Hot stocks: 5 sizzling performers in May

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

While there were many winners this month (sorry Whole Foods (WFM, Fortune 500) -- you definitely didn't make the cut), check out the rankings of the five hottest companies in the S&P 500 in May.

1. Netflix: Binge watching is the new black

Netflix (NFLX) was hammered by the risk aversion on Wall Street in recent months. The streaming movie rental service saw its shares slump 26% in March and April.

But investors quickly realized that lovers of "Breaking Bad" and "House of Cards" aren't abandoning Netflix any time soon. Shares spiked 30% in May, making it easily the best performer in both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100.

Netflix also announced a price increase for new members and plans to expand services to six more European countries: France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Related: CNNMoney's Tech 30 Index

2. Electronic Arts: The World Cup effect?

The second hottest S&P 500 stock this month can trace its sparkling performance to a single day: May 6.

That was the day Electronic Arts (EA) blew Wall Street's socks off with earnings that crushed expectations. Buoyed by sales of games for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game maker also sounded a very positive tone for the rest of the year and unleashed a $750 million stock buyback.

The company, known as EA, also highlighted how strong its sports titles are, especially the blockbuster FIFA game ahead of this summer's World Cup. EA is one of the few non-apparel companies to serve as a major sponsor of top soccer stars.

Other video game makers have also enjoyed success this year, including France's Ubisoft (UBSFF), Activision Blizzard (ATVI) and Take-Two Interactive (TTWO).

After EA's 23% surge in May, the company has spiked 52% so far this year, good for No. 3 in the S&P 500 in 2014.

Related: Three tech stocks worth buying

3. Green Mountain juiced by Coke (again)

It's been a wild ride this year for investors of the company formerly known as Green Mountain Coffee Roasters.

Keurig Green Mountain (GMCR) spiked 36% in February after Coca-Cola (KO, Fortune 500) acquired a 10% stake in the company for $1.25 billion. But the coffee maker slumped 11% in April and continued to face skepticism from short sellers like hedge fund giant David Einhorn.

Coke came to the rescue once again, announcing plans on May 13 to boost its stake to 16%, adding more than $1 billion more. Green Mountain also impressed Wall Street wtih a 22% jump in profits.

The final result for Green Mountain is a heavily caffeinated 21% return for the month.

4. TripAdvisor charts an upward course

The online travel site finished April a hefty 26% below its all-time high, which was just the month before. But TripAdviso (TRIP)didn't stay home and pout.

The company unveiled a flurry of acquisitions during the month, including European restaurant service Lafourchette, travel guide site Tripbod and Vacation Home Rentals.

TripAdvisor also pleased investors by posting bullish results on May 6 that revealed a 22% jump in revenue and a 44% boost to traffic.

The stock is up 20% in May.

5. SanDisk by a nose

SanDisk (SNDK, Fortune 500), which makes flash memory, benefited from an overall rebound in tech stocks this month.

The company ended May with a 13.7% rally, narrowly besting Tiffany (TIF) for the No. 5 spot amongst S&P 500 stocks.

SanDisk pleased investors by hiking its quarterly dividend by 33% on May 7 after posting a 62% jump in earnings in April.

Related: The wealthy are spending again, baby. Luxury stocks are back

Honorable mention: Tiffany soared 13.6% during May and was easily the month's best performing retailer in the S&P 500. The company has sparkle, but not quite enough for the top 5.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that investor Carl Icahn increased his stake in Netflix during the month.

First Published: May 30, 2014: 3:05 PM ET

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Want Beyoncé tickets? Wait till the last minute

Beyoncé and Jay-Z will be kicking off their tour at Sun Life Stadium in Miami in June. Last year, she played smaller arenas.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The reason: Unlike last year, some of the hottest concerts -- Beyoncé, Rihanna, and One Direction -- are all playing at big stadiums.

Larger venues mean more tickets.

"As we get closer to the shows, ticket brokers who hold big blocks of seats will start to release their inventory, and there will be plenty of inventory this year," said Chris Matcovich, who runs data and communications for ticket search engine TiqIQ.

Matcovich says chances are, people will be able to get tickets the day before and even on the day of the event, especially if they don't care where they sit. However, he advises discerning concert goers who want choice seats not to wait till the day before. To be on the safe side, they should buy tickets a week or two before the performance.

Related: Apple buying Beats for $3 billion

Usually, when concert tickets are first released, only a few lucky fans are able to snag seats through Ticketmaster or parent Live Nation (LYV, Fortune 500). The rest are left to find tickets that are resold via StubHub, TicketNetwork, SeatGeek, or even eBay.

That's because ticket brokers, credit card companies, venue owners, and even fan clubs tend to snatch up large blocks of tickets as soon as they are sold. While brokers hope to sell at higher prices, companies use them as a special currency for VIP's.

But this year, they might end up holding on to more seats than they can fill until it's too late.

And that usually leads to last-minute discounts.

Consider this: The British boy band One Direction, a rage among American tweens and teenagers, will be playing this summer at 70,000- to 80,000-seat football fields. Last year, they played at 20,000-seat arenas.

The same holds true for Beyoncé and Jay-Z, who'll be kicking off their tour at Sun Life Stadium in Miami in June. Last year, the Queen B played smaller arenas.

Tickets are already selling at lower prices this year, according to TiqIQ.

In 2013, the average price of a One Direction ticket was selling for $433. This year, it's selling for $236, according to TiqIQ.

