Stocks: 4 things to know before the open

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HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

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

U.S. stock futures were practically flat as investors showed little interest in getting their feet wet.

"I think the market is somewhat apprehensive coming into this week because of the amount of data that we're likely to see going into the week," said Tom Beevers, chief executive officer of StockViews.

He was referring to the gross domestic product and monthly payroll reports due later this week, as well as the meeting of the Federal Reserve policy meeting scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. He said that investors are trying to gauge "when the first rate increase is going to occur."

1. Merger Monday: housing and discount shopping: Zillow (Z) confirmed that it plans to buy Trulia (TRLA) for $3.5 billion in stock. The acquisition merges the two biggest names in online housing, and CNNMoney reported last week that some real estate agents were nervous that the sites' combined depth of local housing data could make in-person brokers irrelevant. Shares of Trulia surged 15% in premarket trading. Zillow was halted around the announcement.

Family Dollar (FDO) shares surged more than 25% on news that it's getting bought by another discount retailer, Dollar Tree (DLTR), for $8.5 billion. Dollar Tree's stock climbed over 11% premarket.

Related: Fear & Greed Index backslides to fear

2. Stocks to watch: Tyson Foods (TSN) reported earnings before the bell. The stock was up nearly 4% on plans to sell its Mexican and Brazilian poultry units for $575 million. Herbalife (HLF) will report after the close. T

McDonald's (MCD) continues to be embroiled in a rotten meat scandal in China. Shares of the fast food chain have dropped 3.3% in the week since a longtime McDonald's meat supplier was accused of processing expired meat.

Keep an eye on another American fast food chain, El Pollo Loco (LOCO), to see if it continues to fly high -- shares surged more than 60% in its first day of trading Friday.

Related: CNNMoney's Tech 30

3. International markets: Most European markets were mixed in afternoon trading, with France's CAC 40 up 0.3.%.

Russia's Micex index was lower after an arbitration panel in the Hague ruled against the state, finding the government had illegally sold off the assets of oil company Yukos. Former major shareholders were awarded $50 billion in damages.

Most Asian markets advanced Monday, led by a 2.4% surge on China's benchmark Shanghai Composite. Stocks in Mumbai fell 0.8% in afternoon trading.

4. Friday U.S. markets recap: U.S. stocks fell Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down almost 130 points while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished the day off about 0.5%. The three major indexes ended the week little changed.

First Published: July 28, 2014: 5:04 AM ET

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Kristen Bell invests. Now what?

This Bar Saves Lives founders: Ryan Devlin, Kristen Bell, Ravi Patel and Todd Grinnell.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Their enterprise really began in 2008, when Devlin and Grinnell used their celebrity to fundraise $30,000 to build a bridge in war-torn Liberia. They took meetings, shook hands and toured a clinic in Monrovia, where they saw starving children being fed Plumpy'Nut, a well-reputed RUTF (Ready to Use Therapeutic Food) that keeps kids alive in war- or disaster-torn regions.

The sight of those kids stuck with them. In 2013, the two launched This Bar Saves Lives, a company that would distribute one package of Plumpy'Nut for every granola bar it sold.

Support rolled in -- from Ravi Patel with whom Devlin had shot a pilot, and Kristen Bell, with whom he'd acted on Veronica Mars. Patel became the company's third partner and now heads up finance. Bell came on as a founding partner and brand ambassador. The two were also instrumental in the company's first round of funding, investing one-third of the overall $250,000.

Related: This startup thrives on a four-day workweek

"Everybody always wants a celebrity spokesperson or somebody who has 2 million Twitter followers ... that was the low-hanging fruit for us," says Devlin. What they lacked were connections in the snack food world.

Devlin and Grinnell had tried making samples of the product themselves -- what Devlin describes as "really terrible granola bars." They knew they needed help and put the first round of investment into hiring a graphic designer, attorney, and especially food scientists to develop a salable product.

For this, they turned to JPG Resources -- founded by food scientist Jeff Grogg who helped grow Kashi. The company consulted with This Bar Saves Lives "in every operational aspect of our launch," says Patel.

"They put us in touch with all their contacts in the snack business, and were able to lend their 25-plus years of experience to every major decision," says Patel.

Without them, says Devlin, "we would have been bankrupt in six months."

Related: Refugees cook for the masses

The company went through five versions of samples under JPG's guidance before soft launching with three flavors. Devlin said customer feedback on those bars -- the blueberry was a little too sugary; the vanilla was too crunchy -- allowed the company to make crucial tweaks.

The actors knew that celebrity endorsement might encourage single purchases, but the only way to create steady Plumpy'Nut aid was to draw repeat customers with a superior product.

They use non-GMO, organic and fair-trade ingredients -- and that standard comes at a price. Plus, Plumpy'Nut costs 34 cents per packet, which is factored into the bar's $2.69 retail price.

To keep costs down, the actors balance their startup roles with their day jobs, making up lost time at night, over weekends and when the camera turns off. (Devlin spoke to me from Puerto Rico where he was filming for MTV.)

Related: Facebook launched my business

"What we normally give away on our aid is what most companies peg as their profit margin," says Devlin. Nevertheless, according to Patel, their gross margin remains in the 40%-50% range, after their donations.

"Margins will continue to improve with scale, and currently all profits -- as well as deferred founder salaries -- are being reinvested into our aggressive growth," Patel explains. The company is on track for profitability within the next three years and has projected sales to double each year for the next five years.

Thus far, This Bar Saves Lives has sold over 214,000 bars and distributed that same number of RUTF's through Save the Children in South Sudan and in the Philippines. They're sold in Sprouts Farmers Markets nationwide and will expand to most Whole Foods (WFM) by August. And whether star power or taste is helping sell the bars (or both), hungry children are receiving emergency relief.

"We're all acting way less, and when we do act, we are still putting in at least ten hours a day," says Patel. "What I'm saying is, we are tired, but it's been so worth it."

First Published: July 28, 2014: 10:59 AM ET

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Richard Branson's Virgin America files for IPO

Virgin America has filed for an initial public offering.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

While the West Coast-based airline got its name from Branson's Virgin Atlantic airline, it is not mostly owned by Branson, Virgin Atlantic or Virgin Group. That's because Americans must own most of an airline in order for it to fly between U.S. cities.

The carrier 's primary hubs are Los Angeles and San Francisco. But it's expanding operations at New York's La Guardia Airport, Washington's Reagan National and Dallas' Love Field, getting the opportunity when the Justice Department required American Airlines and US Airways to give up some gates as a condition of approving their merger.

By selling shares to the the public, Virgin America will be able to bring more cash into the airline from U.S. investors.

Virgin Group and Cyrus Capital Partners, a distressed debt fund manager, are listed as the principal shareholders in Monday's filing.

The filing did not disclosed how much money the airline intends to raise with the stock sale or an estimated value of the company.

It did disclose that the airline lost $395 million between 2009 and 2012 before it made $10.1 million last year. It reported another loss for the first quarter of 2014. Revenue nearly tripled between 2009 and 2013.

Related: 5 airline fees we hate the most

Airline stocks have been very strong performers in recent months as consolidation in the industry, rising demand for travel, higher fares and increase revenue from various passenger fees have resulted in record profitability at many carriers.

First Published: July 28, 2014: 8:35 AM ET

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Zillow buys Trulia for $3.5 billion

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Trulia shares jumped 12% on the news that it's selling to Zillow.

Zillow will continue to operate two separate websites, where consumers can search listings of homes for sale. Zillow and Trulia together attract more than 130 million visitors a month.

Both companies post detailed listings of homes for sale, and charge agents to post their names alongside their listings. Some agent teams spend $20,000 a month with Zillow, Trulia, or both.

Still the websites' revenue only add up to about 4% of the $12 billion the real estate industry spends on marketing via newspaper and television ads, billboards, direct mail and the like. Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff sees an opportunity to capture more of those marketing dollars via mobile.

"Mobile is becoming the medium of choice for home shopping," said Rascoff.

Trulia's current CEO Pete Flint will continue to head Trulia's operations and report to Rascoff.

The two real estate portals have transformed the housing market over the past decade by making information that was once only available through realtors easily accessible to consumers. The sites have made the home buying process much more transparent and stripped real estate brokers of their traditional role of gatekeepers of information.

Related: Chinese homebuyers are flocking to these states

Zillow, for instance, has its own home value algorithm called Zestimates. Trulia offers extensive rankings on crime, public transit and schools.

The ultimate fear: Zillow and Trulia could make brokers irrelevant.

The new Zillow will still have plenty of competition from other sites such as Realtor.com, Homes.com as well as from Coldwell Banker, Re/Max, Century 21 and other real estate brokers.

But it will give the combined company the leverage to charge realtors more, said Steve Murray, editor at Real Trends a real estate communications and consulting company.

First Published: July 28, 2014: 9:15 AM ET

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Investors yawn on another Merger Monday

click the chart for more markets data.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all fell in morning trading. Investors are probably focused more on the deluge of economic reports coming later this week: a read on gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter, a meeting from the Federal Reserve's policy committee and the July jobs report.

