Piers Morgan's new job: Daily Mail U.S. editor-at-large

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Morgan, whose title will be editor-at-large at the MailOnline, will bring "his own experience and perspective to bear on the big U.S. stories of the moment," according to a statement on the Daily Mail website. He will write several pieces per week.

The editor post is the outspoken journalist's first job since leaving CNN, where he was hosted "Piers Morgan Live" for three years. Morgan's show ended in March; his CNN contract expired at the beginning of September.

"News should never be boring and MailOnline tells the stories of the day in a compelling, informative and entertaining way that grabs the interest of its readers," Morgan said in the statement.

He said he plans on "breaking down the biggest stories that matter to Americans and analyzing them in a way that will generate discussion and create debate."

Related: CNN to end 'Piers Morgan Live'

Morgan's hiring comes as the Daily Mail tries to make inroads in the United States. It already generates huge web traffic -- reportedly 180 million people per month, 60 million of whom are in the U.S. -- with celebrity gossip and other highly clickable content.

In June the Mail hired Jon Steinberg, the president and COO of BuzzFeed, to be the chief executive of its U.S. business.

Apart from his time at CNN, Morgan is probably best known to Americans from NBC's "America's Got Talent," where he was a judge from 2006 to 2011.

He has also written for the Mail's Sunday newspaper since 2004 and will continue to do so.

"He will also be pursuing new television ventures in the U.S.," the Daily Mail's story about his position said.

First Published: September 30, 2014: 10:05 AM ET

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5 investing secrets of the wealthy

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

"Money doesn't guarantee you are a better investor than someone with less money," says Mindy Rosenthal, president of the Institute for Private Investors, which provides wealth management education to those who have at least $30 million in investable assets.

There's a perception that high net worth clients are mostly in private equity and hedge funds. Not true, says Scott Keller, a principal at Truepoint Wealth Counsel.

"The costs associated with those investments are tremendous. We do not feel those are necessary investments," Keller says. "Traditional asset classes have always rewarded investors over the long term."

So how can regular people invest like the rich? Financial advisers shared the following tips:

1. Know the fees on your investments. High-net worth investors focus on broad diversification at the lowest possible costs, said Keller. Actively-managed funds tend to carry higher fees, but don't always outperform the market.

Make sure to know any fees and taxes associated with investment choices before committing to them, he recommends. "Cost needs to be at the forefront of the decision-making process, they can really eat away at returns, which no one wants no matter their income level."

To be more tax efficient, Rosenthal said high net worth investors look for portfolios that don't turn over frequently.

Related: how much are 401(k) fees costing you?

2. Don't waste too much time looking for the next big thing. "Your average investor might spend the bulk of their time trying to identify the next Apple (AAPL, Tech30) or Facebook (FB, Tech30)," says Keller. "Our high-net worth clients spend less time on that and instead focus on wanting to own the whole market and use a low-cost index."

Weyman Gong, principal at family wealth advisory firm Signature, which works with individuals with investable assets of at least $20 million, advises looking for cheap stocks.

"It is unlikely for [wealthy clients] to purchase when the stock trades at $40 because they will have $40 at risk and the upside and downside are symmetric. However, when the stock trades at $20, then you have a much better upside potential and smaller capital at risk," he says.

Related: 3 lessons investors can learn from Derek Jeter

3. Know your risk tolerance. Before making any investment decisions, Rosenthal said wealthy investors know what they will need the money for and how much they can afford to lose. "Set the number you need to have at the end of the year to make you sleep at night."

Once investors know their end goal, they can choose appropriate investments. For instance, she said if a wealthy individual had $10 million to invest and needed $8 million at the end of the year, that person will look to put 80% in relatively safe investments and 20% in more risky growth-generating investments.

The same principle applies at any investment level.

"You get more money for taking more risk, that's how it works, but you need to know what you are comfortable with losing. It is risky to keep all all your money in cash or cash equivalent if you need to earn 8% or 9%, you can't earn that with those options," she says.

Related: Get your assets in gear. Find the right portfolio mix for you

4. Unsexy stocks can be very hot. Just because a company makes headlines every day doesn't make it a good investment, says Doug Lockwood, branch president at Hefty Wealth Partners.

When it comes to picking stocks, he advises clients to look for companies with at least a $50 billion market cap, a dividend yield that's around two times higher than the S&P 500's dividend yield and balance sheet liquidity among other things. He says the current ratio, quick ratio and working capital calculations are useful to evaluate a company's fundamental health.

Examples of stocks that meet this criteria are found in industries used in everyday life: autos, big pharmaceuticals and fuel, he said.

Related:

Related: Your employer may cost you $100k in retirement savings

5. Never panic. Wealthy investors are more likely to take a long-term approach with their portfolios and ignore Wall Street's daily gyrations that can trigger knee-jerk investment decisions, says Rosenthal.

"They stayed in the stock market in 2008 and were then greatly rewarded as just last year the market was up 30%. You have to be brave."

First Published: September 30, 2014: 10:00 AM ET

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Risk of third German recession pressures Europe

A new German recession would spell big trouble for the eurozone.

LONDON (CNNMoney)

Tensions with Russia, slowing global growth and falling consumer confidence mean the region's biggest economy struggled to grow in the past three months, and may turn out to have shrunk for a second quarter running.

The mood among German businesses has sunk to its lowest level since April 2013, and expectations for the next six months are the weakest they've been since December 2012.

Across the eurozone as a whole, data released Monday showed that economic sentiment dipped in September for a fourth month in a row.

"Even the economic powerhouse Germany's sentiment fell, putting it in the frame for a third recession since 2008," said Angus Campbell, senior analyst at FxPro.

Data on prices and the labor market added to the gloom Tuesday.

Prices rose by just 0.3% in the eurozone in September -- the weakest inflation has been for nearly five years. And more than 18 million people are still looking for work across the 18 eurozone states.

Most troubling for policymakers at the European Central Bank will be the decline in core inflation, which strips out volatile prices for food and energy.

That will revive fears that Europe could slump into a vicious circle of falling prices and stagnation.

With France's economy flat lining, and Italy's contracting, much depends on whether Germany can bounce back.

The German government has spurned calls from within Europe and beyond to use its budget surplus to boost growth, emphasizing the need for more reforms.

In the absence of fiscal stimulus, pressure will build on the European Central Bank to go all in with a Federal Reserve-style program to buy government bonds.

Less than a month ago, ECB President Mario Draghi cut interest rates as low as he could, and unveiled plans to buy some loans and mortgages to stimulate bank lending. It was the central bank's second dramatic intervention since June.

Draghi will publish details of the limited asset purchase program Thursday. But Europe's weak prospects mean he's likely to have to do more -- at some point.

Markets seem to be preparing for a further divergence in policy between the ECB and the Fed, which is close to turning off the QE flow. The euro tumbled further against the dollar Tuesday -- losing 0.6% to trade at $1.26.

It has now fallen 9% since May, a sharp move that should bring relief to European exporters and eventually feed through into higher import prices, helping to combat the risk of deflation.

First Published: September 30, 2014: 10:24 AM ET

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Supervalu gets hacked ... again

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The company said on Monday that a hacker installed malware, in either late August or early September, into the part of its computer network that processes card purchases at some of its Shop n' Save, Shopper Food & Pharmacy and Cub Foods stores, as well as liquor stores.

Supervalu (SVU) said it hasn't determined whether any customer data was stolen as a result.

This is the second time the company has been hacked in as many months.

Supervalu said previously that a different "criminal intrusion" occurred on August 14, targeting the part of the computer network that processes card purchases at some liquor stores and grocery stores.

The company believes that its "enhanced protective technology" safeguarded most customers from getting their data ripped off.

But at the time of the hack, the company had yet to install the safeguards at four checkout lanes at four Cub Foods stores in the Minneapolis suburbs of Hastings, Shakopee, Roseville and White Bear Lake.

Supervalu said it hasn't determined whether customers at those checkout lanes had been victimized. It is offering free identity protection services to customers who shopped there.

Cybersecurity: How safe are you?

This is the latest incident in an ongoing trend that started in the holiday shopping season last year.

Hacking has ramped up this year, without about half of all Americans suffering some sort of data breach.

Some of the biggest hacking incidents involved Target (TGT), Michaels (MIK) and Neiman Marcus, where hackers installed malware to access customer information.

Cyber-predators also went after computer systems at Adobe (ADBE), AOL (AOL, Tech30), eBay (EBAY, Tech30) and Snapchat. The restaurant chain P.F. Chang's also said that customer IDs got hacked.

Why Home Depot is not the next Target

Simple tools to avoid getting hacked

First Published: September 30, 2014: 7:50 AM ET

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Wine in a can, a keg, a carton...and it's not bad

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Kivelstadt was working on a bottling line in California and one day in 2008, things didn't go well. Bottling is a precise process, one wrong move and production can come to a shattering halt.

"I had a bad bottling day and I sulked back into the winery and kicked the keg we stored some of the wine in. Then I realized: why can't I sell wine in this?"

So he did. And he's not the only one getting innovative: Glass bottles are facing increased competition on wine shelves.

