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All Bets Are On for Britain's Next Royal Baby Name

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Britain Prince George
AP Pool/John StillwellYoung Prince George will soon have to get used to sharing mummy and daddy's attention. But what will Prince William and Kate Duchess of Cambridge name their second-born?
Prince William and Kate Middleton, aka the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, are expecting another baby, so the odds are good that a lot of people will lay bets on what name that child is going get about seven months from now.

British bookmakers have already cranked up their odds-making machines, taking bets on baby names and even whether Kate will end up with twins, triplets, or more. The odds are 20-1 on her having twins, according to Ladbrokes.

In early odds-making, Ladbrokes has James as the top pick for the new baby's name, at 6-1. That's followed by Arthur, Elizabeth and Victoria, all tied at 8-1. Meanwhile, the bookmaker PaddyPower has Elizabeth, Victoria, Mary and Philip atop its leader board, all tied at 10-1.

For those who want to take a big risk for a potentially big reward, among the names with the longest odds are Caledonia and Macbeth at 500-1, according to PaddyPower. Other regal names in play are Arthur (12-1), Charles (12-1), Henry (14-1) and William (14-1) for a boy; and Charlotte (12-1), Alexandra (12-1), Alice (14-1) and Catherine/Kate (14-1) for a girl.

William and Kate don't have to do much to get worldwide attention, and when Kate's first pregnancy was announced the betting on names ramped up right away. And that time, the oddsmakers were spot on -- the betting lines pegged George as a 5-2 favorite, and that's the name the baby prince received. So we should expect the royals won't stray far from the predictable this time around either -- which is why Ringo is such a big longshot at 500-1.

 

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Apple Reveal: Bigger iPhones - and Finally, Its Smartwatch

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Apple Inc. Reveals Bigger-Screen iPhones Alongside Wearables
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesApple enthusiasts await the start of a product announcement at Flint Center in Cupertino, Calif., on Tuesday.
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE and ANICK JESDANUN

CUPERTINO, Calif. -- For the first time in years, Apple's iPhones weren't the star of the show. Apple unveiled a smartwatch on Tuesday, a wearable device that marks the company's first major entry in a new product category since the iPad's debut in 2010.

The move is significant because of recent questions about whether Apple (AAPL) still has a knack for innovating following the 2011 death of co-founder Steve Jobs.

The device's introduction upstaged the company's two new, larger iPhones, which won't just have bigger screens; they'll have a new, horizontal viewing mode to take advantage of the larger display.

The iPhone 6 will have a screen measuring 4.7 inches, while the iPhone 6 Plus will be 5.5 inches. In both cases, app developers will be able to design apps that can be viewed differently when the phone is held horizontally.

Apple also introduced a system for using the phone to make credit card payments at retail stores.

Apple is turning to the past as it lays out its future. The company is holding the event at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts, the same venue where Jobs unveiled the industry-shifting Mac computer 25 years ago. The Cupertino, California, venue is near Apple's headquarters.

As for the iPhones, which still represent the main source of Apple's profits, larger models should help the company compete with Android devices.

Here's what's unfolding at Tuesday's event:

Larger iPhones

Now, Apple is increasing that. The iPhone 6 will have a 4.7-inch screen, while the iPhone 6 Plus will be 5.5 inches. The screen resolution on the Plus version will be sharper than previous iPhones, at 401 pixels per inch rather than 326.

With the larger screen comes a new horizontal view of the home screen. Usually, icons are stacked vertically, even when the phone is turned horizontally. App developers will also have new tools to rearrange their content to take advantage of that larger screen.

The new phones aren't as big as Samsung's latest flagship phones -- 5.1 inches for the Galaxy S5 and 5.7 inches for the Note 4 -- but they will be large enough to neutralize a key advantage Samsung and other Android manufacturers have had.

Notably, Samsung's Note phone isn't getting bigger this year. Last year's Note 3 was 5.7 inches. Instead, Samsung is emphasizing other hardware features, such as a sharper screen. It's also releasing a model with a curved edge to display weather, time and other information on the side of the phone.

Apple says the new phones will be faster and have better battery life than previous versions. The phones will also have a new sensor, the barometer, to estimate how much you've climbed stairs, not just how far you've walked or run.

Of course, some people still use their phones to actually make calls. When there's poor cellular reception, people will be able to make regular calls over Wi-Fi. The handoff between the two networks will be seamless. In the U.S., this feature will initially be available through T-Mobile.

The resolution on the camera is staying at 8 megapixels, while rival Android and Windows phones have been boosting that. The S5, for instance, is at 16 megapixels. However, the megapixel count is only one factor in what makes a good photo. Apple says it is putting in new sensors for better shots.

Apple is also improving a slow-motion video feature by allowing even slower shots. The camera will be able to take 240 frames per second, double what's in last year's iPhone 5s. Normally, video is at 60 frames per second.

The new phones will start shipping in the U.S. on Sept. 19, with advance orders to begin this Friday. Starting prices will be comparable to those in the past - $199 with a two-year contract for the iPhone 6 with 16 gigabytes of storage.

However, the step-up models will have double the memory than before - $299 for 64 gigabytes and $399 for 128 gigabytes. The iPhone 6 Plus phones will cost $100 more at each configuration.

Mobile Payments

Apple is calling its new payment system Apple Pay.

You'll be able to use your phone's camera to capture a photo of your card. Apple will verify it behind the scenes and add it to your phone's Passbook account so you can make payments at a retailer. Apple announced several merchants that will accept this system, including Macy's, Whole Foods, Walgreens and Disney stores - and of course, Apple stores.

Many companies have tried to push mobile payment services, but none has caught on widely. Cook says that's because the business models have been centered around companies' self-interest instead of the user experience. The latter, Cook says, is "exactly what Apple does best."

For security, the card number is stored only on the device. Each time you pay, a one-time card number is created to make the transaction.

A Smartwatch

The audience erupted with cheers as Cook proclaimed that he had, "one more thing." It was how Jobs used to close his keynote addresses.

That one more thing was Apple's upcoming smartwatch. It's called the Apple Watch, rather than the iWatch that many people had been speculating.

Consumer electronics companies have yet to demonstrate a compelling need for smartwatches, while bracelets have largely been niche products aimed at tracking fitness activities. Apple's device looks to change that.

Consider the company's track record: Music players, smartphones and tablet computers existed long before Apple made its own versions. But they weren't mainstream or popular until the iPod, iPhone and iPad came along. Under Jobs, Apple made those products easy and fun to use.

Cook says Apple had to invent a new interface for the watch because simply shrinking a phone wouldn't work.

Much of the interaction would be through the dial on the watch, which Apple calls the digital crown. You use that to zoom in and out of a map, for instance, so you're not blocking the screen, which would have occurred if you were pinching in and out to zoom.

Apple also worked with app developers to create new functionality. You'll be able to unlock room doors at Starwood hotels or remind yourself where you parked your car with a BMW app.

The new watch will come in a variety of styles and straps, with a choice of two sizes. Watches from competing vendors have been criticized for being too big for smaller arms.

The watch will require one of the new iPhones or an iPhone 5, 5s or 5c. It will be available early next year at a starting price of $349.

New Software

Though much of the attention has been on new gadgets, the software powering those gadgets is getting its annual refresh. Apple considers iOS 8 to be its biggest update since the introduction of the app store in 2008.

Existing iPhone and iPad users will be eligible for the free upgrade, too. Apple takes pride in pushing existing customers to the latest software, allowing app developers to incorporate new features without worrying about abandoning existing users. With Android, many recent phones can't be upgraded right away because of restrictions placed by manufacturers and wireless carriers.

Among other things, iOS 8 will let devices work better in sync. For instance, it'll be possible to start a message on an iPhone and finish it on an iPad. With an upcoming Mac upgrade called Yosemite, it'll be possible to continue working on that same message on a Mac computer as well.

These handoff features will extend to the new Apple Watch, too.

The new software will be available to existing users on Sept. 17.

Closing out the event, U2 performed on stage before Cook made its new album, "Songs of Innocence" available for free to all customers of Apple's iTunes.

Apple's stock was up 1 percent to $99.36 in Tuesday's late afternoon trading.

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Hands-on

 

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Disney Finds More Ways to Turn 'Frozen' into Cool Cash

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Frozen Frenzy
Disney/AP
"Frozen" is the gift that keeps on giving at Disney (DIS). The family entertainment giant continues to find new ways to milk last year's theatrical blockbuster, which has already spawned theme park attractions, a spike in merchandising sales and the theme for the current Disney on Ice tour.

