Stocks: 2014 half-time report

After a tumultuous start, the S&P 500 has continued its record rise this year.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

While the all-important monthly jobs report comes out on Thursday (a day earlier than usual because of the three-day weekend), there's not much else on the economic or earnings calendars to move the markets.

But as the first half of the year comes to a close this week, we here at CNNMoney are in a reflective mood. After all, you can't know where you're going until you know where you've been.

Here's what you need to know about the markets year-to-date, and what to possibly expect for the rest of 2014.

The calm after the storm: It wasn't pretty at first. After a record run in 2013, stocks were hit by turmoil in the first quarter as harsh winter weather dampened corporate profits and the emerging markets rapidly sold off as investors worried that the tightening of Federal Reserve's easy money spigot would reverberate to those countries that were relying on cheap foreign investment to fuel growth.

Throw in the crisis in Ukraine, it it looked like investors were in for a wild ride.

But warmer Spring weather eventually came, the emerging markets' fears subsided, and the tense standoff between Russia and the West has seemingly been dialed back for now.

Related: Russian markets: They're baaack!

Stocks have been the "little engine that could," slowly pushing higher. The S&P 500 closed at a record high 22 times this year, according to Jeffrey Hirsch of the Stock Trader's Almanac.

The blue chip index has gained about 6% so far this year, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is up 5%. The Dow's rise has been less pronounced, but it is still positive at about 1.6%.

Even emerging markets have rebounded. The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF, which was battered in the first quarter, is now in positive territory for the year.

Further, as companies take advantage of a rising stock market and ultra-low interest rates, mergers and acquisitions activity and initial public offerings have been hot this year. GoPro (GPRO) is the latest mega success, having jumped 50% since its debut on Thursday.

Winners and Losers: The stocks with the most gains so far in 2014 have come from a wide range of sectors. In the S&P 500: Keurig Green Mountain Coffee (GMCR) has jolted up 65%, while Electronic Arts (EA, Tech30), the best performer on CNNMoney's Tech 30 Index, has soared 55%.

Southwest (LUV)and Delta Airlines (DAL) have both climbed over 40%, and Under Armour (UA) has risen around 35%.

In the loser category, Coach (COH) has taken the worst with an almost 40% decline, while Whole Foods (WFM) has dropped over 30%. Staples (SPLS), Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), Best Buy (BBY), and Amazon (AMZN, Tech30) aren't far behind in the unglamorous contest for the biggest loser.

Ok, now what? What will happen in the second half of the year is anybody's guess, but that doesn't mean market strategists of all stripes aren't trying to predict the future.

In a midyear report, analysts at BlackRock said that while stocks aren't cheap, the market should continue to rise. They recommend favoring large cap stocks and cyclical sectors like energy over small cap stocks and companies in the consumer discretionary sector such as retailers.

CNNMoney's most recent survey of investment strategists finds that most are still bullish. They anticipate a 6.5% gain for the S&P 500 this year. The index is well on track for that already.

Related: Excited for iPhone 6? Check out this stock

Another question for the markets going forward revolves around interest rates. Although the Federal Reserve has maintained that it plans to keep its key federal funds rate near zero for the rest of the year, the Bank of England is likely to start hiking rates in the fall, and that could have repercussions for the U.S., according to economists from Barclays.

"The lesson here is that rate expectations can change very quickly," they said.

First Published: June 29, 2014: 8:52 AM ET

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When will Alibaba go public? Ask a fortune teller

Jack Ma is taking Alibaba public in what could be the biggest IPO in U.S. history.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

Just one big question remains: What date will co-founder Jack Ma choose for Alibaba's market debut?

This is no small matter -- especially in China, where traditional beliefs, from numerology to cosmology, inform all kinds of major decisions.

Getting married? Better choose a lucky date. Looking for a new job? Best to consult a fortune teller. Renting an apartment? Avoid the fourth floor at all costs.

The business world is no different. Companies in China often hire feng shui masters -- trained in Chinese beliefs about how to organize space -- to determine office layouts or brochure designs.

By this way of thinking, picking the wrong debut date could be the difference between a GoPro-style first day bump for Alibaba shares -- or the kind of embarrassing price slide suffered by King (KING), maker of Candy Crush.

"If [Alibaba] knows that there are certain dates on the calendar that are going to be lucky dates, they would be foolish not to take advantage of that," said Joseph Bosco, associate professor of anthropology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. "Chinese investors are going to be thinking of these kinds of issues."

Related: Meet four kings of Alibaba's online retail empire

To get a better sense of Alibaba's lucky dates, CNNMoney consulted a handful of Hong Kong fortune tellers, bringing along a photo of Jack Ma for a face reading. The entrepreneur's hands are visible, at just the right angle for an accurate palm reading.

Flipping through a fat fortune almanac by the Temple Street night market, Mary Li jabbed her finger at Aug. 14 and 15. Those days are "big lucky dates this year," she said.

Surprisingly, Aug. 8 doesn't look great, said Li, who charged 200 Hong Kong dollars ($26) for her predictions. (Eight is typically considered a very auspicious number -- in Chinese, eight is a homophone for prosperity. The number four, meanwhile, sounds like the Chinese word for death.)

Fortune almanacs were used for centuries by farmers to predict the weather. Now, they're often consulted over dates for buying a home -- or even getting a divorce.

Another fortune teller, who gave her name as Ally, said Ma ought to pick October, based on the "bazi" belief that a person's destiny can be determined by when they were born. Still, without Ma's exact birth hour, she was unable to be more specific.

Related: Five things to know about Alibaba

Most of the fortune tellers didn't recognize Ma, and many that did refused to speak on the record. One was too nervous to be interviewed without talking to Ma himself for fear of making an incorrect prediction.

Some Chinese believe it's bad luck to issue a wrong forecast and for amateurs to dabble in the dark arts. (In fact, this reporter's grandfather warned against writing this article as it could unleash a bout of misfortune.)

Dates aside, fortune teller Li said it's likely that Ma will do well even if he doesn't pick the most ideal moment for Alibaba's IPO. After all, just look at the guy.

Ma's face has all the most prosperous features, according to Chinese face reading beliefs.

His nostrils aren't very prominent, which indicates good financial prospects. Ears placed higher on his head point to a strong character, his cheeks show that he's someone who will easily find fame, and reddish palms reveal he has a lot of power. Plus, his wide forehead and structured chin indicate that he "will earn tons of money his whole life," Li said.

Asked if it would be a good investment to buy Alibaba shares, she said, "Absolutely, you should make sure to befriend him and buy his stock!"

"Even better," Li said. "He's got big money -- if he's not married, you should marry him right away!"

First Published: June 29, 2014: 9:45 PM ET

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Obama's pick to fix veterans affairs tried to fix Procter & Gamble, too

Bob McDonald, a former CEO of Procter & Gamble, is President Obama's nominee for Veterans Affairs secretary.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Bob McDonald has been in the hot seat before. He took the helm of global consumer products giant Procter & Gamble (PG) in 2009 amid the throes of the Great Recession. His task was to restructure and streamline the company, no easy task for a company with recognizable brands as diverse as Bounty paper towels, Duracell batteries, Pampers diapers and Tide detergent.

Although he was ousted from the top job four years later, his legacy at the company includes growing sales and profits in rough economic waters.

His critics argued the company wasn't moving fast enough to improve efficiency. Chief among them was hedge fund investor Bill Ackman, who charged that McDonald served on the boards of too many other organizations to focus properly on P&G's needs; the company said Ackman's claims were overstated.

McDonald will be announced on Monday as Obama's nominee to lead the troubled Veterans Affairs department, a White House official told CNN's Jim Acosta. Secretary Eric Shinseki stepped down in late May amid allegations of shortcomings in medical care for veterans. To land the job, McDonald must be confirmed by the Senate.

Related: Obama taps CEO to lead VA

McDonald began his rise to the corner office in 1980, when he joined P&G as an entry-level employee in 1980 after five years in the Army. In his final year as CEO, he was paid nearly $16 million, according to documents filed with the SEC .

By the time he took over in 2009, the company was in need of cost-cutting. McDonald responded with a plan that would save about $10 billion over four years, including a significant cut to the marketing budget and a 10% workforce reduction.

That wasn't enough for Ackman, who bought nearly $2 billion in P&G stock. The board eventually let McDonald go. He was replaced by A.G. Lafley, who was also his predecessor. Ackman told CNNMoney at the time that Lafley's only mistake "was who he picked to succeed him, and now he's going to fix that."

The company won several awards under McDonald's tenure: it was twice named best company for leaders by Chief Executive Magazine, and ranked first among over 2,000 companies in a leadership study by the management consultants at Hay Group.

McDonald currently serves on the board of the Xerox Corporation (a post he held while CEO of P&G) as well as U.S. Steel and several advisory groups.

He has donated to the political campaigns of several prominent Republicans, including 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney and House Speaker John Boehner.

McDonald was first named to the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Steering Committee by President George W. Bush, an appointment that was renewed by Obama.

--CNNMoney's Zain Asher and CNN's Erin McPike contributed to this report

First Published: June 29, 2014: 7:17 PM ET

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Aereo suspends TV service...but not 'shutting down'

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The court ruling found that Aereo violates copyright law by picking up the signals of local television stations and retransmitting them via the Internet to paying subscribers.

