Tech firms freak out as China erects barriers

New rules will make it difficult for some foreign companies to operate in China.

Six groups representing European companies and banks have appealed for official help this week, arguing that new Chinese regulations will prevent them supplying the country's financial industry with technology. They say China is breaking international trade rules.

That comes as Beijing is reported to be removing some of the world's top tech brands from its list of approved government suppliers.

China unveiled plans to regulate banking technology late last year. The rules, which are due to come into force next month, could require tech companies to share source code and other proprietary information with Beijing.

The European business lobby groups want the European Commission to help get the regulations suspended.

Related: The cost of doing business in China: Spying

They say the policies would "hurt the development and integration of Chinese banking sector in the global market."

"Combined with China's recent other actions to tighten content filters and limit Internet-based services, these new policies will create an even more unwelcoming digital trade and investment environment for foreign companies," the groups wrote in a letter to the European Commission.

A spokesperson said the European Commission is analyzing the Chinese measures and their potential impact.

"We are in regular contact with the Chinese authorities on trade matters and will certainly raise this issue," the spokesperson said.

One of the authors of the letter -- Business Europe director general Markus Beyrer -- told CNNMoney his group was "particularly concerned about the potential for these measures to be applied to other sectors."

Reuters reported Wednesday that the Chinese government has removed Cisco (CSCO, Tech30), Apple (AAPL, Tech30), Citrix Systems (CTXS) and Intel's (INTC, Tech30) security software provider McAfee from approved state procurement lists.

The number of approved foreign brands dropped by one third last year, according to the report.

The crackdown by China risks inflaming existing tensions over cyber-security and privacy with other governments.

Relations with the U.S. have been strained by revelations from Edward Snowden that the government relies on American tech firms to spy on Chinese leaders.

The U.S. has repeatedly blocked Chinese telecom company Huawei from proposed acquisitions and partnerships -- including a bid for 3Com and a supply deal with Sprint (S) -- because it accuses it of spying.

Related: Super-sneaky malware found in companies worldwide

CNNMoney (London) February 26, 2015: 10:24 AM ET

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Former JPMorgan banker Bill Winters is back

Bill Winters is taking over the CEO position at Standard Chartered.

The appointment is part of a management shake-up that will see a number of top executives and boards members leave.

Standard Chartered (SCBFF), which is based in the U.K., makes the vast majority of its money in emerging markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Shares in the bank have roughly halved since late 2010. The bank issued three profit warnings in 2014. In January it cut 4,000 jobs just months after being hit with a $300 million fine for failing to meet the terms of a money laundering settlement with the state of New York.

Investors had reportedly been calling for the current CEO, Peter Sands, to leave.

Shares in Standard Chartered jumped by as much as 3.5% in early London trading after the announcement came out.

The bank's largest shareholder, Singapore-based investment firm Temasek, was quick to applaud the "management succession" plan.

"[Winters] brings with him considerable experience as well as an excellent reputation for building good teams," Temasek said in a statement.

Once tipped as a possible successor to JP Morgan (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon, Winters was ousted in 2009 after 25 years with the Wall Street powerhouse.

Winters, 53, will be paid a base salary of nearly £1.2 million ($1.8 million), plus plenty of additional perks and bonuses, when he joins Standard Chartered later this year.

That's a far cry from the $21.2 million he earned at JP Morgan in 2007, the year before the financial crisis exploded.

Standard Chartered is scheduled to report 2014 earnings next week.

CNNMoney (London) February 26, 2015: 7:56 AM ET

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Nothing stops Frank Underwood ... or Netflix

There is a third: It's the suffering that Netflix short sellers are feeling.

Shares of Netflix (NFLX, Tech30) are up 40% this year and are approaching an all-time high. Betting against Netflix stock has been as dangerous as getting in the way of the former House Majority Whip.

But can Netflix really keep the momentum going?

Yes, the company has posted amazing levels of subscriber and revenue growth. It could wind up being one of the big winners from the rule changes regarding net neutrality.

It's already won the Twitter PR war with this tweet.

Related: What does net neutrality mean for you?

And "House of Cards" is an addictive show that is generating more and more buzz. A brief leak of the new season earlier this month got fans even more excited.

Heck, even "Sesame Street" did a recent "House of Bricks" parody of it with a Frank Underwolf (southern drawl and all) huffing and puffing his way into the Three Little Pigs' White Brick House.

Dot-com mania all over again? Still, the stock is now trading at more than 140 times 2015 earnings estimates. That should bring back unpleasant reminders of the Internet stock bubble from 2000.

And what's this? The Nasdaq is once again approaching the 5,000 mark for the first time in 15 years.

Netflix has done a phenomenal job of transforming itself from a DVD by mail service to a streaming video giant. But the company continues to face some challenges as it expands.

Increased overseas investments and on content could hurt profits. Wall Street analysts are currently predicting that Netflix's profits will decline this year ... but, to be fair, they're also expecting earnings to soar from 2016 through 2019.

But Netflix must continue to invest aggressively to stay on top. There is a lot of competition.

Related: Woody Allen to create first TV series for Amazon

Amazon is bulking up its streaming offerings to become a more viable competitor. Media titans Disney (DIS), 21st Century Fox (FOXA) and Comcast's (CMCSA) NBCUniversal own Hulu.

There are more on-demand and over-the-top services from big cable and satellite providers in addition to standalone offerings from individual networks like HBO. (Time Warner (TWX) owns HBO and CNNMoney.)

Where are Iron Man, Gru and Shrek? For all that's great about Netflix, there are holes in its programming lineup.

I just had a week-and-a-half staycation and was surprised to see how many times I couldn't find something I wanted to watch on Netflix, particularly movies.

The first "Avengers" flick used to be on Netflix. But it's not there anymore. Hoping to get your fix of the Minions before that movie comes out this summer? You won't find either "Despicable Me" movie on Netflix.

And for all the talk about the great content for kids that Netflix has with partner DreamWorks Animation (DWA)? That's great if you want to watch offshoots and spinoffs of some of the popular movies. But good luck finding any of the original "Shrek," "Kung Fu Panda" or "How To Train Your Dragon" films.

Now don't get me wrong. I wouldn't dream of dropping my Netflix service anytime soon. It's great for TV shows ... both its own as well as catching up on things like "Breaking Bad."

Still, I can't help but wonder if the subscriber growth won't start to cool off a bit if Netflix is unable to create even more hit shows.

Related: Emmy rules change hurts 'Orange is the New Black'

You can argue that "House of Cards" and "Orange is the New Black" are the only two programs to become unqualified successes for Netflix.

Won't Netflix need more than those programs to justify its lofty stock price? "Now you might very well think that, but of course, I couldn't possibly comment," is what Underwood would probably say.

For now, Wall Street is not concerned. But Netflix has had a volatile history. And it still has a lot to prove.

The stock is priced for perfection.

If there are any hiccups in the future, investors probably won't see them coming until it's too late. Just like (spoiler alert!) poor Zoe Barnes on that Metro platform. Knock knock.

CNNMoney (New York) February 26, 2015: 11:00 AM ET

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Wanna fly LaGuardia to L.A. direct? Someday maybe you can

LaGuardia has had a 1,500-mile restriction on most flights to and from the airport for more than 30 years. For travelers going to the West Coast, Las Vegas or Phoenix, that meant you have to fly through John F. Kennedy or Newark Liberty airports. There are some loopholes in the rule, though, such as one that allows direct flights to and from Denver.

LaGuardia is about 10 miles from midtown Manhattan, while the other airports are each about 16 miles -- a big difference in New York traffic.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns and operates all three airports, is studying the 30-year-old rule to determine if it remains in the best interest of the region's air travelers, according to a statement. Any change would have to go through only after a "thorough study and analysis and consultation with all interested parties," the Port Authority said.

The rule came about because the Port Authority wanted to encourage airlines to fly in and out of JFK and Newark airports at a time when LaGuardia was already at capacity.

Related: How to avoid air travel misery

The rule change would probably benefit business travelers the most since they willing to pay higher fares for the convenience of going to their preferred airport. It would make it harder though to get a direct flight to many smaller airline markets.

Gates and slots are limited at the three New York airports. If an airline is going to start providing the more lucrative transcontinental flights from LaGuardia, it is probably going to come at the expense of those smaller markets.

A change would also be a boon for Delta Air Lines (DAL) and American Airlines (AAL), the two major carriers at LaGuardia, and a set-back for United Continental (UAL), which has a hub at Newark, and JetBlue Airways (JBLU), which is based at JFK.

Related: Why flying stinks and you're still paying more

Related: Legroom - How airlines compare

CNNMoney (New York) February 26, 2015: 8:37 AM ET

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Google learns how to beat you at Atari video games

Google's deep-Q network computer algorithm was able to beat Atari video games like a human.

Google has developed a computer program that can play -- and beat -- the 1980s-era Atari video games.

With an algorithm that Google (GOOGL, Tech30) calls "deep Q-network," a computer was able to achieve human-level proficiency at more than two-dozen Atari games, ranging from side-scrolling shooter games like River Raid to 3-D car racing games like Enduro.

Researchers for Google described the achievement in a paper published in the journal Nature this week.

