Apple iPhone 6 finally cleared for launch in China

HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

The company received a key license after addressing various security risks concerning personal data that had been raised by Chinese state-owned media outlets, according to a government statement.

Apple said its new smartphones will go on sale Oct. 17, nearly a month after the devices first hit stores in select countries around the world. Pre-orders will begin Oct. 10.

The debut will mark the first time that all three of China's biggest state-run wireless carriers will be able to offer the new iPhone at launch. China Mobile, the largest, became the final major carrier to ink an iPhone agreement with Apple in December.

Related: Apple iPhone 6 goes on sale, and the lines are insane

Apple's coveted iPhones have typically gone on sale in China after they've been released for sale around the world, leaving black market smugglers to fill the gap with phones that are bought legitimately in stores as far away as New York.

In the days after the iPhone 6 launch, the phones were on sale outside Apple stores in Beijing for $1,000 over Hong Kong prices.

Apple competes against a slew of rivals in China, including Samsung and local smartphone maker Xiaomi. Samsung's latest offering, the Galaxy Note 4, went on sale Monday.

First Published: September 30, 2014: 2:56 AM ET

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Stocks: 4 things to know before the open

Click chart for in-depth premarket data.

LONDON (CNNMoney)

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

1. Goodbye September: The past month has been difficult for investors.

Ahead of the final trading day of the month, all the main U.S. indexes were in the red. The Nasdaq has been hurting the worst, down by about 1.6% over September. The S&P 500 also dropped by just over 1%.

Meanwhile, the declines on the Dow Jones industrial average have been mild. With U.S. stock futures shifting higher Tuesday, it's possible the Dow could eke out a gain for the month. But don't hold your breath.

2. Hong Kong drop: Hong Kong's main stock market index, the Hang Seng, kept falling Tuesday as large pro-democracy protests show no signs of abating. The index has dropped for the past four trading days.

Given considerable uncertainty over how the protests will play out, investors are selling Hong Kong stocks or sitting on the sidelines.

Anemic Chinese manufacturing data for September also dampened sentiment. The widely watched HSBC index tracking the sector was revised down slightly for the month, to 50.2 from the initial reading of 50.5.

Related: Fear & Greed Index

3. Economics and earnings: Be ready for the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index to come out at 9 a.m. ET. And the Conference Board will publish its monthly consumer confidence index at 10 a.m. ET. Walgreens (WAG) is the main company reporting earnings before the opening bell.

Related: CNNMoney's Tech30

4. European overview: European markets were broadly higher in early trading, with the exception of the FTSE 100. The CAC 40 in Paris was advancing by 0.4%, other major indexes posted narrower gains.

First Published: September 30, 2014: 5:03 AM ET

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Hong Kong protesters willing to pay economic price

HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

Police have used pepper spray and tear gas in an effort to oust protesters from their camps near Hong Kong's main business district, but the activists remain in place and have even occupied main roadways in other neighborhoods.

The protesters want free and open elections in the Chinese territory, while Beijing has proposed a process that would essentially allow it to screen candidates for the city's top office.

The protests have closed some schools and office buildings, and 21 banks have closed branches or ATMs. The benchmark Hang Seng has shed nearly 6% over the past five trading days. On Monday, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said it was standing by to provide additional liquidity if required.

Critics worry that the protests threaten Hong Kong's status as a global business hub and a beacon of stability in Asia. Should the protests continue, some experts warn that retail sales will suffer, the housing market could take a hit and Hong Kong's economy could slide into a recession.

Related: Photo essay: Police use tear gas as 'Occupy' comes to Hong Kong

"There is also a risk that Hong Kong's economy could suffer more lasting damage, especially if the authorities decide to crack down on the demonstrators," analysts at Capital Economics wrote in a research note.

A man walks to work on an empty street in Hong Kong, cleared as pro-democracy protests continue to expand in the city.

A British colony until 1997, Hong Kong rose to prominence as a center for regional commerce that acted as China's gateway to the world. That reputation stuck even after Hong Kong was returned to China, becoming a "special administrative region."

Businesses here face fewer restrictions than they would on the mainland, making it an attractive place to set up shop. Many large multinational companies even make Hong Kong their regional headquarters.

Chinese firms have also looked to Hong Kong as a way to expand their reach abroad. Hong Kong is the single largest source of foreign capital for Chinese enterprises, and mainland firms represent about 56% of the total market cap of companies traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

But Hong Kong's status and reputation is not guaranteed, and some residents fear the territory's advantages are slipping away, especially as mainland Chinese cities rise in stature and some international firms choose Singapore as their headquarters.

Some protesters say they see lasting damage to Hong Kong -- but only if the government doesn't begin to make amends.