Similarly, tickets for Beyoncé's show last year cost $399. This year they're selling around $274.

And if Matcovich is right, chances are they could go even lower.

First Published: May 30, 2014: 3:03 PM ET

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Sonic & Chili's: Leave guns at home

Chili's told guests Friday to "refrain from openly carrying firearms into our restaurants."

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Chili's, which is owned by Brinker International (EAT), said Friday, "We kindly ask that guests refrain from openly carrying firearms into our restaurants and we will continue to follow state and local laws on this issue."

Sonic (SONC) said, "We're asking that customers refrain from bringing guns onto our patios or into our indoor dining areas."

Related: Chipotle: Guns not welcome here

In recent months, gun enthusiasts have held rallies and openly carried firearms, including large automatic weapons, into restaurants. It's alarmed customers and led to campaigns against guns in restaurants from advocacy groups like "Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America."

Earlier this month, Chipotle (CMG)said it did not want customers to bring guns into its restaurants "unless they are authorized law enforcement personnel."

Last year, Starbucks (SBUX, Fortune 500) also told customers they shouldn't bring guns into its stores. The company said the debate about whether people should openly carry guns had become increasingly uncivil and that the chain did not want its stores to be used as a political stage.

First Published: May 30, 2014: 5:52 PM ET

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Halal butcher promises 'honest to God' burgers

Russell Khan, Sulman Afridi, and Khalid Latif (left to right) at New York City's Honest Chops, the country's first halal whole animal butchery.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Not only is the shop committed to selling humanely raised meat, it's all slaughtered in the Islamic tradition, which involves a prayer and quick death using a sharp knife.

Khalid Latif, who founded the butchery in March, spoke to Muslim students and working professionals in his community who wanted a higher quality of meat than their neighborhood markets offered.

Initially, he and his partners Anas Hassan and Bassam Tariq were just interested in opening a halal butchery. But after learning about the unnatural feed that commercial cattle and chickens are raised on, they opted to source their meat from small producers in upstate New York, Maryland and Massachusetts.

"When there's not a certain kind of purity to the food that we're consuming, that becomes problematic from the spiritual standpoint," said Latif, who has rigorous standards for the meat he sources.

Related: From farmers' markets to mass market

Everything at the shop, from its seasoned hamburger patties to whole chickens, is humanely raised on a vegetarian diet, free of hormones and GMOs. They call it their "Honest-to God" guarantee.

While the concept appeals to the pious, the shop's locally grown focus has also attracted secular people, who make up 60% of its customers.

"We were understanding of the demographics," said Latif, whose storefront neighbors several college campuses and a string of retail boutiques. "We tell our community members that they shouldn't look at their faith solely as something that brings benefit to them. Really, it's ensuring good quality meat to people who need meat."

Related: Beer, grilled cheese and really clean clothes

Unlike conventional butcheries that source mainly boxed cuts, Honest Chops' head butcher Rex Workman carves chuck roasts, sirloins and flank steaks from the whole cow. He grinds the odd bits into sausages and seasoned patties.

"Committing to use whole animal poses challenges, but these can also be opportunities," said Workman. His unique sausages, with names like The Patham and Ninth Degree, generate a profit on what would otherwise be wasted.

Reeducating customers about the cost of their product has been a challenge. Hand-slaughtered chickens run $3.50 per pound, nearly double that of their industrially grown counterparts, and beef sells for about 30% more.

"People don't understand the entire process," said Zaid Kurdieh, the owner of Norwich Meadows Meats, one of the shop's suppliers. "We sell food that is raised correctly, and that costs a lot of money."

Still, their prices are competitive with other artisanal butcheries. The business currently breaks about even, with slower periods during the week and steady foot traffic over the weekend, when the shop regularly sells an entire cow's worth of meat (which is about a third of their inventory).

Related: Hot businesses to start now

The business opened with $200,000 in capital, which came from individual investors in the Muslim community. Khalid hopes to increase their customer base and make the business profitable by offering delivery to Manhattan and the outer boroughs. He said he has 700 potential customers interested in the service.

With increased sales though, he is concerned about sourcing from his suppliers' limited stock.

"Many hadn't anticipated raising that much livestock this year," said Latif. "We're essentially in a place where if someone has a cow or a chicken, we ask to take it from them."

Over the next two years, Latif and his partners plan to add a slaughter facility to their operation to speed up production. They are also exploring sourcing from Australia and New Zealand, where farming practices are typically humane and comply with Islamic law.

Over time, they hope to donate a percentage of the revenue back to the Islamic Center to fund social services for the Muslim community.

"It's really about bringing benefit to the society around us," said Latif. "We want to ensure from start to finish everything is transparent and you can really trust where the meat is coming from."

First Published: May 30, 2014: 7:15 AM ET

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Stocks: 4 things to know before the open

Click on chart to track premarkets

LONDON (CNNMoney)

Here are four things you need to know before the opening bell:

1. Stock markets have a spring in their step: So far this month, the S&P 500 has surged by nearly 2% to hit new record highs. The Dow Jones industrial average has gained 0.7% and the Nasdaq has posted a dramatic rebound after two months in the red, adding more than 3%.

But will the gains continue on the final day of trading in May?

