is increasingly looking outside the U.S.
In 2013, Google invested $12 million in South Africa's Jasper Power Project, one of the largest solar installations on the continent.
Read More Three big takeaways from Google's I/O conference
Google's director of energy and sustainability, Rick Needham, has said publicly the company only pursues investments that both make financial sense and that have "transformative" potential for the growth of clean energy.
"We're investing in clean energy so it's more accessible for our company and for everyone," Google's "Green" website states. "We're helping create a clean energy future that's better for our business and the environment."
While Google's green investments are for profit, its philanthropic arm has supported SolarAid, which is working to build solar access for so-called off-grid African communities.
The positives of small-scale solar aren't lost on other investors, including Zouk Capital and Vulcan Capital (which backed Tanzania-based Off Grid Electric); LGT Venture Philanthropy (which backed Kenya-based M-KOPA Solar); and CrossBoundary Energy (which recently raised an investment fund to finance rooftop solar power for African businesses, both on and off the electrical grid).
Google is hardly new to sub-Saharan Africa. The tech company has offices in Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; Lagos, Nigeria; Dakar, Senegal; Johannesburg; and Kampala, Uganda.
While the company's investment would likely be relatively small—perhaps in the tens of millions of dollars, according to the people with knowledge of the talks—it would have broader implications.
One is that Google's involvement could encourage others to follow.
Sophisticated investors are increasingly looking to build power and energy infrastructure on the continent, including private equity firms Blackstone Group, Carlyle Group and Denham Capital. But there have been few so-called exits, when investors in a project cash out by selling their stake to another party.
Since Turkana has already raised all the money it needs, a Google investment—if it plays out—would be a boost of confidence for other investors to know there are buyers once a project is relatively developed.
"As assets mature you will begin to see developers and private equity firms looking to exit transactions to parties looking for steady annuity income," Kwame Parker, head of power and infrastructure for East Africa at South Africa's Standard Bank, said in an email about Google potentially purchasing an existing stake in the wind project.
"Given Google's global profile and the profile of Lake Turkana Wind Farm, a Google investment would be a significant vote of confidence for investors considering African power market entry," added Parker, who helped arrange financing for Turkana (he declined to comment on Google's plans specifically).
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Turkana locked in the money it needed in 2014 with a so-called financial close after years of planning. The money raised for the project is broken down into equity stakes, which have higher risk but also higher rewards, and debt, which carries less risk for the lenders. The majority of the equity is held by co-developers KP&P Africa, a group of Dutch and Kenyan businessmen, and power project specialist Aldwych International, which is majority owned by South Africa-based private equity firm Harith.
Other financial backers include the governments of Denmark, Finland and Norway, and Vestas, the Danish wind company making the project's 365 turbines. The African Development Bank and the European Investment Bank also provided debt and other support.
Construction site for the Lake Turkana Wind Power project in Kenya, 2015.Source: Lake Turkana Wind Power
If successful, Turkana also will be a symbol for making renewable energy work for Africa, which is estimated to have the combined installed power generation base of Spain.
"Turkana is a significant opportunity to demonstrate wind at utility scale," Jonathan Berman, CEO of investment and advisory firm J.E. Berman Associates and author of "Success in Africa," said in an email. "If they deliver on time it could prove very attractive for political leaders worldwide who need to rapidly address energy shortfalls."
Another big implication of the Google investment is that it would likely unlock an investment guarantee of up to $250 million from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation—the U.S. government's development finance institution.
OPIC's board announced in June 2014 that it had approved the financing for the project as part of President Barack Obama's Power Africa initiative, which is working to bring in private investors to produce 10,000 megawatts of new energy for the more than 600 million sub-Saharan Africans without power.
A spokesman for OPIC declined to comment, but Turkana, like all other OPIC deals, would require "meaningful involvement of the U.S. private sector," according to its publicly stated mandate. In this case the catalyst would appear to be Google as no other American companies are presently involved.
Turkana was twice named Africa's best renewable energy deal for 2014, but its success wasn't always obvious.
The project was first thought of in 2006 after a local businessman noticed strong area winds. It wasn't until 2014 that construction began after years of negotiations with the government, developers and financial backers.
The location is also remote, requiring a new major road for construction materials to be trucked in, and 250 miles worth transmission lines to take the power out. Both are in progress. The lakeside site was also studied intensely, according to project developers, to consider environmental and social impacts—including a 12-month study to understand the effects on local birds— in addition to making sure the technology would work.
Kenya has also suffered some political instability over the life of the project, especially violence that followed contested a presidential election in late 2007 (terror attacks in 2013 and earlier this year have also been of international concern).
Turkana is scheduled to begin commercial operations in October 2016 with 50 megawatts and hit full 310 megawatt capacity seven months later, according to Fazal.
Read MoreThe life and death of Africa investor Bruce Wrobel
Google wouldn't be the only investor in renewable energy on the continent.
One example is U.S.-based private equity firm American Capital Energy & Infrastructure, which announced on Monday that it would invest about $86 million in Senegal's first industrial-scale wind project, a 152-megawatt farm in Taiba Ndiaye, east of Dakar.
"Renewables will play a very big role in providing the power that will drive the economic growth of Africa," said Paul Hanrahan, co-founder and CEO of ACEI, part of $23 billion American Capital.
Other major wind and solar investments in recent years include Actis and Lekela Power, Denham Capital Management and BioTherm Energy, and Inspired Evolution Investment Management and Red Cap.
Top private equity investments in African renewable energy
Fund Manager Company Country ICB Subsector Investment Type Investment ($M) Date ActisLekela PowerSouth AfricaAlternative ElectricityGrowth220Feb-15Denham Capital ManagementBioTherm EnergySouth AfricaAlternative ElectricityGrowth150Oct-08Harith General PartnersLake Turkana Wind ProjectKenyaAlternative ElectricityGrowth70Mar-14Inspired Evolution Investment ManagementRed CapSouth AfricaAlternative ElectricityGrowth21Dec-10Vantage CapitalMabele FuelsSouth AfricaAlternative FuelsMezzanine17Jan-14MetierGenesis/MainstreamSouth AfricaAlternative ElectricityGrowth16Jul-14MetierAE-AMD Renewable EnergySouth AfricaAlternative ElectricityGrowth2Feb-13Novastar VenturesSolarNowUgandaRenewable Energy EquipmentVenture Capital1Oct-14Zouk CapitalOff Grid ElectricTanzaniaAlternative ElectricityGrowthN/ADec-14MetierACWA Power Solafrica Bokpoort CSPSouth AfricaAlternative ElectricityGrowthN/AMay-13EFG Hermes Private EquityRidgewood EgyptEgyptAlternative ElectricityBuyoutN/ADec-09
Read MorePay-as-you-go solar power takes off in Africa
Correction: This story has been updated to better describe the title of Jonathan Berman.
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c723b451e1968dc6387cfa1b3e645e79 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/11/tim-cook-received-complaints-on-apples-bag-check-policy.html | Tim Cook received complaints on Apple's bag check policy | Tim Cook received complaints on Apple's bag check policy
VIDEO0:3400:34Apple employees take a bite out of CookHuman Resources and Employment Services
VIDEO4:2704:27Tim Cook calls out tech companies on privacyPower Lunch
VIDEO1:2301:23Apple Music, iOS9 and more: WWDC in 90 seconds
At least two Apple retail store workers complained directly to Chief Executive Tim Cook that the company's policy of checking retail employees' bags as a security precaution was embarrassing and demeaning, according to a court filing made public on Wednesday.
The employee complaints, which a judge ordered unsealed, are part of a 2013 lawsuit alleging Apple should compensate employees for the time it takes to conduct the searches. One worker, whose name was blacked out of the court filing, told Cook in a 2012 message that Apple managers "are required to treat 'valued' employees as criminals."
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Cook forwarded it to top retail and human resources executives with the query: "Is this true?"
The court filing does not include what responses Cook received. An Apple representative could not immediately be reached for comment.
In the lawsuit, plaintiffs Amanda Friekin and Dean Pelle alleged that "screenings" or bag searches, designed to discourage theft, are conducted every time sales reps leave the store, including for meal breaks. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, seeks class action status. Lawsuits from within Apple's ranks are rare.
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling last December, in a case involving an Amazon.com Inc warehouse contractor, handed a victory to employers, ruling that companies do not have to pay employees for the time they spend undergoing security checks at the end of their shifts. The Supreme Court found that because the screening process is not a "principal activity" of the workers' jobs under a federal labor law it is not subject to compensation.
In the 2012 email to Cook, with a subject line "Fearless Feedback from Apple Retail Specialist," the employee said Apple's policy implies the company does not trust its workers.
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"These procedures are often performed in front of gawking customers," the employee wrote, adding that workers deserve to be treated with the same respect that Apple shows customers.
VIDEO3:4603:46Get ready for an Apple rallyTrading Nation
Another email, sent by a retail worker in Beijing to Cook and other managers in 2013, said Apple treats its employees "as animals" and thieves. It also said an emergency exit in the store is blocked by Apple products.
Cook's response to that email is not displayed in the court filing, though other Apple executives did discuss the bag search policy.
"If it is simply a deterrent there has to be a more intelligent and respectful way to approach," wrote Denise Young Smith, Apple's vice president of human resources.
A hearing in the lawsuit is scheduled for July 2.
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d3c6d4763b365669872c3552042c8ef2 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/12/9-retail-brands-trying-to-find-their-way.html?page=1 | 9 retail brands trying to find their way | 9 retail brands trying to find their way
Getty Images
Remember Juicy Couture's heyday?
Ten years ago it was practically impossible to set foot on a college campus without seeing the brand's name emblazoned across at least one woman's backside.
Then came the retail riddle many brands have grappled with: No matter how established or popular they become, consumers grow tired of them and move onto the next great thing.
For some companies, it's the result of having too much product in the market; for others, it's a failure to push forward their designs and keep customers interested. Whatever the cause, the challenge is the same: Once they lose shoppers' interest, it can be extremely hard to get it back.
"It really comes back to, what is your reason for being?" said Farla Efros, president of HRC Advisory. "Yes, you can turn it around, but ... it's really about defining a clear set of initiatives."
There are plenty of retailers who have recovered from their missteps. Most recently, Lululemon's infusion of more fashionable product and an emphasis on quality have brought shoppers back. And at American Eagle, merchandise that more closely aligns with the tastes of today's teens have made it a bright spot in the struggling space.
To see a list of nine brands that are trying to find their way, click ahead.
—By CNBC's Krystina GustafsonPosted 15 June 2015
Jin Lee | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Weakness in the company's sweaters and knit products dented the preppy retailer's sales in the most recent quarter. But J. Crew, where dresses typically cost $100 or more, is also facing stiff competition from fast-fashion retailers, whose products sell at a fraction of the price as well as other specialty stores, which have been aggressively pushing discounts.
The brand on Wednesday took steps to turn things around at its flagship label. In addition to laying off 175 corporate jobs, J. Crew poached the head designer at its popular Madewell label.
"We are making meaningful and strategic changes across our organization to better position us for future growth," CEO Mickey Drexler said.
Getty Images
As competition intensified between Nike and Under Armour, Adidas lost its stride in the U.S. market. Last year, North America was the only region under the athletic wear firm's umbrella to see its sales drop—an issue that was a big focal point at its March investor day.
There, Adidas pledged to make its largest investment to date in America and exit its role as the exclusive uniform provider for the NBA. The basketball deal helped Adidas "to sell licensed shirts, but it hasn't helped us to sell any footwear," CEO Herbert Hainer said.
Pressure has eased on the sales front as the North American region posted a 7 percent sales gain in the first quarter.
(CORRECTION: Adidas owns TaylorMade, but the company's North American region no longer includes the results of the golf business.)
A Gap store in New York.Scott Mlyn | CNBC
Shoppers hoping for better product at Gap will likely have to wait until next year. After more than a year of monthly same-store sales declines, CEO Art Peck told investors last month that he's placing his big bet on more compelling merchandise hitting stores this spring.
That's when he expects to see the influence of new design chief Wendi Goldman, whose résumé includes stints at Saks Fifth Avenue, Banana Republic and C. Wonder.
The brand has been criticized for not including enough color, or having the right fit, in its assortment.
"We have had a women's business challenge now for several seasons running," Peck said. "I believe we have diagnosed it correctly ... and I can promise you that the team is all over it."
People walk past an American Apparel store in New York City.Getty Images
American Apparel CEO Paula Schneider, who took over the company's helm in January, has a lot of work ahead of her.
Following in the wake of controversial founder Dov Charney, Schneider is attempting to turn the company into a $1 billion brand by getting rid of its slow-moving merchandise, introducing new styles and—perhaps most importantly—distancing itself from its reputation for raunchy ads.
This includes eliminating "nudity and blatant sexual innuendo" and "inappropriate sexual pose[s]."
Last year the company's sales were $609 million, down from $634 million in 2013.
Source: WestportWiki
Coach is overhauling everything from its stores' appearance to its merchandise in attempt to restore the "cool" factor to its ubiquitous brand. So far, it's been a tough transition.
Though several of its initiatives should help boost the accessories label's brand equity—including more luxurious shops and fewer promotions—its North American sales fell 24 percent in the most recent quarter.
"We continue to see steady progress in our results with sequential improvement in our bricks-and-mortar stores in North America as we continue to make strides against our brand transformation agenda," CEO Victor Luis said on the company's earnings call.
Pedestrians are reflected in the window of an Abercrombie & Fitch store in San Francisco.Getty Images
As it steps away from logo product and aims to be more fashionable, analysts have warned that Abercrombie runs the risk of alienating its former shoppers, while failing to attract a new customer. In addition to revamping its merchandise, the retailer is stepping away from its "sexualized" images.
Despite these initiatives, sales at the company's flagship label continued to struggle in the first quarter, posting a 9 percent same-store sales decline.
"I'm well aware of the challenges we face, but we really do believe that we're focused on the right things as part of our efforts to improve the trend of the Abercrombie business," said Christos Angelides, president of the Abercrombie brand.
Roberto Machado Noa | LightRocket | Getty Images
Fellow teen retailer Aéropostale is likewise trying to boost its cachet by shifting away from logo T-shirts and hoodies. One way it's doing so is by expanding its emerging brands, which include an exclusive line from YouTube star Bethany Mota.
Though these brands have been a bright spot in the company's portfolio, its overall revenue continued to fall in the first quarter, with same-store sales dropping 11 percent. That was on top of a 13 percent decline in the same quarter of the prior year.
"As I have said previously, we expect that the back-to-school period will represent a time when all of our efforts over the last nine months to change the trajectory of our business should come to fruition," CEO Julian Geiger said after the retailer's results.
Hand bags at a Vera Bradley Leather And Faux Leather Launch EventGetty Images
Vera Bradley wants to be known for more than its quilted bags. So in an attempt to refresh the brand, it's expanding its product into different fabrics and materials, including leather.
CEO Robert Wallstrom told investors last week that although it's made strides with its new products, shoppers have been slow to recognize and respond to the changes. As a result, the company's comparable sales fell 17 percent in the most recent quarter.
"It is frustrating to us, and I'm sure you, that the progress we have made is not reflected in our current financial results," Wallstrom told investors.
"It is evident that our overall business trends remain difficult. We are not attracting enough new customers to the brand and traffic and sales are still very challenging."
Denim on display during the GUESS and Peace Over Violence press conference for the 16th annual Denim Day at GUESS? Inc. Headquarters on April 29, 2015 in Los Angeles.Unique Nicole | FilmMagic | Getty Images
Comparable sales in the specialty retailer's North America unit have been negative the past 18 quarters. But analysts said trends are starting to stabilize at Guess, which will close 60 of its underperforming locations this year.
In the most recent quarter, the company said trends in its women's business have started to improve, particularly in dresses, denim and woven tops, though its men's sales were softer.
"We believe that the design changes we have made are really starting to [show] results," CEO Paul Marciano said.
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c5696279d8d902a87b1a517d4b397a8b | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/12/the-us-could-be-completely-powered-by-renewables-by-2050-report.html | The US could be completely powered by renewables by 2050: report | The US could be completely powered by renewables by 2050: report
Solar panel installation on the roof of a home in Gainesville, Florida.Getty Images
The U.S. could be completely powered by renewable energy by 2050, according to a report from Stanford University.
The report provides roadmaps for how all 50 states could convert their energy network to renewable sources, adding that the health, environmental and economic benefits from ditching fossil fuels would be considerable.
VIDEO3:1303:13Renewable energy is competitive, despite oil volatilityWorldwide Exchange
Mark Jacobson, director of Stanford University's atmosphere and energy program and the report's author, claims 100 percent conversion to renewable sources is "technically and economically feasible with little downside".
According to the model, published in the journal "Energy & Environmental Science", in 35 years' time the U.S. of would have replaced fossil fuels with wind, water and sunlight energy sources. Half the country's energy would be provided by on-shore and off-shore wind farms, while 45 percent would come from solar panels. Increased efficiency from improved technology and electrification would also reduce the amount of energy needed.
Read MoreIs renewable energy ready to disrupt fossil fuels?
In order to achieve 100 percent conversion, automobiles would need to be replaced with battery electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and hybrids.
Nuclear energy and biofuels would not be permitted in Jacobson's plans, because mining uranium for nuclear power plants requires fossil fuels, while burning biofuels still produces carbon emissions.
The report also claims the conversion would produce health and economic advantages. For instance, reducing air pollution would eliminate around 60,000-70,000 premature deaths in the U.S. per year, while around 6 million jobs in constructing and operating the new renewable energy facilities would be created (outweighing the roughly 4 million jobs lost in the conventional energy sector)
Read More'Green' Google in talks to back massive African wind project
However, the report has come under criticism. John Constable, director of Renewable Energy Foundation, told CNBC: "It's essentially fiction, and not a guide to the future. That is to say, its conclusions are implied by its premises, which are not necessarily realistic.
"If renewables were actually cheap and economically competitive and all the technical problems were solved they could drive the US economy, naturally. There has been no end of studies like this in Europe."
Follow us on Twitter: @CNBCWorld
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cc2d33c3ba3afafb0bcfbd0640714d70 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/12/us-may-ppi-up-05-pct-vs-04-expected.html | Gas and food surge sends May prices on a tear | Gas and food surge sends May prices on a tear
VIDEO1:1201:12May PPI up 0.5%, hotter than expectedSquawk Box
U.S. producer prices in May recorded their biggest increase in more than 2-1/2 years as the cost of gasoline and food rose, suggesting that an oil-driven downward drift in prices was nearing an end.
The Labor Department said on Friday its producer price index for final demand increased 0.5 percent last month, the largest gain since September 2012. That followed a 0.4 percent decline in April.
In the year to May, the PPI fell 1.1 percent, marking the fourth straight 12-month decrease. Prices dropped 1.3 percent in the 12 months through April, the biggest fall since 2010.
Economists had forecast the PPI rising 0.4 percent last month and falling 1.1 percent from a year ago.
A sharp decline in crude oil prices since last year and a strong dollar have weighed on producer prices. While rising oil prices are easing some of the downward pressure on inflation, the upward trend in producer prices will be gradual because of the dollar's strength.
The greenback has gained about 13.2 percent against the currencies of the United States' main trading partners since June 2014.
The stabilization in producer prices should support views that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this year.
Last month, gasoline prices surged 17 percent, the largest increase since August 2009. Food prices rose 0.8 percent in May, the biggest gain in just over a year, snapping five straight months of declines.
Higher food prices were driven by a shortage of eggs after an outbreak of bird flu led to the culling of millions of chickens. Wholesale egg prices soared a record 56.4 percent last month.
While the spillover from producer prices to consumer prices has weakened, higher gasoline and food prices are likely to feed into the May consumer price index. May consumer price data will be published next week.
The volatile trade services component, which mostly reflects profit margins at retailers and wholesalers, increased 0.6 percent in May after falling 0.8 percent in the prior month.
May's rise likely reflects improving profit margins at services station, which had been pressured by falling gasoline prices.
A key measure of underlying producer price pressures that excludes food, energy and trade services dipped 0.1 percent last month after ticking up 0.1 percent in April. The so-called core PPI was up 0.6 percent in the 12 months through May.
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c305406a44f84799175b14dcc5dde62d | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/13/south-koreas-mers-outbreak-large-and-complex-who.html | South Korea's MERS outbreak "large and complex:" WHO | South Korea's MERS outbreak "large and complex:" WHO
A hospital worker wears a mask as a precaution against the MERS virus at Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, June 12, 2015.Kim Jong Hyun | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
SEOUL--The World Health Organization said on Saturday South Korea's outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) was "large and complex" and more cases should be anticipated, but it saw no sign the disease is spreading in the community.
There was also no indication that the MERS virus in South Korea had changed to make it more transmissible, the WHO's assistant director general, Keiji Fukuda, told a news conference at the Health Ministry in Sejong, south of the capital, Seoul.
The virus has infected 138 people in South Korea and killed 14 of them since it was first diagnosed on May 20 in a businessman who had returned from a trip to the Middle East.
The outbreak is the largest outside Saudi Arabia, where the disease was first identified in humans in 2012, and has stirred fears in Asia of a repeat of a 2002-2003 scare when Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) killed about 800 people worldwide.
Read More MERS: What you need to know
"Because the outbreak has been large and is complex, more cases should be anticipated," said Fukuda, who is leading a WHO team that is conducted a joint review with South Korean officials of the country's response to the outbreak.
He said he was encouraged that South Korea's control measures were having an impact.
The businessman who brought MERS back to South Korea visited several health centres for a cough and fever before he was diagnosed, leaving a trail of infection in his wake.
All of South Korea's cases have been linked to health facilities.
"At present, the mission has found no evidence to indicate there is an ongoing transmission in the community," Fukuda said.
Authorities have sealed off at least two hospitals and about 3,500 people are in quarantine, either at home or in medical facilities. Quarantine has been widened to isolate and test anyone who may have come into contact with a MERS patient.
The 12 new cases reported on Saturday included an ambulance driver who transported an infected person.
Read More Is MERS a teapot tempest for South Korea shares?
Only four new cases were reported on Friday, the fewest in 11 days, raising hope the worst might be over.
But experts predicted more cases until the incubation period, which is believed to be up to two weeks, for everyone exposed to an infected person is over.
A 67-year-old woman who contracted the virus from a patient became the 14th person to die in the outbreak, the ministry said. All of those who have died have been elderly or people suffering from existing ailments.
MERS is caused by a coronavirus from the same family as the one that caused SARS. It is more deadly than SARS but does not spread as easily, at least for now. There is no cure or vaccine.
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7b45b119b24d1f42f979f91fc6088d99 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/15/as-tadawul-opens-up-saudi-arabia-hopes-for-activist-investors.html | Saudi Arabia hopes for 'activist investors' as bourse opens up | Saudi Arabia hopes for 'activist investors' as bourse opens up
VIDEO3:0503:05Saudi stock exchange open for businessWorldwide Exchange
VIDEO2:3202:32Tadawul CEO: See foreign stakeholders as partnersWorldwide Exchange
VIDEO4:3804:38Saudi Arabia's stock market opens to foreign investors
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is looking for "activist investors," the head of the country's stock exchange told CNBC on Monday, as it opened to foreigners for the first time.
The exchange, which has a market capitalization of around $550 billion, has opened to direct foreign investment at a time of low oil prices and increasingly aggressive—and costly—Saudi Arabia foreign policy.
Read MoreOilprices soar after Saudi air strikes in Yemen
However, the CEO of the Saudi Stock Exchange or Tadawul, told CNBC that the opening up of the market was a "forgone conclusion" aimed at modernizing capital markets rather than raising funds.
"The reason is not really about raising further funds for Saudi Arabia—I mean we have a lot of liquidity—but it is these qualitative influences that we are looking for, that we hope will help to develop our capital markets," CEO Adel Saleh Al-Ghamdi told CNBC in an interview on Monday.
Saudi men chat outside the Saudi Stock Exchange or Tadawul in Riyadh.AFP | Getty Images
Al-Ghamdi, who has headed up the exchange since July last year, said the Arab state was looking for "long-term value investors who take an active role in shaping the direction of the companies that they invest in."
"These activist shareholders are basically there to allow us to better align with best global practices and hopefully that will accelerate our convergence to higher standards of corporate governance, investor relations, issuer disclosures and hopefully broaden and make more sophisticated our research coverage of our listed companies," he later added.
Around 160 companies are listed on the Saudi Arabian stock exchange, covering 15 industries.
The Tadawul All Share Index traded around 0.5 percent lower on Monday but was up more than 15 percent over the year to date.
Oliver Bell, manager of the T. Rowe Price Africa and Middle East Fund, described the opening as "an exciting development," because of the size and the depth of the market, as well as the variety of stocks available.
"A further attraction for global investors is the liquidity of the market, which can trade up to $4 billion a day," Bell added in a research note published on Monday.
Until now, international investors have made up only 1 percent of the Saudi market via swaps, according to Bell. T. Rowe Price has been investing in Saudi Arabia via swaps since 2006.
Read More Alwaleed backs Twitter interim CEO Dorsey
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8b3d2c0377a7d5d68c23d68f43e86700 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/15/cigna-rebuffs-takeover-approach-by-anthem-dj-citing-sources.html | Cigna rebuffs takeover approach by Anthem: DJ, citing sources | Cigna rebuffs takeover approach by Anthem: DJ, citing sources
VIDEO1:2101:21Cigna rebuffs takeover approach by anthem: DJHalftime Report
Cigna rejected a takeover approach from larger health insurer Anthem, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing sources.
Cigna shares spiked after the report, touching a new all-time high before retreating slightly. The stock was up more than 13 percent midday Monday. Months of discussions have taken place, and Anthem has made two bids for Cigna, the most recent at about $175 per share, according to the newspaper.
Read MoreMajor inflection point looms for US health-care costs
The news comes after reports of wider consolidation in the sector. Humana—a key player in Medicare—has received takeover interest from companies including Cigna and Aetna, the Journal reported last month.
On Monday morning, Anthem's market capitalization was about $43 billion, while Cigna's was at roughly $35 billion. Cigna's value would reach nearly $45 billion at the reported $175 per share price.
Read MoreHumana receives takeover interest from possible buyers: Report
Both Anthem and Cigna told CNBC they did not comment on speculation.
Read the full Wall Street Journal report here.
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c4192fc8a5637b3f775f42f69ed22617 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/15/cramer-twitter-has-no-plan-and-thats-bad.html | Cramer: Twitter has no plan and that's bad | Cramer: Twitter has no plan and that's bad
VIDEO3:0903:09Cramer: Twitter has no plan and that's bad
VIDEO0:5600:56Change in strategy at Twitter? Dorsey answers
VIDEO14:4914:49Twitter's old & new CEOs talk to CNBC
CNBC's Jim Cramer said Monday that he was disappointed that executive changes at Twitter overshadowed the lack of a coherent plan to boost the company's performance.
"I thought that these two gentlemen [Costolo and Dorsey] embarrassed themselves, I mean they have no plan. They basically said 'everything is fine,'" Cramer said on "Squawk on the Street."
Last week Twitter CEO Dick Costolo announced that he would be stepping down July 1. Co-founder and Chairman Jack Dorsey will take over as interim chief executive until a permanent CEO can be found. Dorsey is also the CEO of mobile payment company Square.
Read More After CEO exit, Twitter says no strategy change
"They so don't have it under control," Cramer said.
He said the whole situation reminds him of the dot-com bubble in 2000 when companies that were clearly facing difficulties were telling the public that everything was alright.
"The idea that there is no need to change is saying, 'We are arrogant ... we haven't screwed up at all, it's all about the product,'" he said.
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30e8bc6251d63017196b19a20e696fb8 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/15/europe-to-open-lower-as-greece-talks-collapse.html | Europe closes lower after Greece talks collapse | Europe closes lower after Greece talks collapse
VIDEO1:2801:28Europe closes lower after Greece talks collapse
European equities closed sharply lower on Monday after talks between Greece and its creditors collapsed at the weekend, raising the prospect that Greece could default on its debt obligations.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 closed around 1.4 percent lower, with Greek stocks tumbling down to close around 4.7 percent, as peripheral bond yields spiked during session.
The U.K. benchmark FTSE 100 index closed around 1.1 percent lower, having traded at three-month lows during the session. The French CAC and German DAX underperformed, both closing lower around 1.75 and 1.9 percent.
Talks between Greece and its creditors over the weekend yet again failed to resolve the impasse over reforms, with European officials blaming Athens for failing to offer concessions in return for a final tranche of desperately-needed financial aid.
Greek banks faced severe selling on Monday as investors digested the news, with Pireaus Bank tumbling to close over 12 percent lower, while Alpha Bank and Eurobank Ergasias both traded down around 9 and 6.9 percent respectively. Italian and Spanish banking stocks also fell sharply.
Bond yields in Greece and peripheral Europe also spiked during trade. Greek 10-year yields hit 12.2 percent at the close, up from its 11.8 percent close on Friday.
Greek Finance Minister, Yanis Varoufakis, ruled out a "Grexit" -- Greece leaving the euro zone -- in an interview with a German newspaper Bild published Monday, but said that Germany needed to play a bigger part in talks. The only way Greece would be able to repay its debts is if there is a restructuring, he wrote, and a deal could be possible if German Chancellor Angela Merkel took part in the talks, Reuters reported.
Read MoreGreece on 'brink of disaster' as talks fail again
VIDEO2:0602:06'We need a quantum leap': Draghi
Around the Europe close, U.S. stocks were paring losses, after opening sharply lower, following a decline in European equities.
In other Europe news, the U.S. plans to store heavy military equipment in the Baltics and Eastern European nations to reassure allies made uneasy by Russian intervention in Ukraine, and to deter further aggression, Reuters reported Sunday, citing an unnamed senior U.S. official.
Russia's central bank cut its key interest rate once again on Monday, in a further bid to stimulate economic growth in the country. It slashed interest rates by 100 basis points to 11.5 percent, in line with analyst expectations, in the fourth consecutive month of cuts.
In other individual stocks news, budget U.K. airline easyJet closed around 2.3 percent lower, after RBC analysts cut its rating to underperform from outperform.
The move weighed on European rivals Air-France KLM and Lufthansa, which both slipped down to close around 3.1 and 2.3 percent down respectively.
Follow us on Twitter: @CNBCWorld
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19318e769b6105543156fc4c925f0d3d | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/15/israeli-marijuana-is-coming-to-america.html | VIDEO5:1605:16How Israel is leading the medical marijuana industryMarijuana
VIDEO2:1102:11The 'Godfather of cannabis research' speaks outMarijuana
Many people would probably be surprised to know that Israel has become synonymous with marijuana over the years because of research conducted by its top scientists and professors. Now a group in New York state wants to bring the best of that know-how to America.
Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, now a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was the first person to isolate the psychoactive THC component of marijuana. He was also the first to test THC drops in children with cancer. And some of the major advances Mechoulam made in his cannabis research were financially sponsored by the American government in the form of the National Institute of Health (NIH) grants long before marijuana was medicinally legal in the United States.
"The NIH gave me grant money and I was lucky enough to get money for almost forty years. I got about $150,00 per year, multiply that by forty, it's quite a bit," Mechoulam told CNBC last year.
"They [NIH] said it was in the American interest to support our work."
Now that partnership is expanding as Tikun Olam, the major research institution that works with the Israeli government on medical marijuana, has announced that it plans to come to the U.S. next week to create a program that would share medical marijuana data with American health experts. The organization is hoping to get a medical marijuana license in New York by partnering with the Compassionate Care Center of New York, and the program directors say the financial incentive could be huge.
Aharon Lutzky, CEO Tikun Olam, told CNBC that his institution has the largest patient database in the world, and that they have monitored, "each patient's ailment and the efficacy of the different strain variations and dosages used for each patient," for almost a decade.
"We hope to create a partnership between Israel, Canada and the U.S. for the benefit of all New York patients, and to provide the state Department of Health with the benefit of everything Israel has learned from the years of trial and error," Lutzky said.
The Compassionate Care Center of New York (CCCNY) has exclusive licenses for two out of the three strains of medical marijuana that have high CBD and low THC levels. CBD is another component of marijuana that has been shown in many studies to have medicinal effects, but without many of the side effects of THC.
CCCNY CEO Dr. Larry Good told CNBC that getting a registration is a time consuming and difficult process, so the partnership with his organization is necessary for Tikkun Olam to bring all of its marijuana data and expertise to America.
