VW Bus sells for a groovy $235,000

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The microbus, as its popularly known, is best remembered today for its role as cheap -- and not entirely reliable -- transportation for bands of highway-bound hippies during the 1960s. With its pie-sized VW logo resembling a peace sign gone haywire, the Microbus, along with the closely related VW Beetle, became an icon of the 1960s counter culture.

With bare bones, benchlike seating for up to nine and a clanging air-cooled engine that put out, in this case, 30 horsepower, the classic VW bus is the precise opposite of the indulgent luxury automobiles and powerful muscle cars that usually get big auction money. But thanks to their emotional appeal, VW buses have been getting more collector attention. That's especially true in cases, like this one, when an old bus remains in nearly original condition.

Related - Top 10 Pebble Beach auction sales

These weren't the sorts of vehicles that led pampered lives. They were beloved largely for their ability to absorb repeated abuse and easily be returned to running condition.

I know about this first hand since, growing up as one of 11 children, I spent much of my childhood in one of these noisy machines. Toward the end of its life, ours had its sunroof replaced by a sheet of clear plastic. Its windshield wiper motor was eventually replaced by a rope that ran along the dashboard and had to be pulled side-to-side. Rust had eaten way much of that VW logo as well as a good bit of the floor. In the end, it lasted us about a decade.

The "sealing-wax red" and black microbus sold in this auction, by contrast, seems to have led a life meant for a Ferrari. With only 6,400 miles on its odometer, it was in excellent condition.

It was a 9-seat Samba Microbus Deluxe, a version distinguished by chrome hubcaps and a big chrome VW badge, a two-tone paint job and a huge cloth sunroof. It was the most luxurious version of the microbus sold at the time.

It had 23 windows including all the narrow windows around the roof. Generally speaking, 23-window buses are considered more valuable than those with fewer windows. This was one of only 11 Sambas from 1955, according to the auction house Auctionata.

This wasn't a straightforward auction sale. At first, it seemed as if this bus simply wasn't going to be sold at all.

The auction, conducted mostly on-line, was actually completed on Friday, Nov. 28. When it ended, the highest bid for this bus was only €120,000, or about $150,000. The owner was unwilling to sell at that price and days of negotiations followed before a price €190,000 was agreed to. The price includes a 10% buyer's premium paid to the auction company.

Before this, the highest price ever paid for a microbus had been about $218,000 at a Barrett-Jackson auction in 2011 in California.

The microbus went into production in 1950. The last VW bus was produced in Brazil in 2013. About 3.5 million of the buses were made worldwide over the years.

Related: Volkswagen Golf named Car of the Year

First Published: December 5, 2014: 3:00 PM ET

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Hackers threaten Sony employees' families

The group that hacked into Sony's computer system last month has sent a threatening email to employees, warning that their families are in danger.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

"We understand that some of our employees have received an email claiming to be from GOP," Sony said in a statement. "We are aware of the situation and are working with law enforcement."

The FBI said in a statement that it is aware of the email and is investigating the "person or group responsible for the recent attack on the Sony Pictures network."

The so-called GOP Group hacked into Sony's computer system last month and leaked movies and employee information in one of the biggest cybersecurity breaches in history.

Related - 5 of the biggest-ever credit card hacks

In the email, the group says that it hopes to destroy Sony Pictures and that employees who do not cooperate will "suffer damage," according to a person who has read the contents of the email.

The existence of the email was first reported by Variety.

It's impossible to say for certain, but there is evidence that North Korea may be behind the attack.

-- CNN's Brian Todd and Jose Pagliery contributed to this report.

First Published: December 5, 2014: 7:07 PM ET

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CBS blacked out for Dish Network subscribers

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The interruption in programming affected some of Dish's 14 million households. It is only the second time that TV stations owned by CBS have been blacked out. (The first blackout came last year in a dispute between CBS and Time Warner Cable.)

CBS -- the owner of the most-watched broadcast network in the United States -- issued a statement shortly after 7 p.m. Eastern, when it said the blackout took effect.

"What CBS seeks is appropriate compensation for the most-watched television network with the most popular content in the world, as well as terms that reflect the developing digital marketplace," the company said. "We hope that we can reach an agreement very soon so we can all get back to the business of providing the best entertainment, news and sports to the Dish customers we both serve."

Dish had no immediate comment.

The dispute affects CBS-owned stations in 14 major markets like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. It does not affect stations that are affiliated with CBS but are owned by other companies.

The distribution contract between Dish and CBS was scheduled to expire in late November. CBS said it had granted two extensions to keep its programming on Dish's satellite. It accused Dish of "dragging its feet" even during the extensions.

