Maria Sharapova has a new boyfriend.

The fact that this is news tells you that she's the rare athlete who has transcended sports and gained relevance independent of tennis.

At age 26, Sharapova has turned herself into a multi-million dollar business that traverses sports, fashion, and even candy.

Sharapova made $27.1 million last year

Source: Forbes

$5.1 million of that came from on-court winnings. She has made $25 million in winnings in her career

Source: Forbes, WTA

She makes the real money ($20+ million per year) in endorsements with a long list of companies

Source: Forbes

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“I went through a bad divorce with a lot of heartache,” says Lucie Muns, who went surfing in Costa Rica following her split.

She found the ocean healing and the all-female Surf Diva camp filled with supportive surfers—many were also nursing breakup wounds.

Her advice: “Disconnect from the immediate place of heartache, whether you go five or 3,000 miles away.”

Travelers know that a change of environment helps clear your head and rejuvenate your spirit, and for the newly single, there’s the added benefit of putting some physical space between you and your ex. Instead of rehashing what went wrong or revisiting the same old haunts, why not start calculating your award miles and plot a getaway.

See The Best Places To Travel After A Divorce >

“Trips are often the ideal dose of momentum that people need to deal with life challenges and changes,” affirms Leigh Weinraub, M.A., a well-being specialist at Miraval Spa in Tucson, AZ, where you can pair adrenaline-pumping activities like rock climbing with healing treatments and personal counseling. It’s just one of the places we uncovered—most with single accommodation options—where you can rebound from a bad romance. The first step is identifying what’s right for you.

Need to get out some aggression? Try off-roading in Vermont’s Green Mountains, or to sweat it out, sign up for a communal yoga retreat in the Bahamas. If you’d rather tune out distractions and tune into yourself, head for a Canadian cabin with no cell-phone service, or soak in the restorative powers of natural hot springs just outside of Telluride, CO. When you’re ready to emerge, consider volunteering. Helping others is a sure way to gain perspective after a breakup; the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms network makes it affordable to do so in India and other far-flung destinations.

Even notoriously romantic destinations like Italy can be liberating if you’re coming out of a divorce, especially if you embrace a fresh way of traveling, such as joining a singles-only bike tour through Piedmont wine country. 

Still, there are some places you’d be wise to avoid—honeymoon hot spots or anywhere that you might have traveled with your former flame. After all, salt is for rubbing onto the margarita glasses, not into the wounds.

See The Best Places To Travel After A Divorce >

More from Travel + Leisure:

• The Best Pools In Las Vegas
• World's Coolest Tree House Hotels
• Easy Weekend Getaways
• The Craziest Places For Cat Lovers
• The Best Desserts Around The World

Dunton Hot Springs: Dunton, Colorado

De-stress, improve circulation, and increase your energy in the natural restorative hot springs (85–105 degrees) at Dunton Hot Springs, a former mining town in the picturesque Colorado Rockies.

Packed with calcium, iron, magnesium, and a “dash” of lithium, the waters are yours to enjoy alfresco or in a 19th-century bathhouse. There are 12 log cabins as well as safari-style tents available down the road at Cresto Ranch, a sister property opening in June 2013.

The Biltmore Hotel’s Culinary Academy: Coral Gables, FL

Whether refining your culinary talents or learning the basics, the Biltmore Hotel’s Culinary Academy is a cathartic way to gain skills, meet new people, and be part of lively group meals.

The three-day boot camp, taught by chef Lourdes Castro, starts with kitchen organization; by day three, you’ll be braising short ribs and serving stewed pork with a smoky chipotle sauce. All this with the retro glamour that comes with a stay at the Biltmore (est. 1926), where you can unwind after class by the opulent pool or in a Frette robe back in your room.

Piedmont, Italy

Cycle past scenic vineyards and hill towns on Backroads’ new six-day Singles-Solos tour of Piedmont, which delivers Italy’s charms without the risk of honeymooners in your tour group.

You’ll stop at a 10th-century castle that now serves as a wine cellar, the hot springs of Acqui Terme, and Monforte d’Alba, known for the nebbiolo grape used to produce Barolo wine.