The question is whether New York will let any of it happen. Almost half the states in America have legalized the use of medical marijuana, but New York is just starting the process of licensing medical marijuana operations after just legalizing it earlier this year. Economic concerns should quicken the approval process, if the folks in Albany are paying attention. According to Arcview Group, a cannabis investment fund that tracks industry numbers, the legal market for both recreational and medical marijuana nationwide will be $3.5 billion this year.
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7ad90d2622aec88ec7596de3eaf24657 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/15/julia-boorstin.html?__source=OTS%7Cfinance%7Cinline%7Cstory%7C&par=OTS&doc=106855255 | Julia Boorstin | Julia Boorstin
Julia Boorstin joined CNBC in May 2006 as a general assignment reporter. Later that year, she became CNBC's media and entertainment reporter working from CNBC's Los Angeles Bureau. Boorstin covers media with a special focus on the intersection of media and technology. In addition, she reported a documentary on the future of television for the network, "Stay Tuned…The Future of TV."
Boorstin joined CNBC from Fortune magazine where she was a business writer and reporter since 2000, covering a wide range of stories on everything from media companies to retail to business trends. During that time, she was also a contributor to "Street Life," a live market wrap-up segment on CNN Headline News.
In 2003, 2004 and 2006, The Journalist and Financial Reporting newsletter named Boorstin to the "TJFR 30 under 30" list of the most promising business journalists under 30 years old. She has also worked for the State Department's delegation to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and for Vice President Gore's domestic policy office.
She graduated with honors from Princeton University with a B.A. in history. She was also an editor of The Daily Princetonian.
Follow Julia Boorstin on Twitter @jboorstin
She will be at iCONIC:CHICAGO on May 19. Register today.
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98748186be21103a3da329c0f3cc519a | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/15/math-science-skills-add-up-to-more-job-opportunities-survey.html | Math, science skills add up to more job opportunities: Survey | Math, science skills add up to more job opportunities: Survey
Good news for all you math and science whizzes out there: You sort of own the job market.
Most of the top 10 best jobs—based on work environment, income, job outlook, stress and other factors—call for backgrounds in those two fields, according to a recent report released by career website CareerCast.com.
Todor Tsvetkov | Vetta | Getty Images
"We see every year that STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] jobs are rising on the list for a variety of reasons," said Tony Lee, publisher and editor for CareerCast. "Their hiring outlook, salary, better work environment brought on by competition for employees … all walk hand-in-hand to make these jobs more appealing than any others."
CareerCast annually examines the 200 most populated U.S. jobs and then ranks them based on a variety of metrics. Lee said that while there are three health care–related jobs in CareerCast's 2105 Jobs Rated Report, they used to dominate the top of the list. Now STEM jobs have taken over.
"The jobs that are rising into the top 10 are jobs that didn't even exist a few years ago," Lee said.
Also, most of the top 10 jobs in the report are on pace to grow by at least 20 percent between 2012 and 2022.
Read MoreThe top jobs by 2022
Topping CareerCast's list is actuary.
Basically, actuaries analyze statistics to determine the financial consequences of current and future risk. They often work for insurance and financial companies, along with an array of other businesses.
An actuary also is a specialized job with specific education and training requirements. Actuaries must hold a bachelor's degree—typically with a math or business bent—and pass a series of exams to become certified professionals.
"The exam process is rigorous and relies on the individual to self-study," said Brad Paulis, a partner at CCRC Actuaries. Because of those things, he said, actuaries generally enjoy good job security because there aren't easily replaced.
And, he added, most actuaries truly enjoy mathematics and problem-solving.
"Often our problem-solving extends beyond math into other areas, but the process is why we entered the profession," Paulis said.
The U.S. Department of Labor's latest data show that an actuary's median salary tops $93,000.
Audiologist ranked second on the list, making it one of three health care–related jobs in the report's top 10. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, an audiologist diagnoses and treats patients' hearing and balance problems using advanced technology and procedures.
Becoming an audiologist requires earning a doctorate degree, along with getting licensed in the state in which you work.
The employment outlook for audiologists is good, because the field is expected to grow at a 34 percent clip over the decade ending in 2022. Their median salary is about $70,000.
Third on the list is mathematician. These professionals do, well, math.
They work in a variety of private industries and government agencies, using advanced mathematics to develop and understand mathematical principals, analyze data and solve real-world problems. Their median pay is more than $101,000.
Ranking fourth is another math-related profession: statistician.
Statisticians use statistical methods to collect and analyze data and help solve problems in all sorts of industries. Typically, a statistician needs to have a master's degree or higher. Their median income is about $76,000.
In the fifth spot is biomedical engineer. Often armed with a degree in biomedical engineering, these professionals analyze and design solutions to solve problems in biology and medicine. The goal is to improve the quality and effectiveness of patient care.
Read MoreHead west for job opportunities
Biomed engineers typically earn $87,000 annually.
In sixth place is data scientist, which Lee said has never been included in the report until now.
The job is growing in popularity because, with businesses having tons of data at their disposal, someone needs to have the skills to break down raw numbers into easily digested information. Data scientists' median annual salary is $124,000.
Rounding out the top 10 are dental hygienist (No. 7), software engineer (No. 8), occupational therapist (No. 9) and computer systems analyst (No. 10).
10 Best Jobs of 2015
Rank Occupation Median Salary 1Actuary$94,209 2Audiologist$71,133 3Mathematician$102,182 4Statistician$79,191 5Biomedical Engineer$89,165 6Data Scientist$124,149 7Dental Hygienist$71,1028Software Engineer$93,113 9Occupational Therapist$77,114 10Computer Systems Analyst$81,150
The other positive aspect for job seekers interested in these fields is the effect that competition has on hiring packages.
For instance, new research shows that job seekers increasingly want more say in when and where they do their job.
"What we're seeing is lots of people out there wanting flexible work arrangements," said Tara Sinclair, chief economist for global job search engine Indeed and head of its Hiring Lab research arm, which just released a report called "The Talent Driven Economy," which looks at the emerging interests of job seekers.
She said that during the last recession, when the job market was tight, employers pulled back on providing flex hours or allowing telecommuting.
Read MoreHow to rejoin the job market
"I think we're going to see a dramatic shift back to remote work and jobs that explicitly allow work from home," Sinclair said.
Part of that is a tightening job market. The report points out that during the worst of the recession in 2009, there were 2 million job openings, or one opening for every 6.2 unemployed job seekers.
As of four or so months ago, there were 5 million job openings, or one job for every 1.7 unemployed job seeker.
Additionally, although the STEM and health-care jobs comprise the top 10 best jobs on the CareerCast list, there continues to be more jobs available than there are qualified people to fill them.
We've talked so much about the persistent mismatch between not enough tech talent to fill the tech-job opportunities. But now there's growth in the amount of people seeking tech jobs, so that's encouraging.Tara Sinclairchief economist at Indeed
According to the Indeed report, 14.2 percent of job postings are for health-care practitioners and technicians, but less than 7 percent of job seekers are looking for those jobs.
Another disparity exists for jobs in the computer and mathematical fields: 8.4 percent of postings are for them, but just 5.5 percent of job seekers are exploring them.
Nevertheless, there has been an increase in searches for tech-related positions, which is viewed as a positive.
"There is a dominance of tech-related job searches coming from job seekers," Sinclair said. "We've talked so much about the persistent mismatch between not enough tech talent to fill the tech-job opportunities. But now there's growth in the amount of people seeking tech jobs, so that's encouraging."
Sinclair added, however, that the opportunities still are outstripping the available talent. "Almost every company needs new hires to have significant tech skills," she said. "So the growth is reassuring, but we have a long way to go."
—By Sarah O'Brien, special to CNBC.com
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1936af9b5425b513cefe42dae0ee486b | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/16/asia-stocks-focus-on-fed-ecb.html | Asia stocks end mostly higher ahead of Fed, ECB | Asia stocks end mostly higher ahead of Fed, ECB
Asian stocks ended mostly higher on Wednesday ahead of central bank meetings in the U.S. and Europe.
Gains were underpinned by a positive handover from Wall Street overnight, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained more than 100 points, recovering from two days of declines.
Global investors are awaiting the outcome of the Federal Open Market Committee's two-day policy review as well as the European Central Bank's meeting later in the day. The Fed isn't expected to take any action on interest rates, with consensus for a rate hike pushed to September.
The ECB, meanwhile, could announce a change to Emergency Liquidity Assistance to Greece. Talks between the bankrupt country and its international creditors remain stuck in deadlock as Athens faces a $1.8 billion repayment to the International Monetary Fund by the end of June.
Read MoreBig money not preparing for big exit by Greece
Shanghai climbs 1.6%
Mainland stocks rallied following a choppy session of trade. Earlier in the day, the Shanghai Composite dropped 1 percent as investors worried about an upcoming wave of IPOs and margin financing curbs.
Banks led the gains on news of financial reforms. China's cabinet allowed Bank of Communications to introduce more private shareholding, Reuters reported on Tuesday, sending the stock 1 percent higher. Meanwhile, Bank of China and China Construction Bank rose more than 2 percent each.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rose nearly 1 percent as lawmakers voted on a controversial China-backed electoral reform package. Several experts say the government should veto the proposal, which allows residents the right to vote for a chief executive in 2017, but maintains that candidates would be chosen by Beijing.
ASX 1% higher
Australia's index ended at a two-week closing high, ending a three-day losing streak, after Warren Buffett told the Australian Financial Review (AFR) that he will continue investing in Australia following Berkshire Hathaway's stake in insurer IAG this week.
Read MoreThis market could heat up as Buffett enters
Banks led the rally, with Australia New Zealand Banking and Commonwealth Bank of Australia both closing over 2 percent higher.
Supermarket firm Woolworths ended down 0.1 percent after popping as much as 2 percent following the retirement of Chief Executive Grant O'Brien.
VIDEO3:0203:02Don't overlook a Fed hike in July: McTeerSquawk Box Asia
Nikkei dips 0.2%
Japan's benchmark Nikkei index reversed gains after breaching the 20,300 level in early trade. Trade data for May released before the market open worried investors, with exports missing expectations and imports coming in worse than expected. The index still remains well off a fifteen-year high of 20,655 points hit at the end of May.
Toyota Motor dropped 1 percent after announcing an additional recall of 1.3 million vehicles on Monday due to faulty Takata air bags. However, Takata shares were over 1 percent higher.
SoftBank fell 0.7 percent following news it is setting up a robotics focused joint-venture with Taiwan's Foxconn Technology.
Kospi gains 0.3%
South Korea's benchmark Kospi ended higher, recovering from Tuesday's eleven-week low. News that regulators will develop measures for the market to be included in MSCI's developed markets index helped to boost sentiment.
Large-cap stocks weighed down the index, with Hyundai Motor and steelmaker Posco down 0.7 and 2.5 percent, respectively.
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0bac833a94ed1324c7f5f28bff6553cd | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/16/decision-time-as-greece-slammed-for-breaking-rules.html | Greece defiant; accused of 'breaking all the rules' | Greece defiant; accused of 'breaking all the rules'
VIDEO2:4002:40Greek talks break down - what's next?
VIDEO3:5503:55Will Greece reach a deal with its creditors?
VIDEO2:2102:21Greek proposals 'unfair'? Squawk Box Europe
VIDEO2:2602:26Greece on brink of disaster: Former Greek PM Squawk Box Europe
VIDEO3:3603:36Greeks want to stay in EU: Former Greek PM Squawk Box Europe
As Greece remains defiant, despite talks with its international creditors stuck in deadlock, anger and concern is mounting in Europe about the finale to this Greek crisis.
Following an emergency meeting of the government on Monday -- ostensibly to discuss the failure of talks at the weekend -- Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras blamed creditors for the deadlock, although this was swiftly rebuffed by Europe.
Michael Fuchs, vice chairman of Germany's CDU/CSU - the ruling conservative coalition, led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- told CNBC Tuesday that Greece needed to decide whether to stay in or get out of the euro zone.
"It's not a question of whether we are ready (for Greece to leave the euro zone), it's for Greece to decide what they want to do," he told CNBC Europe's "Squawk Box."
"If they are not coming up with any new reform proposals which we have agreed…and now they're breaking the contracts they have with us. They're breaking all the rules."
Getty Images
On Monday, Tsipras sounded a defiant note, saying that his government was not partaking in "ideological stubbornness," but was defending democracy. Signalling that Greece was in no hurry to concede ground on reform proposals, he added that the country would "wait patiently till the institutions adhere to realism."
Read MoreGreece on 'brink of disaster,' calls emergency meeting
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, meanwhile, stuck the boot in on Tuesday, saying he would not present any new proposals to lenders at a meeting of euro zone finance ministers later this week, according to an interview with German newspaper Bild.
Germany's Fuchs told CNBC Varoufakis' stance was incomprehensible.
"We want Greece to come up with proposals and it's fully not understandable that Varoufakis is saying this morning that he is not coming up with new proposals and yet he wants us to give him proposals," he said.
"We have made it very clear that first of all we need a primary surplus in Greece, but we want him to do something with the pensions, with the VAT (sales tax) and he has to make sure he's collecting the taxes."
Despite the bold rhetoric from Greek officials, the country does not have much time to spare – a 1.6-billion euro ($1.8 billion) debt repayment due to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) looms at the end of the month.
Indeed, Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported on Tuesday, citing sources, that Tsipras said the government would not pay the IMF at the end of June if it hadn't reached a deal with lenders. Meanwhile the Financial Times reported that senior un-named euro zone officials are considering a leaders' summit this weekend to discuss the deadlock.
Previous talks with creditors have met various stumbling blocks over pension, labor market and taxation reforms, and despite both sides proposing alternatives over recent weeks, the gap between Greece and its lenders' proposals has not been bridged.
Read MoreGreek talks in crisis after IMF leaves table
This has boosted fears that Greece could default on its debt repayments and a chain of events could be set in motion which sees it leaving the euro zone – a so-called "Grexit."
But Ian Bremmer, president of risk consultancy Eurasia Group, told CNBC that Greece's tactics of prolonging negotiations to get more flexibility over reforms was working.
"This tactic of the Greeks has been working. The Germans have come down on what they're expecting on the fiscal side, they've come down in terms of flexibility, in terms of how they get to a sustainable budget over time. The Germans don't want (a Grexit) on Merkel's sheet," Bremmer told CNBC Tuesdy.
"As a consequence, I think we are inching towards a deal, but no-one wants to actually say that until time truly has run out. And we're not there yet."
- By CNBC's Holly Ellyatt, follow her on Twitter @HollyEllyatt. Follow us on Twitter: @CNBCWorld
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58867f86a3c53e2116276da2ac2eea70 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/16/donald-trump-announces-candidacy-for-president.html | Donald Trump announces candidacy for president | Donald Trump announces candidacy for president
VIDEO3:3203:32Donald Trump makes presidential candidacy officialSquawk Alley
Billionaire real estate developer Donald Trump announced his candidacy for president on Tuesday. The field has grown increasingly crowded as candidates formally begin campaigning for the 2016 election. (Tweet This)
Trump also released on Tuesday a series of financial documents concerning his total assets and a net worth of $8.7 billion.
Tweet 2
In a press release he said: "Quite simply, it is time to bring real leadership to Washington. The fact is, the American Dream is dead—but if I win, I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before. Together we will Make America Great Again!"
Trump announced that he will begin his campaign by visiting Iowa on Tuesday, followed by New Hampshire and South Carolina later this month. His campaign headquarters will be in New York City.
After the announcement, NBC released a statement saying: "We will re-evaluate Trump's role as host of 'Celebrity Apprentice' should it become necessary, as we are committed to this franchise."
Read MoreQuiz: Find your presidential candidate
Disclosure: NBC Universal is the parent company of CNBC.
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718a5453b82f66eab87cfcfd5ea2aca1 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/16/royal-ascot-buying-and-renting-hats-for-the-horse-racing-season.html | Royal Ascot: Big business for hat designers | Royal Ascot: Big business for hat designers
For five days in June, 300,000 racegoers descend upon the small town of Ascot, to take a punt on the horses. The sport however is not what grabs attention but what's worn on attendees' heads.
As its name implies, Royal Ascot is a very high-class event. So it's of the utmost importance to dress correctly. And it should come as no surprise that £33 million ($51 million) was spent on fashion and beauty treatments alone, for Ascot Racecourse events, in 2013, according to Deloitte.
Racegoers at 'Royal Ascot', at Ascot Racecourse, UKCarl De Souza | AFP | Getty Images
At most prestigious areas of Ascot racecourse, certain attire is mandatory. The most lavish: 'Royal Enclosure' will refuse entry to adults not wearing hats, or those wearing fascinators or headpieces less than 4 inches in diameter.
Therefore, Royal Ascot can be one of most crucial times to boost business for British hat designers.
Read MoreAll bets are off: Is British horse racing in trouble?
Clients who want unique, more intricate, tailored hats may opt to buy; however this can be one hefty investment.
For hat designer, Tracy Rose, Royal Ascot is a focal point of the millinery calendar. The British "Summer Season" — that starts with The Chelsea Flower Show and ends with Cowes yacht-racing week on the Isle of Wight — makes up 70 percent of annual sales at Tracy Rose Hats and Ascot accounts for more than half of the summer sales.
Tracy Rose fashioning her hat designs, at Royal AscotSimon James/Gareth Cattermole | Getty Images
Couture hats start selling at £750, but those who covet a more elaborate sculpture spend as much as £4,000 ($6,200). People start booking appointments as early as January when Royal Ascot's ticket office opens.
"The client first shows me their outfit, but I also look at face-shape, colour, complexion, and personality. Next, I'll design a hat that complements all these aspects, but also come up with other design options to wow the client," Tracy Rose told CNBC, who added that after measurements and fabrics are discussed, there'll be at least one fitting, with the overall process taking between 3-6 weeks.
Read MoreIconic fashions: From hi-tops to tuxedos
Currently, luxury department store Harrods is selling high-end hats from designers such as Phillip Treacy and Rachel Trevor-Morgan, for prices ranging from to £599 to £1,050.
Sellers even work from abroad, with MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS® in Cape Cod, MA, selling created-to-order couture hats online from $498 to "well over $1,200" according to Sally Faith Steinmann, the owner and designer.
Equine sporting events account for 50 percent of the company's total hat production, with spring being the busiest for designing.
"I love creating hats for Royal Ascot because of the rich heritage and history of hats and horse racing associated with this more than 300 year-old racing tradition," Steinmann told CNBC.
Miles Willis | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
Renting can be preferable for its convenience and affordability; yet it's the perfect time for designers to truly shine.
Out of 1,000 hats and fascinators at Louise Claire Millinery, around 400 to 500 are hired out just for Ascot each year. Fascinators can be hired for as little as £15 for seven days or between £35 and £140 for hats.
Having the "personal" touch is vital for Louise Claire Millinery, with transactions only being dealt with in-store to ensure each design is perfect, inevitably helped by the champagne offering to small parties, according to Craig Walton, a director at the company.
Read MoreWhat your city says about your fashion sense
Designer Lizzie Hughes from Lizzie's Hats, stopped online bookings one month ahead of Ascot, telling CNBC this was because of the busy season and "prefers to meet clients before the day." Prices for hire range from £30 to £90.
Hectic Hat Hire offers one-day hires for Ascot with average cost at £85. Rosie Abrahams from the company told CNBC that despite increasing shopping hours during this time, the "shop is (still) crazy" with customers coming from as far as U.S. and Australia.
Queen Elizabeth ll; Prince Philip; Prince Harry & Prince Andrew; at Royal AscotAnwar Hussein | WireImage | Getty Images
For men, it's all about tradition with the top hat. High street brands like Moss Bros. hire out hats for as little as £20 — when added to certain suit packages — but when selling, hats alone cost £239.
Douglas Simpson, director at Ascot Top Hats Ltd, told CNBC that men are more likely to buy than rent.
"As the saying goes 'a square peg in a round hole' but in hatting terms an off the shelf hat come in a 'regular' oval, but heads are 'irregular' shapes which is why top hats do not fit well," said Simpson.
At Ascot Top Hats, they start measuring a head's shape and hat size - using a specialist hatter's device called "Conformateur" - and from there they reshape the hat's structure, depending on material.
About half of the trade happens around June. Felt top hats start from £100, yet vintage silk top hats can go to "many thousands of pounds, based on hat size, style, height and condition," Simpson told CNBC.
Read MoreKentucky Derby: Bighats mean big bucks
A 'Conformateur': A specialist hatter's measuring deviceCredit: Ascot Top Hats Ltd
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b40ae2a1120c2703e67fa215adc3f614 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/17/are-bonds-in-your-retirement-plan-they-should-be.html | Are bonds in your retirement plan? They should be | Are bonds in your retirement plan? They should be
Bonds, the seemingly boring and inscrutable partner to equities, don't usually generate much excitement. But they play important roles in portfolio planning, offering diversification and fixed-income opportunities.
The wide variety of bond instruments provides the opportunity for age-appropriate strategies throughout the client's life span. CNBC consulted with several advisors on how they employ bonds when working with pre-retirees.
Zero Creatives | Getty Images
"I like individual bonds, but I don't like bond funds, because of the fluctuation of the principal," said Helen Simon, certified financial planner, retirement management analyst and CEO of Personal Business Management Services.
She uses individual bonds to bridge the time between when clients retire and when they start taking money out of their qualified accounts, such as 401(k) plans, individual retirement accounts and pensions.
"I like to use zero coupon tax-free municipal bonds because when the money comes through, it is all tax-free," she said.
Zero coupon bonds, long-term fixed-income securities, are purchased at a deep discount and pay out interest only once, at maturity.
Read MoreStay balanced in risky bond market
Simon purchases these securities for her clients monthly, creating a "bond ladder."
"The ideal situation being bonds coming due monthly or close thereto once the client begins tapping their retirement income stream," she said.
For example, a 45-year-old client who wished to make $10,000 a month available at age 60 could assign a bucket of cash to start purchasing zero coupon bonds through the next 15 years that mature monthly.
The client could purchase a bond today with a 5 percent coupon (interest) rate for $4,800, which will yield $10,000 tax-free when it matures in 2030. Similarly, a 20-year bond at 5 percent, purchased for $3,750, will yield $10,000 in 2045 tax-free.
"A 40- to 50-year-old should consider more than age and time to retirement but also market conditions," said R. M. Zalatimo, managing director, National Securities Corp.
"We are in a potential rising-interest-rate environment, and initially this will have a negative impact on bond and equity markets," he said. "If interest rates go up, your bond portfolios will drop in value and you will take a loss."
For example, a 4 percent corporate bond can only sell at a discount if next year's bonds are offered at 5 percent, Zalatimo said.
Therefore, to increase liquidity, he advises pre-retirees to reduce their bond portfolio duration to short-term positions of five to seven years.
I wouldn't recommend too large of a percentage of investment in bonds prior to 10 years before retirement.Russell D. Francisowner of Portland Fixed Income Specialists
Other advisors suggest even shorter terms.
Herb White, CFP and president of Life Certain Wealth Strategies, advises his pre-retiree clients to hold short-term (one- to three-year) or intermediate (three- to five-year) positions in bonds.
"As an overall strategy, you still need equities for growth, but you don't want to overlook bonds," he said.
Read MoreMaking heads or tails of TIPS
Zalatimo at National Securities also suggests looking into convertible bonds—corporate bonds that can be converted into its issuer's common stock.
"This is an overlooked asset class," he said. "It reduces exposure to the market by converting to stock later when the market may be better.
"It gives the income and stability of a bond with the potential for appreciation from the stock market," Zalatimo said. "It allows you to increase your exposure to bonds, but not necessarily lose out" in times of low yield.
"I wouldn't recommend too large of a percentage of investment in bonds prior to 10 years before retirement," said Russell D. Francis, CPA, CFP and owner of Portland Fixed Income Specialists.
When clients reach ages 50 to 55, he starts shifting their investments toward bonds, gradually increasing the percentages from about 30 percent bonds to about 60 percent or more at retirement age.
At this stage, Francis diversifies clients' bond holdings within mutual bond funds, and individual bonds, including holdings in:
Tax-free municipal bonds, to be put in clients' taxable accounts.Taxable municipal bonds, which pay more and have a higher yield and are used for IRAs and other tax-deferred accounts.U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS), for more conservative clients.International bonds, including those from developing and emerging markets, as a good portfolio diversifier.High-yield corporate bonds, which will have higher risk but higher yield.
Read MoreAre your investments age-appropriate?
"We work toward an eventual shift towards higher weight in individual bonds because, compared to bond funds, they have lower cost and you always get the face value back at maturity," Francis said.
White, from Life Certain, suggests several other options for diversification, including:
Floating-rate bank loans, which are funds of bank loans typically tied to an index, such as LIBOR. Certain bond ETFs, such as those with one- or two-year maturities. "I like these because you know what's in there," he said. Unit investment trusts, which are portfolios of bonds with one maturity date.
—By Deborah Nason, special to CNBC.com
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b69c7e0a4a2d6df8a9663e53e82dd184 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/17/crude-oil-nearing-key-inflection-point-technician.html | VIDEO3:5803:58Key level for crude: TechnicianFutures Now
After a torrid run from its bottom, crude oil has settled into the tightest range we've seen in a year. But according to one highly regarded technician, the commodity is heading into a key inflection point.
"If you look back to 1984, you see that [the summer months] are some of the best times of the year to be invested in oil," technical analyst Ari Wald said Tuesday on CNBC's "Futures Now."
Wald noted that traditionally, the time between July and September tend to be the three best-performing consecutive months for oil in the past 30 years. By his chart work, oil has rallied an average of 1.5 percent in the month of July, 3 percent in August and 2 percent in September.
And while he does see the potential for oil to trade as high as $67 a barrel in the near term, he noted some troubling signs on the chart that tells him the primary trend for oil remains lower. "We have a falling 200-day moving average which indicates that the trend is still down," said Wald, head of technical analysis at Oppenheimer. "There's also a very important retracement level for oil going back to last year. And I think that's going to curb the upside."
Read More Oil prices rise on strong US demand
According to Wald, once the seasonality fades the oil decline could resume, sending the commodity back into the $40 range. "Investors should trade in the direction of the trend," he advised. "I think a test of the lows that we saw earlier this year is not without question."
But Wald stressed that trouble for crude does not necessarily mean the pain could hit the equity market. "Historically, these range-bound commodity markets have been very good for stocks," he said. "If you look back at the ranges for commodities back in the '50s, '60s, '80s and '90s, they coincide with the secular bull markets in the S&P 500."
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535e7dc1c59d03864422e36ddd9da785 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/17/debunking-myths-about-manufacturing-jobs-.html | Debunking myths about manufacturing jobs | Debunking myths about manufacturing jobs
Manufacturing jobs have a reputation—and it's often not complimentary.
The clichéd image of a manufacturing job is of dirty, backbreaking, low-paying labor. And women need not apply—it's an industry dominated by men. But separating fact from fiction about the actual people behind the welder's mask and on the assembly line can be tricky.
One of the above statements is true, but only one. Do you know which?
Tim Boyle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Myth No. 1: Manufacturing jobs are low-paying.
Reality: According to a congressional report by the Joint Economic Committee in 2013 (the latest year for which data is available), hourly compensation is 17 percent higher in manufacturing than in other industries.
What does that translate to as an average annual salary? More than you might think. According to the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), as of 2013, the average manufacturing worker in the United States earned $77,506 annually, including pay and benefits.
Read MoreElon Musk's new-age manufacturing empire heads to Buffalo, NY
The congressional report also noted that "manufacturing jobs are more likely to come with benefits, including medical and retirement benefits, than service-sector jobs. They also are more likely to require on-the-job training than jobs in other segments of the economy."
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who led the congressional report, noted in an email statement that U.S manufacturing accounts for 12 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and employs 12 million workers nationwide.
Myth No. 2: Manufacturing jobs have a similar low-skilled profile, with limited opportunities.
Reality: "The reality is that today's manufacturing workers are as likely to operate robots as they are wrenches, and use math more than muscle—this isn't your grandpa's factory floor," Sen. Klobuchar said in her email.
A report released this February from Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute, citing 84 percent of manufacturing executives, said there is a significant talent shortage in the sector. Between now and 2022, the manufacturing sector will need to fill 2.2 million openings for production workers. Half a million of those openings will be for engineers, and an untold number of job openings will be for new, emerging occupations.
Read MoreThe true state of the manufacturing renaissance: Not what you think
In an effort to address this shortage and improve manufacturing technologies, President Obama created the Nationwide Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI). It works with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on a network of manufacturing hubs that receive government funding and private-matching funds and connect to colleges and universities to educate and train workers in technology—whether automotive aeronautics or textiles—that will be necessary for the future.
Dr. Frank W. Gayle, deputy director of the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office (AMNPO), which administers the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation, said, "You don't need an engineering degree, or even any degree, to work in advanced manufacturing, although of course it is helpful. We want kids to know that these jobs are available, that they are plentiful, and they lead to a rewarding and reliable career."
Gayle said there are a handful of regional centers operational right now, but the initiative is expanding nationwide, with 45 centers planned over the next 10 years.
Myth No. 3: Manufacturing is a male-dominated industry.
Reality: Manufacturing is a male-dominated industry.
GM CEO Mary Barra might be a high-profile head of an iconic manufacturing company, but she's the exception to the rule. Women currently hold a mere 27 percent of manufacturing jobs, according to the congressional report—only 17 percent hold board seats, only 12 percent are executive officers, and just 6 percent are CEOs.
For an occupation that offers so much opportunity, why aren't more women in this sector?
In August 2014, Women in Manufacturing (WiM) surveyed 877 women to uncover the divide between young women choosing a career and women with experience working in the manufacturing industry. Less than 10 percent of women in the 17-to-24 age range selected manufacturing among their top five career fields—less than half thought the work would be interesting or challenging.
Among women already in the manufacturing sector, 82 percent said they found their field offered interesting and challenging work. Additionally, 74 percent of women felt it did in fact offer multiple career opportunities.
"We need to expand mentoring programs, improve workforce training and strengthen science, technology, engineering and math education so that more women and girls can see this sector for what it is: increasingly high-tech, innovative and critical to the future of our economy," Sen. Klobuchar said.
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c6d4d0c98165bdea8f1b4da3521b3594 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/17/dude-park-my-car.html | Dude, park my car | Dude, park my car
VIDEO5:3305:33Dude, park my carPower Pitch
Another car service start-up is pulling into the on demand space. But instead of offering rideshares, Parche takes your keys and takes care of parking your car.
"We thought there was a better way to valet park," entrepreneur Christian Peneff said.
Christian and his brother Pavel co-founded mobile app Parche, a name they derived from "parcheggiare," Italian for "parking."
The Parche concept is less foreign. Users simply request, pay and tip their valets via their smartphones. Parche charges a $1 transaction fee.
The start-up doesn't even need to hire a single human to physically park a car. Parche works with existing valet services at restaurants and hotels.
The Peneff brothers told CNBC the valet parking industry hasn't changed in 50 years. So they teamed up with designers and developers to create the technology behind the Parche app.
"We're putting an end to the days of waiting in valet lines in the freezing cold, or dashing to the ATM for cash to pay attendants," Christian Peneff said.
Nikhil Kalghatgi, venture capitalist at Vast Ventures, said the biggest challenge for Parche would be getting hotels and restaurants on board.
Parche takes your keys and takes care of parking your carSource: Parche
But Peneff said in his experience, the hospitality industry wants to improve customer service, so venues can easily, "appreciate the convenience."
The start-up offers its platform at more than 50 locations in Chicago, including bars, restaurants and hotels. The founders told CNBC they plan to expand to other cities in the coming months, including Miami and LA.
Customers can use the Parche app to scan his or her valet ticket to request their rideSource: Parche
Parche is not the first start-up to offer cashless on-demand parking. Luxe Valet and Curbstand are already expanding in major markets.
Angel investor Nat Burgess, president of Corum Group, said he worries that those competitors could easily stall the start-up's growth.
But Peneff told CNBC he's confident Parche's technology will steer customers his way.
Available on iOS and Android, Parche has raised $1 million in funding from private investors and its co-founders. The co-founders also would not disclose any revenue specifics but did tell CNBC Parche has seen 100 percent growth month over month since its official launch in April.
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90a3255cfe970383248dbb6ecd5b3111 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/17/fireeyes-ceo-and-the-meaning-of-basically.html | FireEye's CEO and the meaning of 'basically' | FireEye's CEO and the meaning of 'basically'
Dave DeWalt, chairman and CEO of FireEye.Francis Specker | Bloomberg | Getty Images
On May 21, the CEO of one of the hottest companies in the booming cybersecurity sector appeared on CNBC and highlighted a new credential that would help to separate his company from its hard-charging rivals.