Eight channels owned by Turner Broadcasting, including CNN, the parent of this web site, were blacked out in Dish homes for about a month, beginning on October 21. The channels were restored on November 21, and the contract for the channels is now believed to expire in early 2015.

First Published: December 5, 2014: 7:42 PM ET

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Frank Foer resigns from The New Republic

Chris Hughes, the Facebook co-founder who owns The New Republic.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The iconic liberal magazine announced a total overhaul on Thursday that included the resignations of two top editors, a relocation from Washington to New York, a reduction in its print publication schedule and an unspecified investment in digital publishing.

In the wake of the announcements, at least two contributing editors to the magazine said they wanted to break off their ties to it. But a number of other observers expressed support for the newly-named editor, Gabriel Snyder, who ran The Atlantic Wire until earlier this year, when he joined Bloomberg Media.

Snyder will succeed Frank Foer, a beloved editor who left the magazine in 2010 and returned in 2012, shortly after Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes acquired it and became publisher.

Foer and a veteran editor, Leon Wieseltier, resigned on Thursday.

"The New Republic has been one of the great loves of my life," Foer wrote in an internal memo to his colleagues. "Chris [Hughes] and Guy [Vidra] have significant plans for this place. And their plans and my own vision for TNR meaningfully diverge. I've decided this is the right time for me to finish a book that is several years overdue."

Vidra, the CEO of The New Republic, said that the plan entails a greater focus on the company's web site: "we are re-imagining The New Republic as a vertically integrated digital media company," he said in a separate memo.

"We will be making significant investments in creating a more effective and efficient newsroom as well as improved products across all platforms," he added.

The magazine's office will move from Washington to a new space in the Union Square neighborhood of New York.

The shakeup comes after weeks of rumors about growing tensions over the editorial direction of the magazine, which Foer recently credited with "inventing modern liberalism."

The magazine celebrated its 100th anniversary last month.

On the anniversary, Hughes told The New York Times, "Today, I don't call it a magazine at all. I think we're a digital media company."

Thursday's changes seemed to reflect that sentiment. Now the print publication will come out 10 times a year, down from 20.

Snyder, the new editor, has a history of digital media jobs. Vidra referenced that in his memo, calling Snyder a member of the "straddle generation" of journalists who have both traditional and digital experience.

The "straddle generation" phrase was immediately mocked by some of the same people who lamented Foer and Wieseltier's departures.

After the announcements, Jonathan Chait and Ryan Lizza, two contributing editors who primarily work for other publications, said on Twitter that they'd asked for their names to be removed from The New Republic's list of contributors. (Lizza is also a CNN commentator.)

There were predictions of further departures at the magazine -- even a mass exodus -- but also some praise for Snyder, who has yet to comment on his new role.

First Published: December 4, 2014: 5:26 PM ET

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Buy Tom Cruise's Colorado getaway for $59 million

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The nearly 300-acre estate includes a 10,000-square-foot main house with four bedrooms and a three-bedroom guest house.

The home is accessed by a mile-long private road that winds past grassy meadows and aspen, spruce and pine forests.

The star of Top Gun, Jerry Maguire and the Mission Impossible, Cruise bought the property nearly 20 years ago when he was married to actress Nicole Kidman, according to Bill Fandel of Sotheby's International Realty.

But in recent years, the busy actor just hasn't had much time to get there.

Cruise helped design the home, which has been on the market since October, according to Fandel.

Tom Cruise's stunning rustic retreat in Colorado ski country is on the market.

The interior is lodge-like and has wood-paneled walls and bleached-cedar timbers.

There's a gourmet kitchen, gym, recreation room, library, and office suite.

"Meticulous" is how Fandel describes the craftsmanship of the home, which features dovetailed joinery and a native stone fireplace.

The great room is a great space to curl up with an evening cocktail.

Surrounding the Colorado property are tens of thousands of acres of U.S. forest service land, which provides gorgeous views of some of America's highest mountains, the San Juan range of the Rockies.

Related: Mansions for under a million

The property is just a 12-minute drive from the historic town of Telluride with its world class skiing and lively apres-ski destinations. Warm weather is just as much fun, with frequent events that include the world famous Telluride Film Festival, held in late summer.

The views are expansive and impossibly picturesque.

A regional airport, which makes travel easier to this relatively isolated spot, just underwent a $53 million renovation, enabling it to accommodate larger private jets.

Autumn brings a blaze of gold to the property's Aspens.

The retreat encourages being outdoors with its sweeping views, covered decks and recreational facilities. There's a network of trails for hiking, mountain biking and cross-country skiing, a motor cross track, as well as tennis and basketball courts and an ice hockey rink.

