Britain, Italy include drugs and sex in GDP

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The U.K.'s Office of National Statistics announced Thursday that paying for drugs and sex adds about £10 billion ($16.7 billion) a year to the economy. The British government is now including prostitution and narcotics sales in its official Gross Domestic Product (GDP) statistic. That's the oft-cited measure of how much a country's economy grows or contracts.

Overall, illegal activities are still a small part of the U.K. economy -- a mere 0.7%, according to government estimates.

The reason for the change is to harmonize economic reporting across the European Union. Prostitution and some drugs are legal in the Netherlands, and the Dutch count those activities in official government statistics.

Since prostitution and many narcotics are still illegal in the United Kingdom, the government is using a combination of police seizures and other data to estimate how much money these activities are adding to the economy.

Related: High-tech sex workers in Silicon Valley

Governments often use surveys to gather this information, but drug dealers are unlikely to answer those.

Italy made a similar announcement last week that it would begin measuring narcotics and sex work in its GDP, generating "mafia economy" jokes as the news reached social media.

But the Brits and Italians aren't the only ones who measure illegal business activity in their countries. Estonia, Austria, Slovenia, Finland, Sweden and Norway do as well.

Even the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis measures prostitution as a part of Nevada's state GDP.

"Where prostitution is legal, we will count it," says spokesman Thomas Dail.

In Nevada, the BEA counts prostitution under "other personal services," where it gets rounded up with small industries like personal trainers and party planning.

"It's one of those hodge-podge categories," Dail says.

The BEA is now doing the same for Washington and Colorado's marijuana industries.

Related: Investors high on marijuana despite risks

In Colorado and Washington, the marijuana business gets sized up in categories like retail or agriculture, depending on the point of sale, he says.

First Published: May 29, 2014: 4:04 PM ET

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Here is ousted RadiumOne CEO Gurbaksh Chahal's letter to the board

(CNNMoney)

To the Board of Directors of RadiumOne:

As you all know, I resigned from the board of directors on Tuesday. In light of recent events and to stay transparent and forthright, you give me no other vehicle than an open letter to communicate adequately.

I am deeply disappointed by your actions and decisions over the last few weeks.

All of you were well aware of the legal matter I had been struggling with since August, just as you were aware that of the exaggerated allegations against me. You supported me from the beginning both in person and in writing, and you made it clear that you had every intention of standing by me until justice prevailed.

In August 2013, when this incident first arose, I even suggested Bill Lonergan to take over as CEO while I battle to clear my name and you were against that idea. You gave me your full support, confirming that I was still the best person to lead the Company. So, I continued to honor my commitment to you and to grow the company.

In my effort to maintain full transparency, I kept you abreast of my case. I was always forthright and honest during our conversations, text messages, emails, and board meetings.

Soon enough, the potential for an IPO for RadiumOne became a reality, and in December we started meeting with banks. We even created an IPO sub-committee, which was tasked with submitting a progress report every two weeks.

Since my case was still in limbo, it became the main roadblock holding our company back from an impending IPO. The legal process was slow, and my case was still in the early stage. We agreed to keep moving forward with the IPO plans including hiring an IPO consultant.

Given the timing of an IPO, you began suggesting that I should not try for full exoneration with a trial, since that could take a year or more and disrupt the timing and IPO process. One approach involved getting the case to a misdemeanor plea so that we could resolve the case and focus on the IPO. You communicated this to me during several board meetings, emails, as well as conversations with my counsel.

By April, after the first settlement conference and preliminary hearing, my legal team was able to get a misdemeanor plea that was satisfactory to both the RadiumOne board and the bankers. You were well aware that if I had gone to trial I would have gotten full exoneration. Instead, I sacrificed full exoneration for the sake of the Company's IPO, and - more importantly -- for you and for our shareholders.

On our board meeting of Tuesday, April 22nd, with only a week to go before the IPO bake-off, I told all of you that my personal matter had been resolved. Everyone was very happy with the outcome, as evidenced by various congratulatory gestures.

The next day, I was practically lynched on social media when the local press began covering the news. Everyone seemed fixated on the initial allegations made by the DA, which were false. The decision to accept the misdemeanor plea to end this case, instead of going to trial, was proving ineffective. This was the first wave of the social media lynching.

Robin Murray told me to stay calm, to ignore the press, and to focus on the bake-off and the IPO. However, On Friday morning, with the story going viral, Robin and David Silverman made a house call to see if I would consider resigning. They said they "couldn't handle all the bad press." This came shortly after full support -- both in written remarks in emails and on calls from them less than 48 hours ago.

I declined the request to resign. Later that day, the board called for an emergency board meeting for Saturday evening. At the advice of my counsel and of the company counsel - I wrote to remind you that I had simply taken this plea as a strategic move for the company and for the IPO, as you had instructed me to do so.

It's clear to my counsel and I, that I was wrongfully terminated. When I offered to resign in August, I instead received the board's full support to stay on as the "rainmaker," the key visionary to take the Company forward and eventually public. There is no documentation in the history of the Company to indicate that there was any dissatisfaction with my performance as the Chairman & CEO. It was praise - in every board meeting - for my performance.

I know you have your individual careers in mind, but I am shocked and saddened at how you responded to social media. I was going through hell, both professionally and personally (my father had just had another heart-attack brought on largely by this incident). I thought I could count on your support as a board, as executives, and as a team and you abandoned me when I most needed your support. And what did I do to deserve this, when all I've ever done is to put the interests of you and the Company ahead of my own?

You are the team that I relied on and that helped me build the company to where it is today. I never took a salary at RadiumOne. I put my heart, soul, and millions of dollars of my own money into launching the Company. I always thought it would be better to create jobs rather than to pay myself a CEO salary. In exchange, you offered me an option grant. Now, as part of my abrupt departure, not only are you withholding that, but now you're also trying to figure out other ways dilute my holdings at RadiumOne further.

I sincerely hope you wake up from this greed, betrayal, and dishonesty.

You have left me with no other options but to seek legal recourse. And, now will have to face severe legal consequences individually for this in the court of law.

All supporting documents relating to the facts of this letter have been sent to the press and my legal counsel.

First Published: May 29, 2014: 5:16 PM ET

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Ousted RadiumOne CEO: 'What did I do to deserve this?'

Ousted RadiumOne CEO Gurbaksh Chahal plans to sue his board, claiming wrongful termination.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The ad-startup executive was accused of hitting his girlfriend 117 times in a span of less than a half hour last August. The former CEO maintains that the allegations were false and his board encouraged him to plead to a misdemeanor rather than fight a lengthy trial to exonerate him.

"What did I do to deserve this, when all I've ever done is to put the interests of you and the company ahead of my own?" Chahal wrote in the letter first sent to CNNMoney. "I thought I could count on your support as a board, as executives, and as a team and you abandoned me when I most needed your support."

Chahal claims that the board was "well aware" of his legal trouble since August, and they knew the allegations "were completely false." He says he was "going through hell, both professionally and personally" and felt betrayed after the board bowed to the social media storm that ensued once the allegations became widely circulated.

Read Gurbaksh Chahal's open letter to the board

"I know you have your individual careers in mind, but I am shocked and saddened at how you responded to social media," he wrote. "You supported me, in person and in writing, and you made it clear that you had every intention of standing by me until justice prevailed."

Chahal also noted that he offered to resign in August 2013 but the board encouraged him to stay on.

As a result, Chahal said he plans to sue the company's board for wrongful termination, according to a letter obtained by CNNMoney.

Related: Board backed RadiumOne CEO days before firing him

Chahal has obtained a laywer and says the suit is "imminent."

"You have left me with no other options but to seek legal recourse," he writes. "You will now have to face severe legal consequences individually for this in the court of law."

In a statement to CNNMoney, the company said the complaint had no merit. "Gurbaksh Chahal's own actions impaired his ability to lead RadiumOne as CEO and gave the board no choice but to terminate his employment and name a new CEO," they said.