"As a result of that decision, our case has been returned to the lower Court," Aereo founder Chet Kanojia said in an email message to subscribers on Saturday morning.

Related: The future of media

"We have decided to pause our operations temporarily as we consult with the court and map out our next steps."

The "pause" will take place at 11:30 a.m. Eastern on Saturday.

Kanojia said all subscribers (the company has never specified how many it has) will be refunded "their last paid month."

Kanojia ended his email by saying "our journey is far from done." And in a subsequent email message to reporters, an Aereo representative said "We want to emphasize that this is a pause, and that the company is not shutting down."

However, conventional wisdom following Wednesday's ruling held that Aereo would either have to close up shop or radically change its business model.

Related: 6 cool innovations we're still waiting for

"For broadcasters, this is a huge relief, and lifts a cloud of uncertainty," Needham & Co. analyst Laura Martin wrote in an investors' note on Wednesday. "Although there was a low probability the Supreme Court would decide against them, the cost would have been billions of dollars of lost revenue through lower retransmission fees."

In the wake of the court ruling, "the only option that remains available to Aereo would be to change its model and pay the broadcasters to distribute the content," just like cable and satellite distributors do, Nomura analyst Anthony DiClemente wrote in a research note. He said Aereo could essentially offer "a slimmed-down content package delivered over the Internet."

First Published: June 28, 2014: 10:27 AM ET

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American Apparel adopts plan to prevent a takeover

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

On Saturday, the company announced that it has adopted a one-year shareholders rights plan in an effort to prevent Charney, or any other person or group, from seizing a controlling interest in the company.

The company's "poison pill" provision kicks in once anyone purchases 15% or more of the company's outstanding stock. At that point, shareholders will be granted the right to purchase shares at $2.75 each in an effort to dilute any potential acquirer's interest.

Related: American Apparel's ousted CEO fights back!

American Apparel (APP) said the plan is in response to documents Charney filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that expressed his "intent to acquire control or influence over the Company."

On Friday, Charney submitted a regulatory filing with the SEC announcing that he's partnering with investment firm Standard General in an effort to buy large amounts of American Apparel stock.

Charney currently owns 27.2% of the company's stock, according to the filing.

Charney was ousted as chairman earlier this month. An American Apparel director told CNNMoney the decision came after the board learned of "disturbing" information that suggested "misconduct" by Charney.

Allegations of misconduct are not new for Charney, who has faced several lawsuits claiming everything from sexual harassment to assault and battery.

Related: 6 endangered brands

Charney's lawyer Patricia Glaser sent a letter to the company's board of directors last week saying the company acted in "a manner that was not merely unconscionable but illegal."

Charney founded the company in 1998 and took the company public in 2005 at $8 per share. The shares eventually rose to nearly $17. But in recent years, American Apparel has been fighting to stave off bankruptcy.

American Apparel's stock closed Friday at 97 cents a share.

First Published: June 28, 2014: 11:42 AM ET

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GM's 'culture' blamed for current crisis

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

In an exclusive interview that aired Saturday on CNN's "Smerconish," former GM manager Bill McAleer told host Michael Smerconish that employees who work at GM were "faced with a culture where you get fired if you do talk about quality and safety issues, and you get fired if you don't talk about them."

GM (GM) is dealing with a backlash for delaying the recall of 2.6 million vehicles for an ignition switch defect that's been tied to at least 13 deaths. Some GM employees knew the part was causing trouble more than a decade before the recall was issued in February.

McAleer, who started on the assembly line in 1968, says he was in charge of the Global Delivery Survey from 1988 to 1998 that GM used to help assess the quality of its cars before they were delivered to dealers.

Related: Two died in 2006 Cobalt crash. But GM counts only one

He says he found a "wide variety" of what he called "catastrophic defects" beginning in 1995, when GM added a routine obstacle course drive to its quality checklist. Problems ranged from gasoline leaks to steering linkage issues that pointed to overall quality defects.

McAleer said that while the company seemed responsive to fixing problems in the mid '90's, that changed.

"In 1997 something happened internally in GM where no problem could be admitted. Whether it was safety or any kind of problem. We couldn't have a problem," he said.

"That's what happened with the ignition switch," he added. "People knew there was a problem, but problems were not acceptable. They just ignored it."

McAleer eventually was laid off from GM in 2004. He tried to sue the company under a whistleblower law but said he was unsuccessful.

Related: GM's recall nightmare

McAleer said he sent a letter to the GM board of directors to tell them about the overall quality problems and the lack of action by management, but he thinks that the letter might have been intentionally misdirected once it got there.

GM issued a statement saying,"If McAleer's concerns were submitted by an employee today, they would be thoroughly investigated within the safety organization, however that is not to imply that in this particular case, his issues weren't."

The company also said that while McAleer lost his case against GM, it will still look at his allegations to see what "we can learn."

First Published: June 28, 2014: 9:13 AM ET

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Aaron Swartz's father: He'd be alive today if he was never arrested

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Swartz faced multiple charges for breaking and entering into an MIT wiring closet and downloading academic journals, including two counts of wire fraud and 11 counts of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Swartz, who was battling the court, also battled with depression. Prosecutors dropped the charges after his death.

I first met Swartz's father, Robert, last year as he explained his mission to fight for his son's memory by helping to change outdated laws. He wanted answers about why he lost his son.

His son's story is now the subject of a new documentary called "The Internet's Own Boy: The story of Aaron Swartz."

More than a year after his death, Robert Swartz still seeks answers, which he discussed with me this week.

How would you describe your son's impact?

Robert Swartz: He was someone who tried to understand technology and use it as a force for good. He came up with the notion of Wikipedia before Wikipedia started. It was very clear that he felt that putting academic research behind a pay wall was wrong and that it limited the diffusion of knowledge.

11 out of the 13 charges against your son were violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Do you believe the law is outdated?

There's no question the law is outdated. At the moment, that law makes it a felony for you to give your password to HBO to a friend. That has to be changed.

You believe the criminal justice system failed your son. If it weren't for the charges, do you believe Aaron would still be alive?

Without question.

How does that make you feel?

Like one who's gone into the abyss.

Describe what Aaron went through.

I remember after he was arrested, he got a call from MIT saying could he come back and get his backpack and bicycle, which they had seized. I was in Cambridge [Massachusetts] and he asked if I would accompany him. We waited there for a long period of time and finally a policeman came out and went into a room and retrieved his bicycle and said to us, 'The rest of this is in the hands of the Secret Service.' And we looked at each other and realized at that point that this was much more serious than we'd imagined, and we couldn't make any sense of it. We were just devastated.

How did this affect him?

It was overwhelming. He was afraid, he was concerned. [The police] went to his apartment, went through all his personal effects. He was worried about his phone being tapped. He couldn't go to MIT, he couldn't go to Harvard. He couldn't leave the country because they took his passport. The prosecutor was cruel and vindictive and bordered ... on sadism. They strip-searched him and they left him in solitary confinement for hours and after he met his bond, they kept him in solitary confinement for three or four hours with absolutely no explanation -- all with the goal of attempting to break him. This is not a system in which people are treated fairly or reasonably. They're bullied and destroyed.

What is your message to the judicial system?

We need to do a better job. Rather than trying to prosecute someone who's trying to make the world a better place, there are immense amounts of cybercrime going on where people are exploiting credit cards and doing things that are really bad. Even if you argue, which i think is completely false, that Aaron was guilty of something, there was no proportionality in the way that they acted.

[Apple founders] Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak started a business by selling a box that allowed criminal fraud against the phone company. Bill Gates started in business at Harvard without paying for the computer time to write BASIC. Edwin Land who invented the Land camera broke into Columbia University to do experiments.. Mark Zuckerberg, in a similar way to Aaron, scraped the data off of Harvard's computer system to start Facebook. These people are lionized for their accomplishments despite the fact that they did things that weren't exactly legal.

In Aaron's case, he did things that were not illegal and he was destroyed for it. And he was trying to make the world a better place. We need to celebrate people who do this . We need more Aaron Swartzes.

First Published: June 27, 2014: 4:13 PM ET

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Red Bull settles with U.S. on Cuba violations claims

Red Bull North America has settled with the U.S. over alleged Cuba sanction violations

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The Treasury Department said Friday that the company has agreed to pay $89,775 over allegations it failed to get authorization from the Treasury to travel to Cuba in 2009.

The more than half-century old U.S. boycott of Cuba strictly prohibits businesses from visiting the island without first obtaining a license.

The Treasury says that between June 8 and June 18, 2009, seven representatives of Red Bull North America traveled to Cuba in order to film a documentary, without first obtaining approval.

In a statement, Treasury said Red Bull had prior knowledge of U.S. sanctions on Cuba and took steps to conceal the visits. It also said that Red Bull's management had approved of the film and the travel involved.

The penalties could have been worse. The government says the maximum penalty could have been $455,000.

Red Bull North America did not respond to a request for comment.

First Published: June 27, 2014: 4:03 PM ET

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GM: Four more safety recalls, 430,000 cars

GM's recalls continue as the automaker announces four more, affecting nearly 430,000 vehicles in the U.S.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The recall covers nearly 30,000 air bag inflators in 2013-2014 model year Chevrolet Cruze sedans. GM (GM) says the inflators could fail or rupture, which could propel metal pieces that could injure the driver. GM says its aware of one injury related to the issue.