Related: Instagram blocked in China as protests sweep Hong Kong

"I don't think [businesses] will be threatened ... if the government can address our problems correctly [and] Hong Kong can become more democratic," said Denise Li, 19. "If not, international businesses may start to think that Hong Kong is not a very open city, and the government will protect Chinese [companies] only."

Others fear that foreign investment will dry up.

"I think foreign investors may be afraid of the future in Hong Kong," said Sammi Mak, 18, a business student at a local university. "Hong Kong is known for freedom, the inflow of information, and now China is taking over everything, and Hong Kong may lose this advantage compared to other cities."

Benny, a 21-year-old who declined to give his last name, said the protests are not yet a big problem for the business community.

"I don't think business is harmed within Hong Kong," he said. "Right now, everyone is going to work, everyone is doing their normal job."

Fitch Ratings said it doesn't expect the protests to last long enough to have much of an effect on the city.

But Fitch sees problems ahead if the government no longer commands popular consent or the protests do significant damage to the perception that Hong Kong is a stable and attractive investment destination.

"But those questions will likely be answered over months or years rather than days," the ratings agency said.

First Published: September 30, 2014: 1:19 AM ET

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$4.35 to get your own money - ATM fees surge again

It costs $4.35 on average to withdraw money using an ATM outside of your bank's network.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

A customer is slapped with fees when they use an ATM that's not owned by their bank, and those fees jumped 5% in the past year, according to Bankrate.

On average, a customer is charged a total of $4.35 for each transaction.

People are getting smarter and avoiding out-of-network ATMs as much as they can, said Bankrate's chief financial analyst Greg McBride. But that's part of the problem. Banks are hiking fees to make up for the loss.

In the past five years, ATM fees have skyrocketed 23%, McBride said.

And overdraft fees are on the rise for the 16th year in a row, according to the survey of 10 major U.S. banks. On average customers get hit with a $32.74 charge every time they try to withdraw more money than they have in the bank.

Hefty bank fees will probably always be a reality. But the good news, McBride said, is that both "ATM fees and overdraft charges can be avoided completely."

What I gave up to save $1 million

First Published: September 29, 2014: 3:44 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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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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Police use tear gas as 'Occupy' comes to Hong Kong

Police use pepper spray on pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

Police fired volley after volley of tear gas at protesters on Sunday, an unusually heavy-handed response that appeared only to galvanize public support and draw thousands of additional demonstrators into the streets.

The protesters want free and open elections in the Chinese territory, while Beijing has proposed a process that would allow it to screen candidates for the city's top office.

The most visible pro-democracy group -- Occupy Central With Love and Peace -- had planned to launch a campaign of civil disobedience actions designed to snarl traffic and disrupt operations in the city's business district starting Wednesday.

But the group was jolted to a start after student demonstrations gained momentum over the weekend. At the protest's peak, tens of thousands of protesters jammed the streets around city government headquarters.

The protesters, many of them students, donned homemade masks of goggles and plastic wrap in an effort to protect against pepper spray and tear gas.

The movement has been dubbed the "Umbrella Revolution" on social media after protesters used umbrellas to shield themselves.

Many protestors are upset that city officials haven't done more to recognize the movement or safeguard the rights of Hong Kong people.

"My biggest concern is that the [Hong Kong] government is not there to fight for us," said Kristy Lee, a 16-year-old student. Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung "is just working for the government of China -- he doesn't really listen to us, even though we fight for so long. That's why we are here -- we have to speak for ourselves."

Some university professors have canceled lectures in order to join students. Many primary and secondary schools were also closed, along with some banks. On the streets, supporters worked to distribute donated food and drinks to the protesters.

"We uphold democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly," said university student Aaron Koo, 20. "By all means, [the protests] will be good for the reputation of Hong Kong. Who should be ashamed? The government of Hong Kong, but not the Hong Kong people."

Others say they're also protesting to bring attention to social inequality. "We cannot afford [an apartment], we could not have a shelter [even though] we work all the time," said Kaley Lau, 25, who works as a nurse.

Lau said she asked for time off in advance prior to this week in order to participate in the protests.

"Inequality has become bigger and bigger -- that's why we all have to stand out and tell the government how we feel," said Ken Tsui, a 36-year-old movie director. "All the policies [are] leaning to the top tier of the rich -- this is not healthy, and they will keep doing this, so we have to stop it right now."

Supporters said they feel it's necessary to speak out now. "I have to do something right now to protect my [future] sons, my grandsons, my family, my future," said hospital worker Nickel Lau, 25. "Because maybe if I don't do it now, later I cannot do anything."

While protests are common in Hong Kong, the deployment of riot police and the use of tear gas is unusual. Police said they had arrested 78 people.

"Hong Kong people [have] quite good self-control -- they clean, they help each other, they clean the rubbish," said Tobey Tang, 30. "They try to just sit here, don't fight with the police."