U.S. stock futures were lower, indicating stocks could retreat from recent record-setting levels. The CNNMoney Fear & Greed index is in neutral territory.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 closed at 1,920, surpassing its previous record high from earlier this week. The Dow Jones industrial average closed 0.4% higher and the Nasdaq ended up 0.5%.

Related: Fear & Greed Index stalls in neutral

2. Market movers -- BNP Paribas, Salesforce, Ford: Shares in BNP Paribas (BNPQF) declined by roughly 5% in Europe after the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. authorities were pushing the bank to pay more than $10 billion to settle a criminal probe of alleged sanctions violations.

Salesforce (CRM) shares were up in extended trading after the company announced a partnership with Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500).

Ford (F, Fortune 500) stock was under a bit of pressure after the automaker announced four recalls affecting at least 1.4 million vehicles.

3. Data, data, data!: The U.S. government will release personal income and spending numbers for April at 8:30 a.m. ET. The University of Michigan will publish a final reading of its May consumer sentiment index at 9:55 a.m.

Related: CNNMoney's Tech30

4. International action: European markets were lower in morning trading, led by declines in the mining sector.

"A fresh record high for the S&P 500 has failed to enthuse London markets, as some worrying news from China sent miners lower," wrote IG analyst Chris Beauchamp in a market report, where he also mentioned concerns about weak manufacturing. "Warnings seem to be coming through with disturbing regularity, and the sharp drops in share prices that follow suggest that investor sentiment is far from being rock solid."

Asian markets ended with mixed results.

Investors in India are waiting for the latest report on quarterly GDP, which will be released at 8 a.m. ET. The Mumbai Sensex was little changed.

First Published: May 30, 2014: 5:10 AM ET

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I work in fast food and I'm not a teenager

Dre Finley, 24, has a college degree and works at Arby's for $8.78 an hour. He has a 5-year-old daughter and another baby coming soon.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

This is the face of today's fast food workers -- 70% of whom are over the age of 20, nearly 40% have children and a third of them have spent some time in college, according to U.S. census data.

It wasn't always this way.

In 1979, teenagers held 26% of all low-wage jobs, while adults aged 25-64 made up less than half of such workers, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, which analyzed the low wage workforce over a 30-year span.

Today, only 12% of low paying jobs are held by teenagers, while adults make up 60% of them. Also, only 20% of such workers had attended some college in 1979. Today, it's 33%.

In essence, people working at a McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500), Burger King (BKW) or Wendy's (WEN) are older and more educated, but earning some of the lowest wages in the economy.

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

They look more and more like Dre Finley, who earns $8.78 an hour at Arby's in Tampa, Fla. He is 24, has a five-year-old daughter and another child on the way. Finley also holds an associates degree from a community college.

"Some customers think you're stupid because you're behind the counter, but I have an education," said Finley.

And Finley is not alone in not being able to convert his degree to a better-paying job. Job choices have become limited -- 44% of American jobs created in the past four years have been in low wage industries like fast food, according to the National Employment Labor Project, a liberal labor rights advocacy group.

"There's a classic mismatch. Fast-food jobs don't require high degrees," said Christopher Flynn, an economics professor at New York University.

A key argument behind the latest wave of strikes to raise wages to $15 an hour is that fast food workers these days are no longer just teenagers looking for pocket change. They are mothers and fathers struggling to raise children on wages that are too low, in most cases below poverty level.

Research also shows that fast food companies haven't shared their profits equally among their workers. While the lowest paid have not seen a raise in a long time, the industry's top management are not only being paid handsomely but have given themselves hefty raises.

Related: "My boss doesn't rule my destiny"

Public policy group Demos says CEO compensation in the industry just since 2000 quadrupled to $24 million, while average fast food worker's wage only increased 0.3%.

Fast food CEOs also make 1,000 times more than the average worker in the industry.

"The idea that you can work hard and play by the rules and get ahead is disappearing for a large number of American workers," said Catherine Ruetschlin, an analyst at Demos. "As for the American Dream, it's not as easy as people think to leverage into upward mobility from low wage jobs."

Tanika Smith, a 25-year-old with a college degree, says her $8.75 hourly wage has barely budged since she started seven years ago at a McDonald's in Chicago.

"I never imagined working at a fast food place with a B.A. I imagined I'd be working downtown at a law firm making major bucks," says Smith, who hopes to earn a master's degree and aspires to be a judge.

Tanika Smith, a McDonald's worker, has a B.A.

"The people I work with now are not comfortable doing what they are doing. It's not what they want - but that's where the jobs are," Smith says.

First Published: May 30, 2014: 7:29 AM ET

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Jack Dorsey: Now a billionaire, always a 'punk'

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

He's taken out the earring and the blue hair is long gone, but don't call Dorsey corporate.

"I'm still a punk," Dorsey insists. "What was amazing to me about the punk scene, which is why I got into it, is because there was this confidence of 'I'm not going to go off, be shy about learning how to be a musician.'"

The St. Louis native used to play music on the streets every so often. He says he'd like to get back to it.

Dorsey, a serial entrepreneur, cites similarities between punk music and emerging technology.

His example: a band could go from being awful their first time on stage to becoming superstars like The Ramones in a short period of time. Dorsey says the same thing can happen with coders.

"People would write code and it was terrible, and they would write it again and it was terrible, and a year from then it was Linux, and now it's running the majority of every system out there today."

Related: Square's new cash advance: Don't call it a loan!