The automaker told dealerships to stop selling those Cruze models on Tuesday, but lifted that stop-sale order late Wednesday, after identifying all the affected vehicles.

Related: Steps to a recall nightmare

The part in question was manufactured by Japanese company Takata, a supplier tied to airbag problems in millions of cars that other automakers recalled earlier this week. The Cruze problem stems from a defective part instead of a chemical issue that affected other recalled vehicles, said GM spokesman Jim Cain.

The Cruze is GM's best-selling car in the United States. It sold 248,000 of them last year.

Also covered in today's announcement: Transmission software in nearly 400,000 trucks and SUV's that needs updating so that the vehicles don't slip into neutral on their own. Vehicles covered are four wheel drive versions of the 2014-2015 Silverado and GMC Sierra models; 2015 Tahoes and Suburbans; and the 2015 GMC Yukon and Yukon XL.

In addition, GM says it will inspect, and replace if necessary, the windshield wiper assemblies in about 5,000 2013-2014 Caprice police cars and SS sport sedans. The company says if gears get stripped the motors may fail and the wipers might not operate.

Finally, GM says it will replace the two rear shock absorbers in nearly 2,000 2014 model year Corvettes to repair a weld that could potentially lead to failure of the shock absorbers.

The news comes as the automaker is already in damage control mode for delaying the recall of 2.6 million vehicles for an ignition switch defect that's been tied to at least 13 deaths. Some GM employees knew the part was causing trouble more than a decade before the recall was issued in February.

Now, GM is facing dozens of lawsuits and a number of investigations concerning how it handled that recall.

The company has also issued a number of additional recalls this year for problems unrelated to the faulty ignition switch. It has recalled more than 20 million vehicles worldwide since January.

On Monday, the automaker and Kenneth Feinberg will unveil a compensation plan to victims and their families. Feinberg is a consultant who also determined payouts after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the BP oil spill, and the Boston Marathon bombing.

First Published: June 27, 2014: 6:54 PM ET

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Millennial-driven housing boom seen on the horizon

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

According to a report released Thursday by Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, as the economy shows signs of improvement, by 2025 Millennials could form 24 million new households and spur a huge comeback in the U.S. real estate market.

The report also found that, traditionally, the number of young people who buy homes increases as their incomes grow. Recently, hiring of Millennials has improved as the economy heals. If the trend continues, parents of Milennials could soon become empty-nesters.

Weak job prospects, tight lending standards and student debt, have left the 86 million members of the Millennial generation -- defined by the study as those born between 1985 and 2004 -- with few options for achieving independence. Nonetheless, like previous generations, Millennials crave it and this pent-up demand will give a big boost to the housing sector, the report's authors said.

"We really have not seen any cultural shift yet in anyone's desire to be independent," said JCHS Research Director Christopher Herbert in a panel discussion that followed the release. "When the job market recovers and their income recovers, they are going make their mark on this housing market."

Related story: Millennials 'overwhelmed' by debt

Nearly 22 million people in the U.S. age 18 to 31, lived in the home of a parent in 2012, according to Pew Research. The homeownership rate for those under age 35 was 36.2% in the first quarter of 2014, down from a historical high of 43.1% at the end of 2005, according to the Census.

Getting those rates back up will require the economy to keep improving, but if it does, those new households could mean a virtuous cycle. Booming demand for starter homes (as well as apartments) would stoke the housing sector, which accounts for about 18% of GDP, according to the National Association of Home Builders. It would also get a sluggish market moving by providing trade-up opportunities.

"If somebody wants to move up from a starter house to a larger house, they need someone to sell the starter house to," Mike Calhoun, the president of the Center for Responsible Lending, said on the panel.

Calhoun estimated U.S. building activity of about 1 million building permits issued per year could easily increase by two-thirds to meet demand without risking an unsustainable boom.

The report pointed out that some factors could restrain household formation. Despite economic news improving, Millennials face only slow economic gains. Unemployment is falling, but wage growth has been persistently stagnant. Plus, Millennials must confront increasing student debt burdens and tight lending standards.

Instead of a mass exodus from their parents' homes, the authors said Millenials' might just trickle out, mirroring what Herbert called the economy's "steady, slow recovery."

The report also pointed out that borrowers of color, who are expected to see demographic growth that could help drive household formation and building, face mortgage denials at far higher rates than white counterparts, which might well imperil a housing surge.

First Published: June 26, 2014: 6:32 PM ET

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Walmart cuts iPhone prices

Walmart will cut the price of the iPhone on Friday at 9 a.m.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Walmart said it is cutting the price for both the iPhone 5s and 5c beginning 9 a.m. Friday.

With a two-year contract, a 16-gigabyte iPhone 5S will cost $99, coming down from $149. The 16-gigabyte iPhone 5c will be $29, down from $49.

The deal is only for purchases made at Walmart stores, not online.

The move may fuel speculation that Apple (AAPL, Tech30) is planning a new iPhone release before its usual fall launch. Retailers often slash prices ahead of new releases to clear out inventory.

Related: Excited for iPhone 6? Check out this stock

But a Walmart (WMT)spokeswoman said the retailer is simply sticking with its mantra, aiming to offer great prices to its customers.

Walmart rolled back the price of these smartphones in March, but only for a limited time. Now, the price cut is permanent.

First Published: June 26, 2014: 7:43 PM ET

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How much will GM victims get? We'll find out Monday

Feinberg's plan is expected to disclose details about who is eligible for compensation and how much money they could receive.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The compensation plan will be unveiled by Kenneth Feinberg, a consultant who also determined payouts after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the BP oil spill, and the Boston Marathon bombing.

Some employees at GM first learned of a problem with the ignition switch in 2004, but a recall wasn't announced until February of this year.

The faulty switch allows the car key to sometimes fall into the off position while someone is driving, shutting off the power and disabling power steering and airbags.

Related: Doing the right thing for GM victims

The compensation is being offered as an alternative to victims or their families suing GM, and is expected to be available for accidents both before and after the 2009 bankruptcy. In court, GM may not be liable for accidents that occurred before the bankruptcy.

The total amount GM is setting aside for payouts could be unveiled Monday.

In the case of BP, the energy company set aside $20 billion. Congress allocated $7 billion for 9/11 victims. The fund for those killed and injured by bombs at the Boston Marathon totaled $61 million, which came solely from donations.

We could also learn Monday about who will be eligible for compensation and how much money they might receive. One issue is whether someone who died while sitting in the backseat of a car is considered a victim. GM does not include someone in that case on its official list of 13 because the death is not tied to an unactivated airbag.

Feinberg could decide that the families of those who died all get the same amount of money.

After the Boston Marathon bombing, they each got $2.2 million, while $208,000 was given to families of those who died at Virginia Tech.

The amount given to families who died on 9/11 depended on the victim's earning potential. So a stock broker's family would have received more than the family of a restaurant worker. In his book, "Who Gets What," Feinberg said this was a "critical flaw" of the 9/11 program that sometimes invoked anger among those who needed help.

Feinberg could also detail how much money goes to those who survived the crashes, but were severely injured. After the Virginia Tech massacre and the Boston Marathon bombings, these awards have been based on the severity of the injury and the amount of time spent in the hospital.

First Published: June 26, 2014: 4:22 PM ET

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GM halts sales of some Chevrolet Cruzes

GM has asked dealers to stop selling some 2013-2014 Chevy Cruzes due to an airbag issue.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

There may be a problem with the airbag in some of the vehicles, said GM spokesman Jim Cain. The automaker is currently working with the supplier to determine which specific vehicles may have a defective part. It expects to resume sales of those cars that are not affected by the end of this week.

The Cruze is GM's best-selling car model in the United States, selling 248,000 last year.

Related: Congress skeptical about GM changes

The stop-sale comes as the automaker is in damage-control mode for delaying the recall of 2.6 million vehicles for an ignition switch defect that's been tied to at least 13 deaths. Some GM employees knew the part was causing trouble more than a decade before the recall was issued in February.

Now, GM (GM) is facing dozens of lawsuits and a number of investigations concerning how they handled the recall.

Since February, the automaker has kept adding to its recall list -- some for issues unrelated to the ignition switch defect. So far this year, it has recalled more than 20 million vehicles worldwide.

First Published: June 25, 2014: 6:30 PM ET

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Google's cardboard virtual-reality goggles

Google gave out a set of cardboard goggles that work with your smartphone to create a basic virtual reality experience at its developer conference on Wednesday.

SAN FRANCISCO (CNNMoney)

Google (GOOGL, Tech30) revealed a number of big updates to its Android software at its annual developer conference on Wednesday, but the project that generated the most smiles among those in attendance was a set of cardboard goggles that work with Android phones to create a basic virtual reality experience.

Virtual reality has been a hot topic in the tech world in recent months since Facebook paid $2 billion to acquire VR firm Oculus. The "Cardboard" project, Google says, grew out of a desire "to make VR accessible to more people."

All those in attendance Wednesday received a set of the Cardboard goggles, which were designed by a pair of Googlers in Paris in their "20% time," the company's term for the time it allots employees to work on their own projects.

The contraption folds into place to create a viewfinder and a slot to insert a smartphone. Fire up the Cardboard Android app and you're ready for action.

The goggles stay together thanks to a few velcro straps, while the phone is secured with a rubber band. A pair of lenses are mounted within the cardboard to make the field of view more immersive.