Google provided the computer with just the basic level of understanding about how to play the game: The computer was able to "see" the pixels on the screen; it was told what actions the virtual buttons performed; and it was told the score.

What makes the program remarkable is that computers shouldn't be good at video games. Humans can draw on real-life experiences when performing game tasks like driving a car or shooting a gun. Computers typically only understand bits and bytes.

But Google's new program played at least as well, if not better, than a professional human player in 29 of the 49 games it tried. In 43 of the 49 games, Google said deep-Q network outperformed existing machine learning algorithms.

In some games, the Google computer was able to learn strategies that would help it maximize its score. For example, after playing the brick-breaking game Breakout 600 times, deep-Q network learned to tunnel through the bricks and bounce the ball off the back of the wall to knock out bricks from behind.

Google says its algorithm was designed to mimic human learning that takes place in a part of the brain called the hippocampus, which helps us learn from recent experience. Deep-Q network was designed to learn why it lost a round of a video game and to improve its game-play based on its past performance.

The stunning feat recalls IBM's (IBM, Tech30) Deep Blue chess-playing computer and Watson, the computer that beat the world's best Jeopardy! players. But unlike those two examples, which were designed to beat a specific game, Google's deep-Q network was built to learn how to play any kind of game.

That's why Google has bigger ambitions for deep-Q network's machine learning capabilities. If we want robots to anticipate our needs and cars to drive themselves, computers will have to get better at learning on their own.

Related: Google is building the world's fastest computer

Related: Google wants you to kick this robot puppy

CNNMoney (New York) February 26, 2015: 8:25 AM ET

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From street child in China to Intel mentor

Shu-Ling Garver wants to get kids, especially girls, excited about engineering.

Garver, 52, said she's an example of how a young girl's love for science and technology can open doors.

"I went from the streets to working as an engineer at Intel to becoming a millionaire," she said.

Now she wants to pay it forward.

"I want kids, especially girls, to not be afraid of science and engineering but to see it as an opportunity to be successful in their future," said Garver.

Related: Women take on manufacturing

Garver's been at Intel (INTC, Tech30) for 25 years, and she said her male counterparts have vastly outnumbered women in technical jobs.

The chasm grew wider the higher she rose up the ranks, eventually becoming technical adviser to Intel's data center CTO.

"There are very few women at the higher levels," she said.

Eager to change that trend, Garver joined the Women at Intel (WIN) Network five years ago as a mentor.

Shu-Ling Garver [left] with her sister in Shanghai in 1969.

"Women aren't as aggressive in their careers as men," said Garver. "WIN's goal at Intel is to inspire women to stay in engineering and achieve their career goals."

Garver has helped hire and guide some of these women. "One of those graduates is now a key engineer at Intel in just four short years," she said.

She also encourages women to maintain a greater work-life balance.

"Lots of engineers live a sedentary life," said Garver. "I pay a lot of attention to exercise, and I emphasize it."

She said Intel is working to increase the number of women in senior technical positions from 10% of its workforce to 17% by 2020.

Related: Black women struggle to fund startups

She recalled growing up in Shanghai under Chairman Mao Zedong's regime.

"My father was a college graduate and an intellectual who was put in a labor camp to dig tunnels," she said. The family subsequently lost their home "and my sister, mom and I set up beds on a street corner for a few weeks."

After her father returned, he made it a point to teach her English. This led her to pursue an undergraduate degree in English Literature and work as a translator at a technical institute in Shanghai.

She eventually moved to Portland, Ore., in 1986, enrolling in a master's program in computer science and engineering at Portland State University. After graduating, she was immediately hired at Intel.

Garver with kids from her Engineering for Kids class.

However, this is Garver's last week at Intel. She retires on Friday.

"It's been a very interesting journey for me," she said.

But it's far from over.

Garver became an entrepreneur in 2012 after learning about Engineering for Kids, an after-school program designed to expose students to the basics of science, engineering and math.

She signed on to run its first franchise, and for the past three years, she's been visiting local schools and running engineering and science programs.

"This isn't work for me. I'm planting seeds and acting as a role model with my personal experience," said Garver. "I want to inspire young girls to become engineers."

CNNMoney (New York) February 26, 2015: 8:34 AM ET

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It's official: America has deflation

Prices for goods actually declined -0.1% in January from a year ago, according to the Labor Department. That means it actually cost less to buy things in America this year than it did in January 2014.

It's the first time since October 2009 that the U.S. economy experienced annual deflation. But economists say don't hit the panic button yet: the economy is still improving overall.

"There is little danger that this temporary bout of falling energy prices will develop into a more insidious debt-deflation spiral," says Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics.

The main driver of falling prices is cheap gas. A year ago, a gallon of gas was about $3.40. Last month a gallon cost around $2.15 on average. Prices have since stabilized with some saying gas is likely to rise from here.

Related: The story behind oil's plunge

At the moment, inflation is the only major yardstick of the economy going in the wrong direction. A strong and growing U.S. economy typically has inflation of around 2% a year, so a negative number is far from the mark. January was the third straight month of price declines.

If gas prices rebound more, then the total inflation figure should start heading up again. While most Americans pay attention to the prices of food and energy, economists also look at so-called core inflation that excludes those two items. Core inflation actually rose 1.6% from a year ago, another sign that gas is the key swing factor.

January's deflation could cause the Federal Reserve to hesitate on raising interest rates, which many expect them to do later this year. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and her fellow board members do not want to raise interest rates until the economy shows real momentum.

Overall, the U.S. economy has many signs of improvement. The unemployment rate is dropping, growth is picking up and hiring has been strong. But many Americans haven't seen any real improvement in their paychecks in years.

Related: Janet Yellen: Too many Americans aren't making it

When Yellen testified before Congress this week, she was pummeled with questions about the lack wage growth and why Main Street isn't feeling the recovery.

Since wages are staying flat, consumers have been thankful for low gas prices, but don't expect it to last for long. Most economists believe the cheap gas and deflation will be short-lived.

"Bottom line, talk of deflation is complete nonsense as this inflation gauge is being almost fully driven lower by energy prices," says Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at the Lindsey Group in Fairfax, Va.

Related: Europe sinks back into deflation

CNNMoney (New York) February 26, 2015: 10:17 AM ET

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FCC voting on historic Internet rules

The Democratic-led commission is expected to decide 3-to-2, split along party lines, to assert extra government authority over the Internet.

The new rules would establish a concept called "net neutrality." It's like equal opportunity for Internet speeds and access to websites.

In principle, net neutrality would mean the owner of a network -- like Comcast (CMCSA) or Time Warner Cable (TWC) -- couldn't discriminate what runs on their cables. For example, they wouldn't be able to unfairly make fast or slow lanes that give preferential treatment to content providers, such as Netflix (NFLX, Tech30) or Hulu. A phone company like Verizon (VZ, Tech30) couldn't block apps like Google Wallet on your smartphone, like it did in 2011.

But do we need the extra rules? Or are they needless regulations that will hurt businesses? Should the federal government step in to make sure big telecom companies aren't monopolistic bullies? Or does the current system already work?

These are the major question grappling FCC regulators today.

Related: What does net neutrality mean for you?

Related: Expect a legal fight from AT&T over net neutrality

Related: 4 bad things Internet companies can't do anymore -- if the FCC gets its way

CNNMoney (New York) February 26, 2015: 11:05 AM ET

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Billionaire GOP contributor maxes out in one day

Ken Griffin poured $324,000 into the Republican National Committee on January 23 -- a record-setting contribution that would have been illegal just weeks earlier.

Griffin, his wife and their fortune have made headlines recently for a contentious divorce. Griffin's attorneys are disputing the wife's request for $1 million monthly in child support for their three children. He is ranked No. 4 on the Fortune list of highest-earners in the hedge fund community, alongside Bill Ackman and James Simons, and No. 9 on CNN's 2014 Big Donors list for right-leaning donors.

Campaign finance experts agreed his donation, made public by a RNC financial filing on Friday, is the first to reach the new limit.

Congress raised it to $324,000 from from $64,800 in December, in part because federal funds will no longer be used to pay for the political conventions parties host every four years.

Griffin, 46, likely won't be the last to take advantage of the new limit, said Adam Smith of Public Campaign, a campaign finance watchdog group. But he expected the number who max out to be fairly small, especially as many donors are sending their money to the PACs and Super PACs that are increasingly taking on the sophisticated political work parties used to perform.

Related: How Ken Griffin made his fortune

Griffin's past political contributions have included groups like America Rising, Karl Rove's American Crossroads, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell's campaign, and the independent group that supported Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign, Restore Our Future.

He said in a 2012 interview that individuals should be allowed to make unlimited contributions, and, despite the unwanted publicity, those contributions should be reported in a transparent way.

"I think they actually have an insufficient influence," Griffin told The Chicago Tribune, speaking of the wealthy. "Those who have enjoyed the benefits of our system more than ever now owe a duty to protect the system that has created the greatest nation on this planet."

A spokesman for Griffin's hedge fund, Citadel, had no comment on the RNC contribution.

If Griffin wants to contribute again, he can. About a week and a half after he wrote the January check, regulators adjusted the limits upwards, accounting for inflation.

Related: Will hedge fund fees come down to Earth?