Last week Disney announced that it is working on a new animated short, "Frozen Fever," that will hit theaters next year in support of one of the media juggernaut's releases. Disney's ABC also began airing new promo spots for the fourth season of "Once Upon a Time" that will make its season debut later this month with Anna, Elsa and other characters from the movie in live-action form.

Disney also announced last month that the "Frozen Summer Fun" attractions and festivities that it's been hosting at Florida's Disney's Hollywood Studios will continue through Sept. 28, extending the themed parades, singalong shows, fireworks, and snow play areas by four weeks. When you have a hit on your hands, there's little reason to let "summer" fun be constrained by the actual season.

No Reason to Let It Go

The sleeper hit has been a gold mine for Disney, with nearly $1.3 billion in worldwide ticket sales, making it the fifth-highest-grossing movie of all time. We recently covered other publicly traded companies cashing in on the "Frozen" phenomenon, but clearly there's no one benefiting more from the success of the franchise than Disney itself.

This month Disney Store locations are starting to roll out Halloween costumes. Anna and Elsa dresses will be a focal point, and anyone who has visited a Disney theme park this summer knows that there's no shortage of young girls already decked out as one of the film's two sisters.

The engaging story -- loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen" -- has captivated audiences with its catchy songs and humor. It's also become a rallying cry for the changing times in Disney storytelling. Unlike earlier Disney classics in which a princess would be rescued by a fair prince, this time the princess sisters call the shots.

Keeping the Thawing Process Away

Disney's rolling. The stock hit a new high earlier this month -- up nearly 30 percent since "Frozen" made its theatrical debut. Obviously, "Frozen" isn't the only reason for the stock's ascent. Disney is a company with many moving parts, and other factors -- including success at ESPN and this summer's smash movie hit "Guardians of the Galaxy" -- have played starring roles. However, "Frozen" is giving investors peace of mind in knowing that Disney still is the master of the animated craft that put it on the map in the first place.

There is always the risk that Disney will overexpose "Frozen" the way it did with "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" a few years ago. Disney had a hit game show on its hands, and ran it into the ground by eventually overtaking ABC with as many as four nights a week of the show on prime-time slots. Consumers got fed up. Already there's a fair amount of eye-rolling when "Let It Go" is played.

However, Disney spent billions on Pixar, Marvel and more recently Lucasfilm, because it knows how to maximize the moneymaking potential of popular characters and franchises. It knows what it's doing, and it's not done squeezing "Frozen" just yet.

Motley Fool contributor Rick Munarriz owns shares of Walt Disney. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Walt Disney. Try any Motley Fool newsletter service free for 30 days. Find new ways to earn high yields with our free report on dividend stocks.

 

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A Lasting Mark: Space Pens and the Workers Who Make Them

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Space Pens and the Men Who Make Them

Paul Fisher was something of a mad scientist.

Longtime employees of his Fisher Space Pen Co. tell stories of a bathrobe-clad "Mr. Fisher" -- people at the Boulder City, Nevada, facility still refer to him that way -- rushing downstairs at midnight from his apartment on the factory's second floor to discuss some idea for a new ink mixture or manufacturing proposal.

Fisher, who died in 2006, got into the pen business in 1948. The result of one of his first late-night ideas was the iconic bullet pen, so named for its sleek design, rounded on both ends. Fisher's oldest son, Cary, now a co-owner of the company, says his father was always a tinkerer.

During World War II, a ball bearing factory hired Paul Fisher away from his accounting firm job. "The Air Force had all of these airplanes ready to fly and no propeller retention bearings," Cary Fisher says, and the armed force was threatening to withdraw contracts. The Air Force concluded that the company's managers were too old and demanded a younger man be put in charge.

So Paul Fisher found himself rubbing shoulders with the movers and shakers of military procurement services in the Chicago area.

After the war, Fisher went to work for Milton Reynolds, who manufactured the first ballpoint pen. "When Reynolds decided to bankrupt the company and head to Mexico," Cary Fisher says, "my dad started Fisher Pen Company." The year was 1948.

The elder Fisher had been tinkering with a pressurized ballpoint pen for years when NASA came calling in the early 1960s. In 1965, he submitted a pen to NASA that would bring the company its greatest notoriety, and a new name.

Chapter 1: The Write Stuff

In the early days of the U.S. space program, astronauts used expensive mechanical pencils. But the potential hazards of broken pencil lead floating around astronauts' faces and sensitive equipment made them a dubious choice.

Credit: Kelly SchwarzeFisher Space Pen Co. co-owner Cary Fisher
The atmosphere in the capsules of early Apollo missions was pure oxygen. But after a fire claimed the lives of three Apollo 1 astronauts in 1967, NASA needed instruments that wouldn't burn in a 100 percent-oxygen environment.

After inquiries with big companies such as Paper Mate and Bic brought no solutions, a Dallas pen wholesaler, who NASA approached first, told the agency about a guy named Paul Fisher: "He does more research than anybody else."

"So NASA called him," Cary Fisher says, "and my dad replies, 'Where the heck you guys been? I've been trying to get a hold of you for a year!'"

Paul Fisher had been working for years on developing a pen that didn't leak and could write upside down. He believed that devising a pressurized device would solve all his problems.

"He went through so many experiments," Cary Fisher says. "But none of them worked."

A chemist associate of Paul Fisher's came up with a synthetic rubber that wouldn't break down and would prevent leaks. After a couple years of tests and alterations Fisher had a winner -- a pressurized pen that didn't leak and didn't rely on gravity to force the ink to the ball.

After rigorous tests, NASA approved his all-metal space pen, called the AG-7. In 1968, it flew on the first manned Apollo space mission and launched Fisher Space Pen. A couple years later, even Russians cosmonauts were using Fisher pens.

But the times were changing.

The biggest pen company in the United States had once been Lindy, with Fisher coming in at No. 2. But then Bic, a French company that had been successful in Europe, spent a lot of money breaking into the U.S. market.

Fisher Space Pen faced a choice: abandon making traditional pens and focus their attentions to manufacturing their groundbreaking anti-gravity instruments.

"If we were still a gravity-fed stick pen company," Cary Fisher says, "we probably wouldn't be in business today."

Chapter 2: Embracing a Legacy

Neatly dressed and fit, Cary Fisher is an almost preternaturally young-looking 65.

Since his father's death in 2006, he has been president and co-owner of Fisher Space Pen. His well-appointed office is adorned with signed photographs of astronauts. It is the only modern-looking space in the company's facility.

Credit: Kelly Schwarze
In the early 1990s, Paul Fisher attracted by Nevada's tax laws and pro-industry environment, combined his Chicago-area and Van Nuys, California, operations in Boulder City, a quiet, non-gambling community about 20 miles from Las Vegas.

"My dad was a very charismatic guy," Cary Fisher says. "He loved being the center of attention. I was never that way. I was always the good soldier -- in the background."

As a kid Cary Fisher spent lots of time around the plant, where he became familiar with barrels and ink, balls and points. "I kinda always figured I'd work for my dad," he says.

The younger Fisher studied economics and business at Occidental College in Southern California. After he received his only college F -- in French, his first stab at a foreign language -- his father told him, "I never learned anything in college that I couldn't learn on the job." Cary read between the lines: The source of his tuition payments was drying up. So father and son made a deal: "If I worked for him for a year, he'd pay for college."

"I spent some time in the ink department, learned about refills. I went on some trips with him. So it was a good education."

After finishing his business degree at California State University, Northridge, Cary Fisher went to work for the accounting firm Arthur Andersen. After a couple other jobs, Cary returned to his father's company in 1979, drawn back by family ties.

"When I was younger, I was embarrassed about this factory," Cary Fisher says of his early days at the company. He had seen other U.S. and European facilities, with almost fully automated assembly lines.

But since then, the younger Fisher has embraced the company's old school sensibilities. Like his father, he's upholding the tradition of handcrafted quality as opposed to mass produced automation.

Fisher understands he's no longer competing with the likes of Bic and other big manufacturers. "The stick pen business is a consumer-industrial product. But the space pen is a gift item."

Chapter 3: In it for the Long Haul

Boulder City, a sleepy desert town of about 15,000, exists because of Hoover Dam -- called Boulder Dam until 1947. The Bureau of Reclamation built the town in 1931 to house the 5,000 workers who constructed the Colorado River project. The night sky in Boulder City is dominated by the neon glow of nearby Las Vegas, but it is one of two Nevada towns that prohibit gambling.

Fisher Space Pen is housed in unassuming 30,000-square-foot metal warehouse, just inside the city limits, about three blocks from the main drag.

The mood in the factory is light. Most people seem jovial. They sit around long tables operating small machines or sifting through small boxes of pen parts.