Once you've got Cardboard up and running, you navigate through the app using a magnet slider on the side that gets picked up by the phone's magnetometer. You can watch videos on YouTube, float through space via Google Earth and do some virtual traveling with Google Street View.

Related: Google touts Android TV, smartwatches and cars

Google is opening up the software to developers, so more functions could soon be on the way. Turning your head up and down and left to right changes your view, while taking the device off your face and rotating it 90 degrees takes you back to the home screen.

Google says the device works with most "modern" Android phones, but cautions that it's still in the development stage. It's sharing the Cardboard toolkit with developers to give them "the chance to experiment with it as we do."

In the meantime, Google has also put the design files online so you can try your hand at building your own. If you're using a pizza box, the company advises that you make it an extra large.

First Published: June 25, 2014: 10:07 PM ET

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GoPro prices IPO at high end

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

That's because GoPro is officially going public this week. The consumer electronics company's IPO is set to raise roughly $425 million. On Wednesday evening, it priced shares at $24 apiece, the high end of the expected range of $21 to $24.

The IPO sets the stage for GoPro to kick off its life as a public company on Thursday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "GPRO."

David Menlow, president of IPOfinancial.com, said GoPro is clearly a "hot brand" that is "on fire" thanks to the popularity of its durable product.

A successful viral marketing campaign has amplified GoPro's visibility and cemented its extreme brand credentials.

One video shot on the company's HERO3 camera features incredible images from around the world and has generated 32 million views on YouTube over the past year. In 2012, Felix Baumgartner wore a GoPro camera to give the world a first-person view of his space jump from 24 miles above the earth's surface.

Related: China's Alibaba files for landmark IPO

GoPro's HERO cameras represented a 45% share of the U.S. camcorder market by dollars in 2013, up from 11% in December 2011, according to statistics from The NPD Group cited in the company's IPO filing.

However, GoPro's growth appears to be slowing.

While the company's 2013 revenue quadrupled to $986 million, its first-quarter sales dipped slightly. Profits declined year-over-year to $11 million from $23 million in the first quarter.

The biggest risk facing GoPro is the threat a deep-pocketed rival will develop technology that tops its imaging and memory capabilities. Tech giants like Google (GOOG) are increasingly moving into the wearable gadget space with products that have built-in cameras.

Still, Menlow said: "First into a market usually gets the largest market share."

GoPro is hitting the public markets at an opportune time. Volatility is extremely low and investors continue to show a strong appetite for IPOs.

According to Ernst & Young, companies raised $117.7 billion in IPOs globally during the first half of 2014, up 60% from the same period in 2013. That's the best first-half performance since 2007.

Related: Where's the drama on Wall Street?

However, first-day "pops" among U.S. IPOs dropped in the second quarter to an average of 9.8% from 12.3% during the first quarter, Ernst & Young said.

Foxconn, the Chinese company that manufactures iPhones and iPads, invested $200 million in GoPro in late 2012. That deal gave Foxconn a 9% stake and valued the gadget company at $2.25 billion.

The lead underwriters on the GoPro IPO are JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C) and Barclays (BCS).

First Published: June 25, 2014: 7:23 PM ET

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Danger! American Apparel, Lululemon impale

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Just look at the controversy swirling around the founders of American Apparel (APP) and Lululemon (LULU).

Dov Charney, the ousted chairman of American Apparel, is known for walking around his factory in his underwear and talking openly about his sex life. The company's sales have plunged in recent years and its stock now trades for 70 cents, down 96% from its high of nearly $17.

Lululemon founder Dennis "Chip" Wilson imperiled his company's brand last year by making snide remarks about overweight customers. Wilson recently stepped down as chairman after Lululemon's share price plunged in half over the past year.

"Sadly in this day and age, some CEOs still think they can act like Ari Gold and get away with it," said Jeffrey Cohn, author of Why Are We Bad at Picking Good Leaders?, referring to the fictional "Entourage" character.

Related: American Apparel CEO hits back

American Apparel is known for its edgy advertising, but even Charney's behavior has become too steamy for that company's board.

Charney, who started American Apparel in 1998, was fired as chairman last week by the board, which is also moving to remove him as CEO.

An American Apparel director told CNNMoney the decision came after the board learned of "disturbing" information that suggested "misconduct" by Charney.

Allegations of misconduct are hardly new for Charney, who has faced countless lawsuits over the years that claimed everything from sexual harassment to assault, battery and even impersonation through the Internet.

While American Apparel rapidly expanded in the early 2000s by appealing to hipsters, the apparel maker struggled to keep the cool vibe. Charney took the company public in 2005 at $8 per share and Wall Street eventually bid it up to nearly $17. In recent years American Apparel has had to fight just to stave off bankruptcy.

Investors pay the price: Research into the costs of "managerial indiscretions" found that every time an incident involving Charney was disclosed to the public between 2008 and 2011, American Apparel's stock went down, suffering abnormal negative three-day return of -0.7% to -8.8%.

"He's one of the executives we have as a serial repeat offender," said Adam Yore, a professor at Northern Illinois University who co-wrote the research paper with Ralph Walkling at Drexel University and Brandon Cline at Mississippi State University.

Related: How Adidas plans to win the World Cup

Their research found that, on average, there is an immediate 3.8% loss in shareholder value following the disclosure of a CEO indiscretion as well as abnormal declines in the longer run. There also is a higher likelihood of shareholder lawsuits, even for things unrelated to the indiscretion.

The research found that indiscretion incidents are substantially more likely to occur at companies managed by families or founders.

Founders "may not make a distinction between their personal and professional lives," said Yore. "They grew the business themselves and in many cases they are the business."

Charney, who still controls a 27% stake, has signaled he's mounting an effort to keep control of American Apparel's C-Suite.

Related: Lululemon stock does the downward drop

Lululemon's volatile founder: The situation isn't nearly as dire at Lululemon, but the yoga apparel maker is also struggling to turn itself around and in the midst of an uncomfortable fight with founder Wilson. The company's Chief Financial Officer dubbed it akin to "our parents are fighting" on a recent call with investors.

The turning point came last year when Lululemon had to recall some of its yoga pants for being too sheer. That hurt the company's reputation and cost millions of dollars. Wilson exacerbated the situation by then seemingly placing the blame on overweight customers, saying: "Some women's bodies just don't actually work" for the pants.

Lululemon traded north of $82 last June before the controversy, but recently dipped below $37. Of course, even with the recent tumble Lululemon shares have surged over 560% over the past five years, creating enormous value for shareholders.

Can Wilson find a dance partner? After stepping down as chairman last month, Wilson has reportedly hired Goldman Sachs to help him weigh his options, including possibly teaming up with a private equity firm to acquire the rest of Lululemon.

"Based on his comments from last November, which we contend damaged the LULU brand, we believe potential partners may be warded off by Mr. Wilson's volatility," Sterne Agee analysts Sam Poser and Ben Shamsian wrote in a note this week.

Cowen & Co. analyst Faye Landes is less sold on the negative impact to Lululemon's brand, pointing to strong Black Friday sales after Wilson's comments.

"There is still a lot of cachet around the brand," she said.

Ironically, Wilson's chances of finding a dance partner to acquire Lululemon with may have been hurt by the American Apparel drama.

"Funders tend to be conservative individuals working at conservative firms, and, especially after the recent experience of some investment firms with retail founders (cf. American Apparel), we think that funders are likely to shy away from voluble founders," Landes wrote in a note to clients this week.

First Published: June 24, 2014: 3:43 PM ET

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In just six months, automakers pass recall record

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The total number of recalled vehicles crossed the previous record when several automakers announced recalls of 2.8 million cars for faulty airbags.

That brought the 2014 running total above 32 million.

The previous record of 30.8 million cars was set in 2004, according to federal records.

Related: Five most notorious auto recalls

With more than 17.7 million U.S. recalls, General Motors (GM) is responsible for around half of this year's total. It has recalled nearly 20 million cars worldwide for a variety of issues including an ignition switch defect it did not disclose for a decade.

First Published: June 24, 2014: 3:06 PM ET

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Madoff's accountant pleads guilty

Paul Konigsberg, Bernie Madoff's former accountant, faces up to 30 years in prison.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Paul Konigsberg, a tax lawyer and accountant, provided services to Madoff and a number of Madoff's clients. Now, he faces up to 30 years in prison.

Beginning at least in the early 1990s, Madoff steered several of his investors to Konigsberg, including long-time clients in whose accounts Madoff "executed the most glaringly fraudulent transactions," said a press release issued by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.

Related: 5 ex-Madoff employees found guilty

Konigsberg, 78, has agreed to cooperate with the government in its ongoing investigation of the fraud that occurred at Madoff Securities. The firm collapsed after Madoff was arrested in 2008 and pleaded guilty for running a Ponzi scheme that netted billions of dollars from thousands of victims.

Five of Madoff's former employees were found guilty in March of participating in the Ponzi scheme. Dan Bonventre, Annette Bongiorno, Joann Crupi, Jerome O'Hara and George Perez were hit with a litany of federal criminal charges, including conspiracy to commit securities fraud, after a six-month-long trial.

Konigsberg will also pay at least $4.4 million, which will be used to compensate victims of the fraud, and could be hit with additional fines. He will be sentenced on Sept. 19.

Konigsberg is the second accountant to plead guilty in connection to the Madoff case. David Friehling, another long-time accountant of Madoff, pleaded guilty in 2009.

