Hackers attack Yahoo Mail accounts

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) said it recently identified a coordinated effort by hackers who tried to log into many email accounts with stolen usernames and passwords. The note by Yahoo products executive Jay Rossiter did not immediately say how many accounts were affected.

The company declined to comment further but said it has teamed up with federal law enforcement to investigate the attack.

The credentials were likely taken from a third-party database, Yahoo said.

Related story: Stolen credentials blamed in Target breach

Yahoo said it reset passwords for users who were impacted. The company sent them text messages Wednesday night warning of "unusual activity on the network."

First Published: January 30, 2014: 6:04 PM ET

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Chipotle shares sizzle following red-hot quarter

Chipotle says it plans to open between 180 and 195 new restaurants in 2014.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The burrito chain's stock surged nearly 13% in after-hours trading Thursday following fourth-quarter results showing the company's strong growth continuing.

Chipotle (CMG) posted $844 million in sales, up 21% versus a year prior, and $80 million in earnings. The company is expanding aggressively, opening 56 new restaurants in the fourth quarter, and now has nearly 1,600 locations.

Related: Which country has the cheapest Big Mac?

Chipotle was spun off from McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500) in 2006, and shares have been on a tear ever since, rising over 60% in the past year alone.

McDonald's meanwhile may be losing its luster. Its stock has been in the doldrums as it's struggled to match new menu offerings from competitors like Burger King (BKW) and Wendy's (WEN).

Related: Burger King tests Chicken and Waffle sandwich

There are still some Chipotle skeptics out there -- hedge fund moguls David Einhorn and Jeffrey Gundlach have made cases against the stock in the past year and a half.

First Published: January 30, 2014: 6:50 PM ET

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GoldieBlox ad makes Super Bowl history

Debbie Sterling's toy startup GoldieBlox becomes the first small business ever to air an ad during the Super Bowl.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The startup will make Super Bowl history this Sunday by becoming the first small business to have a commercial air on TV during the most-watched event of the year.

GoldieBlox won a contest run by Intuit (INTU), where the grand prize was the 30-second ad that will debut during the third quarter of the game. Intuit will pick up the $4 million cost.

"We still can't believe that we won. We were all crying when we found out," said Debbie Sterling, founder of GoldieBlox, a line of storybooks and toys aimed at getting young girls excited about science and engineering.

GoldieBlox's ad will appear alongside some of the biggest brands in the world such as Budweiser, Cheerios, and Coca-Cola (KO, Fortune 500). Super Bowl commercials typically are dominated by big brands that can afford the hefty price tag.

Related Story: Sneak peek at the Super bowl spots

But GoldieBlox got its start just 18 months ago and has barely 15 employees. Its toys sell in Toys R Us and Target (TGT, Fortune 500).

The ad, which was produced by a top ad agency RPA, puts GoldieBlox shoulder to shoulder with the big leagues, and Sterling hopes the exposure to over 100 million viewers will enable the brand to take a "giant leap forward for our mission."

A Stanford University engineering graduate, Sterling launched GoldieBlox in 2012 after became obsessed with the idea of "disrupting the pink aisle" with a toy that could potentially inspire the next generation of female engineers.

Related Story: Super Bowl creating traffic jam for private jets

She turned to crowdfunding site Kickstarter with the goal of raising $150,000 to fire up her idea.

"We did that in just 4 days," said Sterling. In total, her Kickstarter campaign raised over $285,000. "So yes, we knew we were on to something," she said.

Intuit's contest kicked off last July and asked U.S.-based business with 50 or fewer employees to submit a compelling story about their company.

An online vote determined the top 20 submissions, and then Intuit's 8,000 employees voted to pick four finalists -- GoldieBlox, dog treats maker Barley Labs, organic egg farm Locally Laid Egg Company and natural compost producer POOP. A separate online vote in December determined the grand-prize winner.

Intuit said millions of votes were cast for the entries but declined to say how many went to GoldieBlox.

"GoldieBlox is an outstanding example of the 29 million small businesses across the United States," said Intuit's CEO Brad Smith. "It's clear voters around the world felt the same way."

GoldieBlox's Intuit win, however, isn't its first brush with fame.