First Published: May 29, 2014: 5:19 PM ET

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Apple buying Beats for $3 billion

Dr. Dre, who co-founded Beats, will join Apple.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) will pay $2.6 billion up front, plus another $400 million over time. Apple's getting stylish hardware from Beats Electronics and a streaming service with Beats Music.

The deal is chump change for Apple, which is sitting on a giant mountain of cash: $159 billion as of last year.

Related story: Why I broke up with Apple

Still, many think Apple is wasting its time with Beats. The music streaming service has an estimated 500,000 customers, puny compared to Spotify's 4 million subscribers. Pandora (P), which is valued by investors at $5.2 billion, has more than 250 million active accounts. Apple could buy 30 Pandoras right now.

But on Wednesday, CEO Tim Cook made his case. In a statement, he said the deal brings together "extraordinary teams so we can continue to create the most innovative music products and services in the world."

Apple expects the deal to close in late summer or early fall.

The winners of the deal are Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre, both successful music producers who launched the company back in 2006 and quickly grew it via celebrity endorsements.

For his part, Dre is already calling himself "the first billionaire in hip hop." His stake in Beats, estimated at 20% to 25%, is expected to push his net worth of $550 million close to that number. But it's too early to tell if Dre is a billionaire just yet.
Meanwhile, Iovine described the deal as a match made in heaven. He said the whole Beats concept was inspired by Apple's perfect blend of culture and technology.

"I've always known in my heart that Beats belonged with Apple," Iovine said in a statement.

Dre and Iovine are also joining Apple, so Iovine is stepping down from his perch as CEO of the record company Interscope Geffen A&M.

First Published: May 28, 2014: 5:32 PM ET

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Why Snowden waited a whole year for his TV close-up

Edward Snowden appeared by videoconference at SXSW, but an interview with NBC is his first television sit-down.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

How long, they wondered, might he wait to have his first sit-down television interview, to speak out about why he did what he did? One month? Two?

Snowden actually waited one whole year, for reasons that have a lot to do with how the news media works.

Ben Wizner, the ACLU attorney who has been Snowden's legal adviser and liaison with the press, called the wait part of a "very very deliberate strategy all along" to make mass surveillance the story, not the man.

"Waiting a year meant that there was so much to ask him about other than himself," Wizner said.

Snowden ultimately decided to speak with "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams. "The interview with Williams was conducted in Moscow last week after months of preparation and is Snowden's first with a U.S. television network," NBC says.

The network will broadcast the highlights of the hours-long interview at 10 p.m. Wednesday. The interview comes just one week shy of the one-year anniversary of the first Guardian and Washington Post stories based on Snowden's leaks.

"What's going to be most interesting is to see if it moves the conversation or changes any minds," Williams told The New York Times.

Snowden, of course, has found many other ways to speak in the past year without giving a much-ballyhooed television interview. He spent hours with Bart Gellman of the Washington Post last December. He appeared via telepresence robot at a TED Conference and via videoconference at SXSW.

But "he had not sat down for the interview that would put him into ten million living rooms," as Wizner put it in a telephone interview.

Wizner said the long wait "made it much more likely that it would be a substantive conversation — because there was a year's worth of history that was made."

"I know there are still people calling him a fame-seeking narcissist," Wizner said. "The opposite is the case." While Snowden was and is willing to answer questions about himself and his motivations, Wizner said, he wanted the focus to be on the NSA's practices.

Wizner said Snowden's decision to speak with Williams first stemmed in large part from Glenn Greenwald's dealings with NBC. The Post's Erik Wemple noted that Greenwald briefly "worked as a freelancer for NBC News" and that NBC anchors have repeatedly interviewed Greenwald about his new book "No Place to Hide."

Will there be a second American television interview for Snowden? "I don't know," Wizner said. "I think we're going to let the dust settle first."

Also making media news today...

• Amazon has finally commented on its fight with Hachette. And Hachette responded...

• Chelsea Handler is the only woman with a daily late-night show. And in August, her show is ending. Where will she appear next?

First Published: May 28, 2014: 7:39 PM ET

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Qatar, UAE about to get major upgrade

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

But these two Persian Gulf countries are starting to make a name for themselves for their economies and stock markets.

Both countries will soon be upgraded to "emerging market" status, a step up from their classification as "frontier markets," a demarcation that's not too far off from the Wild West of the investing world.

The change in status by the MSCI will put Qatar and the UAE in the same league as countries like China and Brazil. It will also likely increase the flow of American investment dollars into these Gulf states.

Related: World Cup: Meet soccer's 10 biggest stars

Why does it matter?

When an organization like the MSCI shifts a country between the frontier and emerging categories, it's like a real estate agent tagging a neighborhood as hip or up-and-coming.

"There's this anticipation that more people will be interested in these stocks," said MorningStar senior fund analyst Patricia Oey of the change.

The MSCI unveiled the upgrades for Qatar and the UAE a year ago, but the official switch is expected to take place in June.

Investors who put money into funds that track the popular MSCI Emerging Markets Index are likely to own more stocks from these Gulf states soon.

Related: Investors dip a toe back into emerging markets

The Gulf state growth story

Between 2008 and 2012, Qatar saw its GDP grow an astounding 86%, according to the World Bank, rocketing past other frontier nations like Nigeria and Saudi Arabia. The UAE's economy has grown more modestly over the same period, although still twice as quickly as the U.S.

Additionally, the index move announcement last year is part of the reason both nations' stock markets have had such impressive gains. The Qatar Exchange Index is up 44% over the last year, and the UAE's Dubai Financial Market General Index has more than doubled.

Compare that to the S&P 500, a popular American stock market index. It's up 15% in the last 12 months.

Bigger fish, smaller pond

The trick for Qatar and the UAE will be to keep the excitement -- and growth -- up to draw investors when they stop being the big fish of the frontier markets pond. Now these two Gulf states will be in the "big leagues".

Investors looking for emerging markets exposure tend to focus on economies like China. In a research note, Oey noted that companies in Qatar and the UAE might only get 1% of the popular emerging market index's weight allocation.

That said, 1% of a larger pie could still leave the Gulf states better off. Around $1.4 trillion is invested in the funds that mimic the MSCI's Emerging Markets Index. That dwarfs the funds tied to the MSCI Frontier Markets Index by a factor of 100.

A word of caution

Keep in mind, however, that the impressive gains in many emerging markets are due in part to risk-chasing "hot money" driven by foreign investors seeking higher yields on their investments. What goes up can quickly go down -- dramatically.

When former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke unexpectedly announced last May that the Fed would soon begin winding down its bond-buying program, Brazil's stock market fell nearly 20% over the next two months.

Another risk is that the fortunes of both countries are closely intertwined with energy prices, specifically oil. Energy and financial firms are big players in both economies.

Tarun Khanna, a Harvard professor who co-authored Winning in Emerging Markets: A Road Map for Strategy and Execution, said that the hope for Qatar, the UAE and other emerging markets countries is that the hot money subsides over time as investors get more comfortable with their underlying economies.

"In the longer run, I would say the real fundamentals on the ground are the primary drivers," he said.

First Published: May 29, 2014: 12:59 AM ET

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Did Piketty get it wrong? Analysis questions author's data

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

On one side is Thomas Piketty, author of the best-selling tome "Capital in the Twenty-First Century." He argues that wealth inequality is growing and "threatens to generate extreme inequalities that stir discontent and undermine democratic values," and published the data behind his conclusions online.

His adversary is Chris Giles, economics editor of the Financial Times.

Giles claimed his analysis of Piketty's spreadsheets contain serious factual inaccuracies that undercut Piketty's conclusions in "Capital."

He gets numbers wrong, inexplicably changes others, employs "seemingly arbitrary adjustments" to formulas, mixes results from different years and commits a series of other data faux pas, Giles wrote in a lengthy post on Friday.

Related: Workers willing to be arrested for $15 minimum wage

"When I have tried to correct for these apparent errors, a rather different picture of wealth inequality appeared," the post reads.