Protesters continued to crowd several key points across the city on Monday morning, even occupying a stretch of Nathan Road, one of the busiest streets in Kowloon. "We try to make some noise so the whole world can know our situation," said Kaley Lau.

"This issue will affect the economy," Kaley Lau said. "If the government turns so bad, Hong Kong will lose its attractiveness -- it's the system which attracts foreigners to invest with us."

While Hong Kong's exchange was functioning normally on Monday, the benchmark Hang Seng Index was trading sharply lower, giving up close to 2%. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said it was prepared to provide additional liquidity as needed.

"I don't mean that we hate China," said Tang. "We [are] still both Chinese; we [are] still family, but we need policy to make life in Hong Kong more easy."

First Published: September 29, 2014: 2:19 AM ET

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$4.35 to get your own money - ATM fees surge again

It costs $4.35 on average to withdraw money using an ATM outside of your bank's network.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

A customer is slapped with fees when they use an ATM that's not owned by their bank, and those fees jumped 5% in the past year, according to Bankrate.

On average, a customer is charged a total of $4.35 for each transaction.

People are getting smarter and avoiding out-of-network ATMs as much as they can, said Bankrate's chief financial analyst Greg McBride. But that's part of the problem. Banks are hiking fees to make up for the loss.

In the past five years, ATM fees have skyrocketed 23%, McBride said.

And overdraft fees are on the rise for the 16th year in a row, according to the survey of 10 major U.S. banks. On average customers get hit with a $32.74 charge every time they try to withdraw more money than they have in the bank.

Hefty bank fees will probably always be a reality. But the good news, McBride said, is that both "ATM fees and overdraft charges can be avoided completely."

What I gave up to save $1 million

First Published: September 29, 2014: 3:44 AM ET

15.30 | 0 komentar | Read More

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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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

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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

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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

17.42 | 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

15.30 | 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

15.30 | 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

15.30 | 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

17.42 | 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

17.42 | 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

17.42 | 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

15.30 | 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

15.30 | 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

15.30 | 0 komentar | Read More

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

17.42 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nike online sales jump 70%, stock surges

Did you buy your Nike shoes online? Seems like everyone else did.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The company's investments to improve Nike.com and its flashy Nike ID site that gives shoppers endless options to customize shoes and gear brought in shoppers.

Customers can pick the color of the bottom and top of their new kicks, the pattern, the shoe lace color, and even have an inspirational message sewn into the tongue of the shoes.

The options appear to be attracting women with sales of female gear growing faster than men's. Online sales of women's shoes and apparel grew significantly, said CEO Mark Parker on a call with investors. He credited the Nike Plus Training Club app for women as one reason for the faster growth. The app has been downloaded 17 million times.

Related: Nike swooshes in to keep Kevin Durant

Some of Nike's success is also due to a bump from this summer's World Cup, said Trevor Edwards, the president of the Nike Brand.

Nike (NKE) was not an official sponsor of the tournament, but it did sponsor the most teams at the World Cup, including the U.S. men's team. More players at the tournament were wearing Nike "boots" than all other brands combined, Edwards said.

Revenue was up across all categories. Sales of footwear, its most profitable business, were up 18%.

On the call, the execs also touted Nike's endorsement of basketball superstar Kevin Durant. The company recently outbid Under Armour (UA) for the deal, reportedly paying $300 million. Nike posted a photo of Durant next to its quarterly earnings report on its website.

First Published: September 25, 2014: 7:34 PM ET

17.42 | 0 komentar | Read More

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

17.42 | 0 komentar | Read More

Disney princesses ditch Mattel, run away with Hasbro

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Hasbro (HAS) announced this week that it will get the rights to manufacture Disney (DIS)'s Frozen dolls along with the rest of the Disney Princess franchise. The deal will end a nearly 20-year-old partnership between the entertainment giant and rival toy-maker, and current rights holder, Mattel.

The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The princesses bring in more than $4 billion a year for Disney mainly through shows and licensing.

Related: Disney plans to milk Frozen's success for all it's worth

Hasbro has long been associated with traditional boys' toys like G.I. Joe, Transformers and Nerf guns, but it's been steadily muscling into the girls' market, as evidenced by the Nerf Rebelle, a Nerf gun for girls, that it debuted last year. The company brought in nearly a quarter of its revenue last year from girls' toys, up from just 3% a decade ago.

Barbie doll maker Mattel, which has long catered to girls, has had exclusive rights to make Disney Princess dolls since 1996. Frozen's gargantuan showing at the Box Office — it's grossed more than $1 billion worldwide so far — has been huge for the company. So much so that is started taking away from Mattel's other big brands.

Barbie sales fell 15% in the most recent quarter, and Monster High dolls, which had been a big growth area for the company, fell 26%. Disney Princess sales, on the other hand, were up 10%.