Most of the work on the assembly line is still done by hand. Workers inspect pen barrels and refills, and points and engraving. Some employees use machines that were built in the 1960s. In the laser-printing department, two women operate a computer with a four-inch screen that looks like it came from the set of the original Star Trek television series.

Everywhere there are boxes of pens and pen parts. Many boxes labeled with the names of customers: the Smithsonian, California Highway Patrol, Montana National Guard. NASA, of course. Staples (SPLS) is a key vendor for Fisher.

Credit: Kelly Schwarze
Fisher Space Pen makes practically every part of its pens -- barrels, ballpoints, brass fittings -- and especially the ink. Visitors aren't allowed in the ink room. Its secret formulas are guarded like a craft beer brewmaster's recipes. In another area of the factory the ink is put into the pressurized refill tubes. A machine fuses each end and attaches the ballpoint.

Behind the shipping department, tucked inside a little office that shares space with the supply closet, sits Dock Wong.

If Cary Fisher is the face of the company, Dock, the other co-owner, is its heart and soul.

Dock was an 18-year-old college freshman on Chicago's South Side when a friend who worked for Fisher Pen convinced him to get out of the house and work for the company.

"My friend said, 'Hey, they need someone who's good with figures, who can help,'" Dock recalls. "So I agreed to come in for an interview."

He decided to give it a go during a semester off from college. Little tasks led to more tasks and responsibility. When the time came to return to college, Dock thought, "Well, maybe I'll stay awhile longer."

"I started doing inventory control and other things. I just stayed. Now I've been here 57 years," he says.

Dock guards the company's reputation for quality. The rare complaints about Fisher products are answered with free repairs and replacement pens. Each individual department within the facility has a quality-control procedure.

Dock is just one of many employees who've made Fisher Space Pen their life's work.

Pearl Derbidge, who works on the assembly line, has been with Fisher for almost 21 years. Her husband, prior to his death last year, played Santa at company Christmas parties. "There are a lot of family-oriented people who work here," she says. "We have a family of four; there are mothers and sons, sisters, husbands, wives and daughters. There's a lot of loyalty here."

Danny Marshall has been with Fisher since he became friends with Paul Fisher's son Scott in the early 1980s.

"I was out riding my motorcycle with Scott," Marshall says. "We became friends. And soon I started knocking down palettes. I just learned from there."

"I'm the point plant manager, I guess you could say," Marshall says. Fisher Space Pen isn't big on titles. He operates a Swiss-made, multi-drilling machine built in the '60s that makes the ballpoints. Marshall's department produces about 120,000 points per month depending on inventory of fine, medium and bold points. It's exacting work.

"Mr. Fisher instilled in us an attention to detail and accuracy and dependability," Marshall says. "It's not for everyone, factory work, assembling pens all day every day, or making points."

Every day is different here ... We always need to be ready to jump on whatever project comes up.

Cesar Reveles got his start in the pen business when he was just 14-years-old working a summer job. Today, Reveles is one of the plant managers. If he's not overseeing the assembly line, he's working on it, putting pens together.

"Every day is different here," he says. "We always need to be ready to jump on whatever project comes up. I just came here for a regular job. Now I'm involved in everything -- designing pens, packaging, what's happening the next few years -- and I work on the line."

"I've been here 27 years," he continues. "It's definitely a community. If you compare us to Cross or Mont Blanc, we're really a small company, but we're all focused on one thing: making a great product. Upholding the whole notion of 'Made in America,' I think, still counts."

For more Made in the U.S.A. stories, go to This Built America.

 

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EIA Lowers 2014 and 2015 Global Oil Demand Outlook

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Oil spillThe U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released its International Energy Outlook for 2014, and the outlook is one of lower price expectations in oil in 2014 and 2015. While the report contains higher expected output in the United States, it also is lowering global oil demand forecasts.

The EIA's new 2014 outlook notes that potential new supplies of oil from tight and shale resources have raised optimism for significant new sources of global liquids. It also noted that the potential for demand growth for liquid fuels is focused on the emerging economies of China, India and the Middle East. Here is the kicker: the EIA suggests that liquid fuels demand in the United States, Europe and other regions with well-established oil markets seems to have peaked.

After a long period of sustained high oil prices, improvements in conservation and efficiency have reduced or slowed the growth of liquid fuels use among mature oil consumers. The changes in the overall market environment have led the EIA to focus on reassessing long-term trends in liquid fuels markets for this latest outlook.

READ ALSO: Merrill Lynch Changes Ratings on Key Oil Giants

The new take is that higher sustained world oil prices, advances in extraction technologies and growing supplies from the United States have brought new resources to market. And Mexico is hoped for as a new source of production, with Brazil, Argentina and elsewhere acting as potential sources.

Some of the assumptions for demand trends are as follows:

  • EIA expects the WTI-Brent discount to continue to decrease over time and will continue to report WTI prices. The U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security allowing exports of some lease condensates after processing also has the potential to further reduce the spread.
  • U.S. oil is projected to average $98.28 per barrel in 2014 and $94.67 per barrel in 2015 (versus $100.45 and $96.08 previous, respectively).
  • Brent is expected to average $106 in 2014 and $103 in 2015, down from $108.11 and $105 (respectively).

U.S. production hit 8.6 million barrels a day in August. This was the highest since July of 1986. EIA forecasts for U.S. production now as follows:

  • 8.53 million barrels per day in 2014, up from 8.46 million prior forecast
  • 9.53 million barrels per day in 2015; up from 9.28 million prior forecast
  • U.S. now expected to be responsible for nine out of every 10 new barrels of global production

The international consumption estimate is being cut:

  • Down to 91.55 million barrels per day in 2014, versus 91.56 million prior
  • Down to 92.89 million barrels per day in 2015, versus 92.96 million prior
  • OPEC expected to reduce to reduce output in 2014 at 35.77 million barrels per day in 2014, versus prior forecast of 35.84 million

READ ALSO: UBS Sees 4 Large-Cap Energy Stocks as Possible Acquisition Targets


Filed under: Energy Business

 

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Market Wrap: Another Down Day for Stocks; Apple Slips

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Apple Event
AP/Marcio Jose SanchezApple CEO Tim Cook debuted the new Apple Watch on Tuesday. Investors replied with a minor dip in Apple shares.
By KEN SWEET

NEW YORK -- Stocks fell for a second straight day Tuesday as investors were left unimpressed by Apple's (AAPL) latest batch of product announcements.

Negative news out of Home Depot (HD) and McDonald's (MCD) also weighed on the market.

The Dow (^DJI) lost 97.55 points, or 0.6 percent, to 17,013.87, its biggest one-day drop in a month. The Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) lost 13.10 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,988.44 and the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) lost 40 points, or 0.9 percent, to 4,552.29.

Investors had little in the way of economic data to digest, so trading was largely dominated by the news out of Apple. The California-based tech titan announced an updated version of its iPhone, a smartwatch as well as payment system to compete with traditional debit and credit cards.

The iPhone 6 and its various iterations were well received by investors, as was the payment system, which would allow a shopper to purchase a product simply by holding his or her iPhone close to a sensor. Apple had been up as much as 4 percent after the products were unveiled.

The smartwatch left some investors scratching their heads, however, and the Apple rally quickly faded. The watch doesn't come out until next year, costs $350, and would require an iPhone near it to work. It was hardly the new product category that investors had hoped it might be.

"I don't know if they're swimming up the right river with this watch," said Dan Morgan, a senior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust Company, who has been a long-time investor in Apple shares. "It looks like an add-on product, not something that has the potential to be a phenomenon."

At the end of the day, Apple fell 37 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $97.99.

Apple is often volatile on days it announces products. Yet while the decline in Apple's own stock was modest, its product news had ripple effects in various parts of the market.

GPS device maker Garmin (GRMN) and watch company Fossil (FOSL) fell 3.5 percent and 2 percent, respectively. Both companies are looking to claim a stake in smartwatch industry, with Garmin heavily invested in watches used by athletes to track their performance. Fossil recently announced a partnership with Intel to develop smartwatches.

Investors saw Apple's payment system as a direct competitor to eBay's PayPal division, causing eBay to fall sharply in afternoon trading. EBay (EBAY) closed down $1.50, or 3 percent, to $52.73.

Other payment system companies, such as Alliance Data Systems, also took a beating. Google (GOOG), who is been trying to get into the mobile payment market as well as competes directly with Apple in phones, fell $8.71, or 2 percent, to $581.01.