Not very far away is a storybook guest house nestled in the trees.

And guests can stay in this 1,600 square foot home tucked away in the woods.

Cruise reportedly still owns homes in California and New York.

First Published: December 4, 2014: 5:47 PM ET

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Still waiting for a pay raise? You're not alone

Protesters march through a McDonalds in New York demanding a raise on the minimum wage to $15 per hour.

LONDON (CNNMoney)

Average monthly wages grew 2% in 2013, adjusted for inflation, according to a report released Thursday by the International Labour Office.

Most of that growth was driven by gains in developing countries. Take China out of the picture and the situation looks much worse. Without Chinese workers, global real wage growth shrinks to just 1.1%.

Related: 3 reasons you'll likely get a raise in 2015

The world's second largest economy saw supercharged wage growth of 7.3% last year. That's down slightly from 2012, but still ahead of most other countries. China is attempting to wean itself off of exports, and rising wages support its push to become a more consumer-led economy.

Wages in the developed world remained relatively flat as the recovery continued its slow burn. Workers in the United States saw wage growth of 0.3%.

You were more likely to get a raise if you worked in a resource-rich economy thanks to the commodities boom. Indonesia, Brazil and Australia all recorded solid wage growth.

Meanwhile, pay in Europe's beaten-down economies was stuck in reverse. Average real wages in the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy and Greece remain below their 2007 levels. The stagnation or drop in wages aggravates existing problems of anemic growth and low inflation facing the eurozone.

And it's unlikely to change anytime soon -- the region's top three economies Germany, France and Italy are either flatlining or in mired in recession.

Related: How I paid off my student loans at 26

First Published: December 4, 2014: 6:14 PM ET

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JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon: Cancer prognosis is 'very good'

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The chief executive of JP Morgan (JPM), the largest U.S. bank by assets, announced in July that he had been diagnosed with curable throat cancer.

In September, he completed his treatment.

On Wednesday, at a Politico event in Washington, Dimon, 58, said his prognosis is "very good."

He said he's at about 80% strength and is running up to 2.5 miles a day, according to a Bloomberg article.

JPMorgan's stock is up more than 5% this year.

First Published: December 3, 2014: 6:16 PM ET

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Google for kids coming soon

New, kid-friendly versions of Google search and YouTube could be in the works for the tech giant.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

That may be why Google is working on new, kid-friendly versions of some of its services.

They could be new versions of search, Chrome and YouTube, according to a report by USA Today, but the company would not say definitively what products it is working on or when they would launch.

Google will make them safe for children 12 years old and younger and give parents tools to oversee their kids' actions, Google's Pavni Diwanj told USA Today.

She said the company expects some controversy over the change, but that kids are already using Google's non-kid-friendly technology.

A Google (GOOGL, Tech30) spokesperson declined to comment further, but confirmed that the USA Today report was accurate.

Related: The 12 best gifts to get for the holidays

First Published: December 3, 2014: 7:08 PM ET

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For some, gasoline has fallen below $2

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The lowest gas in the nation could be found at the OnCue gas station on 44th and Shields in Oklahoma City. Regular gas was selling for just under $2 there on Wednesday. According to Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service and GasBuddy.com, other parts of the nation will soon see similarly cheap gas prices.

Interactive map: Check the price of gas in your state.

Rural Virginia, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas and maybe New Mexico could be joining Oklahoma in having some gas prices drop below the $2 mark, he said. A smattering of gas prices below $2 could be seen in those states by the weekend.

A gallon of regular unleaded gasoline drops below $2 at this OnCue in Oklahoma City.

Kloza said Oklahoma, with a combination of low wholesale prices and low state gas taxes, is the epicenter of cheap gasoline right now. Several other stations in Oklahoma City are charging less than $2.10 a gallon already.

iReport Assignment: Falling gas prices

While the dirt-cheap gas is available at a smattering of gas stations in that state, it's not the average price of gas there. That's $2.52 for a gallon of regular. The average price of gas in the U.S. is $2.74, according to GasBuddy.com.

"Wholesale gas is as cheap as it can get right now compared to crude oil," said Kloza. "But I could see crude going down to $35 or $40 a barrel by next year if OPEC doesn't do something to get prices up. If that happens, $2 gas will be common in a lot of places."

Related: America defiant in 'oil war' with OPEC

Increased production in North America, slower consumption because of sluggish economies in Europe and Asia, more fuel efficient cars and a stronger dollar are all combining to send crude oil down its lowest point in more than six years.