CNNMoney (New York) February 26, 2015: 11:30 AM ET

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Luxury getaways for (much) younger travelers

Five-star getaways are now catering to the whole family.

From perks like organic baby food and child-sized bathrobes to larger hotel suites and more kid-focused activities, the luxury travel market is catering to much younger travelers.

In the past year, the St. Regis has seen a 20% increase in families staying at its properties.

Older parents with more money are helping to fuel the trend, said Paul James, global brand leader for the St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, and W Hotels.

"We are seeing people in their 40s with young children," James said. "By the time you are 40 and made money, you don't want to stay at the cheap motel down the road. You don't compromise your lifestyle."

He added that seeing kids at the front of a plane is becoming more common. "I flew back in January, and everyone in the business cabin had a child with them."

As more travelers bring their families along, experts said demand for larger suites and villas at hotels has increased. For instance, at the St. Regis in Bali, villa suites sell out 10 times faster than the main hotel suites, James said.

Related: Bored of your superyacht? Try a submarine

Luxury hotels are also stepping up their child-focused amenities and activities.

"Parents want to go and have adult experiences, but also want to make sure their kids will be catered to," said Kara Slater, a travel agent with SmartFlyer California who specializes in family travel.

At the Four Seasons Resort in Orlando, children are normally welcomed with chocolate alligators or organic baby food and receive child-size bathrobes.

Guests ages 4-12 at The Resort at Pelican Hill in California can attend Camp Pelican where each day's supervised activities have a different theme like Treasure Island Tuesdays or Space Exploration Fridays. The clubhouse has digital microscopes, video games and computer stations. A full day at the club runs $90 and $60 for a half day.

Parents looking for some alone time in the evening can send their travel companions to Kid's Night Out, which includes dinner, movie and popcorn for $60.

Latitude, a program for teens, runs $15 an hour ($50 for a half day) has daily activities including surf and kayak camp. And the lounge has Netflix-connected TVs, video games and a special food menu.

The resort also offers a three-hour Children's Resort Etiquette Class for guests ages 7-12 that teaches travel and social etiquette.

The room service menu includes "ants on a log" (celery with peanut butter and raisins on top) and veggies and hummus, according to Kate Starr, spokeswoman for the resort.

Related: The river cruise craze goes high-end

Families aren't just heading to the traditionally kid-friendly spots, but are seeking out more exotic locations. Hawaii and Europe are popular, according to Slater.

Authentic experiences are also a priority for people traveling with kids, said Dan Austin, president of Austin Adventures.

"We see families often start out with a domestic vacation, like Yellowstone, and the next year they head to Alaska or the Canadian Rockies. By the third trip, they are looking at Peru, Belize and Costa Rica."

CNNMoney (New York) February 26, 2015: 11:48 AM ET

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Germany rejects Greece's debt extension request

It took only a few hours for Germany to flatly reject the struggling country's request Thursday for a six-month debt extension.

The request was initially seen as a sign that compromise might be at hand after weeks of talks failed to broker a deal. But Germany, the country's largest creditor, quickly rebuffed the proposal.

"The letter from Athens offers no substantial solution," German finance ministry spokesperson Martin Jager said in a statement. "In reality it focuses on bridge financing without meeting the conditions of the program. The letter does not fulfill the criteria agreed at the Eurogroup meeting on Monday."

It's unclear what conditions Greece had proposed.

If Greece doesn't strike a deal soon, it risks running out of money. The existing bailout program ends on February 28 and debt repayments soon fall due: Greece owes €1.5 billion to the IMF in March, followed by €6.5 billion in bond repayments due to the ECB and its eurozone partners by August.

The Greek government was elected last month on a promise to scale back severe spending cuts imposed in exchange for about €240 billion ($273.8 billion) in international aid that it has received since 2010.

But its lenders, led by Germany, have demanded Greece stick to the terms.

The extension request is due to be debated by eurozone finance ministers at a meeting in Brussels on Friday.

Related: Opinion: The eurozone is broken. Will Greece pay the price?

Even before Germany rejected the deal, experts cited months of little progress in their skepticism that a deal could be reached at tomorrow's meeting.

"I doubt we'll get anywhere close to the Greek position, in which it wants to run much smaller primary surpluses than those in the previous program," said Jennifer McKeown from Capital Economics.

McKeown said there may be some compromise on Greece's longer term debt position, including loan repayments linked to GDP growth or trade surplus.

"At most it's likely to be a short-term deal to allow Greece to meet its financing requirements," she said. "A lot of the longer-term issues are still likely to need to be ironed out."

Related: How Greece could accidentally stumble out of the eurozone

The latest developments came as the ECB reportedly increased its access to funding for Greek banks. Shut out of normal funding operations and facing dwindling deposits, Greek banks have been relying on emergency liquidity assistance, or ELA.

The threshold for emergency assistance was reportedly raised by €3.3 billion to €68.3 billion.

Earlier this month the ECB said that it would no longer accept junk-rated Greek government bonds as collateral for cheap central bank cash because it could not assume "a successful conclusion of the [bailout] program review."

That has meant Greek banks have had to lean more heavily on ELA, which is more expensive and also requires continuing ECB authorization.

CNNMoney (London) February 19, 2015: 10:17 AM ET

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Stocks: 5 things to know before the open

Click chart for in-depth premarket data.

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

1. Stocks slip, oil slides: U.S. stock futures are taking a small step back and European markets are mixed in early trading.

Oil futures are down by about 4%, with crude trading around $50 per barrel.

StockViews chief executive Tom Beevers said a report from the American Petroleum Institute showing a jump in crude supplies was "spooking the market."

This comes ahead of the closely-watched U.S. Energy Information Administration report due out 11 a.m. ET, which is also expected to show oil inventories have risen.

Over the past few months, moves in oil prices have influenced stock markets, though the recent correlation between equities and oil is considered abnormal.

2. Latest Greek moves: Greece has asked its group of European creditors to give it a six-month loan extension, according to a tweet by the head of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem.

Greece's current bailout program expires on February 28 and markets have been concerned that the country is going to run out of money and could exit the eurozone.

No word yet on how creditors will respond.

Related: Fear & Greed Index

3. Central bank insights: The European Central Bank is set to publish minutes from its January meeting, giving investors insight into the historic decision to launch a large scale, money-printing program. Markets will be curious to see how united the central bankers were during their discussions.

This comes after the U.S. Federal Reserve released its latest set of meeting minutes Wednesday. Investors generally focused on a line indicating the Fed would keep interest rates at record-low levels for "a longer time".

The Fed had been indicating it may raise rates this year as the economy picked up.

4. Earnings and economics: Walmart (WMT), DirecTV (DTV) and Priceline (PCLN, Tech30) are reporting earnings before the opening bell.

Intuit (INTU) and Nordstrom (JWN) will report after the close.

Shares in Air France-KLM (AFLYY) were declining by about 5% in Europe after the company reported full-year results. The company struggled last year as pilots went on strike for an extended period.

"Strike action by Air France pilots did not help, but we believe there was underlying weakness too," said Liberum analyst Gerald Khoo. "We remain concerned about the outlook."

On the economic front, the U.S. government will post weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET.

5. Wednesday market recap: Over the previous trading session, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 18 points, the S&P 500 was flat, and the Nasdaq rose 0.1%.

CNNMoney (London) February 19, 2015: 5:27 AM ET

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McDonald's brings back Chicken Selects

After a two-year hiatus, McDonald's is putting Chicken Selects back on the menu.

"Chicken Selects will make a national return in early March and [will] be sold as an order with three pieces," confirmed McDonald's spokeswoman Terri Hickey, in an email to CNNMoney. "We look forward to bringing back this customer favorite made with chicken tenderloin."

Chicken Selects were on the menu for 10 years, but that ended in 2013 when McDonald's (MCD) trimmed down its menu.

This could be one of the changes that the struggling fast food chain recently promised, after its CEO stepped down.

Related: McDonald's tried to turn Chipotle into another McDonald's

It's probably a good time to put Chicken Selects back on the table.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has recently reported a glut in poultry production.

McDonald's has continued to sell other chicken items, such as Chicken Nuggets, which it has vigorously defended against "rumors" that it contained undesirable ingredients.

CNNMoney (New York) February 19, 2015: 10:04 AM ET

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Control everything with the tap of a button

The new Do Note app from IFTTT turns common tasks into one-button shortcuts, like adding updates to Evernote.

There are social networks and messaging services, each with their own websites and mobile apps. Then there are stand-alone apps that control "smart" devices -- thermostats, lightbulbs, fitness trackers, scales -- which have only just starting trickling into our homes.

One company called IFTTT has been working on automation tools that make it easier for all those apps and gadgets to work together. Now it's reaching out to the non-technical crowd with a new trio of dead-simple apps.

The name stands for "If This Then That," a phrase that describes exactly how it works: If you post a photo to Facebook, then save it to Dropbox. Called recipes, you can create your own or choose from the thousands in the IFTTT library.

There are recipes to text your husband when you're a certain distance from the house, email you anything your mom tweets, or flash the lights when someone opens your (sensor-equipped) liquor cabinet at home.

Related: How these 5 startups are reimagining the world

Users cobble together automations using any of the 170 compatible services like Facebook (FB, Tech30), Nest and Fitbit.