Unrelated to the Apple announcement, the news out of Home Depot didn't help the market either. Home Depot fell $1.89, or 2 percent, to $88.93 after the home improvement chain said hackers had broken into its in-store payment systems.

Home Depot's problem follows a massive data breach at Target (TGT) nearly a year ago, raising concerns it is likely other major retailers could be targeted as well.

McDonald's, another Dow member, fell $1.41, or 1.5 percent, to $91.09 after the company announced that global sales fell nearly 4 percent in August. In the U.S., typically a steady market for the fast food giant, sales fell nearly 3 percent.

Investors also had their eyes on the currency market.

The dollar extended its rally, hitting 106.20 yen, the highest since September 2008. Compared with other major currencies hurt by bad economic news in their home countries, the dollar appears attractive. The Federal Reserve is expected to end part of its stimulus program by October and is considering rate hikes, signs of greater confidence in the U.S. economic recovery.

If the dollar were to continue to rally, it may start to hurt U.S. corporate profits. A higher dollar makes U.S.-made products more expensive abroad, which makes them harder to sell compared with foreign-made goods. Investors don't expect the dollar rally to continue over the long term, however.

"This could temporarily weigh on U.S. corporate profits, but U.S. companies generate so much business domestically that any impact would be modest," said David Lebovitz, a global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Funds.

In other markets, bond prices fell slightly. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.50 percent.

The price of U.S. oil steadied after three days of steep drops. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 9 cents to close at $92.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, fell sharply on further predictions of lower global demand. Brent fell $1.04 to close at $99.16 on the ICE Futures exchange in London, the lowest close since May 2013.

In metals trading, the price of gold fell $5.80 to $1,248.50 an ounce, silver fell four cents to $18.92 an ounce and copper fell seven cents to $3.10 a pound.

What to Watch Wednesday:
  • The Commerce Department releases wholesale trade inventories for July at 10 a.m. Eastern time.
These major companies are scheduled to release quarterly financial statements:
  • Restoration Hardware Holdings (RH)
  • Men's Wearhouse (MW)
  • Five Below (FIVE)
  • Lands' End (LE)
  • Vera Bradley (VRA)

 

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Is Network Marketing the Answer to Your Too-Small Nest Egg?

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Homes Tupperware Today
Garrett Cheen/AP
There's no getting around it: Too many older Americans just haven't saved enough for the retirement lifestyle they hope to enjoy. They add up their anticipated Social Security payments, their investment income, pensions and other sources, compare that sum to their expected expenses and -- there's a gap.

You can fill that gap by continuing to work, of course, but retirement isn't really "retirement" if you're still cranking away for a hovering boss. But there are alternatives, and one that is gaining popularity among those looking to pad their retirements is joining a direct sales enterprise. These businesses are also called network marketing, multilevel marketing, networking, direct sales and the not-so-flattering pyramid scheme.

In essence, you sell a product line or group of services to your "affinity groups" -- in other words friends, friends of friends, family, and colleagues, past or present. You get a straightforward commission on your sales, and you can also invite people you know to sell the products as well -- and you earn commissions on their sales. These sales structures can -- and often do -- go on for quite a few levels. Hence, the name multilevel marketing.

"In the United States, approximately 16 million people are involved in direct selling, accounting for almost $30 billion in annual sales," the Direct Selling Association says. That averages out to $1,875 per person a year.

How It Works

Some people believe that since the people at the top of the distribution chain make the bulk of the money, that the term "pyramid" is appropriate. I'd respond to that by encouraging you to look at any large corporation; they all pay their top people significantly more money than their lower-level employees. Yes, it's true: The company you work for is probably also one of those dreaded "pyramids."

Multilevel marketing is merely a different way to promote and distribute products and services. Instead of spending large amounts of money on traditional marketing and advertising, it uses that money to pay commissions to its distributors or agents.

Distributors get to tie into an existing product line, and it takes minimal capital to get started. The key is to represent a product or service that you believe in, and one that has a good, true story of how it is helping people. Let's say a certain brand of weight management products has been a huge help to you. Why not tell other people who have similar goals and earn a commission if they try the product?

Before You Get Involved

Here are seven tips to a successful network marketing experience.
  1. Make sure you love the products and that there is a true story you can to tell to your prospects about what the products have done for you or someone you know. Don't get involved with any company just because of a compensation plan and its promises of riches. Passion is important to be successful selling anything.
  2. Understand how much you can make if you just sell the product and don't recruit new sellers below you. Members of the association are required to give out "fact-based information about the company's compensation structure and earning potential."
  3. Look for a company that has been around for at least five years -- and 10 would be better. Launches and failures of networking companies are common. Don't worry about getting in on the ground floor -- focus on dealing with a solid company with a track record.
  4. Investigate marketing support. You will most likely get a replicated website that you can use. How else does the company bring help distributors?
  5. Be wary of seminar companies in network marketing clothing. If you are forced or strongly encouraged to buy the CD of the month and a ticket to any and all events, that is the best sign that more money is being made on those items than on the actual product. Gatherings are a good thing in moderation. There has to be more than just hype and training materials.
  6. Be patient. It might take you a year or two to achieve that income goal -- or more if you have bigger goals. Steady, persistent action is the key.
  7. Ask about if there are monthly minimums for personal production to qualify for commissions and if there are monthly personal points to be maintained.
Don't judge direct selling by just the numbers. Judge by how it would work for you, with your own solid plan of action. One of my business ventures is a real estate brokerage, working with out-of-area investors. Realtors average a little over $14,000 a year. This encompasses everyone with a license -- even if they don't sell anything. Many friends and colleagues -- and I -- make many multiples of that amount. So don't let an average scare you.

Do your homework, and look before you leap. Then be patient, persistent and refine your marketing campaign and sales skills. If you succeed, it could be just the boost your retirement needs.

John Jamieson is the best-selling author of "The Perpetual Wealth System." Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

 

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10 Ways a Dog Can Cost You Tens of Thousands of Dollars

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Owning a dog is a big responsibility -- and that goes beyond just picking up poop from the sidewalk. It's a massive financial responsibility, too.

Of course, dogs bring huge joy into your life. The cliche that "money can't buy happiness" is a little misguided -- money does buy happiness if you spend your limited dollars on experiences and relationships, and that includes such things as (happily) paying the costs of canine companionship.

But before you bring a furry friend into your home, make sure your budget can handle all the costs. To help you out, we've put together a guide that covers some of the basic costs you can expect to face over your dog's lifetime.

Bear in mind that these numbers are estimated averages meant to give you an idea of the costs you'll incur. Dogs vary widely when it comes to average lifespan and typical breed health, and smaller breeds will, by their nature, cost less when it comes to things like food.

In addition, whether your dog is a purebred or a mixed breed will also play into your costs. A good mutt has hybrid vigor one his side, but his uncertain history could make him a wild card when it comes to temperament and potential health issues. A dog from a breeder may be a safer bet in this regard, but many purebreds are prone to breed-specific medical issues like hip dysplasia.


Paula Pant ditched her 9-to-5 job in 2008. She's traveled to 30 countries, owns seven rental units and runs a business from her laptop. Her blog, Afford Anything, is a gathering spot for rebels who want to ditch the cubicle, shatter limits and live life on your own terms -- while also building wealth, security and freedom.

 

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It's Going to Take More Than Guacamole to Save McDonald's

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The Guacamole Bacon Burger with Lettuce, Tomato, Red Onion, Cheese and Fries-Photographed on Hasselblad H3D2-39mb Camera
Lauri Patterson

McDonald's (MCD) is hoping that it can "guac" and roll out of its latest funk, but it may have another thing coming. The world's largest burger chain began testing guacamole as a gourmet sandwich topping earlier this year, and the ingredient's been sticking around in regional test markets.

The fast-food giant kicked off the initiative in May in Denver. This is the home turf of Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), the market darling among fast-casual operators -- and a company that McDonald's once owned a controlling stake in before it spun it off and took it public nearly a decade ago.

Guacamole is a popular staple at Chipotle, and while the chain certainly isn't the first burrito roller to add mashed avocados, it is probably the one that has made it cool. Chipotle charges extra for adding guacamole, unlike the other ingredients on its assembly line. That's an important distinction, since Chipotle is positioning guacamole as something that diners are willing to pay nearly $2 more to have scooped into their food.

To that end, McDonald's test not only involves offering Tex Mex-style burgers and chicken sandwiches topped with guacamole made from Hass avocados, but it also lets customers pay an additional 89 cents to have guacamole added to any menu item or served on the side as a dip for fries, McNuggets or anything else that floats your proverbial McBoat.

