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The airline industry is trying a new business model: carrying freight (say, a $450,000 Aston Martin) in addition to passengers. (Bloomberg)

There’s really no story here. I just wanted to share a really great headline. (The LA Times)

Scientists in Uruguay have made it easier for you to count sheep as you fall asleep…by making them glow in the dark. (Nature World News)

This is one of those “Huh...who knew?” articles, as in “Who knew people would pay so much for a pigeon?” (I bet you thought I was going with the Bea Arthur painting, didn’t you?) (Miami Herald)

When you think of smuggling something across a border, I’m pretty sure KFC isn’t top of mind. But it’s a growing business in Gaza. (The Christian Science Monitor)

The growth of Netflix and the decline of AOL—mirror images in this chart that illustrates the intersection of the dial-up and broadband eras. (SplatF)

Two websites account for nearly half of all internet traffic during peak times, according to data from broadband technology manufacturer Sandvine. (The Atlantic Wire)

Eating at a certain fast-food chain known for its healthy food doesn’t exactly mean you’re eating healthy.  (New York Daily News)

But then again, if you ask the United Nations, sub sandwiches (and burgers) are overrated. We should all be eating bugs anyway. (NPR)

The Week brings you seven unique currencies from around the world that you would think only come from the Franklin Mint.

The markets have been reaching record highs lately, but Chief Portfolio Strategist Dr. Brian Jacobsen believes we should be looking at inflation-adjusted numbers instead. Learn more by watching last week's segment "The Record That 'Should Have' Come Earlier" from Bloomberg TV's "Lunch Money".

Be careful where you get sick, because it could have a major impact to your pocketbook. (Huffington Post)

Here’s one way to get kids interested in economics: A Japanese pop group not only sings about the country’s economic policies, but the level of the Nikkei average dictates the lengths of their costumes.  (The Japan Times)

One of my least favorite weekend errands is running to the grocery store. (This also turns into a valuable perk of Mother’s Day weekend—the one day a year when someone else does it for me.) So to find out that it’s greener to have my groceries delivered straight to me, well…what am I waiting for? Where’s the phone? (The Washington Post Wonkblog)

Earlier this week, the Senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would require online retailers to collect sales tax. Herb Weisbaum from Today created an FAQ about the bill’s effect on business small and large. (Today)

A decision to water down its bourbon to keep up with demand actually helped propel sales of Maker’s Mark last quarter. (Time)

Portfolio Manager Ann Miletti joined other experts on CNBC’s Closing Bell to talk about where she’s finding opportunities in the U.S. stock market, particularly the information technology sector.

On Wednesday, a hacked Associated Press Twitter feed announced that the White House had been bombed and the Dow immediately plunged over 140 points. Here are seven other examples of how just one or two tweets impacted the markets. (Business Insider)

One pension fund in the U.K. isn’t worried about its bond investments maturing—it’s worried about its cheese. (The Guardian)

Mars One has started planning its first settlement on Mars, and even the fact that it would be a one-way trip hasn’t deterred thousands of applicants. (BBC)

Jane Austen wasn’t your basic 18th century novelist.  Oh, no. According to this author, she’s one of the founders of modern game theory. (The New York Times)

Wheel of Fortune is 30 years old.  30! Even if you don’t watch the show anymore, you still might be interested in these 13 behind-the-scenes facts. (The Week)

Five years ago, The Atlantic published a cover story asking “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”. The answer is…not so clear. (The Atlantic)

Gold prices are dropping like a, well, heavy metal, but not where it counts—at the jewelry store. (MarketWatch)

You’d think that the rise of the Internet would spell doom and gloom for realtors, but the vast majority of real estate transactions still go through brokers. (BusinessWeek)

Ah, the “McNugget Generation,” otherwise known as the group of young people today who don’t even realize that chicken (at one point) has bones in it. (Time)

I wrote last week about a big cheese heist discovered in New Jersey. But now, it looks like the black market item du jour is Nutella. (And having had it for the first time this past weekend, I can almost understand it.)  (The Telegraph)

A growing trend in airports: Shrink-wrapping your luggage to deter tampering and theft. (The Wall Street Journal)

Do you need to be on a college campus to take a class? Online colleges say no, and so does the Saxifrage School, which holds classes in a coffee shop and an abandoned building. (The Wall Street Journal)

The surge in online shopping would have you think that brick and mortar operations will eventually become obsolete.  The fact is, the more we shop online, the more brick and mortar buildings we’ll need. (Wired)

“I find the meat department of our grocery store so confusing and intimidating,” said no one ever. But thanks to the pork and beef industries renaming over 350 meat cuts, you may actually hear that this summer. (Or something less flattering when I can’t find the dumb pork chops.) (NBC News)

Along the same lines, the patent application for a new steak was published this week. Next time you’re getting ready to grill, keep your eyes open for the Vegas Strip Steak (which will probably be to the west of the Denver Steak and the Boston roast).  (Planet Money)

Not all Barbies are created (or priced) equally. It turns out the price of each “I can be…” career Barbie doll varies by profession. One economist is searching for a correlation between the cost of a doll and the career. (The Economist)

A Mel Brooks theme ride? I’m kind of glad Disney put the brakes on that one. Here are five other rides we’ll never get to enjoy. (The Week)

David Sylvester, head of money markets at Wells Capital Management, and team have released their latest overview, strategy, and outlook for money markets, including commentary on the events that unfolded in Cyprus over the past month.