Kivelstadt launched Free Flow Wines in 2009 as a wine-in-a-keg producer and the company has since begun working with more than 200 brands to put their products in kegs to distribute to restaurants. He said there are more than 80,000 of his kegs floating around the country and that the majority of the wines sell for $8-$15 a glass, with a couple climbing to $20.

The argument for keeping wine in a glass bottle is that it helps a wine age properly. However, according to Kevin Zraly, founder of the Windows on the World Wine School, 90% of wine is meant to be consumed within one year. "That means any of those can be put out in vessels outside the glass bottle and still be good wine."

Many of the bottle replacements are more cost effective because they reduce shipping and operational costs for winemakers.

But these alternatives aren't your grandmother's boxed wine. "It's quality...it's not that sweet, sickly, manufactured wine that we saw our grandparents drink," said Gwendolyn Osborn, director of education at Wine.com. "You can find quality red blends that aren't going to give you a headache within five minutes."

"The structural presentation of wine is changing, that's for sure," said Andrew Streeter, a specialist in consumer packaging. He pointed to aluminum cans, pouches, paper bottles, plastic bag-lined boxes and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles as leading contenders for disrupting wine packaging.

Streeter expects wine to become so portable in 10 years that it will be "much more like [carrying] a stick of gum."

Bandit wines, which come in Tetra Pak cartons made mainly from paper and come in 1 liter and 500mL sizes, have been around since 2004 and according to Bob Torkelson, president of Trinchero Family Estates, the brand sells a quarter of a million cases per year.

The Union Wine Co. in Oregon offers 375-mL cans with pinot noir and pinot gris. It's the same wine packaged into the company's bottles, and the suggested retail price is $6 a can or $24 for a four pack. There are around two glasses of wine per can, and the company asks that you "keep your pinkie down" when drinking it.

Demand for more eco-friendly options has also spurred new bottles to hit wine shelves.

Sonoma County-Calif. based Truett-Hurst launched Paperboy and California Square last year. Paperboy's bottle is made from recycled cardboard with a plastic liner and is 85% lighter than a glass bottle, according to its winemaker Virginia Lambirx. It retails for around $12-$14 a bottle. Despite being described as "good- quality wine" by Lambirx she said, "it's not going to appeal to the super wine snobs [because] it doesn't have a cork closure or come in a glass bottle."

Knowing this, the company also introduced California Square, which has the shape of a typical olive oil bottle. It's still made out of glass, but Lambirx said the square shape uses less material to store and ship. The line features a Russian River Valley Chardonnay, Paso Robles Three Red Blend and Paso Robles Cabernet.

When it comes to innovation, Kivelstadt said the wine industry is its own worst enemy. After all, it took nearly 10 years for the industry to accept a screw top.

But Zraly said consumers also have to play a role to embracing innovation. "It's time to take wine off its pedestal; that wine is sacred liquid that can only be consumed by few and involve a big production."

First Published: September 30, 2014: 8:00 AM ET

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EBay spinning off PayPal as separate company

PayPal will become a separate company after separating from eBay.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The move, which has long been urged by some Wall Street analysts, was announced Tuesday. It is expected to take place in the second half of 2015.

The news sent shares of eBay (EBAY, Tech30) soaring more than 10% in premarket trading.

"This is the best path for delivering sustainable shareholder value," the company said in its announcement.

EBay also announced a new executive team for both companies, with current CEO John Donahoe and chief financial officer Bob Swan planning to leave the company after the split.

Devin Wenig, currently president of eBay Marketplaces, will become CEO of the new eBay. The company also announced the appointment of Dan Schulman, an executive of American Express (AXP), to be the president of the PayPal unit until the split, and to be CEO of the independent PayPal. PayPal had lost its former chief to Facebook in June.

Earlier this year, activist investor Carl Icahn urged eBay to spin off PayPal, and was ready to put it up for a vote of shareholders. He also was proposing two of his own candidates for the eBay board.

At the time Donahoe urged against a split, arguing that "eBay is a big contributor to PayPal's growth and expansion." He also said the split would be a "distraction" for the companies.

Icahn dropped his proxy fight after eBay agreed to appoint David Dorman, founding partner of venture capital firm Centerview Capital Technology, to the board. Dorman was chairman of Motorola (MSI) when it split into two separate businesses.

Related: Will Apple kill PayPal?

PayPal started out as an independent company. Its founders included Peter Thiel, now a billionaire investor who was subsequently an early backer of Facebook (FB, Tech30) and Elon Musk, who has gone to fame and success as CEO of electric car maker Tesla Motors (TSLA) and private space exploration business Space X.

EBay bought PayPal for $1.5 billion in 2002. In a sector littered with failed big dollar purchases, the eBay purchase of PayPal is widely seen as one of the most successful tech acquisitions ever. Last year, it accounted for about 40% of eBay's total revenue. It facilitates one in every six dollars spent online today, and total payment volume grew 26% in the last six months to $203 billion.

The business could grow even more as consumers start making more mobile online payments. But the company also faces increased competition in that space. Earlier this month, Apple (AAPL, Tech30) announced Apple Pay, a new way to make payments with your iPhone.

First Published: September 30, 2014: 7:24 AM ET

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Hack the Hood: Preparing low-income youth for tech jobs

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

"My parents fought on the side of the United States during the Vietnam War, so they were imprisoned for eight years," Ho said. "I'm a product of two refugees who were prisoners of war that endured a lot of hardships to get me here."

But chasing the American dream wasn't easy.

"I grew up in a pretty bad neighborhood in deep east Oakland," he said. "During that time when we were living there in apartments, my mom was robbed with a gun to her head."

Ho turned to video games as an escape, and he taught himself how to write computer code in sixth grade. The youngest of six children, he watched his siblings struggle with low-paying jobs.

"All my brothers work two jobs, and all my sisters work all day from 9 to 7 at a nail salon," he said. "And I felt like that life isn't for me."

Related: 6 things you need to know about STEM

In high school, Ho was pressured to join a gang. But he used coding as an outlet for staying out of trouble.

"Growing up in East Oakland where there's gangs and drugs, it's hard to remove yourself totally from it," he said. "I didn't gang bang because I knew my parents brought me here for a reason. And that reason was to get an education and be a better person in life."

At 21, Ho is on that path. After taking classes at a community college, he joined Hack the Hood, a small nonprofit that teaches low-income youth ages 15 to 21 how to build websites for small businesses.

"We work with youth of color, folks who have historically been left out of the technological conversation," said Zakiya Harris, Hack the Hood's chief education officer. "What we're doing is allowing them to see how they can utilize technology as a tool and even build it as a career."

"When I first came to Hack the Hood, I was just lost," Ho said. "I didn't know what to do with life. I had the skills to code, but I didn't have an outlet to actually put my work out there."

Related: Ex-con launches startup aimed at inmates

During a six-week program, Ho designed several websites for small businesses, including one for Woody's Cafe and Laundromat, a family-run business that has been in Oakland for 25 years.

"The whole process was very seamless," said Vincent Lau of Woody's Cafe. "All we needed to do was hop on a phone call with Nhat for 5 or 10 minutes, and in about a week or so we had this amazing website."

By helping small businesses gain visibility online, Ho and other participants are building portfolios that could lead to future jobs in tech.

"They're really seeing how this can lend itself to a career without necessarily going to college," Harris said. "These are low-hanging fruit skills in technology that they can actually start using now and earning money."

The program also pairs youth with mentors in the tech industry.

"We get a lot of folks who work in Silicon Valley and who are working in tech to really pay it forward and give back by working with our young people," Harris said.

Since the organization started last summer, it's trained 45 youth to build more than 150 websites for small businesses. And it has already gained the attention of some tech giants.

Related: Why Atlanta is ripe for innovation

In June, Google awarded Hack the Hood a $500,000 grant after it placed in the top four of the Google Impact Challenge—a contest that gave $5 million to non-profits with innovative ideas to make the San Francisco Bay area stronger.

"Over the next two years, our goal is to train over 5,000 young people and build over 10,000 websites for local small businesses," Harris said.

The program has already made an impact on young people like Ho.

He enrolled at UC Davis this fall to study computer science. And he's the first in his family to go to college.

"When I graduate I'm planning on maybe starting a start-up company," he said. "My first real investment is gonna be buying my parents a house. And I feel like that's gonna make them really proud."

First Published: September 29, 2014: 9:20 AM ET

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Behind Bugaboo, the 'it' stroller for the 1%

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Bugaboo strollers catapulted to success in the early 2000s and became a must-have for expecting celebrities and soccer moms alike, despite their steep price, with models retailing for between $600 and $1,200.

The funny thing is, Max Barenbrug, the founder and creator of Bugaboo, wasn't even thinking about moms when he came up with the idea in 1994. In fact, he first designed the stroller for men. He didn't even create it with children in mind, really.

At the time, he was a design student in Amsterdam, trying to come up with an idea for his graduation project. From the window of his apartment, he saw parents struggling with clunky strollers decorated with teddy bear prints and "stupid colors." So he set off to create a stroller that had nothing to do with being cute or cool. For him, it was all about mobility and function. No nonsense.