The company's three new apps let you create buttons that trigger automated actions, Do Button, Do Note and Do Camera. The Do Button app lets you create a shortcut on your homescreen that, with one tap, acts as an on/off switch for smart devices or notes your location in a Google spreadsheet. Date night? Tap the button you programmed to lower all the lights in your house. You can create up to three customizable buttons (IFTTT is considering charging for additional ones).

Do Note simplifies any task you do frequently that involves typing out text, like adding items to a shopping list or emailing yourself a reminder. For example, use Do Note to create a button called "Grocery." Tap it, type "Buy Cheerios" and the note will automatically show up in Evernote. Do Camera does the same for photos, so you can make a button that automatically emails selfies to your three best friends.

Related: Virtual reality on your Facebook feed?

The Do buttons aren't just cutting down on steps, they're an early attempt to give people one central way to control all their Internet of Things devices. IFTTT is also turning regular people into programers, even if they don't know it.

"Everyone in the physical world is a whole lot more of a programmer than they give themselves credit for," said CEO Linden Tibbets.

The company was founded in 2010 by Linden and his brother Alexander Tibbets. Its users are enthusiastic and have created 19 million recipes so far, but the company wanted to take the product in a direction that was easier to understand.

"IFTTT is really trying to solve the next step, which is how do we help people do what they want with all this connected stuff," said Tibbets.

He imagines a future in which everything will be connected to the internet and compatible with IFTTT. These new apps are just laying the groundwork for a future operating system.

That's an ambitious and complicated goal for a very simple service.

CNNMoney (New York) February 19, 2015: 10:25 AM ET

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First peek into secretive European Central Bank meetings show division

Mario Draghi is the president of the European Central Bank.

Some participants at the historic January meeting opposed the program's timing, saying there was "no urgent need" for the massive bond buying measures, according to minutes the bank released Thursday. Others said this kind of stimulus program should only be used "as a last resort" if deflation spiraled out of control.

But those voices were drowned out by the "large number" of central bankers who wanted to trigger the program and shield the economy from deflationary pressures.

The central bank is tasked with ensuring price stability in the eurozone, and it targets inflation levels just below 2%.

In December -- right before the meeting -- the eurozone experienced deflation for the first time since the Great Recession, in part because of rapidly falling oil prices. Many were concerned that, without action, inflation would stay "too low for too long."

In a bid to boost the economy and inflation, some ECB members even discussed buying corporate bonds instead of just government bonds. But this strategy was considered to be too "limited" to be effective.

Related: 3 reasons why the ECB stimulus matters

Many outside observers were expecting more fireworks from these meeting notes. Overall, they were considered relatively tame, though experts looked closely at the points of disagreement.

It was reported by financial media that German, Dutch, Austrian and Estonian central bankers were opposed to triggering the stimulus program, which will run from March until the end of September 2016.

"Unless the inflation outlook deteriorates further, divisions [within the ECB] are ... likely to place continued limits on the policy's size and effectiveness," said Jennifer McKeown, senior european economist at Capital Economics.

CNNMoney (London) February 19, 2015: 10:57 AM ET

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Lenovo slipped 'Superfish' malware into laptops

Made by a company called "Superfish," the software is essentially an Internet browser add-on that injects ads onto websites you visit.

Besides taking up space in your Lenovo computer, the add-on is also dangerous because it undermines basic computer security protocols.

That's because it tampers with a widely-used system of official website certificates. That makes it hard for your computer to recognize a fake bank website, for instance.

It's a nasty trick -- the same one that the in-flight Wi-Fi service Gogo was caught doing last month.

"This is exactly what bad guys do with trojans and other malicious software to trick users to access fake sites to surveil/monitor private communications," said Kevin Bocek, an executive at cybersecurity company Venafi.

Customers started spotting this on their Lenovo computers in mid-2014.

After facing a fierce backlash by customers and computer security experts this week, Lenovo on Thursday acknowledged as much.

"User feedback was not positive," so Lenovo stopped preloading the software on new computers in January, a company spokesman said. Lenovo also promised it "will not preload this software in the future" and said it disabled the feature on its servers, which essentially kills the program on everyone's computer.

The company initially claimed it only included Superfish on "some consumer notebook products shipped in a short window between October and December." When CNNMoney noted that customers started complaining about this feature earlier than that, Lenovo acknowledged that factory installations of Superfish started back in September.

But questions remain. It's also unclear which exact laptop models were affected. A Lenovo representative said the company could not immediately answer these questions.

So, what was the point of the "Superfish Visual Discovery" software? It makes it easier to shop for deals. The program analyzes images you see on the Web and presents similar products that might have lower prices.

Lenovo stressed that the program did not "monitor user behavior" or record user information.

"The relationship with Superfish is not financially significant; our goal was to enhance the experience for users," the company said in a statement. "We recognize that the software did not meet that goal and have acted quickly and decisively."

To be completely safe, experts usually advise that users reinstall a fresh new operating system. Lenovo customers have already paid for Windows in their laptops, so they will have to shell out another $120 for a copy of Windows 8.1.

Related: Chinese New Year 2015: Traditional gifts go digital

Related: Uber looks to bank an additional $1 billion

Related: Reddit is donating 10% of its revenue to charity

CNNMoney (New York) February 19, 2015: 11:23 AM ET

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America's most successful stock

One dollar invested in this company in 1968 was worth $6,638 yesterday (including dividends). That's an annual return of 20.6% per year for nearly half a century. No other company comes close to matching its long-term results, according to Wharton professor Jeremy Siegel.

The same dollar invested in the S&P 500 over the same period would be worth $87, or 98% less.

What company is this?

Let's think it through.

It had to have been revolutionary. It had to have been innovative. It must be in an industry that changed the world -- probably the biggest trend of the 20th century. It must have done something no other company could do.

Computers? Satellites? Biotech?

Nope. It's Altria (MO), the cigarette company.

Related: How much money do you need for retirement

Red hot returns: Credit Suisse published a report this week on the performance of every major American industry from 1900 to 2010.

One dollar in the average American industry was worth $38,255 by 2010. That's an annual return of about 10% per year. Some did far better: $1 invested in food companies was worth about $700,000 by 2010. Chemical and electrical equipment companies returned about the same.

Then there's tobacco, which was in a league of its own.

One dollar invested in tobacco stocks in 1900 was worth $6.3 million by 2010. That's 165 times greater than the average industry.

During a century of innovation, progress, excitement, and scientific advancement, no industry did better than cigarettes.

Related: Bankrupt RadioShack wants to reward execs with bonuses

Industry in decline: Most people would look at these numbers and say, "Well, sure. That's what happens when you sell an addictive product."

But what's extraordinary about this story is that the cigarette industry has been in decline for decades.

Cigarettes are, of course, addictive. But smoking rates have been falling for half a century. Half the percentage of U.S. adults smoke today than did in the 1950s. And even though there's been population growth during that period, it hasn't been enough to offsets the decline in smoking rates. Total U.S. cigarette consumption peaked in 1981 at 640 billion cigarettes. By 2007 that dropped 44%, to 360 billion:

By unit sales, tobacco is one of the least successful Americans industries of the last 30 years. Add to it that tobacco advertising has been largely banned for more than a decade, and legal settlements have cost the industry billions. It's amazing tobacco has been able to produce any returns, let alone the highest in American history.

Related: Porsche is planning to eat Tesla's lunch

Foreign sales, pricing power: Part of tobacco stocks' rise is thanks to foreign operations, in countries where smoking is more common and hasn't declined as much as the U.S. But there's more going on here. Altria spun off its international division, Philip Morris International (PM), in 2008. Altria stock is up 289% since then, versus 79% for the S&P 500

Part of it is the ability to raise prices. Tobacco product inflation has increased almost five times faster than overall inflation since 1950. But that, too, doesn't explain everything. A lot of the price increases have been to offset rising tobacco taxes, which in some states make up more than one-third the sales price. (Altria pays far more in excise taxes than it earns in profits.)

There is something about tobacco that leads to extraordinary returns despite a subpar business.

What is it?

It comes down to two factors, both of which are paradoxical and relevant to all investors in all industries.

Related: 1 oil stock I finally bought

Fear, disgust & hatred is good for investors: A lot of investors (understandably) want nothing to do with tobacco companies. Some pension funds are barred from owning them. And then there's the constant threat of litigation, which has hung over the industry for decades. It adds up to millions of otherwise enterprising investors who won't touch tobacco stocks.

Low investor demand keeps tobacco-stock valuations low. Low valuations lead to high dividend yields. And high dividend yields, compounded over decades, add up to massive returns.

The more hated an investment is, the higher future returns are likely to be. The same is true vice versa. This is one of the most difficult investing concepts to come to terms with, but probably the most powerful.

Related: Has Amazon Prime reached a tipping point?

Tobacco companies barely innovate. That keeps them sustainable: Innovation is exciting because it promises something new. New products. New markets. A new future.

But it's expensive. And even if you're great at it -- like Apple (AAPL, Tech30) is -- you'll probably stumble one day.