Constantly tinkering and rebuilding is a theme in Dorsey's life. He has shifted his focus from connecting the world through social networking site Twitter to empowering small businesses through Square. In both cases, the journey hasn't been easy and there have been plenty of naysayers.

How does he deal with the pressure? Dorsey begins his day with a five mile walk to work. He leaves at 7 am, and it takes him an hour and a half to get to the office. In that time, Dorsey ditches email and texts. He listens to music and audio books and tries to take a new route every day so he can find inspiration on the streets of San Francisco. Each day, he tries to deviate from routine.

"It's a very clearing time," he told CNNMoney. "I want to put as much unexpected potential in front of me because I think something that you don't plan will always make you think differently."

Dorsey (now 37) is older and more polished than he was in his dyed hair days. But he insists he'll never lose the scrappy mentality required to take an idea and transform it into a company. He said he still has the same fight in him today as he did when he was first starting Twitter.

"The biggest thing is to really put yourself out there in a confident way and learn as quickly as possible ... that's what I took from punk, and that's why I'll never stop being a punk. "

By the way, he still has the tattoo.

First Published: May 29, 2014: 7:10 AM ET

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America's growing housing affordability gap

Few can afford a home in San Francisco, while nearly all of Syracuse's residents can afford to buy a place.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

For the typical American household earning the median income, 65.5% of homes were affordable during the first quarter, according to a survey by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo Bank's Housing Affordability Index.

Where homes are affordable (and not)

Syracuse, N.Y.	$94,000	93.7%
Buffalo, N..	$90,000	92.2%
Youngstown, Ohio	$77,000	90.8%
Harrisburg, Pa.	$135,000	88.8%
Dayton, Ohio	$93,000	87.9%
San Francisco	$815,000	13.3%
Santa Ana, Calif.	$561,000	18.8%
Los Angeles	$420,000	20.1%
New York	$448,000	24.9%
San Jose, Calif.	$631,000	27.2%

Source: National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo Bank.
The Housing Opportunity Index is based on median home prices, median household income and interest rates during the first quarter of 2014. The percentage of affordable homes sold during the quarter were those that could be afforded by households earning the median income.

But in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Boston and Denver, where prices are soaring, it's much more difficult for the average earner to afford a home.

"High-cost cities are rebounding faster than low-cost ones," said David Crowe, chief economist for the NAHB. "Unusually large increases in wealth have driven up prices."

Related: Tech workers squeezing out renters

In San Francisco -- the most expensive metro market in the nation with a median home price of $815,000 -- only 13.3% of homes could be purchased comfortably by households earning the median income of $100,000. That was down from 28.9% in 2013.

Expensive cities tend to keep growing more expensive because they're already so densely packed with housing. "A way to keep prices down is to add to the supply by building new homes," said Crowe.

But that's harder to do in places where there's not much land to build on due to coastlines or mountains.

Related: How far will my salary go in another city?

Meanwhile, the most affordable U.S. cities tend to be in the Midwest and Northeast, predominantly in old industrial towns where the economy is no longer expanding and there is plenty of land to build on.

In Syracuse, N.Y. , for example, nearly 94% of homes could be comfortably paid for by a family earning the median income, according to NAHB's index. That's up from 91.6% a year before.

Helping Syracuse's residents better afford homes is its high median income of $67,700, which is about $4,000 higher than the national median. That goes a long way toward affording a home in the area, where the median price of a home is just $94,000.

Related: Priced out. I can't afford a home in my town

Nationwide, affordability has improved. Even though median incomes shrunk to $63,900 from $64,400 in 2013, median home prices have also fallen, to $195,000 from $205,000 in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, mortgages are slightly more expensive but still relatively cheap. Interest rates averaged 4.36% on a 30-year loan in the first quarter, compared with 3.5% a year earlier.

"Housing affordability remains strong and this is an encouraging sign as the spring home buying season moves into high gear," said NAHB chairman Kevin Kelly.

First Published: May 29, 2014: 7:15 AM ET

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Google: Overwhelmingly white and male

The company released data showing its staff is weighted heavily towards white males.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

"We're not where we want to be when it comes to diversity," the report states. "And it is hard to address these kinds of challenges if you're not prepared to discuss them openly, and with the facts."

The facts show that 70% of the overall Google staff are men, and that 61% are white. Asians make up 30%, Hispanics 3%, and blacks 2% of the total staff.

Related: How diverse is Silicon Valley

The company's tech staff is 83% male, with roughly similar ethnic breakdown. And leadership of the company is 79% male and 72% white.

"All of our efforts, including going public with these numbers, are designed to help us recruit and develop the world's most talented and diverse people," said Google's statement.

Related: I'm a minority and a Silicon Valley 'trade secret'

According to a company filing, Google (GOOGL) had 47,756 full-time employees at the end of 2013: 18,593 in research and development, 15,348 in sales and marketing, 6,563 in general and administrative, and 7,252 in operations.

Government reports on other major tech companies obtained by CNNMoney last year show similar lack of diversity among the workforces of five other other major tech companies: Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500), Intel (INTC, Fortune 500), Dell, eBay (EBAY, Fortune 500) and Ingram Micro (IM, Fortune 500).

First Published: May 29, 2014: 7:17 AM ET

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Why I broke up with Apple

Apple and I used to have a strong relationship. But I had a change of heart.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

I still remember how giddy I was when I got my green iPod Mini in 2004, my fifth-generation iPod in 2006, my MacBook in 2007 and my iPhone 4S in 2011.