Mattel CEO Bryan Stockton got grilled about the shift on a recent earnings call.

Related: Where do Disney's princesses rank among its franchises?

"You can certainly imagine — as popular as Frozen is — that there's some Monster High girls and some Barbie girls who would want to play with Frozen dolls," he said.

Hasbro didn't immediately return a request for comment. Mattel spokesperson Alex Clark played it cool, suggesting that Frozen Mania will subside after next Christmas.

"We can expect the popularity arc to apex between now and the next holiday season," he said.

But Disney's taking the film to Broadway and unveiling a new short film next year — not to mention any possible sequels to come — suggesting the dolls might be around for a while. Still, Clark offered a conciliatory tone on Mattel's behalf.

"We respect the decision and we wish them the best of luck," he said.

First Published: September 25, 2014: 6:11 PM ET

15.30 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nike online sales jump 70%, stock surges

Did you buy your Nike shoes online? Seems like everyone else did.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The company's investments to improve Nike.com and its flashy Nike ID site that gives shoppers endless options to customize shoes and gear brought in shoppers.

Customers can pick the color of the bottom and top of their new kicks, the pattern, the shoe lace color, and even have an inspirational message sewn into the tongue of the shoes.

The options appear to be attracting women with sales of female gear growing faster than men's. Online sales of women's shoes and apparel grew significantly, said CEO Mark Parker on a call with investors. He credited the Nike Plus Training Club app for women as one reason for the faster growth. The app has been downloaded 17 million times.

Related: Nike swooshes in to keep Kevin Durant

Some of Nike's success is also due to a bump from this summer's World Cup, said Trevor Edwards, the president of the Nike Brand.

Nike (NKE) was not an official sponsor of the tournament, but it did sponsor the most teams at the World Cup, including the U.S. men's team. More players at the tournament were wearing Nike "boots" than all other brands combined, Edwards said.

Revenue was up across all categories. Sales of footwear, its most profitable business, were up 18%.

On the call, the execs also touted Nike's endorsement of basketball superstar Kevin Durant. The company recently outbid Under Armour (UA) for the deal, reportedly paying $300 million. Nike posted a photo of Durant next to its quarterly earnings report on its website.

First Published: September 25, 2014: 7:34 PM ET

15.30 | 0 komentar | Read More

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

15.30 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bay Area restaurant: "Hate us on Yelp"

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The stunt is the owners' quest to subvert the online review site's ratings system and garner publicity, following a dispute.

The whole thing started two years ago, when Davide Cerretini and his business partner Michele Massimo bought some ads on the site after caving-in to what they said were numerous calls from its ad sales staff. The owners of the Richmond, California eatery dropped the ads only a few months later, unsatisfied with the results.

Related: Darden investor wants better food at Olive Garden

Then they tried to get the restaurant taken off the site, annoyed Yelp could make money from competitors buying ads that would appear on their restaurant's listing. But Yelp says to remove a company listing is against its policy. Local advertising accounts for 85% of the company's net revenue, according to its most recent financial report.

"If Yelpers come to Yelp looking for Italian restaurants, we will provide the top 10 Italian restaurants by reviews," said Vince Sollitto, Yelps communications head. "And we will sell an ad to a similar business that wants to be considered."

So instead of playing along with Yelp's rules, Cerretini decided about six months ago to drum up some publicity by sabotaging his own company. He offered customers 25% off a pizza if they wrote a negative review.

Related: Yelp is one of six hot tech company Goldman Sachs likes

"We promised to our loyal customers that we were going to be the worst restaurant on Yelp, and here you have it," reads the restaurant's website.

The ruse worked out as planned when website Radio Free Richmond (and now CNNMoney) wrote about the practice. The story went viral and negative ads starting pouring in.

A screenshot David Cerretini took of Botto Bistro's Yelp listing

At last count Botto Bistro had more than 1,000 one-star reviews on Yelp, not counting the ones the site removed for violating its terms of service. He said he stopped the offer on Sunday, printed out a screen shot of his one-star rating and placed it on his desk.

"I'm using them the way they were using me," he said.

Related: MyRedbook was the sex workers' Yelp before feds shut it down

The cheap publicity -- Cerretini said few customers actually took him up on the offer -- was a boon for the restaurant. He said he's hired five new staff members to deal with all the new traffic.

Yelp defends its practices and says Botto Bistro's page is staying up, no matter how much they dislike and sabotage it. The company said it will consider adding the restaurant to its next batch of consumer alerts targeting fraudulent reviews.

Cerretini couldn't care less.

"My business doesn't need to prove anything to anybody," he said.

First Published: September 24, 2014: 9:16 PM ET

17.42 | 0 komentar | Read More

Stocks: 4 things to know before the open

Click chart for in-depth premarket data.