The products Apple made just five years ago are utterly irrelevant today. The company has to reinvent itself every few years, continuously coming up with breakthrough products that blow us away. What are the odds it'll keep innovating consistently at the rate it has for another 20, 30, 50 years? Pretty low, I'd say. Even the best players strike out from time to time, and ruthlessly competitive markets show them no mercy. It's rare that a leader sticks around for more than a decade in industries that undergo constant change.

Related: Robert Shiller is buying European stocks

Boring is beautiful: Companies that make the same product today they did 50 years ago are different. They don't innovate, but they don't have to. It's a boring business, but it can be beautiful for shareholders because it keeps the companies chugging along for decades, if not centuries.

The ridiculously large gains from compound interest occur at long holding periods. The key to building wealth isn't necessarily high returns, but mediocre returns sustained for the longest period of time. You typically find that in boring companies that don't innovate, and sell the same products today that they did 50 years ago, and will likely be selling 50 years from now. Food, soap, toothpaste and, yes, cigarettes are good examples.

Morgan Housel owns shares of Altria and Philip Morris International. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The Motley Fool (New York) February 19, 2015: 11:37 AM ET

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Even insured consumers get hit with surprisingly large bills

Health insurance doesn't always spare consumers from big health care bills.

Having done her homework, she was stunned to get a $10,000 bill from the surgeon.

"I panicked when I got that bill," said the 60-year-old retired civil servant who lives near Roseville, Calif.

Like Durocher, many consumers who take pains to research which doctors and hospitals participate in their health insurance plans can still end up with huge bills.

Sometimes, that's because they got incorrect or incomplete information from their insurer or health-care provider. Sometimes, it's because a physician has multiple offices, and not all are in network, as in Durocher's case. Sometimes, it's because a participating hospital relies on out-of-network doctors, including emergency room physicians, anesthesiologists and radiologists.

Consumer advocates say the sheer scope of such problems undermine promises made by proponents of the Affordable Care Act that the law would protect against medical bankruptcy.

"It's not fair and probably not legal that consumers be left holding the bag when an out-of-network doctor treats them," said Timothy Jost, a law professor at Washington and Lee University.

Adding insult to injury, insurers are not required to count out-of-network charges toward Obamacare's annual limit on out-of-pocket expenses.

Efforts by doctors, hospitals and other health providers to charge patients for bills not covered by their insurers are called "balance billing." The problem pre-dates the Obamacare and has long been among the top complaints filed with state insurance regulators.

Because the issue is complex and pits powerful rivals against one another— among them, hospitals, doctors and insurers— relatively few states have addressed it. What laws do exist are generally limited to specific situations, such as emergency room care, or certain types of insurance plans, such as HMOs.

Obamacare largely sidesteps the issue as well. It says insurers must include coverage for emergency care and not charge policyholders higher copayments for ER services at non-network hospitals. While the insurer will pay a portion of the bill, in such cases, doctors or hospitals may still bill patients for the difference.

Related: You'll pay a lot more to see the doctor with Obamacare

That means that in spite of having insurance, a consumer involved in a car wreck and taken to a non-network hospital might receive additional bills, not just from the hospital, but from the radiologist who read his X-rays, the surgeon who repaired his broken leg and the laboratory that processed his blood tests.

Networks Get Narrower

Advocates believe a growing number of consumers are vulnerable to balance billing as insurance networks grow smaller in the bid to hold down costs.

For example, there were no in-network emergency room physicians or anesthesiologists in some of the hospitals participating in plans offered by three large insurers in Texas in 2013 and 2014, according to a survey of state data by the Center for Public Policy Priorities, a Texas advocacy group.

Smaller networks are also becoming more common in employer-based insurance: About 23% of job-based plans had so-called "narrow networks" in 2012, up from 15% in 2007, according to a May report from the Urban Institute and Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms.

To protect consumers, advocacy groups want regulators to strictly limit balance billing when an insured person gets care in a medical facility that is part of an insurer's network.

Some states have taken other steps to protect consumers:

• Colorado insurers must pay non-network medical providers their full charges, not discounted network rates, for care at in-network hospitals.

• In Maryland, insurers must pay for "covered services," which includes emergency care, but the state sets standardized payment rates.

• Starting in April, New Yorkers won't face extra bills for out-of-network emergency care, when an in-network provider is unavailable or when they aren't told ahead of time that they may be treated by a non-participating provider. Instead, the bills must be settled in arbitration between the providers and the insurance companies.

Related: Paying thousands before health insurance even kicks in

Cost Trade-Offs

Insurers defend the move to smaller networks of doctors and hospitals as a way to provide the low-cost plans that consumers say they want.

If regulators required them to fully cover charges by out-of-network doctors, that could reduce "incentives for providers to participate in networks" and make it harder to have adequate networks, America's Health Insurance Plans, the insurers' trade group, and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association wrote in a joint letter to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

It would also raise premiums.

Instead, AHIP says, states could require out-of-network doctors to accept a benchmark payment from insurers, perhaps what Medicare pays, rather than balance billing patients.

Physicians, meanwhile, blame insurers for inadequate networks.

"It is the limited coverage, not the physician bill, which is the cause of the unfairness," the Texas Medical Association wrote to the NAIC.

At the very least, doctors and hospitals say insurers need to do a better job of educating policyholders that their plans may not cover care provided by some doctors and hospitals. And not all doctors choose to balance bill.

For patients like Durocher, the only recourse is to negotiate with the physician or hospital to ask them to lower or drop the charges.

"Fortunately for me," Durocher said, "this doctor was very nice and wrote off almost $7,000 of the bill."

Related: Hospitals ask patients to pay upfront

How To Protect Yourself From "Balance" Bills

1) Check your insurer's website to verify that the hospital or doctor is listed, and then call the provider to be sure. Use in-network providers whenever possible. Be aware that some health-care providers may be in-network only at specific offices.

2) Be aware you could be billed by an out-of-network doctor even at an in-network hospital. Some plans will cover those costs fully, especially for emergency care, but many do not. When possible, request a network doctor, anesthesiologist or specialist in advance of elective surgery. If you are billed by a non-network provider, call your plan to find out if it will cover the bill because you were at an in-network hospital.

3) If you get a balance bill, double-check to make sure the doctor or hospital is not part of your network. If they are not in your plan, check with your state insurance regulator to see if there are rules that might protect you, especially in an emergency situation. Ask the doctor or hospital to reconsider. If they won't, complain to your health plan and whoever regulates it, as well as to your state's consumer assistance program, if there is one.

4) Negotiate. If there are no plan policies or state rules to prevent the billing, negotiate with the providers to lower their charges to an amount close to what an insurer would pay. Your insurer's website might have pricing information. Websites, such as Fair Health or Health Care Bluebook, can also help determine the prices of various procedures.

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a national health policy news service. It is an editorially independent program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

CNNMoney (New York) February 19, 2015: 11:42 AM ET

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ABC casts Richard Dreyfuss as Bernie Madoff

ABC has signed Richard Dreyfuss (left) to play Bernie Madoff in a miniseries coming to the network later this year.

And it's not the only television project about Madoff: HBO has been developing a potential movie about the notorious Ponzi schemer since 2011.

Robert De Niro is involved in the HBO project.

The Dreyfuss project by ABC is moving forward faster: The network is busy casting his co-stars now. A specific air date has not yet been determined.

An ABC representative confirmed that the miniseries is being written by Ben Robbins and produced by Linda Berman and Joe Pichirallo.

It's being made by Lincoln Square Productions, an arm of ABC News that makes reality shows and documentaries for the ABC network and various cable channels.

Parts of the miniseries rely on the reporting of Brian Ross, ABC's longtime investigative correspondent.

As for HBO, it has optioned two books about Madoff: Laurie Sandell's "Truth And Consequences: Life Inside The Madoff Family" and Diana Henriques's "The Wizard Of Lies: Bernie Madoff And The Death Of Trust."

HBO, which is owned by CNNMoney corporate parent Time Warner (TWX), declined to comment on Thursday about the status of that project.

CNNMoney (New York) February 19, 2015: 11:44 AM ET

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Walmart ups pay well above minimum wage

The company said 500,000 full-time and part-time associates, nearly half of its work force at Walmart (WMT) U.S. stores and Sam's Clubs, will receive pay raises in April to at least $9 an hour. That will be $1.75 above the federal minimum wage.

By next February 1, their pay will go to at least $10 an hour.

The company said workers will also have more control over their schedules, but it declined to give details of those changes. And it said it would invest more in training to give entry-level workers greater chance for promotion and other career advancement.

The wage scale and other improvement in work conditions will cost the company about $1 billion in this fiscal year.

Walmart's pay and employment policies have been the focus of protest by some workers and outside labor groups seeking to organize Walmart employees. Black Friday protesters last year were demanding a $15 an hour pay minimum across the company.

Related: New laws mean wage bumps at Walmart

Currently, only about 6,000 Walmart employees out of more than 1.2 million nationwide are paid at the $7.25 an hour federal minimum wage, according to the company. It employs more U.S. workers than any other business.

Once the company's starting pay becomes $9 an hour in April, the average pay for full-time retail workers there will be about $13 an hour. Walmart has previously said that average already stands at $12.94 an hour.

The average part-time wage will be about $10 an hour, according to Carol Schumacher, vice president of investor relations for the company.