He made his first model with the idea that men could use it for all types of recreation -- transitioning from the beach to the street, up stairs and into cars all with ease. The only problem was no manufacturer wanted to take it on.

This is Barenbrug's original design for a Bugaboo meant for men.

To convince them, Barenbrug redesigned the stroller several times to make the it more marketable, a bit flashier and up to safety standards. When it came to finding a name, he flipped through the dictionary for inspiration. He looked up the word 'buggy,' but his eyes caught the 'bugaboo' nearby. He was so taken by the word that he didn't care that its meaning -- an object of fear -- is decidedly not child-or-marketing-professional-friendly.

When Bugaboo finally launched in 1999 in Holland, it was an immediate hit -- new parents in every neighborhood in Holland, even the royal family, were either pushing a Bugaboo or wanted to be pushing one, he said.

The tipping point

But what really launched the stroller intended for men was an American TV show about women having sex.

Bugaboo was in the midst of making plans to bring the strollers to the U.S. market when "Sex and the City" approached the brand about using one of its strollers in the show. It was lightning in a bottle for the brand: An episode with Miranda toting her son around town aired, and overnight, every American mother had to have one. It turns out that the show, credited for making the very pricey, very glamorous shoemaker Manolo Blahnik a household name, did the same for a decidedly unglamorous item that most parents only viewed as a necessity, not a stylish accessory.

"By accident, we went into the U.S. earlier, but the show opened a lot of doors for us globally," said Madeleen Klaasen, Bugaboo's chief marketing officer, who has been with the company for more than a decade.

Gwyneth Paltrow taking her daugthee out for a walk pushing a Bugaboo in London.

Since then, celebrities have flocked to the brand, with everyone from Duchess Kate to Gwyneth Paltrow buying one. Barenbrug once received a call years ago that Madonna had come into its Los Angeles store, eager to take one home.

The bang for your buck

So the strollers became something to covet -- an item that made parents, who were maybe sleep-deprived, feel trendy and in-the-know and luxurious, even if they had spit-up cereal stuck to their sweaters.

But stores started to see them flying off shelves for another reason: the quality of the aluminum and the fabrics used held up better.

Sure, you can get a stroller for half the price. But according to Eli Gurock, who owns the baby gear haven Magic Beans in Boston, parents pay a premium for products that work well and last a long time.

"For a lesser-quality product, when it breaks, it's broken for good and goes in the garbage," he said. "The thing about Bugaboo is it's not a ripoff."

The staying power

Collaborations with different designers, from a brightly-colored Missoni pattern to Andy Warhol's famed pop art flower prints to a sleek black Marc Jacobs versions, have also been a draw.

At the same time, Bugaboo has consistently updated existing models and created new ones to meet customer needs, like a double stroller and a just-released model meant specifically for runners.

The Andy Warhol + Bugaboo Donkey double stroller that Zanna Rassi Roberts uses.

Zanna Rassi Roberts, senior fashion editor at Marie Claire, stylist and fashion correspondent for "E! News" and "The Today Show," strolls her twin daughters around in a Warhol print double stroller. She said it's like pushing them around in a piece of art.

"I have to be in a sociable mood when I pop them in [the stroller], as everyone stops to firstly look at the stroller, and then at the twins," she said.

"We make this product as good as we can with as good of a value as possible, but at the same time, you know you're special, you know you're part of something if you have one," Barenbrug said. "It's exclusive without exclusivity."

First Published: September 29, 2014: 9:09 AM ET

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Comcast vows: We'll fix our customer service

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

But it might be awhile before people notice a change.

A Comcast executive wrote on a company blog that it will take years before it can "honestly say that a great customer experience is something we're known for."

Neil Smit, CEO of the cable unit of Comcast Corp. (CMCSA), named a new senior vice president of customer experience, reporting directly to him. He vowed to put customers "at the center of every decision we make."

Comcast has among the worst customer service rankings in the nation, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, topping only Time Warner Cable (TWC), a rival it is in the process of purchasing.

Videos by Comcast customers complaining about infuriating or even abusive customer service have forced public apologies from the company.

In one of the most famous complaints, former customer Ryan Block dealt with a belligerent Comcast representative in an eight-minute phone call. The rep refused to cancel Block's service despite his repeated requests to do so.

In a more passive aggressive case, Aaron Spain recorded how he was left on hold for 3 hours and 25 minutes trying to cancel his service, only to discover the office that handled cancellations closed while he was on hold.

And the Chicago Tribune reported the case of a customer who tried to cancel a Comcast home security package after four different thermostats installed by the company malfunctioned.

When he canceled, he was hit with a $1,000 early termination fee. When he refused to pay it, his credit score was trashed. Only after the Tribune became involved did Comcast resolve his case.

First Published: September 29, 2014: 9:30 AM ET

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Why everybody is moving to Texas

In towns like Austin, there's lots of new Texans moving in from more expensive markets.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Jobs is the No. 1 reason for population moves, with affordable housing a close second.

"It take two things to draw people inland in big numbers: jobs and housing affordability," said Nela Richardson, chief economist for the real estate broker Redfin.

Texas and other heartland states have two advantages that translate into affordable housing: Plenty of cheap land around cities and easy regulations that enable developers to build quickly.

Related: Best cities for Millennial buyers

Nine of the top 10 fastest growing U.S. metro areas last year were ones where homes were more affordable than the U.S. average, according to Redfin. Many were in Texas, Oklahoma, Utah and other heartland states.

Five Texas cities -- Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and Fort Worth -- were among the top 20 fastest growing large metro areas.

Some smaller Texas metro areas grew even faster. In oil-rich Odessa, the population grew 3.3% and nearby Midland recorded a 3% gain.

Jobs was the main driver in Austin, where population rose by 2.6% between 2012 and 2013. That's nearly four times faster growth than the United States as a whole.

Jobs are plentiful in Austin, where the unemployment rate is just 4.6%. Moody's Analytics projects job growth to average 4% a year through 2015.

Just as important, many jobs there are well paid: The median income of more than $75,000 is nearly 20% higher than the national median. The median home price is $243,000, higher than the U.S. norm, but a price level that income can support.

Related: Mansions for under $1 million

During the boom years, population actually grew faster in high-priced markets like New York and San Francisco.

Rapid price gains made buyers less concerned about overpaying for homes. Plus, they had banks lining up to lend them money.

Once rapid home price jumps were taken out of the equation, affordable housing markets with strong economies became even more attractive to people looking to relocate.

First Published: September 29, 2014: 8:20 AM ET

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Stocks: 5 things to know before the open

LONDON (CNNMoney)

Here are the five things you need to know before the opening bell rings in New York:

1. Protests in Hong Kong: Pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong have rattled investors, pushing the Hang Seng index down by nearly 2%. The index is now at its lowest point since July.

The protesters -- who are facing a forceful crackdown by police -- are calling for free and open elections in the Chinese territory. Beijing wants to screen candidates for the city's top office. Some protesters say they also want to draw attention to rising inequality in one of the world's most expensive cities.

HSBC (HSBC) shares were down about 1.5% in London.

2. Another dip?: U.S. stock futures were broadly negative and a few key companies were dipping lower premarket.

Both Apple (AAPL, Tech30) and Starbucks (SBUX) were among the main decliners ahead of the open. The European Union is reported to be close to revealing the first results of an investigation into both companies' tax affairs, and could force them to repay billions of dollars.

U.S. stocks moved up on Friday, but were still in the red for the week. The Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 all fell by between 1% to 1.5% over the week.

Related: Fear & Greed Index

3. Am I dreaming?: Japan's Softbank (SFTBF) is reported to be considering a bid for Dreamworks Animation (DWA), the studio behind 'Shrek' and 'How to Train Your Dragon.' Keep an eye on the shares when they open.

4. Flying high: Shares in Air France-KLM (AFLYY) were rising by about 1.7% in Paris after its pilots returned to work after a lengthy strike. However, negotiations between the airline and the pilots' union will continue over issues related to the airline's plans for a low-cost European air carrier.

Related: CNNMoney's Tech30

5. Economics: The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis will report monthly personal income and spending numbers, as well as its price index, at 8:30 a.m. ET.

First Published: September 29, 2014: 5:03 AM ET

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Instagram blocked in China as protests sweep Hong Kong

HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

Users in Hong Kong had been uploading images that showed massive pro-democracy protests, and a forceful response from police that included using tear gas and pepper spray on the crowds.

Talk of the protests had been blocked on other social media in China -- and censors widened their crackdown on Sunday to include the photo-sharing service owned by Facebook.

Instagram had been one of the few non-Chinese social media apps still accessible in the mainland, but observers had long speculated that the app's days were numbered in China.

Photos: Police use tear gas as 'Occupy' comes to Hong Kong

Facebook (FB, Tech30), YouTube and Twitter (TWTR, Tech30) are all blocked in China, and Google (GOOG) has fought a running battle with authorities over censorship for years.

Instagram representatives did not immediately respond for comment, but data from monitoring services blockedinchina.net and GreatFire.org showed the app is blocked.