In an interview on CNBC's "Mad Money" with Jim Cramer, FireEye CEO Dave DeWalt said a certification granted by the Department of Homeland Security under a law known as the SAFETY Act "allows companies who use our product to basically be indemnified against legal costs relative to being breached."
That was an important development, DeWalt said, "So if you use FireEye's product you basically are prevented from being sued in the criminal justice system of America, which can save a lot of money."
VIDEO7:5907:59FireEye CEO: Fighting the hacking epidemicMad Money with Jim Cramer
A casual viewer might come away from that comment thinking that the Department of Homeland Security was offering FireEye's customers legal indemnification if they suffer a data breach.
But a spokesman for Homeland Security said that's not the case.
In particular, the spokesman said, the certification in question only provides "some liability protections" in the event of a cyberbreach that qualifies as an "act of terrorism" as designated by the secretary of Homeland Security.
Read MoreCybersecurity stocks hit high; Goldman sees more
And that's never happened before. The spokesman said no cyberattack has ever been designated an act of terrorism. In fact, the secretary of Homeland Security has never designated an act of terrorism of any kind under the SAFETY Act, which was passed in 2002.
"SAFETY Act protections only apply if the secretary of Homeland Security determines that there has been an act of terrorism as set forth in the SAFETY Act statute," said Homeland Security spokesman S.Y. Lee in a statement to CNBC. "In the instance of a cyberbreach where the secretary has not made this determination, then the SAFETY Act is not triggered and provides no coverage for the technology's seller or the users of the technology."
CNBC asked FireEye about this apparent discrepancy, and a spokesman responded that DeWalt's comments on the program were accurate.
Basically, FireEye says the accuracy of the statement depends on what the meaning of "basically" is.
"Dave uses the term 'basically,' so the statement is broad enough in that context to be accurate," said FireEye spokesman Vitor De Souza in an email to CNBC. "With the limited time on TV, multiple follow-up questions couldn't be addressed."
"Dave did NOT say that the SAFETY Act covered ALL legal costs or ALL breache(s), just said it generally applies to those costs," wrote De Souza.
The CNBC appearance was not the only time DeWalt has used the term "basically" when describing the Homeland Security certification.
In May, DeWalt spoke at an investor conference organized by JPMorgan, and he explained the importance of the certification.
Read MoreCybersecurity ETF benefits from hack attacks
"And what it is is the Department of Homeland Security awarded a certification to FireEye for our products that basically exonerates any company using FireEye from litigation and legal expense related to being sued," DeWalt said, according to a transcript of the event.
The certification is "pretty amazing," DeWalt said. "Now the government putting a kind of a underwriter lab seal of approval on you to say, hey, use this company and it will help you from being breached. And if you do get breached by using this product, you're exonerated from legal expenses."
FireEye's spokesman said DeWalt's last phrase in that statement—"you're exonerated from legal expenses"—should have been expanded. "By the technical definition, yes, that last phrase is incorrect," De Souza said. "The rest of the statement is pretty true."
De Souza said the company does not tell its customers the law provides 100 percent indemnification. He also pointed to a frequently asked questions section of FireEye's website that explains the liability protections of the law apply to acts of terrorism. On the website, FireEye says that the SAFETY Act offers liability and procedural defenses in the case of a lawsuit.
De Souza added that FireEye considers a number of events—including recent hacks into Sony and the Sands Las Vegas casino—to be acts of terrorism, although they have not been designated as such by the Department of Homeland Security. "The definition of cyberterrorism is really not well defined yet," De Souza said. "It's a new world. We're proud to be the test case."
The Department of Homeland Security said that the SAFETY Act does offer some liability protections in the case of a terror attack. "In the event the secretary of Homeland Security determines that there has been an act of terrorism, thereby triggering the SAFETY Act's protections, users have some liability protections when they use SAFETY Act approved technologies," Lee said. "They may be able to have claims dismissed against them in court that allege a failure of the approved technology."
But Homeland Security also said that the certification does not remove all liability from companies, even in the event of a terrorist attack. "They may remain responsible, however, for claims that allege negligence such as if they did not take proper actions following a malware alert provided by the cybersecurity technology," Lee said.
Basically, that is.
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f7e4229fb4b1f8ec0ceec4f2bff0b198 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/18/chinese-shares-suffer-biggest-weekly-drop-in-7-years.html | Chinese shares suffer biggest weekly drop in 7 years | Chinese shares suffer biggest weekly drop in 7 years
Mainland shares suffered a steep correction on Friday, underperforming other regional bourses which followed the lead from Wall Street to end higher.
Overnight, a dovish statement from the Federal Reserve helped U.S. stocks to finish about 1 percent higher, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq topping its intra-day high from March 2000.
However, concerns over Greece remained in the backdrop after Eurogroup finance ministers failed to reach a deal on Thursday. Negotiations between the debt-stricken country and its creditors will continue at a crisis summit next Monday.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) largely stuck to the script in its rates decision on Friday, maintaining its massive asset buying program which increases the money base at an annual pace of 80 trillion yen ($650 billion).
Shanghai Comp tumbles 6.4%
China's Shanghai Composite index tumbled on the final trading day of the week to settle at its lowest level since May 29, while the blue-chip CSI 300 plummeted 6 percent.
For the week, both key indexes retreated more than 9 percent, marking their biggest weekly falls in seven years, according to Reuters. The slide was sparked by fresh tightening moves on margin lending by the China Securities Regulatory Commisiion (CSRC), as well as a deluge of initial public offerings (IPOs) that posed a huge threat to market liquidity.
"25 new listings are due to take place today [and] it was estimated that a record of 6.7 trillion yuan ($1.1 trillion) worth of funds is being locked up for subscription to these IPOs," IG market strategist Bernard Aw wrote in a note.
Read MoreChinese stocks suffer 'healthy correction'
"At this point, it may be difficult to tell if the correction will go deeper, but the large decline this week may actually be positive for Chinese stocks. Worries over high valuations of smaller-cap counters would be assuaged to some extent as the prices retreat. In addition, the looser monetary policy tone has not changed," he added.
Decliners were led by property and banking plays. Shanghai Shimao and Gemdale lost nearly 10 percent each, while heavyweight components Poly Real Estate and China Vanke eased 6.1 and 4.4 percent, respectively.
Agricultural Bank of China and China Construction Bank were among the biggest losers among financials, down more than 4 percent each.
VIDEO3:2703:27What bubble? China stocks remain on an uptrend: ProSquawk Box Asia
ASX jumps 1.3%
Australia's S&P ASX 200 index recouped all of Thursday's 1.3 percent slump, thanks to stellar gains in the resources sector on the back of a dovish Federal Reserve and a weaker U.S. dollar.
As crude oil prices held on to overnight gains, Oil Search tacked on 2 percent, while Santos and Woodside Petroleum ended up 0.6 and 0.8 percent, respectively. Iron ore miners also had a fillip prices, with BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto rising more than 1 percent each.
Shares of News Corp elevated 2 percent, unaffected by news that the company will be carrying out a at its news publishing unit.
Nikkei rises 0.9%
Japan's Nikkei 225 hurled itself back above the 20,000 mark, after falling below the key psychological mark for the first time since May 19 in the previous session.
The Tokyo bourse and the yen were little moved on the BOJ's policy decision.
Automakers were among the top gainers for the day; Suzuki Motor surged 1.6 percent, while Toyota Motor and Honda Motor closed up 0.6 percent each. notched up 0.8 and 0.6 percent, respectively. Nissan, which announced a 1.9 percent rise in May sales figures for Asia and Oceania, bounced up 1.5 percent.
Seven & i Holdings piled on nearly 3 percent after the Nikkei business daily reported that the supermarket operator likely logged a record first-quarter profit.
VIDEO2:5002:50Why the Nikkei rally is running out of steamSquawk Box Asia
Kospi adds 0.3%
South Korea's key Kospi index chalked up a three-day winning streak on Friday.
Brokerages and airlines were among the sectors that attracted hefty buy orders. Daewoo Securities outperformed the sector with a 5.6 percent rally, while Hyundai Securities and Mirae Asset Securities leaped 4.8 and 1.9 percent, respectively.
Staging a comeback after recent losses, Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines closed up 6 and 5 percent, respectively. The local carriers, together with other tourism-related counters, have underperformed since the country's outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).
Meanwhile, market participants continue to focus on the battle between Samsung Group and U.S. hedge fund Elliott. Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T finished 1.8 and 0.2 percent higher, respectively, after a South Korean court said it will rule on Elliott's injunction request to block a planned merger between the two Samsung affiliates by July 1.
Cheil Industries is the de facto holding company of Samsung Group.
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2184c7e55c3e5e30ffb1d7166f12f9f7 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/18/ng-brands-that-are-made-in-america.html | Made in America | Made in America
David Endelhardt | Getty Images
It's pretty hard to escape the "Made in China" or "Made in Mexico" stamp on products these days. Imports of goods and services in 2014 topped $2.85 trillion, making the country the world's second-largest importer (behind the European Union).
In fact, some of the most iconic products associated with America aren't made here. Rawlings baseballs are made in Costa Rica, the Radio Flyer little red wagon has been made in China since 2004, and Chuck Taylor All Star shoes are now imported from China, Thailand and India.
Read MoreThe big cover-up about lost US jobs
But sometimes companies will surprise you. Products that you might assume are made overseas are actually manufactured domestically. Here are 10 products you might think are imported but are actually created right here.
By Chris MorrisPosted 18 June 2015
An Intel waferSource: Intel
Not all of the company's microprocessors are made domestically, but roughly 75 percent are—and Intel has invested heavily in U.S. manufacturing plants. In 2009 the company announced a $7 billion plan to build manufacturing facilities in Oregon, Arizona and New Mexico. The next year, it dedicated another $6 billion to $8 billion to the cause. And in 2011 it announced plans to invest an additional $5 billion in U.S. plants. It has also expanded the initiative, launching a build-to-order service for other chip companies at the U.S. plants.
Intel, which had 106,700 employees worldwide as of year-end 2014, has 51 percent of those employees located in the U.S. The company had revenue of $55.9 billion in 2014.
Source: Crayola
Every one of the iconic art supplies are made at a factory in Easton, Pennsylvania. The plant churns out the top-selling crayons at a rate of 650 crayons per minute, with a total production of up to 13.5 million per day in 400 different colors. On average, the facility makes 3 billion Crayola crayons per year.
The company, which has annual revenue of $750 million, according to Hoover's, also makes 600 million Crayola Colored Pencils, 465 million markers, 110 million sticks of chalk, 9 million Silly Putty eggs and 1.5 million jars of paint annually.
The company's U.S. workforce of 1,650 includes 1,221 located at the headquarters in Easton, according to Hoover's that reports annual revenues of $750 million.
Source: Duraflame Firelogs
The best friend of fireplace owners who don't want to bother with kindling and newspaper, Duraflame controls nearly 40 percent of the firelog market, by some estimates, and sells more than 36 million firelogs annually. And every one of the company's products come from one of its two manufacturing plants—in California and Kentucky—which employ more than 200 people. Between the two, they create over 14,000 miles of firelogs per year.
Source: Post-it
Not every Post-it Note in the world is made in the U.S., but every one you buy in the U.S. or Japan is. 3M's plant in Cynthiana, Kentucky, underwent a conversion in 1985, ceasing its production of paper copiers and overhead projectors to become the chief manufacturing plant for the sticky notepads—adding 137,000 square feet in the process. It has since been expanded twice more as the number of Post-it options have expanded. 3M sells more than 4,000 Post-it products in over 120 countries and employs 35,581 workers.
Source: Pyrex
When Corning, which started making Pyrex in 1915, sold the famous brand to World Kitchen in 1998, some worried that the manufacturing would be transferred overseas. The new owners opted against making any changes, though, and kept the Charleroi, Pennsylvania, plant (which has made the oven-safe glassware since the 1940s) in operation. (The company's metal bakeware, though, is manufactured abroad.)
World Kitchen employs 2,900 people and has annual revenue of $213.6 million, according to Hoover's.
Source: K'Nex
These building toys aren't just manufactured in the U.S.—at a plant in Hatfield, Pennsylvania—they're also made with raw materials that all come from U.S. manufacturers. "While most toys are made overseas, we are committed to manufacturing in the United States," said the company, which employs 150 people and has annual revenue of $29 million, according to Hoover's.
Source: KitchenAid Stand Mixer
A mainstay in many kitchens around the country and the world, each KitchenAid mixer gets its start in Greenville, Ohio. The company has been manufacturing the favorite tool of bakers there since 1941. Today it employs roughly 700 people, who can make up to 7,000 of the mixers per day during busy periods.
Source: Oreck
Not all vacuums bearing the Oreck name are made in the U.S., but the company's flagship Oreck XL vacuum is still manufactured in Cookeville, Tennessee. Some worried that might change in 2013 when TTI/Royal bought the company's assets in a bankruptcy option, but the new owners (who also make Hoover and Dirt Devil vacuums largely in China), said the U.S. plant gave the company a "significant advantage."
Source: Sub-Zero - Wolf
Founded in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1945, this iconic family-owned business has always insisted its refrigerators, freezers and other cooling units be made in the U.S. In 2000 the company acquired the Wolf Appliance line and extended that philosophy to that company's stoves, cooktops and other appliances. Facilities in Fitchburg and Madison, WIisconsin; Phoenix and Richmond, Kentucky, are in charge of manufacturing. The company employs more than 1,000 people.
Source: Wilson
Major league baseballs may not be made in the U.S., but when football season kicks off, it's an All-American affair. Wilson, official supplier to the NFL, makes each of its leather game balls at a dedicated facility in Ada, Ohio, where it employs 120 people. The facility, which employs 120 people, makes 4,000 footballs per day and more than 700,000 per year—all by hand.
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13c6a096e206577088c911cb3211d704 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/18/singapore-math-teaching-would-work-in-western-schools-report-says.html | Singapore math teaching would work in Western schools, report says | Singapore math teaching would work in Western schools, report says
Singaporean teaching methods would improve children's mathematics skills in Western schools, a U.K. study has found.
Over 10,000 pupils aged 5-6 and 11-12 and across 140 British schools, were taught for one academic year using a method from Singapore, called "Maths Mastery". Researchers found the pupils' maths test results improved compared to other schools.
The study, by UCL Institute of Education and the University of Cambridge, said this improvement was "roughly equivalent to one additional month of progress over the academic year".
This extra month is very valuable, as the study cited research claiming that an extra month of progress in maths at the age of 10 increases average wages by around £100 to £200 ($159 to $318) per year in later life.
NI QIN | iStock / 360 | Getty Images
The "Maths Mastery" approach teaches fewer topics in greater depth. Each child must learn and understand the topic before the whole class can progress to the next part of the syllabus.
"Maths Mastery shouldn't be seen as a 'silver bullet'; there is no escaping that the effect of the program was relatively small, though welcome," said UCL's Dr John Jerrim, the study's lead author, in a statement. "Yet, given the low cost per pupil, it may nevertheless be a program worth pursuing.
Read MoreFlunking mathematics? It's all down to culture
Singapore's teaching prowess is well-recognised. It topped the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development ranking of school performance across 76 countries this year, whereas the U.S. came 28th.
The U.K. has attempted to improve math teaching by looking to Asia. For instance, in 2014 it asked Chinese teachers to help review how the subject is taught. In addition, the U.K.'s Department of Education (DoE) has developed a new maths curriculum reflecting principles of the Singapore approach.
"Ensuring every young person leaves school with good maths and numeracy skills is a key part of our commitment to delivering real social justice," a DoE spokesperson told CNBC. "We are pleased this research confirms that adopting a Singaporean 'mastery' approach to teaching will help us to achieve this."
VIDEO1:2701:27US lags world in educationPower Lunch
However, there has been resistance to adopting Asian approaches to teaching because of perceived differences in culture.
"The main difference between the West and East come(s) down to culture, rather than strictly what happens in the classroom," Alex Bellos, author of an introduction to mathematical ideas called "The Grapes of Math", told CNBC last year.
"Also, in England especially, and in the U.S. too, there is this feeling that math is uncool. Math is difficult, it's boring, and it's not relevant."
- With contribution from CNBC's Katrina Bishop
Follow us on Twitter: @CNBCWorld
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81e8d086bd89235da4725c282de41ee4 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/19/11-strategies-to-cut-down-on-student-loan-debt.html | 11 strategies to avoid student loan debt | 11 strategies to avoid student loan debt
VIDEO1:3101:31Pay ahead to stay ahead: College loans$ave Me
Just because the average grad carries more than $30,000 in student loan debt doesn't mean current and future students should resign themselves to the same fate. There are plenty of ways to reduce or limit your loan balance before graduation.
Loan balances continue to rise. In 2005, the average college graduate left campus owing $18,259, according to the Project on Student Debt. This year, college resource site Edvisors.com estimates the average grad's balance is $35,051. (Recent grads aren't without recourse, either. Check out the video above for strategies to make payments more manageable.)
Read MoreLooking for the next crisis? Try student debt
To avoid that debt—and the problems that can follow it—parents and students can employ many strategies, depending on their timeline to graduation. "Fundamentally, you either have to increase other sources of money besides loans, or you have to reduce the cost," said Mark Kantrowitz, senior vice president and publisher at Edvisors.com. "There's no other way around it." Every dollar you borrow now works out to $2 you'll have to pay back later, he said. Here's how to reduce borrowing:
Save. If you have a longer timeline to work with, the best strategy is simple: Start saving. Although 89 percent of parents expect their child will attend college and benefit from that education, just 48 percent are saving for that goal, according to a recent Sallie Mae survey. The average savings balance is $10,040, but that's still $10,040 less that has to come from other sources. And even small monthly contributions add up over an 18-year timeframe.
Pick a cheaper college. The lower your cost, the lower the debt burden, so start researching and talking about college expenses well before it's time to apply, said Therese Nicklas, a certified financial planner with U.S. Wealth Management in Boston. Parents should take charge steering that conversation, she said—what kinds of colleges work with the family's savings and budget, for example, how that college choice will influence loans required. Ideally, students' loan balance shouldn't exceed their expected starting salary. As part of the hunt, price out a variety of options. "You're going to find some colleges that are very reasonable," she said. Some might have more generous aid policies, or cheaper pricing for in-state residents.
Read MoreWhy college degrees cost so much
Plan out spending strategies. Think about paying for college as a four-year strategy rather than one to assess year by year, said certified financial planner Evelyn Zohlen, president of Inspired Financial in Huntington Beach, California. Depending on how much you've saved, splitting savings evenly across four years may not be the smartest plan. "Then you're borrowing money in years one and two and accruing interest on that over four years, which you may not need to do," she said. But it can also hurt to have a too-big cost gap in later years that exceeds the cap on federal loans, requiring families to turn to pricier private options. It can help to hire a planner or consultant to find the best strategy of which savings to spend down, when, factoring in rising costs and shifting aid offers.
Borrow wisely. Maximize federal student loans before turning to private ones, said Kantrowitz. Private loans typically have higher rates and may allow interest to compound more frequently while you're in school. More important, private loans don't have the same provisions in place for forgiveness, deferment or forbearance.
Read MoreDon't let student debt hurt your retirement
Transfer. Starting out at a community college or other low-cost option with intent to transfer can cut costs substantially. During the 2014-15 academic year, the average tuition and fees at a four-year private college was $31,231, according to The College Board. In comparison, tuition and fees at a public four-year college cost $9,139 and a public two-year college, $3,347. But transferring is a strategy that requires a lot of planning. "It's a detour where you may not reach your destination," said Kantrowitz. Credits don't always transfer or fulfill required classes, which can limit which colleges one can transfer to and require in more time to earn a degree—eating into any early savings. Transfer students are also often offered less financial aid than they would be if they enrolled as freshmen, he said.
Finagle financial aid. During the 2014-15 academic year, the average undergrad received $8,080 in grants, while graduate students received $8,540, according to The College Board. That's aid that doesn't need to be paid back. Offers can sometimes be negotiable, and aid may free up once enrollment is set, said Nicklas. "Don't be afraid to ask," she said. Of course, you can also hunt for outside scholarships—just check to make sure that the college won't count them to reduce aid it offers.
Accelerate graduation. Map out classes to get that four-year degree in less time—or graduate in four years with two majors or part of a graduate degree under your belt. "An important step you can take to make sure you graduate on time is to plan a path from matriculation to completion," said Kantrowitz. "What classes are you going to take? When? It may be you have to take this class this particular semester." If a class is already full, make your case and ask for an enrollment override from the professor, or the dean's office. Although most colleges require 12 credit hours per semester to be considered full-time, they may allow students to take up to 18 before incurring additional tuition. Or add in a summer class, which are usually less expensive, he said.
Read More6 lifelong effects of student debt
Pay in installments. If you can pay the tuition, but not all at once, ask about a tuition installment plan instead of loans, Zohlen said. These break up the bill into equal monthly installments paid over a semester or year. There's an upfront setup fee, but it's usually less than $100.
Cut living expenses. If you're using student loan money to cover expenses beyond tuition, consider what you can do to reduce those costs. "Financial choices always have implications," said Zohlen—in the case of student loans, ones that can take 10 to 15 years to pay off. That might mean living at home instead of on campus, renting textbooks instead of buying them, or reducing dining-out expenses to make the most of that included meal plan.
Read MoreCan these fixes make college more affordable?
Work. On-campus work-study opportunities can also be used to replace or reduce loans, said Nicklas—her son snagged a job as a resident assistant, which covered his room and board. But remember that student is the first job at hand, said Kantrowitz. Taking on too many hours may eat into necessary study time to keep grades high enough to retain scholarship funds. Opt for an off-campus job, and financial aid could be reduced if you earn more than $6,400 in the 2015-16 academic year, he said.
Prepay loans. Windfalls like tax refunds, pay raises or gifts could be used to cut loan balances and, depending on the loan, interest accrued. "Nothing stops you from making an extra payment to reduce the loan balance, and you can even do that while you're in school," said Kantrowitz. But it may be better to use that money to borrow less in future years rather than prepay. "If you're effectively borrowing more money so you can pay the interest, are you really coming out ahead?" he said.
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348004ad562e0d24b1222a6af4974e57 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/19/arianna-huffington-renews-contract-for-four-years.html | Arianna Huffington Renews Contract for Four Years | Arianna Huffington Renews Contract for Four Years
Arianna Huffington, a founder of The Huffington Post, has signed a new four-year contract to remain chairwoman, president and editor in chief of the publication, ending speculation that she might leave now that its parent company, AOL, was acquired by Verizon.
Ms. Huffington's contract had expired this year, and she had not signed a new one amid misgivings that Verizon might not provide the level of support and editorial independence that she wanted.
Ariana Huffington on CNBCAdam Jeffery | CNBC
"After all my meetings and conversations with Tim and the Verizon leadership," she said in a memo to staff members on Thursday, speaking of the AOL chief executive, Tim Armstrong, "I am convinced that we will have both the editorial independence and the additional resources that will allow HuffPost to lead the global media platform shift to mobile and video."
More from The New York Times:House Sends Trade Bill Back to Senate in Bid to Outflank FoesA Fearless Culture Fuels U.S. Tech GiantsWhat Mountain Climbing Can Teach You About Business
Arianna Huffington, editor of The Huffington Post, reportedly has said she is not sure her ambitious plans for the site can be executed under Verizon.
The site plans to continue a global expansion, she said, and invest in video production and distribution — a priority for Verizon, which wants more content to offer its customers. It will also invest in technology, and in its newsroom as it stops running news articles from The Associated Press.
Ms. Huffington added that the company would be "seeking out smart acquisitions and strategic investments that will bring in top talent and cutting-edge technologies to help accelerate our goals."
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c51d12dd67016ad4bc06f999da579bee | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/19/carl-icahn-declines-donald-trumps-cabinet-offer.html?__source=yahoo%7Cfinance%7Cinline%7Cstory%7Cstory&par=yahoo&doc=103589698 | Carl Icahn declines Donald Trump's cabinet offer | Carl Icahn declines Donald Trump's cabinet offer
VIDEO7:1007:10Early 2016 frontrunnersSquawk Box
Hold on, Donald Trump. You haven't found your would-be Secretary of Treasury yet.
"I am flattered but do not get up early enough in the morning to accept this opportunity," Carl Icahn said in response to Trump's comments about appointing him to the position if elected president.
Carl IcahnDavid Grogan | CNBC
Icahn added in a statement that he was surprised Trump was running for president and "even more surprised that he stated he would make me Secretary of Treasury."
Read MoreDonald Trump announces candidacy for president
Trump announced his preference for Ichan on Thursday on MSNBC, two days after he launched his campaign for the country's top office.
Ichan also said he applauded Trump for raising the issue of low interest rates. "Never in the history of the Federal Reserve have interest rates been artificially held down for so long at the extremely low rates existing today," he said.
Read MoreTrump turns GOP race into reality-TV circus
Nevertheless, the former Republican National Committee Chief, Michael Steele, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" that Trump's candidacy was a point of concern for the GOP establishment.
"I don't think he ultimately wins, but he does change the nature of the conversation. And one of the challenges the GOP field will have will be allowing Donald Trump to dominate what the topics of discussion are," Steele said. "Candidates don't want cameras put in their face asking them do you agree with Donald Trump that Mexicans are rapists."
Read More
Steele was referring to a comment Trump made during his campaign launching speech in which "When Mexico sends its people, it is not sending its best ... They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists."
—CNBC's Matthew J. Belvedere contributed to this report.
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ba0735f26f74797ebde705e6cd40a576 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/21/millennials-and-robo-advisors-a-match-made-in-heaven.html | Millennials and robo-advisors: A match made in heaven? | Millennials and robo-advisors: A match made in heaven?
Financial advisors are facing two dueling forces: They desperately want to attract millennials to replace their aging stable of clients, but clients with low account balances—which many young investors happen to be—are unprofitable.
Not surprisingly, just 16 percent of millennials say they work with a financial advisor, about half the rate that baby boomers do, according to a study from Wells Fargo.
PeopleImages.com | Getty Images
"Young people have been largely overlooked by the [financial advice] industry because it wasn't economical to service them," said Adam Nash, founder of Wealthfront, a leading robo-advisor, or automated online wealth-management firm. "Technology changes the debate because it can be economical to help young people with their money."
Robo-advisors are able to serve younger investors with small balances because they rely on technology instead of pricey human advisors to guide clients. Their fees to work remotely with an advisor range from free, at WiseBanyan, to 95 basis points at Personal Capital.
Read MoreActing your age with investments
Low minimums—and sometimes no minimums, at players such as Betterment—are also a selling point for robo-advisors. Many throw tax-loss harvesting and rebalancing into the deal.
Human financial advisors, on the other hand, typically charge 1 percent of assets per year to provide a combination of investment management and broader financial advice.
"Because of those low barriers to entry … it's definitely encouraging for young people," said Sophie Louvel Schmitt, an analyst with consulting firm Aite Group.
At the end of 2014, Aite reported, assets for start-up digital advisors stood at $5 billion. The firm estimates those assets will swell to $15 billion by the end of this year.
Those figures don't include digitally advised assets at legacy firms such as Charles Schwab and Vanguard. Vanguard's Personal Advisor Service, which officially launched at the beginning of May after a two-year pilot, now has $17 billion in assets and charges 30 basis points for asset allocation and remote access to a financial advisor.
Schwab's newly launched Schwab Intelligent Portfolios, an allocation service for retail investors, is free.
Read MoreAdult kids can be a drain
But it's not simply low fees and low minimums that attract younger investors, observers believe. Millennials' relationship with technology makes digital asset management more appealing, according to Nash.
Younger consumers trust technology enough to delegate important tasks.
"They're saying, 'Don't tell me I could be saving money in a cheaper ETF; put me in a cheaper ETF,'" Nash said. "There is no shortage of websites with information, but there is a shortage of services that will do it for you and take the load off your mind."
To draw in younger investors, traditional advisors will need to adopt some of the technology that enable simple investing.
"When millennials get older and they want to interact with their advisor, they are going to want to have a highly technologically intermediated relationship," said Tom O'Shea, associate director of research with Cerulli Associates, a global research firm.
Wealthfront, which had $1.7 billion in customer assets at the end of 2014, reports that 60 percent of its clients are under 35 and 90 percent are under 50. Among the robo-advisors, Wealthfront caters the most to millennials, given its early focus on young "techies" in Silicon Valley.
"The baby boom generation has more money, but they've also got complicated situations like retirement," Nash said.
In other words, they need more advice. But younger people may need only investment advice at this point in their lives, he noted.
"It's no wonder they find an automated investment service appealing," Nash said.
Automation is the key to getting young people to invest and adopt good savings habits early on, said Meir Statman, professor of behavioral finance at Santa Clara University and an advisor to Wealthfront.
It's similar to the experience many investors already have in their 401(k) plans with auto enrollment, auto escalation and defaults into age-based target-date funds.
The robos, while very good at managing small accounts to scale, are challenged in dealing with those types of questions that have an emotional component to them.Tom O'Sheaassociate director of research at Cerulli Associates
The robo-advisor solution may work well when investors are just starting out, some observers said, but at some point, life gets complicated. Some people may need to go beyond robo-advisors as they mature.
"Take the example of having a baby," said certified financial planner Marguerita Cheng, CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth. "All of a sudden you have to figure out taxes, insurance, your flexible spending account and college savings. It's a little baby, but look at all the questions that come up," she explained.
Many investors use more than one advisor, said O'Shea of Cerulli, so it's feasible that millennials will maintain their robo accounts but turn to traditional advisors for more complex financial planning.
"The robos, while very good at managing small accounts to scale, are challenged in dealing with those types of questions that have an emotional component to them," O'Shea said.
He likens their relationship to how consumers now approach fitness. "A lot of people are walking around with Fitbits in their pockets, but they're still going to their trainer and going over the data together," he said.
Although Wealthfront is a leading robo-advisor among millennials, other platforms count different generational groups among their core customer base.
"[Robo-advisors are] being accepted by younger folks, but they're not being rejected by older people," said George H. Walper Jr., president of consulting firm Spectrem Group. "In fact, the biggest users of the service are those that feel like they could use an advisor but feel like they can't find one."
Read MoreRobo-advisors and senior savers
Spectrem's research of high-net-worth investors found that the average age of people in that demographic who use a robo-advisor is 55 years old.
Meanwhile, Schmitt of Aite said a growing number of digital advisors are shifting their focus older. Rebalance IRA, for example, has tools to help retirees manage withdrawal from their retirement savings. And SigFig recently launched a new portfolio focused on helping retirees meet their income needs for 50 basis points.
—By Ilana Polyak, special to CNBC.com
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e6e6efc5d5f4a0e818ca77796dcc3f79 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/22/china-hsbc-flash-pmi-rises-to-496-in-june-from-mays-final-492.html | China manufacturing remains mired in June | China manufacturing remains mired in June
Getty Images
Manufacturing in China remained stuck in a rut in June, with HSBC flash PMI data showing some improvement from May, but still indicating contraction for a fourth straight month.
The HSBC flash PMI for June rose to 49.6, above the 49.4 forecast in a Reuters poll, but still below the key 50 level which separates contraction and expansion. The official PMI came in at 50.2 last month.
Read More Chinese economy healthier than data suggest: Beige Book
The data were a mixed bag, Annabel Fiddes, economist at Markit, said in a statement with the data.
"On the one hand, the sector shows signs of improvement as output stabilized amid a slight pick up in total new work," Fiddes said. "On the other hand, manufacturers continued to cut their staff numbers, with the latest reduction the sharpest in over six years."
That suggests companies have muted growth expectations amid subdued demand both domestically and abroad, she said, adding that may spur authorities to step up stimulus efforts in the second half.
Fiddes isn't alone in her concern about the manufacturers' moves to lower their headcounts.
"Officials will be very worried about this," Frederic Neumann, a managing director at HSBC, told CNBC. "They've always said they draw the line at the labor market. They don't really care where headline GDP (gross domestic product) growth is as long as the labor market holds up and this particular reading suggests the labor market is still weakening and that would point to much more stimulus."
This reading isn't the only one which has spurred expectations that authorities will get out their policy toolkit again, with a slew of recent data, including imports and inflation, missing analysts' expectations. In the first quarter, China's economic growth slowed to 7.0 percent, its slowest in six years.
VIDEO4:3904:39Here's the downside in China HSBC flash PMIStreet Signs Asia
So far, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) has cut interest rates three times in the past six months amid concerns that the government's annual gross domestic growth (GDP) target of "around 7 percent" could be at risk. The latest rate cut followed two rounds of cuts in the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) of major banks, the latest one bringing the rate down to 18.5 percent.