Along the way, I also bought an iPod Shuffle (for the two or three times I've been to the gym in the past four years), an Airport Wi-Fi router, an Airport Express network extender and a Fathead of Steve Jobs. Okay. Only three of those things are true.

But last year, I turned my back on Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500), and I haven't regretted it.

Why the change of heart?

For all its glitz and glam, the iPhone had a lot of features I didn't need (see: Air Drop, Passbook, Airplay, Photo Stream and iTunes Radio). But mostly, it just didn't do enough of the stuff that I really cared about. That's why I decided to ditch the iPhone for an Android device.

Related: Be wary of the no money down iPhone 6

In October, I bought a Motorola Moto X. I love it. It's by far the most useful gadget I've ever owned. I can check the time just by taking the phone out of my pocket.

When I want to change directions while I'm driving, I don't hit any buttons -- I literally just speak to my phone, "OK Google Now, navigate to...." When there's traffic, and I'll miss my meeting if I don't leave soon, my Moto X will tell me to get going.

An app called Trigger automatically puts my phone in vibrate mode the second I step into my newsroom.

I'll admit to missing FaceTime -- not because it's any easier or better than Google Hangouts, but because all my friends and family have iPhones.

But Android's widgets are better and more convenient than the iPhone's badge notifications. Google is far, far superior at backing up photos than Apple. iCloud in general is a confusing mess, and I eventually just shut it off.

I could go on. The point: Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) just seems to understand me better than Apple.

That's true for Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) too. I love my Windows 8 laptops much more than I ever enjoyed my MacBook, which died three years ago. I ended up buying an Acer notebook and a Surface tablet. Or is it a tabtop? (Laplet?).

Related: The new Surface Pro 3 is a good PC but no iPad killer

Windows 8 isn't perfect, but I'm growing to really like it. On my laptops, when I want to open an app, I literally just start typing the name, hit enter, and it starts running. My laptops have touch screens, which come in handy more often than you'd think, particularly when looking at videos and photos. There is nothing better for watching Netflix (NFLX) in bed than the Surface, with its kickstand and screen optimized for HD videos.

Like many people, I use my laptop and Surface almost exclusively for Web browsing, email, word processing, watching videos and work. The MacBook is a great computer, but I don't need to pay MacBook prices to do those things.

I also opted for a Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) Chromecast video streamer for my TV over an Apple TV. And I have a poster hanging in my bedroom of Larry Page and Satya Nadella holding hands (Okay, that part isn't true either).

Meanwhile, my iPods are sitting in a drawer somewhere. I can't find my Airport Express. (If you stole it, you can keep it).

But my three-year old daughter uses my old iPhone as her personal "Thomas the Tank Engine" video machine. I also still use the Airport router. So I guess Apple and I never got divorced -- we're just legally separated.

And I've never been happier.

On Monday, Apple is expected to unveil iOS 8 and possibly a new Apple TV, Macbooks, smart home initiative and an iWatch. I'll be reporting on it -- and I'll let you know if Tim Cook & Co. showed me enough to bring me back into the fold.

Are you an Apple fanboy? A Microsoftie? Are you ga-ga for Google? Dare I ask -- do you still have a BlackBerry (BBRY)? Tweet us at @CNNTech, and we'll have what I'm sure will be a well-reasoned and mutually respectful discussion.

First Published: May 28, 2014: 6:56 AM ET

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'Wall Street can be a narcotic'

Fred Dickson has been in the investing business for four decades. But he's not your average Wall Streeter.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

"It's part of the nature of the beast," he says.

When Dickson started on Wall Street in 1973, Americans were waiting in long lines to buy gas, and an oil embargo sent the world economy into a recession.

As if that wasn't bad enough, stocks plunged again the following year when President Richard Nixon resigned because of Watergate.

"A number of Wall Street firms collapsed in that very significant downturn," he says. He was at Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) at the time. "While I didn't expect it to collapse, it was ugly."

Despite the tough start, Dickson managed to survive -- and thrive -- in stints at Goldman and Lehman Brothers and later at a brokerage firm in Portland. He carved out his niche as an investment strategist, helping clients figure out how to navigate the markets. At times, he managed billions of dollars of money.

He is retiring this year.

"Wall Street can be a narcotic," he says, describing New York as the "financial emotional epicenter" of America -- and the world. He uses the term "emotional" since people on Wall Street feel the need to react in nanoseconds, often without much thought.

Wall Street also breeds a sense of self importance in the people who work there.

The only time Dickson was fired in his career was for what he dubs a "personal attitude adjustment."

"I was suffering from minor points of delusion of grandeur and that caught up with me. And it always does," he says.

He was 41 at the time. Like most mid-career financial types, he thought he was doing a terrific job and riding high on performance, but he let arrogance creep in and overwhelm his day-to-day decision making.

"People don't talk about getting fired, but I learned from that. I learned that you have to keep growing every day," he admits, with the humility that comes from hindsight.

Related: Sallie Krawcheck's 10 tips for succeeding on Wall Street

Dickson bounced back quickly from getting the ax. He landed a prestigious post at Lehman Brothers. Then October 19, 1987 hit.

"That was the day the Dow dropped 22% in about five trading hours and nobody had any idea what was going on," he says.

The Federal Reserve, with Alan Greenspan at the helm, came to the rescue.

But Dickson's most stressful day in his career was September 15, 2008, the day Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy.