Related: LinkedIn draws fire for China censorship

Even on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, a search for "Instagram" was not permitted. "In accordance with relevant laws, regulations and policies, search results of 'Instagram' could not be displayed," the service said.

Instagram will remain accessible in Hong Kong, which is beyond the reach of Beijing's censors.

-- CNN's Zhang Dayu contributed reporting.

First Published: September 29, 2014: 3:50 AM ET

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PayPal now lets shops accept Bitcoin

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

This week, the payment processing company PayPal took its first venture into the world of all-digital money.

Merchants that work with eBay's (EBAY, Tech30) PayPal can now easily start accepting payments from customers that use Bitcoin (XBT), an independent, government-less currency.

PayPal struck a deal with three Bitcoin payment-processing companies: BitPay, Coinbase and GoCoin.

Related: What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is an Internet-based system of money specifically designed to cut out middlemen, like banks and governments. So, it sounds odd to have Bitcoin processors. But they make it easier for everyday, non-tech-savvy businesses to accept bitcoins -- and immediately convert them to cash.

But why take bitcoins -- which have fluctuated in price from $1,100 and $400 in the last year -- instead of proven government money?

The system offers much lower transaction fees, which cost businesses a huge amount of money. The 2%-3% that shops pay in credit card swiping fees can obliterate their profits.

Consider this PayPal's first -- but not last -- foray into the world of Bitcoin. The company has made clear that its interest in Bitcoin runs more than skin deep.

In the last year, eBay's two top executives -- CEO John Donahoe and former president David Marcus -- have expressed interest in Bitcoin's technology.

Related: Here's why Bitcoin matters

PayPal's senior director of corporate strategy, Scott Ellison, told CNNMoney the company is most intrigued by the potential to harness the technology that lies at the heart of the Bitcoin system, a public ledger called a blockchain. It's a totally new way of thinking about transactions. It keeps records that are decentralized and keeps users semi-anonymous while making their transactions public.

"We think Bitcoin has tremendous opportunities going forward," Ellison said. "If you really want to understand how a technology works, you need to actually be in that technological space yourself."

Ellison said the move integrating Bitcoin into PayPal is a continuation of the company's view of itself as "the original payment disruptors."

Jose Pagliery is the author of Bitcoin - And the Future of Money (Triumph Books, Chicago).

First Published: September 26, 2014: 6:15 PM ET

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hello Ello (Peace out, Facebook!)

Ello doesn't require your picture or your name to sign up.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Earlier this month, the social media giant made headlines for suspending the accounts of several gay and transgender entertainers. The rationale? The accounts weren't in the holders' "real" names.

"The more they know about you, the more money they make," said Ello co-founder Paul Budnitz regarding Facebook. "I, quite frankly, don't care."

The platform, which is still in beta, launched just over a month ago with roughly 90 people and is still invite-only. This week, the site has seen an incredible surge in the amount of invite requests. He didn't specify the total number, but said that requests and approvals together often totaled 40,000 an hour.

Budnitz said they didn't expect the site to grow so quickly and are still developing its features. (He acknowledged this could mean a little bit of downtime).

Related: Free startup advice from Silicon Valley's best

According to Budnitz, Ello has "really been embraced by the LBGT community," as well as artists and performers.

Ello wants its users to feel more like people and less like data points. Users are free to be whoever they want so long as they abide by basic rules, like no bestiality or impersonation of public figures, according to Budnitz.

To join, all you need is an invite from a friend and an email address.

"We're not geo-locating, we're stripping IP addresses, we don't ask your name, your gender or sexual orientation. All I care about is that you obey the rules of Ello," said Budnitz, who is one of its seven founders.

About a year ago, they started the platform as a private social network for friends of friends to share their artwork and communicate. Eventually, they had 1,000 friends of friends who wanted in to the network, so they decided to open up the circle.

Related: 6 designers shaking up fashion

They received a $435,000 seed investment from FreshTracks Capital, a Vermont-based VC firm. (Budnitz also lives in Vermont, but other founders are located in Colorado.)

But how does a non-ad supported platform survive once the funding runs dry?

"Isn't it just so sad? Rather than cheering on a new model that actually makes things better, people have to say, 'You can't change things,'" said Budnitz. "Our business model is really simple, and proven. It's like an app store."

By that, Budnitz means they'll upsell users on special features to customize their Ello experience -- and he's confident that he'll be able to monetize the platform this way.

"We literally have thousands of people writing to us with feature suggestions, saying: these are the things I'd pay for."

The top request so far? People wanting to control a professional and personal profile with one log-in. Budnitz says they're likely to roll that out in the future and charge a one-time fee of $2.

First Published: September 26, 2014: 6:43 PM ET

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

3 lessons investors can learn from Derek Jeter

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

As the curtain goes down on the illustrious 20-year career of the New York Yankees shortstop, here are three lessons investors should remember as they navigate the turbulent stock market.

1. Don't swing for the fences: Chicks dig the long ball, but Jeter's career shows there's more to baseball -- and investing -- than just hitting home runs.

The Yankee great is a sure bet to make the Hall of Fame despite the fact that he averaged just 13 home runs a year. In fact, Jeter had just one grand slam in his career.

But Jeter made a pretty solid living by hitting singles and doubles on a very consistent basis.

While it's tough to be as consistent as Jeter, investors should try to mirror his career by avoiding the temptation of trying to find a grand slam stock.

Related: Hot ticket sales for Jeter's last NY game

Speculative stock picking can turn into a big win every now and then, but it can also really backfire.

For example, in late 2011 some courageous investors bought shares of RadioShack (RSH) as it tumbled below $10, a rare event in its history.

Unfortunately for those investors, RadioShack kept crumbling. Today it's barely trading above $1, as the company fights off persistent bankruptcy talk.

Investors who played it safe by betting on the retail industry more broadly fared far better. The S&P Retail ETF (XRT) -- which has never had to deal with a bankruptcy rumor -- has surged 63% since late 2011. Not bad for playing it safe.

Related: Zero Hedge - Wall Street's daily dose of doom

2. Don't panic in the fall: Late September and October can be a stressful time for baseball players and investors alike.

MLB players are dealing with the bright lights of the playoffs, where a single pitch can make or break 162 regular season games. Investors too are grappling with a historically turbulent period that has in the past featured the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the Black Monday crash of 1987.

Jeter thrived under the pressure of the fall, winning five World Series championships and the nickname of "Mr. November" for his stellar performance in the 9/11-extended 2001 postseason.

He succeeded in part by not panicking. That's something investors should remember during times of turbulence -- in the fall or otherwise.

Staying calm would be wise during the current market turbulence, which caused the Dow to plummet 264 points on Thursday amid a selloff led by the tech sector.

More turbulence could be ahead this week as investors get their hands on a wave of economic data, highlighted by key manufacturing numbers and the September jobs report.

Stocks could be headed for a pullback or even their first correction since October 2011, but the S&P 500 is barely 2% away from all-time highs. That's hardly a panic-worthy drop.

Related: There's a 'death cross' in the stock market. Should you worry?

3. Strike a balance: One of the things that made Jeter a great hitter is the fact that defenses and pitchers couldn't rely on one tactic to consistently get him out.

If they pitched him inside, he was strong enough to pull the ball down the line. If they tried to get him out away, he'd drive the ball to the opposite field. That's a much more balanced approach than many sluggers who have predictable swings, no matter how strong.

Investors should try to take a similarly balanced and diversified strategy.

Just because technology stocks like GoPro (GPRO), Tesla (TSLA) and Facebook (FB, Tech30) might get all the hype, doesn't mean they should make up your entire portfolio.

Likewise, investors need to balance out their U.S. stock market holdings with shares of funds that track overseas markets. They also need to have exposure to less the sexy, but more consistent performing, corporate and government bonds.

First Published: September 28, 2014: 8:23 AM ET

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

PayPal now lets shops accept Bitcoin

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

This week, the payment processing company PayPal took its first venture into the world of all-digital money.

Merchants that work with eBay's (EBAY, Tech30) PayPal can now easily start accepting payments from customers that use Bitcoin (XBT), an independent, government-less currency.

PayPal struck a deal with three Bitcoin payment-processing companies: BitPay, Coinbase and GoCoin.

Related: What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is an Internet-based system of money specifically designed to cut out middlemen, like banks and governments. So, it sounds odd to have Bitcoin processors. But they make it easier for everyday, non-tech-savvy businesses to accept bitcoins -- and immediately convert them to cash.

But why take bitcoins -- which have fluctuated in price from $1,100 and $400 in the last year -- instead of proven government money?

The system offers much lower transaction fees, which cost businesses a huge amount of money. The 2%-3% that shops pay in credit card swiping fees can obliterate their profits.

Consider this PayPal's first -- but not last -- foray into the world of Bitcoin. The company has made clear that its interest in Bitcoin runs more than skin deep.

In the last year, eBay's two top executives -- CEO John Donahoe and former president David Marcus -- have expressed interest in Bitcoin's technology.