The Long Way Back

McDonald's used to be on top of the world. When it snapped a stunning nine-year streak of monthly positive year-over-year comparable-store sales in October 2012, many figured it was just a fluke. There was no way that the iconic fast-food chain would keep stumbling. It was rolling out premium sandwiches, salads and beverages at higher price points than the traditional "Dollar Menu" fare that many associate with McDonald's.

It didn't pan out that way.

Burger-hungry patrons simply upgraded to the gourmet burger establishments that are sprouting up across the country. Folks who wanted something a little better without sacrificing speed of execution simply queued up at Chipotle and other fast-casual concepts. In other words, McDonald's was trying to reach an audience that had already found what it wanted somewhere else.

Things have been particularly bad close to home. Domestic locations have clocked in with negative year-over-year comparable-restaurant sales for eight of the past nine months and each of the past three quarters.

Reputations Are Hard to Change

Guacamole won't be the first time that McDonald's tries to buy its way into a higher class of customer, and there's little reason to expect it to succeed this time around. If Angus beef, white cheddar and iced caramel mocha haven't turned the tide, why should cheap guacamole do the trick? It's just the next trendy train that McDonald's is boarding.

Try as it might -- and McDonald's is trying -- it just can't shake the stigma that it's not serving quality food. A Consumer Reports survey of fast-food chains earlier this year found McDonald's ranking at the very bottom in the burger category on taste among the country's 21 largest operators.

This would seem to point to guacamole as a smart way for McDonald's to try to improve its flavor profile. Unfortunately, other studies point to longer wait times at McDonald's, and the company itself warned its franchisees last year that service complaints are on the rise. In other words, adding toppings and expanding the menu is either confusing the customer, slowing down the prep process or resulting in more incorrect orders.

If guacamole is the next bold initiative that fails to bear fruit, will McDonald's scale back its offerings and ambitions and get back to basics? It would be the Hollywood ending that would make this the perfect tale, but unfortunately that train may have also already left the station.

Motley Fool contributor Rick Munarriz has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Chipotle Mexican Grill and McDonald's. The Motley Fool owns shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. For a list of high-yielding dividend stocks to complement your portfolio, check out our free report.

 

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True Price of Heavy College Loans Is Higher Than You Think

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For those of you trying to calculate whether or not you -- or your children or grandchildren -- should attend college, the answer is becoming increasingly clear: You don't have much of a choice if future earning power is a major part of your equation.

According to a survey by the Pew Research Center and released in February, the cost of skipping college is too high to ignore. Among millennials ages 25 to 32, those with a bachelor's degree or more earned a median of $45,500 in 2012 if they worked full-time. By comparison, members of the same age group with only a high school diploma earned a median of $28,000. Furthermore, high school graduates were more than three times more likely to be unemployed or living in poverty than four-year-college graduates.

Data from the National Center for Education Statistics shows that enrollment in postsecondary institutions grew from a modest 11 percent increase between 1991 and 2001 to a hefty 32 percent increase over the following decade. With a college education practically becoming a prerequisite for decent pay and the possibility of corporate advancement, we've witnessed a dramatic shift in Americans' approach to education over an arguably short time period.

But this push for higher education has also come at a steep price.

A Textbook Conundrum

A recent Gallup survey examined the correlation between student debt and overall graduate well-being among more than 11,000 former college students who graduated between 1990 and 2014, through a five-element well-being analysis called the Gallup-Purdue Index. The survey measured the quality of college graduates' lives in five elements -- purpose, social, financial, community and physical -- and allowed researchers to study what role student loans played on graduates' overall well-being. The findings were surprising.

With the exception of the "social" element, which measured graduates' ability to have "supportive relationships and love" in their life, those students who graduated with no student debt were considered to be "thriving" in the four remaining categories in a much higher percentage than those graduates who took on $50,000 or more in student debt.

The largest differences that Gallup noted were in the "financial" and "physical" elements, which examined graduates' ability to manage their economic life (i.e., pay their bills and reduce stress) and stay healthy and energetic. Of graduates who had taken on no student debt, 40 percent were considered to be "thriving" financially, with an additional 34 percent thriving physically. Comparatively, just 25 percent of graduates who'd taken on $50,000 or more in student loans were found to be thriving financially, while a mere 24 percent of highly indebted grads were considered to be thriving physically.

Starting a Family Can Be Delayed, Too

A survey conducted by American Student Assistance in 2013 came to a similar conclusion, that "student loans were created to be an engine for social mobility, but they are, in fact, limiting young people's ability to achieve financial success." The nonprofit notes that a majority of respondents in its study delayed saving for retirement, buying a car or buying a home because of their student loans, while 43 percent delayed starting a family because of it.

In other words, a college education may be practically a prerequisite for success, but going too deeply into debt while obtaining your education might make you miserable over the long run. This presents quite the conundrum.

But as Gallup also reminds us in its study, other factors can influence these results, including socioeconomic status, the type of school attended, the chosen field of study and a family's household income, for example.

All Hope Is Not Lost

Thankfully, there's a middle ground that could keep student loan debt down and still give graduates an excellent chance to find a prosperous career.

Based on research by the National Bureau of Economic Research that spanned more than two decades and covered nearly 30,000 students, the long-term earnings benefits of going to a well-renowned four-year university compared to a four-year state college wound up being negligible. Put another way, it often doesn't matter where you go to college, just as long as you do go to college. (Although, keep in mind there were caveats to the nonprofit's research, including the fact that its study only factored in 27 universities, which is hardly representative of the nation.)

To illustrate this point, let's examine two same-state, broad-curriculum colleges: the private University of Richmond and the public University of Virginia. Student could obtain a four-year undergraduate degree at either institution -- with a marked difference in the cost.

A four-year degree at the University of Richmond is going to run an undergraduate an estimated $217,600. By comparison, an in-state four-year degree at the University of Virginia would be approximately $94,300. That's why, according to PayScale's 2014 College Return on Investment Report, which ranked institutions based on the total cost to obtain an undergraduate degree and alumni's net earnings over a 20-year period, University of Virginia graduates saw a better net return on investment than alumni from Richmond.

Your Skills and Your Major

The truth is that while the college you go to may get you an interview, it's the job skills you can bring to a company and not your past academic performance that seemingly matters more to employers today.

A final point worth mentioning is that what you major in can be equally important when it comes to paying off student loans quickly. PayScale's analysis of 130 majors in its 2013-2014 College Salary Report lists 12 majors that average $99,300 by mid-career. Conversely, 20 majors will earn $55,500 or less by mid-career, which could make it difficult for this group to pay back substantial student loan debt.

You can follow Motley Fool contributor Sean Williams on Twitter @TMFUltraLong.

 

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Want to Get Richer? Try Catering to the Needs of the Rich

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More than 35 percent of Americans today are being hounded by debt collectors, according to the nonpartisan economic researchers at the Urban Institute. And according to Steve Siebold -- author, self-proclaimed "expert in the field of critical thinking" and admitted "one percenter" -- it's all their fault. What many Americans may think of as insurmountable obstacles to getting out of debt -- manual-labor jobs paying low wages -- may be the key to building up new businesses, Siebold says, and earning good wages -- by catering to the needs of rich folks.

The Problem

The Urban Institute blames "stagnant incomes" for Americans' inability to pay their bills. Eric Salazar, the Texas and Florida manager for the credit counseling agency GreenPath, notes that many of these workers have low-paying, relatively unstable jobs in construction and services.

That hardly seems like a scenario likely to set anyone up for success. And yet, construction and services, while perhaps low-paying professions when you're working for someone else, may be skills admirably suited to the kind of work that Siebold says people should be looking for.

The Opportunity

In his recent book "How Rich People Think," Siebold argues that as the rich get richer in today's economy, they' have more money to pay other people to take care of their problems. And the way he sees it, this creates an opportunity for lower- and middle-class workers. They can trade their time for rich folks' money -- and make both of their problems go away.

Says Siebold in a news release: "Millionaires are paying more for personal services than they ever have. It's a perfect time to start a lawn care service, maid service, handyman business, pool cleaning company, grocery shopping service, etc. Basically, if you can solve a problem that people are willing to pay for, you can make an endless amount of money right now."

'An Endless Amount of Money?' Really?

Well, that may be overstating the case, but as Siebold told me in an email exchange, the wealthy have plenty of money to spend right now, and they are dropping lots of cash on all kinds of personal services -- "everything under the sun."

