Musk says Tesla is at work on autopilot feature

Elon Musk holding court.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted Wednesday that there is an "intense effort underway at Tesla to develop a practical autopilot system for Model S," the company's plug-in luxury sedan. He invited engineers interested in working on autonomous driving to apply for positions at Tesla that would report directly to him.

Tesla (TSLA) did not respond to a request for a follow-up comment.

Tesla doesn't appear to be targeting completely automated driving just yet. Musk told the Financial Times this week that he thought fully autonomous cars were "a bridge too far." He said he thought Tesla could get its vehicles to 90% of miles driven autonomously within three years.

"It's incredibly hard to get that last few percent," he was quoted as saying.

Related: GM wants to build a Tesla-beater

In an additional tweet Wednesday, Musk said Tesla's approach involved the use of radar and tiny flush-mounted cameras.

A number of cars now on the market, including the Mercedes-Benz S-class, already have features like active cruise control, which automatically keeps an even distance between cars in traffic, along with automatic braking and parking. The new Q50 from Nissan's Infiniti luxury division has some of these features as well.

Nissan said last month that it planned to sell self-driving cars by 2020.

General Motors (GM, Fortune 500), Toyota and Audi are also working on self-driving cars, and Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) has been experimenting with the technology for years as well.

First Published: September 18, 2013: 7:16 PM ET

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Asian markets gain following Fed decision

HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

Japan's Nikkei opened 1.2% higher and the Australia ASX All Ordinaries index added 1.1%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng increased 1.7%. At the same time, the U.S. dollar was weaker against most major currencies.

Major exchanges in South Korea, Taiwan and Shanghai are closed Thursday for a holiday.

The Fed's decision could have the biggest impact in emerging markets, where investors had been pulling their money and returning to the U.S. in search of higher yields.

Indonesia's stock market surged more than 4%, while the principal Philippines exchange jumped 3% and futures indicated a strong start for Indian stocks.

Markets were responding to the Fed's decision to continue its bond-buying program at full blast for at least another month, as the economic outlook remains too tepid to satisfy the central bank.

The central bank said Wednesday that it had decided to "await more evidence that progress will be sustained before adjusting the pace of its purchases."

Frederic Neumann, an economist at HSBC, said that "markets are thrilled" with the Fed decision. The delay, he said, will provide a "much needed reprieve for battered emerging markets investors."

Since last September, the Fed has been buying $85 billion in bonds each month in an effort to lower long-term interest rates, particularly on mortgages. The Fed plans to keep that strategy in place for the time being, and will re-evaluate the policy at its next meeting at the end of October.

The program, which is the third round of a controversial policy known as quantitative easing, still doesn't have a scheduled end date. But Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has previously said he expects the Fed to begin tapering off the purchases later this year, and to end them completely by the middle of 2014.

Related: Dear Mr. President: Name Yellen now!

Investors largely assumed that the taper would begin this month, and have sent bond yields and mortgage rates soaring. But Wednesday's announcement caused stocks to rally as bond yields fell.

In the U.S., the S&P 500 immediately jumped to a new record high, and the Dow quickly followed. The Nasdaq also moved up after the Fed's surprise announcement. All three indexes closed up more than 1%.

First Published: September 18, 2013: 9:42 PM ET

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Nissan plans to open factory in Myanmar

Nissan plans to begin building autos in Myanmar, where roads are littered with aging vehicles.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

The Japanese automaker is the latest in a series of major international companies to enter Myanmar, which had for decades been among the world's most cloistered states.

Coca-Cola (CCE, Fortune 500) returned to Myanmar in 2012 after a more than 60-year absence. General Electric (GE, Fortune 500) and Caterpillar (CAT, Fortune 500) are also making expansion bids as the country emerges from decades of military rule and harsh international sanctions.

The new factory will build cars to be sold in the domestic market, a company spokesman said. Nissan is expected to announce more details about its plans on Friday during a visit to the country by CEO Carlos Ghosn.

In Myanmar, also known as Burma, Nissan (NSANF) is entering an auto market in which new cars are still rare. The country's roads are dominated by aging sedans and wheezing, decades-old buses imported from Japan. About 40% of what's on the road is more than 20 years old.