Related: Here's why Bitcoin matters

PayPal's senior director of corporate strategy, Scott Ellison, told CNNMoney the company is most intrigued by the potential to harness the technology that lies at the heart of the Bitcoin system, a public ledger called a blockchain. It's a totally new way of thinking about transactions. It keeps records that are decentralized and keeps users semi-anonymous while making their transactions public.

"We think Bitcoin has tremendous opportunities going forward," Ellison said. "If you really want to understand how a technology works, you need to actually be in that technological space yourself."

Ellison said the move integrating Bitcoin into PayPal is a continuation of the company's view of itself as "the original payment disruptors."

Jose Pagliery is the author of Bitcoin - And the Future of Money (Triumph Books, Chicago).

First Published: September 26, 2014: 6:15 PM ET

19.33 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hello Ello (Peace out, Facebook!)

Ello doesn't require your picture or your name to sign up.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Earlier this month, the social media giant made headlines for suspending the accounts of several gay and transgender entertainers. The rationale? The accounts weren't in the holders' "real" names.

"The more they know about you, the more money they make," said Ello co-founder Paul Budnitz regarding Facebook. "I, quite frankly, don't care."

The platform, which is still in beta, launched just over a month ago with roughly 90 people and is still invite-only. This week, the site has seen an incredible surge in the amount of invite requests. He didn't specify the total number, but said that requests and approvals together often totaled 40,000 an hour.

Budnitz said they didn't expect the site to grow so quickly and are still developing its features. (He acknowledged this could mean a little bit of downtime).

Related: Free startup advice from Silicon Valley's best

According to Budnitz, Ello has "really been embraced by the LBGT community," as well as artists and performers.

Ello wants its users to feel more like people and less like data points. Users are free to be whoever they want so long as they abide by basic rules, like no bestiality or impersonation of public figures, according to Budnitz.

To join, all you need is an invite from a friend and an email address.

"We're not geo-locating, we're stripping IP addresses, we don't ask your name, your gender or sexual orientation. All I care about is that you obey the rules of Ello," said Budnitz, who is one of its seven founders.

About a year ago, they started the platform as a private social network for friends of friends to share their artwork and communicate. Eventually, they had 1,000 friends of friends who wanted in to the network, so they decided to open up the circle.

Related: 6 designers shaking up fashion

They received a $435,000 seed investment from FreshTracks Capital, a Vermont-based VC firm. (Budnitz also lives in Vermont, but other founders are located in Colorado.)

But how does a non-ad supported platform survive once the funding runs dry?

"Isn't it just so sad? Rather than cheering on a new model that actually makes things better, people have to say, 'You can't change things,'" said Budnitz. "Our business model is really simple, and proven. It's like an app store."

By that, Budnitz means they'll upsell users on special features to customize their Ello experience -- and he's confident that he'll be able to monetize the platform this way.

"We literally have thousands of people writing to us with feature suggestions, saying: these are the things I'd pay for."

The top request so far? People wanting to control a professional and personal profile with one log-in. Budnitz says they're likely to roll that out in the future and charge a one-time fee of $2.

First Published: September 26, 2014: 6:43 PM ET

19.33 | 0 komentar | Read More

3 lessons investors can learn from Derek Jeter

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

As the curtain goes down on the illustrious 20-year career of the New York Yankees shortstop, here are three lessons investors should remember as they navigate the turbulent stock market.

1. Don't swing for the fences: Chicks dig the long ball, but Jeter's career shows there's more to baseball -- and investing -- than just hitting home runs.

The Yankee great is a sure bet to make the Hall of Fame despite the fact that he averaged just 13 home runs a year. In fact, Jeter had just one grand slam in his career.

But Jeter made a pretty solid living by hitting singles and doubles on a very consistent basis.

While it's tough to be as consistent as Jeter, investors should try to mirror his career by avoiding the temptation of trying to find a grand slam stock.

Related: Hot ticket sales for Jeter's last NY game

Speculative stock picking can turn into a big win every now and then, but it can also really backfire.

For example, in late 2011 some courageous investors bought shares of RadioShack (RSH) as it tumbled below $10, a rare event in its history.

Unfortunately for those investors, RadioShack kept crumbling. Today it's barely trading above $1, as the company fights off persistent bankruptcy talk.

Investors who played it safe by betting on the retail industry more broadly fared far better. The S&P Retail ETF (XRT) -- which has never had to deal with a bankruptcy rumor -- has surged 63% since late 2011. Not bad for playing it safe.

Related: Zero Hedge - Wall Street's daily dose of doom

2. Don't panic in the fall: Late September and October can be a stressful time for baseball players and investors alike.

MLB players are dealing with the bright lights of the playoffs, where a single pitch can make or break 162 regular season games. Investors too are grappling with a historically turbulent period that has in the past featured the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the Black Monday crash of 1987.

Jeter thrived under the pressure of the fall, winning five World Series championships and the nickname of "Mr. November" for his stellar performance in the 9/11-extended 2001 postseason.

He succeeded in part by not panicking. That's something investors should remember during times of turbulence -- in the fall or otherwise.

Staying calm would be wise during the current market turbulence, which caused the Dow to plummet 264 points on Thursday amid a selloff led by the tech sector.

More turbulence could be ahead this week as investors get their hands on a wave of economic data, highlighted by key manufacturing numbers and the September jobs report.

Stocks could be headed for a pullback or even their first correction since October 2011, but the S&P 500 is barely 2% away from all-time highs. That's hardly a panic-worthy drop.

Related: There's a 'death cross' in the stock market. Should you worry?

3. Strike a balance: One of the things that made Jeter a great hitter is the fact that defenses and pitchers couldn't rely on one tactic to consistently get him out.

If they pitched him inside, he was strong enough to pull the ball down the line. If they tried to get him out away, he'd drive the ball to the opposite field. That's a much more balanced approach than many sluggers who have predictable swings, no matter how strong.

Investors should try to take a similarly balanced and diversified strategy.

Just because technology stocks like GoPro (GPRO), Tesla (TSLA) and Facebook (FB, Tech30) might get all the hype, doesn't mean they should make up your entire portfolio.

Likewise, investors need to balance out their U.S. stock market holdings with shares of funds that track overseas markets. They also need to have exposure to less the sexy, but more consistent performing, corporate and government bonds.

First Published: September 28, 2014: 8:23 AM ET

19.33 | 0 komentar | Read More

How iPhone apps could impact your insurance

Apple's new Health app in action.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

As part of Apple's (AAPL, Tech30) new mobile operating system, developers can build apps that measure things like heart rate, sleep, weight and blood pressure. If users choose to do so, they can then send that information to doctors for medical advice.

Health insurers, which are barred by Obamacare from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions, can't base their decisions on this kind of information. But the situation is different for life insurers, who use medical records to make decisions about the relative risks of prospective customers.

"If I'm an insurance company, I'd want access to everything, all the data points, so I can make an informed business decision," said Bradley Shear, a lawyer who works on digital privacy issues.

Related: Apple fixes software bug in iPhone 6

Life insurers take all kinds of information into account as they make policy decisions: age, medical history, occupation, and whether you're a smoker, just to name a few. Whether and how health app data might figure into these decisions remains an open question.

"We don't traffic in hypotheticals," said Jack Dolan, a spokesman for the American Council of Life Insurers. "We have to underwrite using reliable information and sound actuarial principles."

But it's not hard to imagine how data like weight and blood pressure could figure into these calculations.

"If you lose a lot of weight in a short period of time, that may be an indication that you've got a health condition," Shear said.

Apple did not respond to requests for comment.

The insurance industry has already found ways of using tracking data in other contexts.

So-called "usage-based insurance," for example, is a fast-growing segment of the auto insurance market. With UBI, drivers agree to install devices from insurers that measure things like location, speed, miles driven and airbag deployment to help calculate rates.

There's also the possibility of health information being sought by plaintiffs in civil cases. Location data from toll tags like E-ZPass, for example, has previously been used in divorce proceedings.

Related: 6 things to love -- and hate -- about the iPhone 6

Of course, none of this means that you shouldn't share digital health information with your doctor, or that the information will be shared without your consent. But it's one more issue to be mindful of as more and more of our lives are tracked online.

"Doctors want this information, patients want this information and we're seeing safeguards put in place to show consumers how and when that information becomes part of your medical record," said Gerard Stegmaier, a privacy expert with the law firm Goodwin Procter. "It's a brave new world where we're going to have to figure things out as we go along."

First Published: September 26, 2014: 6:11 PM ET

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

PayPal now lets shops accept Bitcoin

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

This week, the payment processing company PayPal took its first venture into the world of all-digital money.

Merchants that work with eBay's (EBAY, Tech30) PayPal can now easily start accepting payments from customers that use Bitcoin (XBT), an independent, government-less currency.

PayPal struck a deal with three Bitcoin payment-processing companies: BitPay, Coinbase and GoCoin.

Related: What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is an Internet-based system of money specifically designed to cut out middlemen, like banks and governments. So, it sounds odd to have Bitcoin processors. But they make it easier for everyday, non-tech-savvy businesses to accept bitcoins -- and immediately convert them to cash.

But why take bitcoins -- which have fluctuated in price from $1,100 and $400 in the last year -- instead of proven government money?

