This is real money. You are the most important part of the show, so join our live conversation for the next half hour on twitter, and facebook. Americas economy is kicking off the new year on solid ground. U. S. Factory activity held near a 2. 5year high. Also construction spending, reaching levels not seen in almost five years. Construction and manufacturing got hit hard in the recession, but both appear to be set to accelerate in 2014. And thats making big news on wall street. The new years optimism is being fuelled in part by the spectacular return of the stock market in 2013. The dow saw gains of 26. 5 for the year, and s p gained 29. 6 for the year. However, both indexes retreated almost 1 , following a negative economic report from china. The success of stocks in 2014 stands in stark contrast to the loss in bonds last year. Thats because making money on fixedincome investments is much harder when the Federal Reserve act to keep Interest Rates lower. The yield on tenyear treasury bonds, and other loans, rose to 3 last week, the highest in 2. 5 years before falling slightly this week, so while the economy appears to be on firm footing going into the new year, all of us should prepare for a higher Interest Rate environment. Stock investors probably wont get the same huge bumper returns they got last year, but bonds investors and people with interestbearing accounts may make some money for the first time in years. It is probably a good time to look at your portfolio, and rebalance the assets you hold. Before you rebalance, you want to know just how high rates are heading in 2014, and for that we go to greg mcbride, senior financial analyst at bankrate. He joins us from bankrate headquarters in florida, rates rising as much as 5. 5 this year is that possible . It certainly is. It could touch 5. 5 in the second half of the year, provided that the economy recovery. How high do you think specifically Mortgage Rates might go . I think well touch 5. 5 . I dont know that well end the year at that point, but i think well spending the bulk of the year between 5 and 5. 5 . What should consumers be trying to take advantage of right now while the rates are still relatively low . 2014 could be your last hoorah to pay down line of credits. Shortterm Interest Rates arent going to go anywhere this year, but we know the days are numbers, maybe 2015 or 2016, the fed will embark on a campaign of rating Interest Rates and thats when it gets tougher to pay down those balances. A lot of folks are thinking what would the fed decide they needed to start raising Interest Rates . Is it because of inflation . Thats one variable that could come into play. It is not really evident right now. But the other is as the economy continues to recover it is less and less dependent on the stimulant measures. Over time, things will normalize if the economy continues on a track towards recovery, but the feds bias is to take things slowly. Are you surprised by the fed last month scaling back some of their stimulus and what appears to be some of their plans for early 2014 . I think the timing was the only real question mark. The idea that they were going to begin tapering was well telegraphed, and it was all a matter of when. The announcement they are going to start tapering this month, thats as small of baby step as you can take, and how much further and how much more quickly they may taper off as the year unfolds depends on the path the economy takes. So as they keep their options open, that will effect not only home mortgages but also things like loans for home equity loans or car loans or student loans, everything across the board is going to rise. Once they start to raise shortterm Interest Rates, then, yes, you will see all of those other instruments in play. In the mean tile, the bulk of the movement will be confined to longterm Interest Rates, specifically mortgages as the fed begins to taper, i would expect a slow steady grind, not the rapid jump that we saw in the middle of 2013. Greg mcbride, senior financial analyst at bankrate, thanks for being on the program. Thanks for having me. Anton bayer, founder of Investment Firm up capital management, and he says you should brace for that steady rice in Interest Rates and the first step is to be proactive by rebalancing your portfolio. He joins us from sacramento. And as far as that rebalance what do you suggest people do from the start . Without question everything you just discussed with greg, i would agree with. Interest rates have been very consistent. 1958 the treasury bottomed at 2. 6 , and tenyear treasury rates are now at just under 3 . This is a consistent 20, 22year cycle on the upside, and then when they peak they cycle down to where we are today. And just as you covered Interest Rates will start rising. The key for 401k participates is what made money in a rising Interest Rate environment. And theyll look at any the average return, and bond funds and go why am i beating my head against the wall, these bond funds have been averaging 7, 8 up until this past year. We dont see the future being the same. We see them going up. You recommending strategic, or what they call multisector funds. Explain what those are. In most 401k plans, you have a category that would be limited term or term bond funds, and those will be corporate or government. Strategic or multisector. This is a bond fund that has a broader prospectus that the managers can look at hedging. In a strategic or Multisector Bond Fund they can hedge against rising Interest Rates, they are broaden the portfolio, they can own inflation protected bonds, they can invest outside of the us. So it gives them more latitude to try to hedge against this steady grind as greg mentioned of Interest Rates going up. When do you see cds as being attractive again . Oh, thats going to be years. The feds have you know, two two ammunitions right now. One is the fed buying program that they are doing, and the second is keeping Interest Rates down. And what ben bernanke announced is that we maybe start tapering back our bond program, but were going to steadily focus on a low Interest Rate environment maybe as much as until 2016, so i think that will be a challenge for cd s to be an attractive investment. So as folks hear this news and think Mortgage Rates are going to go up, car loan rates are going to go up, credit card rates may go up, what is the best piece of advise . Yeah, you need to be very proactive. We have a solid investment marketplace on the equity side. A lot of Big Companies paying excellent dividends. There is no one investment asset class that you can stay in for ten, 20 years. So currently, the fixed income market, the bond market is not attractive, the equity market is. You can earn dividends, as you mentioned the s p and dow jones had a very good year in 2013. Right now there doesnt seem to be a lot of headwinds that will challenge the market. As Market Conditions start changing, cd rates will be attractive, but not for several years from now, i dont think. Anton bayer, founder of Investment Firm up capital management, thanks for being on the program. Thank you. Investors who showned share of fiat had reason to cheer today. The companys stock jumped 61 today. The price tag is less than many analysts expected. One big reason for the rally in fiat shares. Chrysler turned to fiat to help rescue it from bankruptcy a few years ago. It has been a smooth rollout for legalized marijuana sales in colorado. Next up a dispensary owner who just med the switch from selling medical marijuana to selling recreational marijuana, and the impact on her bottom line. And forget selfie, and 3d printers, the Technology Industry is in a frenzy over wearable tech. Al jazeeras Investigative Unit has tonights exclusive report. Stories that have impact. That make a difference. That open your world. This is what we do. America tonight next only on Al Jazeera America new lights use low wattage led rights, neither harmful for the trees nor dangerous for the kids that may touch them. Many playoff spots in the n. F. L. Are still to be decided. Mark morgan is here to explain it all. Hey, a lot of anxiety in dallas, wondering what the Dallas Cowboys would do. Tony romeo underwent back surgery. Kyle ortman will start quarterback in the eagles game. Sher een williams of the Fort Worth Star telegram weighs in. That lees this game in the hands of kyle orten, he made 69 starts. Hes 35 and 34. But has not thrown a pass as a starter and only thrown 15 passes over the last two years. It takes the pressure off the cowboys. No doubt about that. They can go in, play loose and an exclusive america tonight investigative series we traveled here to japan to find out whats really happening at Fukushima Daiich three years after the nucular disaster, the hidden truth about the ongoing cleanup efforts and how the fallout could effect the safety of americans are dangerous amounts of radioactive water, leaking into the pacific eververyday . Join america tonights michael okwu for an exclusive four part series, as we return to fukushima only on Al Jazeera America in colorado 24 newly regulated pot shops opened their doors to the public, giving the states marijuana aficionados something to cheer about for the new year. On january 1st, a new law took effect that legalizes marijuana for recreational use. Colorado is the first state where pot is legal just because. Pot remains illegal under federal law, but that tension is not stopping tony fox owner of 3d, denvers discrete dispensary, and you shifted from selling medical marijuana to 100 recreational use, what has been the comparison . 40 times as many sales as on average. The three years i was doing medical sales, we had 40 times the sales yesterday. 40 times yesterday. Is that just compared to everything you sold over the day . Yep, basically, we had seen between 25 and 30 people a day for the last three years, and yesterday we were able to serve 450 folks and had to turn about 100 away. Were you surprised at all . Not not really. I had been planning for the day and believing it was going to happen for four years. Before i got into the medical yesterday. You had been getting prepared for this day. Tell us why legalizing, taxing, business . Its good business. Its a good social platform. I think its better to regulate it and tax it, bring it out of the hands of the drug dealers and the black market and bring the revenues, profits, jobs, and the money were put going the city and state, its a winwin. Not to mention the lack of prosecution for cannabis users. We have saved 10s of millions of dollars the last 20 months as a state. I have seen a number of people that have gone into stores saying what they have to pay in these legal stores is three times what they have to pay on the black market. Is that a concern of yours . No, i dont believe thats valid. I dont know of any center that is charging three times what they were playing on the black market. We charge the same price for recreational as we did for medicinal. The only difference is a 2. 2 sales tax. But as far as the laws of supply and demand, if somebody wants to go into a legal store and i suppose a lot of people want to do that, isnt there an inclination on your part to raise prices . Possibly, but in this industry, its not about gouging the customer, its about setting precedence and creating a role model of a regulated system that works for the Business Owner and the local municipalities and state governments as well as the consumer. Avent heard one complaint. Anything you are saying to customers about make sure you are not operating machinery, or smoking pot if you are going to be drug tested at work . Yes, lots of warning labels had to be placed on our packages, we have over a two by four inch label that has various warning information on it. Very similar to an alcohol bottle or pack of cigarettes. Tony fox, thanks so much for you. Thank you very much. Martha stewart and macys say they have settled a lawsuit that accused Stewarts Company of violating an exclusive deal by selling products at jcpenney. Macys sued both Companies Last year, over the decision to open Martha Stewarts home shops in jcpenneys scores. Macys claimed exclusive rights. Neither side is saying what the terms of the settlement are, macys still has a claim against jcpenney in the case. The rich really are getting richer. The 300 wealthiest people in the world added 523 billion. The combined worth of them standings at 3. 