Vacation like a star, paparazzi included

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Some upscale hotels are offering creative packages where guests can bask in the glow of the paparazzi, spend a weekend like a famed secret agent, or recreate the experience of a heroine in a romantic comedy.

At Row NYC, for example, guests can pay $2,500 for a taste of the glamorous world of a celebrity. The hotel's Paparazzi Project package includes one night's stay at the hotel's penthouse suite (named and inspired by famed photographer Ron Galella); hair and make-up done by a team led by a celebrity stylist; and a personal paparazzo to shoot the experience.

The paparazzo, from agency Getty Images, can catalog the guest's celebrity transformation, follow the guest through the hotel, and snap photos of them around Times Square.

"Everyone sees you're being treated like [a celebrity]," said Elizabeth Wilson, a 23-year-old from Kansas City who received the package as a graduation gift from her parents.

Related: How to vacation like an aristocrat

Those looking for a little more mystery can head to Scotland for a James Bond escape.

Over the course of a $2,100 weekend, guests at the Isle of Eriska Hotel, Spa & Island can drive an Aston Martin through the Scottish Highlands to Glencoe, where scenes of Skyfall were shot, and learn how to make the ultimate martini -- shaken not stirred.

They can also ride a speedboat like 007 and tour locations where scenes from The Spy Who Loved Me, From Russia With Love, and other Bond classics were filmed.

Related: 10 vacation experiences of a lifetime

Meanwhile, the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills offers a chance to step into the role that made Julia Roberts a household name.

The hotel's package, starting at $15,000, gives guests the opportunity to be Pretty Woman for a day. Highlights include a stay in the same suite as Roberts' character and a styling trip with a personal shopper along Rodeo Drive for two hours.

For those willing to spend upwards of $100,000, the ultimate package includes a picnic, musical serenade, and special guest appearance by celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck.

First Published: July 11, 2014: 3:26 PM ET

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China targets Apple for location-tracking apps

A CCTV report said that iPhone features can potentially put China's state secrets at risk.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The government-controlled CCTV network reported Friday that Apple (AAPL, Tech30) devices record users' every move and message.

"We simply don't know what their motive is in collecting this information," the anchor said.

The CCTV report goes on to mention that those iPhone features can potentially put China's state secrets at risk.

The report doesn't mention that all smartphones have apps that can track users, including those made by Chinese manufacturers Huawei, Xiaomi and ZTE.

Related story: Chinese hackers broke into U.S. federal employee network

China's vast and growing technology industry is a source of great national pride.

From time to time, the country targets foreign companies such as Apple for various reasons:

China wants to back its own companies. The United States has its free market, but in China, the government owns or exerts control over key industries, including network operators and device makers. The government sometimes creates suspicion against non-Chinese products to boost domestic companies.

China wants to avert NSA spying. Apple has computer servers in the United States, which means the U.S. government can make secretive information demands on its data. Such information might indicate where hidden government facilities are located, according to Alex McGeorge, head of threat intelligence for cybersecurity firm Immunity.

China wants better access to spy on its own people. The country already practices mass snooping on its citizens to clamp down on free speech, political dissent and religion. Steering customers away from iPhones and toward Chinese smartphone companies gives the government more access.

"They want the data from the tracking," said Bryan Cunningham, a lawyer who advised the Clinton and Bush administrations on cybersecurity.

This latest attack bodes poorly for the iPhone maker. China is home to the world's second biggest population at 1.3 billion people, and it's an important revenue stream for Apple.

The company did not respond to requests for comment.

Related story: China targets Nikon in annual expose

CCTV has previously accused Apple of poor customer service and warranty standards.

Many foreign firms have been hurt when Chinese state-controlled media go after them. It's led to a decline in sales or government investigations. In some cases, firms have even changed their policies after such attacks or issued recalls.

Volkswagen (VLKAF) recalled 384,141 vehicles in China after a 2013 consumer rights' broadcast. State media have also targeted Starbucks (SBUX), Japan's Nikon, British drug giant GlaxoSmithKline (GLAXF) and French dairy company Danone (DANOY) in recent years.