The system offers much lower transaction fees, which cost businesses a huge amount of money. The 2%-3% that shops pay in credit card swiping fees can obliterate their profits.

Consider this PayPal's first -- but not last -- foray into the world of Bitcoin. The company has made clear that its interest in Bitcoin runs more than skin deep.

In the last year, eBay's two top executives -- CEO John Donahoe and former president David Marcus -- have expressed interest in Bitcoin's technology.

Related: Here's why Bitcoin matters

PayPal's senior director of corporate strategy, Scott Ellison, told CNNMoney the company is most intrigued by the potential to harness the technology that lies at the heart of the Bitcoin system, a public ledger called a blockchain. It's a totally new way of thinking about transactions. It keeps records that are decentralized and keeps users semi-anonymous while making their transactions public.

"We think Bitcoin has tremendous opportunities going forward," Ellison said. "If you really want to understand how a technology works, you need to actually be in that technological space yourself."

Ellison said the move integrating Bitcoin into PayPal is a continuation of the company's view of itself as "the original payment disruptors."

Jose Pagliery is the author of Bitcoin - And the Future of Money (Triumph Books, Chicago).

First Published: September 26, 2014: 6:15 PM ET

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hello Ello (Peace out, Facebook!)

Ello doesn't require your picture or your name to sign up.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Earlier this month, the social media giant made headlines for suspending the accounts of several gay and transgender entertainers. The rationale? The accounts weren't in the holders' "real" names.

"The more they know about you, the more money they make," said Ello co-founder Paul Budnitz regarding Facebook. "I, quite frankly, don't care."

The platform, which is still in beta, launched just over a month ago with roughly 90 people and is still invite-only. This week, the site has seen an incredible surge in the amount of invite requests. He didn't specify the total number, but said that requests and approvals together often totaled 40,000 an hour.

Budnitz said they didn't expect the site to grow so quickly and are still developing its features. (He acknowledged this could mean a little bit of downtime).

Related: Free startup advice from Silicon Valley's best

According to Budnitz, Ello has "really been embraced by the LBGT community," as well as artists and performers.

Ello wants its users to feel more like people and less like data points. Users are free to be whoever they want so long as they abide by basic rules, like no bestiality or impersonation of public figures, according to Budnitz.

To join, all you need is an invite from a friend and an email address.

"We're not geo-locating, we're stripping IP addresses, we don't ask your name, your gender or sexual orientation. All I care about is that you obey the rules of Ello," said Budnitz, who is one of its seven founders.

About a year ago, they started the platform as a private social network for friends of friends to share their artwork and communicate. Eventually, they had 1,000 friends of friends who wanted in to the network, so they decided to open up the circle.

Related: 6 designers shaking up fashion

They received a $435,000 seed investment from FreshTracks Capital, a Vermont-based VC firm. (Budnitz also lives in Vermont, but other founders are located in Colorado.)

But how does a non-ad supported platform survive once the funding runs dry?

"Isn't it just so sad? Rather than cheering on a new model that actually makes things better, people have to say, 'You can't change things,'" said Budnitz. "Our business model is really simple, and proven. It's like an app store."

By that, Budnitz means they'll upsell users on special features to customize their Ello experience -- and he's confident that he'll be able to monetize the platform this way.

"We literally have thousands of people writing to us with feature suggestions, saying: these are the things I'd pay for."

The top request so far? People wanting to control a professional and personal profile with one log-in. Budnitz says they're likely to roll that out in the future and charge a one-time fee of $2.

First Published: September 26, 2014: 6:43 PM ET

21.29 | 0 komentar | Read More

PayPal now lets shops accept Bitcoin

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

This week, the payment processing company PayPal took its first venture into the world of all-digital money.

Merchants that work with eBay's (EBAY, Tech30) PayPal can now easily start accepting payments from customers that use Bitcoin (XBT), an independent, government-less currency.

PayPal struck a deal with three Bitcoin payment-processing companies: BitPay, Coinbase and GoCoin.

Related: What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is an Internet-based system of money specifically designed to cut out middlemen, like banks and governments. So, it sounds odd to have Bitcoin processors. But they make it easier for everyday, non-tech-savvy businesses to accept bitcoins -- and immediately convert them to cash.

But why take bitcoins -- which have fluctuated in price from $1,100 and $400 in the last year -- instead of proven government money?

The system offers much lower transaction fees, which cost businesses a huge amount of money. The 2%-3% that shops pay in credit card swiping fees can obliterate their profits.

Consider this PayPal's first -- but not last -- foray into the world of Bitcoin. The company has made clear that its interest in Bitcoin runs more than skin deep.

In the last year, eBay's two top executives -- CEO John Donahoe and former president David Marcus -- have expressed interest in Bitcoin's technology.

Related: Here's why Bitcoin matters

PayPal's senior director of corporate strategy, Scott Ellison, told CNNMoney the company is most intrigued by the potential to harness the technology that lies at the heart of the Bitcoin system, a public ledger called a blockchain. It's a totally new way of thinking about transactions. It keeps records that are decentralized and keeps users semi-anonymous while making their transactions public.

"We think Bitcoin has tremendous opportunities going forward," Ellison said. "If you really want to understand how a technology works, you need to actually be in that technological space yourself."

Ellison said the move integrating Bitcoin into PayPal is a continuation of the company's view of itself as "the original payment disruptors."

Jose Pagliery is the author of Bitcoin - And the Future of Money (Triumph Books, Chicago).

First Published: September 26, 2014: 6:15 PM ET

19.33 | 0 komentar | Read More

How iPhone apps could impact your insurance

Apple's new Health app in action.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

As part of Apple's (AAPL, Tech30) new mobile operating system, developers can build apps that measure things like heart rate, sleep, weight and blood pressure. If users choose to do so, they can then send that information to doctors for medical advice.

Health insurers, which are barred by Obamacare from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions, can't base their decisions on this kind of information. But the situation is different for life insurers, who use medical records to make decisions about the relative risks of prospective customers.

"If I'm an insurance company, I'd want access to everything, all the data points, so I can make an informed business decision," said Bradley Shear, a lawyer who works on digital privacy issues.

Related: Apple fixes software bug in iPhone 6

Life insurers take all kinds of information into account as they make policy decisions: age, medical history, occupation, and whether you're a smoker, just to name a few. Whether and how health app data might figure into these decisions remains an open question.

"We don't traffic in hypotheticals," said Jack Dolan, a spokesman for the American Council of Life Insurers. "We have to underwrite using reliable information and sound actuarial principles."

But it's not hard to imagine how data like weight and blood pressure could figure into these calculations.

"If you lose a lot of weight in a short period of time, that may be an indication that you've got a health condition," Shear said.

Apple did not respond to requests for comment.

The insurance industry has already found ways of using tracking data in other contexts.

So-called "usage-based insurance," for example, is a fast-growing segment of the auto insurance market. With UBI, drivers agree to install devices from insurers that measure things like location, speed, miles driven and airbag deployment to help calculate rates.

There's also the possibility of health information being sought by plaintiffs in civil cases. Location data from toll tags like E-ZPass, for example, has previously been used in divorce proceedings.

Related: 6 things to love -- and hate -- about the iPhone 6

Of course, none of this means that you shouldn't share digital health information with your doctor, or that the information will be shared without your consent. But it's one more issue to be mindful of as more and more of our lives are tracked online.

"Doctors want this information, patients want this information and we're seeing safeguards put in place to show consumers how and when that information becomes part of your medical record," said Gerard Stegmaier, a privacy expert with the law firm Goodwin Procter. "It's a brave new world where we're going to have to figure things out as we go along."

First Published: September 26, 2014: 6:11 PM ET

19.33 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hello Ello (Peace out, Facebook!)

Ello doesn't require your picture or your name to sign up.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Earlier this month, the social media giant made headlines for suspending the accounts of several gay and transgender entertainers. The rationale? The accounts weren't in the holders' "real" names.

"The more they know about you, the more money they make," said Ello co-founder Paul Budnitz regarding Facebook. "I, quite frankly, don't care."

The platform, which is still in beta, launched just over a month ago with roughly 90 people and is still invite-only. This week, the site has seen an incredible surge in the amount of invite requests. He didn't specify the total number, but said that requests and approvals together often totaled 40,000 an hour.

Budnitz said they didn't expect the site to grow so quickly and are still developing its features. (He acknowledged this could mean a little bit of downtime).

Related: Free startup advice from Silicon Valley's best

According to Budnitz, Ello has "really been embraced by the LBGT community," as well as artists and performers.

Ello wants its users to feel more like people and less like data points. Users are free to be whoever they want so long as they abide by basic rules, like no bestiality or impersonation of public figures, according to Budnitz.

To join, all you need is an invite from a friend and an email address.

"We're not geo-locating, we're stripping IP addresses, we don't ask your name, your gender or sexual orientation. All I care about is that you obey the rules of Ello," said Budnitz, who is one of its seven founders.

About a year ago, they started the platform as a private social network for friends of friends to share their artwork and communicate. Eventually, they had 1,000 friends of friends who wanted in to the network, so they decided to open up the circle.