7 trillion. The largest gains was seen in those in the Technology Industry, like bill gates. Slim remains mexicos richest man, he owns america movil. The richest man in europe who owns 59 of the Worlds Largest clothing dealer, and warren buffet, and you can see swedens richest man who has a controlling stake in ikea. And former new york city major Michael Bloomberg is not included in his rankings. The smartphone you are carrying right now. That is so 2013 why some analysts say that gadgets like these that you are wear will be every sunday night, Al Jazeera America presents ad guests on all sides of the debate. And a host willing to ask the tough questions and youll get. The inside story ray suarez hosts inside story weekdays at 5pm et 2pm pt only on Al Jazeera America a new revelation is invading though consumer world, its called wearable technology, and has companies literally competing for space on your body, from smart watches like these, to smart glasses, smart bill wasik is the Senior Editor at wired magazine, who says sales could take off faster than the smart phone. Bill what are you seeing in consumer appetite for these new devices and profitability for the companies that make them . In 2013 it was really fitness trackers that took off. You had Big Companies like nike and adidas, little Companies Like jawbone and fit bit making these little devices that track what you are doing, and help motivate you to exercise more. But in 2014, i really think it is going to be smart watches, gobble glass, i really think 2014 will be the year you start to see this take off. And why are people so interested in these things . Well, with the fitness trackers, its an amazing window into what you do in a day, and it can be a big motivator. But with smart watches, its really the ability to see a lot of the data that is normally locked inside your phone which is in your pocket. I have a smart watch right here, it gives me the time and temperature, and contacts and logs and apps, but the screen size is so small, wouldnt it make sense to use one of your larger mobile devices for Something Like that . Think about it as a place for notifications. The average Smartphone User is unlocking their phone 100, 150 times a day, and a lot of times thats for little notifications, whether its a text message or if the email came in, et cetera. What a smart watch lets you do is you feel your buzz, you look at your wrist, you know the answer, and you dont have to go through the motion of pulling out the phone and unlocking it. Thats a huge motivator. The smartphone has so taken over our lives that these devices help us with that. We have this ski goggles, and inside the ski goggles, there is this little monitor i can see. Me . Well, so this amazing product called the recon snow, put up by a canadian company, and the idea is if you are a skier, and you are out at a resort, that you have a little window inside your goggles that tells you all kinds of cool stuff, how high you are, how fast you went off of that jump, it will find your friends for you, play your music, and enhances your trip in a lot of ways. But it will also set you back. This costs 400, and my goggles at home cost me 30 bucks. Well, thats right. And just like any new technology, the challenge is getting it down to a point that people will go for. For skiing people are used to paying a lot for gear, and these companies are Getting Better and better at trying to think about them. Its fascinating technology, and there will be a lot of people out there who are willing to pay to be the first ones to have this. Bill wasik is the Senior Editor at wired magazine, thanks for joining us. Thanks for having me on. Today on twitter and facebook we have been asking you what is the one feature you would like to see in wearable technology. Dana says. Tell us what you think by tweeting us or leave us a comment on facebook. Finally snapshot says it has been hit by hackers. User names and phone numbers were posted online. While it was live users could down line the data. The hacker or hackers say they exposed the data to get snap chat to fix the flow. They had been warned about the security weakness back on Christmas Eve but down played its seriousnesseriousness. Blizzard warnings stretch all across the northeast. The snow, wind, and ice could effect as many as 70 million americans. When i talked about the storm with my colleagues earlier today, my initial thought was we should calculate the loss to the economy. But the fact is, such storms, at least economically are not always very clearcut. Hardware stores are about to make a fortune selling shovels andsmelting salts, and while main street may shut down for a few days, there will be entrepreneurs offering to dig people out. Those transactions are at the heart of our economy, and they arent going to stop, they will simply adjust. It will give a lot of people the opportunity to turn lemons into lemonade, and its worth remembering their entrepreneur spirit when we start the task of thawing out. In the meantime, keep warm and stay safe. On friday a million over day, the onewoman financial powerhouse and her incites into 2014. Im David Shuster in for ali velshi. Thanks for joining us. Check check hello, welcome to Al Jazeera America. Im stephanie sy. Here are the top stories. Is a winter storm is hammering the northeasterb u. S. Massachusetts is seeing a foot and a half of snow and other areas are. Airlines across the u. S. Were forced to cancel 23 hunt flights nationwide. Bostons Logan Airport is closed. 600 flights scheduled for friday have been cancelled out of newark and laguardia. Secretary of state john kerry is on his 10th visit to the middle e
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