But some see signs that the worst may be over for the economy.
"The big picture here is that price pressures are rebounding on the back of the recent recovery in global commodity prices," economists at Capital Economics said in a note Tuesday, citing the input price component's rise to a 10-month high. "Overall, today's PMI reading reinforces our view that the economy has started to find its footing. External demand is showing welcome signs of life. Meanwhile, domestic demand appears to have strengthened on the back of policy support, making an uptick in second quarter GDP growth now seem likely."
The latest China Beige Book (CBB) report, released Tuesday, said the soft data belie a "broad-based recovery."
The quarterly private-sector survey, which resembles the U.S. Federal Reserve's Beige Book, found that China's pickup in the second quarter was largely driven by a resurgence in the retail and real estate sectors.
Some analysts aren't convinced that the recovery will be particularly strong.
VIDEO2:5302:53China's economy is still very weak: Experts Squawk Box Asia
"Our picture on the economy is that it's still very weak," Jonathan Garner, chief Asia equity strategist at Morgan Stanley, told CNBC. "We're cautiously optimistic that the policy stimulus we've had and a better global economy leads to some pick up in the second half, but it's not going to be anything like the V-shaped pick up we saw in 2009."
--Ansuya Harjani and See Kit Tang contributed to this article.
—By CNBC.Com's Leslie Shaffer; Follow her on Twitter @LeslieShaffer1
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1f913a555fe6525994d7d164d654d5af | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/22/fitbit-stock-opens-up-more-than-10.html | Fitbit soars 20% on second trading day | Fitbit soars 20% on second trading day
Fitbit signs and traders at the NYSE during their IPO, June 18, 2015.Source: CNBC
Shares of wearables maker Fitbit opened up more than 20 percent on Monday.
The move up comes four days after the company, which is valued at $4.1 billion, opened 52 percent above its IPO price at $30.40.
Fitbit had priced its initial public offering at $20 a share on Wednesday.
Nevertheless, while the company's stock has been performing well since going public, it is is competing in an increasingly crowded market, with rivals like Apple, Garmin, and Jawbone competing for a piece of the lucrative space.
Fitbit CEO James Park told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" ahead of the IPO on Thursday that he believes his company can stay competitive even as Apple and other electronics makers ramp up marketing for all-purpose wearables like the Apple Watch.
"There's over $200 billion of consumer spending on health and fitness. This is a massive market. There's room for more than one dominant player," he said. "The brand Fitbit is really synonymous with health and fitness tracking, so we feel that we have really significant competitive differentiators in the market."
—CNBC's Tom DiChristopher contributed to this report.
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552e0447367906f929c5e558959dc764 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/22/greek-optimism-curbs-demand-for-gold-as-equities-gain.html | Gold settles lower as Greek hopes lift stocks, euro slides | Gold settles lower as Greek hopes lift stocks, euro slides
Getty Images
Gold eased on Tuesday as the euro slid sharply against the dollar, and as stock markets rallied on hopes that Greece would reach a deal with its creditors to stave off default.
was down 0.7 percent at $1,176.79 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures for August delivery settled down $7.50 at $1,176.60.
VIDEO4:1704:17Why a deal won't be the end of Greek dramaStreet Signs Asia
The metal fell for the third straight session, leaving gold vulnerable to pressure from other factors, such as the prospect of the first U.S. interest rate rise from the Federal Reserve in nearly a decade. That would boost the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
"There may be a sense of relief (over Greece) feeding into the market as a negative for gold prices in the short term, but that in many respects is a sideshow to the Fed," Standard Chartered analyst Nicholas Snowden said.
Optimism that a deal could still be at hand to stave off a Greek default boosted European shares and kept a floor under U.S. stocks, while the U.S. dollar and bond yields edged higher on expectations of a Fed rate hike this year.
Fed Governor Jerome Powell said he was prepared to raise interest rates twice this year, once in September and once in December, as long as the economy performs as expected. Later in the day, the Atlanta Fed's GDPNow forecast model showed the U.S. economy is on track to grow 2 percent in the second quarter.
Read MoreAsian equities cheer Greece's new reform deal
Strength in the dollar, which is benefiting from upbeat U.S. data, further pressured gold, which is priced in the U.S. unit and tends to gain when the currency is weak.
The euro was down 1.6 percent versus the dollar, on track for its biggest one-day drop in three months.
"Further losses seem likely now for gold, although that being said precious metals look a little bit oversold now while Greece could still default and exit the euro zone, an outcome that would undoubtedly boost the appeal of safe havens," said Fawad Razaqzada, technical analyst for Forex.com.
Read MoreThe Greece market rally is premature: Strategist
Physical gold demand in Asia has been sluggish as monsoon concerns weighed on demand in India and a better-yielding stock market kept buyers away in China.
Silver was down 2.4 percent at $15.72 an ounce, while platinum was up 0.4 percent at $1,061.50 and palladium was up 0.04 percent at $693.75.
Platinum had dropped to its lowest in more than six years on Monday, at $1,053.75 an ounce.
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cd93b7003d9db45d0d34c2e4957575ba | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/22/state-of-obamacare-could-change-for-many-very-soon.html | 'State' of Obamacare could change for many very soon | 'State' of Obamacare could change for many very soon
VIDEO1:4101:41The Supreme Court case that could derail ObamacareObamacare
If U.S. states had a Facebook setting for Obamacare status, it would say: "It's complicated."
This month, that might change to: "It's very, very complicated."
The catalyst would be a Supreme Court ruling that could—for the second time in less than two years—cause a dramatic shift in the differences between states in their uninsured rates and in the financial burden on hospitals and other medical providers from caring for the uninsured.
That shift in turn could affect how attractive states appear to individuals and businesses looking to relocate. It also could exacerbate an ongoing situation in which some states effectively subsidize the health coverage of other states' residents and the bottom lines of medical providers.
Read MoreGuess who's spending billions to create US jobs
"This is kind of a make-or-break moment" for Obamacare, said Nick Ragone, spokesman for Ascension, the nation's largest nonprofit health system. "We're watching this very closely."
Before Obamacare began taking widespread effect in 2014, there were big differences between states in their uninsured rates—the percentage of people without health insurance. Nationally, the uninsured rate was approaching 19 percent for nonelderly adults.
At the low end of the scale were such states as Massachusetts, Hawaii, Minnesota, Delaware and Vermont, as well as the District of Columbia. All of them had uninsured rates of 10 percent or less for adults up to age 64, according to Kaiser Family Foundation data.
"All of those states had some kind of broad coverage expansions that they adopted for the Medicaid programs," said Jennifer Tolbert, director of state health reform for Kaiser. In other words, the states used their existing Medicaid programs, which are jointly run with the federal government, to increase the number of eligible poor and low-income people.
At the high end were states including Texas, Arizona, Florida and Nevada, all of which had uninsured rates for nonelderly adults higher than 25 percent. Tolbert said those states, like most other states at the time, had much tighter restrictions on who could receive Medicaid coverage.
But Tolbert also noted there were "lots of dynamics" that affected states' uninsured rates other than Medicaid.
Read MoreInside the Kansas tax cuts
"What you see is that states with higher poverty rates are going to have higher number of uninsured," she said. Another factor was the rate of employers offering health coverage to their workers, which tends to be higher in the North than in the South.
The Affordable Care Act, as written, was meant to tackle the uninsured rate through two key programs.
The first was the creation of government-run exchanges like HealthCare.gov, which sells private insurance to people whose income is above the poverty level, with no one denied coverage or charged more because of existing conditions.
Customers who earned less than four times the poverty level—which turned out to be nearly 90 percent of the exchanges' customers—were also eligible for federal subsidies to help offset the cost of their coverage.
The second major ACA program was the expansion of Medicaid eligibility to nearly all people whose income is below 138 percent of poverty.
A 2012 Supreme Court decision said that states could not be compelled under the ACA to expand Medicaid. But so far, 28 states and D.C. have expanded Medicaid, with Montana's proposed expansion awaiting federal approval.
Most of the people whose states have not expanded Medicaid live in the South.
Since Obamacare, private insurance exchanges began selling plans in 2014, and as Medicaid expansion took effect in more states, about 25 million have gotten coverage through one of these two provisions, as well as through another ACA program that allows people up to age 26 to stay on their parents' health plans.
Read MoreObamacare insurers get help for high-cost claims
As a result, "the uninsured rate has dropped across all states, regardless of whether they have expanded Medicaid or not," Tolbert said.
But, she added, "we've seen a much bigger drop in the uninsured rates among the states that have adopted Medicaid expansion."
State-by-state uninsured-rate data are not yet available, although it is expected to be released later this year.
At the same time that the overall uninsured rate dropped, so did the costs of providing care to people who lacked insurance.
But again, there was a significant difference in outcomes between the states that expanded Medicaid and those that didn't.
Last month, the federal government said "uncompensated care costs" that hospitals nationally incurred in 2014 were $7.4 billion lower than they would have been if insurance coverage had remained at 2013 levels.
However, the lion's share of those savings—$5 billion—came from states that expanded Medicaid.
Read More9 states considering Connecticut's Obamacare fix
A report issued in late April by the Kaiser Family Foundation looked at the experience of Ascension Health, which operates 131 acute-care hospitals and more than 30 senior-care facilities. Ascension's facilities are located in the District of Columbia and seven states that expanded Medicaid, along with nine states that did not expand.
"Overall, [Ascension] hospitals in Medicaid expansion states saw increased Medicaid discharges, increased Medicaid revenue and decreased cost of care for the poor, while hospitals in nonexpansion states saw a very small increase in Medicaid discharges, a decline in Medicaid revenue and growth in cost of care for the poor," the report said.
In a line item that contributed to that finding, Ascension hospitals in expansion states saw a 40.1 percent decrease in charity-care costs alone. That compares with a drop of just 6.2 percent in charity-care costs for Ascension facilities in nonexpansion states.
An agent from Sunshine Life and Health Advisors offers insight to potential enrollees in Miami about the plans available last year under the Affordable Care Act.Getty Images
The findings underscore the disparities that persist between individual states even in the Obamacare era.
And those disparities could become more pronounced this summer. In some cases, states could revert to what was seen before Obamacare.
The Supreme Court this month is expected to issue a decision in a case known as King v. Burwell. In that case, plaintiffs claim that the subsidies that nearly all Obamacare exchange customers receive cannot be issued to customers of HealthCare.gov, the federally run insurance marketplace that serves two-thirds of the nation.
That claim is based on the argument that the Affordable Care Act does not explicitly authorize subsidies for customers of a federal exchange as it does for customers of state-run exchanges.
Read MoreCivil war in the American workplace
While the Obama administration disputes that interpretation and has asked the Supreme Court to reject it, few people on either side debate the potential effect of a ruling for the plaintiffs.
VIDEO0:5000:50Repealing Obamacare would add $353 billion to deficits: CBOPower Lunch
The Urban Institute has estimated that 8.2 million or so people in 34 states served by HealthCare.gov would become uninsured as a result of such a ruling.
"More than 6 million people [in HealthCare.gov states] currently receive a subsidy. Most of them would no longer be able to afford insurance," said Sara Collins, vice president for health-care coverage and access at the Commonwealth Fund.
"But it's also creating a very chaotic insurance market where premiums spiral up, which make premiums unaffordable for even people who might have been buying before the law went into effect," Collins said. In other words, even some people who were not being subsidized would drop their individual insurance plans as retail premium prices rise by an estimated 47 percent or more in HealthCare.gov states.
As a result, "the uninsured rate would climb up in those states," Collins said.
Collins said that ruling for the plaintiffs would have the most dramatic impact, in terms of increasing the uninsured rate and the cost of uncompensated care, in states that did not set up their own Obamacare exchange and that did not expand their Medicaid programs.
"You could potentially create a scenario where you have more people uninsured in Florida than you did prior to the ACA," Collins said. Other nonexpansion states that are served by HealthCare.gov, most prominently Texas, likewise could see uninsured rates that were higher than in the pre-Obamacare era.
Conversely, states that run their own exchanges and have expanded Medicaid would not be expected to have their uninsured rate rise.
In between would be the states that are on HealthCare.gov but which have expanded Medicaid, a group that includes Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Those states would see many individual-plan insurance customers drop coverage but would retain newly eligible Medicaid enrollees.
Collins said a ruling for the plaintiffs "not only creates havoc in the insurance market, it also means that hospitals and other providers just don't have that revenue anymore" from the newly insured, she said. Uncompensated care costs would be expected to rise in HealthCare.gov states as a result.
Finally, a ruling for the plaintiffs would lead to affected states incurring costs from Obamacare while getting much less of the benefits.
The federal government through 2016 is paying 100 percent of the costs of insuring newly eligible people under the Medicaid expansion program. After that, the federal government's contribution to the funding tapers down, but to no less than 90 percent of costs. The estimated cost of that program to the federal budget is $847 billion from 2016 through 2025, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Individual states, on the other hand, are expected to pay just $46 billion in extra costs during that same time span as a result of Medicaid expansion.
The federal government's spending on Medicaid expansion is financed by taxpayer revenue—that is, the taxes collected from residents in each state. So people in non-Medicaid expansion states are paying for the costs of the program while receiving no coverage or money from the federal government to pay providers for caring for enrollees in the program.
Likewise, if the Supreme Court rules for the plaintiffs in the King case, people in HealthCare.gov states would no longer be eligible to receive Obamacare subsidies, and medical providers would conceivably get less business from those customers. But the residents would continue paying taxes that in turn would be used to subsidize Obamacare customers in states that are running their own insurance exchanges.
"That would be the same dynamic," Collins said. "It just exacerbates the outflow of tax revenue from state residents."
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83ed160eabda00e86fc45def5da55785 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/23/8-companies-poised-to-disrupt-their-industries.html?page=1 | Iconic Tour | Iconic Tour
Getty Images
When a company finally goes public, it usually marks the culmination of an extended run of fundraising to fuel fast growth. And as founders take in more money, they typically must fulfill increasing expectations for the company to act in certain ways and pursue new objectives.
But that doesn't mean that as they mature, companies have to lose touch with what made them innovative start-ups in the first place. In fact, the following newly public companies still have strong ties to their original founders and manage to maintain much of their early start-up flair.
—By Jeremy QuittnerPosted 23 June 2015
Jin Lee | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The reviews site Yelp was launched in 2004 by Russel Simmons and Jeremy Stoppelman, both former software engineers at PayPal, after a conversation about why it is so hard to find a good doctor. Though Simmons stepped down from the company in 2010, Stoppelman continues to keep a tight rein on things. He's turned down offers to acquire the company from Google and Yahoo because they didn't line up with his vision.
Since its 2012 IPO, Yelp has grown to feature 71 million reviews on businesses in 29 countries. For 2014 it boasted an annual profit of $36.5 million on $377.5 million in revenue. "It's helpful to be able to say, 'This company is my identity,'" Stoppelman said. "I know how and why it was built in the first place, and I know where to take it in the future."
Nick Woodman, founder and chief executive officer of GoPro Inc.Victor J. Blue | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The charismatic Nicholas Woodman may be one of the biggest reasons GoPro, which went public in 2014, sells so many of its high-endurance HD video cameras. In fact, in its initial public offering papers, the company actually points out its dependence on its founder and CEO as a potential risk. But Woodman has steered GoPro to five consecutive years of profitability, in the face of major challenges from the likes of Apple and Sony.
Revenues for 2014 increased 41 percent to $1.4 billion. "It still drives me, that fear of failing as an entrepreneur and going to work for someone else's dream," Woodman said recently.
Box co-counders Aaron Levie (C) and Dylan Smith (2nd R) celebrate their company's IPO on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Jan. 23, 2015.Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Box is one of the biggest cloud enterprise storage companies around, counting among its 45,000 paying customers General Electric, Gap, Safeway and eBay. But it still operates with substantial direct input from its co-founders, Aaron Levie (now Box's chief executive) and Dylan Smith (now chief financial officer).
The company the childhood friends launched in 2005 has grown to 1,100 employees today and went public in early 2015, raising $160 million. "Probably the biggest value that I add to this company is reminding people to constantly push on the scale of opportunity—to realize that they can do something 10 times bigger, 10 times better, 10 times faster," Levie told Inc. magazine.
Jin Lee | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The popular online platform lets customers order food online from local restaurants. Founded in 2004, today GrubHub processes orders for 30,000 restaurants in 800 cities. But it wasn't always that way: In its early days, co-founders Matt Maloney and Mike Evans walked door-to-door to sign customers up.
After a three-year compound annual growth rate of 1,300 percent, GrubHub went public in April 2014. And investors love how the company's original business model remains largely intact, sending shares up 31 percent on opening day and netting the company $192 million. "When the business model is complicated, it's much harder to explain that value to investors and makes them less likely to buy in," Malone said.
Kemper Isely of Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage at the Lakewood, Colorado store.Cyrus McCrimmon | The Denver Post | Getty Images
After falling chronically ill, waitress Margaret Isely turned to nutrition when conventional medicine failed to help her. By eating wholesome, natural foods and taking dietary supplements, Isely steadily improved, leading she and her husband, Philip, to become "health crusaders" and to eventually start Natural Grocers in 1955.
Still thriving six decades later, the health-food products company is now run by the second-generation siblings— Zephyr, Kemper and Heather—and in 2014 had net sales of $521 million from 93 stores, primarily in the West and Midwest. The leaders have plans to add 1,000 more stores but are striving to maintain the company's original small-time feel, offering employee perks, like a staff nutrition coach, and continuing to sell only entirely organic produce and products.
It took four years of internal discussions for Natural Grocers to go public in 2013, which brought the company $91 million. "We run the business on a consensus basis rather than an adversarial basis, so essentially we all have to agree unanimously or we don't do it," said Kemper. "We're a little bit idiosyncratic."
FireEye information analysts work at the company's office in Milpitas, California.Beck Diefenbach | Reuters
Whenever there's a huge data breach by hackers, FireEye is the go-to company, for its expertise in forensic sleuthing deep into compromised computer networks. In recent years, JPMorgan Chase, Sony and the health insurer Anthem have all sought help from the Milpitas, California, cybersecurity firm, which was founded in 2004 by Ashar Aziz, a serial entrepreneur who had previously worked as a Sun Microsystems engineer.
Aziz still has a hand in the creation of the company's products and services, which include a state-of-the-art virtual machine technology that responds to threats in real time. FireEye, which has 2,600 employees, generated $425.6 million in revenue in 2014. "I can't lose sight of the responsibility and the trust the customer puts in us to protect them," Aziz said. "It is a solemn trust, and we can't let them down."
An employee for SolarCity installs solar panels on the roof of a home in Palo Alto, Calif.Tony Avelar | The Christian Science Monitor | Getty Images
Solar City has an ace in the hole helping to keep it entrepreneurial amid rapid growth: Elon Musk, famed inventor of the iconic Tesla electric car, who is board chairman at the sustainable-energy company. In fact, Musk is cousins with founders Lyndon and Peter Rive, who want to simplify the way mom-and-pop contractors currently install solar energy panels, making the consumers' transition to solar as easy as flipping a switch.
The company, which was founded in 2007, is now the biggest installer of solar panels in the U.S., operating in 15 states. It holds an estimated 30 percent share of the market, an amount that's doubled since 2012. Lyndon Rive, the company's chief executive, explains his reasoning for taking the company public in 2012, which also sums up his management philosophy: "Trust your instincts. There will always be naysayers, but they don't understand your business as well as you do." SolarCity had $255 million in revenue last year, but operated at a loss of $375 million.
Customers pick up their orders from Shake Shack on in Madison Square Park in New York City.Getty Images
Who doesn't love the American hamburger-and-fries story? In the years between its 2001 founding by restaurateur Danny Meyer and its IPO in early 2015, Shake Shack grew from a single food cart to 32 stores on three continents. But CEO Randy Garutti has stuck close to the family-friendly atmosphere of the company—known as the "antichain chain"—which has attained something close to a cult status for its all-natural ingredients and hormone- and antibiotic-free beef.
Shake Shack's 2014 revenue surged 43 percent from the previous year, to $112 million, but Meyer stresses that the company's financial performance isn't his primary focus. "Nothing [has] mattered to me more than surrounding myself with a great staff who are fun to be with and who want to make the place better, and pleasing our guests," he said.
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9e5ec278917dd97a03cb63a6671016ac | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/23/all-industries-fail-cybersecurity-govt-the-worst.html | All industries fail cybersecurity, govt the worst | All industries fail cybersecurity, govt the worst
Most sectors failed industry-standard security tests of their Web and mobile applications, but the government failed the worst, a report by application security company Veracode found. (Tweet This)
Most strikingly isn't how poorly the government's applications fared. It's how unlikely they were to be fixed.
Government agencies fix fewer than one-third of all detected problems, according to the report. By comparison, financial services fixed 81 percent of its problems, while manufacturing fixed 65 percent.
Read More Ten low-tech ways to protect your privacy online
Only 24 percent of government agency applications passed security tests, compared with those of financial services at 42 percent. Manufacturing followed at 35 percent, as illustrated below in the figures from the report.
It is interesting to note, however, that manufacturing had the highest concentration of security problems per unit of executable coding, almost double the government's concentration.
The report comes just weeks after a cybersecurity attack that exposed millions of federal employees' personal information. Just a month ago, a federal judge ruled that Target had to pay millions of dollars to victims of its massive security breach.
Veracode collected data from more than 200,000 tests it ran on its customers, including federal and state agencies. Veracode's co-founder and chief technology officer, Chris Wysopal, said the company reserves the right to analyze and publish anonymized customer data to publish public findings and propose solutions.
Veracode's network of computers launches simulated attacks on its customers to find flaws and come up with solutions.
Read More Hack attack leaves 1,400 airline passengers grounded
"Part of [the solution] is going to be a willingness to adopt a risk-based approach as opposed to compliance. To look at different vulnerabilities and fix them, base them on thinking, 'What risk does this pose to our organization and the data that we have?'" Wysopal said.
Budget problems are a contributing factor, but inadequate contracts are also to blame, he said. Wysopal suggested that government agencies include language in their contracts that requires them to fix problems that are discovered in the future.
President Barack Obama recently proposed an increase to the government's 2016 cybersecurity budget, jacking it up $1 billion to $14 billion.
Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor the Secret Service immediately returned calls for comment.
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c50221b1fdcc1b3f86e846ae707a7a37 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/23/amazon-to-pay-e-book-authors-like-spotify-pays-artists.html | Amazon to pay e-book authors like Spotify pays artists | Amazon to pay e-book authors like Spotify pays artists
Amazon is overhauling the way it pays royalties to self-published authors on its e-book platform, by rewarding them based on the number of pages of their book that have been read.
The e-commerce giant's move applies to books published via the Kindle Direct Publishing service –which allows authors to set prices and make changes to their work at any time – and follows the pay-per-track model of music streaming services like Spotify.
Previously, self-published authors would be paid by the number of times their book was borrowed from Amazon's e-book store. Amazon's latest change to its policies applies to e-books read by people signed up to the Kindle Owners' Lending Library or Kindle Unlimited service and will come into force from July 1.
"We're making this switch in response to great feedback we received from authors who asked us to better align payout with the length of books and how much customers read," Amazon said in a statement on its website.
Amazon Kindle Voyage.Source: Amazon.com
To ensure authors get paid an appropriate amount, Amazon is using a complex calculation to work out royalty payments. Authors won't be able to cheat either by making books with huge fonts. Amazon has developed something called the "Kindle Edition Normalized Page Count" – an algorithm that standardizes elements of a book such as font size and line spacing.
The page counting begins from the first chapter rather than the contents pages.
But some authors have expressed concern over the plans.
Hari Kunzru, the author of The Impressionist said the Amazon model "feels like the thin end of a wedge".
"Now Amazon want to pay writers only for pages read. Feel like I'd be best off retraining now, before the rush," Kunzru said in a tweet.
The ability to self-publish books has changed the industry and many independent authors have embraced platforms like Amazon's. But the e-commerce giant has had a tough relationship with larger publishers.
Last year, Amazon clashed with Hachette over who had control of the pricing of the publisher's e-books on Amazon. Both companies eventually reached an agreement in November.
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b86db0f8661a0e953a117d6f0120a8a5 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/23/clock-ticks-for-greece-after-major-step-forward.html | Clock ticks for Greece after 'major' step forward | Clock ticks for Greece after 'major' step forward
Hello and welcome to another Squawk Box Live. Stay tuned for more analysis on Greece, where new budget proposals have been largely cheered by euro zone leaders.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has called the proposals a "major step" for the country as a potential default looms. Creditors have welcomed them as a basis for a possible agreement later in the week.
(App users please click here).
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9395318429adceab4fe4e922826a7dd5 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/23/euro-zone-composite-pmi-hits-541-highest-since-may-2011.html | Euro zone business growth rises to 4-year high | Euro zone business growth rises to 4-year high
VIDEO2:1202:12Euro zone June PMI: ReactionWorldwide Exchange
Business activity in the 19-member euro zone expanded at its fastest pace in four years in June, data on Tuesday showed, in the latest sign that a recovery in the region is finally gaining traction.
The flash Markit Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which tracks manufacturing and service sector activity, rose to 54.1 in June from 53.6 in May.
The reading was in line with analyst expectations in a Reuters poll and held above the 50-mark that divides expansion from contraction.
PMI data released earlier on Tuesday from Europe's two big economies – Germany and France – also painted a brighter outlook for the euro zone economy.
The French PMI data showed the country's manufacturing sector expanded in June for the first time since April 2014. Germany's composite PMI meanwhile rose to 54.0 in June from 52.6 in May.
Andrey Rudakov | Bloomberg | Getty Images
"We had a really good reading in France – it is now growing at a nice rate and there are signs that consumers are spending more," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit which compiles the PMI data.
"When you look at the second quarter as a whole, it's a much more reassuring picture because you have business activity and employment growth in everywhere outside France and Germany growing at the fastest rates since mid-2007," he added.
The French PMI data was seen as particularly encouraging since growth in France, the euro zone's number two economy, has proved disappointing in recent years. Indeed, the French manufacturing PMI was above the 50 level for the first time in a year.
Read MoreEconomic data on tap but Greece take center stage
The euro zone economy, for so long a laggard in global growth, has played catch up this year thanks to the European Central Bank's 1 trillion euro ($1.12 trillion) monetary stimulus. Lower oil prices and a weaker euro have also helped boost economic growth.
The single currency has tumbled 17 percent against the U.S. dollar over the past year and is down about 7 percent so far this year, giving exporters a competitive edge abroad.
"Overall, the euro-zone PMI points to GDP (gross domestic product) growth of about 0.4 percent on the quarter in Q2, in line with Q1's outturn," James Howat, European economist at Capital Economics, said in a note.
"But to the extent that the recovery is driven by weaker oil prices and the drop in the euro, it may weaken as these tailwinds fade in the coming quarters," he said.
VIDEO1:1801:18Tensions high in Greece
Data released on Tuesday showed China's flash June PMI rose to 49.6 in June but remained below the 50-mark, indicating that the activity in the manufacturing sector remains in contraction territory.
Concerns about Greece meanwhile may undermine the outlook for the euro zone economy in the months ahead, analysts said.
Latest developments suggest the cash-strapped country is nearing a deal with its creditors that would allow it to avoid a default and possible exit from the euro zone. But the road ahead is still long and the Greece crisis is far from resolved, analysts say.
Markit's Williamson said businesses are getting more worried about Greece.
Howat at Capital Economics added: "Given that Greece's membership of the euro remains precarious, a messy exit might yet damage the euro-zone recovery."
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9c599729f80c479de1f0eaed1f37f230 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/23/feds-powell-sees-conditions-for-rate-liftoff-as-soon-as-september.html | Fed's Powell: Up to 2 rate hikes possible this year | Fed's Powell: Up to 2 rate hikes possible this year
Jerome Powell, governor of the U.S. Federal ReserveAndrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell on Tuesday said he sees conditions for an interest rate liftoff as soon as September, and an additional increase in December.
He added that he believes the dollar and oil prices have broadly stabilized.
He estimated the economy will grow at around a 2 percent pace this year.
Powell said he's seen positive signs in the economy, including a pickup in wages and an uptick in the labor participation rate.
Powell is a voting member on the policy-setting committee.
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5a80f0d2e8d183f5abe87de42c5cf79a | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/23/the-financial-state-of-states-the-truth-may-scare-you.html | The financial state of states: The truth may scare you | The financial state of states: The truth may scare you
VIDEO2:0002:00Top States: Ranking methodology
VIDEO2:4002:40Countdown to Top States for BusinessSquawk Box
VIDEO1:5701:57Top states for subsidies
State finances across the U.S. have been described as stable but slow growing. Six years into the post-recession economic recovery, that statement may be accurate, but the full truth may be more troubling.
A handful of states are caught in a real pension fix. A few statehouse budget battles in recent months have been notable for their heightened drama—Kansas, where huge tax cuts backfired on Gov. Sam Brownback; and Louisiana, where a member of Gov. Bobby Jindal's own party referred to his budget plan as "money laundering."
But it's not the extremes that have state budget experts concerned. More states have been unable to complete budgets so far this year than is typical, and the situation points to long-term spending problems—from K–12 education to Medicaid and infrastructure—that will persist.
Read MoreKansas budget woes could hit small businesses hard
"The picture is more gloomy than stable, and state fiscal conditions might be better described as stagnant," said Lucy Dadayan, senior policy analyst at the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government.
The Ohio Statehouse, in ColumbusDenis Jr. Tangney | E+ | Getty Images
"I am a glasses-half-full kind of guy," said Scott Pattison, the executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) and a former Virginia budget officer. "But on the downside ... a lot of states need to think more seriously about building reserves. We don't know when the next downturn will be."
Overall, state reserve funds are at 7 percent of spending, but Pattison noted that if Texas' outsize reserve is excluded, then the average comes to 5 percent, and there are 15 states with less than 5 percent in reserve funds for fiscal 2016. That's a figure that has declined for four consecutive years, from 10.4 percent of spending in 2012 to 7.1 percent projected by NASBO in fiscal 2016.
The number of states with 5 percent or less in reserve has reached 19—the highest level in the past three years—while the number of states with 10 percent or more in reserve funds has decreased from 18 states in 2014 to 13 states in the next fiscal year. Year-end balances for states as a percentage of spending are at their lowest level since the recession.
Read MoreChristie's pension cuts ruling reversed
In late April, Standard & Poor's released a report noting that six years into an economic expansion, more than 30 states face a budget shortfall in fiscal 2015 or 2016 (or both). S&P said there's no immediate threat to credit quality, but "the fact that so many states confront shortfalls at all serves as an early warning of sorts."
The U.S. Government Accountability Office estimates that states will need to take action today and maintain that action for 50 consecutive years to close their fiscal gap. The GAO projects that the peak in state tax receipts—2007—will not occur again until 2058.
The GAO estimates that during the 50-year period, states would have to reduce state and local government spending by 18 percent or increase tax revenue by a similar amount—or some combination of the two—to close the fiscal gap.
A lot of states need to think more seriously about building reserves. We don't know when the next downturn will be.Scott Pattisonexecutive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers
States are spending less, and some numbers stand out for sheer size of restraint being shown, said Donald Boyd, senior fellow at the Rockefeller Institute, author of a forthcoming report that looks at the weakness of state finances today versus previous post-recession periods.
Social benefit (Medicaid), consumption (public employees) and investment spending by the states has experienced a sea change, falling 18 percent since the start of the recession, with net investment down by more than 55 percent, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
U.S. Census Bureau data shows that spending by state and local government on construction fell by $50 billion at annual rates (16.4 percent) between the fourth quarters of 2007 and 2014.
Some stats Boyd described as stunning—for public school construction, spending is down 45 percent since 2007. And between 2008 and 2013, Medicaid spending increased more than all other spending by the states combined.
Equally alarming data comes from the revenue side of the state fiscal equation.
Employment is only 2.4 percent above its prior peak, compared to 3.3 percent at this point after the 2001 recession and more than 12 percent for each of the three prior recessions. Consumption is only 10.8 percent above its prior peak, compared to more than 20 percent for each of four previous recessions, according to data culled from public sources in the Rockefeller Institute report.
Read MoreA cultural war that could be a jobs killer
These trends weaken tax coffers. State government tax revenue is only 5 percent above its pre-recession level. In four preceding recoveries, inflation-adjusted state tax revenue by this point had grown several times as much, ranging from 15 to 25 percent above pre-recession revenue.
While states seem incapable of the major structural reform to tax codes, they are raising taxes on cigarettes, legalizing marijuana, adding gaming and increasing taxes on gasoline. At least seven states are expected to have marijuana legalization initiatives on their 2016 ballots.