In some cases, he means this literally: "Here's an example: I live in the mountains in north Georgia. We're having a terrible problem with weeds popping up all over the place this summer, not just on the lawn, but coming through pavers on driveways, sidewalks and decks. Someone could make a lot of money just in my neighborhood alone going door-to-door offering to get rid of the weeds. I'm willing to pay someone to do that, but I can't find anyone willing. I did it last weekend and got a terrible outbreak of poison ivy all over my hands and arms. So there you go, real-life problem and an easy solution for someone who is willing to do the work. People just need to open their eyes; the problems are everywhere."

Of course, often these rich folks who have "problems" and are "willing" to pay people to fix them don't act so willing. Living in gated communities, which are often posted with "no soliciting" signs, they're not rolling out the welcome wagon for scrappy entrepreneurs in search of problems to solve. So what's a would-be small businessman to do?

Ways Around the Problem of Problem-Solving

Advertising on Craigslist.org is one obvious example. When the wealthy have work they need done and can't find anyone to do it, Craigslist offers a great online resource for connecting job seekers with job-havers. And once you have an "in" with one client -- even behind the fences of a gated community -- you can use that contact to advertise your services through word-of-mouth to his fellow well-heeled gated-community-dwellers.

More technically savvy entrepreneurs might do even better by building websites dedicated to solving such small-job problems. What Care.com did for families seeking babysitters and TakeLessons.com did for parents seeking a tutor, perhaps you could do for the rich folk of north Georgia looking for someone to pull their weeds.

The Upshot

Siebold urges low- and middle-class workers not to "hate the wealthy" such as himself. Rather, find a way to take some of that wealth off their hands. After all, he says, "If someone offers a service [the wealthy] are in need of, they would rather spend the money to have someone do that particular thing than do it themselves. This is great news for middle-class America because ... acquiring wealth is about solving problems that people want to pay for. Find a problem, provide a solution, get rich."

Rich Smith is a Motley Fool contributor. To read about how dividend stocks can help you invest your way to wealth, check out our free report.

 

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The Secret to Investing Success: A Good Case of Amnesia

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I am fascinated by an anecdote related recently by James O'Shaughnessy of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management. An employee who recently joined his firm told him that Fidelity had studied which customer investing accounts performed the best: They were the ones held by people who had forgotten they even had Fidelity accounts, and so did no buying or selling from them.

When O'Shaughnessy told that tale on Bloomberg Radio to Barry Ritholtz of Ritholtz Wealth Management, Ritholtz responded that he'd noticed something similar with families fighting over inherited assets. Because of extended court battles, in some cases, the accounts couldn't be touched for 10 or 20 years: No buying new investments or selling old ones. Those families subsequently found that the period of inactivity was the time when their investments performed best.

Think about the ramifications of these stories. These investors took no advice from a "market-beating" broker or adviser. Considered no financial news. Made no effort to time the market. Made no additions to or subtractions from their portfolios. They engaged in no analysis of any kind. And yet, it worked. Could this be the key to investing success?

Listen to Warren Buffett

No less an authority than Warren Buffett thinks it is. In his 1996 chairman's letter to shareholders, he stated: "inactivity strikes us as intelligent behavior." In a similar vein, he observed in his 1990 letter that "Lethargy bordering on sloth remains the cornerstone of our investment style."

A number of studies support a strategy based on inactivity. The one I found most compelling analyzed 80,000 yearly observations of institutional investment assets, accounts and returns from 1984 through 2007. Keep in mind that these are extremely sophisticated investors, managing trillions of dollars in assets, with huge budgets. They can afford to hire the best investment "pros" in the business.

As you can imagine, there was a lot of buying and selling over this period. But the study concluded that portfolios of products to which money was allocated underperformed compared to the products from which assets were withdrawn. Translation: They bought losers and sold winners. The authors of the study estimated these decisions cost the plans more than $170 billion in value.

A blog post by the senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis found that the average stock mutual fund investor tends to buy when past returns are high and sell otherwise. He calls this activity "return-chasing behavior." He found that, when compared to simply buying and holding, return-chasing behavior had a "significant impact" on returns -- and an expensive one. From 2000 through 2012, a simple buy-and-hold strategy earned an average annual return of 5.6 percent, compared with only 3.6 percent for return-chasing investors.

Remember to Rebalance for Risk

While the benefits of totally neglecting your portfolio seem to have surprising merit, there is a clear downside to this strategy. Unless you periodically rebalance your portfolio by selling asset classes that have increased in value and buying those that have decreased, you will either be taking too much or too little risk. Over time, this can have serious consequences.

The real takeaway from the data extolling the virtues of neglect, or even abandonment, of your portfolio is that efforts to time the market, select mispriced stocks or identify the next "hot" mutual fund manager are likely to do more harm than good.

If you are tempted to engage in this behavior, maybe you should just forget about it!

Daniel Solin is the director of investor advocacy for the BAM Alliance and a wealth adviser with Buckingham. He is a New York Times best-selling author of the Smartest series of books. His latest book is "The Smartest Sales Book You'll Ever Read."

 

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$100 Olive Garden Pasta Pass Sparks Resale Headache

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Credit: eBayOlive Garden Never Ending Pasta Passes for sale on eBay.
By Katie Little | @KatieLittle

In the wake of Olive Garden's highly successful promotion for never-ending pasta, the Italian chain faces what might be called a high-quality problem.

More than 50 of the 1,000 pasta passes are drawing bids on online auction site eBay (EBAY) for multiples of the original $100 purchase price even though the restaurant stipulates on its site that they are "non-transferable and may not be re-sold."

In light of this, the company faces a dilemma: it can either enforce the fine print and risk making some second-hand buyers or sellers mad, or bend the rules and not risk alienating customers.

So far, the company has chosen the first path.

"We're working with eBay to notify both buyers and sellers that the Never Ending Pasta Passes are non-transferable and may not be resold," said Tara Gray, a Darden (DRI) spokeswoman, by email.

On Monday, the pass promotion drew half a million visitors within the first half hour. At times, the volume was so great, the promotion's site suffered technical glitches.

At least one seller has been transparent about the potential issue that buyers face.

User rpskoolinu, who listed two passes for $500, wrote "If the cards are marked with our name and not able to be used, I will issue a full refund. I don't know if they simply have to state the non-transferable for legal reasons or if they will implement."

Many of the other listings for the pass fail to mention that they can't be re-sold.

One eBay reseller that CNBC emailed planned to get around the reselling ban by leaving one of the fields for a name for the pass blank.

"Yeah I don't know exactly. There isn't a name on the card. There is just my billing info. I can always tell them I bought it for the person who got it on ebay. How are they going to tell me I didn't?" he wrote in a message.

For those who failed to snag a pasta pass Monday, Gray mentioned the company will be hosting giveaways during the next couple weeks leading up to the beginning of the promotion.

 

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Dollar General Goes Hostile in Bid for Family Dollar

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By TOM MURPHY

Dollar General (DG) is going hostile with its $9.1 billion bid for Family Dollar after its rival repeatedly rejected previous offers.

The discount chain has commenced an open offering to investors of Family Dollar Stores (FDO) for $80 a share in cash, the same offer that was rejected last week by the company's board.

Shares of Family Dollar jumped 5 percent before the opening bell Wednesday and appeared headed for an all-time high.

Family Dollar, based in Matthews, North Carolina, has voiced concerns about such a deal passing antitrust review. In response to those fears, Dollar General has said that it is willing to divest up to 1,500 stores if the Federal Trade Commission requires it. The company also is offering to pay a $500 million reverse breakup fee if antitrust hurdles get in the way.

Family Dollar Stores has been exploring a sale amid considerable financial stress and it has shuttered some of its stores and cut prices in an attempt to increase foot traffic. In June, activist investor Carl Icahn urged the company to put itself up for sale.

Family Dollar accepted an $8.5 billion offer from Dollar Tree (DLTR) a month later. The competing bid includes $59.60 in cash and the equivalent of $14.90 in shares of Dollar Tree for a total of $74.50 for each share held. Family Dollar has backed the bid, saying regulators are less likely to interfere.

There are more similarities, however, between Family Dollar and Dollar General, which stock their shelves with goods that sell for a range of prices. Everything sold at Dollar Tree costs a buck.

Appealing directly to Family Dollar shareholders, Chairman and CEO Rick Dreiling said that a sale to Dollar General would provide them with "immediate and certain liquidity for their shares."

"By taking this step, we are providing all Family Dollar shareholders a voice in this process, and we urge them to tender into our offer," Dreiling said in a news release.

Dollar General's offer expires Oct. 8. The latest bid, which was raised from $78.50 a share initially, represents a premium of nearly 32 percent for Family Dollar stock on the day before the Dollar Tree deal was announced in July.

Family Dollar shares climbed $3.94 to $82.64 in premarket trading. Shares hit record highs of $80.97 earlier this month.