It's also a quirky market. For example, right-hand drive cars are driven on the right side of the street. Motorbikes are banned in the former capital city of Yangon, but ubiquitous outside of it.

Ford (F, Fortune 500) is already in Myanmar, opening a showroom in April to sell new vehicles. Japan-based Suzuki is also operating in the country, and the much smaller automaker is reportedly producing a limited number of trucks.

Related story: Nissan resurrects Datsun in India

The scars left by decades of oppressive rule and international isolation are still visible in Myanmar. As recently as 2007, the former military junta engaged in a brutal crackdown on the Saffron Revolution, a movement led by the country's Buddhist monks.

In March, clashes between Buddhists and the Muslim minority killed dozens of people in central Myanmar.

Related story: Tales from the last business frontier

The sudden boiling over of tensions followed sectarian troubles that killed scores of people in the west of the country last year.

At the same time, the government has released scores of political prisoners in recent years and liberalized sectors of the economy. Western governments have responded by easing sanctions put in place to pressure the military regime.

First Published: September 19, 2013: 12:31 AM ET

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Hedge fund head: Microsoft will beat Apple

Hedge fund manager Jeff Ubben is thought to be a driving force behind the recent shakeups at Microsoft. And he says the company is better than Apple.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Jeffrey Ubben of ValueAct made the comments at the Value Investing Conference in New York. Ubben's firm announced a $2 billion position in Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) earlier this year and is thought to be a driving force behind CEO Steve Ballmer's decision to retire as well as Microsoft's new stock buyback and dividend increase announced earlier Tuesday.

Ubben said he likes that Microsoft charges a lot of money, makes a lot of money, and has enterprise contracts that will last for years. He noted that Microsoft is "in the plumbing" of big corporations.

Related: Is Stephen Elop the next Microsoft CEO?

By contrast, companies like Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) and Samsung (SSNLF), which cater more to average consumers, have to keep churning out new products every few months even if changes are incremental.

"They have to run faster every year to keep up," he said.

Ubben conceded that Apple, which trades at 11 times 2014 earnings estimates, is fairly valued. But Microsoft, which trades at nearly 13 times 2014 profit forecasts, is still a better bargain, according to Ubben.

With activists circling both Microsoft and Apple, Microsoft made the first move to whittle down its cash hoard. The company announced a 22% increase in its dividend and a new $40 billion share repurchase Tuesday.

Carl Icahn, who recently invested in Apple, has been pushing its CEO Tim Cook to buy back more stock as well.

Related: The Microsoft CEO candidate no one is discussing

Ubben refused to discuss his stake in Microsoft in greater detail, saying his hedge fund and Microsoft "are in the middle of stuff."

ValueAct should play in even more active role in deciding what's next for the company. Microsoft offered a board seat to ValueAct president Mason Morfit in late August.

Microsoft's board has a busy few months ahead of it. The company needs to find a CEO to replace Ballmer and also figure out how to integrate the $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia's (NOK) mobile device business.

First Published: September 17, 2013: 4:45 PM ET

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U.S. to seize Manhattan skyscraper secretly owned by Iran

The website for the building at 650 Fifth Avenue advertises for prospective tenants.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The 36-story tower is located on Fifth Avenue in the heart of New York City, adjacent to Rockefeller Center, and is home to a number of corporate tenants. Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, said Tuesday that the seizure and sale of the property would be the government's largest-ever terrorism-related forfeiture.

A federal judge authorized the seizure in a ruling this week, finding that the building's owners had violated federal money laundering laws and sanctions against Iran.

The building was constructed in the 1970's by a non-profit organization operated by the Shah of Iran, who was overthrown at the end of that decade. Today, the property is 60% owned by that organization, now called the Alavi Foundation, and 40% owned by Assa Corporation.

Related: Vatican moves to clean up finances

Prosecutors say Assa Corporation is a front for a bank owned and controlled by the Iranian government, which also is alleged to control the Alavi Foundation. The co-owners have allegedly been transferring rental income back to Tehran.

Bharara said the government would use proceeds from the pending seizure to compensate the families of victims of Iranian-sponsored terrorism.

The Alavi Foundation said it planned to appeal the ruling.