Last year, the company created a parody video that featured the Beastie Boys song "Girls." The video, which featured young girls rejecting the "princess" stereotype as they built a complex maze, became a viral hit. But it also brought on a copyright infringement lawsuit by the Beastie Boys for using their song.

GoldieBlox initially countered with its own lawsuit but ultimately removed the song from the video.

Intuit also confirmed that it will hold a similar contest again next year.

First Published: January 30, 2014: 6:17 PM ET

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Hackers attack Yahoo Mail accounts

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) said it recently identified a coordinated effort by hackers who tried to log into many email accounts with stolen usernames and passwords. The note by Yahoo products executive Jay Rossiter did not immediately say how many accounts were affected.

The company declined to comment further but said it has teamed up with federal law enforcement to investigate the attack.

The credentials were likely taken from a third-party database, Yahoo said.

Related story: Stolen credentials blamed in Target breach

Yahoo said it reset passwords for users who were impacted. The company sent them text messages Wednesday night warning of "unusual activity on the network."

First Published: January 30, 2014: 6:04 PM ET

15.30 | 0 komentar | Read More

Chipotle shares sizzle following red-hot quarter

Chipotle says it plans to open between 180 and 195 new restaurants in 2014.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The burrito chain's stock surged nearly 13% in after-hours trading Thursday following fourth-quarter results showing the company's strong growth continuing.

Chipotle (CMG) posted $844 million in sales, up 21% versus a year prior, and $80 million in earnings. The company is expanding aggressively, opening 56 new restaurants in the fourth quarter, and now has nearly 1,600 locations.

Related: Which country has the cheapest Big Mac?

Chipotle was spun off from McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500) in 2006, and shares have been on a tear ever since, rising over 60% in the past year alone.

McDonald's meanwhile may be losing its luster. Its stock has been in the doldrums as it's struggled to match new menu offerings from competitors like Burger King (BKW) and Wendy's (WEN).

Related: Burger King tests Chicken and Waffle sandwich

There are still some Chipotle skeptics out there -- hedge fund moguls David Einhorn and Jeffrey Gundlach have made cases against the stock in the past year and a half.

First Published: January 30, 2014: 6:50 PM ET

15.30 | 0 komentar | Read More

GoldieBlox ad makes Super Bowl history

Debbie Sterling's toy startup GoldieBlox becomes the first small business ever to air an ad during the Super Bowl.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The startup will make Super Bowl history this Sunday by becoming the first small business to have a commercial air on TV during the most-watched event of the year.

GoldieBlox won a contest run by Intuit (INTU), where the grand prize was the 30-second ad that will debut during the third quarter of the game. Intuit will pick up the $4 million cost.

"We still can't believe that we won. We were all crying when we found out," said Debbie Sterling, founder of GoldieBlox, a line of storybooks and toys aimed at getting young girls excited about science and engineering.

GoldieBlox's ad will appear alongside some of the biggest brands in the world such as Budweiser, Cheerios, and Coca-Cola (KO, Fortune 500). Super Bowl commercials typically are dominated by big brands that can afford the hefty price tag.

Related Story: Sneak peek at the Super bowl spots

But GoldieBlox got its start just 18 months ago and has barely 15 employees. Its toys sell in Toys R Us and Target (TGT, Fortune 500).

The ad, which was produced by a top ad agency RPA, puts GoldieBlox shoulder to shoulder with the big leagues, and Sterling hopes the exposure to over 100 million viewers will enable the brand to take a "giant leap forward for our mission."

A Stanford University engineering graduate, Sterling launched GoldieBlox in 2012 after became obsessed with the idea of "disrupting the pink aisle" with a toy that could potentially inspire the next generation of female engineers.

Related Story: Super Bowl creating traffic jam for private jets

She turned to crowdfunding site Kickstarter with the goal of raising $150,000 to fire up her idea.

"We did that in just 4 days," said Sterling. In total, her Kickstarter campaign raised over $285,000. "So yes, we knew we were on to something," she said.

Intuit's contest kicked off last July and asked U.S.-based business with 50 or fewer employees to submit a compelling story about their company.

An online vote determined the top 20 submissions, and then Intuit's 8,000 employees voted to pick four finalists -- GoldieBlox, dog treats maker Barley Labs, organic egg farm Locally Laid Egg Company and natural compost producer POOP. A separate online vote in December determined the grand-prize winner.