"The combined result of all these problems is to make wealth concentration among the richest in the past 50 years rise artificially," Giles explained. "The conclusions of Capital in the 21st [C]entury do not appear to be backed by the book's own sources."

Piketty fired back in a letter posted by the Financial Times.

"If there was anything to hide, any 'fat finger problem', why would I put everything on line?" he wrote.

Related: Where the middle class thrives

His data comes from 20 different countries and stretches back as far as the 1700s. That means it is imperfect and varies, he explained, requiring "a number of adjustments to the raw data sources" for consistency.

"I have tried in the context of this book to make the most justified choices and arbitrages about data sources and adjustments," Piketty wrote. "I have no doubt that my historical data series can be improved and will be improved in the future."

The book has been described as an unlikely best seller -- a 700 page analysis originally written in French and put in print by an academic publisher.

But the book hit shelves at just the right time: as a dispute over wealth distribution and wages has sparked political debate and protests in the U.S. and other countries.

First Published: May 25, 2014: 1:06 PM ET

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How celebrity hacker 'Sabu' helped feds thwart 300 cyber-attacks

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

That's according to new U.S. government documents that for the first time provide extensive detail about what they call the "extremely valuable and productive" undercover cooperation of Hector Monsegur.

Monsegur used the Sabu moniker online, where he was a member of the hacking collectives Anonymous and LulzSec.

He pleaded guilty to charges including identity theft and credit card fraud and is set to be sentenced on Tuesday.

He would face up to 26 years in prison for the $2.5 million in losses connected to his hacks, but the government is seeking leniency -- perhaps no additional prison time beyond seven months he already served.

Prosecutors said his work on behalf of the FBI helped thwart attacks on websites belonging to the U.S. military, NASA and media companies, among others. The FBI relocated him and his family because he received threats for his cooperation, the court documents say.

Related: How the FBI made a global hacker bust

Monsegur was part of a group of hackers that became notorious in 2011 for breaking into or disabling U.S. government and corporate websites. The Anonymous-affiliated groups LulzSec and Internet Feds targeted sites including PBS, Fox Television, Nintendo and Sony Pictures. Their public boasts on Twitter and elsewhere on the Internet drew them instant celebrity as so-called hacktivists, because they often claimed to make a political point in their activities.

The documents show that in June 2011, FBI agents visited Monsegur's apartment in a public housing project in Manhattan's lower east side. They confronted him about his activities and he immediately agreed to become an informant.

He agreed to a guilty plea, returned to his apartment and was back online in hours -- this time, working for the FBI.

His assistance helped the FBI investigate and net LulzSec and Internet Feds members, including the FBI's most-wanted cybercriminal, Jeremy Hammond, who is serving a 10-year prison sentence, prosecutors said in court documents.

Related:6 most dangerous cyberattacks

"Working sometimes literally around the clock, at the direction of law enforcement, Monsegur engaged his co-conspirators in online chats that were critical to confirming their identities and whereabouts," prosecutors said. "During some of the online chats, at the direction of law enforcement, Monsegur convinced LulzSec members to provide him digital evidence of the hacking activities they claimed to have previously engaged in, such as logs regarding particular criminal hacks."

His quick cooperation was key, according to the documents, because LulzSec had established a protocol to destroy computer evidence if any of their members went missing or was arrested.

"Monsegur admitted to engaging in hacking activities about which the government had not previously developed evidence," prosecutors said. He hacked thousands of computers, at first in a bid to build a legitimate computer security company and then to steal and pay his bills, prosecutors said.

Monsegur's cooperation with the FBI became public when he was arrested in 2012 for making unauthorized online postings, violating his cooperation agreement.

Upon the news, Anonymous members hacked a computer-security website and posted an open letter to Sabu. It read: "Sabu snitched on us. As usually happens FBI menaced him to take his sons away. We understand, but we were your family too (remember what you liked to say?) It's sad and we can't imagine how it feels having to look at the mirror each morning and see there the guy who shopped their friends to [the] police."

First Published: May 25, 2014: 3:12 PM ET

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Production halt for India's iconic Ambassador

An Ambassador taxi on the streets during monsoon rain in Kolkata.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

Once the vehicle of choice for Indian politicians and bureaucrats, the Ambassador's design was borrowed from Britain's Morris Oxford. The car's look hasn't changed much since the 1950's, making it one of the most enduring sights on India's streets.

While the car's popularity has diminished greatly in recent years, the Ambassador is still used today as a taxi in several Indian cities including Kolkata. Last year, the Ambassador was named world's best taxi by the popular BBC show Top Gear.

The suspension of work at Hindustan Motors' Uttarpara production facility, where the Ambassador is built, has thrown the model's future into doubt. Only a few thousand of the cars are sold each year.

The company said in a stock market filing that it was working to fix substantial problems at the factory located near Kolkata.

"The Company has been transparent in sharing updates about the worsening conditions at its Uttarpara Plant which include very low productivity, growing indiscipline, critical shortage of funds, lack of demand for its core product, the Ambassador, and large accumulation of liabilities," the statement said.

Related: Inside Nissan's 'Taxi of Tomorrow'

Rajiv Saxena, a company spokesman, said that the suspension of work at the factory did not mean permanent closure.

"We have suspended operations to set things right for revival," he said.

-- CNN's Ravi Agrawal contributed reporting from New Delhi.

First Published: May 26, 2014: 2:47 AM ET

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Federal workers owe IRS the $3.3 billion

When it comes to unpaid taxes, Treasury Department employees have the lowest tax delinquency rate among all federal departments.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The IRS released data this week showing that roughly 3.3% of federal employees and retirees owed $3.3 billion in unpaid taxes as of Sept. 30.

That means they either couldn't pay the full amount owed when they filed a return, or they got snagged by an IRS audit and were told they owed more than they already paid.

The data, released after USA Today requested it under the Freedom of Information Act, broke down delinquency rates by departments and independent agencies.

At the low end of the scale was the Treasury Department, which had a 1.2% non-compliance rate.

A big part of Treasury is the IRS itself, which had a delinquency rate of 0.9%, according to an agency spokesman.

The rate among the population at large is at least 8.7%, the IRS estimates.

A few weeks ago the IRS found itself in hot water with Congress for having paid $1 million in bonuses to 1,100 IRS employees who were late in paying their taxes or had willfully understated their tax liability or income.

But it turns out the delinquency rate among Congressional staffers is higher -- 4.87% in the House and 3.24% in the Senate -- than those of IRS workers.

The government departments with the highest non-compliance rates were the Department of Housing and Urban Development (5.29%), the Department of Veterans Affairs (4.38%) and the Army (4.28%).

Among large independent federal agencies, which have at least 1,000 employees, the biggest offender was the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (8.05%), followed by the Government Printing Office (7.99%), the Smithsonian Institution (6.7%) and the Federal Reserve's board of governors (6.51%).

On the low end of the scale was the National Credit Union Administration (1.75%), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (1.97%) and the Executive Office of the President (2.05%).

First Published: May 23, 2014: 3:56 PM ET

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I sold my startup to Cisco. Here's why

Dov Yoran, CEO and co-founder of ThreatGRID, talks about why he sold his company to Cisco Systems.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Yoran had grown accustomed to refusing countless tech companies and investors who wanted a piece of his firm's sophisticated threat intelligence platform.

"We've been saying no to people for years. We didn't build a company just to flip it and move on," said Yoran, who co-founded ThreatGRID with Dean De Beer. "We really wanted to experience the whole thing from a startup and having guys sleep on couches and bootstrapping it."

And then Cisco Systems (CSCO, Fortune 500) entered the picture.

Cisco began informal conversations with New York-based ThreatGRID late last year. The talks quickly accelerated this winter and culminated this week with Cisco announcing a deal to acquire ThreatGRID and pair it with its rapidly expanding security platform.

Related: Internet Explorer bug lets hackers control your PC

"They made an incredibly compelling offer -- for not only today but what the vision looks like going forward," said Yoran, who is CEO of ThreatGRID.

Neither Cisco nor ThreatGRID would disclose the value of the deal due to confidentiality agreements.