"We really didn't understand that corporations like General Electric (GE, Fortune 500) were financing themselves with commercial paper daily and they had to have a marketplace and Lehman was that marketplace," he says.

By then, Dickson was out in Oregon, but the repercussions were felt everywhere.

Dickson left New York City in 2001 to join D.A. Davidson, a brokerage in Portland, Oregon. Headhunters called him often with offers to return to Manhattan and make four to five times what he was earning. He turned them all down. He had been there, done that.

Seeing the financial world from outside New York has given him more insight into what many Americans think of Wall Street. When he started in the industry in the 1970s, investors had a "reasonable" level of trust in Wall Street. That is no longer the case.

Dickson thinks that's the key reason investors are holding record amounts of cash at the moment.

Related: Investors are getting out of U.S. stocks

One of the biggest changes he's seen over the years is the rise of technology and information about companies and stocks.

"Seventy and 80-year-old grandmothers are wired and looking at how their portfolios are doing -- a little bit too often," he jokes. "We've come a long way from the days when companies would only do print interviews and people would call their brokers to find out what was happening in the markets or with company earnings information."

Lately, he's been asked a lot about his views on high-frequency trading. Michael Lewis slammed the practice in his recent book "Flashboys," going as far as to claim the markets are rigged.

Related: Michael Lewis says markets are rigged

Dickson said that he's told most individual investors that high-frequency trading has had "very little impact" on them.

He remembers how when he first got into the business, orders were sent to so-called "specialists" who supposedly negotiated prices for you. These people basically did what high speed computers do now. And they took a lot bigger fees for their work.

In those days, the specialists would make 12 cents or even a quarter a share. They justified this because they were supposedly stabilizing the market, Dickson explains. Today, high-frequency traders get something akin to 0.00125 cents a share, if that.

Overall, Dickson thinks the stock market has become much more efficient, and that has helped everyone.

He's pleased that people are taking greater interest in their investments, even if it means he's gotten a lot more calls in the past decade from people who read things on blogs that don't always offer sound advice.

"People are more responsible for their own financial future than they ever were in the past," he says.

First Published: May 28, 2014: 6:52 AM ET

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Half of American adults hacked this year

2014 is quickly becoming the year of the hack. Get used to it. Massive data breaches are becoming a monthly occurrence.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

That massive number, tallied for CNNMoney by Ponemon Institute researchers, is made even more mind-boggling by the amount of hacked accounts: up to 432 million.

The exact number of exposed accounts is hard to pin down, because some companies -- such as AOL (AOL) and eBay (EBAY, Fortune 500) -- aren't fully transparent abount the details of their cyber breaches. But that's the best estimate available with the data tracked by the dentity Theft Resource Center and CNNMoney's own review of corporate disclosures.

The damage is real. Each record typically includes personal information, including your name, debit or credit card, email, phone number, birthday, password, security questions and physical address.

It's enough to get hunted down by an abusive ex-spouse. It makes you an easier target for scams. And even if only basic information about you is stolen, that can easily be paired with stolen credit card data, empowering impostors.

Related story: How not to get hacked

Cyberattacks are growing so numerous that we're becoming numb to them. Researchers at IT company Unisys (UIS) say we're now experiencing "data-breach fatigue." Even the most recent numbers make for a dizzying list:

Why does this keep happening? Two things are going on at once.

First, we're increasingly moving our lives online. Shopping, banking and socializing are now chiefly digital endeavors for many people. Stores rely on the Internet to conduct and process all transactions. As a result, your data is everywhere: on your phone, laptop, work PC, website servers and countless retailers' computer networks.

Second, hacks are getting more sophisticated. Offensive hacking weapons are numerous and cheap. And hackers have learned to quietly roam inside corporate networks for years before setting off any alarms.

Related story: eBay hasn't emailed all customers about the attack

Remember the 1990s caricature of a typical hacker? Pierced, goth and malcontent? Forget it. The age of small time rabble rousing has given way to large-scale theft with targeted, militaristic precision.

"Now attackers are very focused," said Brendan Hannigan, who leads the security systems division at IBM. "There are teams of them, and they create malware to attack specific organizations."

It doesn't help that the security of the entire Internet relies on a few underfunded volunteers. Or that so many people use outdated software, such as Windows XP, which no longer receives security updates. That leads to pervasive problems like the Heartbleed bug or the recent Internet Explorer flaw that allowed attackers to take over your computer.

"It's becoming more acute," said Larry Ponemon, head of the Ponemon Institute. "If you're not a data breach victim, you're not paying attention."

So, get accustomed to the hack of the month. In April, that was AOL. In May, it was eBay. Who what June will bring?

First Published: May 28, 2014: 7:53 AM ET

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Discount private island sells for $38M off

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Innocence Island, the largest privately-owned island in the Bahamas, has all the usual trappings of a high-end tropical getaway: beaches, mango trees, a large, airy home with a pool. There's even a runway that comes with its own airport code. Listed for $55 million, it was recently auctioned off for much less.

Before the sale began, auctioneer Frank Trunzo said, "I feel it could bring well over $20, $25 million," adding that the bidding crowd was going to decide how much it was really worth.

Turns out, not that much.

The bidding opened at $8 million and was over in minutes. When the winning bidder's paddle went up at the $17 million mark, Trunzo tried for more, calling $18 million, then $17.5. $17,250,000? The room stayed silent.