"We have reviewed the decision and disagree with the court's analysis of the facts and the law," the organization said in a statement. "The Foundation was ready for trial and is disappointed that it did not have the opportunity to rebut the Government evidence before a jury."

A lawyer for Assa Corporation did not respond to requests for comment.

Prosecutors originally filed a complaint in 2008 seeking forfeiture only of Assa Corporation's stake, though the complaint was later revised to include the Alavi Foundation's assets as well.

The foundation's former president pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in 2009 for destroying documents being sought under a grand jury subpoena concerning Alavi's ties to Bank Melli, the Iranian state-owned bank. The Fifth Avenue building has been operating in recent years under a court-appointed monitor.

First Published: September 17, 2013: 3:48 PM ET

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Home prices spike 15% in key Chinese cities

Real state prices are rising in China, leading some analysts to warn of a bubble.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

Housing prices rose in 66 of 70 Chinese cities in August when compared to the previous month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Compared to last year, prices were higher in all but two of the 70 cities tracked by the government.

Prices in Shanghai and Beijing registered some of the largest increases, rising 15% over the previous year. In the southern manufacturing hub of Shenzhen, prices jumped 18%.

On average, new home prices across the cities increased 7.5% over the previous year -- the quickest pace since December 2010.

With limited investment options in China, real estate has traditionally been a popular choice for consumers looking to expand their portfolios. That, in turn, has pushed China's urban housing prices up for much of the last decade, sparking a cycle of government reaction to curb the market.

Related story: China announces plan to curb pollution

Fearing the development of a real estate bubble, China sought to stem rising property prices earlier this year.

Authorities in Shanghai told banks to stop issuing loans to individuals attempting the purchase of a third home, and Beijing announced that unmarried residents could only purchase one home.

While the measures had some impact, policymakers were forced to consider the broader effect of such policies as China's economy showed signs of slower economic growth.

"The government seems to have tolerated rising property prices and has not rolled out new tightening measures, which ... may partly reflect the challenge it faces in achieving a 7.5% growth target," said Zhiwei Zhang, an economist at Nomura.

But China's economy is now showing signs of more stable growth and looks set to achieve its GDP targets for the year, experts say, indicating that larger-scale property market restrictions may be on the way.

"We believe the government's priority may shift toward containing financial risks and property prices," Zhang said.

Citing rampant speculation and poor planning, some China analysts are worried about the development -- and possible deflation -- of a housing bubble.

Yet other analysts insist that fears of a bubble are overstated. Hundreds of millions of Chinese are expected to move from rural areas to cities over the next decade, they say, and demand is likely to remain strong.

First Published: September 18, 2013: 12:49 AM ET

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The rich are richer than ever

The combined wealth of the 400 richest Americans topped $2 trillion, according to Forbes magazine. Microsoft founder Bill Gates and famed investor Warren Buffett were first and second richest.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The combined net worth of the people on the list hit a record $2.02 trillion, up 19% from last year's total of $1.7 trillion, thanks in large part to a strong stock market and a real estate recovery. The average net worth of members of this year's list is $5 billion, up $800 million from a year ago.

Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) founder Bill Gates took the top spot as the richest American for the 20th year in a row, with a personal fortune of $72 billion. Berkshire Hathaway's (BRKA, Fortune 500) Warren Buffet came in second with a net worth of $58.5 billion. Buffet also posted the biggest dollar gains on this year's list, with his wealth climbing a staggering $12.5 billion.

Mark Zuckerberg also had a good year, thanks to the rebound in Facebook's (FB) share price. After dropping to number 36 last year, he returned to the top 20 with a personal fortune of $19 billion. His gain of $9.6 billion made him this year's second-biggest gainer.

Related: China's new richest man worth $22 billion

It took a lot more money to make this year's list, with the minimum net worth set at $1.3 billion. That meant that 28 people from last year dropped off the list, including T. Boone Pickens, whose wealth dipped to $950 million.

Forty-eight women also made the 2013 list, including Hyatt Hotels heiress Jennifer Pritzker, who was formerly known as James Pritzker, and is the first transgender billionaire, according to Forbes.

Meet the craft beer billionaire

Most of this year's billionaires had a good year: 314 members saw their fortunes climb this year, while only 30 members saw their net worth decline.

First Published: September 16, 2013: 2:20 PM ET

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