Intuit said millions of votes were cast for the entries but declined to say how many went to GoldieBlox.

"GoldieBlox is an outstanding example of the 29 million small businesses across the United States," said Intuit's CEO Brad Smith. "It's clear voters around the world felt the same way."

GoldieBlox's Intuit win, however, isn't its first brush with fame.

Last year, the company created a parody video that featured the Beastie Boys song "Girls." The video, which featured young girls rejecting the "princess" stereotype as they built a complex maze, became a viral hit. But it also brought on a copyright infringement lawsuit by the Beastie Boys for using their song.

GoldieBlox initially countered with its own lawsuit but ultimately removed the song from the video.

Intuit also confirmed that it will hold a similar contest again next year.

First Published: January 30, 2014: 6:17 PM ET

15.30 | 0 komentar | Read More

Asia stocks battered by emerging market fears

HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

Japan's Nikkei dropped 2.5%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.5% and Australia ASX All Ordinaries lost 0.8%.

The Shanghai Composite, which often diverges from other Asian markets, advanced 0.6%.

Investors have been rattled in recent weeks by growing fragility in Turkey, India, Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa as the Federal Reserve rolls back the bond-buying program that has supported growth in emerging markets. Weakness in China's all-important manufacturing sector has only added to worries.

Emerging market currencies have suffered a broad decline, and even drastic efforts to control the situation appear to be falling short.

On Tuesday, Turkey's central bank increased its key overnight lending rate to 12% from 7.75%.The Turkish lira fell further Wednesday.

In addition to Turkey, India and South Africa have raised rates this week to stabilize shaky currencies. The Argentinian peso has been in free fall since Argentina's government moved to devalue the currency last week.

Related story: Google to sell Motorola Mobility unit to Lenovo

Many emerging markets have benefited over the past few years as the Fed and other central banks have pumped money into the global economy.

But investors have been pulling out of emerging markets this year now that the Fed has begun to scale back its bond buying. The central bank said Wednesday that it would reduce its bond-buying program to $65 billion a month from $75 billion.

The bet is that higher rates in the U.S. and a stronger dollar will make emerging market investments far less attractive.

First Published: January 29, 2014: 9:56 PM ET

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Why Lenovo was hot for Motorola

Chinese tech company Lenovo has announced two major purchases in recent weeks.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

The acquisition -- from Google -- is the largest ever by a Chinese tech company, and represents an ambitious departure for Lenovo. The firm is best known as a PC maker, but there are plenty of signs suggesting that is about to change.

In Motorola, Lenovo gets a brand that is one of the most respected in the business. Motorola is also strong where Lenovo is weak -- in western markets and especially the United States.

And Lenovo gains mobile expertise, which should help it improve on its lackluster early smartphone offerings.

The Chinese company is the world's fourth biggest smartphone maker after Samsung (SSNLF), Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) and Huawei. But Lenovo is clearly looking to gain market share, and was reportedly interested in buying BlackBerry (BBRY) before the Canadian firm took itself off the market.

Related story: Can Lenovo do it?

In a conference call with reporters, Lenovo executives said they were hoping to sell more than 100 million smartphones a year soon, challenging Apple and Samsung.

So what makes Lenovo think it can succeed in a sector that is among the most competitive in the world? Well, they've done it before.

Lenovo bought IBM's (IBM, Fortune 500) ThinkPad division in 2005 and was able to turn it into a dominant force. The lessons learned over the past decade could now provide the basis for an aggressive expansion into mobile.

Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) CEO Larry Page may have said it best himself.

"Lenovo has the expertise and track record to scale Motorola into a major player within the Android ecosystem," he wrote in a blog post. "They have a lot of experience in hardware, and they have global reach."

"Lenovo intends to keep Motorola's distinct brand identity—just as they did when they acquired ThinkPad from IBM," he added.

Related: China Mobile kicks off Apple iPhone bonanza

More than anything, the deal is just the latest indication of Lenovo's growing ambition.

Lenovo announced another big transaction with an American company last week, agreeing to pay $2.3 billion for IBM's low-end x86 server business.

Both deals require regulatory approval, including from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which reviews purchases of U.S. companies to make sure they don't undermine national security.