President Obama has proposed raising the federal minimum to $10.10 an hour, but Republicans in Congress have so far blocked those efforts. But many states have gone ahead and raised their own state minimum wage rates, either by action of the legislature or voter initiative.

"We're not taking a position on what the government does," said Schumacher. "But any time any company, whether it's us or someone else, raises wages, it's a help for the economy."

Related: 24 hours with a minimum wage worker

The improved labor market, with employers hiring at their strongest pace since the 1990s, is giving workers a boost: The average wage nationwide climbed by 2.2% over the previous year, according to the Labor Department. The number of employees willing to quit jobs to look for or take new positions is also rising.

While Walmart says the higher wages should help reduce its turnover rate, Schumacher said these plans were in the works well before the recent pick-up in the job market. But Walmart is following the path blazed by others, including clothing retailer Gap (GPS) and furnishings retailer Ikea, which already raised the wages of its lowest paid employees early last year.

OUR Walmart, the union-backed group organizing protests at Walmart, took credit for the company's announcement.

"We are so proud that by standing together we won raises for 500,000 Walmart workers, whose families desperately need better pay and regular hours from the company," said Emily Wells, a leader of the group. But she said the improved wages still fell well short of what was needed.

"With $16 billion in profits, Walmart can afford to provide the good jobs that Americans need -- and that means $15 an hour, full-time, consistent hours and respect for our hard work."

But the National Retail Federation, which has been a leader in the fight against raising the minimum wage, said Wal-Mart's announcement was proof that a change in the minimum wage is not needed, saying it is an example of the "power of the marketplace."

"Like many other retailers, Walmart made its decision based upon what is best for their employees, their customers, their shareholders and the communities in which they operate," said Mathew Shay, CEO of the retailers' trade group.

Yahoo (YHOO, Tech30) CEO Marissa Mayer, a member of the Walmart board, tweeted that she was "so happy for Walmart associates and proud of Walmart management. A great leadership decision by [Walmart CEO] Doug McMillon."

--CNNMoney's Katie Lobosco contributed to this report

CNNMoney (New York) February 19, 2015: 11:44 AM ET

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25% of physical gold buyers are crazy, metals executive says

These investors are convinced gold will spike to $10,000 an ounce (it's currently around $1,225) when the U.S. government implodes, said Peter Hug, an executive at metals retailer Kitco.

Hug calls these people "crazies" and says they form a substantial amount of the U.S. physical gold market -- at least 25%.

It's no secret that gold has long been viewed as a form of insurance against disaster. The thinking is that even if the financial or political system collapses, gold will still hold value.

The yellow metal is also widely seen as a hedge against inflation and the collapse of the dollar. Those are two things gold bugs have been deeply worried about given the massive amount of money printing the Federal Reserve has done since the Great Recession.

Related: Winklevoss twins say Bitcoin is better than gold

The end-of-the-world trade: Hug's comments at the Inside ETF Conference last month may raise some eyebrows because he is an executive at one of the largest online retailers of precious metals in North America.

These so-called crazy gold provide lots of business for Kitco. He said their influence is most obvious in the market for smaller units of physical gold between one and 32 ounces.

"These investors buy the metal and it just disappears. It goes under their mattress. They want to use it when the world ends," Hug told CNNMoney.

Related: Tim Geithner says Europe may be in worse spot than Japan

Irrational fears or smart safeguards? Peter Schiff, an outspoken gold investors for years, said this characterization of gold buyers is unfair.

"The fears of an economic collapse in the United States are not irrational. I think it's more irrational when people are complacent that nothing can go wrong," Schiff told CNNMoney.

It's tough to second guess those who bet on gold before the meltdown of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. Prices spiked from around $800 an ounce in late 2007 to more than $1,800 in 2011 as central bankers raced to stabilize the financial system and get out of the Great Recession.

Where's the hyperinflation? Yet inflation remains nonexistent. Heck, deflation is more of a concern right now in many parts of the world. That's partially why gold has dipped to under $1,250 an ounce today.

Schiff concedes that some people are so paranoid that they own nothing but physical gold.

"That is being too fearful and maybe obsessed with it. But is that any less rational than the person who owns no gold whatsoever?" he asked.

Schiff said his brokerage firm, which sells physical gold for delivery, recommends people have 5% to 15% of their investment portfolio in physical gold.

Related: Gold is sexy again

Playing the fear card: Hug, a Canadian, said the fear trade is far more common in the U.S. than it is north of the border. This could partially be because Canada's financial system is viewed as less risky than Wall Street and experienced far less stress in 2008.

"You can't play the fear card if you're a dealer or a speaker as well in Canada as you can in the United States," he said.

Related: Red alert! 12 central banks cut rates this year

CNNMoney (New York) February 12, 2015: 10:02 AM ET

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Banks are supposed to pay savers, right? Not this one

FIH Erhvervsbank, a small bank in Denmark, will charge customers 0.5% interest on their deposits from March. Local media say 25,000 people will be affected.

That means for every $100 they deposit, the bank will take 50 cents.

It says it has no choice because it is being similarly charged by the central bank, which has cut official interest rates deep into negative territory. The latest move by the Danish National Bank earlier this month took rates to a record low of minus 0.75%.

Related: Red alert! 12 central banks cut rates this year

Central banks around the world are taking extraordinary measures to tackle the growing threat of deflation and economic stagnation.

That's creating strange moves in financial markets -- yields on some sovereign bonds have turned negative, meaning investors are now willing to take small losses in exchange for the relative safety of lending to governments.

Some companies are also able to borrow money from investors for free.

Denmark has been caught in the fallout from the European Central Bank's decision to launch quantitative easing next month.

That will drive down European bond yields further, and has pushed money out of the euro in search of better returns elsewhere.

Countries that don't use the euro, such as Denmark and Switzerland, have seen huge inflows of cash. Their central banks have been forced to react to try to stop their currencies surging higher and inflicting economic pain.

Sweden became the latest country to introduce negative rates Thursday, cutting its benchmark rate to minus 0.1%.

Related: Corporate bond rates go negative

CNNMoney (London) February 12, 2015: 9:29 AM ET

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Microsoft fixes a serious 15-year-old bug

Some bugs are buried deep in code. The Jasbug was buried so deep, Microsoft had to re-engineer core parts of Windows.

The "Jasbug" is a flaw in the way computers access files in a network. If any hackers knew about this since the year 2000, they could have used it to sneak into company computer systems and take complete control.

Let's say you use your laptop and public Wi-Fi to connect to computers at the office. Nearby hackers could spy on you, steal documents or plant malware -- the works.

There's no evidence yet that anyone exploited the Jasbug and did this. But it might be too early to tell.

Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) deemed the severity of this "critical." It even warranted an alert from the Department of Homeland Security, and similar warnings from major cybersecurity companies.

Jasbug affects everything from Windows Vista to the latest Windows 8.1. This is the kind of problem that will cause hell for system administrators and company IT folks.

Consider this yet another example that tiny flaws buried deep in computer code can come back to haunt you. In fact, Microsoft didn't even find this on its own.

An independent researcher, Jeff Schmidt of JAS Global Advisors in Chicago, discovered it while working on another project a year ago. He alerted Microsoft, and they worked together to fix this bug ever since.

Why did this fix take so long? Jasbug is a problem with the very design of Microsoft's operating system. The company had to re-engineer core parts of its giant engine -- and test it extensively to make sure it still worked right.

Microsoft can't afford to make fixes that crash an entire system. Remember, Windows is used by 91% of desktops everywhere, according to NetMarketShare.

Related: Google offers free 2 GB of storage after 'security checkup'

Related: Hackers are stealing your tax refund

Related: How safe are you? CNN's cybersecurity magazine

CNNMoney (New York) February 12, 2015: 10:19 AM ET

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Facebook now lets you post when you're dead

The oft-requested feature allows you to choose a Facebook (FB, Tech30) friend to be a "legacy contact," who will serve as a kind of executor of your social network page. The friend can post information on your behalf (such as funeral details), respond to new friend requests and update your profile photo.

Facebook said the legacy contact can't actually log into your account, change or delete any past posts, read your Facebook messages or remove your friends. But you can let your legacy contact download a copy of everything you've shared on Facebook, if you choose.

In the past, Facebook simply "memorialized" pages of people who died. The word "remembering" appeared next to the person's name on their profile, and friends were able to share memories of that person on his or her Timeline.

But Facebook wouldn't allow loved ones to change anything on the page, leaving many bereaved family members upset. They could -- and still can -- request that a page be taken down, but that can be a difficult process for some distraught loved ones.

To turn over access to a legacy contact, Facebook still requires people to request that a profile be memorialized, asking them to prove that a person has died.

To set up the legacy contact, click the down-arrow on the upper right hand corner of your screen. Click settings. Then on the left column, click Security, and then click Legacy Contact.

From there, you can enter the name of a Facebook friend to take control of your page after you die. It will auto-generate a message to that friend:

"Hi ___, Facebook now lets people choose a legacy contact to manage their account if something happens to them: https://www.facebook.com/help/1568013990080948. Since you know me well and I trust you, I chose you. Please let me know if you want to talk about this."

You also have the option to click a button that will give that person access to your posts, photos, videos and information in your "about" section -- basically everything except your personal messages.