But Yoran said "it was a fantastic exit for investors, shareholders and employees."

Yoran, who is 38 years old and lives in New York's SoHo neighborhood, said he doesn't plan any major lifestyle changes despite the looming financial windfall.

"It really wasn't about the money. It was about the drive and excitement of what we were building. The money came afterwards, which is pretty cool," said Yoran, who was a pre-med major at Tufts University before changing direction and earning a bachelor's in chemistry. He received his master's at George Washington University.

So why did Yoran decide to sell to Cisco after saying no to many others?

The clincher was the ability of Cisco to help ThreatGRID expand by incorporating the platform with its other products. Cisco plans to marry ThreatGRID with SourceFire, the cyber security company it acquired last year for $2.7 billion. SourceFire and ThreatGRID should be comfortable with each other since they had a previous partnership.

It also helps that the sale won't rock the boat for ThreatGRID's 25 employees, who will be allowed to continue doing what they do now, including working from home.

ThreatGRID crowdsources massive volumes of malware to provide threat intelligence to its clients, which include security subsidiaries of General Dynamics (GD, Fortune 500) and EMC (EMC, Fortune 500).

"We analyze data that are captured by endpoint and network vendors and we make it readable in a way their products can digest and take action," said Yoran.

Related: U.S. wants companies to share security data

Cyber security firms continue to be objects of desire for big tech companies due to the rising threat level.

Consider that the ThreatGRID deal was unveiled during a week headlined by a major hacker crackdown by the FBI, the U.S. accusing Chinese hackers of cyber espionage, eBay (EBAY, Fortune 500) disclosing a cyber attack and Target (TGT, Fortune 500) detailing its struggles to recover from last year's epic breach.

"For cyber attackers, and those who defend against them, the stakes could not be higher than they are right now," said Hilton Romanski, head of business development at Cisco, in a blog post announcing the ThreatGRID acquisition.

ThreatGRID is the first company Yoran co-founded that wound up being acquired, but it's hardly his first rodeo in the merger and acquisitions world.

Over the past two decades, Yoran worked at and invested in companies acquired by Intel's (INTC, Fortune 500) McAfee and Symantec (SYMC, Fortune 500), including a firm co-founded by his two brothers.

He said that experience helped guide him through Cisco's rigorous acquisition process and contemplate other potential options -- such as another round of funding or even an initial public offering.

And he made sure to remember this important lesson.

"You're not selling the company. Someone is buying the company," he said.

First Published: May 24, 2014: 10:58 AM ET

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GM faulty ignition crashes now 47

This is the 57-cent part at the center of GM's recall crisis.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

GM (GM, Fortune 500) has raised the number of frontal-impact crashes linked to the problem ignitions to 47 from 32, according to company spokesman Greg Martin.

Because of the flawed ignition, key rings holding more than one key could cause the ignition to suddenly switch to the off position. That can lead to a loss of power -- locking the steering wheel and interrupting airbags from deploying in an accident.

GM says the number of deaths tied to front impact crashes stemming from this defect remains at 13.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chided the automaker for the way it handled the recall and said that the number of deaths tied to the problem was likely higher.

"GM knew about the safety defect, but did not act to protect Americans from that defect until this year. The families and friends of those lost in the crashes have the deepest sympathies of everyone at NHTSA. They deserve straight answers about what happened to their loved ones," NHTSA said in a statement.

"The final death toll associated with this safety defect is not known to NHTSA, but we believe it's likely that more than 13 lives were lost," NHTSA said.

GM spokesman Jim Cain said the automaker was aware of the NHTSA statement and that "if necessary we will adjust the number."

Related: Steps to a recall nightmare

GM has come under fire for the way it handled the flawed ignition switch.

Company employees knew about the defect for more than a decade before a recall was initiated in February 2014. So far, the automaker has recalled 2.6 million cars worldwide due to the ignition switch.

CEO Mary Barra has revamped how GM handles safety issues. A new unit charged with quickly uncovering safety defects has begun to aggressively issue recall notices for problems beyond the ignition switch.

The company has initiated 30 separate recalls covering 13.8 million U.S. cars and trucks, and 15.8 million vehicles worldwide, in 2014. That's more cars and trucks than GM sold in the five years since emerging from bankruptcy protection in 2009.

So far GM has agreed to pay the maximum fine of $35 million to NHTSA for the delay in the ignition recall. And it will be subject to closer oversight by the regulator.

The Justice Department is also considering whether to bring criminal charges against the automaker. A similar probe over Toyota's 2009 and 2010 unintended acceleration recalls led to a $1.2 billion fine earlier this year.

The company estimates it will cost $1.7 billion to repair the cars recalled so far in 2014. That expense essentially erased the profit the company would have reported in the first quarter.

GM shares are down 18% this year, lagging behind rivals Toyota (TM) and Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500).

-CNNMoney's Chris Isidore, CNN's Chris Kokenes and Rene Marsh contributed to this report.

First Published: May 24, 2014: 1:05 PM ET

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Federal workers owe IRS the $3.3 billion

When it comes to unpaid taxes, Treasury Department employees have the lowest tax delinquency rate among all federal departments.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The IRS released data this week showing that roughly 3.3% of federal employees and retirees owed $3.3 billion in unpaid taxes as of Sept. 30.

That means they either couldn't pay the full amount owed when they filed a return, or they got snagged by an IRS audit and were told they owed more than they already paid.

The data, released after USA Today requested it under the Freedom of Information Act, broke down delinquency rates by departments and independent agencies.

At the low end of the scale was the Treasury Department, which had a 1.2% non-compliance rate.

A big part of Treasury is the IRS itself, which had a delinquency rate of 0.9%, according to an agency spokesman.

The rate among the population at large is at least 8.7%, the IRS estimates.

A few weeks ago the IRS found itself in hot water with Congress for having paid $1 million in bonuses to 1,100 IRS employees who were late in paying their taxes or had willfully understated their tax liability or income.

But it turns out the delinquency rate among Congressional staffers is higher -- 4.87% in the House and 3.24% in the Senate -- than those of IRS workers.

The government departments with the highest non-compliance rates were the Department of Housing and Urban Development (5.29%), the Department of Veterans Affairs (4.38%) and the Army (4.28%).

Among large independent federal agencies, which have at least 1,000 employees, the biggest offender was the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (8.05%), followed by the Government Printing Office (7.99%), the Smithsonian Institution (6.7%) and the Federal Reserve's board of governors (6.51%).

On the low end of the scale was the National Credit Union Administration (1.75%), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (1.97%) and the Executive Office of the President (2.05%).

First Published: May 23, 2014: 3:56 PM ET

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Just 2% of GM cars have ignition switch fix

A mechanic at a GM dealership in Michigan replaces an ignition switch on a recalled car.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

GM (GM, Fortune 500) began repairing the 2.6 million recalled vehicles six weeks ago. The automaker says that dealers have made such a small number of repairs in that time because it's having difficulty getting enough of the replacement parts it needs from Delphi Automotive (DLPH).

Delphi was the sole supplier of the part when the recalled cars were in production, and is the only manufacturer readily equipped to ramp production back up. It's already added extra shifts at the Mexican factory where the ignition switches are being made, and Delphi announced last week that it is adding an extra production line.

"With the second line coming online, we expect a much greater availability of parts," said GM spokesman Greg Martin. "By mid-July we expect supplies of parts to meet demand."

Related: GM recall's $1.7 billion windfall

GM says that Delphi will have made all of the parts required to repair all of the cars recalled for faulty ignition switches by October.

People who own cars that get recalled typically don't rush to bring cars in for repairs -- even in high profile cases like this one. And roughly a third of recalled cars are never brought in for repairs.

GM says its records show that 80% of its recalled cars and trucks are repaired within a year, and 85% are repaired within two years. The automaker says that's the highest repair rate in the industry, and that it's committed to repairing every car with the faulty ignition switch.

Related: GM cars sold - 12.1 million. Recalled - 13.8 million

The ignition switch is at risk of turning off the car while it is being driven if the key is jostled. The loss of power can disable the airbag, the power steering and anti-lock brakes.