These marginal taxes, or so-called sin taxes, are telling.
"The sin taxes are more politically palatable," said Laura Porter, managing director at Fitch Ratings.
Read MoreGE mulls moving HQ after Connecticut tax changes
"A lot of these things do bring in more revenue, whether it's cigarettes or legalizing marijuana or another casino, but it does not solve the budget problem," Pattison said. "I can kind of understand, as states are trying to compromise on the budget, you throw something in like that," the NASBO executive director said.
"Marginal taxes won't bail out the states," said Bob Williams, president of right-leaning audit watchdog group State Budget Solutions. "People will go to the reservation or neighboring state to get their cigarettes," he said.
Pattison said more "incremental tweaking here and there over time" will take place "to adjust the tax code to the 21st century," but for many states major reform is going to be an enormous controversy.
Pension underpayments are a daunting issue in states such as Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Falling oil prices are a threat to the finances of oil-producing states such as Alaska, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming.
States that have high reliance on personal income taxes, particularly reliance on taxes on non-wage income (stock gains), are also facing fiscal challenges. For example, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York all have high reliance on income from capital gains.
Read MoreAmerica's workers matter again
Fitch believes most states can manage a normal downturn, but Porter said, "In terms of challenges states face, the stock market is the thing that would be most problematic for them on the revenue side."
A stock market downturn may also exacerbate pension issues across states. "Roughly two-thirds of assets in pension funds are invested in the stock market," Boyd said. "The mistake is thinking and hoping pension problems can be solved by the stock market rather than governments needing to be putting more in."
Marginal taxes won't bail out the states. People will go to the reservation, or neighboring state, to get their cigarettes.Bob Williamspresident of State Budget Solutions
Long-term economic growth is likely to return, and that is reason for optimism about state finances. Rating agencies see no immediate risk to states making bond payments, either.
"This recovery has been longer and slower than prior recoveries, and states have had to grapple with slower revenue growth than they've typically seen," said Nicholas Samuels, vice president and senior credit officer at Moody's Investor Service. But Moody's, which maintains a stable outlook on the states, believes most states are doing a good job of balancing budgets and putting some revenue aside to build up reserves depleted during the downturn. He said some states are struggling with competing priorities, while others are engaged in broader policy debates.
"When I was budget director in Virginia in the late '90s and the money was coming in, politicians could solve most ideological issues," Pattison said. "People who wanted spending could get it, and people who wanted tax cuts could get them," he explained.
Others warn that the outliers among states highlight the risk of poor policy decisions at a time when policy decisions are both more important and getting more difficult to make.
"When first coming out of the recession, there can be broad agreement on policy choices, but now there's more debate," Porter said. "When the choices put you in a bad place going forward, that becomes a credit issue," Porter said. "New Jersey is a good example. If you choose to underfund your pension severely, it will have a negative effect." (New Jersey is one of only four states that receives a negative outlook from Fitch.)
Boyd said the states face a lot of challenges in the next several years and are not well equipped to deal with them, or at squirreling money away.
"We're not on a precipice where all of a sudden we will fall off a cliff more," Boyd said. "It's more pressure next year than this year, and more the year after that," Boyd said.
"States have difficulty negotiating budgets when the conditions are hardest. It's not a hard rule but a good general rule. Nobody wants to raise taxes, so this is an environment ripe for budget gimmicks pushing costs off to the future. I don't know what they will do in the future."
In the meantime, if you want to help your state, smoke while you drive a fuel-inefficient car—to a casino or marijuana dispensary.
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7e36c8318c80c7bb4e9e6e1e5b8634a6 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/23/this-countrys-companies-are-building-your-roads.html | This country's companies are building your roads | This country's companies are building your roads
The past seven years have seen Spain experience huge hardship, with crippling austerity, huge job losses, and home repossessions all taking their toll as the country became one of the biggest casualties of the euro zone's economic crisis.
And while the Spanish economy seems to be in the first stages of recovery, with the European Commission predicting GDP growth of 2.8 percent this year, and 2.6 percent next year in its European economic forecast for 2015, the country's unemployment rate is lagging the economy, at nearly one in four, according to Eurostat.
Read MoreThe big question bugging Europe
One Spanish sector, however, is thriving. Some of the world's largest and most ambitious infrastructure projects are either being overseen or being carried out by Spanish companies -- from the high-speed rail link between Mecca and Medina to Manhattan's East Side Access tunnel and the widening of the Panama Canal.
Stacey Newman | E+ | Getty Images
The reason that this particular part of the Spanish economy has prospered while the rest of Spain has struggled to bounce back from a massive housing market crash and recession can be found nearly 50 years ago.
"The origins of this actually quite extraordinary success can be dated back to the late 60s and 70s, when Spain began to build toll roads," William Chislett, Associate Analyst at the Elcano Royal Institute, a Madrid based think tank focusing on international relations, told CNBC in a phone interview.
Read MoreThis country is trying to go cash-free
Chislett added that while other countries used state-owned companies to build their toll roads, many of the companies that worked on Spanish infrastructure – much of which was built to accommodate a burgeoning tourism industry – were private.
When the oil crisis struck in the 1970s, the Spanish government offered to buy back shares in the toll roads. "The companies decided to hang on to them because the concessions… were long term, which tends to be the case on toll roads," Chislett said. "The economy got back on an even keel and the roads became profitable," he added.
The expertise gained by these Spanish companies served them well as European countries established closer ties both politically and economically.
"After Spain joined the European Community – now European Union – in 1986, (and then) the euro zone in 1999 as one of the founder members, many companies, not just infrastructure ones… wanted to expand abroad," Chislett said.
"They could see opportunities, and also they were on the defensive because Spain was now up for grabs – people could move, companies were able to invest much more easily in Spain," he added.
Today, these companies are winning contracts across the globe. According to a 2014 report by Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Co-operation, Spanish companies had, "a portfolio of international projects that tops €74 billion ($83.6 billion)."
Read MoreWhy big business and colleges are teaming up
The breadth and reach of Spanish companies in projects around the globe is considerable. Ferrovial, for instance, is working on the Crossrail project in London, and an upgrade of almost 20 kilometers of the Pacific Highway in Australia. OHL Group, via Czech subsidiary OHL ŽS, is undertaking the €1.5 billion Ural Project, which will see a 390km rail line built between Obskaja and Nadym in Russia.
Chislett said that companies who might ordinarily have suffered and collapsed as a result of Spain's recent economic woes were protected, in part, because of their continued success abroad.
"Those companies… haven't had to lay off people, haven't folded," he said, before adding that, "Lots of small construction sectors in Spain have collapsed, but the big boys, ACS, Abertis, Sacyr, OHL… they've gone from strength to strength."
Does the success of these companies abroad have any impact on the Spanish economy at home, though?
"It hasn't created that many jobs in Spain, (but) obviously it has created some, because Spaniards are often contracted and sent to abroad to work on these projects," Chislett said.
What the success of these companies has given Spain is prestige and a sense of pride during one of the country's toughest periods in recent memory.
"It's part of the Spain brand," Chislett said. "It's a country now that can say, 'we're not just a country that produces oranges, and bullfights," he added.
The contracts look set to keep coming. At the beginning of June, Madrid based ACS Group announced that it was part of a consortium awarded the contract for the construction of Toronto's Eglinton Crosstown light metro line.
"As long as the projects are out there they will go on bidding for them," Chislett said. "What share of the business they get, who knows, (it) depends on what conditions they present, but… it's certainly not a sector that looks like dying tomorrow."
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2afee704440074768809aead34934929 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/23/tom-lee-ignore-greece-this-is-what-really-matters.html | Tom Lee: Ignore Greece—THIS is what really matters | Tom Lee: Ignore Greece—THIS is what really matters
VIDEO0:4400:44Greece bit of a 'sideshow': Thomas LeeSquawk Box
The Greek debt drama is a "sideshow" for U.S. investors, who should be encouraged by signs of a stronger American economy, longtime stock market bull Thomas Lee said Tuesday.
"Greece isn't the systemic risk that it was three years ago," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box."
"Focus on U.S. fundamentals, which have been really good."
Read MoreBuy the Greece news?Not so fast:Strategist
Wall Street started the week with a rally, which marked the fourth gain in five sessions, and left the Nasdaq composite and small-cap Russell 2000 index at new highs. Based on Monday's close, the was just 0.6 percent from its record high, while the Dow Jones industrial average was 1.3 percent away.
"I know people are fearful about rising rates and Fed tightening and what it means. But at the end of the day, we're actually seeing reflation—the good kind of rising prices in the U.S. I think it's bullish for capital spending and bullish for housing," Lee said.
Those trends are going to lead to an upside earnings surprise later this year, he predicted. "I think this is going to look more like the early 1950s … [when] Fed tightening was really bullish for equities."
Another factor that should boost U.S. stocks, according to Lee, is a catch-up rally. He said the market here is due, after under-performing stocks in European and Japan.
He advised playing old tech, financials and housing-related stocks.
Read More Housing is on the 'verge of a breakout': Technician
Lee launched his own boutique equity research firm, Fundstrat Global Advisors, after leaving JPMorgan as chief equity strategist last year.
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38ee2d5481708a8c8adec95874e3e09d | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/23/your-partner-might-be-hiding-debt-from-you.html | Your partner might be hiding debt from you | Your partner might be hiding debt from you
When it comes to financial secrets, your business partner might not be the one you should worry about. Nearly half of Americans would rethink their relationship if they found out their romantic partner was holding out on them when it comes to secret debt, according to a new report from insurance site Haven Life, first obtained by CNBC.
At a time when more Americans than ever are carrying debt throughout their lives, nearly 1 in 5 are hiding parts of their finances from their partner, according to the report. And they're not so forgiving when it comes to their partner having secret debt.
For those who would ever treat financial secrets as a reason to rethink a relationship, a whopping 70 percent set the threshold at $5,000, less than the average household credit card debt of $7,307.
Even with that level of debt, the report suggests that Americans are bashful about talking personal finances. Half of all survey respondents think folks should wait until after they're engaged to discuss financial matters with a partner, or that it should never be discussed.
"While Americans are increasingly being seen as casual when it comes to dating—they certainly aren't casual when it comes to talking about money with a significant other," Haven Life co-founder and CEO Yaron Ben-Zvi said in a statement.
Interestingly, a person's income is hardly a factor in holding secret debt. Twelve percent of respondents who earned less that $40,000 said they had debt their partner didn't know about, while 10 percent of those making more than $80,000 said the same. Hispanics are twice as likely as blacks and six times as likely as whites to carry secret debt, the report said.
Read More7.2 million Americans hiding money from spouses
Ladies, ask your man about his secret accounts: Men who admit to having secret finances have far more than women. More than a quarter of these guys have a secret credit card and nearly 20 percent have investments stashed away from their partners' prying eyes. For women, personal purchases are the biggest category of secret finances, with 34 percent admitting to them.
The survey was conducted for Haven Life by market research firm YouGov with a nationally representative sample of 1,124 adults in the first quarter of 2015. The survey was carried out online. The results were weighted and are representative of U.S. adults aged 18 and older.
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926189fba0c47c5e4483d49555615751 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/24/00-advantages-minnesota-is-2015s-top-state.html | Minnesota is 2015's Top State for Business | Minnesota is 2015's Top State for Business
VIDEO7:4407:44Top States #1: The North Star State, MinnesotaClosing Bell
Leave it to the North Star State to chart a new course to competitiveness.
Minnesota is America's Top State for Business in 2015, reaching the pinnacle of success by way of a much different route than our eight previous winners.
Minnesota scores 1,584 out of a possible 2,500 points, ranking in the top half for all but two of our 10 categories of competitiveness. But what may be most instructive are the categories where Minnesota does not do well. Both involve cost. Indeed, the birthplace of Spam, Scotch Tape and the supercomputer marks a new first this year. Never since we began rating the states in 2007 has a high-tax, high-wage, union-friendly state made it to the top of our rankings. But Minnesota does so well in so many other areas—like education and quality of life—that its cost disadvantages fade away.
St. Paul, MinnesotaCulbertson | Getty Images
As always, we scored all 50 states in more than 60 metrics in 10 broad categories of competitiveness. You can read more about our methodology here.
This year's categories and point values are:
Workforce (400 points)Cost of Doing Business (350 points)Infrastructure (350 points)Economy (340 points)Quality of Life (325 points)Technology & Innovation (250 points)Education (200 points)Business Friendliness (160 points)Cost of Living (75 points)Access to Capital (50 points)
To some degree, Minnesota benefits from a trend that we have sought to reflect in our study this year. Rather than just seeking the lowest taxes or the highest incentives, companies are increasingly chasing the largest supply of skilled, qualified workers. So states are touting their workforces like never before, giving the Workforce category—where Minnesota finishes a respectable 13th—greater weight in our study.
Read MoreGuess who's spending billions for jobs
But Minnesota doesn't just stumble into the top spot by accident. The state's path to the top is marked by a carefully crafted and still controversial strategy by Gov. Mark Dayton, the first Democrat to hold the office in two decades. The hallmark of his plan is something most governors seeking to win the hearts of business would never dream of: a big tax increase.
Democratic Gov. Mark DaytonJim Mone | AP
Dayton began calling for higher taxes almost as soon as he took office at the start of 2011, with the state facing a $6.2 billion budget gap. But his first attempt resulted in a standoff and a devastating three-week government shutdown. By 2013 he managed to push through a whopping $2.1 billion tax increase, primarily targeting smokers and wealthy people (one of whom is Dayton himself, an heir to the Target retail fortune). Last year Dayton did approve a $508 million middle-class tax cut. But the rate for top earners remains among the highest in the nation, at 9.85 percent.
This year, with a state budget surplus of nearly $2 billion, one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation and apparently no exodus of millionaires, Dayton has been taking a victory lap of sorts. In his State of the State address in April, he said the improvement in state finances had laid the groundwork for solid economic growth.
Read MoreSupreme Court could blow up Obamacare for millions
"More Minnesota businesses are expanding, so more Minnesotans are working. They are earning more money, which means they are paying more taxes," Dayton said.
But he insisted the new tax structure is only a means to an end.
"It is Minnesota's economic successes, not tax increases, that have produced our present budget surplus," he said.
Dayton has championed tax breaks and subsidies for businesses, including a tax increment financing district set up in 2013 to help 3M build a $150 million research facility, as well as $250 million in state aid over the next 20 years to help the Mall of America build new roads and parking facilities. Even so, Dayton has won few friends in the business community—especially when he proposed earlier this year to spend much of the budget surplus on education. Republicans and business leaders warned the strategy would ultimately backfire.
"Back-to-back billion-dollar surpluses show that the level of taxes on individuals and business owners is too high," the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce said at the start of this year's legislative session. "The best way to grow and expand the state's economy is to reduce uncompetitive business taxes."
Republicans sought to undo the tax increases this year, while Dayton proposed increasing the gasoline tax. The two sides fought to a stalemate in a rancorous legislative session in June that ran into overtime, meaning Dayton's original tax hikes stand for now. But Republicans won a promise to revisit tax relief next year.
Meanwhile, the legislature approved an additional $500 million in education spending demanded by Dayton, aimed at bolstering an area where Minnesota is already strong.
Read MoreWhy your state may raise your taxes
In our study, Minnesota finishes in second place for Education, thanks in large part to some of the best-performing K–12 students in the nation. Minnesota has led the nation in average composite ACT scores nine years in a row, and 4th and 8th grade math and reading scores are among the best in the nation as well.
In Quality of Life, Minnesota finishes third. Crime is low—just 234 violent crimes per 100,000 inhabitants in 2013, the most recent full-year figures available. The air is clean, and in the home of the Mayo Clinic, people are healthy.
We have never considered weather when measuring quality of life—it's just too subjective. But anyone who has lived through a harsh Minnesota winter knows that Minnesotans don't just adapt to the cold, they embrace it—and are then rewarded with glorious springs and summers.
Other top 10 finishes for the state include fifth place in Economy, sixth place in Technology & Innovation and ninth place for Infrastructure. Those strengths are enough to outweigh Minnesota's 35th-place finish for Cost of Doing Business and 32nd for Cost of Living.
If Minnesota raises any doubts about the more traditional path to success—including low corporate taxes, friendly regulations and antipathy toward unions—Texas puts those doubts to rest. The Lone Star State finishes second this year for the third year in a row, this year by one of the slimmest margins in Top States history. Texas misses the top spot by just 4 points.
As in previous years, including the three times Texas took the top spot overall—2008, 2010 and 2012—the state brings a powerful arsenal to the competition. It includes the nation's best infrastructure and the second-best economy. Texas has withstood a sharp drop in oil prices without missing a beat, at least for now.
But Texas falls short in our Education category at 28th, and Quality of Life at 33rd. Not only is crime on the high side and air quality relatively low, the state continues to lead the nation in the percentage of residents without health insurance. And Texas lacks some of the legal protections against discrimination that businesses are increasingly demanding.
VIDEO1:5001:50Top state #5: GeorgiaSquawk Box
Rounding out the top five are some familiar players in our annual rankings.
Utah, a top 10 state every year of our study, repeats last year's third-place finish. With the nation's best year-over-year job growth on a percentage basis, Utah takes top honors in our Economy category. The state also logs another strong finish in Business Friendliness, at No. 5.
Perennial contender Colorado returns to the top five for the first time since 2011, with top 10 finishes in Economy, Quality of Life, Technology & Innovation and Access to Capital. A concerted push for high-tech and "green" jobs has helped create a dynamic economy with a strong level of new-business formation.
In fifth place is Georgia, which was America's Top State for Business last year. Georgia has the second-best economy—while GDP growth is moderate at 2.3 percent last year, job growth remains among the most robust in the nation. And Georgia finished a solid third in our all-important Workforce category this year. But the state slips a bit in Cost of Doing Business and Quality of Life, creating just enough headwinds to prevent a repeat performance at No. 1.
This year's most improved states are 24th-place New Mexico and 33rd-place Connecticut, each climbing 13 places from a year ago.
Connecticut owes most of its improvement to its workforce and the additional weight we have given to that category this year. Connecticut's workers are the third most productive in the nation based on economic output per job, cranking out nearly $149,000 per worker in 2013, according to U.S. government figures. That helps the state vault to fourth place in our most important category, compared to 32nd last year. Job growth picked up in the last year, and the economy has improved, propelling Connecticut to a 26th-place tie in Economy (with Delaware) in the category, compared to 49th place last year.
Read MoreKansas budget woes could hit small businesses hard
But things are far from perfect in the state, which remains the fourth most expensive state in which to do business.
New Mexico makes its move, thanks to an improving job market. The state has gone from worst in the nation for job growth all the way to 22nd. That helps New Mexico move into a 24th-place tie (with Kansas) in Economy. It is not the best of finishes, but a whole lot better than 43rd place a year ago.
New Mexico's improvement is built on shifting sands, however. The state economy relies heavily on oil and natural gas production, and some of the growth figures capture activity from earlier last year, before energy prices collapsed.
New Mexico can take a lesson about the fleeting nature of Top States success from Nevada, which was our most improved state in 2014, thanks to explosive job growth.
Employment is still growing in the state, but others are catching up. Meantime, Nevada's housing market has slowed considerably. Largely as a result, Nevada makes a dizzying drop to 45th place in our overall rankings, from 29th place a year ago.
Other big declines include Kansas, which falls nine spots into that 24th-place tie with New Mexico. What Gov. Sam Brownback had billed as a bold experiment in conservative economics—including big cuts in business taxes—has gone horribly awry, plunging the state into a full-blown budget crisis that required a big sales-tax increase to resolve. Proponents of the business tax cuts say the new policies need more time to work, but that doesn't help Kansas in this year's rankings.
Read MoreState winners and losers in the battle for business
The biggest drop this year is Arizona, which plunges 21 spots to 34th place. The biggest factor is Arizona's economy, which declines to 36th place from 15th a year ago. While the state is still adding jobs, overall economic growth has slowed considerably to 1.4 percent last year, or roughly half the rate two years ago. That has exacerbated a $1 billion budget shortfall that necessitated painful cuts earlier this year. Two counties have gone to the Arizona Supreme Court to block some of the cuts. Whatever the outcome, the uncertainty is no help to the state economy—or to businesses.
If there are top states, there must be bottom states.
This year's 46th-ranked state is Louisiana, which has been aggressively courting businesses to locate there, with some success. But state finances are a mess, with legislators struggling to close a $1.6 billion budget gap. The falling price of oil has not helped matters.
That is an even bigger issue for 47th-place Alaska, which relies on oil for 90 percent of state revenue. The state ranks near the bottom for Economy. Add in Alaska's perennially high costs, and these are dark times in the Land of the Midnight Sun.
Rhode Island's 48th-place finish ties for the best the state has ever done in our study, so at least there is that. While Rhode Island's small size clearly works against it in several of our metrics, it should make it easier for the state to maintain its infrastructure. Instead, Rhode Island ranks at the bottom of that category, with nearly a quarter of its bridges structurally deficient, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The 49th-place state, West Virginia, does offer some of the lowest business costs in the country. But a major reason for that is that the state has such a thicket of regulations that many businesses don't want to be there.
Quality of Life ranks high in Minnesota, where residents embrace the winter cold.Per Breiehagen | Getty Images
America's bottom state for business is in familiar territory: the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Face it: Hawaii will likely never make it into the upper echelons of the states. It just has so much working against it—not least of which is the fact that we award points in our Infrastructure category for railroads, and Hawaii doesn't have any.
But in addition to its many built-in disadvantages, Hawaii also loses points in areas it can control. In Infrastructure, the state has the worst roads in the nation, and its bridges are among the most decrepit, with more than 40 percent rated deficient or worse by the Department of Transportation.
Hawaii has the second-highest personal income tax rate in the nation, at 11 percent, and its tax code includes a mind-boggling 13 brackets, according to the Tax Foundation. It is the most expensive state for business, with the highest cost of living.
Read MoreWorst state for business in 2015: Paradise lost
And in our all-important Workforce category, Hawaii ranks 46th. It is a heavily unionized state whose worker training programs have shown disappointing results.
But Hawaii does have one thing going for it that no other state can match. Yet again this year, the state ranks a solid No. 1—by a wide margin—for Quality of Life.
How does your state stack up? Check out our complete rankings here. In addition to our exhaustive Top States study, we've included more information than ever this year on state competitiveness, the best and worst states to live in, the battle for the best workforce and lots more.
As always, we want to know what you think. Be sure to comment here, or on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #TopStates.
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6c30b808fb08939c392f397b388cf767 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/24/big-step-toward-solar-power-for-small-electronic-devices.html | Big step toward solar power for small electronic devices | Big step toward solar power for small electronic devices
Engineers have debuted a circuit they say can power wearables, sensors and other electronic devices with a steady and renewable power source from solar energy that could fuel the growth of the "Internet of Things."
New ultralow-power circuit improves efficiency of energy harvesting to more than 80 percent.Source: M.I.T.
Two MIT engineers who developed the chip say it does a far better job of converting the energy captured by solar cells into usable electricity than current technology does, and the invention lends itself well to creating self-powering electronic sensors that can be used in a wide range of applications. (Tweet This)
They introduced the device last week at the Symposia on VLSI Technology and Circuits in Kyoto, Japan.
Read MoreLexus unveils real-life hoverboard
Sensors are a crucial ingredient to the "Internet of Things," the notion that devices, or even organisms, can be linked to networks, through which they can deliver important information, such as performance levels, maintenance issues or research. For example, scientists have proposed embedding sensors in human skin that can measure everything from blood pressure to vitamin levels. Sensors are also used commonly in electronic devices (even cars and planes), or even in research applications such as measuring air quality.
But such devices require a power source, and carrying around batteries or removing sensors to charge them is often not feasible. Devices need batteries that either last a very long time or possess the ability to recharge themselves. Renewable energy sources such as solar power could, in theory, provide that kind of power.
But solar power has an efficiency problem: Circuits today can convert only about half of the energy that solar cells collect into usable electricity. For that reason, solar energy isn't often practical for smaller devices that have little space to spare for solar cells, or devices that have to operate in low light environments.
VIDEO0:3600:36SolarCity brings solar gardens in MinnesotaRenewable Energy
The small circuit developed by Dina Reda El-Damak and Anantha Chandrakasan at MIT is an ultralow-power circuit that converts roughly 80 percent of that energy directly into electricity. The new MIT circuit can both power devices and charge a battery connected to devices, another capability that has eluded such circuits so far.
Read MoreA threat to the US oil boom no one's talking about
"There is fixed overhead in terms of converting solar energy to power electronics," Chandrakasan told CNBC. "So the innovation in this chip is all about how you make that energy conversion extremely efficient."
"This enables a new class of 'Internet of Things' devices, because this new generation will have to conserve a very small amount of power," Chandrakasan said.
El-Damak was funded by a Texas Instruments Fellowship for Women in Microelectronics, and the chip was fabricated by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing.
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d118ce6ce751d82905f1192e88441bd5 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/24/emojis-the-death-of-the-written-language.html | Emojis: The death of the written language? | Emojis: The death of the written language?
You know you've done it. Someone sends you an encouraging note and you don't have time to respond with a lengthy answer…so what do you do? You pick an emoji that vaguely matches your response.
Or what about when you receive a flirty text? You're not sure about how you feel, so what do you do? You use an emoji.
But could these pictorial short-cuts be signalling something way more sinister – like the death of the written word?
Dimitri Otis | Getty Images
Emojis – a Japanese term which translates to "picture and character" – first surfaced in 1998. But it wasn't until major smartphone players like Apple integrated emojis into their operating system, that their use took off.
The emergence of new picture icons -- like a smiley brown poop or the broken heart -- over the past couple of years have added personality to our text message conversations.
"Emoji(s) get picked up because they are so useful for enriching text with the kinds of things we might use our intonation or facial expressions to convey," said Tyler Schnoebelen, executive at language data company Idibon, who has a PhD in linguistics from Stanford.
Companies have also been participating in this new trend. Chevrolet recently issued a press release in emojis, challenging individuals to decode its announcement, while a version of William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" has been retold using "textspeak" like LOL and, of course, the ubiquitous emoji.
Read More37 new emojis have been revealed to the world
Tech enthusiast and CEO of Hotel Tonight, Sam Shank, says: "Emojis got popular because as people on mobiles write shorter and shorter messages to each other, it is hard to convey exact meaning.
"For example, does saying that something is 'interesting' mean that it is 'very cool' or 'really lame' or 'I'm horrified'?" This is actually much easier to convey using emojis, he added.
VIDEO1:3001:30Brands Eye Emojis for DollarsSocial Media
A very informal and unscientific survey I conducted on the streets of London revealed a wide range of responses about the use of emojis.
"I can't remember one text message conversation I've had over the past 10 days that did not include an emoji," said a teenager who goes to school in Notting Hill.
"Once you use one emoji, you just want more and more," said an Imperial college student in London.
And it's this appetite for more emojis that has resulted in the birth of new mobile apps that offer users millions of symbols to choose from - ranging from smiley puppy dogs to 3-D fish.
"It's long been the case in Asia, where emojis have run rampant on chat platforms Kakao, Line and Wechat. In fact, buying new emoji stickers has become a new multibillion-dollar industry," said U.S. entrepreneur and Founding General Partner of Eniac Ventures, Nihal Mehta.
Over the past couple of years we've seen new apps like Emoji Free, Emoji ++, SMS Rage Faces, and KeyMoji come to market. There is even "emoticon art" that allows you to customize and create your own cartoon images.
While emojis were first used in addition to a written text…you're finding that a larger group of tech-savvy millennials are replacing words with cartoon symbols to convey a message.
This should be ringing alarm bells. My worry is not society's use of emojis to add a little fun and pizazz to a conversation, but the increasing reliance on the different smileys or hand gestures to communicate a feeling or expression.
Source: Apple
Why do we look up to William Shakespeare or Charles Dickens? Because they beautifully captured moments of life in the written language that even to this day is held in high regard - and applicable to society in the year 2015.
What has our digital revolution created that will be celebrated by our grand kids and their kids? Smiley brown poop?
But what our generation leaves behind is the least of our worries.
Read MoreEmojis could replace your bank PIN
The growing use of these icons could potentially lead to further miscommunication. Ben Zimmer, executive editor of Vocabulary.com, says it's the emoji's ambiguous meaning that could lead to confusion because users can look at an emoji and take different things from it.
Here's one example Zimmer provided: the emoji that illustrates two folded hands. According to Zimmer, this emoji started in Japan where the symbol represented salutation or gratitude. Other cultures interpret this emoji to symbolize prayer, while millennials often see this symbol belonging to two different people giving each other a high five.
VIDEO2:5602:56Domino's: Tweeting emojis for pizzaClosing Bell
Another potential issue is that the tone of someone's voice can be lost when a text message is used to converse, resulting in the recipient not always grabbing the full meaning.
"The person you're sending them to may not know the meaning of an emoji - or misinterpret it," said Hotel Tonight's Shank.
You don't need to be a psychologist to understand what happens next. New relationships - solely predicated on the use of text in the early days - can lead to lost love if you fail to recognize what your potential partner is trying to say.
Read MoreGIFs are shaking up texting as we know it
The other obvious disadvantage is learning how to decode emojis, especially when they are stacked one after another, and get more complicated as they grow, added Eniac Ventures' Mehta.
But this is increasingly difficult as the toolbox of emojis increases and the use of these symbols changes depending on the context and culture.
Language and communication classes are incorporated into a school's curriculum to teach students how to use words to tell a story and communicate effectively. If these classes need to incorporate the language and symbols used in the mobile/digital world, aren't we just regressing back to the age of hieroglyphs?
As Shakespeare once said: "A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool."
If only William was here to comment on emojis.
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3003f6dac015b7d4674f2063761bbbd4 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/24/senate-passes-trade-fast-track-handing-obama-a-major-victory.html | Senate passes trade 'fast track,' handing Obama a major victory | Senate passes trade 'fast track,' handing Obama a major victory
VIDEO0:4800:48Fast track trade bill, enough votes to passClosing Bell
The Senate voted Wednesday to give President Barack Obama "fast track" authority to negotiate trade deals—one of the final steps in a long political battle that pitted the White House against House Democrats.
The bill—which passed 60-38 in the Senate—will be sent to the president's desk later this afternoon, but it was not immediately clear when he would sign it.
Unions and most congressional Democrats say free-trade deals cost U.S. jobs and reward countries that pollute and mistreat workers. Obama and most Republican leaders say U.S. products must reach broader markets.
President Barack Obama.Getty Images
After killing one version of fast track (also known as Trade Promotion Authority, or TPA), the House eventually voted last week to pass the measure.
The Senate plans to vote on three other trade-related bills. One would extend a job retraining program for workers displaced by international trade. That program requires House approval, too.
Read MorePacific trade: Why DC is fighting about 'fast-track'
On Tuesday, Senators voted 60-37 to streamline the debate process—a key victory for the Obama-backed measure.
Senate passage Wednesday of fast-track authority boosts Obama's hopes for a 12-nation Pacific-rim trade agreement. Members include Japan, Malaysia, Mexico and Canada.
VIDEO0:3800:38Senate passes 'fast track' negotiations
In addition to the traditional arguments for trade deals, administration officials and many Republicans contend that the so-called Trans-Pacific Partnership would help underscore the U.S. pivot toward Asia—and establish Washington's system in a part of the world increasingly influenced by Chinese interests.
Read MoreSenators rake in big money from pro-trade donors
TPA means that the White House can present its finalized trade deals to Congress, and the legislature is only given the option of voting for or against the agreement—not amending the terms.
Most trade experts interviewed by CNBC say that would-be trade partners are unwilling to sign onto an agreement if the president isn't given fast track status: They fear that Congress would otherwise disassemble any hard-fought terms. Administration officials, however, have said they would not be wholly stymied if TPA fails.
The TPP, potentially a legacy-defining achievement for Obama, would be the biggest free trade agreement in a generation. It would cover 40 percent of the world economy and raise annual global economic output by nearly $300 billion.
Negotiators say a deal on the TPP, which would open new markets for U.S. exporters such as Caterpillar and Microsoft, could be wrapped up within weeks once countries are sure U.S. lawmakers will not pick the deal apart afterward.
—Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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fad1710c5000ba04e4b056216d2fe28a | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/24/us-crude-falls-towards-60-product-inventory-drags.html | US oil settles down 57 cents, or 0.95%, at $59.70 a barrel | US oil settles down 57 cents, or 0.95%, at $59.70 a barrel
Andrew Cullen | Reuters
Crude oil slipped for a second straight day on Thursday, weighed by weaker U.S. refined fuels markets and potential negative impact from Greece's debt crisis on European energy demand.