First Published: June 24, 2014: 5:41 PM ET

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American Apparel CEO hits back

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Dov Charney, the embattled ex-CEO of retailer American Apparel (APP), says he has been approached by company stockholders who have expressed "support for his continued leadership" of the company, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Charney is essentially threatening to shake up the board. If he succeeds he may be able to launch a bid to reclaim his title as CEO.

Charney was fired by the company's board last week after what board member Allan Mayer described as "disturbing" information surfaced that suggested "misconduct" by Charney.

But Charney is not going quietly.

His attorney sent a letter to the board saying the company "violated its legal and contractual obligations to Mr. Charney in numerous respects," resulting in "substantial professional, reputational and financial injuries to Mr. Charney."

Charney, who founded the company back in 1998, is still its largest individual shareholder.

Related: American Apparel board learned of "disturbing misconduct"

Meanwhile, American Apparel has hired the investment banking advisory firm Peter J. Solomon. When asked if that means the company is for sale, a spokesman said "Today's press release speaks for itself."

The retailer said in the statement that the firm was hired to ensure "adequate access to capital."

One dealmaker says American Apparel may have no choice but to sell itself to the highest bidder.

"The path is now open for someone to come in and make an attractive offer for American Apparel to go private," said Lloyd Greif, the CEO of L.A. investment banking firm Greif & Co. "I expect that to happen by the end of the year."

Greif, who's been doing deals for 33 years, says the board will have a fiduciary duty to look at bids from interested buyers and may have "no choice but to sell."

Charney was notorious for controversial behavior, and was named in a series of sexual harassment suits filed by employees in recent years.

American Apparel has been struggling for years. Company shares, which topped $15 in 2007, now trade for less than $1.

First Published: June 23, 2014: 1:17 PM ET

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Airbag problems result in millions of recalls

Honda, Nissan, Mazda and Toyota are recalling millions of cars because of faulty inflators for Takata air bags.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says Honda (HMC), Nissan (NSANF), Toyota (TM), Mazda (MZDAF), Chrysler, Ford (F) and BMW are recalling the vehicles equipped with the airbags made by the Japanese company Takata. The recall follows a NHTSA investigation into six reports of airbag inflator ruptures, all of which occurred in Florida and Puerto Rico.

In a statement last week, the company said it believes high levels of humidity are factors in the inflator problem.

Honda said it is recalling more than 2 million vehicles in the United States. There's a nationwide recall of several models, including Civic, Accord and Odyssey, from 2002 and 2003, as well as recalls limited to certain warm-weather states, as well as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Honda said it knows of one report of injury related to the problem.

Related: Toyota adds 650,000 cars to airbag recall

Nissan (NSANF) said it is recalling 755,000 vehicles, including 228,000 in North America.

Earlier this month, Toyota (TM) also expanded a recall because of the Takata airbags to nearly 2.8 million vehicles.

Chrysler spokesman Nick Cappa said the investigation is ongoing so his company doesn't know how many cars it's going to recall, but it would probably involve the 2006 Dodge Charger.

First Published: June 23, 2014: 1:59 PM ET

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World Cup gets record U.S. ratings

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The USA-Portugal match on ESPN averaged 18.2 million viewers on Sunday, topping the 11.1 million that tuned in for USA-Ghana on June 16.

Another 6.5 million viewers watched a Spanish-language broadcast of the USA-Portugal match on Univision, according to Nielsen ratings that were released Monday. Combined, the ESPN and Univision telecasts averaged almost 25 million viewers. (Another 1.4 million watched on the cable channel ESPN3.)

All of these audience figures are incomplete, though, because Nielsen does not measure any out-of-home viewing at bars, restaurants or other locations where people have congregated to watch World Cup matches, or any viewing on phones or computers.

ESPN said the live stream of the match via its WatchESPN app added another 490,000 viewers to the total audience.

All of these figures are averages for the duration of the 95-minute match; unsurprisingly, total viewership was lower in the beginning and higher toward the end. ESPN said its viewership peaked between 7:30 and 8 p.m., in the final minutes of the match, when about 23 million viewers tuned in.

Related: Scenarios for the U.S. to advance

ESPN said in a statement that USA-Portugal ranked as "the most-viewed soccer match in the United States ever, across all networks," eclipsing the "previous high of 17,975,000 viewers for the 1999 Women's World Cup final (USA vs. China) on ABC."

Both ABC and ESPN are controlled by The Walt Disney Co. (DIS)

So far, ESPN's ratings are up about 30% compared to the last World Cup in 2010. Univision's ratings are up nearly 50%.

"The whole world's watching right now," former U.S. Men's World Cup player Cobi Jones said Monday on CNN.

Related: The most social sporting event ever

In the U.S., "you're seeing younger generations really following the sport," and that's translating to higher ratings, he said.

The next USA match will be played against Germany at noon ET on Thursday.

First Published: June 23, 2014: 4:09 PM ET

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American Apparel's ousted CEO fights back

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

In a letter to the company's board, Glaser, who heads Glaser-Weil's litigation department, claims American Apparel "violated its legal and contractual obligations to Mr. Charney in numerous respects" that have resulted in "substantial professional, reputational and financial injuries to Mr. Charney."

Charney, who founded American Apparel (APP) in 1998, was ousted by the board last week.

According to sources familiar with the situation, Charney was given two options: either step aside quietly and take a creative role that would pay around $1 million a year, or face being fired with cause.

"By presenting Mr. Charney with this absurd and unreasonable demand, the Company acted in a manner that was not merely unconscionable but illegal," Glaser claims in her letter to the board.

Last week, American Apparel board member Allan Mayer told CNNMoney that the board had learned earlier this year of "disturbing" information that suggested "misconduct" by Charney.

Related: 'Disturbing misconduct' at American Apparel

Charney was notorious for controversial behavior, including a series of sexual harassment suits filed by employees in recent years.

Mayer said the board was aware of these reports, but said this time it had "concrete facts," which led to an internal investigation.

A person with knowledge of the internal investigation said it was related to Charney's response to allegations of sexual harassment.

Mayer told CNNMoney last week that the company was prepared for a fight. "[Charney] certainly indicated that he was not going to accept it," he said.

Both Mayer and Charney declined to comment for this story.

Glaser was also unavailable for immediate comment.

Related: American Apparel ousts founder, CEO

American Apparel has been struggling for years. Company shares, which topped $15 as recently as 2007, now trade for less than $1.

Mayer thinks the firing will ultimately be a plus for the struggling retailer.

"There are people who will tell you that Dov's reputation was a real drag on the company. There were people and firms unwilling to do business because Dov ran the company," said Mayer. "Since we announced the decision, we've been contacted by mainstream, top of the line, institutions that have not been interested in supporting us."

Glaser is demanding a meeting with the board no later than Monday, June 23, "to negotiate a process whereby Mr. Charney will be fully reinstated to his positions within the Company and to attempt to negotiate a process whereby Mr. Charney's business reputation can be restored."

First Published: June 21, 2014: 2:46 PM ET

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From cancer survivor to millionaire

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The science teacher and textbook author was fighting off a rare and terminal form of cancer as he watched the Great Recession swallow up 40% of his investment portfolio. Friends in finance warned him to dump his stocks because they feared the Dow would soon plummet from its already depressed 8,000 level to 1,000.

Despite those daunting challenges and ominous warnings, Eimer poured cash into the stock market at the depths of the crisis, a decision that has left him and his wife Gayle on track to become millionaires.

"I didn't jump ship. It was scary buying back into the market at that time," said Eimer, who lives in Horsham, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia.

Eimer, who in 2005 had been given just two years to live, said he stuck to his belief that you've got to be in the market to make money.

Besides, he said, "If the Dow goes down to 1,000, then all of us have a lot more problems than losses in stocks. You're talking about the collapse of our economy."

Related: How a 77-year-old trader is cashing in on growth stocks

'Prepared for the worst' Eimer's courageous investing during the financial crisis was made possible by his family's frugal, debt-free lifestyle.

Unlike most Americans, he didn't lever up during the mid-2000s on luxury cars, over-the-top houses or second mortgages.

Instead, Eimer and his wife saved half of his salary and invested heavily in their retirement and college savings funds. They paid off a mortgage on their two-bedroom condo in 2003 and bought a new Toyota Corolla for just $15,000. Later they "splurged" on a Honda Element for $18,000.

"Frugality was grounded into me from a young age," said Eimer, whose grandfather lost everything in the Great Depression. "If we had not prepared for the worst, we would be faced with financial disaster."

Eimer said he converted his wife from a "spendthrift" when they first met to a frugal manager of the household budget. "Without her, we wouldn't have been able to do any of it," he said, noting the family gets by on just a single prepaid cell phone.

Related: U.S. recovery hits 5-year mark, but has long way to go

Beating the odds: Disaster struck in 2005 when Eimer was diagnosed with an extremely rare and terminal form of thyroid cancer. That forced him to give up his lucrative side career making up to $200 an hour writing textbooks for McGraw-Hill, Prentice Hall and other publishers.

There was one doctor on the whole planet who was researching this form of cancer, Eimer said, and she developed an experimental chemotherapy drug that helped save his life.

While the drugs extended his life considerably, he still deals with chronic pain, fatigue, abdominal pain and loss of his hair, which has since returned. But Eimer has been able to continue teaching middle school science at Phil-Mont Christian Academy in Springfield, Pa.