GM insists that tests it has conducted show the cars are safe to drive, as long as drivers don't have other keys or key fobs on their key ring. And it says that any car owner who doesn't feel comfortable driving their car can get a free loaner from a GM dealership. About 35,000 loaners are now out in the field.

So far this year GM has recalled 13.8 million U.S. cars and trucks, more than the nation's largest automaker has ever recalled in a single year.

First Published: May 23, 2014: 2:50 PM ET

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Seinfeld's 'Comedians in Cars' adding 24 new episodes

Seinfeld's 'Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee' premiers June 19 and now has a sponsor for the next four seasons. Click the image for a gallery of some of the cars, and stars, that have appeared on the show so far.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

This will be season four for the web series, which is now set to continue for another five seasons.

Crackle.com, a unit of Sony (SNE) Pictures TV, says luxury automaker Acura has extended its exclusive deal to sponsor 24 new episodes of the car & comedy mashup.

"Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" is an online series appearing on Crackle.com that revolves around Seinfeld driving fellow comedians around in rare and expensive cars - then going for coffee. David Letterman, Don Rickles, Seth Meyers, and Chris Rock have all appeared with Seinfeld.

Related: The 'world's craziest, beautiful cars'

This season the show will feature Aziz Ansari, Robert Klein, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jon Stewart, and George Wallace.

The series has been an underground success. Crackle.com's website says that since its debut in 2012, "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" has delivered more than 40 million streams.

Series sponsor Acura is owned by Japan's Honda Motor (HMC).

First Published: May 23, 2014: 2:51 PM ET

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Army of robots to invade Amazon warehouses

These robots scoot around warehouse floors picking up items to fulfill customers' orders.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

CEO Jeff Bezos told investors at a shareholder meeting Wednesday that he expects to significantly increase the number of robots used to fulfill customer orders.

There are currently about 1,000 robot workers on Amazon floors. The increase won't change the number of actual people employed, an Amazon spokeswoman said.

Related: Robots will replace fast-food workers

The robots are made by Kiva Systems, a company Amazon bought for $775 million two years ago.

They are tied into a complex grid that requires months of planning and testing. But once the system is in place, it can save time and cut down on fulfillment costs.

While robots are playing a growing role in fulfilling orders in the warehouse, it could still be years before Amazon sends packages via drones to customers' homes. Bezos plans to have drones deliver packages to your door in 30 minutes, but there are a number of legal and technological hurdles before that can happen.

For now, you'll have to visit the warehouses to see a robot helping to deliver your package. Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500) started offering public tours this month.

First Published: May 22, 2014: 6:02 PM ET

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GM recalls may continue, says Barclays

According to a new report GM may continue recalling cars into the summer.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

That's according to a research report from Barclays Capital.

Auto analyst Brian Johnson says he met with senior management at GM (GM, Fortune 500)on Wednesday and listed "continued recall announcements" as a key takeaway from the meeting.

GM declined to comment on the report.

Barclays said that GM hired 30 more investigators to mine data and that it hopes to be done with the recalls by mid-summer.

In the meantime, however, it's tough to say if recalls from past vehicles has already peaked, as the team has not yet completed mining the data," Johnson said. "Given the datamining is being conducted on an issue by issue, and not on a make and model year basis, it is possible that GM may issue further recalls for vehicles which have already been recalled," he added.

Related: GM's recall nightmare

GM has issued more recalls this year than ever before. There have been 29 separate recalls covering 13.8 million U.S. cars and trucks, and 15.8 million vehicles worldwide.

In fact, General Motors has already recalled more cars and trucks in the U.S. this year than it has sold here in the five years since it filed for bankruptcy.

Related: GM to lawmakers: We're working on it

Barclay's Johnson also said that GM management - despite recall headlines - thinks that the pace of sales in the U.S. appears unaffected.

First Published: May 22, 2014: 6:17 PM ET

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Can Modi make India the new China?

Narendra Modi will be sworn in as prime minister on Monday.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

But is he the leader to haul India out of its funk, and put the world's second most populous nation back on track to rival China?

Investors think so. The prospect of a government led by Modi has boosted Indian stocks by 15% so far this year. The rupee has responded too, gaining 6% against the dollar after a dismal performance in 2013.

An economic turnaround will be more difficult to execute. It will require a level of political skill and collaboration that has eluded top Indian policymakers for years.

India's growth potential was once mentioned in the same breath as that of China. But the world's biggest democracy has failed to deliver and its economy is just a fifth the size of its Asian rival.

Related: We're itching to break into India

Growth has fallen below 5%, and inflation is now running above 8%. Manufacturing has slowed and the country's fiscal deficit has ballooned.

Structural reforms have fallen foul of political gridlock. Analysts say India needs to simplify its tax code, encourage foreign investment and streamline agricultural production. Modi will have to move fast.

"The markets have high hopes for the new government but the economic reality will eventually replace election euphoria," said IHS analyst Hanna Luchnikava.

Related story: Modi win boosts Indian markets

Modi likes to emphasize his management credentials. He campaigned on a record of low unemployment and high foreign investment in Gujarat, the state he has led since 2001.

He has promised to end policy paralysis, reduce inflation and tackle corruption. He also pledged to establish manufacturing hubs and industrial corridors, improve the tax code and reform the banking sector.

The campaign was so successful that voters gave his Bharatiya Janata Party a majority in the lower house of parliament, sparing Modi the hassle of a coalition. Still, the BJP will face opposition from the Congress Party and other rivals in the upper house.

Related story: What India can learn from China

Modi will also be challenged by members of his own party who would like to remove Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan. The former IMF chief economist has helped restore investor confidence by pushing through unpopular interest rate hikes since taking office last September.

Analysts at the Eurasia Group think Modi will try to get some quick wins under his belt by pursuing reforms that can be implemented through executive action.

But in the long term, they're less optimistic about his chances of implementing a more substantial overhaul of the economy.

"Although the BJP's hugely impressive victory means that Modi will be much less dependent on partnerships and alliances than we had envisioned, it does not in and of itself fundamentally change the fractious nature of India's political landscape," the Eurasia Group analysts said.

First Published: May 22, 2014: 9:29 PM ET

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Are GM cars safe? Yes, they are

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

You can rest assured that GM cars are about as safe as any others on the road.

Why are there so many GM related recalls lately?

GM has cranked up its recall machine. Having been caught needlessly delaying a recall for years, whether by massive corporate sloppiness or willful foot-dragging, GM (GM, Fortune 500) is now working to make sure that won't happen again. The automaker is going back through past problems with any of its cars and, if safety seems to be in question, recalling them.

If GM is recalling so many vehicles, then its cars must be unsafe, correct?

Recalls aren't a good way to judge safety. While recalls should always be taken seriously, the fact is that not all recall-related issues are equally dangerous.

Some recalls are for things that are unlikely to ever actually happen. Some recalls are because someone could cut their finger or burn their leg on an exhaust pipe. Many recalls are for things that would never cause a crash, period. For instance, some are for "compliance" issues, such as a sticker on the door frame that says the car seats five when it actually only seats four.

Besides, while any death is a tragedy for the families involved, deaths caused by vehicle defects are actually extremely rare. Of the 34,000 traffic deaths that occurred last year, the number that were directly caused by vehicle defects is so small, it's not even a statistic. If it were officially tallied, it would be a fraction of 1%, experts say.

So, what's the best way for me to judge a vehicle's safety?

Crash test results are the best way to judge safety. Research by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has shown that crash tests, such as those done by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and by IIHS itself, really do predict real-world safety. All else being equal, fatality rates are lower for occupants of vehicles that get good crash test results.

These days, the vast majority of new vehicles get good crash test results. GM is no different. On average, GM vehicles get 4.4 stars in NHTSA's 5-star safety rating system. That's about the same as the industry overall, according to analysts at the automotive Web site Edmunds.com.