 

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In Pursuit of Millennials, Retailers Become Makeover Artists

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In Pursuit of Millennials, Retailers Become Makeover Artists
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By Jilian Mincer

NEW YORK -- Alison LePard, a 19-year-old college sophomore from Wellesley, Massachusetts, says that when she shops for clothes and accessories, her goal is a look that is uniquely hers. So she does a lot of mixing and matching.

"I don't blindly follow what they put out," LePard said of store displays. "I don't want to wear just one brand. I don't want to be a stereotype."

She's hardly alone. Recent surveys have found that members of the millennial generation -- the roughly 80 million Americans born between 1977 and 2000 -- pride themselves on their individuality, and shop accordingly.

Compared with their parents, millennials are far less likely to identify with a political party or to formally affiliate with a religion -- key indicators of an independent streak -- according to Pew Research Center. As shoppers, they are less attached to brands and more willing to create their own style, surveys by Nielsen, The Boston Consulting Group and other researchers have found.

This generational trait is forcing retailers to rethink everything from their merchandise and marketing to their dressing rooms and logos. Some companies, including H&M and Urban Outfitters (URBN), have ridden the individuality wave while others, such as Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) and Aeropostale (ARO), have been slow to react and are paying the price.

At stake is the $600 billion millennials spend a year in the United States, according to Accenture (ACN), a sum that's projected to grow to an estimated $1.4 trillion in 2020, when the oldest of the cohort will be 43. Millennial men spend twice as much a year on apparel as non-millennial men, while millennial women outspent other generations by a third, the consultants said.

[Millennials] no longer want to be a walking billboard of a brand. Individualism is important to them, having their own sense of style.

Abercrombie's woes came into sharp relief last month when the company said it was shrinking its well-known logo and increasing its assortment of fashion for women, all to appeal more to 16- to 22-year-olds who don't want to look like everyone else. The move came after 10 straight declines in quarterly same-store sales.

"They no longer want to be a walking billboard of a brand," said Michael Scheiner, an Abercrombie spokesman. "Individualism is important to them, having their own sense of style."

Other companies are also adjusting their strategies to reach this elusive group.

Gap's (GPS) new ad campaign, with the facetious tag line, "dress normal," is all about creating an individual style, the idea being that there is no normal. Aeropostale, for its part, says its new product lines by blogger Bethany Mota are meant to convey "authenticity, emotion and relevance."

Mall owners have had to adjust, too. Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group (SPG) is now working with fashion magazines and fashion website Refinery29.com to entice millennial shoppers to the mall with videos, new designers and personalized advice.

"Not looking like everyone else is key to everything about what we do," said Chidi Achara, Simon's global creative director.

The drive to reach millennials comes during a difficult environment for retailers. Retail spending was flat in August, according to the U.S. Commerce Department, and household spending dropped by 0.1 percent in July, the first decline since January. In August, retailers ranging from Walmart Stores (WMT) to Macy's (M) cut their sales forecasts.

How Millennials Shop

Thanks to the Internet and smartphones, millennials are more informed shoppers than older generations. More than 70 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds recently surveyed by The Intelligence Group said they research options online before going to a store.

Millennials spend a higher share of dollars online than other generations, according to market research and consulting firm NPD Group, though they still make 75 percent of their purchases at brick and mortar stores.

With vast amounts of information easily available, they are savvy shoppers who know how to compare price, quality and convenience.

Accustomed to building Facebook (FB) pages and other online identities, millennials are comfortable with the notion of mixing and matching different elements of their persona, a trait that carries over into their shopping choices, according to analysts and academics.

To reach this first generation of "digital natives," it's no longer enough for stores to offer a rack and a dressing room.

"People are looking to create a unique identity," said Allen Adamson, an author and branding expert at Landor Associates. "They want to put together their own story rather than have someone else tell them."

In addition to an inviting website and easy payment system, retailers are trying to make shopping more exciting for this over-stimulated generation. At H&M's midtown Manhattan store, for example, shoppers can strut their stuff on the store's fashion walk and then possibly have their video selected to be displayed outside.

Gap is stressing that same aspiration with its new "dress normal" ad campaign, which uses taglines such as "dress like no one's watching" and "simple clothes for you to complicate." Sales at Gap stores fell 5 percent in the last quarter.

The company said the ad campaign is aimed at customers who want to "dress for themselves."

That certainly describes Brianne Casey, a 24-year-old New Yorker, who studied marketing and now works as an assistant to a buyer for a retail chain.

Casey said she shops at a variety of stores to get the best prices and follows fashion trends on blogs to see what's hot. But in the end, she said, "I like creating my own style."

 

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Meet the New Boss: The 3 Biggest CEO Changes of 2014 So Far

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Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella Speaks At The Worldwide Partner Conference
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There are many new faces occupying chief executive desks at America's big companies recently. According to data compiled by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, from January through July of this year, U.S.-based firms collectively announced the replacement of 766 CEOs -- that's the highest number for that period since 2008.

Here's a look at three of the more high-profile leadership changes in 2014 among big-name companies.

Microsoft -- Satya Nadella

Microsoft (MSFT) doesn't like switching out its chief executives too often. The IT giant was headed for nearly a quarter of a century by co-founder Bill Gates before Steve Ballmer replaced him in January 2000.

As CEO, Ballmer tried to broaden Microsoft from an purveyor of PC operating systems and associated software into a "devices and services" company. But outside of the successful Xbox game console, it couldn't seem to get a firm grip on either, making little impact on the hot market for gadgets like MP3 music players and mobile computing devices.

In February, Satya Nadella, a 20-year-plus Mircosoft veteran, was tapped to replace Ballmer. He's moved past "devices and services," aiming for the company to become what he termed, in an open letter to employees, "the productivity and platform company for the mobile-first and cloud-first world."

That won't be a simple task for a company that has yet to prove that it can harness its considerable resources to sell more than just PC software and Xboxes. It's still saddled with those halfhearted devices and services like the Bing search engine, which tilts at windmills against the mighty Google (GOOG), and the Surface line, competing in the crowded tablet segment against dominant leader Apple (AAPL).

General Motors -- Mary Barra

The ascent of Mary Barra to CEO at General Motors (GM) was yet another step forward for women in the executive suite, coming as it does on the heels of the appointments in recent years of Marissa Mayer to CEO of Yahoo (YHOO) and Meg Whitman to CEO of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ). Barra's tenure as chief executive, which began in January, marks the first time any global car maker has had a female chief executive.

As the new boss, Barra, a 33-year company veteran, certainly has plenty of work to do. Struggling GM was a big recipient of the government's recession-era Troubled Asset Relief Program, with the Treasury Department effectively nationalizing the company in order to get it riding on a better road. Treasury gripped the wheel for years, selling the last of its shares in December 2013.

But the new year brought new troubles; barely two months after Barra started as CEO, the auto giant was rocked by a scandal involving faulty ignition switches. So far, Barra's management of the issue indicates that she's got the stuff to be a good CEO. In her testimony to Congress on the matter, she took full responsibility for resolving the problem, and resolutely promised to find out the cause of it.

Home Depot -- Craig Menear

Talk about a hard act to follow. Home Depot's (HD) outgoing CEO Frank Blake has presided over years of increasing revenues and net profit, driving the company's stock to its all-time high.

Keeping up this momentum will be one of the biggest challenges, if not the biggest challenge, for CEO-to-be Craig Menear. At the moment he's the company's president of U.S. retail, and he'll formally replace Blake on Nov. 1.

Menear has worked in retail for 34 years and for Home Depot since 1997. Among other duties, he's managed its supply chain efforts, its online presence and its marketing.

As for that e-tailing experience, he'll need it in the new job. The company is planning to spend around $1.5 billion on capital expenditures this year, and much of that will go toward what it terms "interconnected retail and technology." Internet commerce now accounts for over 4 percent of its sales, a figure that's sure to grow given the ever-increasing popularity of online shopping.

Accelerated Change

The pace of change at the top has increased over the past few years. January-July 2014's tally of 766 departures is 5 percent higher than the 729 recorded at the same point in the previous year, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas data. The latter figure, in turn, also represents a 5 percent increase on a year-over-year basis.

So if recent trends continue, we're going to have a great many more CEO comings and goings this year. Expect at least a few more big-name companies to do the CEO shuffle between now and the end of December.

Motley Fool contributor Eric Volkman has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Apple, General Motors, Google (A and C shares), Home Depot, and Yahoo!. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple, Google (A and C shares), Microsoft, and Yahoo!. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. Our special free report shares our favorite high-yield dividend stocks.