Almost a decade after receiving his grim diagnosis, Eimer has beaten the odds and is currently in stable condition. He's also beaten most retail investors by actually participating in the bull market that has left many everyday Americans behind.

"I went through the dotcom bubble, but this seemed worse," Eimer said about the 2008 crash after Lehman Brothers collapsed in September of that year. He said friends who were financial advisors told him to "ditch all stocks and buy silver."

Related: Why hasn't Main Street recovered like Wall Street?

Buying at the bottom: But Eimer did the exact opposite of those dark warnings: He scooped up beaten down stocks and bonds at what turned out to be historically-low prices.

Eimer said he felt confident enough to do this because he had no debt and a ton of fresh powder: 25% of his portfolio had been in cash when the market cratered. At that point, he had bigger problems as he braced for cancer to take his life.

Related: I sold my startup to Cisco. Here's why

Rather than risk trying to find individual stock winners, Eimer continued a strategy that he's implemented since the 1990s: Buy a diversified variety of index and mutual funds.

Bad luck while investing in individual stocks led Eimer to conclude: "It was only my broker who was getting wealthy."

One mutual fund that's been particularly kind to him is the Vanguard PRIMECAP Fund (VPMAX), which invests mostly in technology and biotech stocks like Google (GOOGL, Tech30) and Amgen (AMGN). The fund has soared 133% since the start of 2009, besting the S&P 500's 123% gain.

"Today, our portfolio is up about 2-1/2 fold from the recession lows. We have zero debt, we're on target to become millionaires in about three years and I'm still alive," Eimer said. "We count ourselves blessed!"

First Published: June 21, 2014: 7:43 AM ET

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Will the Dow crack 17,000 this week?

Click for more market data.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The Dow Jones industrial average is about 50 points away from crossing 17,000 for the first time ever. The blue-chip average closed at a record high Friday, as did the broader S&P 500 index.

The Dow index of 30 of the biggest and best known U.S. brands has been breaking through these "psychologically important" milestones with remarkable speed. It's considered a good gauge of the health of corporate America.

If the Dow crosses 17,000 this week, it will be less than six months after it first crossed 16,000. It rose above 15,000 for the first time just over a year ago.

In 2007, the Dow went from 13,000 to 14,000 in about four months.

But it wasn't always this way. It took about seven years for the Dow to plow through 12,000.

When the Dow rose to 10,000 for the first time in 1999, floor traders broke out commemorative baseball caps to mark the occasion.

Most analysts say the round numbers are not technically important, but they are a good indication of the current mood among investors.

Stocks have been in a bull market for more than five years, and the bulls don't seem ready to throw in the towel any time soon.

CNNMoney's Fear & Greed index is at a level indicating that investors are feeling extremely greedy. The index stood at 95 out of 100 on Friday.

With greed driving the market, fear seems to have vanished.

Related: Where's all the fear in the stock market

The market's so-called "fear gauge," the VIX (VIX), is at the lowest levels since 2007. Some are starting to say that investors are complacent.

Stocks jumped Wednesday after Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen reiterated that the central bank is unlikely to hike interest rates in the near future.

The Fed's policies, along with a gradually improving economic backdrop, have powered the bull market thus far. Investors seem confident that this fortuitous combination will remain in place for a while longer.

But there are some mixed signals below the surface.

The top performing Dow stock this year is Caterpillar (CAT), which is up 20% since January.

That suggests investors are optimistic about the global economy, since the heavy equipment maker sells products used to construct buildings and infrastructure around the world.

Related: Rich investors worry about stock market

But banks and consumer-oriented companies are among the worst performers on the Dow this year.

Visa (V) is down nearly 6% since January, making it the worst performer in the index. Goldman Sachs (GS) and JPMorgan (JPM) are also down year-to-date.

Bank stocks have had a strong run over the past few years, so it's not surprising to see them underperform. But a healthy banking sector is usually considered a prerequisite for a robust economic recovery.

Wal-Mart (WMT)and Nike (NKE) are also bringing up the rear on the Dow. That suggests investors don't have much confidence in the outlook for consumer spending.

First Published: June 22, 2014: 9:04 AM ET

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Friday Links

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

A weekly collection of design, data and interactive links.

Photo/Video
Seismik | Herman Kolgen explores vertical layering dislocations
8-Bit 3D Art | Ron Burgundy and Boba Fett rendered in 3D printed pixels
Kodama | 20syl's new music video
Milky Way | Michael Shainblum shares 3 tips for photographing the Milky Way

Design/Data viz
Maschinenangst | Vera Idelson's costume and set design illustrations for the Italian Futurist play The Anguish of the Machines
The Story of EBoy | Watch the video, it's great
Visualizing MBTA Data | An interactive exploration of Boston's subway system
LazerBlade | The affordable laser cutter and engraver
Can you find Benghazi? | Can you accurately locate Benghazi?

Code
ArnoldC | A programming language based on the one liners of Arnold Schwarzenegger
Web Starter Kit | Boilerplate & tooling for multi-device development from Google

See last week's links

Have a nice weekend!
@dubly and @talyellin

First Published: June 20, 2014: 4:21 PM ET

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From cancer survivor to millionaire

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The science teacher and textbook author was fighting off a rare and terminal form of cancer as he watched the Great Recession swallow up 40% of his investment portfolio. Friends in finance warned him to dump his stocks because they feared the Dow would soon plummet from its already depressed 8,000 level to 1,000.

Despite those daunting challenges and ominous warnings, Eimer poured cash into the stock market at the depths of the crisis, a decision that has left him and his wife Gayle on track to become millionaires.

"I didn't jump ship. It was scary buying back into the market at that time," said Eimer, who lives in Horsham, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia.

Eimer, who in 2005 had been given just two years to live, said he stuck to his belief that you've got to be in the market to make money.

Besides, he said, "If the Dow goes down to 1,000, then all of us have a lot more problems than losses in stocks. You're talking about the collapse of our economy."

Related: How a 77-year-old trader is cashing in on growth stocks

'Prepared for the worst' Eimer's courageous investing during the financial crisis was made possible by his family's frugal, debt-free lifestyle.

Unlike most Americans, he didn't lever up during the mid-2000s on luxury cars, over-the-top houses or second mortgages.

Instead, Eimer and his wife saved half of his salary and invested heavily in their retirement and college savings funds. They paid off a mortgage on their two-bedroom condo in 2003 and bought a new Toyota Corolla for just $15,000. Later they "splurged" on a Honda Element for $18,000.

"Frugality was grounded into me from a young age," said Eimer, whose grandfather lost everything in the Great Depression. "If we had not prepared for the worst, we would be faced with financial disaster."

Eimer said he converted his wife from a "spendthrift" when they first met to a frugal manager of the household budget. "Without her, we wouldn't have been able to do any of it," he said, noting the family gets by on just a single prepaid cell phone.

Related: U.S. recovery hits 5-year mark, but has long way to go

Beating the odds: Disaster struck in 2005 when Eimer was diagnosed with an extremely rare and terminal form of thyroid cancer. That forced him to give up his lucrative side career making up to $200 an hour writing textbooks for McGraw-Hill, Prentice Hall and other publishers.

There was one doctor on the whole planet who was researching this form of cancer, Eimer said, and she developed an experimental chemotherapy drug that helped save his life.

While the drugs extended his life considerably, he still deals with chronic pain, fatigue, abdominal pain and loss of his hair, which has since returned. But Eimer has been able to continue teaching middle school science at Phil-Mont Christian Academy in Springfield, Pa.

Almost a decade after receiving his grim diagnosis, Eimer has beaten the odds and is currently in stable condition. He's also beaten most retail investors by actually participating in the bull market that has left many everyday Americans behind.

"I went through the dotcom bubble, but this seemed worse," Eimer said about the 2008 crash after Lehman Brothers collapsed in September of that year. He said friends who were financial advisors told him to "ditch all stocks and buy silver."

Related: Why hasn't Main Street recovered like Wall Street?

Buying at the bottom: But Eimer did the exact opposite of those dark warnings: He scooped up beaten down stocks and bonds at what turned out to be historically-low prices.

Eimer said he felt confident enough to do this because he had no debt and a ton of fresh powder: 25% of his portfolio had been in cash when the market cratered. At that point, he had bigger problems as he braced for cancer to take his life.

Related: I sold my startup to Cisco. Here's why

Rather than risk trying to find individual stock winners, Eimer continued a strategy that he's implemented since the 1990s: Buy a diversified variety of index and mutual funds.

Bad luck while investing in individual stocks led Eimer to conclude: "It was only my broker who was getting wealthy."

One mutual fund that's been particularly kind to him is the Vanguard PRIMECAP Fund (VPMAX), which invests mostly in technology and biotech stocks like Google (GOOGL, Tech30) and Amgen (AMGN). The fund has soared 133% since the start of 2009, besting the S&P 500's 123% gain.

"Today, our portfolio is up about 2-1/2 fold from the recession lows. We have zero debt, we're on target to become millionaires in about three years and I'm still alive," Eimer said. "We count ourselves blessed!"

First Published: June 21, 2014: 7:43 AM ET

12.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

American Apparel's ousted CEO fights back

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

In a letter to the company's board, Glaser, who heads Glaser-Weil's litigation department, claims American Apparel "violated its legal and contractual obligations to Mr. Charney in numerous respects" that have resulted in "substantial professional, reputational and financial injuries to Mr. Charney."