Related - GM's recall nightmare

The IIHS, meanwhile, has given its "Top Safety Pick" award to four GM models -- the Chevrolet Malibu, Equinox and Spark and the GMC Terrain. That compares to five models for Ford and four for Toyota. The manufacturer with the most "Top Safety Pick" awards is Honda which has a record eight award-winning models.

Can I look at real-world crash statistics to determine vehicle safety?

Real-world crash statistics can be confusing, Insurance Institute spokesman Russ Rader said. That's because they can be influenced by a number of factors such as the age of the drivers and the way people drive different types of vehicles.

One of the biggest predictors of real-world crash safety is size, according to the Insurance Institute. In a crash between a big heavy SUV and a small car, the bigger vehicle will transfer more of the impact force into the small vehicle. As a matter of physics, alone, the people in the bigger vehicle are more likely to walk away unharmed.

For reasons like these, other than confirming that vehicle size and crash tests can predict safety, real-world fatality statistics aren't terribly helpful, Rader said.

Based on the factors that really matter, the cars and trucks GM sells today are about as safe those built and sold by other manufacturers. If you're concerned about your safety behind the wheel, check the crash test ratings and drive safely.

First Published: May 21, 2014: 5:20 PM ET

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China's factories show signs of life

China's factories have turned in weak performances to start 2014.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

HSBC said its "flash" measure of sentiment among manufacturing purchasing managers was 49.7 in May. The rebound from the index's final reading of 48.1 in April was sharper than analysts had expected.

While the index showed improvement, any number under 50 still indicates a deceleration in the manufacturing sector.

Still, economists said advances in new orders and output prices were positive developments that suggest factories are now on firmer footing

"Today's PMI reading suggests that downwards pressure on the manufacturing sector has eased markedly," said Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics. "While downwards pressure on the economy remains we aren't seeing as rapid a slowdown this quarter as last."

China's economy is off to a sluggish start this year, with first quarter GDP coming in at 7.4% -- a touch slower than Beijing's 7.5% annual target.

Related: Fears grow over China property flameout

The real estate market is showing signs of weakness. Industrial production, retail sales, and investment growth have all disappointed.

The worrying economic data out of China has raised expectations Beijing will respond with stronger stimulus measures in an effort to stabilize growth.

"Downside risks to growth remain, particularly as the property market continues to cool," said HSBC economist Hongbin Qu. "We think more policy easing is needed to put a floor under growth in the coming months."

The Chinese government will release its official PMI measurement for May on June 1.

First Published: May 21, 2014: 11:26 PM ET

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Europe's own 'tea party' risk

Far-right parties such as France's National Front are expected to make gains in elections to the European Parliament this week.

LONDON (CNNMoney)

Polls open Thursday for voters to elect members of the European Parliament, representing 500 million citizens. They're expected to back protest parties of right and left in greater numbers than ever before.

A backlash against austerity, unemployment, immigration and loss of national power to European institutions could push anti-EU parties to win about 25% of the 751 seats. In some of the 28 countries, they could even secure the biggest share of the vote.

While that won't derail the region's recovery in the near term, it could store up future trouble by destabilizing pro-EU governments in some countries and weakening the resolve of others to stick to painful economic reforms.

Growing popularity for fringe parties has drawn comparisons with the emergence of the tea party in the United States, and its ability to disrupt politics from a small base.

"The rise of the tea party in the U.S. is a lesson for the currency bloc," noted Kathleen Brooks at Forex.com. "Although the tea party does not have control of any of the major organs of power, it still has a loud voice in the halls of Washington."

Success for fringe parties will make for noisier debates, complicate passing EU laws and appointments to the EU executive.

Related: Protest parties shake up pivotal European elections

Mainstream parties say they will work together to ensure Brussels is not shut down.

"I think we will get a clear majority from the voters in Europe to continue the policy of stabilizing the common currency and strengthening the economy in all European countries," German finance minister Wolfgang Schaueble told CNN's Nina dos Santos.

Indeed, markets are likely to take Sunday's results in their stride.

That's because the EU is much better placed than it was two years ago. To quell the region's debt crisis and save the euro, policymakers rushed through a raft of laws on permanent bailout funds, tighter budget planning and oversight, and a banking union.

"In comparison, the to-do list for future legislation is arguably lighter and less crucial to safeguarding the European recovery," noted economists at UBS.

The economy is growing again, most governments have reined in new borrowing, and two states -- Ireland and Portugal -- have emerged from bailout programs. The European Central Bank is still ready to do "whatever it takes" to preserve the euro.

Investors have piled into Europe in response, sending stocks surging and slashing the premium governments must pay to borrow. The euro has been on a tear, flirting with $1.40 earlier this month.

Related: ECB holds fire but drops heavy hints

Yet, Europe's recovery remains fragile.

Unemployment is stuck near its record high of 12%. The debt mountain continues to grow. France and Italy need further reforms, and Greece is relying on a shaky government to secure growth and exit its bailout.

With many Europeans suffering a sharp fall in living standards, a big protest vote could make it hard for some governments to stay the austerity course.

After dropping to their lowest levels in years, borrowing costs for some eurozone countries have edged up recently, reflecting those concerns and weaker than expected growth.

Beyond the eurozone, investors will be watching the U.K., where an anti-EU party could win the popular vote. Analysts say that could boost support for Scottish independence, raising the chances of a messy break up after September's referendum.

First Published: May 22, 2014: 3:40 AM ET

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Koch brothers' group fights Detroit bankruptcy aid

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

A political group backed by the Koch brothers wants to stop the state from providing $195 million in aid. The money would be used to limit deep cuts to retirees' pensions and avoid selling off the artwork in the city-owned museum.

If the state chapter of Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is successful, it would derail a series of deals that would allow Detroit to emerge from the nation's largest municipal bankruptcy case later this year.

The group is writing letters to legislators vowing to campaign against those who vote yes. A vote on the package could come as soon as this week or early next week.

Scott Hagerstrom, Michigan director of Americans for Prosperity (AFP), said his group wants Detroit to sell its artwork and other assets, and dump traditional defined benefit pension plans in favor of 401(k) type of plans.

"Detroit has behaved like this for 30 years," Hagerstrom said. "Politicians there won't change their behavior if they keep getting bailouts from the hardworking taxpayers of Michigan."

Related: Detroit bankruptcy vote - Key to comeback

The package of bills has the support of leadership of the Republican-controlled Michigan legislature, as well as Republican Gov. Rick Snyder.

"This is a settlement. This not a bailout," said Snyder. "And I want to be very, very clear about that."

Snyder and other supporters insist that Michigan would be better off with the legislation because it reduces the risk that the state could eventually be on the hook for billions in benefits promised by Detroit's underfunded pension plans.

Related: Democrats vs. the Koch brothers

"Drawn-out bankruptcy litigation would have dire consequences for Michigan taxpayers, from years of costly, prolonged lawsuits to uncertainty on the part of investors and job providers," Jase Bolger, speaker of the Michigan House, said earlier this month when the legislation was introduced.

The Koch brothers have become major forces in American politics. An official with AFP's national office told CNN that it is on course to spend $125 million in this year's mid-term congressional, state and local elections.

Hagerstrom said his group will look at the full range of ways to take targeted action against supporters of the package, including television, radio and billboard ads as well as direct mail campaigns.

"You have people on the record for smaller government," he said about the Republican support for the package. "The people in Michigan and this country just want to hold their legislators accountable and have them do what they say they're going to do."

Bill Nowling, spokesman for Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr, the man overseeing the city's bankruptcy reorganization, had no comment on the Koch brothers' efforts to derail the state's rescue package.

Ari Adler, Bolger's spokesman, said that the leadership is still confident it can find the votes to pass the package despite the AFP threat .But he admits it will be a close vote.

"We have Democrats on the far left and Republicans on the far right who are opposed for very different reasons," he said. "But we have a growing majority of members in both caucuses that understand how doing nothing now could cost Michigan taxpayers dearly later."