"I think the market is somewhat apprehensive coming into this week because of the amount of data that we're likely to see going into the week," said Tom Beevers, chief executive officer of StockViews.

But here's what to keep an eye on today:

1. Housing and discount shopping deals: Zillow (Z) confirmed that it plans to buy Trulia (TRLA) for $3.5 billion in stock. The acquisition merges the two biggest names in online housing, and CNNMoney reported last week that some real estate agents were nervous that the sites' combined depth of local housing data could make in-person brokers irrelevant. Shares of Trulia surged 8%, while Zillow slipped around 6%.

Family Dollar (FDO) shares rallied 22% on news that it's getting bought by another discount retailer, Dollar Tree (DLTR), for $8.5 billion. Dollar Tree's stock also climbed.

Related: Fear & Greed Index backslides to fear

2. Stocks to watch: Tyson Foods (TSN) shares were up after the company announced in its earnings report that it plans to sell its Mexican and Brazilian poultry units for $575 million. Herbalife (HLF), which skyrocketed last week after hedge fund manager Bill Ackman failed to convince investors of his case against the nutritional supplement company, will report after the bell.

El Pollo Loco (LOCO) continues to look appetizing after its initial public offering last week. The stock shot up 17% Monday, following a more than 60% gain in its first day of trading Friday.

Related: CNNMoney's Tech 30

3. International markets: Most European markets were down in afternoon trading.

Russia's Micex index was lower after an arbitration panel in the Hague ruled against the state, finding the government had illegally sold off the assets of oil company Yukos. Former major shareholders were awarded $50 billion in damages.

Most Asian markets advanced, led by a 2.4% surge on China's benchmark Shanghai Composite.

4. Friday U.S. markets recap: U.S. stocks fell Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down almost 130 points while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished the day off about 0.5%. The three major indexes ended the week little changed.

First Published: July 28, 2014: 9:48 AM ET

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Dollar stores joining forces

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Dollar Tree (DLTR) is buying its larger rival for 23% more than Family Dollar's closing price last week, for a total value of $8.5 billion.

Dollar Tree plans to continue to operate both the Dollar Tree and Family Dollar brands. Dollar Tree stores sell all items for $1 or less and CEO Bob Sasser told investors Monday they will continue to do so. Family Dollar stores sells many items for more than $1 and will stay with that pricing policy as well.

Dollar Tree stores are found mainly in suburban areas. Family Dollar stores are primarily in either urban or rural locations.

Combined, the two chains have more than 13,000 stores and annual revenue of $18 billion. That would surpass the current leader in the dollar-store sector, Dollar General (DG), which has more than 11,000 stores and revenue of $17.5 billion.

A big winner in the deal is activist investor Carl Icahn, who holds 9.4% of Family Dollar shares, according to sales tracker LionShares. Icahn acquired most of the shares in the past year.

Shares of the company shot up in June when Icahn disclosed his stake, but have given back most of the gains since. The stock is down nearly 6% for the year through Friday's close.

Shares of Family Dollar (FDO) soared on the news in early trading, while shares of Dollar Tree posted most modest gains.

Shares of Dollar General and Five Below (FIVE), a chain that sells items for $5 or less, were slightly lower on the news. So were shares of Wal-Mart Stores (WMT), the discount chain that is the nation's largest retailer.

The deal is expected to close early next year.

First Published: July 28, 2014: 7:05 AM ET

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Apple welcomes back top Bitcoin wallet app

Apple banned Blockchain and other Bitcoin wallets from its App Store earlier this year. But Blockchain is back.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The software lets people receive and spend the increasingly popular digital currency Bitcoin. Blockchain.info's popular app was kicked out of Apple's system in February. At that time, Apple turned its back on all Bitcoin-related wallet services.

Although Blockchain.info's 100,000 users on iOS could still use their app, no one else could download it.

Related: What is Bitcoin?

But Apple (AAPL, Tech30) recently reversed its antagonistic stance toward Bitcoin and has started to allow a few Bitcoin wallet apps to trickle back in. On Saturday, Apple notified Blockchain.info it could return. The British startup republished its app on Monday.

The app should appear in the App Store as soon as Apple's computer servers update their systems.

"This represents a pivotal change for Bitcoin," said Blockchain.info's CEO, Nicholas Cary. "When Apple banned the last app, they told thousands of developers around the world their time and energy wasn't worth anything. I think this will be a shot in the arm for the whole industry."

Those computer developers instead turned their energy toward Android. Google's (GOOGL, Tech30) mobile operating system has become a hotbed for Bitcoin-related wallets and trading services. Bitcoin developers have also received millions of dollars of support from venture capital firms such as Andreessen Horowitz.

Cary thinks Apple didn't want to miss out on the opportunity.

Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Related story: New York unveils Bitcoin license rules

Blockchain.info's number of digital wallets has grown from 950,000 to 1.9 million since the start of the year. The startup's attorney, Marco Santori, expects Apple's decision to quickly push that number past 2 million.
Jose Pagliery is also the author of Bitcoin - And the Future of Money, available in bookstores on Sept. 1 (Triumph Books, Chicago).

First Published: July 28, 2014: 10:45 AM ET

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Investors help the rich pay off student loans

Have a law degree from Harvard or MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg? Wall Street may want to buy your student debt.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Social Finance, a company that uses crowdfunding to refinance student debt, just packaged a bunch of those loans and sold them.

It's an increasingly popular form of lending called peer-to-peer, or P2P. Firms like Social Finance (SoFi) and contemporaries Lending Club and Prosper pair people who want income with people looking for credit. It's an end run around traditional bank lending.

SoFi's niche is refinancing student loans. But not just any loans. To even be considered for getting money through SoFi, you have to have attended one of a small number of selective colleges like Harvard, New York University and Northwestern. Their alumni provide the money -- The students must also have a job lined up after graduation.

The loans tend to be debt for law school, business school and medical school. And while these grad students carry a median $77,000 in debt, they are also bringing in an average of $183,000 in salary a year. Their average FICO credit score? 776. It's another sign of how the credit market is only open to a select few.

Related: Big bond investor Bill Gross says rates will be low for years

Packaging these kinds of loans into bonds is a pretty recent phenomenon. SoFi and hedge fund Eaglewood Capital, which securitized a bunch of Lending Club consumer loans last year, are the only two companies to do so.

The big ratings agencies, who serve as a gatekeeper to the big bucks in debt markets, have largely stayed away from these types of loans. But they're starting to warm up.

Canadian firm DBRS has an investment-grade rating on bonds SoFi put together last year. And Standard & Poor's has also recently given SoFi its high-grade blessing.

This should lead to more bond sales, according to Morgan Parkes, head of business development and investor relations for Eaglewood Capital. She argues that more investors will be interested now that some of these securities are getting credit ratings.

For SoFi, the increased attention meant selling more bonds for more money than before. Its first deal was for $150 million in bonds that started off at a 3.75% yield. Its second deal was for $250 million in bonds, the cheapest of which priced at a 3% yield. Bond yields go down when prices rise, so the demand is clearly there for these bonds.

That's because institutional investors -- think pensions and hedge funds -- are eager for anything that yields more than the relatively puny 2.5% rate you get with a 10-year U.S. Treasury.

And big firms like BlackRock (BLK) -- which didn't buy any of the SoFi bonds -- are actively buying Lending Club and Prosper loans, lowering rates for borrowers who can access those platforms.

Related: Investors are hungrier for corporate bonds than before the financial crisis

Still, SoFi doesn't plan to start branching into loans for associates degrees or for-profit schools, where students typically have much more trouble paying off federal loans.

Instead, SoFI CFO Nino Fanlo said the company plans to find ways to follow its wealthy customer base into other areas like mortgages or other consumer loans.

Credit is harder to come by these days for subprime borrowers with less-than-optimal credit, but it's easy to get a loan if your credit's good and you have a decent income.

"If you're a prime borrower, you're paying next to nothing," said Vishal Khanduja, fixed income portfolio manager at Calvert Investment Management, which bought some of the SoFi bonds.

But there are still many people stuck trying to pay off student loans who don't have high-income jobs and advanced degrees from some of the country's best schools. And they won't be getting the same kind of help from Wall Street.

First Published: July 28, 2014: 11:03 AM ET

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Yo backer launches new app

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The app officially launched on Monday from Moshe Hogeg, the CEO and founder of Mobli, a mobile sharing platform.

Hogeg is a co-founder of Yo; he invested his own money into the incredibly simplistic app developed by a former Mobli iOS engineer. (The app was heavily scrutinized in June for raising $1.5 million in funding, when all it actually does is ping users with the word "Yo.")

MIRAGE builds on key pieces from Yo's virality: It lets users send messages, videos and voice recordings to their contacts -- with just one tap.

"[Yo] is very, very simple," explained Hogeg. "We tried to imitate this simplicity. This is what makes it very fast and beautiful. After you learn how to use it, it's the simplest tool ever."