Related: 6 designers shaking up fashion

They received a $435,000 seed investment from FreshTracks Capital, a Vermont-based VC firm. (Budnitz also lives in Vermont, but other founders are located in Colorado.)

But how does a non-ad supported platform survive once the funding runs dry?

"Isn't it just so sad? Rather than cheering on a new model that actually makes things better, people have to say, 'You can't change things,'" said Budnitz. "Our business model is really simple, and proven. It's like an app store."

By that, Budnitz means they'll upsell users on special features to customize their Ello experience -- and he's confident that he'll be able to monetize the platform this way.

"We literally have thousands of people writing to us with feature suggestions, saying: these are the things I'd pay for."

The top request so far? People wanting to control a professional and personal profile with one log-in. Budnitz says they're likely to roll that out in the future and charge a one-time fee of $2.

First Published: September 26, 2014: 6:43 PM ET

19.33 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ruble's headlong plunge shows Russia hurting

LONDON (CNNMoney)

The ruble fell another 1.6% against the U.S. dollar Friday, extending a slump that has wiped nearly 16% off its value since the start of the year.

Many emerging market currencies have tumbled this month as investors brace for higher interest rates in the U.S., which make the dollar more attractive.

But the ruble has been one of the worst performers. A ceasefire agreement between Ukraine and Russia-backed rebels signed last month appears to be holding, so why is the currency back on the skids?

Freezing assets: The Russian parliament is reportedly discussing a draft law that would allow courts to confiscate assets of foreign investors. That is only likely to accelerate the exodus of capital that saw $75 billion flee Russia in the first six months of the year -- more than in the whole of 2013.

And in a stark reminder of the risks of doing business in Russia, the state has turned on one of its own. State prosecutors on Friday seized an oil company belonging to one of the country's leading oligarchs, Vladimir Evtushenkov.

He was placed under house arrest last week and charged with money laundering when his holding company -- Sistema -- bought the Bashneft oil firm in 2009.

Sistema shares plunged 23% in London. Sistema, which has denied any wrongdoing, said it was "clarifying the situation."

The case has echos of the Yukos affair a decade ago, when Mikhail Khodorkovsky was thrown in jail and forced to sell most of his oil company to state energy giant Rosneft.

Related: 10 Western companies getting slammed in Russia

Lasting damage: Russia's oil-dependent economy was already slowing down before Moscow's annexation of Crimea, and its support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine prompted the West to impose successive rounds of ever tougher sanctions.

The measures are aimed at restricting Russia's access to Western finance, advanced energy technology and services, and arms. Russia's biggest banks, energy companies and a handful of businessmen close to President Vladimir Putin have been targeted.

The chill in relations with key trading partners is damaging investment, and consumers are hurting from rising prices after Russia banned the import of many Western foodstuffs.

Russia's $2 trillion-a-year economy stalled in the first six months, and a new forecast from the World Bank predicts lasting damage for several years to come.

In a report published this week, it forecast growth of just 0.5% in 2014 and 0.3% in 2015. And the picture barely improves in 2016, according to its baseline forecast. A more pessimistic scenario foresees the Russian economy slipping into recession this year and contracting further in 2015 and 2016.

First Published: September 26, 2014: 10:03 AM ET

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Apple fixes software bug in iPhone 6

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

iOS 8.0.2 came two days after Apple withdrew a software update following widely reported issues that left some unable to use their phone.

After the first update, the phones were unable to connect to cellular networks and the fingerprint reader, a security feature, did not work.

Related: Return of Crackberry? Not so fast

"We apologize for inconveniencing the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users who were impacted by the bug in iOS 8.0.1," Apple said in a statement.

The iOS 8 operating system was released just last week, days ahead of the release of the iPhone 6.

Apple (AAPL, Tech30)has sold 10 million of the new smartphones that were released last Friday. In addition to the software problem, there have been reports of bent phones.

First Published: September 26, 2014: 8:52 AM ET

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Wall St. bombshell: Bill Gross out at Pimco

Bill Gross is going to Janus Capital Group.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The legendary investor has left Pimco and is heading to Janus Capital Group (JNS), where he will manage a newly-launched bond fund for the firm.

Shares of Janus Capital jumped 35% in early trading.

"It was not without great thought and deliberation over quite some time that I decided to begin this next chapter," Gross said in a statement. "I have been fortunate to have had a great run at Pimco, and I am looking forward to be able to continue this run with Janus."

Related: Pimco's Bill Gross doesn't own cell phone

Gross' name was synonymous with Pimco, the $2 trillion company that he founded and built into the world's largest bond fund manager as chief investment officer. The fund said it has a succession plan in place and will name Gross's successor shortly.

Janus said Gross will be based in a new office in Newport Beach, Calif., the same locale as Pimco's headquarters.

The details surrounding Gross's departure were vague, and the move seemed to catch many on Wall Street off guard.

His exit also comes amid recent turmoil at Pimco.

Earlier this year, its co-chief investment officer Mohamed El-Erian unexpectedly resigned. His resignation sparked a series of negative articles suggesting Gross's erratic behavior helped drive El-Erian away.

Related: Mohamed El-Erian says take some money out of stocks

The firm has also struggled with outflows this year as ultra low interest rates have dampened bond returns across the industry.

And just this week, Pimco revealed that it's currently the subject of a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation over the way it prices some of its investments.

Shares of Allianz, the German conglomerate that owns Pimco fell over 5% in European trading, while some of Pimco's closed end mutual funds also took a hit.

Meanwhile, shares of the major rival asset management firms, including BlackRock (BLK), Legg Mason (LM), and Franklin Resources (BEN) were up, possibly on speculation that they could steal some market share from a Gross-less Pimco.

First Published: September 26, 2014: 9:14 AM ET

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Marc Andreessen: Spendthrift startups will "vaporize"

Marc Andreessen is worried about high burn rates at Silicon Valley startups.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

Andreessen has long insisted that Silicon Valley's tech boom is not a bubble, but he is now worried that startups are spending too much cash on flashy offices or excessive numbers of employees.

Andreessen's comments, made on Twitter, make him the latest in a series of investors to warn about high "burn rates" at tech startups. Burn rate measures how quickly a company uses capital.

"When the market turns, and it will turn, we will find out who has been swimming without trunks on: many high burn rate [companies] will VAPORIZE," Andreessen said.

Related: The billionaire Silicon Valley exec with the shiniest toys

Andreessen is not the only worried investor. Bill Gurley, another venture capitalist, told the Wall Street Journal last week that "no one's fearful, everyone's greedy, and it will eventually end." Fred Wilson, a partner at Union Square Ventures, is also sounding the alarm over high burn rates.

Andreessen's 18 tweets on the topic warn that in the event of a downturn, companies will find it much harder to raise cash, merge or be acquired by a larger firm.

When that happens, startups will be forced to adapt quickly, and bloated firms will fail.

"When market turns, M&A mostly stops. Nobody will want to buy your cash-incinerating startup. There will be no Plan B. VAPORIZE," he said.

Related: Have we reached a 'messaging' bubble?

Andreessen said that while some companies with high burn rates will survive, they will be "few and far between."

Andreessen's conclusion? "Worry," he said.

First Published: September 25, 2014: 11:33 PM ET

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Stocks: 4 things to know before the open

Click chart for in-depth premarket data.

LONDON (CNNMoney)

Here are the four things you need to know before the opening bell rings in New York:

1. Calmer waters?: U.S. stock futures were little changed, which may be a welcome sight for investors after stocks fell deep into the red the previous day.

Apple (AAPL, Tech30) and other tech stocks tumbled, driving the Nasdaq down nearly 2%. The S&P 500 fell by 1.6%, and the Dow Jones industrial average lost 264 points.

"Following a strong summer rally, September is proving to be a more difficult month as some of the best performing trades are reversed," said Tom Beevers, CEO at StockViews.

Gold prices were rising and the U.S. dollar was firming. These kinds of moves tend to occur when investors are nervous and looking for safe haven assets.

The latest reading of the CNNMoney Fear & Greed index shows markets are feeling extremely fearful.

Related: Fear & Greed Index

2. Just do it: Shares in Nike (NKE) were surging by about 7% premarket after the company reported a 70% jump in online sales in the past quarter.

Shares in Micron Technology (MU) were also rising -- up by about 5% -- after the firm reported better than expected results.

3. Earnings and economics: BlackBerry (BBRY, Tech30) and the Finish Line (FINL) will report earnings before the opening bell.

The U.S. government will post its third estimate of second quarter GDP at 8:30 a.m. ET. The University of Michigan will publish its consumer sentiment index at 9:55 a.m.

Related: CNNMoney's Tech30

4. International markets overview: Most European and Asian markets were in the red Friday, though the losses weren't dramatic.

Australian markets took the biggest hit, with the ASX All Ordinaries index dropping by 1.2%.

First Published: September 26, 2014: 4:58 AM ET

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Return of CrackBerry? Not so fast

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Shares of BlackBerry (BBRY, Tech30) were down 3% in volatile premarket trading. The stock, which was pummeled Thursday along with the rest of the tech sector, had surged shortly after the company's results were released Friday morning.