LONDON (CNNMoney)

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

1. Strong dollar: The U.S. dollar was strengthening versus other global currencies, and gold prices were declining by about 1%.

Simon Smith, an economist at FxPro, said the dollar's strength against other currencies is now at a level "last seen in mid-2010 when the euro was getting hammered in the early stages of the eurozone crisis."

The dollar was 0.4% firmer against the euro, continuing a recent trend driven by growing divergence in monetary policy between the U.S. and the eurozone, where the economy has stalled.

Related: Fear & Greed Index

2. Bad Apple: Shares in Apple (AAPL, Tech30) were showing signs of weakness premarket after the company withdrew its latest software update following widely reported technical problems. Social media is also buzzing over customer reports that the new iPhone 6 Plus is bendable.

Apple's popular products frequently face a backlash soon after their release, but then complaints from die-hard consumers tend to calm down.

Related: CNNMoney's Tech30

3. Mixed signals: U.S. stock futures were barely budging Thursday after posting a solid rebound over the previous session. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 154 points, the S&P 500 rose 0.8%, and the Nasdaq closed 1% higher.

European stock markets were broadly firmer in early trading, tracking Wall Street's gains and helped by the dollar's strength.

But shares in retail chain H&M (HNNMY) fell by 4% in Sweden after the company warned of weak September sales because of unusually warm weather.

Asian markets ended with mixed results. The Nikkei was a stand-out performer with a 1.3% gain.

4. Earnings and economics: Nike (NKE) will report quarterly earnings after the closing bell.

The U.S. government will report weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET.

First Published: September 25, 2014: 4:52 AM ET

17.42 | 0 komentar | Read More

India's $74 million Mars mission cost less than 'Gravity' movie

HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

But the mission's shoestring budget was perhaps its most notable distinction: At a cost of just $74 million, India's space agency put the satellite into orbit for a fraction of what other nations have spent.

The U.S. Maven satellite, for example, arrived in orbit on Sunday in a mission that cost taxpayers $671 million. The European Space Agency's 2003 mission to Mars had an initial budget of nearly $200 million.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has noted that even the Hollywood thriller "Gravity" had a larger budget at $100 million.

"Our scientists have shown the world, a new paradigm of frugal engineering, and the power of Imagination," Modi said in June. "This success of ours has deep historical roots."

While some critics take issue with the government's use of public funds on space exploration instead of social problems, Modi now has yet another space triumph to tout. Only the U.S., Russia and Europe have successfully executed Mars missions; China and Japan have failed.

It's difficult to overstate just how little money the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has to work with. The agency's annual budget for this fiscal year is only $1.2 billion, while NASA has a budget of around $17.5 billion.

Related: Boeing, Space X land NASA contracts

ISRO is able to save money by using short development cycles, and taking advantage of India's cheap labor market. Highly-skilled aerospace engineers in the country might receive a salary of $1,000 per month, a fraction of what the same workers would be paid in Europe or the U.S.

Despite the large disparity in total spending, India actually devotes a similar share of its total budget to its space agency -- around 0.4% --- as the U.S.

The glory days for NASA, however, are long gone. As the space race reached a fever pitch in 1966, the agency was allotted an incredible 4.4% of the U.S. budget, a share that today's explorers can only dream of.

First Published: September 25, 2014: 12:38 AM ET

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ESPN suspends Bill Simmons for three weeks

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

"Every employee must be accountable to ESPN and those engaged in our editorial operations must also operate within ESPN's journalistic standards," the sports network said in a statement.

"We have worked hard to ensure that our recent NFL coverage has met that criteria," the network said. "Bill Simmons did not meet those obligations in a recent podcast, and as a result we have suspended him for three weeks."

The suspension apparently extended to Simmons' social media accounts -- he did not immediately comment on the network's decision. But his fans complained en masse, making the #FreeSimmons hashtag a trending topic on Twitter on Wednesday evening.

Related: Conundrum for networks: covering NFL news

On a podcast on Tuesday, Simmons was outspoken about Goodell's handling of the Ray Rice domestic violence scandal. He repeatedly labeled Goodell a "liar" and used expletives to express doubt that other league executives didn't know about the content of the elevator video released by TMZ earlier this month. In the video, Rice was shown striking his now-wife.

During what was widely described as a rant, Simmons also said that if ESPN called or e-mailed him to chastise him for his opinions, "I'm going public."

"You leave me alone," he said, seemingly referring to ESPN, which has employed him since 2001. "The commissioner is a liar, and I get to talk about that on my podcast. Please, call me and say I'm in trouble, I dare you."

There was immediate speculation that ESPN might take action, and on Wednesday, it did. Simmons' implied references to his bosses ("you leave me alone," etcetera) seemed to exacerbate the issue.