Commitments to maintaining supportive and stabilizing eurozone policies by the European Central Bank (ECB), the European Union (EU), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), collectively known as the Troika, were put to the test this month as Cyprus received a bailout to support its ailing economy and banking system. The bailout request, made last June but not finalized until now, was a consequence of 2012's Greek debt restructuring, which hit Cyprus hard due, in part, to sizable Cypriot investments in Greece and Greek sovereign debt.

Continue reading.

Jim Lauder, co-manager of the Wells Fargo Advantage Dow Jones Target Date Funds^SM, recently sat down with Reuters TV reporter Rhonda Schaffler to chat about how he and his team work to get 401(k) plan participants to retirement with the largest nest eggs of their lives. Key to their approach, he said, is the fund suite’s conservative glidepath near the retirement date. He also spoke about investor behavior and what drives investors—greed and fear—and how the team’s risk-based optimization process removes that emotion from investing for retirement.

This website is accompanied by prospectuses for Wells Fargo Advantage Funds^®.

The target date represents the year in which investors may likely begin withdrawing assets. The funds gradually seek to reduce market risk as the target date approaches and after it arrives by decreasing equity exposure and increasing fixed-income exposure. The principal value is not guaranteed at any time, including at the target date.

Stock values fluctuate in response to the activities of individual companies and general market and economic conditions. Bond values fluctuate in response to the financial condition of individual issuers, general market and economic conditions, and changes in interest rates. In general, when interest rates rise, bond values fall and investors may lose principal value. The use of derivatives may reduce returns and/or increase volatility. Certain investment strategies tend to increase the total risk of an investment (relative to the broader market). This fund is exposed to foreign investment risk, mortgage- and asset-backed securities risk, smaller-company investment risk and allocation methodology risk (risk that the allocation methodology of the Dow Jones Target Date Index, whose total returns the fund seeks to approximate, before fees and expenses, will not meet an investor’s goals). Consult the fund’s prospectus for additional information on these and other risks.

"Dow Jones^®" and "Dow Jones Target Date Indexes^SM" are service marks of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”); have been licensed to CME Group Index Services LLC ("CME Indexes"); and have been sublicensed for use for certain purposes by Global Index Advisors, Inc., and Wells Fargo Funds Management, LLC. The Wells Fargo Advantage Dow Jones Target Date FundsSM, based on the Dow Jones Target Date Indexes, are not sponsored, endorsed, sold, or promoted by Dow Jones, CME Indexes, or their respective affiliates, and none of them makes any representation regarding the advisability of investing in such product(s).

Traders were cautious today as they faced signs of a slowing economy and the potential for a lackluster earnings season. Stocks traded lower for most of the session but turned positive at the close as investors used the markets’ recent pullback as a buying opportunity.

The Dow gained 48 points, led by Bank of America, which was up 2%. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) fell 1% after it was downgraded by JPMorgan. Nineteen of the 30 Dow components gained ground. The S&P 500 edged up 9, and the Nasdaq rose 18. Advancers outpaced decliners by two to one on the NYSE and three to two on the Nasdaq. The prices of Treasuries weakened. Gold futures fell $3.40 to close at $1,572.50 an ounce, and the price of crude oil gained 66 cents to settle at $93.36 a barrel.

In Earnings News:

In December, China passed the U.S. and became the world’s leading importer of oil. Combine that with the fact that oil production in the U.S. that same month exceeded Iran’s exports, and you have the potential for a shakeup in geopolitical order. (NBC News)

As we enter the fourth year of the euro crisis, The Atlantic looks at four reasons why the euro isn’t sustainable.

The Washington Post’s Wonkblog was extra cautious about the economy on April Fools’ Day and identified five areas that may signal it’s getting ready to pull another joke on us this year.

Sometimes crowdsourcing is a great idea—when you’re raising money for charity or trying to move forward with a cool project. Sometimes it’s not—like when you’re asking your customers to help you out with your deliveries. (Reuters)

Priceline and other blind booking sites always made me a little nervous, because I never knew which hotel I was going to end up in. Other companies are helping to take a little risk out of your travel preparation (and still saving you some money). (The New York Times)

Last week, Jeremy wrote about the growing trend of 300-square-foot (or less) micro-apartments. For some residents in Tokyo, that would probably seem like a mansion. (Kotaku)

The stock market reached record highs in March, and as Chief Equity Strategist John Manley so aptly put it, the market looked like "the Energizer Bunny: It just couldn't (or wouldn't) be stopped." In April's Market Roundup, John and our other capital markets strategists, Dr. Brian Jacobsen and James Kochan, provide their insights into what's been driving the markets and how you may want to adjust your portfolio based on economic and market events.