U.S. crude for delivery in August closed down 57 cents, or 0.95, at $59.70 a barrel. It closed down more than 1 percent on Wednesday. Brent for August delivery was down 30 cents at $63 a barrel, after ending the previous day down 96 cents, or 1.5 percent.
Worries of a possible glut emerging in U.S. gasoline and diesel supply after large builds in both last week added to concerns that millions of barrels of Nigerian crude were floating around the Atlantic Basin looking for buyers.
Read More Is North Dakota's economy really oil-rigged?
Volumes were relatively light, with Brent's front-month registering under 180,000 barrels and U.S. crude below 165,000.
"I'm really looking for a breakout of the recent trading ranges to take new positions," said Tariq Zahir, an oil bear at Tyche Capital Advisors, an energy-focused fund in Laurel Hollow, New York.
VIDEO0:5800:58US crude inventories fall by 4.9M barrels
Brent has been trapped in a $62 to $65 range over the past two weeks while U.S. crude has stayed within $59 to $61.
Gasoline and ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) futures were down about 1 percent.
Refined products have dictated much of the recent trend in crude prices as focus has turned towards the demand for motoring fuels during the U.S. summer driving season.
Read MoreCalculus on oil price changing as Iran talks wobble
On Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said gasoline stockpiles rose 680,000 barrels, more than twice the amount forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll.
Inventories of distillates, which include diesel and heating oil, jumped 1.8 million barrels, more than an expected build of 1 million.
"We may have overproduced products in recent weeks," said Scott Shelton, an ICAP oils broker in Durham, North Carolina. "Stock trends in ULSD are getting pretty negative."
In Athens, to-the-wire talks between Greece and its international creditors failed to yield an agreement so far, raising concerns about the impact of a potential debt default by the country on larger Europe and the region's oil demand.
"All eyes are on Greece," said PVM oil analyst Tamas Varga, adding that for oil, "the risk at the moment is on the downside."
Read More
Traders and investors were also eyeing progress toward a June 30 deadline for an Iran nuclear accord that would be key to lifting Western sanctions on Tehran's oil exports.
"The prospect of another 1 million barrels per day increase in supply from Iran ... could easily drag prices below $60 again," London-based Capital Economics said in a report.
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10250546196692922626a9c2e2912887 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/24/wealthier-baby-boomers-shun-homeownership.html | Wealthier baby boomers shun homeownership | Wealthier baby boomers shun homeownership
VIDEO1:1001:10Housing market shows signs of strengthSquawk Box
The U.S. home ownership rate is at the lowest level in 25 years and is widely expected to go even lower. That's not just the result of younger Americans struggling to make ends meet to save for a down payment on a home. It is increasingly the result of middle-aged, higher income Americans choosing to rent.
Renter growth is now at the highest level in 30 years, and families or married couples ages 45–64 accounted for about twice the share of renter growth as households under age 35, according to a new study by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. In addition, households in the top half of the income distribution, although generally more likely to own, contributed 43 percent of the growth in renters.
"We do think we're in the later stages of a rebalancing between owning and renting," Fannie Mae chief economist Doug Duncan said in an interview Wednesday on CNBC.
Patti McConville | Getty Images
Duncan pointed to demographics. Baby boomers are now moving out of their homeownership years, while Generation X, a smaller group by 6 million to 7 million, also has a growing preference to rent after being hit hard during the recession, losing income, credit and even their homes.
The homeownership rate is now 63.7 percent, according to the U.S. Census, down from the over 69 percent peak in 2004.
Because of that, rental apartment occupancy is now at an all-time high, and rents are rising at twice the pace of inflation. In turn, that is putting pressure on renters young and old, but not necessarily pushing them to homeownership. Higher rents mean it is more difficult to save for a down payment. More than half of U.S. residents report having had to make at least one sacrifice or tradeoff in the past three years to cover their rent or mortgage, and the highest segment of those sacrificing is renters (73 percent), according to a report by the MacArthur Foundation.
Majorities of Americans continue to believe that it is challenging to find affordable rental housing in their own communities (58 percent in 2014 and 2015), and housing to purchase (60 percent in 2015, 59 percent in 2014), and even more challenging for families at the median income level (65 percent), young adults (80 percent), or families at the poverty level (89 percent), according to the MacArthur Foundation.
Apartment construction is booming, but much of it is in urban centers, catering to wealthier renters.
Read MoreApartment occupancy at all-time high: Here's why
"It's an older renter, looking to downsize that doesn't want to own anymore," said Douglas Firstenberg, principal of StonebridgeCarras, a real estate development and investment firm, standing outside one of its brand new rental buildings in downtown Bethesda, Maryland. Studios in the building start at $2,500 per month, and the most expensive unit is $6,000.
Rents are surging in the double digits for apartments and single-family rental homes. New apartment construction, now at the highest level since 1989, should ease the burden in coming years, adding supply to the demand, but it is not enough.
Read More Soaring home prices not a 'bubble': Realtors
"While affordability for moderate income renters is hitting some cities and regions harder than others, an acute shortage of affordable housing for lowest-income renters is being felt everywhere," said Chris Herbert, managing director of Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies. "Between the record level of rent burdens and the plunging homeownership rate, there is a pressing need to prioritize the nation's housing challenges in policy debates over the coming year if the country is to make progress toward the national goal of secure, decent and affordable housing for all."
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2f67d27c72cdf1fbd26cbb925adb7cc1 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/24/yuan-vs-rupee-whats-the-better-long-term-bet.html | Yuan vs rupee: Picking the long-term winner | Yuan vs rupee: Picking the long-term winner
A mix of Asian currencies.Getty Images
The rupee has proven to be a dismal investment so far this decade, slumping 38 percent over the past 5 years and far underperforming the yuan's near 10 percent gain over the same period. But as India's economy fires up, the next five years are expected bring about a reversal of fortunes for the two currencies.
"There's more potential for the rupee to appreciate compared to over the next five years," Nizam Idris, head of currency and fixed-income strategy at Macquarie in Singapore told CNBC. "The main driver for the two currencies over the medium term will be the growth outlook, which drives capital flows," he said.
After years of lagging behind its biggest Asian neighbor, India is on track to overtake China as the world's fastest growing major economy this year. India's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to pick up to 7.5 percent in 2015, before rising to 7.9 percent in 2016 and 8 percent in 2017, according to the World Bank. China's growth, by contrast, is forecast to moderate to 7.1 percent this year, 7.0 percent in 2016 and 6.9 percent in the year after. Last year, India's economy grew 7.3 percent, a touch below China's 7.4 percent expansion.
"Having said that, the rupee's outperformance is predicated on India's ability to anchor inflation," Idris noted, adding that China has had a better track record at doing so.
VIDEO3:1503:15China vs India: Who has a better growth story?Squawk Box Asia
While Indian inflation has eased notably in the past year owing to lower global commodity prices, a tight monetary stance and government efforts to contain food inflation, it wasn't long ago that the country struggled with runaway prices.
"Global investors will need to trust that India will persevere with policies to keep inflation low while boosting growth," he said.
If Idris' assumptions are correct, he sees the rupee strengthening to 55 rupees against the U.S. dollar in 5 years, a 13.5 percent appreciation. He expects the Chinese currency to appreciate a meager 3 percent to 6 yuan against the greenback over the same time frame.
"The yuan will see less impetus for appreciation – growth is slowing which means that capital inflows will remain limited. On top of this, the government's push to boost consumption could cause the current account to deteriorate further," Idris said.
Read MoreMake in India: Lessons from China
China's current account surplus stood at $7.2 billion in the first quarter of the year, the smallest quarterly surplus in three years and much lower than the $44 billion recorded in the fourth quarter of last year.
Valuation check
Idris isn't alone in his call for the rupee to outperform the yuan in the medium term. Mitul Kotecha, head of FX strategy for Asia Pacific at Barclays, says on top of the growth argument, the rupee is a better bet from a valuation perspective too.
"It's a valuation and relative growth story," he said. As of March, the rupee was 12 percent undervalued while the yuan was 20 percent overvalued, according the according to the behavioral equilibrium exchange rate (BEER) model.
Not so fast
To be sure, not all agree that the rupee will have its time in the sun in the latter half of the decade. Khoon Goh, senior foreign exchange strategist at ANZ, believes the odds are stacked in the favor of the yuan given efforts by Beijing to liberalize its capital account.
"I think there's better potential for the yuan simply because the Chinese authorities are very focused on continuing to open up their capital account and making sure that foreign investors have easier access to onshore markets," Goh said.
Read MoreIndia 'the new China' for smartphone makers
Foreign ownership of Chinese government bonds stands at just 2 percent, presenting plenty of scope for inflows in the future, he said.
"In India, foreign institutional investor (FII) limits around Indian government bonds are close to exhaustion. The potential for further inflows really depends on whether policymakers increase limits," Goh said. "Those sorts of decisions happen on ad hoc basis in India – a contrast from China, where the policy path is very clear."
Goh sees the dollar-yuan at 6.15 and dollar-rupee at 65 in the next five years. Furthermore, he's not confident on India's ability to keep inflation in check over the medium-term.
"Typically, countries that run high inflation tend to see their currency depreciate over time to compensate for the loss of competitiveness resulting from high inflation rate," Goh said.
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b6f6ab4e7cbab548be6c1996dc32788b | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/25/heres-why-gold-will-rally-rbcs-gero.html | VIDEO2:4402:44Here's why gold will rally: RBC's GeroFutures Now
is in the midst of its longest losing streak since March, but one noted gold bug claims the selling could soon abate.
"I'm probably one of the few people that believe there are too many bears in the woods," metals strategist George Gero said Thursday on CNBC's "Futures Now." Gold closed Thursday's session at $1,172.20 an ounce, its lowest level since June 5, but despite the selloff, Gero insists the precious metal is oversold.
Gero attributed gold's recent demise to a healthy stock market, strong , uncertainty over a Fed rate hike and unrest in Greece.
"Right now gold doesn't have too many friends because of a very good stock market," said Gero, of RBC Capital Markets. "Then of course in dollar terms, you've had a major change this year." Gold prices are down more than 1 percent year to date, while the U.S. dollar index and S&P 500 have risen a respective 5 percent and 2 percent over the same period.
Read MoreGold settles down after 4-day drop, awaits news on Greece
But as the first half of the year comes to a close, Gero believes gold will flourish come year-end.
"I think all of [these headwinds] have been priced in and now we begin to see some inflation," he said. "Once Greece has been resolved, and that will be known shortly to the market, you'll probably start to see more money go into something that's liquid, portable and convertible," said Gero.
And even with the potential for weakness in the very near term, Gero maintains gold will end the year higher than it started. "Down the road, we are probably going to see a median price is somewhere around $1,230 to $1,250 for gold." That's up to 6.5 percent above current levels.
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7b8de35cef74656ecb1139d11a31f644 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/25/us-weekly-jobless-claims-total-271000-vs-272000-estimate.html | US weekly jobless claims total 271,000 vs 272,000 estimate | US weekly jobless claims total 271,000 vs 272,000 estimate
VIDEO0:3600:36Jobless claims riseJobless Claims
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased modestly last week, but labor market conditions continued to tighten.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 271,000 for the week ended June 20, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
Claims for the prior week were revised to show 1,000 more applications received than previously reported. It was the 16th straight week that claims held below 300,000, a threshold usually associated with a firming labor market.
Read MoreAre you struggling with a midlife career crisis?
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 272,000 last week. A Labor Department analyst said there was nothing unusual in the state-level data.
The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, fell 3,250 to 273,750 last week.
The labor market is tightening, with the unemployment rate not too far from the 5.0 percent to 5.2 percent range that most Federal Reserve officials consider consistent with full employment.
In addition, job growth is picking up, with nonfarm payrolls increasing 280,000 in May.
Read MoreThis is the worst state for business in 2015
Thursday's claims report showed the number of people still receiving benefits after an initial week of aid rose 22,000 to 2.25 million in the week ended June 13. The so-called continuing claims data covered the period during which the government surveyed households for June's unemployment rate.
The four-week moving average of continuing claims rose 14,500 between the May and June survey periods, suggesting little change in the jobless rate. The unemployment rate was at 5.5 percent in May.
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99d5a7bffca8cb1cca10748eb17d40c3 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/25/what-your-smartphone-says-about-your-waistline.html | What your smartphone says about your waistline | What your smartphone says about your waistline
Steve Prezant | Getty Images
If you're sipping your lunch, you probably have an iPhone. If you're enjoying pizza from Little Caesars, you're probably on Android.
Consumer choices have always been about picking this or that, and the current either/or decision is between smartphone operating systems. Your choice when it comes to operating systems says a lot about you, including what you like to eat, according to data provided to CNBC by NPD Group's Checkout Tracking.
IPhone users were much more likely to go for a liquid lunch, with soup and smoothies taking the top spots for iOS choices. Soup had an iPhone-to-Android index of 151, meaning that purchasers were 51 percent more likely to be iPhone users. An index of 100 would be equality between the operating systems.
Android users leaned more toward heavy, hearty foods like roast beef and fried chicken. The Android-to-iPhone index for cheeseburgers was 113 and roast beef sandwiches 119.
"If you were to generalize, you do tend to find the iOS is a little more Target while Android is more Wal-Mart," said Andy Mantis, executive vice president of the group, pronouncing Target the pseudo-fancy way. iPhone users had a median income of $85,000 in 2014, versus Android users' $61,000, according to a report from Web analytics firm comScore.
As for fast food, establishments might elicit loyalty, but everyone loves fried chicken. The establishment with the highest iPhone-to-Android index (169) was Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers, a chain based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Bojangles Chicken 'n Biscuits was at the opposite end, with an Android-to-iPhone index of 129.
IPhone users tend to be more herd like, at least when it comes to fast food. There are 10 establishments with indexes over 125 in favor of iPhones, while only four could say the same for Android users. Assuming each person uses just one type of phone to upload their receipts, this could mean that iPhone users frequent the same slightly pricier spots more often than Android users. Alternatively, everyone could be going to the places Android users like but there are additional establishments where iPhone users go but Android users don't.
Checkout Tracking gathers its data from the source: Consumers uploading their receipts into the system in exchange for rewards like Amazon gift cards. By applying OCR and machine learning, the system strips the important information from the receipt and collates for a relatively accurate sample of American consumer behaviors. Better than an online survey, for example.
Read MoreWas your Father's Day present a dud? Read this
With 50,000 users scattered around the country, Checkout Tracking analysis offers a fairly representative national sample of consumers, according to Mantis, though the user base leans younger and more female than the population. That makes sense if you consider it's using mobile devices to upload receipts.
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82f9166bb9639b506d537670bf146423 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/25/why-hiking-wages-is-good-for-business-ikea-us-cfo.html | Why hiking wages is good for business: Ikea US CFO | Why hiking wages is good for business: Ikea US CFO
VIDEO2:1602:16Wage hikes good for business: IkeaClosing Bell
Ikea's decision to raise its minimum hourly wage in U.S. stores for the second year in a row not only benefits employees, but the company as well, the Swedish furniture store chain's U.S. chief financial officer told CNBC on Thursday.
One of the biggest financial impacts has been a decrease in turnover, Rob Olson said in an interview with CNBC's "Closing Bell."
"We've seen a 5-point reduction in turnover, which of course benefits us from recruiting costs [and] from onboarding costs," he said.
Jeff Pachoud | AFP | Getty Images
On top of that, Olson said there has been a great response from consumers.
"We're trending ahead of the sector and picking up speed actually as we go throughout the year."
Read More Minimum wage hike won't hurt too much: Billionaire
Ikea announced Wednesday that effective Jan. 1, the average minimum wage in existing stores will increase by 10 percent, to $11.87 from $10.76. That's $4.62 above the current federal minimum wage.
The company is tailoring its pay hikes to the cost of living in each store's location. The increase will affect 32 percent of Ikea's hourly retail workers.
In June 2014, Ikea raised its minimum wage by an average of 17 percent, effective 2015.
Not surprisingly, the wage hike is also attracting more job seekers. After last year's announcement, the company opened two new locations and the applicant pool was "ahead of expectations," Olson said.
"Our expansion plan is growing as we speak and we expect the same response."
He said the cost of the wage increases is offset, in part, by the reduction in turnover and consumer response. The store has also been able to lower the overall cost structure, which has allowed it to "reinvest in the co-worker," said Olson.
"We, over the past five years, have really focused on our operational cost structure throughout, nationalizing purchasing instead of purchasing location by location, taking advantage of economies of scale, being more effective and efficient in our day-to-day operations."
As for whether Ikea will raise the minimum wage for a third year in a row, Olson said time will tell. The company plans to evaluate the wage structure every year and will take "necessary steps," he said.
Read More Raising minimum wage doesn't work
—CNBC's Laura Petti and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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a458edd09aa2d4bb41dd85ab182ad4f4 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/26/the-hedge-fund-managers-who-pushed-for-gay-marriage.html | The hedge fund managers who pushed for gay marriage | The hedge fund managers who pushed for gay marriage
Founder and president of the Elliot Management Corp., Paul Singer, speaks during The New York Times DealBook Conference on Dec. 11, 2014, in New York City.Thos Robinson | Getty Images for The New York Times.
The U.S. Supreme Court decision Friday in favor of same-sex marriage was welcomed by a perhaps surprising group: conservative hedge fund managers.
Dan Loeb of Third Point, Paul Singer of Elliott Management, Steve Cohen of Point72 Asset Management and Cliff Asness of AQR Capital Management are among the prominent hedge fund managers who have worked in recent years in support of gay marriage even as they disapproved of President Barack Obama and Democrats.
"It's a gratifying day for equality under the law," Asness, a libertarian, told CNBC.com on Friday.
"We're pleased with the Court's ruling because we believe in social justice for all Americans and hope this serves as a catalyst for global change," added Cohen, via a spokesman.
Loeb also sent this tweet quoting from Justice Anthony Kennedy's majority opinion.
Dan Loeb tweet
Singer, for example, created American Unity PAC in 2012 to support the cause by "protecting and promoting pro-freedom Republicans." Donors to that political action group have included Loeb, Asness, Seth Klarman of Baupost Group, David Tepper of Appaloosa Management and Mark Kingdon of Kingdon Capital Management, according to public filings.
Loeb, Cohen, Singer and others helped successfully to push to legalize same-sex marriage in New York in 2011. And backers of nonprofit Freedom to Marry have been supported by KKR head of public affairs Ken Mehlman, a former Republican operative, as well as Loeb, Klarman, Singer and Asness.
Loeb and Klarman did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Singer declined to comment.
Read MoreHow SCOTUS' same-sex ruling will impact couples' finances
VIDEO0:3200:32Supreme Court: States must allow same-sex marriage
Tom Steyer, a left-leaning former hedge fund manager who is now an environmental activist, also tweeted his support of the Supreme Court decision Friday.
Tom Steyer tweet
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f5cc98391dda78042df931e25f5d2c3c | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/26/this-could-be-the-tipping-point-for-oil-prices.html | This could be the tipping point for oil prices | This could be the tipping point for oil prices
VIDEO1:4901:49Oil's tipping pointEnergy Commodities
Record oil production meeting a wave of surprisingly strong demand has reined in world oil prices, creating a delicate balance that could be tipped either way—and the most immediate catalyst may be Iran's nuclear talks.
The market has been awaiting the outcome of the negotiations ahead of a June 30 deadline, as an agreement could put 1 million barrels of Iranian crude back on the market eventually. U.S. crude futures have been locked between $57 and $62 per barrel—since late April.
On Sunday, officials on all sides were quoted as saying the talks would need to continue beyond the deadline. Disagreement was reported to remain on inspections and other key issues.
A preliminary agreement was reached two months ago, but since then it had appeared not enough progress was made. The market had expected an extension.
Should negotiators reach a deal for Iran to end its nuclear program, in addition to the increase in production, Iran could unleash an estimated 30 million to 40 million barrels of oil it now stores on tankers. Oil prices could immediately fall by several dollars if a deal were reached.
"It's a substantial amount of oil. It could potentially move the market out of this range to the upside, or downside," said Michael Cohen, head of energy commodities research at Barclays.
Strategists say there could still be a deal, but later this year. If so, Iranian oil would not hit the market immediately, but traders still anticipate some additional crude from Iran by the end of the year.
The market view has been that a deal would still get done. Yet talk from Iranian hardliners raised doubts about progress last week.
Iran's top negotiator was headed back to Iran sunday to consult with top leadership while U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry rejoined talks this weekend—for the first time in weeks.
"There's a lot of political capital invested at this point in getting a deal," said Cohen. But the pushback has come from both sides. Five former advisors to President Barack Obama sent a letter of concern that the U.S. could fail to reach a "good" agreement and that it risks making concessions that would weaken international inspections, a cornerstone of the earlier agreement.
Earlier this week, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said most sanctions should be lifted even before Iran dismantles nuclear infrastructure or allows international inspectors to verify it is keeping its commitments. He also ruled out freezing nuclear enrichment for as long as a decade and reiterated a refusal to allow military sites to be inspected.
Complicating the situation, Iran's parliament this week passed a bill banning access by International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to those sites.
Again Capital analyst John Kilduff said if talks actually fell apart altogether, the price of oil could immediately jump $10 a barrel.
Read MoreCalculus on oil prices changes as Iran talks wobble
"The knee jerk is going to be higher (prices). Also, I would assume relations will deteriorate between the U.S. and Iran, and maybe others, and that will raise the security premium for potential military action that Israel will push for," he said.
A complete breakdown in talks between Iran and the U.S. and five other countries is so far seen as unlikely, but the odds have clearly increased.
Meanwhile, the Iran negotiations are causing barely a ripple in oil prices. The market is so well-supplied that a bombing attack on a mosque in Kuwait on Friday served only to add some support to prices in a weak market.
A surge in crude supply and bingeing by consumers has been keeping U.S. oil futures in the $60-a-barrel area. While strategists see higher prices for crude this year, many see the potential for a dip back into the $50s in the second half of the year if demand drops.
"There's not too much conviction in the market in terms of where we're going, and you have big support to the downside and big resistance to the upside," said Citigroup energy strategist Chris Main. He said also at play were macro factors like Greece, the U.S. dollar and volatility in the Chinese stock market, which plunged another 7 percent Friday.
Citigroup expects WTI to average $61 per barrel in the third quarter, and fall to an average $54 per barrel in the fourth quarter. It forecasts Brent at $68 in the third quarter and $63 in the fourth quarter. Barclays, on the other hand, sees lower prices of $55 per barrel for WTI in the third quarter, and then a $63 per barrel price in the fourth quarter.
Strategists and other experts who answered a CNBC survey this month predicted an average price of $60.81 per barrel for WTI—right in the middle of the current range. West Texas Intermediate crude futures have also held just below the 200-day moving average, at $62.35.
Read MoreCNBC survey: Here's where oil prices are heading
Still, the dynamic that has kept oil prices tightly balanced has surprised many experts, particularly since the new role of the U.S. as an unofficial swing producer had never been tested by low prices before.
Even with the price war launched by OPEC late last year, U.S. shale production has continued to keep U.S. output at 40-year highs—totaling 9.6 million barrels a day last week. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, on a mission to hold on to market share against non-OPEC producers, like Canada, Brazil and the U.S.—has been producing a near-record 10.2 million barrels a day.
With record oil flooding the market, there have been behavioral changes among some of the biggest customers. For instance, U.S. consumers are buying more gasoline—as much as 300,000 barrels more per day than this time last year.
China appears to have been stockpiling oil this year as prices dropped, and has purchased an estimated 20 to 30 percent more than last year, according to Barclays. At the same time, demand is increasing elsewhere in Asia.
Other factors that could alter the current price picture would be a change in the demand for U.S. gasoline. "The peak is coming in two to three weeks, but the key is growth year on year is still up 200,000 to 300,000 a day," said Main.
But Kilduff said if one thing were to nip the price of oil, it could be the seasonal effect of gasoline sales dropping off. "The only thing holding it up is peak summer demand," he said. Builds in gasoline and diesel supply last week put downward pressure on prices.
"I think what's going to happen, as we get through the Fourth of July, and it gets past peak, you're going to see big builds in crude here," said Kilduff.
Strategists have been waiting for another factor to kick in—an ultimate reduction in U.S. output. The U.S. industry has dramatically reduced its rig count—by more than 60 percent in six months—but production has continued to rise, though perhaps more slowly. there is between 1.5 million to 2 million barrels a day more oil being produced in the world than is currently in demand.
After engineering the OPEC agreement to leave production targets unchanged, Saudi Arabia ramped up its own production, and it shows no sign of cutting back. However during the summer months, it uses more of its output for domestic utility consumption.
Main said Saudi consumption could go to 700,000 barrels a day and drop back to under 200,000 in November or December. If the kingdom was to ease up on production when domestic consumption was peaking, that would could drive oil prices higher.
However, any positive impact that would drive prices to the $65 or higher area would be met with a response. Higher prices would be a catalyst to bring on more U.S. shale production, which has been waiting to return.
"If you get to the levels of $65 or $70, it looks like there's a big appetite for producers hedging from the shale guys which would come in and lock in production at those levels because its economical to run at those levels," said Main, adding that would act as a cap on prices since more oil would then come on to the market.
Main said China's appetite may also be slowing.
"In May, we saw a drop in crude imports. Part of the reason people suggested that was because they were doing less strategic stock building," he said. "That's another reason we could be range bound in the summer."
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62582e346a51094f65cf8d1a324b7b70 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/26/worse-than-the-supremes-obamacare-economics-commentary.html | Kudlow's Corner | Kudlow's Corner
The judicial decision to uphold all of the president's health-care subsidies may be very disappointing, but the economics of Obamacare are far worse than whatever constitutional mistakes have been committed by the Supreme Court.
The economics of Obamacare are very bad. The law is inflicting broad damage on job creation and new-business formation. It ruins job incentives by making it pay more not to work, thereby intensifying a labor shortage that is holding back growth and in turn lowering incomes and spending.
President Barack Obama announces a change in U.S. policy in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington June 24, 2015.Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
And across-the-board Obamacare tax increases are inflicting heavy punishment on investment — right when the U.S. economy desperately needs more capital as a way of solving a steep productivity decline.
Because of Obamacare, there's an additional 0.9 percent Medicare tax on salaries and self-employment income, a 3.8 percent tax increase on capital gains and dividends, a cap on health-care flexible spending accounts, a higher threshold for itemized medical-expense deductions, and a stiff penalty on employer reimbursements for individual employee health-policy premiums.
Read MoreNot so fast—the next threat to Obamacare
Each of these tax hikes is anti-growth and anti-job.
There is so much talk about "secular stagnation," inequality, and stagnant wages these days. But there's little talk about the negative economic impact of Obamacare. It's a much bigger story than Supreme Court jurisprudence.
A couple of examples.
First, there's the problem of the 49ers and the 29ers. The business mandates and penalties imposed by Obamacare when small firms hire a 50th employee or ask for a 30-hour workweek are so high that some firms are opting to hold employment to 49 and hours worked to 29. Lower employment and fewer hours worked are a double death knell for growth.
The BLS sheds light on this: Although part-time work has fallen during the recovery, from around 9 million to 7 million, it hovered around 4 million during the prior recovery. And part-time employment, which as a share of total employment peaked at around 20 percent in 2010 and has slipped to about 19 percent, hovered around 17 percent during most of the prior expansion. Obamacare?
Read MoreThis GOP candidate will win the nomination: CFO survey
Everybody is complaining about the low labor-force participation rate and the equally stubborn reduction in the employment-to-population rate. But why are we surprised? Obamacare is effectively paying people not to work.
University of Chicago economist Casey Mulligan argues that Obamacare disincentives will reduce full-time equivalent workers by about 4 million principally because it phases out health-insurance subsidies as worker income increases. In other words, Obamacare is a tax on full-time work. After-tax, people working part time yield more disposable income than working full time.
Mulligan calculates that both explicit and implicit marginal tax rates within Obamacare may rise to near 50 percent as the law discourages those who attempt to climb the ladder of success. National prosperity and economic growth are again the victims.
And if all that weren't bad enough, Obamacare enrollment is coming up short while the program is unable to sustain an adequate risk pool. Expert health-insurance analyst Robert Laszewski and the consulting firm Avalere find that exchanges are succeeding in enrolling low-income individuals, but are struggling to attract middle- and higher-income enrollees.
Meanwhile, it appears that the healthy millennials are not buying enough Obamcare to finance the older and less healthy — especially those with pre-existing conditions.
So if the sign-ups are lower and the risk pool is shorter and the hoped-for redistribution from young to old isn't happening, insurance companies are forced to jack up premium rates. Again, not surprising. But the crisis is coming earlier than expected.
Laszewski reports that Texas Blue Cross wants a 20-percent rate hike, Maryland Blue Cross a 34-percent hike, Oregon's biggest insurer Moda a 26-percent hike, and Blue Cross in Tennessee a 36- percent hike.
Not every state is experiencing this. But bad news has a way of spreading. Plus, insurance companies are increasingly worried that the government won't back them through risk corridors or claim reinsurance or risk adjustments. So the dirty secret here is that a major taxpayer bailout is in the cards.
Look, government-run health insurance, or government-run anything, won't work. Only free-market competition with free consumer choice will adequately set prices, premiums, and other costs. Obamcare mandates reduce freedom and raise costs.
Meanwhile, hospitals, doctors, and patients will suffer from lower reimbursements. Doctors are leaving in droves. The worst health care, Medicaid, which is completely government run, is exploding.
ll this is why the system must be scrapped. And it won't be missed. In the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, 65 percent of Americans think Obamacare needs either modifications or a major overhaul, just 8 percent say it is working well, and 25 percent say it should be eliminated.
Read MoreNBC/WSJ poll: Americans say Obamacare needs tweaking
The Supreme Court decision is a minor part of the story. The big-picture question is: Can the U.S. not become Greece?
Commentary by Larry Kudlow, a senior contributor at CNBC and economics editor of the National Review. Follow him on Twitter @Larry_Kudlow.
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2bdc4ca9ea8f3b558747b4b98b5c2360 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/27/greece-eurogroup-meets-as-greece-plans-referendum.html | IMF's Lagarde: Everything depends on next few days, Greece still euro zone member | IMF's Lagarde: Everything depends on next few days, Greece still euro zone member
People wait outside a closed branch of Piraeus Bank in Athens, Greece June 27, 2015. The specific branch opens at 10:30 AM local time on Saturdays but it remained closed while dozens of people lined outside to withdrew cash.Yannis Behrakis | Reuters
Talks fell apart between the Greek government and its creditors, and European officials said Athens' bailout program will expire on Tuesday.
Euro zone finance ministers met to try and thrash out a reforms-for-rescue deal for Greece after the country's prime minister threw a curveball of a referendum on the deal late Friday night. During Saturday's meeting, the finance ministers rejected Greece's request for a one-month bailout extension, meaning that Athens could soon face very serious economic issues.
The marathon talks couldn't be more high stakes. The threat of a liquidity crisis sent countless numbers of Greek citizens scrambling to withdraw funds, prompting massive cash shortages at automated teller machines across the Hellenic Republic on Saturday.
More than a third of the country's ATMs ran out of cash, banking sources told Reuters, amid widespread fears Greece would soon be ejected from the 12-nations that use the euro currency.
"It's not a question to see what might happen on Monday. In terms of a crisis (for Greece), the crisis has commenced," Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan said after the day's second meeting.
Greece is due to pay the International Monetary Fund 1.5 billion euros Monday and without a deal this weekend risks missing that payment. Christine Lagarde, that organization's managing director, sat down with CNBC to discuss the situation (her comments below).
Follow all the developments here with our Live Blog.
(App users please click here).
Follow us on Twitter: @CNBCWorld
—The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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b819d5c3dd0af57dc335b705015ad107 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/28/gold-gets-safe-haven-boost-on-greek-fears-stocks-slump.html | Gold firms as Greece fears pressure global stock markets | Gold firms as Greece fears pressure global stock markets
A gold chess set designed by Hugh PowerSource: Courtesy of Hugh Power
Gold firmed on Monday, as the prospect of a Greek debt default hit global shares, offsetting wariness among investors over the metal's longer-term outlook.
U.S. stocks added to a global selloff as Greece veered toward a default on its debt, while the euro recovered from early sharp loss to turn higher against the dollar.
Greece will not pay a 1.6 billon euro loan installment due to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday, a Greek government official told Reuters.