Charney, who founded American Apparel (APP) in 1998, was ousted by the board last week.

According to sources familiar with the situation, Charney was given two options: either step aside quietly and take a creative role that would pay around $1 million a year, or face being fired with cause.

"By presenting Mr. Charney with this absurd and unreasonable demand, the Company acted in a manner that was not merely unconscionable but illegal," Glaser claims in her letter to the board.

Last week, American Apparel board member Allan Mayer told CNNMoney that the board had learned earlier this year of "disturbing" information that suggested "misconduct" by Charney.

Related: 'Disturbing misconduct' at American Apparel

Charney was notorious for controversial behavior, including a series of sexual harassment suits filed by employees in recent years.

Mayer said the board was aware of these reports, but said this time it had "concrete facts," which led to an internal investigation.

A person with knowledge of the internal investigation said it was related to Charney's response to allegations of sexual harassment.

Mayer told CNNMoney last week that the company was prepared for a fight. "[Charney] certainly indicated that he was not going to accept it," he said.

Both Mayer and Charney declined to comment for this story.

Glaser was also unavailable for immediate comment.

Related: American Apparel ousts founder, CEO

American Apparel has been struggling for years. Company shares, which topped $15 as recently as 2007, now trade for less than $1.

Mayer thinks the firing will ultimately be a plus for the struggling retailer.

"There are people who will tell you that Dov's reputation was a real drag on the company. There were people and firms unwilling to do business because Dov ran the company," said Mayer. "Since we announced the decision, we've been contacted by mainstream, top of the line, institutions that have not been interested in supporting us."

Glaser is demanding a meeting with the board no later than Monday, June 23, "to negotiate a process whereby Mr. Charney will be fully reinstated to his positions within the Company and to attempt to negotiate a process whereby Mr. Charney's business reputation can be restored."

First Published: June 21, 2014: 2:46 PM ET

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Starbucks prices are going up

A tall latte will cost between 15 and 20 cents more after Tuesday.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

On average a drink will cost between 5 and 20 cents more, depending on what you order and where you're making the purchase.

The price of a tall or venti sized latte will go up by between 15 and 20 cents, for example. But the price of a grande (medium in plain-speak) sized latte won't change at all. The cost of a tall brewed coffee and any sized frappuccino won't change either.

The company estimates that the orders of fewer than 20% of its customers will be affected. The price is only changing in U.S. stores, but it will change more in some markets than others.

Related: Starbucks workers could pay $23,000 for 4-year tuition

Starbucks is also raising the price of its packaged coffee sold in grocery stores by about 8%, beginning July 21. While retailers ultimately set the price, customers can expect to pay about $1 more per 12 oz. bag.

The change will actually bring the price back up to what it cost in April 2013, when the company cut the cost, spokesman Zack Hutson said.

He would not specify why the price hike is going into effect, but said the company considers factors like "competitive dynamics" and its overall cost structure.

Hutson said the price hike is not a knee-jerk reaction to the recent rise in coffee prices, which have skyrocketed due to a severe drought in Brazil. Starbucks buys its coffee beans ahead of time and already has enough for the rest of the fiscal year, and some of the next, he said.

The price hike at Starbucks (SBUX) comes about two months after J.M. Smucker (SJM) raised the price of its coffee products, including those for Folgers and Dunkin' Donuts, by 9%.

First Published: June 20, 2014: 2:54 PM ET

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Google hosts all-girl coding party

Actress and producer Mindy Kaling was the host at an event geared toward getting more young girls interested in tech.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Made With Code aims to address what, according to Google's own research, are the top two reasons women don't get into computer science -- exposure and encouragement.

Actress and producer Mindy Kaling hosted the Made With Code launch event for the initiative in New York on Thursday night, where supporter Chelsea Clinton was also among the 150 in attendance. Clinton is Vice Chair of the Clinton Foundation, whose No Ceilings project works to further the full participation of women and girls in all parts of society.

"It was really powerful for the girls in the room, some of whom have never coded, to see the connection between art, music, dance -- the things they love -- and coding," said Reshma Saujani, founder & CEO of Girls Who Code, a partner of the Made With Code initiative.

Girls Who Code places high school juniors and seniors in coding classes within the walls of major private sector corporations like Google (GOOGL, Tech30), Twitter (TWTR, Tech30), eBay (EBAY, Tech30) and others.

The Made With Code website is a hub for interactive coding projects, video profiles of female coders merging their tech skills with their other interests, and a directory for coding classes, camps and opportunities from partner organizations.

Video profiles on the site include women and girls working in music engineering, studying human robot interactions and at the intersection of fashion and technology.

Related: Black girls take on tech's diversity woes

For the initiative, Google recruited partners and supporters including Girls Inc., Girl Scouts of the USA, MIT Media Lab, National Center for Women & Information Technology, Seventeen magazine, and the influential industry news site TechCrunch.

Google has also pledged $50 million to support nonprofits working to teach girls computer science.

Just a few weeks ago Google released a report revealing a severe gender gap within its own ranks. Only 30% of Googlers are women, with just 17% women on their tech teams. This week, Yahoo (YAHOF) followed suit by releasing numbers on their own staff. Despite having Marissa Mayer as CEO, Yahoo is only 15% female on the tech side of its business.

Related: Google: Overwhelmingly white and male

The numbers illustrate the industry's serious gender gap. In the United States, women make up only 28% of the science and engineering workforce, according to the National Science Foundation.

"We're building a movement here," said Saujani. "We're trying to reach millions of girls and teach them to code. We have a lot of work to do. This is just the beginning."

First Published: June 20, 2014: 4:06 PM ET

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Friday Links

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

A weekly collection of design, data and interactive links.

Photo/Video
Seismik | Herman Kolgen explores vertical layering dislocations
8-Bit 3D Art | Ron Burgundy and Boba Fett rendered in 3D printed pixels
Kodama | 20syl's new music video
Milky Way | Michael Shainblum shares 3 tips for photographing the Milky Way

Design/Data viz
Maschinenangst | Vera Idelson's costume and set design illustrations for the Italian Futurist play The Anguish of the Machines
The Story of EBoy | Watch the video, it's great
Visualizing MBTA Data | An interactive exploration of Boston's subway system
LazerBlade | The affordable laser cutter and engraver
Can you find Benghazi? | Can you accurately locate Benghazi?

Code
ArnoldC | A programming language based on the one liners of Arnold Schwarzenegger
Web Starter Kit | Boilerplate & tooling for multi-device development from Google

See last week's links

Have a nice weekend!
@dubly and @talyellin

First Published: June 20, 2014: 4:21 PM ET

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Can enough money buy you eternal youth?

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

No need to go that far.

It turns out, the best kind of anti-aging treatment is inside one's own body, and the rich are taking advantage of it, exploring the latest research in new technologies, genome mapping and stem cell treatments.

Among them is Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, a large investor of the Ellison Medical Foundation, which supports research exploring the biology that underlies aging and age-related diseases. And there's billionaire Peter Nygård, who says he wants to live forever (or die trying), and has suggested he's found the keys to immortality in stem cell research.

Some doctors agree that stem cells are a key part of chasing youth.

"If you're a wealthy guy and haven't stored your stem cells, I think you're a total idiot," said Dr. Lionel Bissoon, a New York City physician who sees a number of stressed out, wealthy patients.

Related: It's expensive being rich

They usually come to him with similar problems: "Fatigue, belly fat, erectile dysfunction, tiring very quickly ... all very common with my patients from Wall Street," Bissoon said. The short-term solution to those ailments, he says, is testosterone replacement -- which is relatively affordable at a few hundred dollars a pop -- and IV nutrition.

For the long term he recommends stem cell storage, which works as a sort of rainy day insurance. The cells are extracted, preferably when the patient is on the younger side -- around 30 is said to be a good age -- and can then be used to boost an immune system or help to rebuild damaged organs later.

Dr. Dipnarine Maharaj stores cells at his South Florida Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplant Institute in Boynton Beach, Fla.

"People are looking and finding ways to be able to help them to live longer to spend the money they've earned," he said. "They spend their retirement going doctor to doctor, and if we can find ways to prevent that it would be good." His clinic sees executives under a lot of stress, a fast way to damage any immune system.

He agrees that it's important to store cells before they become irreparably damaged. To collect and store stem cells at his clinic costs $15,000 for the initial extraction, which includes a year of storage. After that, storage costs $50 per month.

Stem cells aren't the only high-end solution.

Earlier this year, Malaysian billionaire Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay reportedly became one of the initial financial backers of a new genomics and cell therapy technology company called Human Longevity, dedicated to tackling age-related diseases and expanding the human life span.

Another company, Singapore-based Scéil, says it's the first to transform human cells into nearly any tissue type in the body.

"This technology has the potential to reverse, or even cure diseases and repair damaged tissues of your body," the company told CNNMoney in an email. Scéil attempts to obtain "a complete backup" of your genome from a skin sample and stores it for future use. The program costs $60,000 plus storage fees of $5,000 for 10 years, or $25,000 for a lifetime.