Consensus in the market going into March seemed to be that a stock market pullback was inevitable. But even a botched and confusing bailout of Cypriot banks by the eurozone leaders couldn't trigger the inevitable. The market just took it in stride and kept going higher. We'd urge caution, though. Just because the market didn't react negatively doesn't mean the coast is clear. The Cyprus bailout will likely have a long tail, meaning that its full effects may be felt over time, as public support of more bailouts and more austerity in Europe dwindles. With U.S. central bank support, bond investors could see yields stay low, while U.S. equity markets could stay supported.

Continue reading.

Portfolio manager Margie Patel appeared on CNBC's Closing Bell last week to discuss what was driving the markets to record highs. During the clip, she also discusses the future direction of interest rates and how the Federal Reserve might start reining in its bond-buying program.

As our own Dr. Brian Jacobsen pointed out a couple of weeks ago, the payroll tax that went into effect at the beginning of the year hasn’t had much impact.  A recent survey shows that almost half of its respondents just haven’t noticed it…yet.

“Showrooming”, or browsing in a physical store before buying items online, is one of retailers’ biggest challenges today. Some stores, like Target and Best Buy, improved their price match policies. Others are charging you a fee just to look.

The days of the cash register may be numbered as more retailers move towards smartphones and tablets.

A golf resort in Iceland? It makes sense for a Chinese developer, but not so much for local residents.

A few weeks ago, the hosts of the U.S. version of Top Gear were tasked with creating taxis that were more functional than what we have today. One of taxis was an “Ambutaxi”. “Ha! An ambulance/taxi—that’s ridiculous!” I thought.  Until I found out that it’s a real thing in Russia.

Chief Equity Strategist John Manley joined CNBC's Street Signs to talk about risk and opportunity in the market, his outlook through the end of 2014, and three sectors to watch.

With college prices continuing to soar, some companies are looking for new ways to make education affordable (and profitable). One way is to provide training at no cost to the student until they actually find a job.

There’s a battle being waged in the bread aisle of your grocery store, and it’s not between white and wheat. It’s twist ties versus plastic clips.

Say what you want about Taco Bell and its Doritos Locos Tacos, but there’s no denying the success of the product launch (around one million sold every day last year!) and the effect it’s having on the economy.>

I’m not sure shopping malls will disappear anytime in the very near future, but the increasing amount of shopping done online will force them to evolve in order to survive.

Living in Wisconsin, we see our fair share of weather coverage, and from what I see on my social media feeds, we’re not alone. A recent study looks into the cause (and it’s not just ratings).

An economics professor from John Hopkins University believes that changing the calendar used for earnings reports may help companies better manage earnings expectations.

There were some positives in last Friday’s jobs reports, but some analysts saw downsides as well.  NPR provided talking points for each side of the debate.

Most of us grudgingly moved our clocks forward an hour on Sunday morning. Here’s an excerpt from a 2008 The Wall Street Journal article that claims that Daylight Savings Time actually adds to our electric bills.

The idea of a driverless car may seem a little absurd right now, but we may see them on the road within the next three to five years. So that gives us time to ask the question, “Who’s liable when a driverless car crashes?”

When you think of October, do you think of pumpkin-flavored foods? What about shamrock shakes in March? There’s a science behind these seasonal limited-time offers.

In honor of its 125th anniversary, National Geographic has created a new website called FOUND to share long-lost photographs from its archives.

A group of past Senate Majority Leaders have put forth a proposal that calls for the end of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That proposal could also bring about the end of the 30-year mortgage.

Into military history? Looking for a unique investment opportunity? How about buying your very own Army tank?

I never realized how extensively the White House has been remodeled (or rebuilt) over the years until I saw a program on the History Channel. The National Journal has a series of pictures showing how the White House was gutted back in 1950.

With fuel prices so high, electric cars and hybrids are becoming increasingly popular.  What you don’t hear about too much (yet) is the possibility of a 3-D printed car.

Be careful who you call a clown. Because real clowns may take offense.

What’s an Oreo without its filling? Not much, if you ask me. But there are people who dislike the filling so much that they’ll go to great lengths to remove it—including building a machine that automates the process.

Positive news from the U.S. services sector and ongoing monetary support from the Federal Reserve were enough to push the Dow above its previous high set in October 2007.

The Dow gained 125 points and set a new closing record of 14,253.77, up 8% so far in 2013 and up 117% since its March 2009 lows. Twenty-seven of the Dow’s components rose, and 10 of its components reached 52-week highs. Home Depot (HD) and IBM (IBM) have been the biggest gainers in the Dow since 2007, and Alcoa (AA) and Bank of America (BAC) have seen the biggest losses.

Not to be outdone, the S&P 500 gained 14 points, just 2% shy of its own record high. The Nasdaq rose 42 points to levels not seen since November 2000. Tech stocks helped drive today’s rally, led by Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM), which announced that it was increasing its cash dividend by 40%, sending its shares 2% higher. Advancers outpaced decliners by three to one on the NYSE and five to two on the Nasdaq. The prices of Treasuries weakened. Gold gained $2.50 to close at $1,574.90 an ounce, and crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange added $0.70 to settle at $90.82 a barrel.

In Other Business News: