• When it comes to the holy trinity of investing, (stocks, bonds and cash) it seems the rules and nuances of investing in the bond market often are the most baffling for newcomers.

    For this edition of Investing 101 we are going to demystify the bond market and have put together five quick tips to help you get your head around buying bonds.

    1. What is a Bond?

    Simply put, a bond is a loan. Just like a mortgage, bonds involve a lender and a borrower, and also come with a predetermined interest rate and maturity date that never changes. And just like you and me, bond issuers also have credit scores (or ratings) that make it more or less expensive for them to borrow depending on the likelihood that the lender will be paid back. Bonds typically are sold in $1,000 increments and have a face value (or par value) in the same amount.

    2. How Do Bonds Work?

    A bond is essentially a contract between a buyer and a seller in which the borrower (or issuer) agrees to make semi-annual (twice a year) payments to its creditors (that's you) until the agreed upon term is up (the maturity). At that point you get your original investment (or principal) back in one big lump.

    The amount of these payments is determined by an interest rate (or coupon) that is fixed for the life of the bond or loan. You may have heard of the term "fixed income" investments before, well now you know it's because your Treasury bond, come hell or high water, will pay the exact same income, a feature that is particularly adored by retirees.

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  • You can be forgiven for thinking this already happened but Apple (AAPL) has officially surpassed Coca-Cola (KO) as the world's top brand, at least according to Interbrand. It's the first time in the 14-year history of Interbrand (a creator and manager of brands) that Coca-Cola has not been in the top spot. The beverage maker actually fell to third behind Google (GOOG), IBM (IBM) and Microsoft (MSFT) round out the top five.

    In other Apple faux-news, CEO Tim Cook is rumored to be meeting with activist investor Carl Icahn in Manhattan today. Icahn revealed a position in Apple shares in a Tweet from his @Carl_C_Icahn account. The message triggered a more than $22 billion market cap increase for Apple. If a tweet is worth $150 million per keystroke one can only imagine the value of a lunch between Icahn and Cook.

    Hedge fund manager Simon Baker of Baker Ave Asset Management expects Cook and Carl to have a pleasant lunch but doesn't think there will be much in the way of fundamental developments. "I think it's really good PR for Tim Cook that he's really listening to someone," Baker says in the attached clip. There isn't likely to be much beyond a nice chat and perhaps a cup of coffee.

    As far as matters other than artificial rankings and Tim Cook lunch plans, Baker likes shares of Apple about as he has in his prior visits to Breakout. Even with all the buybacks and dividends Apple is sitting on a ton of money and more is coming in every day. The iPhone 5s was a big winner and there are expectations for a new iPad Mini in the works but Apple needs to keep the ideas cranking out if the shares are to break above resistance at $500.

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  • Amazon is set to release its new Kindle Fire HDX tablet by mid-October, around the same time Apple will release the iPad Mini 2.

    While both Apple (AAPL) and Amazon’s (AMZN) tablets will have typical upgrades -- nicer displays, faster processers, and a sleeker design -- Amazon plans to bring something new to the table: Mayday.

    Related: Good News, Apple Fans: The New iPhones Are Pretty Cool

    Call it a next-level Siri. The Mayday button on all new Fire tablets will purportedly connect the user with a live Amazon expert via video chat within 15 seconds. The customer service representative will be able to offer immediate tech support, but Yahoo Finance tech reporter Aaron Pressman thinks there’s more to it. “Why are they making this huge investment?"

    Related: Apple Slammed: Howard Lindzon Says Avoid the “Battleground”

    “They’re probably going to sell 5 to 10 million tablets," says Pressman. "They’re going to need a lot of live support representative for that. So maybe it becomes more than

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  • Peter Diamandis: Mining Asteroids, The XPRIZE and Changing the World

    By Gloria McDonough-Taub | Off the Cuff – Mon, Sep 30, 2013 11:15 AM EDT

    Growing up as a kid, Peter Diamandis fantasized of being an astronaut and flying in space. He never made that trip, but he’s championing some out of this world ideas including reinventing health care and revolutionizing education, saving the oceans and mining asteroids.

    “I think that we're living in a time where there are trillion-dollar opportunities that never existed before.”

    Like mining asteroids.

    “Some of these asteroids that we're targeting are worth trillions of dollars in fuels in strategic metals” and Diamandis believes the sky’s the limit, “asteroid mining really is effectively a limitless marketplace.”

    The world renowned futurist Diamandis, is obsessed with saving the world’s most challenging problems and he’s not doing it all on his own. He’s been able to get the financial backing, advice and support from some of the world’s wealthiest people including Google’s Larry Page and Eric Schmidt, Tesla’s Elon Musk, Tata’s Ratan Tata, Sir Richard Branson and filmmaker James

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