A la Snapchat, messages last just mere seconds -- the app automatically determines how many. Videos self-destruct in up to 15 seconds; photos, in three seconds (or slightly longer if there's also text).

"In Snapchat, [at] minimum it will take four taps. In MIRAGE, it's one tap," explained Hogeg.

Related: Israeli startups flock to New York

With certain things -- like telling his secretary to order his lunch -- Hogeg said sending an email or text (and therefore having it logged in a digital archive) simply shouldn't be necessary.

"I would not say to my secretary, please bring me something to eat [with] a video on Snapchat," said Hogeg. "But in MIRAGE, this is exactly how we use it."

A lazy person's Snapchat? Maybe. With a MIRAGE message, lunch can be requested -- not by exhausting your fingers and typing out actual sentences -- but rather in one simple tap.

The free app, which is available on iPhone and Android, connects to one's phone contacts -- even if they don't use the app. This cures what Hogeg refers to as the "loneliness problem." If friends don't have the app, they can still receive the message through a text and view it in a browser.

Hogeg said everyone from friends to lawyers and their clients could be potential users of MIRAGE but is quick to note that there's no predicting how it will fit into people's lives.

Related: 10 best cities to launch a startup

"Exactly like Yo -- we thought certain things and then people took it to other places," said Hogeg. (The app was initially designed as a simple way for Hogeg to communicate with his wife and assistant -- it soon became used by World Cup fans to alert them when their team scored a goal.)

MIRAGE only collects data on what type of message people are sending (i.e., video or photo).

"Everything goes away from our server the second it disappears from your phone," he added.

About 350 people tested the app, and almost all the messages sent were videos, according to Hogeg.

This is the company's first app, aside from the original Mobli app. To date, Mobli has raised over $80 million in funding and counts high-profile investors including American Movil (led by Carlos Slim), Leonardo DiCaprio and Serena Williams.

First Published: July 28, 2014: 11:06 AM ET

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Psychics are bullish on stocks

Sidney Friedman, a Chicago-based 'mentalist,' says 2014 will be another good year for stocks.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

To answer this question, you could ask an investment strategist. Or you could consult a psychic.

That's what CNNMoney did, and it turns out psychics and investment strategists have something in common. They're both pretty bullish.

The bull market, which has been running for more than five years, still has some life left in it, according to a survey of market strategists CNNMoney conducted in July. On average, the strategists we polled expect the S&P 500 to gain 8.8% this year.

That's all well and good. But what do people with extrasensory perception think?

CNNMoney asked three psychics for their market predictions. Here's what we learned.

'The devil card.' Thomas John, a medium and clairvoyant based in New York, said the S&P 500 will rise above 2,100 by November or December. That's about 6% above current levels. "YIKES!" he exclaimed.

He said he took 20 minutes to "light a candle and do some meditation," before firing off an email to CNNMoney with his predictions.

Related: The 4 biggest mistakes investors are making

He also named specific companies that will perform well into 2015, including Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD), Ryanair (RYAAY), Google (GOOGL, Tech30), Applied Materials (AMAT), Twitter (TWTR, Tech30) and Zillow (Z). We wonder if John "knew" something about Zillow's just announced deal to buy rival Trulia (TRLA).

The future is also bright for "old materials," such steel and cement, he added.

John said he has advised clients on their investment decisions before.

When a hedge fund asked for his predictions in 2007, John said he saw the name "Lehman Brothers" and that it was under the "devil card," indicating death or tragedy.

He declined to name the hedge fund or whether it made any moves before Lehman went bankrupt in 2008.

Hard to predict with exactitude. Chicago's Sidney Friedman has been a professional "mentalist" for 19 years.

In addition to performing at corporate events, Friedman has been publicly stating his predictions every year since 1996. On average, he's right 72% of the time, according to his website.

"It's very difficult to predict anything with exactitude," said Friedman, who uses dream interpretation and a technique he called the "pendulum principle" to measure "fluctuations in nature and universe."

Related: 6 events that spooked the market in 2014

Earlier this year, Friedman predicted that the Dow would see a "significant dip" in the late winter or early spring, before bouncing back to end the year higher, "perhaps 5% to 6%." He might wind up being right. After tumbling from mid-April to early February, the Dow is now up nearly 3% for the year.

Looking further ahead, Friedman said he sees a significant market event taking place sometime in 2016. "That's when you have to be careful."

However, he stressed that investors shouldn't base their decisions solely on psychic powers.

"It's best to combine the intuitive with actual data," said Friedman.

Feeling the energy of the market. Before becoming an "intuitive guide and consultant," Lisa Jones worked as an accountant at Price Waterhouse and Ernst & Young, as well as a hedge fund.

Jones, who primarily works with business owners and entrepreneurs, still calls herself a CPA. But instead of Certified Public Accountant, she says it now stands for "Channeling People's Angles."

She also warns that investors should not rely on psychic predictions alone.

"I take no responsibility for actual results," she said. "I'm only feeling into the energy of the market."

That said, the energy of the market is fairly positive. While she sees the possibility for "dramatic shifts" over the next few months, Jones expects the Dow to move higher in the near-term.

Related: 5 reasons why the market won't crash

Jones said she "got a very strong feeling" that the Dow will end the year around 17,450. It closed Friday at 16,960.

The energy sector has particularly strong, well, energy. Jones said she sees "volatility in the near future" that could cause energy prices to move higher towards the end of the year.

Jones also gets a good feeling about the technology sector.

"There are some new innovations coming to market, which makes tech stocks hot," she said. But the tech rally could "cool dramatically" after the midterm elections.

Of course, you don't need to be a psychic to know that Apple (AAPL, Tech30) has a new iPhone coming out soon and that Election Day takes place in November.

First Published: July 28, 2014: 11:44 AM ET

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Detroit's turnaround is moving fast

Detroit has rebounded much more than expected by many in the year since its bankruptcy filing.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Last year at this time, the city filed for the nation's largest municipal bankruptcy ever. The process has moved much faster than expected.

On Monday the results of a vote by employees, retirees and creditors on whether to approve the city's reorganization plan will be announced.

"Even in a non-controversial, non-politically charged bankruptcy, getting to this stage in only a year is quite an accomplishment," said Michael Sweet, an expert in municipal bankruptcies.

Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr, who oversees the city's finances, has struck deals with city unions, pension funds and creditors to shave $7.4 billion in debt off Detroit's balance sheet.

The cuts to pension benefits could have been much worse. The current plan will reduce benefits by just 4.5%, and eliminate cost-of-living adjustments for employees and retirees from most departments. There won't be any cuts in current benefits for police and firefighters, and they'll only lose half of their cost of living adjustment.

Related: Detroit second most stressed out city

The state of Michigan, a group of charities and foundations and many leading business such as the Big Three automakers, have agreed to chip in hundreds of millions of dollars of help in a so-called "Grand Bargain" to ease the cuts for retirees. The cash would allow the city to avoid selling off the art work in the Detroit Institute of Arts, the city-owned museum, to help pay creditors.

But while retirees fared better than expected, banks and other investor groups holding the city's debt will get less than expected. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes rejected some earlier deals that would have paid them more.

Meanwhile, the city has enjoyed something an economic resurgence. Construction and housing in the downtown area are doing particularly well. Unemployment is still at 8.2%, but it's fallen much faster than the national rate.

If the cuts are approved Monday, Detroit could emerge from bankruptcy later this year.

But much of the progress could be derailed if city employees or other creditors vote down the plan. A no vote doesn't necessarily blow up the reorganization plan, but it would make it much harder for the city to emerge from bankruptcy in the fall.

First Published: July 21, 2014: 10:20 AM ET

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World's 2nd-richest man suggests 3-day work week

Carlos Slim, the world's second richest man, is advocating a three-day work week.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The Financial Times reported that in a speech at a conference in Paraguay, Slim advocated a radical change in the typical five-day work week.

"People are going to have to work for more years, until they are 70 or 75, and just work three days a week -- perhaps 11 hours a day," the paper quotes him as saying.

Related: The world's shortest work weeks

The paper said that workers at Telmex, the telecom company that has made him the world's second richest man by some estimates, now can retire before they are 50 years old in some cases.

But it reported that those eligible for such early retirement are given the option of a four-day work week at full pay upon reaching retirement age.

Related: The 10 hardest working countries

"With three work days a week, we would have more time to relax; for quality of life," Slim was quoted as saying. "Having four days [off] would be very important to generate new entertainment activities and other ways of being occupied."

Employees in Mexico work more hours than their counterparts in any other country, according to a study by the OECD, an international economic forum. The study shows workers there work 2,317 hours a year, or 44.6 hours a week, compared to an average of 1,798 hours a year in the United States.

For U.S. workers, the 40-hour,. five-day work week became the standard in 1938. Despite gains in productivity and predictions of a significantly shorter work week that would follow, it has remained the standard for more than 75 years.

But while the 40-hour, five-day weeks is most common arrangement for full-time U.S. workers, 29% of employers offer their employees the option of a compressed work week, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. Those employers allow full-time employees to work longer days for part of the week or pay period in exchange for shorter days or a day off each week or pay period.