The island was "Sold!" to bidder number 53, a man a few rows from the front, who declined to be interviewed for this article.

After the auction, Trunzo said the sale had been a success, even if the price did seem low.

The island has been available to rent for $6,500 per night for up to eight people.

"This fell within the range we were hopeful it would," he said. At $38 million less than it was offered four years ago? How?

In 2011, Innocence went up for sale for $55 million but failed to find a buyer. Then, in late 2013, the owner got some devastating news: He was terminally ill with 17 months to live.

He called realtor George Damianos, who'd handled the sale when he first bought the island in 2004.

"He said, 'I gotta sell the island. Let's try it at $28 million and see how well we do,'" Damianos said. The owner has two small children and wanted to leave them cash instead of the property.

Innocence went back on the market in January, but the seller quickly decided to go the auction route instead.

Related: 'Glamping goes mainstream

Auctions don't generally work well for private islands, according to Chris Krolow, president of Private Islands, Inc., and host of HGTV's "Island Hunters."

He said it's difficult to show a private island to potential buyers because not many people are willing to make the trek to view the property. Islands with a strong local interest tend to do the best at auction.

There are plenty of private islands for sale around the world, many of which are in the Bahamas. Krolow's website offers dozens, ranging in price from $6.5 million to $40 million to "price upon request."

He expected Innocence to go for a low price at auction.

The pool has a two-story cabana.

"I would say the island is worth about $30 million, considering the size and what some of the other islands in the area are going for," he said. "$17 million is definitely a steal."

He said Innocence has the potential to be worth even more if the island is developed into a resort, because there aren't many in the area.

Laura Brady, founder of Concierge Auctions, the auction house that sold the island, said it can be a challenge to find the true worth of high-end properties.

"When you think about a property that's $20 million-plus, it's only worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it," she said, adding that some properties are given list prices because it sets a context of value.

The market, then, identifies the value, usually in a matter of minutes.

Innocence's owner was given permission by his doctors to attend the auction of his island. Brady said the owner was pleased with the outcome.

"We accomplished the goals and we were happy we were able to do that," she said.

First Published: May 27, 2014: 6:53 AM ET

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I've been priced out of downtown Detroit

"It seemed unfair to be forced to pay more," said Andrew Kopietz, who was priced out of his downtown Detroit apartment.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Detroit, which filed for bankruptcy last July, has received millions of dollars from individuals, corporations and other organizations to help save its neighborhoods.

One program, called Live Downtown, has attracted as many as 15,000 new residents to the downtown area, according to the mayor's office.

Under the program, local companies, including Quicken Loans and Blue Cross Blue Shield, give employees $20,000 loans that will be completely forgiven if they buy and stay in a home downtown for five years. Renters there receive $2,500 their first year and $1,000 the second.

The newcomers bring with them money and much needed tax revenue. But they are also causing housing prices to skyrocket.

Five-year resident, Andrew Kopietz moved out of his one-bedroom in the downtown Lafayette Park neighborhood late last year after his rent was hiked to $1,100 from $840 a month.

Related: First home sold in Detroit's online auction sells for $34,100

"I work downtown and have never loved living somewhere as much as I do here," said Kopietz, a design director for D:Hive, which provides information about living in Detroit. But, "it seemed unfair to be forced to pay more."

He now lives with a friend in midtown.

Karl Wolf, 37, works as an assistant manager for Quicken and lives in Wyandotte, a small city 10 miles southwest of Detroit. He is eligible for the $20,000 forgivable loan and has been condo hunting for a couple of years, but he still can't seem to find a place he can afford.

"Apartments are prohibitively expensive, especially those that have been renovated, but even the shabbier ones are very pricey," he said.

Seeing profits, many big investors have been buying downtown's older buildings, renovating them and renting them out at much higher rates.

Related: Buy vs. rent: What you'll pay in 10 biggest cities

However, in some cases, it has meant getting rid of the former tenants first.

In February, a couple dozen artists were evicted from their loft spaces in a building on Griswold Street after it had been bought by Bedrock Real Estate Services.

Three former residents moved to the waterfront area south of downtown; one moved out of state; others moved miles away, said Margaret Cassetto, who lived at Griswold and is the director of community engagement for the Sphinx Organization, which provides music education programs.

"Most of us couldn't afford downtown," she said.

She now lives in West Village where two-bedroom, 1,000 square-foot apartments go for about $800.

Related: 'I can't afford a home in my town'

A couple of months ago, another building on Griswold was emptied of its mostly low-income senior residents. The residents had received notices a year earlier notifying them that their Section 8 subsidized housing vouchers were going to expire and the building was going to be renovated.

Donna Fontana, a spokeswoman for developer Broder & Sachse, said residents were found new places to live, with their relocation costs covered.

Bill Weld-Wallis, COO of the Neighborhood Services Organization, one of the groups charged with facilitating the move, said he has heard that many of the seniors are pleased with their new homes. But still, he said, it has come at a price as longstanding social networks were torn apart.

Meanwhile, a one-bedroom in their old building will start at $1,295 a month -- a far cry from the few hundred dollars a month some of the former tenants used to pay.

Related: 10 most affordable small cities

Karen Schultz lived in a seven-room apartment in Midtown's Cass Corridor for 35 years. She was kicked out in late 2013. "It was a really nice building next to Wayne State and the landlord is moving students in and out and increasing the rent," said the 60-year-old retired police department psychologist.