First Published: July 11, 2014: 5:32 PM ET

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Sex Valley: Tech's booming prostitution trade

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Startups are transforming into multi-billion companies. And the staffs are overwhelmingly male. Sex workers tell CNNMoney they have a growing clientele who have plenty of excess cash.

Two recent events have raised concerns.

The arrest this week of an alleged prostitute, Alix Tichelman, in connection with the death of Google executive Forrest Timothy Hayes has prostitutes worried about the impact on business.

"I do worry that people are going to think that this is something that's normal and happens, but it really doesn't," said "Maxine Holloway" a high-end prostitute working in Silicon Valley. (To protect their privacy, CNNMoney agreed to use pseudonyms or the professional names of the sex workers we spoke with for this story.)

Other sex workers CNNMoney spoke to expressed worry as well -- though none said they had experienced cancellations.

Related: Silicon Valley's other entrepreneurs -- sex workers

A second issue affecting business was the shut down of a prominent website for both solicitation and screening of prostitutes and their clients.

Late last month, the FBI raided and shut down MyRedbook, a website that allowed escorts to advertise their services and negotiate with clients.

Women in the industry relied heavily on MyRedbook to do background checks on their clients. Sex workers would post about instances of violence or circumstances in which they felt unsafe.

Without MyRedbook, prostitutes are having a difficult time vetting their clients.

"It's like sex workers lost their Yelp," said Bay Area sex worker and activist "Siouxsie Q."

Male clients also used the site to review and discuss their experiences.

That's why call girls say that the further underground sex work goes, the more dangerous it is for everyone involved.

Related: Tinder dating app hit with sex harassment lawsuit

Hayes did not solicit Tichelman on MyRedbook; according to detectives, they met on SeekingArrangement.com, where users sign up to be "Sugar Babies" or "Sugar Daddies" in search of "mutually beneficial" relationships.

The FBI indicted the founders of MyRedbook on charges of using the Internet to facilitate prostitution and on multiple charges of money laundering.

Bay Area sex workers say high-powered tech executives likely joked about MyRedbook, which had kind a 1990's-era website look to it.

"I'm sure that they had all kinds of technological critiques of the actual website -- but they were definitely using it," Holloway said.

Another prostitute, who asked that her name not be used, says she has a roster of regular clients from major tech companies. She is a high-end prostitute and estimates that she's made nearly $1 million over the 10 years that she's been working in the area.

She says that her clients are increasingly worried about their own security, which is one of the reasons they been coming back to her so consistently -- they know what they're getting.

First Published: July 11, 2014: 5:54 PM ET

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Uninsured rate plummets under Obamacare

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The reports -- conducted by three major research organizations -- aim to measure the early effect of Obamacare's individual mandate. Most Americans were required to obtain health insurance starting this year.

Here were the results:

-- Urban Institute: The uninsured rate fell to 13.9% in June, down from 17.4% at the end of last year. Some 8 million adults gained coverage.

-- Gallup: Americans lacking health coverage fell to 13.4% in the second quarter, down from 17.1% at the close of 2013. This is the lowest quarterly rate recorded since Gallup and Healthways began tracking the share of uninsured Americans in 2008.

-- Commonwealth Fund: Only 15% of American adults were uninsured in the second quarter, down from 20% in the third quarter of last year. About 9.5 million fewer adults were uninsured, led mainly by young adults age 19 to 34, who saw their uninsured rate drop to 18%, from 28%.

While the results vary, these new reports add weight to the view that the Obamacare exchanges are fulfilling health reform's prime directive: reducing the number of uninsured Americans. The first official government figures will be released later this year, while the Census Bureau's report on 2014 uninsured rates won't come out until the following fall.

Related: Thankful for Obamacare

Some 8 million people signed up for coverage during Obamacare's first open enrollment period, which ended March 31. It's not known how many of these folks were previously uninsured. Another 6 million low-income Americans were added to the Medicaid rolls.

The Commonwealth Fund's survey also dug deeper into who obtained insurance and what they did with their new coverage. It found that people with low and moderate incomes, many of whom were eligible for government subsidies, and Latinos saw large drops in their uninsured ranks.

Poor people in the 25 states and the District of Columbia that opted to expand Medicaid coverage by April saw their uninsured rates decline to 17%, from 28%. But in the states that didn't expand, the rate remained essentially unchanged at 36%.