First Published: July 21, 2014: 7:24 AM ET

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Millennials love cash

Millennials are choosing cash over stocks, a new survey finds.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Americans between 18 and 29 years old are three times more likely to keep their long-term investments in the form of cash rather than in the stock market, according to a survey from Bankrate.com.

Even the booming stock market hasn't been able to shake off the risk-aversion that is now the hallmark of this recession-scarred generation.

But losing out on investment returns could spell trouble for many down the road, said Bankrate chief financial analyst Greg McBride.

Related: Enough with Millennials. Here's what Gen X thinks

"The preference for cash and aversion to the stock market among young adults is very troubling considering this age group has the biggest retirement savings burden," McBride said. "They won't get there without being willing to assume a little short-term price risk in their long-term money."

About 39% of Millennials picked cash as the preferred way to invest the money that they don't need for at least 10 years -- the biggest percentage of any age group.

Another 24% chose real estate, while 13% picked the stock market.

Related: Millennials 'overwhelmed' by debt

Across all age groups, 25% said they prefer cash investments, 23% chose real estate and 19% said they would put their money in the stock market.

"Americans are still risk-averse when it comes to how they invest their money," said McBride.

First Published: July 21, 2014: 1:13 AM ET

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Stocks: 5 things to know before the open

Click on chart for more premarket data.

LONDON (CNNMoney)

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

1. Smoker's widow ruling: Shares in tobacco giants Reynolds American (RAI) and Philip Morris International (PM) were falling heavily premarket after a Florida jury ordered R.J. Reynolds Tobacco to pay $23.6 billion to the widow of a long-time smoker who died of lung cancer.

This is one of the largest awards against a tobacco firm, but the company is looking to avoid the massive payout.

"We plan to file post-trial motions ... and are confident that the court will follow the law and not allow this runaway verdict to stand," said J. Jeffery Raborn, vice president and assistant general counsel for R. J. Reynolds.

2. Stocks slipping: The broader market was also looking weaker, with U.S. stock futures edging down Monday and most major global markets in the red.

European markets were declining in early trading, with the benchmark Dax index in Germany sliding by 0.7%. Investors are still worrying about the fallout from the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine.

The main stock market in Russia was down by 1.4% as political leaders around the world call on Russian President Vladimir Putin to use his influence to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine. EU foreign ministers could decide to impose new sanctions on Russia as early as Tuesday.

Markets are also keeping an eye on the intensifying conflict in the Middle East. Sunday was the deadliest day yet in the most recent bloody conflict between Israeli forces and Hamas.

Asian markets ended with mixed results.

Related: Fear & Greed Index

3. Expect earnings: It's a big earnings week for the food industry.

But up early Monday are Halliburton (HAL), Hasbro (HAS) and Allergan (AGN) with earnings before the opening bell. Netflix (NFLX, Tech30), Crocs (CROX) and Chipotle (CMG) will report after the close.

Related: 'Burrito inflation' is here

4. Watch Arabtec, Tesco, Malaysia Airlines: Shares in Arabtec fell by nearly 10% in Dubai, before trimming their losses, as investors continue to worry about the future of the construction company.

Shares in Tesco (TESO) were rising in London after the company announced it was bringing in a new CEO.

Malaysia Airlines stock staged a mild recovery Monday -- up 2.5% -- though the shares are still down by over 30% this year as two separate disasters raise questions about its ability to survive.

Related: CNNMoney's Tech30

5. Friday market recap: U.S. stocks closed higher Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 123 points and ended the week up by 0.9%. The S&P 500 moved 1% higher Friday and closed out the week with a gain of 0.5%. The Nasdaq rose by 1.6% Friday and also ended the week higher.

First Published: July 21, 2014: 5:23 AM ET

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China food scandal hits McDonald's, KFC

Yum Brands -- which owns KFC -- has faced a number of food scandals in China.

LONDON (CNNMoney)

An American-owned meat factory operating in China has been accused of selling out-of-date and tainted meat to clients including McDonald's (MCD) and Yum Brands (YUM), which owns the KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut chains.

Dragon TV reported that workers at the food plant were processing expired meat and food that had fallen on the floor, illustrating China's continuing struggle to meet international food standards.

McDonald's and Yum Brands say they have stopped buying meat from the processing plant, Shanghai HUSI Food, which is a subsidiary of Illinois-based OSI Group.

Shares in Yum Brands were down by about 1.5% in premarket trading Monday. McDonald's stock was also edging down by about 0.5%.

Related: Breakfast takes a bigger bite out of your wallet

OSI Group said it was "appalled" by the television report and has begun an investigation.

"We have zero tolerance for any actions that compromise food safety," it said in a statement. "Our company management believes this to be an isolated event, but takes full responsibility for the situation."

Local food regulators have ordered all customers of Shanghai HUSI Food to take its products off their shelves.

McDonald's warned Chinese customers that it may experience some shortages at its restaurants as a result.

Related: China's booming business of burials

Food safety and contamination problems have plagued many companies operating in China.

Yum Brands lost business in China after a food safety scandal that began in late 2012, and over fears of a new strain of bird flu.

Earlier this year Wal-Mart (WMT) recalled some donkey meat after it was found to be contaminated with fox meat.

And a series of scares damaged confidence in local powdered infant formula, causing a surge in demand for baby milk from Western countries.

While global brands have built up a reputation among many Chinese consumers for safer products, some are still clearly struggling with local supply-chain problems.

First Published: July 21, 2014: 9:20 AM ET

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Tobacco stocks burned by $23.6 billion judgment

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Tobacco stocks took a hit after a Florida jury awarded the punitive damages to a smoker's widow late Friday.

The stock price for Reynolds American (RAI), parent company of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., fell about 3%. Other Big Tobacco stocks followed suit, with shares of Altria Group (MO) slipping about 2%. Philip Morris (PM) falling about 1% and Lorillard (LO) dropping nearly 3%.

The judgment went in favor of Cynthia Robinson, whose husband Michael Johnson died in 1996 from lung cancer at the age of 36. Robinson sued R.J. Reynolds in 2008, claiming the company was negligent in not telling him that smoking was addictive and could cause lung cancer.

R.J. Reynolds general counsel J. Jeffrey Raborn said his company would fight the award, which he called "grossly excessive and impermissible under state and constitutional law."

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. said that it manufactures about one of every three cigarettes sold in the U.S. The company's brands are Camel, Pall Mall, Winston, Doral and Kool.

Reynolds American and Lorillard have done well overall this year, with shares surging on takeover speculation.

First Published: July 21, 2014: 8:10 AM ET

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Cybersecurity startups to bank $788 million

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Venture capital firms are expected to funnel $788 million into early-stage cybersecurity startups this year.

That's a 74% increase from last year's $452 million, according to PrivCo, a financial data provider on privately-held companies. In 2011, VC firms invested just $160 million in cybersecurity startups.

PrivCo estimates the funding will be dispersed among about 40 cybersecurity startups in the early stages of funding.

Particularly hot right now? Companies offering protection against mobile malware.

"Employees' mobile phones have become the biggest soft targets for cybercriminals, and the venture capital dollars are following," said PrivCo CEO Sam Hamadeh.

Security breeches at companies like eBay (EBAY, Tech30) and Target (TGT) have made companies more willing to try new products from new firms, especially since it's difficult for cyberdefense powerhouses like Cisco (CSCO, Tech30) and Symantec (SYMC, Tech30) to innovate, according to Aaref Hilaly, partner at Sequoia Capital. From developing comprehensive cloud security to "botwalls," startups are hoping to fill the gap.

"Large companies rely on small companies for innovation," said Hilaly. "The radical new ideas come from small businesses. That's across the board in tech -- not just security."

Related: Google's dreaded blacklist

Hamadeh said Sequoia Capital is one of the most active venture capital investors in the security space.

Hilaly said they've had a consistent strategy: Look for companies that innovate around "architectural shifts" in computing that happen about once every five years -- like the turn toward mobile or the growth of the cloud.

One company they've invested in, Skyhigh Networks (which closed a $40 million round of financing in June), was early to anticipate the move toward the cloud.

Rajiv Gupta, CEO of Skyhigh Networks, and his two cofounders created a product to help companies evaluate the risk of using the cloud and analyze employee cloud behaviors. They officially launched in February 2013 with about 30 employees. Today, they employ about 130 people and service 220 enterprise customers, including some of the world's largest banks.

Gupta used to work for Cisco, which has since employed Skyhigh's product to understand their employees' need for cloud services, assess and reduce risks of using the cloud and ultimately improve the firm's productivity.

"We're addressing a need that [big cybersecurity firms] aren't addressing," explained Gupta. "We've chosen to partner with them as opposed to compete with them."

Related: 10 best cities to launch a startup

Shape Security also raised $40 million this year.

Sumit Agarwal and his two co-founders developed technology that protects against malware and bots (which can cause spam and hijacked accounts). Unlike existing software that protects based on past attacks, their "botwall" proactively transforms code on every webpage so cybercriminals can't latch onto the code.