If choosing legacy contacts isn't something you're interested in, Facebook also will let you delete your account after you die.

Facebook isn't alone in trying to solve the digital data management problem after you die.

In 2013, Google (GOOGL, Tech30) began allowing people to assign beneficiaries of their Google accounts. The Inactive Account Manager will send you a text message and an email if you haven't logged into Gmail, Google Maps, Google Drive, YouTube or any other Google apps for a set amount of time -- between three months and 18 months.

If you don't respond to Google's alert, Google will send your Google account data to a trusted contact or contacts. You can choose which Google services they're allowed to see -- or you can just delete you account, if you wish.

Related: Zuckberberg says a real estate developer is trying to extort him

Related: Zuckerberg has his Tim Cook moment

CNNMoney (New York) February 12, 2015: 9:03 AM ET

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Lester Holt, NBC's marathon man

Normally the weekend anchor for NBC News, since Monday, Holt's also been filling in for Brian Williams on the weekday "NBC Nightly News."

By Friday night he'll have anchored for seven days straight -- so who will be filling in for him for this weekend?

No one.

Holt will remain in his weekend chairs -- that's chairs, plural, the "Today" show, "Nightly News" and "Dateline" -- on Saturday and Sunday to help stabilize a news division that is in turmoil because of Williams' suspension and potential departure.

Related: Brian Williams' name just got cut from 'NBC Nightly News'

The marathon schedule is said to be Holt's idea -- because he doesn't want to further disrupt NBC's fragile position. Williams' sudden departure has been bad enough.

Holt is "the last guy to complain," said an NBC source.

The nonstop nature of Holt's work once garnered him the nickname "Iron Pants."

Two sources confirmed the weekend anchoring plan to CNNMoney. When he's not filling in for Williams, Holt usually starts his work week on Wednesdays.

But now everything is up in the air. He will be helming the weekday "Nightly News" for the foreseeable future, since Williams' suspension is expected to last six months.

There has been widespread speculation inside and outside NBC that Williams will not be able to return, and that Holt or another NBC anchor will become a permanent replacement.

In the meantime, NBC has to be thinking about giving Holt some weekends off.

Discussions about weekend fill-ins for Holt are underway, one of the sources confirmed, but no decisions have been made.

Separately, other anchors may fill in for Holt on a weekday "here and there," one of the sources said.

Savannah Guthrie, Matt Lauer, Josh Elliott, and Kate Snow have been mentioned as potential subs.

An NBC News spokeswoman declined to comment.

Related: With Brian Williams suspended, Lester Holt looks to steady 'NBC Nightly News'

In recent days Holt, 55, has been getting a media close-up that he never sought out or anticipated.

He joined NBC in 2000 after two decades in local TV. He was one of the main anchors on NBC's cable news channel, MSNBC, during the start of the Iraq War in 2003.

He has been a co-host of the weekend editions of "Today" since 2003. He added weekend "Nightly News" to his duties in 2007. He has been Williams' primary substitute for several years.

Frank Pallotta contributed reporting.

CNNMoney (New York) February 12, 2015: 11:29 AM ET

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The car of the future

That will depend largely on where you live. Transportation infrastructure -- at least in urban areas -- is undergoing a radical transformation.

Electric cars, cars that drive themselves, and cars you don't actually own, are just a few of the advances coming down the auto technology pipeline.

'We've entered into a period of enormous change," said Lawrence Burns, a University of Michigan engineering professor and former head of R&D at General Motors. "It's similar to what we saw in the early 1900s."

Here's what you might expect from your commute a decade or so from now.

The city: The sheer number of people living together in one place, coupled with the fact that they tend not to drive very far, makes innovation easier in an urban setting.

The most radical reinvention of the automobile might look like this: You need a car, so you call one on your smart phone. Within minutes, it pulls up. It's more like a pod with wheels than an actual car -- lighter and more fuel efficient. It runs on electricity, not gasoline. You don't drive it. It doesn't even have a steering wheel or brake pedal. A computer drives you to your destination -- perhaps in a dedicated lane.

"The future of the car is electric, and autonomous," said Levi Tillemann, a fellow at the New America Foundation and author of "The Great Race: The Global Quest for the Car of the Future."

You wouldn't own it because, why would you?

If self-driving technology takes off, it could reduce vehicle ownership rates by as much as 43%, according to a study this week from the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute.

"[A car] is an object that we spend a huge amount of money on, and we use it for two hours out of every 24," said Geoff Wardle, director of advanced mobility research at Art Center College of Design.

Related: Uber to develop a self-driving cars

Much of the technology is already here. Google (GOOG) has a self-driving car and thinks it will be commercial in a few years. Apps like Uber enable car-hailing from a smart phone, and services like ZipCar offer access to cars as needed.

Converging all these things is only a matter of time, and most likely happen where there are enough people to support a fleet of roving vehicles. Also, the slower speeds of city driving tend to make automated navigation easier. Plus, cities generally have a higher concentration of younger, more tech savvy people willing to embrace new technologies.

This transportation model could become ubiquitous in other densely populated areas as well, like college towns or office parks.

In the suburbs, there may be less car sharing and more outright ownership, as garages offer a convenient place to charge an electric vehicle.

The country: These advances aren't as likely to make their way to rural areas, at least not at first.

Fewer people traveling the roads means it's harder to collect real time information on traffic and road conditions, which could complicate the roll out of self-diving cars. And taxi-like services are less profitable. There are also fewer places for electric car charging stations and greater distances between each one.

"We're still going to have a very high percentage of conventionally fueled vehicles," said Ginger Goodin, director of the Transportation Policy Research Center at Texas A&M's Transportation Institute.

But that doesn't mean there won't be any advances.

Lighter materials and improvements in engine technology mean even gasoline and diesel vehicles will be more fuel efficient. And natural gas fueling stations could become more prevalent in rural areas.

People that live in the country and commute into the city could use a mix of these technologies.

Related: Best cars for the planet

Goodin herself recently became a member of Car2go, a new car sharing service run by Daimler, the maker of Mercedes Benz.

She drivers her regular car from her house outside Austin to a nearby park-and-ride, then takes public transit into the city. If she's needs a car while at work she uses a Car2go Smart car.

"I was tired of the commute and looking for options" she said. "I'm much more relaxed when I get home now."

Do you rely on tips as part of your compensation? Share your story.

CNNMoney (New York) February 12, 2015: 11:41 AM ET

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Is this the world's most expensive chocolate?

That's right. $260 for a single bar.

Is this the most expensive chocolate in the world?

"We've done our own investigating and we think it is," said To'ak Chocolate co-founder Jerry Toth.

He's unapologetic about the hefty price tag.

"It's not for everybody,' he said. "Even the box that the bar comes in is a piece of art."

Related: Aussie chocolates are getting smaller

To'ak, means "earth" and "tree" in a fusion of ancient Ecuadorian dialects, said Toth, who co-founded the company in 2013. Operations are split between Chicago and Quito, Ecuador's capital, which Toth said is ideal for making chocolate because of its low level of humidity.

Toth moved to Ecuador in 2007, where he set up a nonprofit rainforest conservation foundation. The work exposed him to the rare and unique cacao found in Ecuador and gave him the idea to make high-end chocolate from it.

He spent two years developing the idea and researching cacao and chocolate production, and then invested $250,000 to launch To'ak Chocolate in 2013.

Jerry Toth roasting cacao seeds that are used for makingToa'ak chocolate bars.

It's a laborious process to make the chocolate bars, which primarily sell online and in a handful of fine wine stores in the United States.

"Every step is controlled by hand," Toth said. That includes harvesting rare cacao seeds from coastal Ecuador, fermenting the seeds, grinding them and turning them into liquid dark chocolate. Toth said it can take four to five months to make a few hundred bars.

The bars are handmolded (Toth and his business partner Carl Schweizer also get in on the action) and feature a single cacao bean in the middle.

"The bean is an ultimate reminder to consumers that the chocolate bar started as a cacao bean that was harvested by hand from a tree," said Toth.

Each bar is then packaged in a handmade box from the same wood used to ferment the seed. The number of each bar is engraved on the back of the box, which also includes a wooden tong.

"Our fingers have their own smell and natural oils," said Toth. "We don't want anything sullying or altering the smell and taste of the chocolate before you eat it."

Related: Chocolate-making jobs are on the decline

Toth, who said he's not profitable yet, wants to make 1,500 bars this year and 10,000 a year by 2018. The slow ramp up is deliberate.

"We want To'ak chocolate to be an aspirational luxury," he said. "To'ak chocolate is not for trick-or-treats or for late-night cravings. It's meant to be savored, much like fine wine."

CNNMoney (New York) February 12, 2015: 10:10 AM ET

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What really scared Sony Pictures' Amy Pascal: The hacked emails

But Amy Pascal knew it was big trouble when her inbox was leaked online.

"I ran this company and I had to worry about everybody who was really scared. ... But nagging in the back of my mind, I kept calling (the tech team) going, 'They don't have our emails, tell me they don't have our emails,'" Pascal said. "Then they did. That was a bad moment."

Pascal was surprisingly candid about the massive hack as she sat down with journalist Tina Brown at the Women in the World conference on Wednesday.