"I am confident we will be successful with this process, and that our companies will not only maintain our current momentum in the market, but also build a strong foundation for the future," Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing said of the Motorola deal.

First Published: January 30, 2014: 4:50 AM ET

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Stocks could stabilize on earnings, data

Click chart for in-depth premarket data.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

U.S. stock futures were edging slightly higher ahead of the opening bell, though global markets were predominantly in the red.

Investors are watching international developments closely, after a reduced flow of cheap money from the Federal Reserve accelerated a sell-off in some emerging market currencies. The turmoil has prompted a flight from riskier assets, including stocks.

Investors will get their first reading of U.S. fourth-quarter GDP from the Commerce Department at 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday. Also at 8:30, the government will release its weekly report on initial jobless claims.

Related: Fear & Greed Index

A flood of quarterly results are due before the opening bell from firms including UPS (UPS, Fortune 500) and Exxon Mobil (XOM, Fortune 500). Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500) and Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) are set to report in the afternoon.

U.S. stocks fell Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it was cutting another $10 billion per month from its economic stimulus program. All the main U.S. indexes declined by more than 1%.

So far in 2014, the Dow Jones industrial average has fallen by 5% while the S&P 500 index has dropped by 4%. The bulk of the losses were sustained over the past few trading days.

Related: CNNMoney's Tech30

But there have been some bright spots. Facebook (FB, Fortune 500) shares surged more than 12% after hours Wednesday following strong quarterly sales and earnings results.

Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) shares also rose in after-hours trading after it announced the sale of its Motorola Mobility smartphone business to China's Lenovo for $2.9 billion.

Related: Asia stocks battered by emerging market fears

European markets were in negative territory in morning trading, and Asian markets also took a knock.

Japan's Nikkei dropped 2.5%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.5% and Australia ASX All Ordinaries lost 0.8%. The Shanghai Composite, which often diverges from other Asian markets, advanced 0.6%.

First Published: January 30, 2014: 5:14 AM ET

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Google to sell Motorola Mobility unit to Lenovo

China-based Lenovo is the world's largest PC maker.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The search giant announced Wednesday that it will sell its Motorola Mobility smartphone unit to Chinese PC maker Lenovo for $2.9 billion, giving up on a business it purchased for $12.5 billion in May 2012.

The deal was Google's largest-ever acquisition, giving it the ability to produce hardware to go along with its Android mobile operating system. But Motorola has been a perpetual money-loser, raising the ire of shareholders and Wall Street analysts.

Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) said it will maintain ownership of the "vast majority" of the Motorola Mobility patent portfolio after the sale.

When Google bought Motorola, the company said it planned to use those patents to ward off lawsuits from Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) and Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) that threaten Android. Lenovo will be able to license those patents from Google.

In a blog post announcing the deal, Google CEO Larry Page acknowledged that it doesn't make sense for his company to continue manufacturing phones itself.

"[T]he smartphone market is super competitive, and to thrive it helps to be all-in when it comes to making mobile devices," Page wrote. "This move will enable Google to devote our energy to driving innovation across the Android ecosystem."

Google shares rose 2% in after-hours trading.

Related: Can Lenovo do it?

Lenovo chief Yang Yuanqing said the deal "will immediately make Lenovo a strong global competitor in smartphones."

In addition to being the world's largest PC maker, the company is already the No. 4 global smartphone maker after Samsung, Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) and Huawei. In a conference call with reporters Wednesday afternoon, Lenovo executives said the company will soon be able to sell more than 100 million smartphones annually, challenging Apple and Samsung.

While its phones are already well-known in China and other international markets, Lenovo will continue to use the Motorola brand in the U.S. and Latin America.

"We are confident that we can bring together the best of both companies to deliver products customers will love and a strong, growing business," Yang said.

Lenovo announced another big transaction with an American company last week, agreeing to pay $2.3 billion for IBM's (IBM, Fortune 500) low-end x86 server business.

Page, for his part, said Google's sale "does not signal a larger shift for our other hardware efforts."

Earlier this month, Google announced that it was buying connnected home-appliance maker Nest for $3.2 billion.

"The dynamics and maturity of the wearable and home markets, for example, are very different from that of the mobile industry," Page said. "We're excited by the opportunities to build amazing new products for users within these emerging ecosystems."

First Published: January 29, 2014: 5:31 PM ET

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