The company publicly announced their anti-automation product in January. Agarwal said they work with major Fortune 500 companies that span the financial services, health care and ecommerce industries. The team went from six employees in 2012 to more than 100 employees today and Agarwal doesn't expect growth to slow.

"Everyone with a website is an eventual future customer of ours," explained Agarwal.

First Published: July 21, 2014: 10:38 AM ET

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Military family groceries won't be cut, for now

Congress is putting off drastic cuts to military grocery stores.

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney)

A Senate budget panel voted late last week to restore $200 million in cuts for military grocery stores, called commissaries. The House has already voted on a similar resolution.

The cuts were part of broader Pentagon cuts slated over the next few years that aim to trim forces as the U.S. withdraws from overseas conflicts.

Related: $3,000 hike slated for miltiary family grocery bills

The commissaries, usually located in military bases, sell subsidized grocery items and are a life saver for struggling families in the armed services.

A family of four can save $4,500 a year at commissaries on average, according to the Defense Commissary Agency. Compared to regular grocery stores, the items are on average about 30% cheaper.

The proposed cuts would have shaved those savings to $1,500 a year.

Food stamp use among military rises again

Lawmakers agreed that the cuts can wait one more year, at least. A special military panel, mandated by Congress, is reviewing the commissaries and other military costs, including pay, in a report due out next February.

Each year, $1.4 billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars are used to run 178 commissaries nationwide and 67 located overseas.

The Department of Defense had planned to slash $200 million in subsidies each year for the next five years, which would mostly affect the U.S. stores.

First Published: July 21, 2014: 10:42 AM ET

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You're not cool enough for Facebook's newest app

Facebook has unveiled a new standalone app it's calling 'Mentions,; which is designed to help famous people manage their presences on the site.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Facebook (FB, Tech30) has unveiled a new standalone app called "Mentions," which is designed to help famous people manage their presences on the site.

The app is only available to users with "verified" accounts -- celebrities, government officials and other public figures, as well as popular brands and businesses.

Related: Facebook's new "Buy" button

The app tracks posts that mention the celebrity user. Mentions lists them in a News Feed-like interface that makes it easier for famous people to respond to fans directly. Mentions also lets users do live Q&As with fans from their phones, and tracks the most popular stories on Facebook in case public figures want to weigh in.

It may not rival personal assistants or fabulous wealth on the list of celebrity perks, but it at least beats the blue check mark.

First Published: July 21, 2014: 11:11 AM ET

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Harlem: New York's new tech hub?

Is New York's Silicon Alley moving uptown to an unlikely neighborhood?

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Yet Harlem is getting a tech-led makeover, thanks to a new series of economic development initiatives aimed at combating the neighborhood's infamous high unemployment rates and widespread poverty.

"Our mission is transforming the community into a tech hub," said Clayton Banks, executive producer of Silicon Harlem. "We can eliminate crime, increase employment opportunities, and give the community another Renaissance."

Silicon Harlem, a nonprofit community organization launched in 2013, is partnering with local and national politicians and entrepreneurs to help develop Harlem's tech scene. They're supporting tech education initiatives, building up the neighborhood's broadband infrastructure and attempting to lure innovators to the neighborhood.

The first step: free Wi-Fi. Continuing an initiative started by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Mayor Bill De Blasio's administration is deploying the largest, continuous free Wi-Fi network in the United States -- right in the center of Harlem. The network will cover 95 city blocks.

According to Banks and his fellow executive producer Bruce Lincoln, providing free access to the Internet is a means of democratizing innovation and education, and bringing Harlem into the 21st century economy.

Related: Detroit: The next Silicon Valley?

But free Internet isn't the only advantage of building a startup in Harlem. The neighborhood is undergoing a significant transformation, with new high-rise condos, a rapidly expanding Restaurant Row and a changing demographic makeup.

It also happens to be cheaper to live and work there than most other New York neighborhoods that are home to tech initiatives.

"Doing things cheaper is a huge factor for a startup," said David Burke, Harlem resident and founder of Burke Software and Consulting.

Burke's IT business is one of many startups located at the Harlem Garage, a tech and small business incubator that opened on 118th Street in November 2013 with funding from the city. Most of the entrepreneurs who work at the Harlem Garage also live in the neighborhood.

Membership at the Harlem Garage is cheap -- starting at just $15 per day -- and it includes desk and conference room space, high-speed Wi-Fi and a business address. Harlem Garage also hosts networking events and offers workshops that cover everything from tips from venture capitalists to securing intellectual property insurance.

Related: Luxury sales drive Manhattan home prices higher

For Kofi Kankam, Harlem resident and founder of virtual the college coaching site, Admit Advantage, the Harlem Garage presents an opportunity.

"Most other coworking spaces in the city already have an established culture, defined by the successful startups that have come out of it," Kankam explained. "Here, because it's new, we can be one of the defining companies."

Local universities are playing a role in Harlem's tech resurgence too.

The Garage partners with the Columbia University Business School, hosting students' startups. Columbia biomedical engineering professor Sam Sia chose Harlem as the home base for the over 20 competitively-selected biotech startups in the new Harlem Biospace incubator. And City College of New York's Grove School of Engineering recently opened the Zahn Innovation Center on Harlem's Convent Ave., housing hardware, software and social enterprise startups.

"The Center has a great network and resources to help us translate our geeky background into learning the business side," said Tanjin Panna, a City College engineering student who is building his biotech startup, GesTherapy, in the Zahn center free of charge.

A rising college senior, Panna's team has already been approached by investors. They're planning to start clinical trials for their physical therapy software soon, focusing on the large population of stroke patients at the neighboring Harlem Hospital.

Adam Price, whose Harlem-based startup Homer Delivery addresses urban logistics problems,says recruiting from the City College student population to build his team is cost effective, which looks good to investors.

"I've worked out of high-end incubators and co-working spaces in other parts of city, and they didn't have investors coming in like they do here," Price said.

First Published: July 21, 2014: 11:25 AM ET

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VW's U.S. plant to add 2,000 jobs

A concept version of the new Volkswagen SUV to be built at its plant in Tennessee.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The German automaker says it is investing $600 million in the plant to build the seven-passenger vehicle by the end of 2016.

The plant, which opened in 2011, has about 2,400 workers currently. It has become the center of the United Auto Workers' efforts to organize workers at plants built in the South by foreign automakers.

After narrowly losing a vote to represent workers at the plant in February, the UAW announced last week it would still open a chapter at the plant who wanted to join the union on a voluntary basis. Anti-union politicians in the South have opposed any union organization.

VW says the new vehicle is a key to its plans to sell 800,000 cars in the United States by 2018, nearly double their U.S. sales volume last year.

"The fact that the new line is being announced four days after the rollout of UAW Local 42 in Chattanooga reinforces the consensus that the UAW has reached with the company.," said UAW Secretary-Treasurer Gary Casteel.

The union opponents criticized VW for being too willing to recognize the union. Unlike most employers who fight against union representation of its work force, VW was willing to accept a union out of a desire to set up "works councils" at the plant which can come up with methods to make the plant more efficient. U.S. labor law makes establishing a works council difficult without union representation for its workers.

Even with the union's latest move to represent VW workers, the state agreed to contribute a $178 million in state funds for site development and preparation as well as training new employees.

First Published: July 14, 2014: 11:27 AM ET

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The bull is back! Dow hits record high

The Dow hit a new all-time high Monday morning as investors cheered more mergers and Citigroup earnings.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The Dow is up more than 125 points in early trading and hit a new peak of 17,085 at one point. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are both up around 0.5%.

The rally comes as Goldman Sachs released an upgraded target for the S&P 500. Analysts there now think the blue chip index will hit 2050 by year's-end instead of 1900. The S&P 500 was hovering around 1980 Monday morning.

Here are some other things to watch in today's trading:

1. Bank bump: Citigroup (C) reported earnings that beat expectations despite a $7 billion settlement with the federal government over mortgages it sold during the financial crisis. The stock is up about 3%.

Shares of the other big banks -- JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) -- were higher in early trading. These four will report their second-quarter earnings later this week. Wells Fargo (WFC) was slightly lower even though it reported earnings and revenue largely in line with Wall Street expectations on Friday.

Related: Read more about Citi's settlement here

2. Pill pusher pursuit: Pharmaceutical company AbbVie (ABBV) presented a fifth, and seemingly final, offer to Irish drug maker Shire (SHPG) in a bid to move lower its tax liability. The magic number that charmed Shire's board into recommending shareholder approval is about $54 billion, 35% higher than the original offer. Abbvie's shares are down about 1%. Shire's American shares are up more than 2%.

Related: Higher price tag no impediment to a lower tax burden for AbbVie

3. Gold bust: Gold and silver prices are both down around 2.2% this morning. Gold traditionally acts as a hedge against inflation, suggesting investors may be less worried about it. Meanwhile, the dollar strengthened against the pound but weakened against the euro.