The leaked emails from Pascal made headlines and showed personal conversations between Pascal and other big names that were both embarrassing and racially-insensitive, like derogatory comments about President Obama and others disparaging actors like Angelina Jolie.

However Pascal said that the damage to her working relationship with Jolie wasn't as great as many in the media assumed.

"The first person I talked to was Angie after that email," Pascal said. "Everybody understood because we all live in this weird thing called Hollywood. If we all actually were nice, it wouldn't work."

The hack also revealed internal data that showed the differences in pay between men and women in Hollywood.

According to Pascal, if women want more in the industry they have to demand it.

"What women have to do is not work for less money," she said. "They have to walk away."

Pascal also said she felt as a female executive in Hollywood it was her job to "control how everyone felt."

Yet as horrible as the cyberattack was for Sony (SNE) Pictures and herself it allowed her to realize she couldn't control everything.

"There was this horrible moment when I realized there was absolutely nothing I could do about whether I'd hurt people, whether I'd betrayed people," she said. "It was horrible ... it was also strangely freeing."

Pascal stepped down from her position at the studio last week but she isn't disappearing from Hollywood.

She is co-producing the new upcoming Spider-Man films between Disney's (DIS) Marvel and Sony.

CNNMoney (New York) February 12, 2015: 10:32 AM ET

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Elon Musk's 'insane' call: Tesla worth $700 billion

Musk told investors on the company's earnings conference call Wednesday evening that Tesla (TSLA) could be worth $700 billion by 2025.

In other words, Tesla could eventually be as valuable as Apple (AAPL, Tech30) as right now. Nevermind that Apple just became the first U.S. company worth that whopping valuation.

Musk made the prediction in response to a question about capital spending plans. Tesla is currently worth about $25 billion.

Related: Apple market cap tops $700 billion

The optimism from Musk is even more shocking since Tesla's stock plunged 7% Thursday morning after the company reported a surprise loss and lower sales than expected. Shares are now more than 30% below their all-time high.

Musk's math. So why does Musk think the stock could surge 2,700% in the next decade?

He bases his $700 billion valuation estimate on a couple of assumptions.

First, he thinks that the company can continue to report sales increases of 50% a year for the next decade.

Related: What will the car of the future look like?

Analysts are expecting Tesla to report $6 billion in revenue this year. Do the math and 50% a year would get Tesla to annual revenue of $346 billion by 2025.

Musk added that he thinks Tesla's profit margins could be 10%. That works out to $34.6 billion.

He then said that Tesla could merit a valuation of 20 times its annual profits. That gets you to a $692 billion market value.

Musk conceded that these are "back of the envelope" calculations. But he's confident that he'll be right.

"I'm not saying they're true or that they will occur, but I bet that they do occur," he said.

Related: Elon Musk stars on The Simpsons

But is Musk's math realistic? Can Tesla really report 50% revenue growth a year for ten years? That seems like a stretch.

Too many risks. The growth rates of all companies eventually begin to slow over time, especially as they grow larger. It happened at Apple and is happening at Google (GOOGL, Tech30) and Facebook (FB, Tech30). That's not a bad thing. It's just reality.

It's also unclear why Musk chose a multiple of 20 times earnings for his calculations.

Of course, that's a lot lower than the current Tesla valuation of more than 110 times 2015 profit forecasts, but 20 times earnings is significantly higher than the price for traditional auto companies GM (GM), Ford (F), Fiat Chrysler (FCAU), Toyota (TM) and Honda (HMC). It's also more expensive than Apple, which is valued at 15 times estimates.

For Tesla to get to nearly $350 billion in annual sales, it would need to sell millions of cars a year -- not tens of thousands.

To do that, everything has to go right for Tesla. The new Model X cross over will need to be a hit.

Related: Time to ditch Tesla stock?

It will have to get its big gigafactory running on schedule so it can make more batteries for its upcoming Model III vehicle.

That's the car that Tesla hopes to sell at a more affordable price in order to become a more mainstream auto company. The Model S is a high-end luxury brand, selling for nearly $70,000.

Tesla also has to figure out China. A stumble there was one of the reasons the fourth quarter numbers were considered a disappointment. And it's not as if GM and others are going to throw in the towel on electric cars.

Finally, Tesla has to hope that gas prices don't remain this low for a long stretch.

Related: Why is Fidelity investing in SpaceX?

Tesla's stock price has slid along with oil prices, and some analysts believe that demand for electric vehicles will never move beyond niche level unless consumers start to feel more pain at the pump again.

Now I'm not trying to suggest that Tesla's stock is doomed. Betting against Musk has so far been unwise. The stock has gained more than 10,000% since going public in 2010.

But Musk may be a little too optimistic.

It's a bit of a surprise. Musk has said on numerous occasions that he was worried the stock may be ahead of itself. But now he's pulling a SpaceX and saying the stock could surge into the stratosphere.

CNNMoney (New York) February 12, 2015: 11:08 AM ET

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Won the Powerball jackpot? Here comes the taxman

That's because winners have multiple options. For example, they can choose to receive either a smaller lump sum of cash or a larger amount paid out as an annuity. They can make a huge tax-deductible donation. The ticket could also have been bought in a state other than where the winner lives, which means the winner can owe taxes in two states.

And one of Wednesday's winners may not even owe federal income tax on the prize.

Besides the three winning jackpot tickets, there are 5,971,000 more winners who took home smaller prizes -- a total of $74.2 million, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association. Those smaller winners will also have tax obligations.

Related: Who won the largest Powerball jackpots

Federal: In most cases, the jackpot winners owe federal taxes and the IRS takes a slice even before the winner gets to the money. The government requires the lottery to report all prizes over $600, and automatically withholds 25% on prizes over $5,000, according to the Tax Foundation.

Unless the winner already earns more than most Americans, he or she will be bumped into the highest tax bracket and owe 39.6% of the income.

The states have their own tax laws.

Powerball tickets weren't sold in Puerto Rico until as recently as September, in Texas until 2010 and in North Carolina until 2006. The lottery association the runs Powerball was formed in 1987.

North Carolina: The North Carolina winner is likely going to foot the largest tax bill of the three winners.

Winnings there are subject to state income tax of 5.75%, which is levied through withholding before you even take home the big check.

Puerto Rico: The winner here likely won't owe the IRS because residents of the commonwealth -- a U.S. territory -- are typically exempt from paying federal income tax.

The winner would, however, file a federal income tax return if he or she isn't a resident of the island (for example, bought the ticket while on vacation).

But the winnings aren't totally tax-free: there's a personal income tax.

Texas: The Lone Star State is one of several that doesn't have a state income tax. So a Texas resident will only pay the federal tax on the winnings.

Related: Americans spend more on the lottery than on ...

Related: Powerball's $500 million? An exaggeration

CNNMoney (New York) February 12, 2015: 11:29 AM ET

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Red alert! 12 central banks cut rates this year

The move to make money even cheaper is sweeping across emerging markets and the developed world. Central banks representing roughly 60% of the global economy are cutting rates, or using other tools to pump more cash into the system.

Australia was the latest to trim rates to record lows this week, following cuts from Canada, Switzerland, Russia, India and others since the start of the year. China -- the world's second biggest economy -- cut rates at the end of 2014, and is expected to do so again in 2015.

Seven of the world's 10 biggest economies are in easy money mode. The U.S. and U.K. are in neutral. Only Brazil is currently raising rates.

Central bankers are reacting to expectations for weaker growth. The threat of deflation, or dangerously low inflation, is also forcing them to act.

The European Central Bank will launch a massive bond buying program worth at least $1.3 trillion next month to counter falling prices. Japan's central bank said last month it would continue to print money too.

"Inflation rates are falling globally, which are panicking central banks to do more than what even the most pessimistic analyst may have predicted," explained Bank of America Merrill Lynch strategists in a research note.

Related: This is the global economy's 'sink or swim' moment

The rate cuts and other monetary policy measures are intended to boost economic activity and inflation by encouraging bank lending. They also often have the effect of devaluing currencies, which helps lift exports.

But here's the problem: If everyone attempts to tackle deflation by depressing the value of their currencies, nobody wins. And this could hurt the U.S., which is the only major economy expected to start raising interest rates this year.

After impressive 5% growth in the third quarter, the U.S. economy cooled at the end of 2014. Fourth quarter growth of 2.6% was lower than expected.

The slowdown could be attributed in part to the rallying dollar, which has soared by 18% versus a group of other major currencies since mid-2014.

Global investors seeking higher returns have bid up the dollar, but this threatens to hurt American exports and corporations that operate overseas.

Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30), Google (GOOG) and Visa (V) have already warned that the dollar's strength could hurt their sales abroad.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said this week that U.S. economy could not pull the rest of the world out of the mire.

"While the recovery in the U.S. economy has helped to drive global growth, the rest of the world cannot depend on the United States to be the sole engine of growth," he said. "We must lead by example, [but] we cannot do it alone."

Related: Making money as the Fed raises rates won't be easy

A prolonged "easing war" among central banks can create another headache down the line by artificially boosting the value of stocks and real estate.

"The longer this goes on, the more asset prices become over-valued and vulnerable to correction," the Institute of International Finance said Wednesday.

CNNMoney (London) February 5, 2015: 6:54 AM ET

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