Wednesday's action is not the first time that ESPN has suspended Simmons, who is the editor in chief of the ESPN web site Grantland and a contributor to telecasts of "NBA Countdown." He is a vital, vocal, and popular voice for the network -- and a controversial one, as well.

In 2009, he was reportedly suspended from Twitter for two weeks for criticizing ESPN radio affiliate WEEI.

And last year he was suspended after ridiculing ESPN's "First Take" -- he had called a segment between Skip Bayless and Seattle Seahawks' cornerback Richard Sherman "an embarrassment."

ESPN is controlled by The Walt Disney Company.

First Published: September 24, 2014: 7:59 PM ET

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Bay Area restaurant: "Hate us on Yelp"

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The stunt is the owners' quest to subvert the online review site's ratings system and garner publicity, following a dispute.

The whole thing started two years ago, when Davide Cerretini and his business partner Michele Massimo bought some ads on the site after caving-in to what they said were numerous calls from its ad sales staff. The owners of the Richmond, California eatery dropped the ads only a few months later, unsatisfied with the results.

Related: Darden investor wants better food at Olive Garden

Then they tried to get the restaurant taken off the site, annoyed Yelp could make money from competitors buying ads that would appear on their restaurant's listing. But Yelp says to remove a company listing is against its policy. Local advertising accounts for 85% of the company's net revenue, according to its most recent financial report.

"If Yelpers come to Yelp looking for Italian restaurants, we will provide the top 10 Italian restaurants by reviews," said Vince Sollitto, Yelps communications head. "And we will sell an ad to a similar business that wants to be considered."

So instead of playing along with Yelp's rules, Cerretini decided about six months ago to drum up some publicity by sabotaging his own company. He offered customers 25% off a pizza if they wrote a negative review.

Related: Yelp is one of six hot tech company Goldman Sachs likes

"We promised to our loyal customers that we were going to be the worst restaurant on Yelp, and here you have it," reads the restaurant's website.

The ruse worked out as planned when website Radio Free Richmond (and now CNNMoney) wrote about the practice. The story went viral and negative ads starting pouring in.

A screenshot David Cerretini took of Botto Bistro's Yelp listing

At last count Botto Bistro had more than 1,000 one-star reviews on Yelp, not counting the ones the site removed for violating its terms of service. He said he stopped the offer on Sunday, printed out a screen shot of his one-star rating and placed it on his desk.

"I'm using them the way they were using me," he said.

Related: MyRedbook was the sex workers' Yelp before feds shut it down

The cheap publicity -- Cerretini said few customers actually took him up on the offer -- was a boon for the restaurant. He said he's hired five new staff members to deal with all the new traffic.

Yelp defends its practices and says Botto Bistro's page is staying up, no matter how much they dislike and sabotage it. The company said it will consider adding the restaurant to its next batch of consumer alerts targeting fraudulent reviews.

Cerretini couldn't care less.

"My business doesn't need to prove anything to anybody," he said.

First Published: September 24, 2014: 9:16 PM ET

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India's $74 million Mars mission cost less than 'Gravity' movie

HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

But the mission's shoestring budget was perhaps its most notable distinction: At a cost of just $74 million, India's space agency put the satellite into orbit for a fraction of what other nations have spent.

The U.S. Maven satellite, for example, arrived in orbit on Sunday in a mission that cost taxpayers $671 million. The European Space Agency's 2003 mission to Mars had an initial budget of nearly $200 million.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has noted that even the Hollywood thriller "Gravity" had a larger budget at $100 million.

"Our scientists have shown the world, a new paradigm of frugal engineering, and the power of Imagination," Modi said in June. "This success of ours has deep historical roots."

While some critics take issue with the government's use of public funds on space exploration instead of social, Modi now has yet another space triumph to tout. Only the U.S., Russia and Europe have successfully executed Mars missions; China and Japan have failed.

It's difficult to overstate just how little money the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has to work with. The agency's annual budget for this fiscal year is only $1.2 billion, while NASA has a budget of around $17.5 billion.

Related: Boeing, Space X land NASA contracts

ISRO is able to save money by using short development cycles, and taking advantage of India's cheap labor market. Highly-skilled aerospace engineers in the country might receive a salary of $1,000 per month, a fraction of what the same workers would be paid in Europe or the U.S.

Despite the large disparity in total spending, India actually devotes a similar share of its total budget to its space agency -- around 0.4% --- as the U.S.

The glory days for NASA, however, are long gone. As the space race reached a fever pitch in 1966, the agency was allotted an incredible 4.4% of the U.S. budget, a share that today's explorers can only dream of.

First Published: September 25, 2014: 12:38 AM ET

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Stolen Jaguar returned to owner 46 years later

U.S. Customs and Boarder Protection officers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach seized five cars last month including a 1967 Jaguar XKE stolen in New York City 46 Years ago.