4. International markets: European stocks are doing well, with the FTSE 100 up nearly than 1% in afternoon trading. World Cup winner Germany's DAX is up more than 1%. Asian stocks finished the day mostly up, with the Nikkei up almost 1%.

First Published: July 14, 2014: 9:58 AM ET

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Drug maker willing to pay more to escape U.S. tax

LONDON (CNNMoney)

That would enable AbbVie (ABBV) to switch its home base to the U.K. and pay a lower rate of tax.

The latest bid of £31.4 billion pounds ($54 billion) is the fifth since early May, and is 35% higher than the original offer.

AbbVie thinks it can achieve a "competitive tax domicile" by moving its base to the U.K., where the rate of corporate tax will be just 20% beginning next April. That's down from 26% in 2011. The U.S. rate is 35%.

Related: More companies bail on U.S. for lower taxes

The merged company would keep its operational HQ in Chicago and would continue to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

But crucially, Shire (SHPG) shareholders would own about 25% of the new company, meeting one of the conditions U.S. authorities have set to prevent companies simply moving overseas to escape higher taxes.

Relocating to the U.K. is not as simple as opening an office in London and telling authorities your tax base has changed.

Related: U.S. companies should pay U.S. taxes

A U.S. company can only really move to a more tax-friendly nation through a process known as "inversion," where acquisition activity leads a foreign partner to own more than 20% of the stock in the merged entity, among other requirements.

Shire said Monday there was still no guarantee the deal will go through. But if it does, AbbVie will have succeeded where its much bigger rival Pfizer (PFE) failed.

Pfizer offered more than $100 billion to buy AstraZeneca (AZN), and made plain that "significant" tax savings were one of the main drivers of the failed takeover bid.

First Published: July 14, 2014: 8:26 AM ET

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Citi inks $7 billion mortgage settlement

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

It includes $4 billion in penalties, $2.5 billion in mortgage modifications and other relief to homeowners, and $500 million going to a number of states and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The settlement means Citi will be able to avoid a civil suit by the Justice Department and mirrors similar agreements with JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and other lenders in recent years.

While Citi took a $3.8 billion hit because of the deal, which essentially wiped out its earnings for the quarter, it can afford it. Last year, the bank earned $14 billion and had $35 billion of cash on its balance sheet as of June 30.

Shares of Citi (C) rose more than 3% in early trading.

What it means for homeowners

Some homeowners with Citi mortgages could see the amount of their loans reduced, or could have their interest rates reduced.

There will also be financing provided for affordable apartments, which could help to keep rents low. But details of that assistance is not yet known.

Citi only agreed to provide that help by the end of 2018.

Why Citi agreed to the deal.

The bank has been under increasing pressure from regulators. The Federal Reserve gave Citigroup a poor grade in its stress test in March and blocked its plans to return money to shareholders through buying back shares and increasing the dividend.

Citi is also under investigation for possible fraud and money laundering in its Mexican unit. All of that has been a drag on its stock.

"We believe that this settlement is in the best interests of our shareholders, and allows us to move forward and to focus on the future, not the past," said Citi CEO Michael Corbat.

The amount is far more than the $363 million initial offer from Citi (C) but less than the $12 billion initially sought by Justice, according to a source familiar with the deal. The breakthrough in the talks occurred after Justice Department lawyers notified the bank that they were prepared to file a lawsuit against the bank.

Other bank settlements

Citi's agreement is just the latest by the bank which has now paid $12 billion in fines and settlements related to the mortgage loans it sold to investors ahead of the crisis.

The latest deal is about half the $13 billion JPMorgan Chase agreed to pay last November, although that deal only included $2 billion to the Justice Department. JPMorgan's deal also included payments to government-controlled mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well other regulators not included in the Citi deal. Citi's settlement is also smaller than a $9.5 billion settlement that Bank of America (BAC)reached in March with Fannie's and Freddie's regulator.

Bank of America remains in talks with the Justice Department on a separate mortgage settlement with that agency, but government lawyers and the bank remain billions of dollars apart, according to law enforcement sources.

First Published: July 14, 2014: 7:13 AM ET

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Lindt & Sprüngli buys Russell Stover

Swiss chocolatier Lindt & Sprüngli is going to acquire venerable American brand Russell Stover.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Lindt & Sprüngli said it plans to keep the Russell Stover headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., and will continue improvements at existing factories as "a clear commitment to continuity and local manufacturing."

The company said the deal is expected to close in August or September, pending regulatory approval, and the merged firm will generate $1.5 billion in combined sales in 2015.

Both companies have dominated the candy industry for a long time. Russell Stover was founded in Denver in 1923. It bought Whitman's, founded in 1842, in 1993.

Related: A new life for Crumbs cupcakes

Russell Stover employs 2,700 workers and has four factories in the U.S., including two in Kansas, one in Texas and another in Colorado. The company generates $500 million in annual sales.

Lindt & Sprüngli was founded in Zurich, Switzerland nearly 170 years ago and has about 9,000 employees working at eight factories in the U.S. and Europe, not including the workforce and factories it is acquiring as part of this deal.

The company said it has no plans to close any of the existing plants, or to open any new ones.

Lindt & Sprüngli declined to disclose the monetary value of the deal to CNNMoney. It is reported to be paying about $1.4 billion.

First Published: July 14, 2014: 7:47 AM ET

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Yes, Americans want bacon with that

Seth McCoy uses data from Square to make sure his menu matches up to what customers actually want.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Square, the mobile payments company used by millions of small businesses, has been compiling information on customer ordering behavior since April 2013. That's when it released an item modifier tool as part of its point-of-sale product to help businesses -- especially cafe and restaurant owners -- customize orders.

From ice cream toppings, to condiment choices, to types of milk with your iced coffee, looking at the most commonly used modifiers reveals customer tastes and can clue business owners in to what people really want.

The data, which is based on tens of millions of orders, reveals that in five out of eight major U.S. cities, bacon was among the top 20 most commonly used modifiers.

So, if you're a restaurant owner in those five cities (Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and Minneapolis), it would behoove you to boost your bacon inventory.

In fact, across the country, customers are 145% more likely to choose bacon over sausage and 38% more likely to want bacon instead of tomato.

Related: Refugees cook for the masses

Restaurant owner Seth McCoy has been using the modifier tool since it first rolled out.

When he launched a new menu at his restaurant Groundswell in St. Paul, Minn., this month, Square's modifier tool played an integral role.

"You have your perceptions about what customers like or don't like," explains McCoy. "We have tacos [on our menu] and we were selling them individually. We thought people would just buy them at happy hour -- that it would be a small snack meal."

But when he crunched the numbers from Square's tool, he was surprised at what he found: People wanted tacos for meals.

As a result, McCoy added taco plates to both his lunch and dinner menus and dropped the roast beef sandwich, one of the worst selling items.

"I don't know that we would have thought to do that without Square knowing what people are ordering and when they're ordering it," he said.

Related: From Meetup group to full-blown business

Square's findings also reveal that customers prefer to be highly, highly caffeinated -- they're more than 132% more likely to add a shot of espresso than to opt for decaf.

And, not surprisingly, bigger is better. Customers are 58% more likely to choose a 16 oz. beverage than a 12 oz. one.

Square spokeswoman Faryl Ury said the company's real-time data can really benefit small businesses if used smartly.

"A seller might be wondering, "Should I offer customers the option of adding bacon to any sandwich?'" she said. "As the data shows, the answer is yes."

First Published: July 14, 2014: 10:15 AM ET

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Secrets of successful moms

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Three successful women, who also happen to have young children, give CNNMoney a look at how they make things work, what it's like to ask for help and what they still struggle to get right.

All the moms realized that with success comes the ability to pay for child care, namely nannies -- a luxury that many mothers can't afford. But their work comes with a different set of stresses and pressures.

Rosie Pope

Founder of Rosie Pope Maternity, a clothing and accessories line, author of "Mommy IQ: The Complete Guide to Pregnancy" and founder of Momprep classes. She opened her first store the day she had her first child and right as Lehman Brothers, where her husband worked, collapsed (he now works with her). She lives in the suburbs outside New York City with her two sons and two daughters, all under six years old.

What's your daily routine like?

My day starts at 4 a.m. when I wake up to feed my youngest. My oldest wakes up around 6, and between 6 and 7, it's our time to be alone. Then everyone else wakes up, has breakfast, piles into a minivan to get to school, and I'm on a train into the city by 9.

I'm that person who sets up an office on the train. Once I get to the city, it's a mad dash between 9 to 5. I jump back on the train and I'm in the door by 5:30. That begins the crazy dinner time, story time, bath time. I like to be there every night. When everyone is in bed by 8, my husband gets home and we work until midnight together.

What do you do about childcare?

My oldest is in preschool, and our second will start in the fall. We also have a nanny. I need support. I wouldn't be able to do this without my husband. He helps make this work. I'm able to stay home in the morning because he leaves at 4:45 to open the business, and I can leave early because he stays late.

How do you make things easier?

My goal every day is to tire the kids out. They have sports, art classes, and we are lucky to have a big backyard. I ordered some crazy huge bouncy house slide monstrosity off Amazon one night. And I keep them on a pretty tight schedule.