Related: No 99%ers allowed

"The aging process can be manipulated," said Sonia Arrison, author of 100 Plus: How the Coming Age of Longevity Will Change Everything, From Careers and Relationships to Family and Faith. "We're just at the beginning. There really is going to be a revolution ... it's going to be possible and not crazy at all to have a human life expectancy of 150 years."

She said that it's already possible to use 3D printers to construct organs, and that process will only get faster and more accessible.

But all that advancement won't be available to all -- at least not at first. "Obviously the rich will get it first," she said, comparing 3D printed organ availability to cell phones, which were once cost prohibitive to the masses. Now, six billion of the world's seven billion people have one, according to a U.N. study.

"It's how long is the timeline between the rich getting it and the poor getting it," she said.

Dr. Anthony Atala, who runs the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C., is committed to making sure those outside the 1% get fair access to such technologies, so that "printing" organs on demand becomes something everyone can do.

"Part of the automation is making sure we lower the cost of these technologies," he said.

First Published: June 19, 2014: 9:38 PM ET

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Why I put World of Warcraft on my resume

World of Warcraft helped make Stephen Gillett the chief information officer of Starbucks. He's now COO of Symantec.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

If it isn't clear already, we're talking about the online video game World of Warcraft.

"I put my qualifications on my resume when I apply for jobs," Gillett said. "Here's my guild. Here's my ranking. Here's my biggest online achievement. Some people look at it and say, 'What the hell is this?' And others will be like, 'That's exactly what I'm looking for.'"

It paid off. It helped him land a job at Corbis, and eventually Starbucks. Starbucks (SBUX)CEO Howard Schultz hired Gillett to be the company's chief information officer when the company was in a rut in 2008.

Related story: Amazon unveils 3-D Fire Phone

Gillett said he includes his World of Warcraft achievements on his resume, because it's not just about role-playing games. It shows he exercises leadership in both the physical and virtual realms. Plus, he understands the current societal fascination with earning points and interactive entertainment.

As a guild master, his current duties and responsibilities include organizing dungeon raids and managing the group's virtual bank. And he has a knack for recruiting key talent. Think mages and warlocks.

Those skills transferred to his position as Starbucks' CIO, Gillett says. In that role, he was tasked with saving the company's suffering technology assets. Cash registers were outdated. Computers were scarce. Customer sales were down.

Gillett's answer: Take Starbucks executives on a field trip to the Irvine, Calif., headquarters of World of Warcraft maker Activision Blizzard (ATVI, Tech30). The goal was to expose them to a business model that capitalizes on gaming.

Gillett got approval to start a new business unit, Digital Ventures. The cross between IT and marketing focused solely on improving Starbucks' interaction with customers' devices, like smartphones and laptops.

The result: The company "gamified" the Starbucks experience. Customers can now whip out their smartphones and use a rewards program to rack up points, level up and unlock special abilities -- err, deals. Sound familiar?

The coffee shop chain now considers its "My Starbucks Rewards" program, which boosted sales and customer loyalty, a success.

Related story: Bitcoin Bowl comes to college football

Gillett now plans to take that approach at cybersecurity and antivirus firm Symantec (SYMC, Tech30). He thinks it will start internally -- using games and simulators in the hiring process -- and eventually make its way out to customers. Maybe users will gain points for reporting back software bugs and avoiding bad links.

"I think gamification and the way of thinking about it is applicable to any industry," Gillett said. "Right now we get really good information on malware -- what it does, how it acts. But we have no telemetry on the human part of it -- what people were doing, thinking and believing when they encountered that particular threat."

First Published: June 19, 2014: 9:40 PM ET

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Massachusetts approves $11 minimum wage

Legislators in the Bay State approved an

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Lawmakers in the Bay State gave final approval on Thursday to legislation that will gradually raise the minimum to $11 an hour by 2017, up from $8 today. Governor Deval Patrick received the bill Thursday evening, said Jesse Mermell, a spokeswoman. He is expected to sign it into law soon.

While Massachusetts is taking the lead among states, the city of Seattle, which recently approved an increase to $15 an hour, still will offer the highest minimum anywhere in the country.

President Obama, who supports a nationwide increase to $10.10, applauded the move, saying Massachusetts "joins a growing coalition of states, cities and counties that are doing (their) part to make sure no American working full-time has to support a family in poverty."

The Massachusetts bill also raised the subminimum base wage for tipped workers to $3.75 from $2.63 currently. While advocates for a higher minimum wage applaud Massachusetts move, they say the increase for tipped workers is subpar.

Compared to other states, which have set higher wage bases for tipped workers, "Massachusetts is a real outlier," said Paul Sonn, general counsel for the National Employment Law Project. If a tipped worker doesn't earn the equivalent of the full minimum wage, after counting both the subminimum base plus tips, employers are supposed to make up the difference. But, Sonn said, "there' s a lot of room for evasion."

Related: What's the minimum wage in your state?

Raising the minimum wage has become a bit of a trend at the state level. Michigan lawmakers also recently approved a phased-in increase to $9.25 by 2018.

Vermont approved a bill last month that raises its minimum wage to $10.50 by 2018 as well, as did Maryland lawmakers, who chose to raise that state's minimum to $10.10.

Lawmakers in Minnesota, Delaware, West Virginia, Connecticut, New York, California and Hawaii have also approved minimum wage hikes this year or last.

At the federal level, however, lawmakers have reached stall speed on the minimum wage issue. Senate Democrats have put forth a proposal to raise the federal minimum to $10.10 an hour, up from $7.25 currently. Even if it passes the Senate, it faces an uphill battle in the House.

CNNMoney's American Dream Poll earlier this month found that 71% of people surveyed favor a hike in the federal minimum wage. And of those, 36% said it should be increased to $10.10 an hour, while 16% said it should be even higher.

--CNN's Kevin Conlon contributed to this report

First Published: June 19, 2014: 10:38 PM ET

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T-Mobile: Stream all the music you want

T-Mobile CEO John Legere announced a new program called Music Freedom on Wednesday.

SEATTLE (CNNMoney)

The feisty wireless carrier announced a new program Wednesday that will let users stream music on certain apps without it counting toward monthly network data caps.

T-Mobile is calling the program Music Freedom, and it will initially include Spotify, Pandora, Rhapsody, iTunes Radio, iHeartRadio, Slacker, Samsung Milk and Beatport.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere said at an event in Seattle that 113 million U.S. mobile users now stream music, up from 19 million in 2009. But at present, he added, many users limit their mobile streaming for fear of extra charges when they exceed their monthly data caps.

"It's a pain point, it's a big one, it's a growing one, and we decided not just to step in slightly, but to completely eliminate it forever," Legere said.

T-Mobile (TMUS) has already gotten rid of extra charges for customers who exceed their high-speed data limits, though service does slow down once those limits are passed. With Music Freedom, customers who have exceeded their data limits will still get free high-speed music streaming.

While customers will likely be enthused, T-Mobile's Music Freedom program could draw concern from advocates of net neutrality, the principle that all data online be treated equally by Internet service providers.

The worry is that when certain services get privileged access to customers, established companies could gain a permanent advantage over new competitors.

AT&T announced a similar program earlier this year dubbed "sponsored data," under which content from paying businesses doesn't count against monthly data caps. The Federal Communications Commission is currently working to finalize new net neutrality regulations, though those won't apply to the mobile Internet.

Legere dismissed concerns about Music Freedom's net neutrality implications, saying new services could be quickly included in the program.

T-Mobile chief marketing officer Michael Sievert said the company isn't getting paid by the services participating in Music Freedom.

Related: T-Mobile CEO blasts AT&T and Amazon on Twitter

T-Mobile also announced a new streaming service Wednesday in partnership with Rhapsody called "unRadio" that will cost $5 a month, cheaper than Spotify's mobile service. T-Mobile is also allowing customers to "test drive" its network with an iPhone 5s for seven days free of charge.

The announcements are T-Mobile's latest moves in an ongoing marketing campaign it's dubbed the "un-carrier" strategy.

The goal is to upend the mobile industry, and T-Mobile has been doing that by eliminating contracts, dropping international roaming charges and offering to pay competitors' customers $650 to switch over.

So far, T-Mobile's "uncarrier" push has paid off in the form of increased market share. The company said last month that it added a record 2.4 million subscribers in the first three months of this year, its fourth consecutive quarter with more than 1 million total net additions.

Related: Sprint wants T-Mobile, but don't count on it

But these efforts have come at the cost of narrowing margins and widening losses. T-Mobile finished the first quarter with a loss of $151 million, up from $20 million in the last three months of 2013.

Wednesday's event came a day after the voluble Legere bashed Amazon for lining up AT&T (T, Tech30) as the exclusive service provider for the new Fire Phone.

"The odd thing is, big + bigger = fewer options for customers," Legere tweeted.

But T-Mobile is itself in the process of finalizing a $32 billion merger with Sprint (S), according to reports earlier this month.

If approved by regulators, the deal would unite the nation's third- and fourth-largest carriers into a combined entity with subscriber numbers comparable to industry leaders AT&T and Verizon (VZ, Tech30).

Legere declined to comment on the rumored Sprint merger, though he said T-Mobile's "un-carrier" effort will continue regardless of what happens.

"I believe the competition in the U.S. wireless industry is much better because T-Mobile exists," he said. "In anything we do, it will be about the un-carrier revolution and the T-Mobile company and brand getting bigger and stronger and changing the industry."

First Published: June 18, 2014: 10:57 PM ET

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