LOS ANGELES (CNNMoney)

Schneider was 36 and a young New York trial attorney when he bought the brand new 1967 convertible Jaguar for $5,000 as a treat to himself for winning a big case. He had it less than a year when it was stolen during the middle of the night from outside his Manhattan apartment in March 1968.

"I went downstairs and it was gone. I walked up and down Madison Avenue, then up and down 5th Avenue, and it wasn't there," Schneider said. "I was devastated."

Schneider thought his prized possession was gone forever.

That is, until officials recovered it this year during a routine inspection on the West Coast.

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"I would tell stories about this great car that got stolen, I bought a Corvette after it was taken" Schneider said. "I have had a lot of great cars since then, but none has been as pretty."

Last month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other law enforcement agencies recovered the Jaguar and seized four other stolen automobiles after they passed through the Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, port complex.

Ivan Schneider, 82, gets to peek at his 1967 Jaguar XKE, which he last saw in 1968.

So much time has passed since the car was stolen that, much like its original owner who is now 82 years old and living in Miami Beach, Florida, the car has aged. Its bullet gray paint job has now faded to near white.

The two-door 1967 Jaguar XKE convertible was discovered in a container that was going to The Netherlands, authorities said.

They checked the vehicle identification number, which is standard operating procedure for cars being shipped out of the U.S., and when authorities identified it as stolen, they directed the carrier already in route with the Jaguar to turn around.

Gallery: Jaguar unveils its new entry-level XE sedan to go up against BMW and Mercedes

Schneider was in disbelief when he got the call that his Jag had been recovered after all these decades.

"I thought they were kidding me, who would think a car would show up 45 years later. When I found out they weren't, I was thrilled," he said.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long beach is the busiest shipping complex in the United States and custom officials there recover about 250 stolen vehicles per year, according to Larios.

The Jaguar has certainly lost some of its luster since its owner last saw it: The sports car is rusty and scratched and has a mismatched brown door.

In its present condition, it's worth about $23,000. If it were in pristine condition, it could fetch $100,000, according to federal customs estimates.

Schneider says he hopes to bring the car back to its glory.

"I am going to fix it up make it as good as I can," said Schneider.

He estimates the restoration to cost between $50,000 and $75,000.

Schneider is still waiting for word on when he will be reunited with his Jaguar, but is itching to get back behind the wheel.

"I will drive it for an hour a week. I have other cars, I will use this one as a toy," he said.

Schneider won't be the only one getting back his stolen car. Other recovered vehicles include a 1969 Corvette taken during a burglary in Portland 26 years ago, a 1976 Mercedes 280, a 2007 Mercedes E350, and a 2014 Camaro ZL1, officials said.

Cool cars: Hot wheels and good deals

First Published: September 23, 2014: 5:04 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. Time for a push higher?: U.S. stock futures were edging up into positive territory, but the gains were small.

Markets have pulled back after hitting record highs last week but investors now seem to have regained their composure after being caught off guard by the U.S.-led airstrikes against ISIS in Syria.

The U.S. said it also attacked other terrorist groups. A Pentagon spokesperson told CNN, this is "only the beginning."

The Dow Jones industrial average lost nearly 117 points Tuesday, while the S&P 500 fell 0.6% and the Nasdaq slid 0.4%.

Related: Fear & Greed Index

2. Bed Bath & Beyond: Shares in Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) are rising by about 7% premarket after the company reported a jump in quarterly sales after the closing bell Tuesday.

Related: CNNMoney's Tech30

3. Economic data: The U.S. government will report new home sales made in August at 10 a.m. ET.

4. International overview: European markets were mostly edging lower in early trading as a new report showed Germany's business climate hit its lowest level in over a year.

"The German economy is no longer running smoothly," Germany's Ifo Institute said. Europe's biggest economy has taken a hit over worries about trade with Russia, and will struggle to grow this quarter.

Asian markets ended with mixed results. The Shanghai Composite index was the stand-out performer with a 1.5% gain.

First Published: September 24, 2014: 5:01 AM ET

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Chinese smugglers make big bucks on iPhone 6

HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

Two days after the iPhone 6 went on sale in Hong Kong, customs officers patrolling a backwater pier came across several men loading boxes into a speedboat.

When the officers approached, the men jumped into the boat and sped off, leaving behind 15 boxes packed with new iPhones.

The smuggling operation is just a small link in a much larger network built to satisfy massive demand for the phones in mainland China, where authorities have yet to approve the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

Apple (AAPL, Tech30) has not said when the new smartphones will go on sale in its second biggest market. State media reported last week that the iPhone 6 has not yet received a key license.

Smugglers have stepped in to fill the gap, charging top dollar for phones that are bought legitimately in Apple stores as far away as New York.

And they could be making a killing, as Apple devotees pay through the nose.

Related: Apple sells 10 million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Pluses

On Wednesday, CNN found a few sellers outside an Apple store in Beijing.