 

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Kill Net Neutrality and You Kill Small Business Growth, Too

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Today is "Go Slow" day across the Internet -- a call to action led by reddit and Pornhub in response to a judicial ruling that struck down Federal Communications Commission rules requiring broadband providers treat all websites equally -- the foundation of what's called net neutrality.

Dozens of websites -- including Etsy, Kickstarter, Foursquare, Wordpress, Vimeo, Mozilla, Imgur, Meetup, Cheezburger, Namecheap, Bittorrent, Gandi.net, StartPage, BoingBoing and Dwolla --
are participating in the Fight for the Future campaign, hoping to spark a flood of public comments on the FCC's net neutrality proposal. "Sites participating in the slowdown will display prominent messages that include an infinitely-spinning 'site loading' icon -- or the so-called 'spinning wheel of death' -- to symbolize what surfing the web could be like without net neutrality," a news release on fightforthefuture.org says. "These alerts will direct the sites' users to call and/or email policymakers in support of net neutrality."

This is hardly the first attempt to create a groundswell of opposition about plans that would hobble the Internet. Proposals like the Cyber Information Sharing and Protection Act and Stop Online Piracy Act galvanized the Internet to fight back as well. (SOPA may be back.) In any event, a person unfamiliar with how the measures will effect them can look at hypothetical scenarios from what others call a fake Internet service provider, but they don't do the problem justice. To understand the true impact of net neutrality's imminent demise, consider its impact on business.

Speed Matters

If net neutrality dies, the Internet will become home to fast lanes; Internet providers will be able to charge premiums to customers that want to ensure that visitors to their sites, and users of their services, will be getting access with optimal speeds.

For big, established players, paying those premiums will be manageable, if not pleasant. (We're looking at you, Netflix.) But small businesses and online startups will likely find themselves in a tough predicament. Without a high-functioning website accessible at top speed via the fast lane, it will be much harder for such businesses to grow. (Picture a startup that relies heavily on streaming video or some other bandwidth-heavy use, and imagine it trying to get traction while hobbled by slow upload speeds.)

Without that ease of access and unfettered growth, these companies will likely struggle, and hire fewer new employees, potentially stunting U.S. job growth. Even getting to the front of Google will be tougher, as Google has been factoring page speed into its rankings since 2010.

As Copyblogger's Sonia Simone explained, "Imagine if McDonald's were able to deliver TV ads at normal speed, but TV ads for your great neighborhood local diner were slow and garbled, with five-minute "content loading" bars before you saw them." If that scenario plays out, delays will send customers elsewhere, since Internet users have notoriously short attention spans.

All those sites listed above, the ones backing the Fight for the Future campaign, were able to build themselves into household names thanks to a level playing field. Without one, the next great thing may never happen at all.

It's not the big companies you already like online that will suffer the most; it's the little ones you don't know about yet -- and the people who won't get jobs at them.

 

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Hidden Uses Of Toothpaste -- Savings Experiment

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Hidden Uses Of Toothpaste
Basic white toothpaste can brighten up your smile, but it can also has many household uses that can save you money in the long run. Here are a few ways you can make this common item work for you.

Toothpaste is a great jewelry polish. Simply apply a little dab on your silver, gold or hard gemstones with a soft brush or cloth. Polish gently, then rinse off and repeat until the dirt and tarnish disappears. You can use toothpaste to scrub away stubborn clothing and carpet stains, too.

Toothpaste also dries out and reduces redness on pimples. Just apply a little to the affected area, and depending on how sensitive your skin is, leave it on for a couple of hours or even overnight. A little bit can even help soothe minor burns and itching and swelling from mosquito and bug bites.

Lastly, you can quickly deodorize your hands of fish, onions and garlic odor by simply scrubbing with a bit of toothpaste. Keep in mind that it's best to use a white, non-gel toothpaste with less fluoride and no whitening agents, which can sometimes irritate the skin and be less effective.

Remember, a little toothpaste can go a long way. Try these tips, and you'll see that just a few dabs can save you a few dollars!

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Should Regulation Cost $2 Trillion in the Manufacturing Sector?

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robotsWith the exception of a few people who have no care about consequences, most Americans would agree that some form of regulation and laws governing companies and entities has to be present. That being said, there is never anything short of a fight over an opinion of whether companies are under-regulated or over-regulated — as well as over what a fair cost is for that regulation in a highly competitive global economy. 24/7 Wall St. wants to know if a $2 trillion price tag for regulation sound fair?

This is actually a $2.028 trillion regulatory price tag, and it is a figure used by the National Association of Manufacturers as the cost of lost economic growth. It is represented as being 12% of GDP. The basis year was 2012 and it was put into 2014 dollars. For an outside reference not included in this study, the CIA World Factbook put US GDP for 2013 as being $16.72 trillion on a purchasing power parity basis.

The full NAM report is some 77 pages long and concluded that manufacturing businesses face a disproportionate share of the burden for regulation. This was put at $19,564 per employee per year. Small manufacturers pay more than three times average at $34,671 per employee per year.

Admittedly, we must note that these are industry projections are from an industry group which would be more favorable to manufacturers than it would to regulatory costs. That being said, this current number of $2 trillion is a massive cost and it was said to not even include new regulation that is already coming down the pipe for EPA ozone standards.

NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons said,

"Manufacturers have long cited more and more complex regulations as a barrier to their growth, and today, we have new data demonstrating the true burdens shouldered by manufacturers throughout the supply chain, particularly the smallest firms, in complying with growing federal mandates. Manufacturers rely on a stable, balanced and commonsense regulatory environment to create jobs and fuel economic growth. With growing regulatory compliance burdens, policymakers should be alarmed that our nation's smallest manufacturers are being put at a competitive disadvantage within the global economy."

Timmons further said,

"These costs don't even include the more significant regulations heading our way, such as a new ozone standard from the Environmental Protection Agency that would be the most expensive regulation in U.S. history. These and other regulations mean an even larger burden on our country's small manufacturers. Now is the time to return clear-eyed economic analysis to the policy process and ease the burden on job creators across the country."

A reading of over $2.2 trillion is so large that it sounds almost too large to be true on the surface. Regardless, even a portion of that massive figure is an amount that would create a debate. It still begs the question about how much regulation is too much regulation in a global economy.

NAM Table


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U.S. Airlines Doing Better at Getting Us There On Time

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Earns Airlines
AP/Lisa Poole
By DAVID KOENIG

DALLAS -- At the height of this summer's travel season, airline flights were more likely to arrive on time and less likely to be canceled than they were last year.

The improvement in airline performance was a welcome break for travelers. Over the first six months of 2014, delays were the highest since 2008 and cancellations the highest since 2000.

The Department of Transportation said Wednesday that among 14 of the largest airlines, 75.6 percent of flights arrived on time in July, up from 73.1 percent in July 2013 and from June 2014's 71.8 percent rate.

The airlines covered by the report canceled 1.6 percent of their trips, down from 1.7 percent a year earlier and 2 percent in June.

The best for arriving on time were Hawaiian, Delta and Alaska, all above 84 percent.

At the bottom of the rankings: JetBlue Airways (JBLU) and Southwest Airlines (LUV), with nearly one in three flights arriving late. Southwest had a pattern of consistently late arrivals on many routes.

According to the government, Southwest ran at least 30 minutes late more than half the time in May, June and July on three short daily flights, a 6 p.m. Houston-Dallas trip, a 7:45 p.m. flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and a 9 p.m. Las Vegas-Phoenix flight. No other airline had any flights that were tardy so often for so long.

Another 108 Southwest flights regularly ran late for two straight months. No other airline had more than six such chronically delayed flights.

Southwest has struggled to fly on time since tightening its schedule in August 2013. Senior vice president of operations Greg Wells said that the airline thought it could boost revenue by adding 16 planes' worth of new flights without increasing the fleet.

"We gave it our best shot," Wells told reporters this week. "The combination of weather, higher load factors [fuller planes] and things like that just caused our on-time performance to plummet."

Wells said the airline "stopped the bleeding" by focusing on starting morning flights on time, putting more time between connecting flights, and allowing more time to unload and load planes. Since Aug. 24, he said, the airline has been running at 84 percent on-time.

The Department of Transportation said that two flights in July -- one by Spirit Airlines (SAVE) and another by US Airways (LCC) -- were stuck on the tarmac longer than the allowed three hours. The airlines could face fines.

There were 10 reports of pets that were lost, injured or died during flights, down from 11 in June. That only covers pets that were accompanied by their owners. Beginning Jan. 1, the Department of Transportation will require airlines to report deaths of cats and dogs that are shipped by breeders too.

 

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