First Published: December 3, 2014: 5:55 PM ET

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Where to put $50,000 in emergency savings

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The philosopher George Santayana famously wrote that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Your question makes me wonder whether people are already starting to forget a key lesson of the financial crisis: Higher yields always come with higher risks.

That's true whether you're investing for the long-term in retirement accounts, like 401(k)s and IRAs, or setting aside savings you may need to tap much sooner for emergencies and such. In fact, the downside of ignoring or underestimating risk may be even higher when you're investing money you may need in the short-term, since you have less flexibility to absorb and recover from any losses.

Back in 2007, when the economy and markets were still going gangbusters, investors seeking "safe" high yields plowed their money into all sorts of investments that claimed to be as secure and liquid as cash while delivering above-average returns: auction-rate securities, bank loan funds and ultrashort-term bond funds, to name a few.

Related: Will your retirement savings last?

These investments lived up to their extra-gain-with-no-pain promise, until they didn't. When the financial crisis hit in 2008, it became clear that supposedly safe alternatives to money-market funds and savings accounts came with an unexpected downside.

The market for auction-rate securities froze up in 2008, leaving thousand of investors unable to access their money for many months and, in some cases, years. Ultrashort-term bond funds, meanwhile, lost 9% of their value during the financial crisis, while bank loan funds fell by more than 30%. It took both types of funds nearly three years to recoup their losses.

Flash forward to today: With savings accounts, money-market accounts and the like paying less than 0.10% a year on average, the impulse to reach for extra yield is still strong. And there's no shortage of people pitching products that cater to that impulse, ranging from the very ones that backfired on investors six years ago (bank-loan funds, ultrashort-term bond funds, short-term bond funds) to a variety of others offering even higher yields (short-term commercial real estate notes and promissory notes). In some cases, they are even touting double-digit returns.

My advice: When it comes to the money that absolutely, positively has to be there whenever you may need it -- emergency funds or savings you expect to tap within a short period, say, a down payment for a house you plan to buy within a few years -- you should stick to an FDIC-insured savings account or money-market account. Granted, their yields are paltry. But for the money you can't afford to put at risk, safety and access are your primary concerns, not return.

Related: The 3 biggest risks every retirement saver should know about

That said, there is a way to boost the yield you earn without sacrificing safety: do a little shopping around. By going to sites like Bankrate.com, Mint.com and NerdWallet, you can find savings accounts, money market accounts and short-term CDs that pay yields well above the average.

We're not talking blow-your-socks-off payouts, but you can get 1% or so in an FDIC-insured account, which is roughly 10 times the national average. On $50,000 of savings, that's the difference between earning $500 a year vs. just $50.

I don't recommend it, but if you want to shoot for a somewhat higher return with a portion of your "safe harbor" stash, you could move some funds into an ultrashort-term bond fund, bank loan fund or even a short-term bond fund. But if you choose to do that, I suggest you complete a risk tolerance questionnaire first. And if you decide to go ahead, make no mistake that, one way or another, you're accepting the possibility of a bigger downside.

In the case of ultrashort- and short-term bond funds, the main danger is rising interest rates. At some point, the Federal Reserve will set a higher target for short-term interest rates. When that happens, rates will rise and ultrashort- and short-term bond funds will be susceptible to setbacks.

Morningstar also noted in a recent report that some funds holding short-term debt have been juicing yields by investing in lower-quality bonds, making them even more vulnerable. Theoretically, any losses should be small, as these funds typically invest in very short-term debt. But as we saw in 2008, theory doesn't always jibe with reality.

As for other "safe" alternatives -- promissory notes, commercial bridge loans and similar products -- I don't think they should play any role in an emergency fund. They require a level of analysis and research that's beyond what most individual investors are willing or capable of doing.

Calculator: How much will I need for retirement?

If you have some money you can afford to take extra risk with in hopes of earning a higher return -- and you're willing and able to do the considerable research needed to truly understand the risks in these complex investments -- fine. But you should know that money in these investments is not as liquid and secure as funds in an FDIC-insured account.

I wish I could recommend more attractive choices, investments that offer loftier yields than money-market and savings accounts, immediate access to your money and the assurance that no matter what happens your principal and any earnings are protected against loss. But in the real world, an investment's return is a reflection of its risk.

That risk may be difficult to discern, or the person selling the investment may gloss over the potential perils. But they are there. If nothing else, the financial crisis proved that in spades.

Walter Updegrave is the editor of RealDealRetirement.com. If you have a question on retirement or investing that you would like Walter to answer online, send it to him at walter@realdealretirement.com.

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First Published: December 2, 2014: 4:16 PM ET

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