One offered the new 16GB iPhone 6 for 11,000 yuan ($1800). And where did the phone come from? It was shipped from Hong Kong, he said. At that price, the smugglers would be making over $1,000 per phone.

Hong Kong, which has three Apple stores, is a key hub in the network -- designed in part to avoid China's import taxes. Customers leaving Apple stores in the city are sometimes offered two times the retail price by phone flippers hoping to make a quick buck.

Smuggling activity appears to be brisk. On Monday, customs officers found 20 new iPhones concealed in the axles of a container truck bound for the mainland.

According to local media, authorities across the border in Shenzhen seized more than 600 iPhones over a three day period. Nearly 40 mules have been caught at the city's ports.

Related: Xiaomi is China's new smartphone king

The China market is crucial for Apple, and the company's largest outside the United States. But the iPhone maker has stumbled there in recent years, losing ground in the smartphone race to rivals, including Xiaomi, that offer cheaper phones.

In a bid to expand its footprint, Apple signed a deal last year with China Mobile to offer the iPhone. China Mobile is the world's largest carrier by subscribers, with around 700 million users -- or more than twice the population of the U.S.

-- Vivian Kam and Dayu Zhang contributed reporting

First Published: September 24, 2014: 6:11 AM ET

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Why Hollywood's dismal summer won't matter

Disney and Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" was one of Hollywood's lone successes from this past summer. Next year should tell a different story.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The film industry just came off its worst North American summer movie season in 17 years, a slumping summer that saw the U.S. box office down 20% from the year before.

However, looking ahead to next summer's box office, there's much to look forward to -- and that's surely what studio executives will emphasize when they report third quarter earnings in the coming weeks.

Here are four reasons why 2015 will make this year's summer movie slump an aberration:

1."Fast & Furious 7" and "The Avengers: Age of Ultron" are good starts: The first films of the season can tell a lot about how the summer will go.

The two opening films of last summer were "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (which came out in April) and "The Amazing Spider-Man 2."

Disney and Marvel's "Winter Soldier" was a critical and commercial success, but the same couldn't be said for Spidey.

Opening on May 2, "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" underperformed domestically ($202 million overall), was panned by critics (it holds a 53% rotten score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes), and has the lowest box office haul in the series.

Next summer should be different, with two of 2015's most anticipated films opening the season.

"Fast & Furious 7" returns after the death of Paul Walker on April 3 then Disney and Marvel's "The Avengers: Age of Ultron" opens the "official" summer on May 1.

These two franchises have shown they can break the box office ("Fast & Furious 6" and "The Avengers" have combined for over $850 million domestically), so 2015 should set a strong tone early on.

2. Family films return to the fold: One of the major things lacking in 2014's summer was a supply of hit family films.

Pixar, a usual pillar of the summer schedule, released no original film in the summertime for the first time since 2005.

Instead, the studio's "The Good Dinosaur" was pushed to November leaving only DreamWorks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon 2" and Pixar's "Planes: Fire and Rescue" (a film that was originally slated for a direct-to-video release).

The former was a box office hit, bringing in $175 million, while the latter never really took off, grossing only $58 million.

Next year, DreamWorks Animation releases the "Despicable Me" spin-off "The Minions" and Pixar returns for a journey into a little girl's mind with "Inside Out."

Both should fill the box office void that was left by a lack of family fare this past summer.

3. Familiar -- but not stale -- franchises will make up the landscape: Some analysts argued that the summer suffered from too many familiar franchises.

"The Amazing Spider-Man 2" came out two years after "The Amazing Spider-Man," which had been rebooted just five years after "Spider-Man 3." "Hercules" and "The Legend of Hercules" -- two different films with the same basic story -- were released no more than six months apart.

2015 will include many names from past summers, too, but in exciting new ways.

"Jurassic Park" sequel "Jurassic World" adds Chris Pratt hot off his "Guardians of the Galaxy" success, "Mad Max" gets a complete reboot with "Mad Max: Fury Road," and sequels to fresh fan favorite comedies like "Pitch Perfect" and "Ted" will also be released.

4. This fall should be strong: Executives need not look far into the future to have hope. A number of big titles are just weeks away: Christopher Nolan and Matthew McConaughey's heavily anticipated "Interstellar," for instance, blasts off on November 7 for Paramount.

The next film in Lionsgate's $1.5 billion "Hunger Games" series, "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1" shoots into theaters two weeks later on November 21.

And "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" finishes out Peter Jackson's multi-billion dollar "Hobbit" franchise for Warner Bros. right before the holidays on December 17.

So while the summer was one of Hollywood's worst, the fall should heal some of summer's wounds.

Related: Summer bummer: Hollywood suffers big slump

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First Published: September 23, 2014: 4:44 PM ET

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