First Published: May 20, 2014: 1:58 PM ET

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McDonald's scary Happy Meal mascot

Meet "Happy," McDonald's new ambassador for Happy Meals.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

But within hours, the new square-faced red and yellow mascot with big white teeth was scaring away people on Twitter and had become the butt of jokes.

@DrZombield said: THAT! Is scary!

@CraigGrannell warned: "HE WILL EAT YOU ALIVE! RUN!"

@Naive_Steve came up with his own tag-line: "Happy", "It's the meal that eats you."

And @jrichardmiller said: "Happy" looks happy bc he just finished off a family of six #RIP #HappyMeal."

Related: McDonald's prepares for melee

"We are not un-happy about" the response, said Julie Wenger, senior director of U.S. marketing for McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500). "Happy is not for everyone. He's about having fun. Really for kids and families."

Wenger said: "Happy is promoting healthy choices through fun and lightheartedness."

But not everyone was on board with McDonald's message, especially given the fast food chain's reputation for peddling calorie-laden fare.

@samkamani said, "In order to fight obesity in kids, McDonalds introduces its new mascot to scare children."

@erikbransteen said, "Congrats #McDonalds, first you fatten our kids, then you haunt their nightmares."

The Happy Meal mascot launches this Friday.

First Published: May 20, 2014: 3:58 PM ET

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Europe's top employers for new grads

LONDON (CNNMoney)

For the third year in a row, Google is the most attractive employer among European business students, the Universum study found, while engineering and IT students most want to work at the German conglomerate Siemens (SI).

Universum, an employer branding research and consulting firm, conducts annual surveys to determine which employers are most appealing to university students.

This year's poll found that European business students value employers that offer ample professional development opportunities and a dynamic work environment, said Claudia Tattanelli, global director for Universum.

Google came out on top among business students because it's seen as a highly creative workplace where employees can have fun, said Tattanelli. Google also placed in the top 5 among European engineering and IT students.

Meanwhile, L'Oreal, which owns big beauty brands including The Body Shop and Kiehl's, scores high with business students because it's known for having a creative working culture and a robust internship program.

Related: Europe's top employers for new engineers 2013

Engineering and IT students also valued training opportunities and innovation. And they especially seek employers that offer challenging work environments.

Siemens is "a true favorite" for these budding engineers because of its reputation for being at the "forefront of innovation and technology," said Tattanelli. "There are many global and diversified job opportunities from energy to health care."

Like Google, Microsoft ranked high among both business and engineering students, and not just because of its techie cred.

"Microsoft highlights the importance of employees making a difference and really promotes its corporate social responsibility initiatives on social media and other digital channels," said Tattanelli.

The 2014 rankings were based on a survey of more than 135,000 business, engineering and IT students -- most of them approaching graduation -- across 12 European nations, including Germany, France, Italy and the U.K.

First Published: May 21, 2014: 3:00 AM ET

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What were China's hacker spies after?

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

That's what Chinese hackers were looking for, according to federal prosecutors who have charged members of the Chinese military with cyber theft and more.

The 31-count indictment, revealed Monday, marks a dramatic escalation of U.S. government efforts to combat Chinese state-sponsored corporate espionage.

"The Chinese are going after every single economic advantage they can obtain," said former federal prosecutor Thomas Brown, now a cybersecurity expert with FTI Consulting. "Decades of time spent developing technologies are being ripped off and stolen everyday."

Here's what the feds say the Chinese hackers did:

• Stole the secret specs of Westinghouse AP1000 power plants, the most high-tech nuclear power plants in the world. Westinghouse is currently building four of them in China.
• Ransacked SolarWorld (SRWRF) computers, swiping information about the solar panel maker's cash flow, manufacturing plans and costs.
• Broke into PCs at U.S. Steel installed malware and identified computers that control physical access to buildings.
• Looted the network credentials for nearly every single employee at steelmaker Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (ATI, Fortune 500).
• Spied on emails at steel manufacturer Alcoa (AA, Fortune 500) a few weeks after it partnered with a Chinese state-owned enterprise.
• Eavesdropped on emails at the United Steelworkers union during a trade dispute in China.

China has denied the allegations, saying it has never engaged in the cyber theft of trade secrets.

Related story: Chinese hackers spied on U.S. companies

The kind of spying China is accused of can yield valuable information and give the country's businesses a much-needed boost. Westinghouse spent a significant amount of money designing the special pipes that are the defining feature of its AP1000 pressurized water reactor. Stealing those plans means that a Chinese nuclear plant builder might be able to skip costly research and development.

"How much money is spent on failures? The Chinese can avoid all that," said Christopher Tarbell, a former member of the FBI's cybercrime squad.

This is a particularly critical issue in the solar power industry, where Chinese manufacturers have flooded the global market with cheap solar panels and undercut U.S. firms. SolarWorld issued a statement thanking the U.S. Justice Department for stepping in.

"It's yet another example of the Chinese government's systematic campaign to seek unfair advantage in the U.S and global solar industry. Already, dozens of U.S. companies have closed operations, and thousands of U.S. employees have lost their jobs," SolarWorld said.

Related story: Leaked Snowden documents show NSA hacked Chinese telecom company

Why all the attention paid to steel? American metal is consistently better quality. It's not enough to melt iron ore, coal and limestone. Forging it is an art with highly-guarded secrets. Chinese manufacturers are good at making low-cost steel used in bridges, but American firms are better at making the lightweight versions used in fuel-efficient cars.

The steelworkers union called the revelation "troubling." Alcoa downplayed the news, saying "no material information was compromised." Westinghouse and U.S. Steel declined to comment.

In total, secretive economic attacks cost U.S. firms billions in lost profits and destroyed jobs, said cybersecurity expert David Kennedy, whose TrustedSec firm advises companies that have been attacked this way.

And once the hackers have breached a company's defenses, it's much easier to make the leap from data theft to outright sabotage. Hackers with access to the computers that control a factory's machines, for example, might be able to disrupt the production process just before a pivotal delivery deadline.

"That's not farfetched at all," warned Jonathan Pollet, a hacker who founded Red Tiger Security and advises energy companies.

First Published: May 19, 2014: 10:59 PM ET

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Extreme IPO! GoPro plans $100 million offering

GoPro rose to fame with its action cams - small, weatherproof, mountable video cameras that offer excellent video quality and battery life.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The camera maker revealed plans Monday to raise $100 million in an initial public offering, as well as financial results showing several years of surging growth.

GoPro made its IPO plans known earlier this year but, because it filed confidentially, hasn't opened its books until now. The company's sales reached $986 million last year, more than four times its 2012 total, while profits hit $60.6 million, nearly doubling.

That pace has moderated a bit in 2014. GoPro recorded $236 million in sales for the first quarter, down from $255 million a year prior, while profits dropped to $11 million from $23 million in 2013.

The company plans to trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol "GPRO." That's a small victory for the exchange, which, despite its tech focus, has lost out to the New York Stock Exchange on offerings from companies like Twitter and Box.

GoPro rose to fame with its action cams -- small, weatherproof, mountable video cameras that offer excellent video quality and battery life considering their size. Thrill seeker Felix Baumgartner famously used a GoPro camera to record his free fall from space in 2012.

The cameras were initially marketed for extreme sports, but other hobbyists have been quick to find new uses for them. Drone enthusiasts, for example, have found the GoPro ideal for mounting on their flying vehicles and capturing footage from the skies.

But GoPro is also facing increased competition from some unlikely places. As companies like Google (GOOGL) and Samsung push technologies like Glass and the Galaxy Gear watch, more people will be donning wearable cameras -- a market GoPro has largely cornered thus far.

Foxconn -- the Chinese manufacturer best known for assembling iPhones and iPads -- invested $200 million in the company in late 2012, giving it a 9% stake. At the time, the investment valued GoPro at about $2.25 billion.

First Published: May 19, 2014: 6:18 PM ET

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Silicon Valley workers are saving more than you

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

On average, workers in San Jose and San Francisco save close to 15% of their annual pay in 401(k)s -- the highest average savings rate in the country, according to a Fidelity analysis of 13 million savers in 100 metro areas.