But there was some good news. The Canadian smartphone maker said Friday its cash level rose slightly from its last quarter to $3.1 billion.

That's very encouraging considering that many investors have been worried about whether or not the company would run out of money at some point in the next few years.

And even though BlackBerry reported red ink again, the loss was smaller than what Wall Street analysts expected. The company also said that it shipped 2.4 million phones in the quarter. That was also a pleasant surprise to analysts.

The financial results cap a busy week for the company. BlackBerry just released the new square-shaped Passport phone on Wednesday.

The Passport is being viewed by some as BlackBerry's last chance to remain relevant in the mobile device market.

During a conference call with analysts, BlackBerry CEO John Chen the Passport will be profitable for the company at its price of $599. He added that demand for the Passport was strong on BlackBerry's site and on Amazon (AMZN, Tech30).

Related: A BlackBerry ... designed by Porsche

The company has lost millions of subscribers during the past few years as It struggled to keep up with Apple (AAPL, Tech30) and companies such as Samsung (SSNLF) and LG that sell phones and tablets running on Google's (GOOGL, Tech30) Android. Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30)has also emerged as a tougher competitor.

BlackBerry's core market of corporate customers and governments has been aggressively targeted by Apple, which announced a partnership with IBM (IBM, Tech30) earlier this year. Big Blue will sell customized iPhones and iPads to businesses.

But under Chen, BlackBerry has taken steps to focus more on software. It has ambitious plans to be a big player in the connected devices market, the so-called Internet of Things.

The company's QNX software is already used by several automotive makers to power mapping, entertainment and communication technology in cars.

Investors have applauded Chen's turnaround efforts. The stock has surged more than 30% this year. Chen took over at BlackBerry in November 2013.

BlackBerry also got a boost after Facebook (FB, Tech30) bought messaging service WhatsApp this year for nearly $20 billion.

The purchase reminded many investors and consumers that Blackberry's own BBM messaging platform could be a valuable asset. The company said Friday that it had 91 million monthly active BBM users at the end of the quarter, up from 85 million in the prior quarter.

BlackBerry has even conceded that many of its customers are no longer addicted to a device that they used to refer to fondly as their CrackBerry.

Related: BlackBerry says it's not just about phones anymore

The company recently bought a startup that allows people to set up separate billing for personal and business uses on their smartphone -- and it works for Android and Apple's iOS as well as BlackBerry.

Still, BlackBerry isn't completely giving up on the hardware market. It continues to tout its stellar reputation for security.

After several celebrities had nude photos published online because their Apple iCloud accounts were hacked, several BlackBerry fans gleefully pointed out on Twitter that Jennifer Lawrence and others would not have had this problem if they had BlackBerries instead of iPhones.

But BlackBerry still faces an uphill battle.

Chen said that the company is still in the first half of a recovery effort that could take up to eight quarters. He added that sales may be close to bottoming.

And While Chen did reiterate that he expects the company to break even on a cash flow basis by the end of its current fiscal year, that's not the same thing as a real profit. Analysts still expect the company to report net losses this year and in fiscal 2016.

First Published: September 26, 2014: 7:30 AM ET

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6 things you need to know about STEM

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Here are six things you need to know about STEM:

Kids need to get excited about science early.

STEM jobs are growing at 1.7 times the rate of non-STEM jobs, and the U.S. is simply not producing enough candidates to fill them. Only 16% of high school seniors are interested in pursuing STEM careers, according to the Department of Education.

The Obama administration is investing millions of dollars to produce an additional one million STEM undergrads by 2022. But that would barely fill the projected shortage in STEM jobs.

To get more students interested, some universities are changing their approach.

"[College professors] have changed how they teach in order to draw in a more diverse group," said Londa Schiebinger, a professor at Stanford. "They show you the cool applications first -- then they bring in the theory and more difficult techniques. It's hooking people in and showing them what they can do with the skills."

Related: Few female engineers and execs at Google

But it's got to happen sooner -- starting in kindergarten -- in order to attract a diverse mix and spur innovation.

"How much cooler would STEM be if we got the creative juices of broader segments of the population?" said Schiebinger.

STEM grads aren't just important for engineering.

74% of college graduates with STEM degrees are going into non-STEM jobs, according to the Census Bureau. They're pursuing careers in everything from healthcare and law to education and social work.

While that's bad news for employers hoping to fill STEM positions, the graduates are highly sought after and earn higher wages than their non-STEM counterparts, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

"You want them to go on to higher value-added pursuits. You want them to start their own companies," said Anthony P. Carnevale, director of Georgetown's Center on Education and the Workforce. "Having a technical degree is the best foundation to give you the most choice in this economy."

Related: Young women raise big bucks for startups

Just in case there's any doubt: Microsoft's (MSFT, Tech30) Satya Nadella, Amazon's (AMZN, Tech30) Jeff Bezos and Yahoo's (YHOO, Tech30) Marissa Mayer all have engineering degrees -- and none are technically working in a "STEM" field.

Fewer women are graduating with computing degrees.

These numbers have actually decreased over the past two decades. According to the National Center for Women & Information Technology, women made up just 18% of computer science college grads in 2012. In 1985, it was 37%.

"Women are becoming discouraged from computer science because it's a boy's club," said Vivek Wadhwa, fellow at Stanford Law School and author of Innovating Women. "We need to level the playing field, change our practices. We've created the shortage for ourselves."

Computer science is a growing sector, and it's important for women to be a part of that growth. Employment opportunities are projected to grow 15% from 2012 to 2022 (that's faster than average), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Not all STEM jobs are created equal.

Though women earn roughly half of all bachelor's degrees in STEM fields, according to the National Science Foundation, their concentrations differ from their male counterparts.

Women tend to specialize in less lucrative STEM fields, according to FiveThirtyEight. They pursue careers in health and life sciences, while men are more likely to go into computer science and engineering (which tend to pay more).

Related: Women thrive in China's booming tech scene

The salary difference can be substantial. Nutritional science majors (86.4% of whom are women) earn a median $35,000 out of college. Meanwhile, Mining and Mineral Engineering majors (roughly 90% of whom are men) make a median $75,000 out of college.

Foreigners aren't taking Americans' jobs.

Foreign students gravitate toward STEM fields like medicine and computer software design, which have some of the lowest unemployment rates, according to a report from the Partnership for a New American Economy.

These are also jobs that U.S. companies consistently struggle to fill -- much more than their non-STEM counterparts, according to a Brookings report.

That means foreigners aren't keeping native workers in those fields from finding jobs.

Moreover, immigrants bring knowledge of global markets, which is key for innovation, according to Wadhwa.

The U.S. will be increasingly reliant on foreign talent.

Foreign students study STEM or business fields at a higher rate than American students (about 66% compared to 48%), according to a separate report from Brookings.

Moreover, the number of native-born students pursuing STEM degrees is growing at just 1% a year.

Related: Women take on manufacturing

Members of Congress have introduced efforts to make it easier for foreign STEM graduates to get a green card.

But mobilizing homegrown talent is also a priority for the Obama administration, which is putting $35 million toward a STEM teacher training competition and mentoring initiative that will connect students to tech workers.

Encouraging more people, especially women, to consider STEM fields is key to ensuring the U.S. doesn't suffer a massive brain drain when foreign talent leaves the country.

"We still need immigrants. [But] we need to encourage women to enter those fields," said Wadhwa. "[Then] immigration can take it's natural path."

First Published: September 25, 2014: 10:04 AM ET

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Charging the iPhone 6 costs just 47 cents a year

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

That's according to a study conducted by Onpower, a software provider for utility companies. Onpower's estimate might even be too high -- it assumes you charge your iPhone 6 from 0% to 100% once a day every day, but most people don't empty their batteries of juice every day.

Don't believe it's that cheap? The calculation is actually pretty simple.

Apple's (AAPL, Tech30) new iPhone 6 charges from 0% to 100% in 1 hour and 48 minutes, which is about 10.6 watt-hours of energy. Multiply that by 365 days in a year, and you get 3.83 kilowatt-hours. Multiply that by the average U.S. residential electricity price (12.29 cents per kWh), and you get 47 cents per year.

Related: iPhone 6 has car Bluetooth problems

Did you buy an iPhone 6 Plus? You'd better factor in another nickel: It costs 52 cents to power up every year. The iPhone 5, meanwhile, costs just 41 cents for a year's worth of charging.

They cost so little to charge, because smartphones -- built to last a day(ish) on a tiny battery -- are incredibly low-power devices.

By comparison, a laptop uses 14-times more electricity per year, and a desktop computer uses 49 times more, according to the Fraunhofer USA Center for Sustainable Energy Systems. As smartphones continue to replace PCs, consumer energy usage -- and bills could sink.

Smartphones have also eaten in to video game sales. Playing games on a smartphone instead of a television can save you even more money: An Xbox One uses 61 time more power than an iPhone 6, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, and a TV sucks up 72 times more electricity.

First Published: September 25, 2014: 10:05 AM ET

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