As a successful working mom, and as someone who speaks with hundreds of other moms about balancing work and home life, what do you struggle with and what do other moms have a hard time doing?

I think there's a huge issue with self-confidence. Generally speaking, we're thinking we're not doing enough both at work and at home. When I watch my husband, he is happy, and he thinks he's the best dad and the best at his job. Women don't have the confidence.

Some days I find it really hard that I'm not a stay-at-home mom. You can apologize a lot as a working mom, but I try to make work a positive thing, even though I'm crying inside and everyone is like grabbing my leg as I leave.

I'm struggling to learn to be the moment. When you're with the kids, you can't think of the office. And at the office, not thinking about the kids. I hate to think at the end of the day that I wasn't present.

When you're building a business, everyone is looking to you to set the tone. I'm not at the point where I can work three days a week. As your business becomes more successful, no driven person says, 'Oh I don't want to make it more successful.' You're thinking about your childrens' futures.

Rachelle Hruska MacPherson

Founder of Guest of a Guest, a site that chronicles the glitzy ins and outs of New York's social scene (which she founded with Cameron Winklevoss). She's married to New York hotelier Sean McPhearson, and they have two boys under three years old.

What's your daily routine like?

My husband and I are very fortunate because we get to be the drivers of our schedules, which allows a lot of flexibility. We usually wake up at 7, spend the morning as a family, and do work from home until at least 10. For me, it's the only time I have to make a list of what I want to accomplish that day. When I get to the office, it's chaotic and hard for me to focus.

The rest of the day is totally wacko nuts. I spend the late morning and afternoon in the office, and then have meetings out of the office in the afternoons. I try to be home from 6 to 7:30 for dinner and bedtime. After the kids are asleep, my husband and I either go to a neighborhood restaurant to unwind or we have a social function to go to.

What do your two boys do when you're at work?

We've had a nanny since our first child was born, but the whole nanny thing is new to me. I'm from Nebraska and definitely didn't grow up with anything like this.

But it allows me a lot of flexibility. With two parents working like we do, we really didn't have another option. We didn't think our child was ready to be thrown into a full-time school setting. And my nanny texts me photos all day. It's cool. It makes me feel present when I'm at work.

One of the biggest struggles of being a working mom is that you're always second-guessing whether this is the right child care, whether you're going to put them in the right schools. In New York City, people are in a vicious cycle of wanting the best for their kids.

What have you done to make it easier?

The biggest thing that helped me get everything together was moving our office three blocks from our apartment. It would sometimes take me 45 minutes to get to and from work every day.

Now, it allows my sons to be a part of my life. Change happens when you show your sons that their mom is someone who manages people and is in charge. It's an unspoken thing that I hope they get -- this respect of women in a profound way.

Are there things you're working to figure out?

There's a giant weight attached to being a CEO. You know peoples' lives are in your hands. It's hard to not carry that home. That's something that I'm trying not to do. I don't want to bring work home with me.

Zanna Rassi Roberts

Senior fashion editor at Marie Claire, stylist, fashion correspondent for "E! News" and "The Today Show," mentor on "Project Runway All Stars." New mom to 3-month-old twin girls.

This is still new to you, but what's your daily routine like?

I went back to work at three weeks, because I'm freelance.

I get up at 6 a.m., when the girls have their first feeding. Then they go back down and I go to work.

In the mornings, I'm on conference calls, usually for styling jobs. At the moment, I'm filming "Project Runway All Stars" three days a week, and that's from 1 p.m. until 7. The girls have bath time at 5, and if I'm not at a shoot, I really try to be there with them. Then they get back down to sleep, and there are usually dinners, or like, last night, I Interviewed [model] Kate Upton for "E! News."

My husband is in the industry as well, so we can do things together. He has his own business, so he can be free to come and go. If I can't be there for bath time, he'll be there. It's a tag team. We are learning every single day. I want to be with the girls in the mornings and evenings, so it drives you through the day to get to see their little smiles at the end of the day.

What do the girls do while you are both at work?

I have a nanny, who's living with us. She's incredible. She is my lifesaver. I trust her implicitly.

The major problem with having a nanny and being a successful mom is the guilt. You feel selfish. You feel like you're not doing the best at work or at home. You try to give 100% wherever you are. At home, I leave my phone downstairs. I want to be a working mom for the girls, as well, and give them a role model. My mom stayed at home, and that was great, but you have to figure out what works with what you want for yourself and for your family.

Is there a moment you realized that your life had changed?

I was on a shoot, using my travel breast pump on the toilet, talking on a conference call on speaker phone while texting my nanny with one hand. I looked in the mirror and laughed at myself. I thought, this is how it's going to go down. This is the height of the juggle.

How have you tried to adjust?

The biggest change is not being the center of attention anymore. You're now the picture frame and they're the picture. You have to be flexible, not being able to say 'oh, we'll go to this dinner or this event,' or jump on a plane.

It was something we did all the time. Last week I went to London for a business trip, and it took me an hour to say goodbye to them. I left them in the crib, and then walked back in and said, 'hi again!' And then I spent the taxi ride feeling horrible. It's never going to get easier. You just have to get used to it.

What are you continuing to work on?

I've become so much more aware of time and being efficient. You cut out a lot of the B.S. I want to keep working on time management. The weekends are sacred. No matter what comes up, you have to keep your family first. It's a learning curve.

First Published: July 14, 2014: 10:22 AM ET

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Sotheby's and eBay team up for online art auctions

eBay is partnering with Sotheby's, shown here auctioning a painting by Amedeo Modigliani last year in Paris, to stream its art auctions live online.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

eBay (EBAY, Tech30) and Sotheby's (BID) said that they want to capitalize on the growing use of online mobile devices, noting that online art sales are projected to increase to $13 billion by 2020.

"eBay in the near future will be launching a newly-designed experience on its site, tailored for collectors of rare, unique and premium art and collectibles as well as first time buyers," the companies said in a joint press release.

Related: This tiny piece of paper sold for $9.5 million

The venture will start by streaming live auctions from Sotheby's New York headquarters, allowing "real-time bidding from anywhere around the world."

Sotheby's chief operating officer Bruno Vinciguerra said the new venture will "make our sales more accessible to the broadest possible audience around the world."

Sotheby's spokesman Andrew Gully told CNNMoney that there is no firm date for the launch of the live streaming, but it will be late this year or early next year.

First Published: July 14, 2014: 10:43 AM ET

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Adidas pays $1.3 billion in Manchester United deal

Germany was wearing Adidas when it beat Argentina to win the 2014 World Cup.

LONDON (CNNMoney)

The German sports apparel company has agreed to pay the English soccer club at least £750 million ($1.3 billion) over the period of the contract, more than double the value of its existing deal with Nike (NKE).

World Cup winner Germany, and runner-up Argentina, both wore Adidas (ADDDF) in Sunday's final in Rio de Janeiro.

Adidas also sponsored the three players who took top honors for individual performances during the tournament in Brazil.

Nike is the world's largest sports apparel company by revenue, but lags behind Adidas when it comes to soccer. Both companies are hoping record TV audiences for the World Cup will boost their business in this area.

Under the deal with Manchester United (MANU), Adidas will provide uniforms for all the club's teams from the 2015 - 2016 season. Adidas will also be the exclusive worldwide distributor of Manchester United branded merchandise.

"We expect total sales to reach £1.5 billion during the duration of our partnership," said Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer.

Nike's 13-year contract with the club will end with the close of the 2014 - 2015 season.

Related: Nike scores a goal on Wall Street

Adidas signed up despite a sharp deterioration in Manchester United's performance since legendary coach Alex Ferguson retired a year ago.

Under Ferguson, the team had won the richest national soccer league for 13 of the last 21 years, and used the steady flow of broadcast and matchday revenue to invest in players and build a global commercial brand.

The team ended the 2013 - 2014 season without success in domestic league and cup competitions, and it also failed to qualify for Europe's top competition -- the Champion's League -- meaning the loss of some $50 million in related broadcast revenue and prime time TV exposure.

Still, the club's fortunes off the field have continued to improve. In the three months ending in March 2014, Manchester United reported record revenues and operating profit. Broadcast revenue was up 64% and commercial revenue rose by 19%.

Nike's deal was worth a minimum of £303 million -- or £23 million a year -- to Manchester United, but over the last three years had paid out more than £34 million on average thanks to profit sharing on merchandise.

The new contract with Adidas could be worth more than the club makes from the English Premier League (£64 million in 2013), making it the single biggest source of revenue.

First Published: July 14, 2014: 11:42 AM ET

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Investors welcome Citi settlement

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The bank booked a $3.8 billion charge in the second quarter related to a $7 billion settlement it announced Monday with the Department of Justice.

Citi said earnings plunged more than 95% to just 3 cents per share in the second quarter after factoring in the charge and losses on certain credit derivatives. But earnings and revenue topped analysts' expectations after excluding those one-time items.

Investors cheered the results, sending Citigroup (C) shares up more than 3%.