Some 6 in 10 people who obtained policies on the exchanges or signed up for Medicaid reported they had visited a doctor, went to the hospital or filled a prescription. Some 62% said they couldn't have accessed or afforded this care previously.

First Published: July 10, 2014: 6:27 PM ET

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Aereo's future: Online cable provider?

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

At least that's what it's trying to do, according to a legal filing on Wednesday. But it will need a court to rule in its favor before it can move forward.

The Supreme Court ruled against the startup last month, prompting Aereo to suspend its streaming TV service in what it called a temporary pause "as we consult with the court and map out our next steps."

Aereo previously streamed local TV stations to paying subscribers' phones, computers and other screens. It avoided paying retransmission fees to those local stations by scooping up the stations' signals with arrays of antennas in each market it operated in.

The start-up asserted that this was legal because each subscriber was assigned a different antenna. But the nation's biggest broadcasters sued Aereo for copyright law violations, and the Supreme Court sided with them.

Because the Supreme Court ruled during the preliminary injunction phase, the case was handed back down to the New York district court where it originated.

So what's Aereo going to do now? It previously argued that it was not a cable provider and shouldn't be treated like one. The broadcasters agreed with that. But now, according to Wednesday's filing, it does want to be treated like cable.

Aereo's attorney cited statements from the Supreme Court ruling that the service is "substantially similar to" and "is for all practical purposes a traditional cable system."

"As a cable system, Aereo is now entitled to the benefits of the copyright statutory license," attorney David Hosp wrote. He said Aereo is now "proceeding to file the necessary statements of account and royalty fees."

These steps could help Aereo gain the legal rights to retransmit channels, albeit at a significant cost to the company and its subscribers.

Related: Future of media

A number of other companies, some big and others small, are also exploring how to sell a cable-like bundle of channels via the Internet in a way that's more customer-friendly than the bundles that most American households currently buy. None have actually launched yet.

Back when it was still up and running, Aereo took one small step in the direction of becoming a cable provider by including a live stream of cable news channel Bloomberg TV in its bundle of local TV stations. Aereo described it as an experiment at the time.

The broadcasters' attorney, Bruce Keller, called it "astonishing for Aereo to contend that the Supreme Court's decision automatically transferred Aereo into a cable system" because the service previously said it was not a cable system.

Separately, Aereo also signaled that it sees an opportunity as a time-shifting TV service; the Supreme Court, it said, did not rule against the digital video recorder playback of shows later, only Aereo's "near simultaneous transmission" of those shows.

It is unclear when the district court judge will weigh in on the issues presented by Aereo and the broadcasters. A spokeswoman for the start-up declined to comment.

"We have no idea how soon the New York District Court will come back and rule on yesterday's joint letter, but there could still be significant industry ramifications to both broadcasters, distributors and technology companies," BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield, a vocal supporter of Aereo, wrote in a blog post Thursday.

First Published: July 10, 2014: 3:12 PM ET

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Auto worker union scores a win in the South

Workers on the assembly line at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The organization said it will open a local chapter to represent workers at Volkswagen's only U.S. plant, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The move could be crucial to the UAW's long-term viability. Employees at the Chattanooga plant voted against organizing in February, 712 to 626.

Until now, the UAW has only represented plants operated by U.S. automakers General Motors, (GM) Ford Motor (F) and Chrysler Group, as well as their suppliers. Plant closings over the last 15 years have cut into its membership.

Meanwhile, automakers from Asia and Europe have opened more than 30 plants in the United States, most of which are in the South, opening up new opportunities for the union.

The new chapter, Local 42, is voluntary, meaning workers at the Chattanooga plant aren't required to join.

Related: South Carolina plant to become BMW's largest

"What they created is a voluntary association, but they do not have any bargaining rights at this time," said Dan Cornfield, a labor expert and professor of sociology at Vanderbilt University.

The chapter could eventually get bargaining rights if a majority of employees sign "union authorization cards," he said. Or, the UAW can hold another employee vote about organizing.