Read MoreGreece crisis deepens: Banks closed, pleas for help
Gold, which often benefits from uncertainty in the wider financial markets, initially rallied to a near one-week high at $1,186.91, but later gave up some of those gains.
was up 0.3 percent at $1,178.40 an ounce, on track to close the second quarter down 0.3 percent, the fourth straight weak quarter.
U.S. gold futures for August delivery settled up 0.5 percent at $1,179 an ounce.
VIDEO1:3601:36Annual Russell changesPower Lunch
The wider environment remains relatively unfriendly for gold, with the United States still likely to raise interest rates at some point this year. That would increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold.
"Gold historically has always been the safe, tangible commodity which had appeal in times of turbulence, but recently, gold has increasingly trading off U.S. rate hike expectations, and how the dollar performs against the euro," ING analyst Hamza Khan said.
"Today we have all of this concern around Grexit creating bullish sentiment for gold, but at the same time we have weakness in the euro creating bearish sentiment for gold, and they're effectively canceling each other out."
Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, New York-listed SPDR Gold Shares, posted their biggest rise since early February last week at 9.5 tons.
Read MoreJittery Chinese investors park their cash here
"Broad investor interest has become relatively positive," Barclays Capital said in a note.
Spot palladium fell to a two-year low at $663.25 an ounce, and was on track to finish the quarter down 9.2 percent and fall for the second straight quarter.
"There is a large overhang of above-ground stocks out there, as per estimates. We're eating into that inventory each year," said Mike Dragosits, senior commodity strategist for TD Securities in Toronto.
Among other precious metals, silver was down 0.6 percent at $15.67 an ounce and platinum was down 0.04 percent at $1,074.50 an ounce.
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5efc50f8377cd812cabab94e7410f1fc | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/28/greece-and-the-euro-can-the-single-currency-ride-out-the-storm.html | Will a Greek tragedy be the euro's downfall? | Will a Greek tragedy be the euro's downfall?
Kostas Tsironis | Bloomberg | Getty Images
What's the 'Grexit' strategy of Europe's common currency?
In a now famous 2012 speech that vowed to do whatever it took to put a floor under the single currency, stocks and bonds, European Central Bank president Mario Draghi said that "the euro is irreversible."
Fast forward three years and that pledge is in doubt. After a dizzying and dramatic weekend of headlines, the odds of Greece leaving the euro have shot up, putting the common currency under renewed selling pressure.
When it comes to the euro's future, there are two key questions. Will Greece indeed leave the 'irreversible' common currency? If it does, what could it mean for the euro's value and viability?
...The insurance from European institutions will continue to work as an effective backstop for other vulnerable countries, as long as there is no political contagion.Jens Nordvigmanaging director of currency research, Nomura Securities
On the question of a possible 'Grexit', most economists and strategists agree that the Greek referendum on July 5 on Europe's bailout proposal, is—for all intents and purposes—a vote by the Greek population on whether they choose to remain part of the euro zone.
Read MoreGreek PM calls forbank closures, capital controls
Citigroup economists, led by Willem Buiter, predict the situation will get worse: He thinks Greece will miss its Tuesday payment owed to the International Monetary Fund and will be further restricted by the ECB to access emergency liquidity assistance.
Eventually, the country will be forced to impose tighter capital controls. However, they do not expect a Grexit, a word first coined by Buiter.
"We expect the referendum to result in a comfortable majority for the 'yes' camp and expect no Grexit this year and a lower risk of Grexit in subsequent years." he wrote in a research note on Sunday.
A 'no' vote, however, Citigroup economists say would make a departure from the 12-nation currency area "very likely."
"We maintain our probability of 60 percent that ultimately a semi-stable agreement will be reached, allowing Greece to remain in the euro, but it will be a lengthy process. We now see a 40 percent chance of [a] Grexit," economists at Societe Generale wrote Sunday.
VIDEO3:1303:13How Greece's debt drama may play outSquawk Box Asia
What if the Greeks vote no to a deal that their own Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras opposes, and has called a "blackmailing ultimatum… strict and humiliating austerity without end?"
Credit Suisse says it "would be viewed as raising the risk of a descent into a much more negative scenario," analysts wrote, giving that scenario a 33 percent probability.
A "reject" vote at the referendum would likely mark a first step towards relinquishing the euro, as "there is no indication that the Troika stands ready to offer Greece a better deal," according to the Societe Generale economics team.
Read MoreGreece action, June jobs report eyed before holiday
While not the base case of many Wall Street firms, if the Greeks vote 'no' to the bailout, the chances of Greece exiting the euro rise substantially. The opinion polls leading up to next weekend will be key.
European politicians and central bankers have declared repeatedly throughout the euro's brief 16-year-old life that it is unbreakable or "irreversible."
So what if it isn't?
That's why some doomsayers have compared a Grexit to Europe's 'Lehman Moment,' recalling the failure of the once storied Wall Street bank whose collapse helped catalyze the 2008 financial pandemic.
Any Greek exit from the euro would set a dangerous precedent that the euro membership is indeed reversible, and therefore could raise the risk of an exit by other weaker members such as Spain and Italy. Contagion fears could also drive up borrowing costs in the periphery.
"The key will be if contagion effects to peripheral markets are significant (leading to a break in bond spreads observed this year)," writes Jens Nordvig, managing director of currency research at Nomura.
However he, like many economists and strategists, remain optimistic that the crisis won't spiral out of control.
"The key point here is that the political situation in the rest of the periphery is fundamentally different from that of Greece," Nordvig said.
"Hence the insurance from European institutions will continue to work as an effective backstop for other vulnerable countries, as long as there is no political contagion," he said
Further, the ECB has proven it is an effective crisis fighter and has the tools to calm the markets by buying bonds through quantitative easing (QE), verbal intervention and other liquidity programs like long-term refinancing operations (LTROs).
"The governing council is closely monitoring the situation in financial markets...The governing council is determined to use all the instruments available within its mandate," the central bank said in a statement on Sunday, when announcing the Emerging Liquidity Assistance caps for Greek banks.
Wall Street seems to think European authorities have enough tools in their arsenal to stave off a full-fledged panic.
"In a very practical sense, so long as the ECB is engaged in QE, there is a rather clear limit to how much damage markets will inflict on other sovereigns," wrote Erik Nielsen, Chief Global Economist at Unicredit Sunday. "Once the QE is phased out, we have the OMT [outright monetary transactions]."
He was optimistic the Eurozone would emerge stronger if Greece votes to leave.
"The odds favor better European policies after a Greek exit. Keep in mind the Greek government has managed to unite the rest of Europe in its opposition to its voodoo economics to an extent rarely seen before," Nielsen added.
"This is fundamentally a crisis generated by the Greek government," he said. In Nielsen's thinking, should Greece leave, it will have been the population's decision, and doesn't mean Europe will have thrown Greece out of the currency.
In the near term, there may be a period of uncertainty and that may weigh on the euro. In Asia trading on Sunday, the single currency tumbled by more than a cent.
"Our base line is an initial move towards 1.10. But no major follow through from there, and perhaps a reversal if contagion effects turn out to be manageable without ECB intervention beyond the soft verbal intervention we already received Sunday," Nomura's Nordvig said.
No matter how the Greek referendum ends up, it could create waves of risk aversion on uncertainty and uncharted territory.
Ultimately, however, Wall Street thinks the political commitment to the common currency, combined with the support of a determined central bank, should pave the way for a stronger, more united euro—with or without Greece.
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2be0a580f02a8cacbd8b7bf6d41b980b | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/28/greece-will-likely-keep-asian-equities-on-edge.html | Asian equities plunge as Greece weighs on sentiment | Asian equities plunge as Greece weighs on sentiment
jmiks | iStock / 360 | Getty Images
Stock markets in China continued to head south amid volatile trade on Monday, with investors shrugging off fresh easing from the People's Bank of China's (PBOC) over the weekend. Elsewhere in the region, equities witnessed a huge selloff after Greece failed to clinch a deal with its international lenders over the weekend.
Greece desperately needs emergency funding to repay its loans by June 30 and the debt-stricken nation is now headed for a bailout referendum on July 5, authorized by Greek lawmakers over the weekend. A yes vote will mean that Greeks are willing accept the latest bailout terms offered by creditors to Athens, while a rejection will likely increase Greece's chances of exiting the Eurozone.
According to Reuters, Greek government officials have confirmed early Monday that banks will be closed until July 6, while ATMs will reopen later in the day with a daily withdrawal limit of 60 euros.
Read MoreGreece, China in spotlight after drama-filled weekend
In Asian trade, the euro fell as low as $1.0953, touching a one-month low, while dollar-yen dropped as much as 1 percent to 122.64.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures opened down 1.6 percent as chances of a Greek default heightened.
On Friday, Wall Street finished mixed, with the blue-chip Dow edging up 0.3 percent and the S&P 500 ending flat. The Nasdaq Composite led losses with a 0.6 percent fall.
Mainland markets fall
Despite the PBOC unveiling a bigger-than-expected easing package over the weekend, the correction in China's Shanghai Composite index showed no signs of braking, with the Shanghai bourse closing down 3.3 percent at its lowest level since April 16.
The PBOC lowered its benchmark lending rates by 25 basis points to 4.85 percent and reduced one-year benchmark deposit rates by 25 basis points to 2 percent on Saturday. The rate cuts come on the back of a drastic 7.4 percent plunge on Friday, which saw the Shanghai Composite nursing its worst single-day loss since January 19. For the past two weeks, the index has fallen more than 20 percent.
"We haven't seen [such easing] since the crisis in 2008 [and] this opens up a lot of room to support the market. This came on the back of broad issues revolving the fundamentals in the economy and a 20 percent correction in the stock market," Neeraj Seth, head of Asian Credit at BlackRock, told CNBC. "These are clear signs that the government is serious about the economy and stock market stability."
However, Monday's slump showed the Chinese central bank has failed to remedy the stock market fluctuations.
"It appears that the forced clearance of leverage accounts continued to be the dominant driver of the market at the moment. If the meltdown continues at the current pace, which could trigger systemic instability, we would expect further stabilizing measures from the government," wrote Aidan Yao, senior emerging market economist at AXA Investment Managers, citing the examples of asking institutions to halt the squaring of leverage accounts, and allowing state-owned investment funds to invest more in the equity market.
Read More Bears ignore PBOC to maul China stocks
In Hong Kong, Legend Holdings, parent of computer maker Lenovo Group, reversed direction to close down modestly in its market debut. The initial public offering (IPO) worth about $2 billion would be the largest IPO in Hong Kong since Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties raised $4.04 last December.
Despite the lackluster debut, Dickie Wong, executive director of Kingston Securities, told CNBC the move was in line with his expectations. "I didn't expect much upside on its first debut. [Despite the worries over Greece,] I think thy picked a good day today [because] if they had listed last week like Thursday or Friday, it could have been worse," Wong told CNBC.
Shares of Lenovo Group plunged nearly 6 percent. Meanwhile, the Hang Seng index shaved off 2.6 percent to end at its lowest level since April 8.
VIDEO2:5602:56PBOC will be worried about Monday's selloff: ProStreet Signs Asia
Nikkei skids 2.9%
Japan's Nikkei 225 index touched a more than one-week trough as the yen gained ground against a weaker dollar.
A mixed bag of domestic data also weighed on sentiment. Released before the market open, Japan's industrial production fell 2.2 percent in May, wider than a Reuters' estimate for a 0.8 percent fall and marking the fastest pace of decline in three months. Meanwhile, retail sales rose 3.0 percent on-year last month, versus the estimate of a 2.3 percent increase in a Reuters poll of economists.
Decliners were led by exporters, banks and brokerage houses. Within the currency-dependent export sector, carmakers such as Suzuki Motor lost 4.3 percent, while Toyota Motor and Honda shaved off more than 2 percent, respectively.
Financials such as Mizuho Financial and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group receded more than 3 percent each, while Nomura Holdings lost 2 percent.
A nearly 3 percent decline in the heavyweight components such as Fast Retailing and Fanuc also weighed on the bourse.
VIDEO3:5203:52Nikkei's fall is just a knee-jerk reaction: ProStreet Signs Asia
ASX loses 2.2%
Sharp losses among banking and resources heavyweights took Australia's S&P ASX 200 index down to its lowest level since January 23.
Market bellwether BHP Billiton fell 2 percent, while all of the four major lenders plummeted between 2.3 to 3.1 percent.
Energy producers also headed south, in tandem with lower oil prices. Woodside Petroleum and Santos closed down 2.4 and 1.4 percent, respectively.
Outperforming the bourse, Evolution Mining and Newcrest Mining elevated 3.9 and 1.2 percent, respectively, after spot gold got a boost from the negative developments in Greece's debt negotiations.
Kospi tanks 1.4%
South Korea's key Kospi index finished at a one-week low amid a broad-based selloff.
Among the biggest losers, brokerage houses such as Samsung Securities doubled losses to end down 7.5 percent. Oil producers like SK Innovation and S-Oil also widened declines to 5.1 and 7.2 percent, respectively, as crude oil prices continue to spiral lower in Asian trade.
Within the technology sector, LG Electronics tumbled 4.8 percent to 47,150 won, hitting the lowest in nearly 11 years.
Emerging Asia down
Risk-off sentiment prevailed in emerging Asia markets on Monday, with Malaysian shares taking the worst hit to touch its lowest levels since December 18. The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI index was last seen 1 percent lower.
Across Southeast Asia, Indonesia's Jakarta Composite retreated 1.2 percent to a near one-week trough, while Thailand's SET index lost 1.1 percent to touch its lowest level in nearly 2 weeks.
In India, the benchmark BSE Sensex and 50-share Nifty index fell 2 percent each.
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347de9f986e0ed00395630c3b3d4a383 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/28/greek-banks-will-not-open-on-monday-bank-ceo.html | Greek PM calls for bank closures, capital controls | Greek PM calls for bank closures, capital controls
Despite a tweet from Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis that his government "opposed the very concept" of any controls, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said later Sunday that he had forced the country's central bank to recommend a bank holiday and capital controls.
The Athens stock exchange will also be closed as the government tries to manage the financial fallout of the disagreement with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. Greece's banks, kept afloat by emergency funding from the European Central Bank, are on the front line as Athens moves towards defaulting on a 1.6 billion euros payment due to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday.
In Athens, lines have formed around many ATMs, and some are already empty.
You can follow all the latest developments with our Live Blog.
—Reuters contributed to this report.
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afc1dcc4a1251921437af8ed917aa138 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/29/asian-stocks-open-mixed-with-eyes-on-greek-default-risks.html?__source=yahoo%7Cfinance%7Cinline%7Cstory%7Cstory&par=yahoo&doc=102798600 | Asian stocks shrug off Greek default fears | Asian stocks shrug off Greek default fears
Asia's stock markets bounced back on Tuesday, recovering from the previous day's heavy selloff, even as Greece inched nearer toward a debt default.
According to Reuters, Greece will not be paying a 1.6 billion euro loan installment due to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday, citing a Greek government official. The cash-strapped country needed emergency funding to make the payment, but negotiations for a cash-for-reform package between Athens and its creditors broke down over the weekend after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Trspras called for a surprise referendum.
Overnight, Greece-related fears took a toll on Wall Street shares. The blue-chip Dow and the S&P 500 wiped out gains for the year, down 1.95 and 2.09 percent, respectively. The Nasdaq Composite lost 2.4 percent to end below the 5,000 mark for the first time since May 13.
Mainland indices rebound
In yet another highly volatile session, China's Shanghai Composite index closed up 5.55 percent, after plunging nearly 5 percent to hit an intra-day low of 3,847 earlier in the day.
The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen piled on 6.7 percent, while the Shenzhen Composite also reversed course to reap 4.8 percent. In Hong Kong, the index surged 1.3 percent.
Analysts attribute the upswing to the launch of new measures by Beijing aimed at bolstering market confidence.
"Talk of putting a halt to the initial public offering (IPO) process helped spur some buying and it will certainly help mitigate the prospect of traders selling existing stock holdings to take part in the IPO process. There has also been talk of using the country's endowment fund to buy equities, as well as cutting stamp duty, while the central bank has further cut the seven-day repo rate by 20 basis points to 2.5 percent," Chris Weston, IG's chief market strategist, wrote in a note. "The market may be keen to deleverage, but for today the bulls are being enticed into longs courtesy of further (and potential) central bank and governmental initiatives."
Read MoreCan China save its market from the bears?
Tuesday's wild ride comes on the back of a torrid session on Monday, where the Shanghai bourse closed down 3.3 percent into bear-market territory even as the People's Bank of China (PBOC) unveiled a bigger-than-expected easing package over the weekend.
"In China, sentiment is very unsettled right now which is very influential in a retail-driven market. That will likely go on for a couple of weeks so volatility will be a constant theme," Stephen Sheung, head of investment strategy of SHK Private, told CNBC.
VIDEO3:4603:46Why this expert is pessimistic about China stocks
Nikkei adds 0.6%
Japan's Nikkei 225 clawed back some of Monday's 2.9 percent slump.
Gainers were led by airlines, which got a boost from the tumble in jet fuel prices. Japan Airlines and ANA Holdings climbed 1.7 and 2.9 percent, respectively. A recovery in most export-oriented counters also supported the bourse; carmakers such as Toyota Motor, Nissan and Honda bounced up between 0.6 and 1.2 percent.
However, shares of Sony fell 8.3 percent after the company said it plans to raise up to $3.6 billion by issuing new shares and convertible bonds to invest in its fast-growing image sensors business.
Meanwhile, Japan Post will be filing applications with the Tokyo Stock Exchange for the listings of the parent company and its units Japan Post Bank and Japan Post Insurance on Tuesday.
Kospi gains 0.7%
South Korea's Kospi index edged up, a day after finishing at a one-week low.
Beneficiaries of cheaper oil were among the day's top performers; Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines jumped 6.9 and 4.6 percent, respectively, while Kepco tacked on 1.2 percent.
Samsung Techwin inched up 0.2 percent after shareholders on Monday approved a proposed deal to be sold to Hanwha Group. Shares of the latter recouped losses to rise 2.2 percent late Tuesday.
ASX rises 0.7%
Australian shares ended up in choppy trade, which saw the benchmark S&P ASX 200 index hit a five-month low at the start of trade. Apart from Greece, investors trying to close their books for the June 30 end of the financial year fueled volatility in the market on Tuesday.
The bourse gained upward support after banking heavyweights turned positive in the final hour of trade. Commonwealth Bank of Australia rebounded 0.5 percent, while Westpac and National Australia Bank closed up 0.4 percent each.
Within the resources sector, market bellwether BHP Billiton clawed back losses to settle 0.4 percent higher.
Meanwhile, New Zealand-listed Briscoe Group announced it has acquired 19.9 percent of clothing retailer Kathmandu early Tuesday, sending the latter's Sydney-listed stock up 25.6 percent. In Auckland, shares of Briscoe Group rallied 1.8 percent, while Kathmandu surged 25.9 percent.
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c77bdf7495618c225017547428f56afc | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/29/e-balkans-what-happens-now-in-greece.html | 7 things investors need to know about the Greek crisis | 7 things investors need to know about the Greek crisis
VIDEO2:2702:27Greeks to protest referendum Squawk Alley
VIDEO3:1403:14If Greece leaves the euro ...Squawk Alley
VIDEO1:2101:21Greece in 'biggest crisis' since joining EU
With Greece nearly certain to default on a 1.6-billion-euro bond payment due June 30, the long-feared prospect of Hellenic financial chaos is just about here.
The nation's banks closed this weekend, and the government imposed controls of the movement of capital in and out of the country. A Greek referendum is set for Sunday, in which voters will decide whether to accept more austerity or face the prospect of being booted from Europe's currency union.
Read MoreOp-ed: Greece must sign a deal now
People in front of the Greek Parliament hold a demonstration on June 28, 2015, calling for a 'NO' referendum and for Greece's exit from the euro zone.Ayhan Mehmet | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
How bad is the problem?
Greece owes foreign creditors about 280 billion euros, including $242.8 billion to public or quasi-public entities, such as the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and European Central Bank. It doesn't have the cash to make the interest payment due this week, and the failure to make a deal to restructure and refinance the obligation raises the prospect of an imminent default. The two sides are talking about an 18-billion-euro package to refinance some of that debt.
Greece's private creditors took a write-down of about 75 percent on debt owed to them in 2012, but the public entities have resisted a similar move.
Why have talks broken down?
The so-called Troika of the IMF, ECB and EC are looking for a combination of spending cuts (the most politically sensitive of which are to pensions that function as the Greek equivalent of Social Security) and tax increases. Greece's top tax rate of 42 percent already applies to annual incomes as low as 42,000 euros. In addition, the nation has a value-added tax of as high as 23 percent, and Social Security taxes are also much higher than in the U.S. The country is already having huge problems collecting taxes it is owed. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, pointing to the nation's 25.6 percent unemployment rate, argues that Greece can't handle more austerity.
What did the government do this weekend?
Greece's anti-austerity Syriza party called for a referendum, hoping voters would back its push to get creditors to back down. It also imposed so-called capital controls to halt the flight of money out of the country and closed banks for a week.
While most domestic transactions are little affected, there is a daily cash-withdrawal limit of 60 euros, and international transactions are subject to approval. Greek banks had been reporting a sharp decrease in deposit balances since at least April, cutting into the banks' ability to meet their own international obligations. Europe has also been helping Greek banks with a program called Emergency Liquidity Assistance, but Goldman Sachs economist Huw Pill said Sunday that the assistance could end early this week as the rest of Europe tries to cap its total exposure to Greece.
Read MoreGreece could face social unrest soon: Wilbur Ross
"Although the Greek government has repeatedly stressed that this is not a referendum on Greece's euro membership, we believe that in practice it is," IHS Global Insight economist Diego Iscaro wrote Monday. "In the event of a 'no' win, Greece's euro zone membership will be seriously jeopardized. The creditors are unlikely to change their position markedly, and it would be impossible for the Greek government to accept the current proposal after being defeated by popular vote."
How will the mess affect the markets in Europe and the U.S.?
European markets traded sharply lower on Monday, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened nearly 1 percent lower in New York. But the effect may be short-lived: S&P Capital IQ published a 70-year historical analysis of past market shocks that found events like this produce an average decline of 2.4 percent on the next trading day, which has been recovered in an average of 14 trading days.
"Greece represents less than 2 percent of the EU's GDP," S&P strategist Sam Stovall wrote. "By itself, its default or exit won't upend the EU. … Yet if this drachma drama triggers a market decline in excess of 10 percent, not seen since October 2011, it may be a blessing in disguise. As history has shown, prior market shocks have usually proven to be better opportunities to buy than bail, primarily because the events did not dramatically alter the course of global economic growth."
Old Greek drachma coins and banknotesKostas Tsironis | Bloomberg | Getty Images
What happens if Greece leaves the euro, or is forced to leave the euro?
Estimates of how little Greek drachmas may be worth are all over the place, from 340 to the U.S. dollar to as little as 1,000 drachmas to the dollar. Even before Greece is (or isn't) forced to leave the currency union, there is talk of the government meeting its obligations in so-called "parallel currency,'' whose value is highly uncertain.
Has the IMF's austerity program worked so far?
No. Austerity has been the rule in Greece since the first debt-restructuring program was approved in 2010. But Greece's unemployment rate has nearly tripled since, and annual gross domestic product has dropped 100 billion euros, or almost 30 percent. Greece's slashed spending and tax hikes brought the nation's "primary deficit," or deficit before debt-service payments, into surplus territory in 2010. But the program was the equivalent of slamming on the economy's brakes: Output dropped so rapidly that the primary deficit is now again 2 percent of Greek gross domestic product even with tough controls on spending. That's not much different than the U.S., but the U.S deficit as a percentage of output is declining because the U.S. economy Is growing.
What does this mean for Greek tourism?
Uncertainty overshadows Greek tourism. And the stakes of not interrupting tourism are high indeed: Tourism accounts for 18 percent of the nation's economy and employs a quarter of its workers, according to the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises. Greece attracts as many as 17 million annual visitors, twice the nation's population, and is virtually the only industry still growing in a nation where an estimated 59 businesses are closing each day.
But already, tourists are reporting difficulty getting cash, because automated teller machines are running out, and the threat of capital controls had some merchants unwilling to accept credit cards. Over time, leaving the euro and devaluing the drachma would lead to a period where Greek vacations should be very cheap for Western tourists.
How long that would last, and the impact it would have on hotels and other merchants, is hard to forecast. But resort owners are resisting creditor proposals to end or curtail their tax breaks for resorts on more remote islands and to raise the value-added tax on lodging.
—By Tim Mullaney, special to CNBC.com
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cadfccf0b41bc6e96b9a43f2042b80aa | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/29/entrepreneuers-who-do-biz-overseas-await-ex-im-banks-future.html | Entrepreneuers who do biz overseas await bank's future | Entrepreneuers who do biz overseas await bank's future
VIDEO2:2502:25Entrepreneurs eye fate of Ex-Im BankPower Lunch
Susan Axelrod admittedly got into business by accident. The Long Island, New York, housewife began making quiches in her home kitchen in 1973, and grew her company, Love & Quiches Gourmet, in part by exporting her products to places such as Qatar and Japan.
She was able to reach overseas markets thanks to the Export-Import Bank of the United States, a government-backed financial institution that makes and guarantees loans. The bank also offers insurance to American companies so they can do business overseas.
But come Tuesday, the 81-year-old bank's charter expires. And without reauthorization, the financial institution cannot do any new business. The bank for years has been a lifeline for many small businesses, which may be left to fend for themselves in potentially lucrative overseas markets.
If the bank's charter is not reauthorized, "the U.S. is going to lose our exporting power," Axelrod said. "China and other exporting countries are chomping at the bit to take that business." She said as much as 30 percent of her business comes from international markets.
In fiscal year 2014, the Export-Import Bank—known as "Ex-Im" bank for short—did $20.5 billion in financing. That figures includes more than $5 billion in financing and insurance for small businesses that make up $27 billion in U.S. exports and 164,000 American jobs.
The remaining $15.5 billion goes toward other places, including financing for big corporations, bank critics say.
Larger companies that have received Ex-Im Bank financing in the past include General Electric and Boeing. Spokespeople for both corporations were not immediately available for comment.
"Most of this goes to very successful, well-heeled companies that don't need the help in the first place," says Rep. Jeb Hensarling, Texas Republican and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.
Hensarling says he instead favors scaling back regulation and tax reform to help small businesses.
Still, while small businesses pocket $5 billion in financing from the Ex-Im Bank, Main Street businesses make up about 90 percent of the overall business the Ex-Im Bank does.
And earlier this month, GE Co-Chairman Jeff Immelt told Reuters the company would move manufacturing jobs to Canada and Europe if the Export-Import Bank closes.
Read More
While there's no scheduled vote on the bank's future, Congress may take up this issue in July. A reauthorization vote may be attached to a highway and transportation bill in the Senate.
A spokesman for the bank said its charter runs through the end of fiscal year 2015, and some of its loans can have terms of up to 18 years, which will remain intact.
"If Ex-Im Bank's charter expires, the bank will continue to service all of its commitments and manage its portfolio until maturity, including collecting funds, processing claims and making payments where it is obligated to do so," said the spokesman in an email to CNBC.
Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Meanwhile in Freeport, New York, Axelrod is confident she will be able to find a new insurance company to cover their receivables overseas. But she worries other small businesses will assume more risk, or forgo exporting alltogether.
Says Axelrod, "There's just more risk, and when you're a small business, you have to limit your risk."
Read More As barriers to entry fall, more entrepreneurs take the plunge
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1a24b43487fc7c92019d32c1c13d0f6d | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/29/live-blog-markets-set-to-plunge-as-greek-debt-crisis-deepens.html | Greece crisis: PM Tsipras lashes out, and Lew urges a deal | Greece crisis: PM Tsipras lashes out, and Lew urges a deal
U.S. markets followed their Asian counterparts sharply lower on Monday after Greece failed to strike a deal with its international lenders to secure more funding.
The debt-stricken country introduced capital controls and said it will keep its banks shut for much of the week—all leading up to a referendum on Sunday that some are casting as a decision on whether to stay in the euro zone.
S&P downgraded the country's long-term credit rating from CCC to CCC- with a negative outlook. The ratings agency said it saw a 50 percent probability that Greece would exit the euro zone.
Soon after the downgrade, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras sat for an interview with a local outlet. He blasted Athens' creditors, whom he accused of conspiring to "wipe out hope," and called for his country to vote "no" in the upcoming referendum.
Here's the latest Greece coverage from CNBC: Greek crisis stokes bitcoin prices higher 7 things investors need to know about the Greek crisis Greek referendum gamble by Tsipras unleashes chaos Grexit is tragedy for Greece, but 'Apocalypse Not': Strategist ECB forces Greek people to decide: Robert Hormats Greece could face social unrest soon: Wilbur Ross Capital controls: Greeks and tourists to be hit hard Global markets slide on Greek crisis fears Will a Greek tragedy be the euro's downfall?
We'll keep you up to date with all the latest news in the live blog below.
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8828a9de942b1a83c618a0faf6fea5eb | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/29/lunge-as-greece-imposes-capital-controls.html | Greece rattles Europe; Markets close sharply down | Greece rattles Europe; Markets close sharply down
VIDEO1:3001:30European markets tumble on Greece fears
European equities closed sharply lower on Monday as fears rose that Greece could be the first country to exit the euro zone, after instigating capital controls.
The pan-European STOXX 600 closed around 2.7 percent lower. Peripheral stock indexes led losses, as Portugal's PSI 20 and Italy's FTSE MIB closed down more than 5 percent.
The benchmark FTSE 100 for the U.K., which is outside the euro zone, closed down just under 2 percent. The French CAC and the German DAX both closed well over 3 percent lower.
Greece's main stock exchange was closed on Monday and will not reopen until July 6, with banks across the country also shut.
This came after Athens imposed capital controls over the weekend to prevent a run on the country's banks. It also said it would hold a referendum this Sunday on the bailout terms proposed by its international creditors.
A vote rejecting the bailout, which is conditional on further austerity measures, could lead to Greece's exit from the euro zone, setting a dangerous dangerous precedent for the single currency area.
Greece also faces default if it does not repay 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday.
"(Greece's Prime Minister Alexis) Tsipras needs markets to be destabilized to put pressure on Brussels. Things are a bit destabilised but we haven't gone over a cliff," Art Cashin, director of floor operations at UBS, told CNBC.
Banking stocks outside Greece bore the brunt of the sell-off in regional stock markets. Portugal's Banco Comercial Portugues tanked more than 11 percent, while Italy's Banca Monte Dei Paschi Di Siena (BMPS) tumbled 10 percent.
In the U.S., Wall Street shares were broadly in the red as investors reacted to the developments in Greece. The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average was last down about 1.3 percent.
Shares of travel group Tui were at the bottom of the FTSE 100 on Monday, down more than 7 percent, following a fatal terror attack on a Tunisian beach resort last Friday. The death toll neared 40 over the weekend, with U.K. citizens accounting for at least 18 of the tourists killed by an armed gunman.
U.K. travel agent Thomas Cook was also hit, closing down around 3.7 percent.
Elsewhere, the European Commission's economic sentiment figures for the euro zone fell slightly from 103.8 in May to 103.5 in June. Consumer confidence in the region came in unchanged.
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145067ea6391b0eef194796eac653ff0 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/29/pr-debt-with-few-options-left-people-are-going-to-leave.html?__source=yahoo%7Cfinance%7Cinline%7Cstory%7Cstory&par=yahoo&doc=102798600 | PR debt: With few options left, 'People are going to leave' | PR debt: With few options left, 'People are going to leave'
VIDEO1:4301:43Pisani: 3 things to watch with Puerto RicoPower Lunch
VIDEO0:2900:29Puerto Rico sinking in debt
VIDEO1:4601:46Gauging Puerto Rico contagionPower Lunch
VIDEO2:4002:40Greece and Puerto Rico just a fear: Pro Power Lunch
With Puerto Rico's dire financial and economic situation becoming more acute almost by the day, the commonwealth's population, creditors and government each face a new and serious set of problems. (Tweet This)
"People with options are going to leave Puerto Rico," said José Joaquín Villamil, chairman and CEO of Estudios Técnicos, a business and economic consulting firm based in San Juan.
Puerto Rico's population has been steadily declining since 2004, according to a New York Federal Reserve report. "Over the last decade, the number of residents has dropped to 3.6 million, a loss of more than 5 percent of the Island's population," the report said, adding that the decline is due in large part to an out-migration of Puerto Rican citizens to the mainland.