Despite the bounce, the stock is still down about 6% this year. Citi has been under pressure as it investigates allegations of money laundering in its Mexican subsidiary. It was also one of the few big banks to have its plan to return capital to shareholders rejected by the Federal Reserve following the latest round of stress tests in March.

CEO Corbat sees better times ahead: Citi said revenue in the second quarter fell from last year's levels due largely to weakness in its trading division and declining mortgage refinancing activity. But revenue from Citi Holdings, which contains businesses and assets that the bank is winding down, surged 33%.

Consumer and corporate lending was also a bright spot in the quarter.

"I feel good about how we're positioned and believe we should see an improved revenue picture," Citi CEO Michael Corbat told analysts during a conference call.

Corbat expects the economy to improve as consumer spending picks up. While trading has been weak, he said investment banking is "showing momentum."

Looking ahead, Corbat said Citi's trading business will continue to reflect the recent lull in market volatility. But he added that market conditions in the second half of the year should be "somewhat more favorable."

Related: Will the earnings express lift Dow above 17K?

Investors and analysts focused on the positives. Andrew Marquardt, an analyst at Evercore, wrote in a note to clients that the results showed "good underlying performance."

Legal risks mostly behind Citi now: The latest settlement resolves claims that Citi sold risky mortgage securities during the housing bubble while misrepresenting their quality. These securities later failed in huge numbers, playing a key role in the 2008 credit crisis.

Corbat said the settlement resolves all pending civil obligations and most of the issues stemming from Citi's sale of bad mortgage-backed securities.

"We believe that this settlement is in the best interest of shareholders and allows us to focus on the future of the business," he said.

Yet there are still questions about Citi's exposure to investigations into the manipulation of Libor, a key lending rate, and the foreign exchange market.

The amount is far more than the $363 million initial offer from Citi but less than the $12 billion initially sought by the DOJ, according to a source familiar with the deal. The breakthrough in the talks occurred after Justice Department lawyers notified the bank that they were prepared to file a lawsuit against the bank

Citi joins a growing number of mega-banks that have reached huge settlements in recent months tied to the housing crisis.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) agreed to pay $13 billion to settle similar charges last November, in an agreement officials said was the largest settlement with a single entity in American history. Bank of America (BAC) reached a $9.5 billion settlement in March with the regulator of government-controlled mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Those two banks will report their second-quarter earnings later this week.

-- CNNMoney's Chris Isidore contributed to this report.

First Published: July 14, 2014: 8:31 AM ET

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Housing market is a 'crapshoot'

Karl 'Chip' Case -- the Case in the Case-Shiller index -- says only buy a house for the long haul. (Photo courtesy of Wellesley College).

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Karl "Chip" Case is an economist whose name is synonymous with home prices. He is co-creator of the much watched S&P/Case-Shiller home price indexes with Bob Shiller, who won the Nobel Prize in economics last year.

"You've got much more negative vibrations in the housing surveys about homeownership than we ever had before," Case told CNNMoney. "I think it's because people got hosed. They thought that housing prices will never go down. That's just bull -- you know what."

At age 67, Case still rattles off housing data with the kind of enthusiasm that most people use to recite popular song lyrics. For Case, the key metric to watch is housing starts, a measure of new residential home construction.

Related: Is a millennial-driven housing boom coming?

The housing starts figures have been "unbelievably regular" for 50 years, oscillating between a million a month (annualized) in not so great times and two million during peak economic times.

"Every time it's gotten below a million in the past, it's come right back," Case says. Every time except the Great Recession.

Housing starts fell below 500,000 for several months in 2009, an unthinkable level. And they have been slow to rebound. They finally eked above the million mark in April, but it's unclear to Case if this is a true turning point.

He calls the real estate market "segmented" these days. It's no longer a guarantee that housing prices will go up across the country. That only happens in some places at some times.

The demand side of the equation will also be key. Will millennials actually purchase homes? Will foreign buyers keep coming?

"The Chinese are coming over here with millions and billions of dollars, and they want to spend it on assets that tend to hold their value. And at least the theory is that housing does. But it is far from what it was in 2004," Case notes.

The advice Case gives to first-time homebuyers is familiar to most. Be sure you can afford the house and don't expect a quick profit.

"If you're not buying it for the long haul, don't buy because there's a good chance you'll have to sit through some down cycles. But when it goes, it's very nice," he says.

Related: Best markets to become a landlord

Case has studied housing extensively. But he's not just an academic. He's a homeowner too. He still remembers the house he bought in 1976 for $54,000 and sold years later for $240,000. Another home in the Boston area he purchased for about $375,000 is now worth a million.

But even Case doesn't always call housing trends correctly, at least in the short-term. He estimates that another property he owns lost close to half its value in the downturn. For now, he's keeping it.

Arguably his best property move, however, is his permanent parking spot at the Boston Federal Reserve -- which is near Fenway Park. He's had it since the late 1980s and uses it when he goes to watch his beloved Boston Red Sox play.

First Published: July 7, 2014: 6:08 AM ET

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'We're crowdfunding our wedding'

Jamie McGonnigal and his husband Sean Carlson paid for almost a third of their wedding expenses with money they raised in a crowdfunding campaign.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Unable to afford a wedding on their own or with the help of their parents, couples are mounting campaigns on crowdfunding websites asking for financial help.

Detroit resident Elizabeth Rodriquez, 22, and her fiancé Otoniel Cabrera, 26, turned to crowdfunding site GoFundMe in January -- soon after Cabrera lost his job, leaving him out of work for months. So far, the couple has raised around $4,200 from seven donors, which will go towards their $28,000 wedding in April 2015.

"We're trying to save as much as possible," said Rodriguez, who said they cut their guest list from 200 to 135 in order to trim costs. "The rest is pretty much depending on our family and friends."

Related: Creative (and painless) ways I cut my wedding costs

Their "Dream Wedding" campaign is one of more than 1,500 wedding-related campaigns that have been launched on GoFundMe.com since 2010.

GoFundMe would not provide fundraising totals, but said more than 16,000 donors have contributed to these wedding and honeymoon fundraising campaigns. But while some campaigns attract thousands of dollars, many receive only a few hundred, if any money at all.

Many campaigns are framed like a reverse registry, with couples asking friends and family to rethink the traditional wedding gift.

"We ask that any money you would spend on a gift goes towards our wedding expenses. Any little bit helps!" 21-year-old Ashlyn Walker wrote in May on her campaign on GoFundMe.

Walker and her fiancé, John Schneider, have received $500 from half a dozen people since starting their fundraising page in early May. With their parents unable to contribute much, the couple is hoping to stick to a $3,000 budget.

Related: Honeymoon hotspots

Beyond the online donations, Walker said many friends and family members are helping in other ways. Her wedding dress is a hand-me-down from Schneider's aunt, while a family friend will provide catering services for just the cost of the food.

Etiquette expert Lizzie Post said that while "many a wedding has been thrown by a bunch of people pooling together resources," the new trend of online fundraising could create "awkward"situations, where potential wedding guests feel pressured to contribute.

"I'm not yet convinced that the general population is ready to receive a link about crowdfunding a wedding they are invited to," said Post, the great-great-granddaughter of now-deceased etiquette expert Emily Post and a spokesperson for The Emily Post Institute.

Related: Average wedding bill hits $30,000

Last year, LGBT rights activist Jamie McGonnigal and his now-husband Sean Carlson were overwhelmed when $5,225 poured in to their Indiegogo campaign from dozens of donors, including friends and family, and even some people they'd never met.

The funds they received covered around a third of the $15,000 in expenses they had for their Provincetown, Mass., wedding last May.

McGonnigal and Carlson (pictured in the center) at their wedding last year.

Still, McGonnigal said some people weren't as supportive. "I definitely got a lot of push back from a few people," he said. McGonnigal even found an online message board attacking the campaign.

But there are some cases where people are willing to chip in -- especially when a couple is down on their luck.

Take, for example Brandi Ryans and R.J. Foster, who saw their wedding plans crumble in May when the owner of a popular Brooklyn, N.Y., restaurant called reBar unexpectedly shut the place down after having taken more than $1 million in wedding deposits.

A month earlier, Ryans' parents had written owner Jason Stevens a check for $16,500, which he had said would cover the entire cost of their December wedding.

The New York Attorney General's Office estimates Stevens owes $1.8 million to around 150 couples. While Stevens has agreed to pay restitution to these couples, it's unclear if or when he will have the money to pay them back.

Related: Same-sex marriage: 'Our finances one year later'

Determined to help the couple salvage their wedding, Ryans' friend Erin Telford launched a GoFundMe campaign, "Save Brandi & R.J.'s Wedding" which has received around $7,500 from 142 donors.

Ryans said their wedding will likely be "smaller and less frilly" than originally planned, but that the support they're receiving is "literally saving the day."

"It has been a roller coaster, but it's hard to still be angry when this many people are doing such amazing things for you," Ryans said. "It's making this wedding that much more special knowing it was put together with so much love."

First Published: July 7, 2014: 6:21 AM ET

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