She now pays $926 a month for a three-bedroom, up from $815 in her old place. She thinks she may have to move in with her daughter and her three grandchildren, who were also priced out of the old building.

She helped them buy a five-bedroom house for $100,000 in a northern part of Detroit.

"I made sure there's a bedroom for me," she said.

First Published: May 27, 2014: 6:50 AM ET

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Hillshire shares surge on takeover bid from Pilgrim's

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Hillshire Brands (HSH, Fortune 500) jumped more than 20% in premarket trading, even as shares for Pilgrim's Pride (PPC) dipped 3%.

Under the proposal, Pilgrim's Pride would pay $45 a share for Hillshire in an all-cash deal.

Earlier this month, Hillshire Brands -- the parent of such meat products as Hillshire Farm and Jimmy Dean sausage -- agreed to acquire Pinnacle Foods (PF), the maker of Birds Eye frozen vegetables and Duncan Hines cake mix.

Pilgrim's Pride sells chicken products.

Hillshire Brands representatives were not immediately availble for comment.

First Published: May 27, 2014: 8:29 AM 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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Stocks rise as EU election results come in

Alexis Tsipras leads the far-left Syriza party in Greece. His anti-austerity party that has received roughly 27% of the vote.

LONDON (CNNMoney)

Germany's DAX index led the way with a 0.9% rise. Spain's IBEX gained 0.8%, while France's CAC 40 added 0.2%. The euro continued its decline against the dollar.

European Parliament election results show voters are increasingly turning their backs on the European Union, with many 'euroskeptic' parties gaining significant support in countries such as France, the U.K. and Greece.

Meanwhile, Ukrainians seem to be voting in favor of further integration with Europe. Billionaire Petro Poroshenko has declared himself the winner of the Ukrainian presidential elections after getting over 50% of the vote. The seasoned politician has been vocal about his pro-European Union views.

Related: Europe's own 'tea party' risk

The growing popularity of anti-EU protest parties on the far right and far left indicate a severe backlash against pan-European cooperation, European institutions and austerity measures.

In France, the far-right National Front party -- which has rallied against the EU and immigration -- has won a historic victory with 25% of the French vote, beating out more moderate pro-EU parties that dominated the elections five years ago. In the previous European elections, the National Front garnered just 6% of the vote.

In the United Kingdom, an increasingly prominent protest party that has loudly voiced its desire to get out of the EU won roughly 28% of the votes.

In Greece, the far-left Syriza party won roughly 27% of the vote.

The success of these anti-EU fringe parties could make for noisier Parliament debates and could complicate the passing of EU laws and appointments to the EU executive. It could also destabilize pro-EU governments in some countries and weaken the resolve of others to stick to painful economic reforms.

But this doesn't necessarily spell the death of a united European Union. Results show the left-center and right-center parties will still hold a majority of seats in the European Parliament.

"After four years of a wrenching euro crisis, pro-European mainstream parties ... will still have close to 70% of the seats in the EU parliament," said Berenberg chief economist, Holger Schmieding. "Although it will be more difficult to negotiate a trade deal with the U.S., European institutions can function well with that result."

According to European election officials on Monday morning, 85% of the votes across the 28 participating nations have been counted.

First Published: May 26, 2014: 7:23 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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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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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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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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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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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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Stocks: 5 things to know before the open

Click here to see in-depth premarket data

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Here are 5 things you need to know before the bell:

1. Data and earnings

The U.S. government will report new home sales from April at 10 a.m. ET.

Foot Locker (FL, Fortune 500) will report quarterly earnings before the open.

2. Stocks on the move

Shares in Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) and eBay (EBAY, Fortune 500) were dipping by roughly 1%. Best Buy had a strong day Thursday after better than expected earnings. EBay remains in the spotlight amid criticism that it was slow to inform customers about a hacking incident.

CBS (CBS, Fortune 500) was declining by roughly 2%. Shares in Aeropostale (ARO) plunged in extended trading on weak quarterly net sales and earnings. Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, Fortune 500) also fell in extended trading after it announced plans to cut 11,000 to 16,000 jobs on top of the previously announced 34,000 job cuts.

U.S. stock futures were little changed, after all three major indexes closed with gains Thursday.

Related: Fear & Greed Index

3. Credit Suisse raises $5 billion, Barclays fined

Shares in Credit Suisse (CS) were edging up in Europe after the bank sold $5 billion in bonds, raising fresh capital just days after paying a fine of $2.6 billion for U.S. tax evasion. Barclays (BCS) shares gained 0.6%, shrugging off news that it had been fined £26 million for manipulating the gold market.

4. Thai markets

Shares slipped 1% and the baht dipped against the dollar after Thursday's coup. Fitch said any further escalation in political instability could cause lasting damage to the economy.

Indian stocks continued to rally -- investors have high hopes for Narendra Modi, who will be sworn in as prime minister Monday. Other Asian markets ended with gains.

Related: CNNMoney's Tech30

5. German business sentiment

The May Ifo index came in slightly weaker than expected, in part due to concerns about the Ukraine crisis. Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to speak Friday at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, ahead of elections in Ukraine this weekend.

Voting continues in European Parliament elections, with early indications suggesting a mixed performance for the region's euro skeptic protest parties.

European markets were mixed in early trading.

First Published: May 23, 2014: 5:35 AM ET

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