Many of them can afford to: The region has some of the highest median incomes in the country thanks to its wealth of high-paying tech jobs.

A similar situation is playing out in Raleigh, N.C., another area rich in tech and medical jobs. Number four, Houston, is an oil and energy hub that has seen a surge of newcomers as employers ramp up hiring and oil prices surge.

Related: 10 fastest growing cities

And if you think all of those super savers are boosted by generous company 401(k) matches, think again.

Employers in San Jose, for example, are only pitching in an average of 3.5% to their worker's 401(k)s -- well below the national average of 4.4%. (Fidelity didn't account for any profit sharing, stock options or other corporate perks, however.)

On the flip side, cities in the South dominated the list of places with the lowest savings rates, all of which were several percentage points below the national average of 12.4%.

In these cities, many workers earn much more modest incomes, making it more difficult to set aside money for retirement.

McAllen, Texas, for example, has a median household income of less than $35,000 a year, while Chattanooga, Tenn. isn't much higher at around $44,000.

Financial planners typically recommend that workers save between 10% and 15% of each paycheck. But building up a big enough nest egg often requires saving even more than that.

Related: Will you have enough to retire?

As a benchmark, planners suggest that you aim to save at least 8 times the salary you are earning right before you retire. So someone making $100,000, for example, should have at least $800,000 set aside.

By that count, the average $157,200 that workers in Bridgeport, Conn. have saved is hardly enough to fund a long retirement. But it's significantly higher than the national average of roughly $89,000. Of course these averages are based on workers of all ages, whether they're decades or mere years away from retiring.

In McAllen, Texas, 401(k) savers are well short of any savings benchmark, with an average balance of just $34,100.

A big part of the problem: Many workers in McAllen are raiding their savings before they even retire. Fidelity found that a third of all account holders in the city had a 401(k) loan outstanding, compared to only 11% in San Jose and 22% nationwide.

Related: How to be a 401(k) millionaire

Typically, 401(k) plans allow savers to borrow up to $50,000 from their account, which is paid back through automatic deductions from their paycheck.

But not only do borrowers miss out on the returns the money would have earned, they also end up taking a tax hit since they repay the loan in after-tax dollars and will pay taxes again when they withdraw the funds in retirement.

Plus, if the worker changes jobs and is unable to repay the loan by a specified deadline, usually 60 days, they can be hit with another tax bill and a 10% early withdrawal penalty if you're younger than 59 1/2.

"It is a triple whammy..." said Jeanne Thompson, a vice president at Fidelity. "Many people don't realize the impact."

First Published: May 20, 2014: 2:14 AM ET

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Fired Times editor to give commencement speech

Jill Abramson, pictured at an event in April, is set to break her silence Monday in a speech at Wake Forest University..

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney)

But she is set to break her silence Monday with a commencement address at Wake Forest University.

It isn't clear if or how she'll address her abrupt dismissal from the paper, the causes of which are now the subject of rampant speculation.

New York Times (NYT) publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. has explained his version of events. But Abramson's silence has left her friends and confidants -- many speaking anonymously -- to make her case.

She was announced as the commencement speaker at the North Carolina university in mid-March.

The school affirmed Sunday morning that she remained on the event's program.

Related: Why did the New York Times really sack its editor?

Sulzberger said the reasons for her dismissal involved her management of the paper's newsroom.

But some have raised questions of sexism following reports that Abramson -- appointed in 2011 as the paper's first female executive editor -- was paid less than her male predecessor.

Sulzberger denied that was the case. He said Abramson's total compensation was "was comparable with (predecessor) Bill Keller's; in fact, by her last full year as executive editor, it was more than 10% higher than his."

While Abramson has stayed quiet, her daughter has been more outspoken in online postings. On Friday, she wrote, "The story isn't over, not even close."

--CNN Senior Media Correspondent Brian Stelter contributed to this report.

First Published: May 18, 2014: 8:23 PM ET

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Kraft recalls cottage cheese citing illness risk

Kraft is recalling 1.2 million cases of cottage cheese that could spoil prematurely and cause illness.

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney)

The recall, announced Saturday, includes the Knudsen, Breakstone, Simply Kraft and Daily Chef brands.

Ingredients used in nearly three-dozen cottage cheese products weren't properly stored in a California facility, Kraft Foods Group said.

Since the discovery, officials halted production of those products at that plant and began working to fix the issue, Kraft said.

Kraft called the recall precautionary. Spokesman Russ Dyer said the company was investigating one complaint of illness stemming from a batch of cheese that was not recalled and is now expired.

Related: Red Lobster chain sells for $2.1 billion

Many of the varieties recalled are tubs between 4 and 16 ounces. The products were stamped with dates between May 9 and July 23.

Each case includes between six and twelve tubs of cottage cheese.

First Published: May 18, 2014: 4:58 PM ET

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Pfizer sweetens offer in final bid for AstraZeneca

Pfizer's efforts to merge with British rival AstraZeneca has attracted significant political opposition.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

Pfizer's new offer of £55.00 ($95.52) per share values AstraZeneca at nearly $120 billion, and is a 45% premium over the company's share price in mid-April. AstraZeneca's board has rejected three previous proposals from Pfizer, saying they undervalued the company.

AstraZeneca (AZN) alone accounts for about 2% of British exports, and the deal would represent the biggest foreign takeover of a British company.

The potential takeover has attracted significant political attention, including calls in Britain for new powers that would allow the government to prevent takeovers by foreign firms in the interest of national security.

Pfizer (PFE, Fortune 500) said the offer made late Sunday would be its final overture. The company said it would not make a hostile bid for AstraZeneca, and will only proceed with the blessing of AstraZeneca's board.

It now appears a merger is unlikely, and Pfizer might be forced to walk away. The company said a third takeover offer made Friday -- at £53.50 ($90) per share -- had been rejected by AstraZeneca.

"We have tried repeatedly to engage in a constructive process with AstraZeneca to explore a combination of our two companies," said Pfizer CEO Ian Read. "Following a conversation with AstraZeneca earlier today, we do not believe that the AstraZeneca board is currently prepared to recommend a deal at a reasonable price."

Related: Health care M&A hits record high

In addition to an expanded drug portfolio -- particularly in cancer treatments -- a deal would provide a use for some of the billions in profits Pfizer holds overseas.

Pfizer has amassed an offshore cash pile totaling more than $60 billion from profits generated outside the U.S. Buying AstraZeneca and basing the new combined group in the U.K. would allow it to make use of those funds -- for M&A, buybacks, dividends or other purposes -- without paying U.S. tax on them.

Related: Pfizer banking on big tax savings in U.K.

In addition, Pfizer is also attracted by recent changes in U.K. law that critics say are turning the country into a tax haven.

While its headquarters would remain in New York, a Pfizer-AstraZeneca combination would be domiciled for tax purposes in the U.K.

The U.K. has been steadily cutting its rate of corporate tax. It now stands at 21% and is due to fall to 20% starting in April 2015. That compares with 26% back in 2011.

The government also offers financial incentives to encourage investment in scientific research and development. Big companies such as AstraZeneca qualify for tax relief worth 130% on their research budgets. That means for each £100 it spends, it can reduce the amount of profit liable to corporate tax by £130.

Companies involved in innovative R&D can also take advantage of a new measure called "the patent box." Introduced in April 2013, it will reduce the corporate tax rate on earnings attributable to U.K. or European patents to 10% by 2017.

Related: Firms warned not to leave U.S. for lower taxes

Pressure is had been mounting on the British government to intervene in the deal. Pharmaceutical, medical biotechnology and medical technology companies employ about 175,000 people, and spend more than £5 billion a year on R&D.

Concerns about pledges made in the heat of takeover battles have been fueled by complaints that Pfizer failed to honor pledges to Sweden's Pharmacia in 2002, and Kraft's U-turn on the fate of a chocolate factory following its purchase of Cadbury in 2010.

-- Mark Thompson contributed reporting.

First Published: May 18, 2014: 10:30 PM ET

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