"The Jones Act of 1917 granted U.S. citizenship to the people of Puerto Rico, allowing them to move freely between the island and the U.S. mainland. This mobility has led more Puerto Rican workers to leave the island in greater numbers when economic opportunities have dwindled," the bank said.
Read More The risk-off trade on Greece, China, Puerto Rico
The island's Planning Board also estimates the overall population declining further, to about 3.35 million by 2020.
Villamil made his remarks after the commonwealth's governor, Alejandro García Padilla, told The New York Times last week that its $73 billion debt "is not payable," leading shares of bond issuers to tumble.
MBIA, one of the largest municipal bond issuers, saw its stock plummet about 20 percent on heavy volume in Monday trading.
Asked by CNBC for comment, a spokesperson for MBIA's National Public Finance Guarantee subsidiary, which guarantees state and municipal debts, said that firm "will continue to work with the appropriate parties toward a solution that addresses Puerto Rico's significant fiscal and operational difficulties while respecting the rights of creditors. In the meantime, National will ensure that its policyholders will continue to receive all of their scheduled interest and principal payments on time and in full."
BTIG Analyst Mark Palmer said the company has $4.54 billion of gross insured exposure to Puerto Rico's debt, according to , adding that the uncertainty surrounding Puerto Rico makes bond insurer stocks "unbuyable until clarity around the situation develops and the magnitude of the losses the insurers stand to realize becomes more apparent."
Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla delivers his state of the Commonwealth address at the Capitol building in San Juan on April 30, 2015.
García Padilla's remarks came as a report authored in part by Anne Krueger, the former chief economist at the World Bank, illustrated the island's profound economic problems.
"Puerto Rico faces hard times. Structural problems, economic shocks and weak public finances have yielded a decade of stagnation, out-migration and debt. Financial markets once looked past these realities but have since cut off the Commonwealth from normal market access," according to the report.
The governor also told The Times that the commonwealth would seek to work with its creditors to defer some of its payments for as long as five years. "There is no other option. I would love to have an easier option. This is not politics; this is math."
Read More
Puerto Rico's bonds are popular with U.S. mutual funds because they are tax-free, but hedge funds and distressed-debt buyers began stepping in to buy up debt as the island's economy worsened and its credit rating dropped.
Puerto Rico's situation has led many to recommend restructuring of its debt. However, its political status as a commonwealth does not permit it to file for bankruptcy under Chapter 9—as is allowed in the states.
HR 870, a U.S. congressional bill that would let the island's municipalities and public corporations declare bankruptcy under Chapter 9, was introduced last February and remains in the House's Judiciary Committee. But it's unlikely to pass, Frank Shafroth, a professor specializing in municipal bankruptcy at George Mason University, said at a conference on June 15.
"The perception is that, if you give Puerto Rico the authority to file for bankruptcy, that's the equivalent of a federal bailout, and that taxpayers in Iowa, in Texas and Alaska are authorizing federal funds to be spent to bail out Puerto Rico," Shafroth said.
Read More It's not just Greece: Twitterverse mulls #Prexit
Krueger's report also laid out a series of recommendations to help Puerto Rico's government out of its fiscal hole, including obtaining debt relief through a "a voluntary exchange of old bonds for new ones with a later/lower debt service profile."
Nevertheless, the report noted that "negotiations with creditors will doubtlessly be challenging: there is no U.S. precedent for anything of this scale and scope."
Villamil of Estudios Técnicos dismissed the report's suggestions, however, saying they do not address how the commonwealth would jump-start its lack of economic growth.
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0424b19392c6d2065510e8c5207a6c92 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/29/wealthy-suffer-from-estate-planning-fatigue.html | Wealthy suffer from 'estate-planning fatigue' | Wealthy suffer from 'estate-planning fatigue'
Despite their wealth and business savvy, more than one-third of high-net-worth families have not taken the most basic steps to protect and provide for their loved ones when they die, according to a recent survey by CNBC.com.
The CNBC Millionaire Survey found 38 percent of those with investable assets of $1 million or more have not used a financial expert to establish an estate plan, while 62 percent have.
Tetra Images | Getty Images
Individuals with $5 million or more (68 percent) were more likely to do so, compared to those with $1 million to $5 million in assets (61 percent), according to the survey, conducted by Spectrem Group for CNBC, which polled 750 millionaires.
Republicans (68 percent) were also more likely to use a financial advisor to establish an estate plan than Democrats (61 percent) or independents (58 percent).
The numbers don't surprise Mitch Drossman, national director of wealth-planning strategies for U.S. Trust, who said the constant changes to the federal estate-tax law for nearly a decade (until it was made permanent in 2013) resulted in "estate-planning fatigue."
"We have had an incredible amount of uncertainty with respect to estate taxes, and every change led advisors to reach out to their clients to explain these changes and be sure their documents were up to date and reflective of those changes," he said. "Clients finally said, 'Enough already.'"
The higher federal estate-tax exemption amount, which now stands at $5.43 million per person due to annual inflation adjustments, has also rendered estate planning a lesser priority for many wealthy families, said David Mendels, a certified financial planner and director of planning for Creative Financial Concepts.
Read MoreRich favor kids over charities
Married couples can combine their exemptions to give away $10.86 million tax-free in 2015.
"I think people tend to think of estate planning as being primarily a means to reduce estate taxes, and therefore, if they don't have to pay estate tax, they may feel they don't have to do any planning," said Mendels.
But 15 states, including New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts, as well as the District of Columbia, levy their own estate taxes, which kick in at much lower thresholds. New Jersey's exemption, for example, is $675,000, Rhode Island's is $921,655, and Maryland's is $1 million. "Depending on where you live, estate taxes may still be a factor," said Mendels.
Estate planning, however, is about much more than the size of one's taxable estate, he said.
VIDEO1:1001:10What inheritance? Boomers blow itRetirement
It's a series of documents that protect your assets, provide for your children and delineate your wishes regarding end-of-life decisions. Absent specific instructions, family members are left to guess at what you would have wanted, causing unnecessary stress and infighting.
"Estate planning is not necessarily synonymous with tax planning," said Drossman at U.S. Trust. "There are still many valid reasons to do non-tax estate planning to address property management, to protect assets and to address exactly where you stand on issues you may confront later in life, like cognitive decline or disability.
Read MoreNo will? Big mistake
"That's going to be a bigger issue with longer life expectancies, better medical care and the aging population," he added.
For families with minor children, a last will and testament is the most critical estate-planning document they can have, said Mendels at Creative Financial Concepts.
"If you have young children, you need a will," he said. "It's not about the money. You need to name a guardian for your children, in case something happens to you and your spouse."
It can also be used to set up trusts for any property your child will inherit and to name a trustee to handle the property until your child reaches the age you specify.
Failure to do so means the courts would have to decide who is best suited to care for your children if tragedy should strike. A medical power of attorney is another important weapon in your estate-planning arsenal, authorizing an individual to make health-care decisions on your behalf in the event of physical injury or cognitive impairment.
If you're married, that's typically your spouse, but if he or she dies first, you'll need a backup—ideally, someone who is geographically nearby who can communicate in person with your health-care providers, said estate-planning attorney and CFP Austin Frye, founder and president of Frye Financial Center.
"If, God forbid, you are put in a situation from which you are not going to recover, you want to keep control over what happens to you," said Frye.
Read MoreMake sure that charity is legit
Such documents are often created alongside an advanced medical directive for physicians, also called a living will, which clarify your wishes regarding end-of-life medical treatment, including resuscitation and organ donation. (Make sure you have a HIPAA form attached, which grants your power of attorney the right to access your medical records, which are protected under privacy laws.)
A durable financial power of attorney document is also necessary, as it identifies the person you'd like to manage your money if you are unable to make decisions for yourself, said Frye. Such legal documents grant that person legal authority to pay taxes on your behalf, borrow money, pay your bills, invest and handle bank transactions.
With higher income-tax rates in effect, tools and techniques that help minimize the income-tax hit to your estate—and your heirs—are playing a far bigger role in estate planning today, said Mendels at Creative Financial Concepts.
Indeed, the top marginal tax rate for wealthy taxpayers now stands at 39.6 percent. Those with higher incomes also face a higher capital gains rate of 20 percent instead of 15 percent, a 0.9 percent tax on earned income (wages) and a 3.8 percent Medicare surtax on net investment income, plus the phaseout of personal exemptions and deductions.
"As estate taxes have come down, the income-tax consequences are much more important," said Mendels.
For example, trusts remain a valuable tool for protecting assets from creditors, legal claims and offspring with poor money-management skills, but due to recent tax-law changes, they could also leave your heirs with less.
Effective in 2013, trusts that accumulate income are now hit with the 3.8 percent Obamacare tax that applies to net investment income. The beneficiaries are also subject to the highest income-tax rate of 39.6 percent and the top capital gains rate of 20 percent on any income received from the trust in excess of $12,150.
Read MoreMillionaires? No, we're middle class
By comparison, the top income-tax rate for individual taxpayers kicks in at $400,000 for single filers and $450,000 for married couples filing jointly.
"Trusts are very versatile, and they can do a lot of things, but these are things that need to be thought through," said Mendels. "Your heirs may end up paying much more income tax by leaving property to them in trust than if you just gave it to them outright."
Drossman at U.S. Trust said income-tax implications, as a component of estate planning, have taken center stage at his firm, too. That, and what he calls "reverse estate planning."
"In some cases we're helping clients unwind or reverse some of the estate planning they had done in the past, because it may no longer be needed, given the significant estate-tax exemption or because it would add to their income-tax cost," he said.
The probability of something happening may not be high, but if it does and you haven't planned, anything is possible, including litigation, higher taxes and complete chaos.Austin Fryefounder and president of Frye Financial Center
Some families, for example, are taking assets out of trust and giving them outright to their heirs, since they now fall below the estate-tax exemption line. Others created LLCs or family partnerships years ago to facilitate a discounting of assets, but new rules in some cases prevent assets held in such structures to take full of advantage of the step-up in basis.
Remember: Those who inherit appreciated property, including real estate and stocks, receive a step-up in cost basis for tax purposes based on the current market value on the date of the benefactor's death. Thus, the beneficiary could sell the property immediately without incurring a capital gain, or sell it years from now and only owe gains based on its price appreciation from the day they inherited it.
"If held in a discounted entity, they're not stepped up as high as they would have been had they been held outside that entity," said Drossman. "They may no longer want that in place if they don't benefit from any estate-tax savings, and they get a lower basis."
Read MoreThink you're in the will? Guess again
It's never pleasant to contemplate one's own mortality. But high-net-worth families who fail to plan—and there are many—risk exposing their kids' inheritance to creditors, predators and bitter ex-spouses.
Worse, they leave life's most important decisions—such as who will care for their kids and whether their spouse should pull the plug—in the hands of the courts.
"You have to plan for the worst and hope for the best," said Frye of Frye Financial Center. "The probability of something happening may not be high, but if it does and you haven't planned, anything is possible, including litigation, higher taxes and complete chaos."
—By Shelly Schwartz, special to CNBC.com
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aae1bd08665d6bc6a3f742bd0670b1f7 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/29/worlds-clocks-to-experience-leap-second-on-tuesday.html?__source=yahoo%7Cfinance%7Cinline%7Cstory%7Cstory&par=yahoo&doc=102798600 | World's clocks to experience 'leap second' on Tuesday | World's clocks to experience 'leap second' on Tuesday
VIDEO3:0303:03Being prepped for a different type of Y2K Internet
On Tuesday night, time will stop—for one second—and companies, market exchanges, and computer systems are bracing for the halt.
Well, actually, time will keep going on as usual, but the world's atomic clocks will momentarily pause to sync up with the rotation of the earth. The International Telecommunications Union—the group that determines the world's time scale, will add one "leap second" to its clocks at 23:59:59 on June 30, according to reports in National Geographic and New Scientist. (Tweet This)
For one second, the agency's Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) clock will read 23:59:60, and then display the usual 00:00:00 to mark midnight on July 1, according to a blog post on the group's website.
On average, it takes 86,400.002 seconds for the Earth to make one full rotation—the length of one day. But as the earth moves, other forces, such as gravitational pulls from the sun and the moon, are slowing down Earth's rotation. The average day is slightly longer than it was a century ago, according to the New Scientist. Adding leap seconds—which scientists began doing in 1972—is a way to compensate for the change.
Not everyone is happy with the occasional changes. For one thing, the last leap second switch in 2012 caused computer systems to crash—companies have had problems adjusting to the tweaks in the past. Others argue that the the leap second system is still inaccurate and call for the end of the system entirely, according to the New Scientist. If those opponents prevail, this could be the last time leap seconds are added to the clock.
Read the full article in National Geographic.
Read the full article in the New Scientist
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1f618bd923ff943a65ec0a8419c77134 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/30/chicago-pmi-rises-in-june-but-short-of-forecasts.html?__source=yahoo%7Cfinance%7Cinline%7Cstory%7Cstory&par=yahoo&doc=102798600 | Chicago PMI rises in June but short of forecasts | Chicago PMI rises in June but short of forecasts
VIDEO0:3700:37June's Chicago PMI: 49.4
Business activity in the U.S. Midwest improved modestly during June, but fell short of forecasts, a report showed on Tuesday.
The Chicago Business Barometer for June was 49.4, according to the MNI Chicago Report. Economists had forecast the index at 50 for June, after May's unexpectedly weak 46.2. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector.
Read MoreUS home prices up4.9% in April: S&P/Case-Shiller
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c34c6ecaea7cbe60c4905461747b3b71 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/30/consumer-confidence-hits-1014-in-june-versus-973-estimate.html?__source=yahoo%7Cfinance%7Cinline%7Cstory%7Cstory&par=yahoo&doc=102798600 | Consumer confidence jumps again in June | Consumer confidence jumps again in June
VIDEO0:3700:37Consumer confidence: 101.4 (June)
U.S. consumers were more optimistic about the economy in June, according to a report released Tuesday. (Tweet this)
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index rose to 101.4 in June, beating estimates of 97.3. May's reading was 94.6.
"Consumer confidence improved further in June, following a modest gain in May," said Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board."
Read More Home prices in US cities rise 4.9% in April: S&P/Case-Shiller
"Over the past two months, consumers have grown more confident about the current state of business and employment conditions. In addition, they are now more optimistic about the near-term future, although sentiment regarding income prospects is little changed. Overall, consumers are in considerably better spirits and their renewed optimism could lead to a greater willingness to spend in the near-term."
Consumers were more upbeat about business conditions, the job market and the economic short-term outlook. Those expecting more jobs in the months ahead increased to 17.8 percent from 14.7 percent, while those anticipating fewer jobs declined to 15.1 percent from 16.6 percent.
Optimism about the short-term outlook increased in June as well. The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months was up at 18.5 percent from 16 percent.
The monthly consumer confidence survey is conducted by Nielsen for The Conference Board.
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82f0f5b9d4497e8c1ed6ffc69c5ebc75 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/30/early-movers-pnr-cag-ge-fit-juno-msft-gm-more.html?__source=yahoo%7Cfinance%7Cinline%7Cstory%7Cstory&par=yahoo&doc=102798600 | Early movers: PNR, CAG, GE, FIT, JUNO, MSFT, GM & more | Early movers: PNR, CAG, GE, FIT, JUNO, MSFT, GM & more
Trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.Getty Images
Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:
Pentair—Activist investor Trian has taken a 7.24-percent stake in the valve maker, with sources quoted by Dow Jones saying Trian wants Pentair to buy rivals to consolidate the industry.
ConAgra—The company behind brands such as Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, and Hunt's matched Street estimates with adjusted quarterly profit of 59 cents per share, though revenue was below forecasts. ConAgra also said it was taking a new approach to increasing profit margins, and as part of its new strategy, it will pursue a divestiture of its private label business.
General Electric—GE is selling its European Sponsor Finance business to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe for $2.2 billion. Separately, GE said the regulatory review of the sale of its appliance business to Electrolux is continuing, meaning the deal won't close by the end of the second quarter as originally planned.
Fitbit—RBC began coverage of the wearable fitness device maker's shares with an "outperform" rating, saying Fitbit is rapidly gaining share in a growing business.
Lowe's—BMO raised its rating on the home improvement retailer to "outperform" from "market perform," and increased earnings estimates as well. BMO cites stronger housing and overall economic activity in the Southeastern states, where Lowe's has a larger footprint.
Abercrombie & Fitch—FBR cut its rating on the apparel retailer to "market perform" from "outperform," saying a brand turnaround may take a while, and that the company faces sales and margin pressure from a variety of sources.
Juno Therapeutics—Celgene will invest about $1 billion in Juno. The two will form a partnership to develop treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases.
Microsoft—Microsoft will exit the display advertising business, letting AOL sell ads on its websites, while selling its map technology to Uber.
Sony—Sony plans to raise almost $4 billion through the sale of new stock shares and debt. It will invest the money into its growing image sensors business.
Qualcomm—Qualcomm executive chairman Paul Jacobs said the chip maker has no present plans to spin off its chip business from its patent-licensing unit, as activist hedge fund Jana Partners has suggested. Jana has called the chip business "essentially worthless."
General Motors—GM said a shareholder lawsuit related to its ignition switch recalls has been dismissed by a Delaware judge. The shareholders had accused GM directors of breaching their duties by failing to oversee company operations.
Kraft—The new Kraft Heinz will be dominated by Heinz executives after the two companies complete their planned merger. Eight of the newly-named 10-person executive team will come from Heinz, with eight Kraft executives departing by the end of the year.
Towers Watson—The professional services company will merge with British reinsurance firm Willis Group in an all-stock merger. Towers Watson shareholders will get about 2.65 Willis shares for each share they now hold, plus a one-time dividend of $4.87 per share in cash. The combined company will be called Willis Towers Watson.
Blackstone—Blackstone is selling security firm AlliedBarton to French buyout firm Wendel for $1.67 billion.
AT&T, DirecTV—The two have extended the "termination date" of their planned takeover deal a second time, as the two companies continue to work toward regulatory approval.
Questions? Comments? Email us at marketinsider@cnbc.com
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b3397ac114b2ca3e820e61bc945a1637 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/30/europe-seen-lower-greece-expected-to-miss-imf-payment.html?__source=yahoo%7Cfinance%7Cinline%7Cstory%7Cstory&par=yahoo&doc=102798600 | Europe ends lower, hours ahead of Greece deadline | Europe ends lower, hours ahead of Greece deadline
VIDEO0:3600:36Europe ends lower as last-minute Greece deal eyed
European equities closed in the red on Tuesday as Greece remained firmly in the spotlight for investors.
The embattled country looks likely to default on a 1.6-billion-euro ($1.8 billion) debt payment due to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) later in the day, with its externally-funded bailout due to expire at midnight.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 extended losses to close around 1.3 percent lower.
Greek stock markets remained closed on Tuesday, following the introduction of capital controls.
The U.K.'s FTSE 100 closed around 1.5 percent lower, despite U.K. economic growth for the first quarter being revised upwards. The Office of National Statistics reported on Tuesday that the economy grew by 2.9 percent in the first three months of 2015 from the same time last year.
Germany's DAX, France's CAC closed around 1.3 percent lower and 1.6 percent lower respectively, having spent most of the session hanging onto gains.
Europe's banking stocks were among the top performers, after clocking losses over the previous session. Italy's Banca Popolare di Milano ended over 2 percent higher, with Austrian lender Raiffeisen bank finishing around 1.4 percent higher.
Meanwhile, the U.K.'s Home Retail climbed to the top of the Stoxx 600, closing over 4 percent higher after Morgan Stanley upgraded its rating on the stock.
Across the Atlantic, U.S. stocks held higher in choppy trade Tuesday, attempting recovery from the worst trading day of the year, as investors turned more optimistic on the Greece crisis
VIDEO2:5602:56Greece requests a bailout pre-referendum
Greek officials have already warned that the country is unable to pay the money due to the IMF, after reforms-for-aid talks with creditors broke down at the weekend.
On Tuesday, Athens proposed a new, two-year bailout deal with the European Stability Mechanism. This would be to "fully cover its financing needs and the simultaneous restructuring of debt," according to a translated press release from the office of the Greek Prime Minister.
The new proposal is expected to be discussed by the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers later on Tuesday.
Follow us on Twitter: @CNBCWorld
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6a373d0dfe787cee9baae821d48fd1df | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/30/for-some-passengers-ride-sharing-is-networking-gold.html | For some passengers, ride sharing is networking gold | For some passengers, ride sharing is networking gold
An UberPool image from the company's website.Source: uberPOOL
Forget cocktail parties and name tags. Your next business card exchange could be in a backseat.
Since its launch last summer, UberPool, the service that allows strangers to share rides in return for discounted fares, has for some passengers another benefit: networking.
Collin Willardson, a marketing manager at men's underwear and socks start-up Mack Weldon, says he uses UberPool every opportunity he can to meet others. Willardson first used the service after a trade show in New York, where he met an individual who worked for a media outlet who later did a story on his company.
"It's not about saving money," he told CNBC. "It's about gambling and meeting random people and seeing what we can offer each other."
Read MoreUber is ordered out of the Hamptons
The service is especially useful at events like SXSW, Fashion Week, brand parties and trade shows, he said.
"I'll get to have a conversation with someone in the same industry as me, or someone outside the industry that can help me in the future. Everyone has something to offer in New York," Willardson said.
Uber isn't the only start-up offering pooled rides. Lyft Line, offered by rival Lyft, and Via, which operates only in Manhattan, are two that follow similar models.
Tam Vo, a digital product and content strategist based between San Francisco and Los Angeles, also uses car-sharing apps to meet people. "I've met amazing individuals through Lyft and UberPool that I have second-degree real-life connections to," she said.
Vo recently met another woman during an UberPool ride to San Francisco airport. Upon their arrival, the two continued their conversation over beers. During Vo's next trip to San Francisco, she attended the woman's event in which she was giving a talk.
VIDEO2:4102:41Retirees as Uber drivers
"The world is small and being open to unexpected connections makes it a more empathetic and exciting place," she said.
Which naturally leads to dating opportunities.
"I rode with a really cute guy and chatted the entire ride back to our East Hollywood neighborhood from downtown Los Angeles," said freelance food writer Esther Tseng.
"I've talked to a driver who has had poolers exchange numbers," she said.
Willardson likes the networking opportunities so much he sometimes goes so far as altering his original destination to continue spending time with a fellow passenger.
"One person was able to get me into the front row of a live podcast recording of my favorite show at SXSW," he said. "It was a dream."
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ff7528be307db147d237312382104a2e | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/30/grexit-to-drachma-would-be-dangerous-larry-summers.html?__source=yahoo%7Cfinance%7Cinline%7Cstory%7Cstory&par=yahoo&doc=102798600 | Grexit to drachma would be dangerous: Larry Summers | Grexit to drachma would be dangerous: Larry Summers
VIDEO3:1403:14Grexit a 'danergous experiment': Larry SummersSquawk Box
With Greece just hours away from missing a $1.7 billion loan payment to the International Monetary Fund, the dire debt crisis there is a "sad story of mutual intransigence," former Clinton Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said Tuesday.
"It seems to me that everyone needs to lift themselves up," Summers told CNBC's "Squawk Box" in an interview. "There needs to be a vision for how Greece can grow at a reasonable rate out of the hole it's in, which is worse than the American Great Depression was."
Read MoreGreece lifelines run out as IMF payment looms
The former Obama administration economic advisor also warned that an exit from the common euro currency and a return to the drachma would be a "very dangerous experiment."
"It's certainly true that a currency that could be devalued could increase competitiveness. That could help Greek exporters. It would remove some important excuses for Greek failure," said Summers.
But it's hard to see how the Greek banking system, currently under capital controls, would survive a switch to a new currency, he argued, which would bring a "very substantial reduction in real wages and in pensions."
The European Commission has put forth a last-ditch deal, under which Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras would be required to encourage voters in Sunday's national referendum to support the reform-for-aid conditions imposed by creditors.
The current Greek bailout runs out at the end of the day.
A political calculation seems to be figuring into the exit option for Tsipras, said Larry Lindsey, former director of the National Economic Council for President George W. Bush.
"If they can work through that pain quickly, if they can devalue, then maybe by the time [Tsipras] is up for election again, things will be looking up," the CEO of economic advisor The Lindsey Group told CNBC Tuesday.
For his part, Summers said he hopes the "marriage between Greece and Europe" can be saved because a "divorce" would forever change the euro zone. "A Greece less tethered to the euro zone would become a much more uncertain place," which would inhibit investment there.
That said, the contagion risks of a Greece exit from the euro would be "less grave financially" than it would have been a few years ago, he added.
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117a4e2ad55ac75c6b6a369d64c227d7 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/30/home-prices-in-us-cities-rise-49-in-april-spcase-shiller.html?__source=yahoo%7Cfinance%7Cinline%7Cstory%7Cstory&par=yahoo&doc=102798600 | Home prices in US cities rise 4.9% in April: S&P/Case-Shiller | Home prices in US cities rise 4.9% in April: S&P/Case-Shiller
VIDEO0:3800:38S&P Case Shiller (national) up 4.2% vs. April 2014
Home prices continued to rise in April, but at a slower pace than the previous month, according to the latest S&P/Case Shiller Index report.
The 20-city index rose 4.9 percent year-over-year, though the rate of annual price gains slowed in 11 urban areas.
Read MoreWealthier boomers shun homeownership
"Home prices continue to rise across the country, but the pace is not accelerating," David M. Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a statement. "Moreover, consumer expectations are consistent with the current pace of price increases."
Prices in Denver led the gains, jumping 10.3 percent. San Francisco followed close behind with a 10 percent appreciation in home prices.
Meanwhile, the pace of gains slowed considerably in Boston, where prices were up 1.8 percent over the last 12 months in April, compared with a 4.6-percent rise in March.
Still, recent housing data remain positive, Blitzer said.
Read MoreWill 2 million 'boomerang buyers' ignite housing?
"Sales of new and existing homes are rising in recent reports and construction of new homes enjoyed strong gains in May. At the same time, the proportion of new construction that is apartments rather than single family homes remains high," he said.
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a746419dbfbb075ce856cfa0e4d97aba | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/30/how-apple-could-become-a-dominant-player-in-music-streaming.html?__source=yahoo%7Cfinance%7Cinline%7Cstory%7Cstory&par=yahoo&doc=102798600 | How Apple could become a dominant player in music streaming | How Apple could become a dominant player in music streaming
Apple CEO Tim Cook, left, greets senior vice president of internet services and software Eddy Cue.Robert Galbraith | Reuters
Apple's iTunes became the dominant music download store, and with the introduction of its new music service, analysts say it could do the same for music subscriptions.
Tuesday, the company launches Apple Music. After a free, three-month trial period, members will pay $9.99 a month, or $14.99 per family, for access to an on-demand streaming music service with more than 30 million songs; a 24-hour radio station boasting celebrity DJs such as Zane Lowe; and a new social service allowing artists to connect with their fans.
Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet software and services, refers to the new service as "revolutionary."
"We love music, and the new Apple Music service puts an incredible experience at every fan's fingertips," Cue said in a statement.
Apple is introducing a streaming service because that's where the growth is in this market. In 2014, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, revenue from streaming music services jumped 29 percent to $1.87 billion. Meanwhile, sales from digital downloads fell 8.7 percent to $2.58 billion.
The launch of Apple Music came with its own set of headline-making dust-ups. Pop superstar Taylor Swift publicly objected to Apple's decision not to pay artist royalties during the free trial period. The company then changed its policy.
How should investors think about this service?
Read MoreApple's REAL advantage in music streaming
Apple Music will not have a material financial impact for the company, at least in the near term. Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster notes that, even if Apple increases its subscriber base to match Spotify's, it would add less than 1 percent to Apple's revenue in 2016.
But Munster notes that the service is important for broader strategic reasons. Specifically, he points out that Apple Music, if successful, could be one more way to motivate consumers to buy iPhones, which still account for more than 55 percent of the company's total sales.
"Apple Music matters because music broadly is fundamental to the mobile phone experience," Munster said. "By having a compelling music experience, the hope is Apple will sell more iPhones."
VIDEO3:2603:26Why Apple can still win the streaming battleStreet Signs Asia
Apple is entering a crowded field with many entrenched players. For instance, Rhapsody, which launched in 2001, helped pioneer the model for subscription-based streaming music. The company now claims 2.5 million paying subscribers in 33 countries.
Ethan Rudin, Rhapsody's CFO, says he isn't concerned by competition from the world's most valuable company. He contends that Apple will broadly increase knowledge of the benefits of streaming music, which will benefit his company.
"Apple coming into the market is going to increase the level of awareness," Rudin told CNBC. "While people will try the service for free, when you have to pay for it, you're going to do some comparison shopping. Ultimately, people are going to be really excited about what they see when they try us."
There are challenges for Apple as it enters this market including the fact that many of its iTunes customers are already subscribers to other services including Spotify, Rhapsody, Deezer, Tidal and Rdio. But Mark Mulligan, a music industry analyst with research firm Midia, said the tech titan also boasts real competitive advantages.
"Apple has a host of platform advantages that streaming competitors do not," Mulligan said. "It controls the platform which Spotify and the rest rely on for more than half of their subscriber bases. It controls the payment for most of those, the devices on which the music is streamed, and knows more about their musical tastes than anyone."
Mulligan adds: "But most crucially Apple has the ability to lose money. Music is a loss leader for Apple to sell more hardware so it can afford to spend on marketing and promotions in a way the likes of Spotify could only dream of."
Read MoreBilly Corgan explains Apple's mistake with music
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4d9178f802ec0e38ba9df7f2034ac701 | https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/30/is-your-bond-fund-invested-in-puerto-rico.html?__source=yahoo%7Cfinance%7Cinline%7Cstory%7Cstory&par=yahoo&doc=102798600 | Is your bond fund invested in Puerto Rico? | Is your bond fund invested in Puerto Rico?
VIDEO3:1103:11Puerto Rico bonds: Beware these key dangersSquawk Box
VIDEO3:2703:27Puerto Rico: New risk to financials?Fast Money
VIDEO1:5301:53Puerto Rico on brink of default?Closing Bell
Some of the top-performing municipal bond funds over the past five years have held huge stakes in Puerto Rican debt. Now that Puerto Rico's governor has said the island's roughly $72 billion in debts are "not payable" and asked for U.S. bankruptcy protection for the commonwealth, investors in those funds may take a big hit.
U.S. bond funds have an $11.3 billion total exposure to Puerto Rican debt as of June 29, according to mutual fund firm research Morningstar. (Tweet This) See a list of 20 bond funds with the most exposure to Puerto Rican debt below.
Since U.S. mutual funds are only required to disclose their holdings quarterly, the list from Morningstar is a snapshot and many of these fund either could have sold, or could be selling their Puerto Rican holdings.
Read More
Yet one firm dominates Morningstar's list of funds with the highest exposure to Puerto Rican debt: OppenheimerFunds.
Sixteen of the 20 funds on Morningstar's list are members of the OppenheimerFunds' Rochester group, which describes as its strategy as venturing off "the well-worn path others follow" in tax-free municipal investing. These funds have consistently bested their muni bond peers over the past five years, but June has been brutal to them. Rochester Fund Municipals, the largest fund in the Rochester group with more than $1.3 billion in assets, had more than a quarter of its portfolio invested in Puerto Rican debt as of the end of May and experienced a 1.8 percent drop in net asset value on Monday.
"OppenheimerFunds Rochester and other creditors have offered Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla and Puerto Rico numerous creative and viable solutions to the current fiscal situation facing the island's public power authority. We strongly believe the commonwealth has the ability to provide essential services to its citizens, grow the economy and repay what bondholders are due.... We expect Puerto Rico to act within the tenets of the law, including the commonwealth's constitution, and are ready to defend the previously agreed to terms in each and every bond indenture," according to an OppenheimerFunds statement issued Tuesday. The company declined to comment further.
Read MoreInvestors scramble to avoid Puerto Rico losses
But the muni bond fund that has the biggest reported stake in Puerto Rican debt is not a part of OppenheimerFunds. That distinction goes to Franklin Double Tax-Free Income Fund, from Franklin Templeton Investments, which had more than 47 percent of its portfolio invested in the commonwealth's debt as of the end of March. That allocation is lower than it was a year ago when more than 61 percent of the fund was invested in Puerto Rican debt, according to mutual fund research company Lipper. This fund has been closed to new investors since August 2012.
A Franklin Templeton spokeswoman said that portfolio managers are analyzing an independent report on Puerto Rico's debt crisis written by Anne Krueger, a former IMF official, called "Puerto Rico – A Way Forward," that was released Monday and is "waiting to hear more from the governor on next steps."
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