If a "meaningful portion" of the plant's workforce signs up for the chapter, "we're confident the company will recognize Local 42 as a members' union that represents those employees," said Gary Casteel, the UAW's secretary-treasurer, in a statement.

U.S. Sen Bob Corker, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and other leading Republican elected officials from Tennessee suggested that unionizing the VW plant would scare other companies away from opening factories in the state. There were even threats that the state would deny VW $300 million in tax breaks if the union won the vote.

But on Thursday, the UAW said that state officials assured the VW workforce that the decision on incentives for the plant is not related to whether workers join a union.

Related: United Auto Workers drop NLRB case to organize Volkswagen

The UAW charged Republicans illegally interfered with the vote, but later dropped a complaint it filed with the National Labor Relations Board.

"We withdrew objections to end the controversy and put the focus where it belongs: obtaining the economic incentives necessary to ensure the growth of Volkswagen in Chattanooga and the addition of a new product line," Casteel said.

"The new organization gives UAW a presence from which they hope to grow," said Cornfield.

First Published: July 10, 2014: 5:37 PM ET

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Is there a 'retail funk'?

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The Container Store (TCS) is struggling. People aren't buying as many closet organizers as they used to or, at least, they aren't buying them at Container Stores.

"We've come to realize it's more than weather and calendar. Consistent with so many of our fellow retailers, we are experiencing a retail 'funk,'" the company wrote in a press release Tuesday evening.

Sales at existing stores -- a key measure of whether a retailer is doing well or not -- were down almost 1%. Costs were also up and margins shrunk.

Investors didn't like the news at all. The stock plummeted over 8% in trading Wednesday.

It's been a rough go for The Container Store since it went public in November. The stock debuted at $35 a share. It now trades below $25.

Wall Street wasn't buying the "retail funk" excuse. While early 2014 was tough on many retailers, a few rose to the top. It's just The Container Store wasn't one of them.

"U.S. retail sales have improved in the latest quarter... So for these guys to come out and go from slightly positive [sales] to a decrease of almost 1% is really kind of a head scratcher," says Michael Montani, a retail analyst at ISI Group.

Related: The 1% is spending. Luxury stocks soar

Some winners among retail chains include higher-end fashion group Michael Kors (KORS), sports brand Under Armour (UA) and even discount store chain Costco (COST).

"The retail funk is partially being created because there is all sorts of new competition for consumer dollars," says Brian Sozzi of Belus Capital Advisors. "Under Armour continues to win because the merchandise is innovative and enhances a person's daily life."

The Container Store's plan is to double down on higher-end offerings like custom solid drawers and shelving units. They are aiming for people who can spend over $2,000 on a luxury closet organization system.

They're also opening more stores. Right now they have 66 stores in 24 states, but they intend to add five more by the end of the year.

At the moment, investors don't think it's enough to lift the stock out of its funk.

First Published: July 9, 2014: 5:37 PM ET

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Yes, the economy is getting better

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

In the case of the Federal Reserve's unprecedented stimulus program that has been a big driver of the five-year stock rally, the end is finally near.

In minutes released from its June meeting, the central bank said that if the economy improves as it expects, its massive bond buying program will fully wind down following its meeting in October.

The Fed's intention to pull back, or "taper," its stimulus is a sign that it believes the economy is on the right track. That's the good news.

Related: Happy to have a #newjob

The bond purchases are only one measure helping to boost the economy, but the curtailment is being watched closely as a sign of when the Fed could raise interest rates. The Fed intends to be very clear and give plenty of signals about rate hikes, according to the minutes.

The Fed is currently buying $25 billion in monthly bonds, down from $85 billion last year.

The minutes indicate some of the top economists in America believe that activity will pick up in the second half of the year. The Fed did revise its GDP forecast for 2014 down from 2.3% to 2.1%, but many economists have pinned the decline on unusually severe winter weather.

The main question among Fed watchers is when the committee will raise its key federal funds rate, which currently stands between 0% and 0.25%. The minutes didn't give any solid dates, although the Fed tried to reassure the world that it will give a lot of signals well in advance of any rate hike.

"The June unemployment numbers were strong, but not strong enough to abandon course," says Ernest Cecilia, chief investment officer of Bryn Mawr Trust. "Janet Yellen wants to stay on message and be really clear. Any flip flopping will lead to a perception that the Fed doesn't have its act together."

Related: Mortgage rates drop to near 4%

In addition to its massive bond buying program, the Fed's low interest rate policy has been widely credited with driving investors into stocks and reviving the housing market by sending mortgage rates to historic lows.

After the June jobs report, many strategists began forecasting a rate increase sooner than later. Economists at Goldman Sachs (GS), JP Morgan (JPM), Bank of America, (BAC) Citigroup (C), and Capital Economics all moved up their predictions on rate hike timing.

If the market misreads the Fed's timing, it might be bad for stocks as investors flee to safer assets.

But the Fed has been insistent that it plans to keep rates low for some time -- well beyond the end of its bond buying. Its latest "dot plot," poll from its June meeting showed all Fed members except one (there's always one) believe interest rates will remain the same through the end of 2014.

The median prediction for the end of 2015, however, is interest rates above 1%.

Stocks popped after the Fed minutes came out Wednesday afternoon.

First Published: July 9, 2014: 3:25 PM ET

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Tickets for the World Cup final between Argentina and Germany could fetch more than $20,000

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

FIFA, soccer's world governing body, has long sold out of tickets for Sunday's game in Maracana Stadium, but fans are still bidding big bucks in secondary markets.

Ticket prices for the game between Argentina and Germany range from $5,000 to $20,000 each, according to various ticket resellers.

eBay has tickets for between $3,000 and $12,000 as of Wednesday. Many of those have received hundreds of bids, and prices could climb even higher as the game day approaches.

Ticketbis, another ticket reseller, is offering them for as much as $6,500, while Viagogo, the global market for ticket resales, had them listed for between $5,000 and $20,000 earlier this month.

Related: The World Cup's most marketable stars

Tickets to Sunday's game have a face value of between $440 and $990, depending on seating location, and FIFA says that demand for Sunday's game is ten times that of capacity.

Maracana holds up to 75,000 fans.

But jacking up the price of tickets on the secondary market is illegal in Brazil.

That country has a long-standing law against scalping. Known as "the Fan Statute," it's a criminal offense to supply a ticket for more than its face value.

Fans are being warned of risks for buyers of scalped tickets, such as ending up with fake tickets or not getting their tickets at all. FIFA is even warning that it won't honor scalped tickets at the gate.

A lot of the demand for World Cup soccer tickets has come from an unusual place this year -- the United States.

While the sport still lags behind baseball and the NFL in popularity, more Yanks are following soccer -- or football -- as it's known in most places.

According to Viagogo, the United States has been the second-largest market for ticket sales for this year's games. The company attributes that largely to the proximity between the U.S. and Brazil and to soccer's increasing popularity in the United States.

In fact, ticket purchases by Americans have outpaced those in several countries where football is by far the most popular sport, including Argentina, Mexico, Portugal, France and Italy.

First Published: July 9, 2014: 7:37 PM ET

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Tesla vs. trademark troll in China

A Tesla showroom in China. The electric car company is facing a legal challenge to its trademark in China.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Reports say businessman Zhan Baosheng has sued to stop the maker of electric cars from selling cars in China. He claims to have filed for the Chinese copyrights of the Tesla name in 2006.

But Tesla says its claim to the name has already been upheld by other Chinese authorities and that the lawsuit is without merit. It said its Chinese operations have not been affected by the suit.

Tesla is "confident that Mr. Zhan's appeals from those decisions will be unsuccessful," a company spokeswoman said.

Tesla started deliveries of its Model S luxury electric car in China earlier this year.

Related: Tesla Model X due in early '15

China drivers now buy more cars than those in any other country and the market is a key for luxury car sales. It is seen as a key to Tesla meeting its forecasts of continued increases in sales.

"It's the largest luxury vehicle market in the world, and it's no secret that is where some of the premium European brands make all their money," said Craig Irwin, analyst for Wedbush Securities. "So how Tesla sales are taking shape in China is very important."

Tesla entered the Chinese market this year. Sales in China are helped by a subsidy of between $5,780 to $9,900 for buyers of electric cars.

First Published: July 8, 2014: 3:48 PM ET

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