Accommodations include a 16th-century monastery-turned-hotel, and you can swap tips with fellow bikers at facebook.com/backroads4singles before you depart.

backroads.com

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Between April 1992 and April 2012, Apple's stock value increased by over 4000%.

Did you buy an Apple product between those dates?

Ever wonder how much money you would have now had you invested in AAPL stock instead of the first iPod when it came out? (That's $399 in 2001).

You'd have tens of thousands of dollars (see image).

We put 10 of the most popular Apple products of the last two decades together with what their current value would be if they had been stock investments. Our numbers come from Kyle Conroy, a software engineer who compiled all the data on his website.

If you paid for a new MacBook or iPhone in the past 10 years, seeing these figures may cause you to feel some regret. But it's an interesting reflection of just how successful AAPL stock has been.

Please note that our numbers are not for 2013 — the final value on each slide is what it would have been if the stock was sold in April of 2012, when AAPL was at an all-time high. (AAPL has declined by about a third since then.)

2011 iPhone 4S

2008 MacBook Air

2007 iPod Touch

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On April 9, 2012, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger sold their 13-person startup, Instagram, to Facebook.

Facebook purchased the photo filter app 18 months after its launch for $1 billion: $300 million in cash, the rest in Facebook stock.

What has the year been like for Systrom since selling his company?

Here's what he's been up to through (how else?) Instagram photos.

About one month after the Facebook sale, Systrom and Krieger took their team on an off-site spring trip to team to Napa.

Systrom stopped by his old high school, Middlesex boarding school, a few days later.

There, he paid a visit to his old photography professor.

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What makes a good parent?

Chances are you've witnessed or practiced some of the same mom moves as the some of the most famous women in the world.

Here's our roundup of familial advice from ladies who balance life in the public eye with life as a mom.

See The Parenting Tips From These Celebrity Moms >

More from Zimbio:

• The Worst TV Moms of All Time
• Stars Who Sang A Capella In College
• Hollywood's Most Age-Defying Moms

Julia Roberts: Be a good son/daughter yourself.

"I try to call my mother, Betty, with more regularity because I think, 'What if Hazel didn’t call me for two weeks?' I’m able to see her mothering now from a different vantage point.”

Heidi Klum: Remember, kids will be kids.

"To kind of roll with the flow. Our house is full of life, laughter, and mayhem.

Every dinnertime something spills. Or they are wearing uniforms for school, and when we have breakfast in the morning, food gets all over their hands. You can tell them a thousand times 'Do not wipe it on your pants,' and sure enough they wipe it on their pants.

But that’s when you roll with it. My house is not like a museum. You can see that children live there."

Salma Hayek: Cherish every moment.

“When Valentina was not even 1-month-old, my aunt [told me]:

‘Put her to sleep yourself every night. Sing to her and cradle her in your arms and sit by her side – every night. Because one day you won’t be able to, and it’s going to happen really fast.'”

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Hey Apple head honchos, we don't care about smart watches, so don't even bother trying. 

Watches have been around for over 500 years, surviving wars and tech revolutions. We may have advanced past the technology of the classic mechanical wrist watch, but we're far from trading our OMEGAs for Apples.

It doesn't matter that Google, Apple, and Samsung are all rumored to be patenting smart watches that could theoretically threaten the luxury watch market.

Brands like A. Lange & Söhne, Piaget, Harry Winston and Rolex all continue to excel  and are showing no signs of slowing down despite the potential added competition of the tech giants. 

Watch brands understand, along with watch lovers, that strong sales and consumer demand will continue even if smart watches and new technology flood the watch market. 

Here's why the classic wrist watch will never die.

The Bond effect

Since soldiers were first given "Trench Watches" during WWI, the mechanical wrist watch has evolved into a major luxury market.

Big brands like Rolex, Cartier, Harry Winston, and A. Lange & Söhne are sought out because of the quality of the product, but also because the brand name has a history which suggests affluence, good taste, and a cultured past.

“Rolex in the United States is first and foremost a status symbol. Many people want a Rolex for what it says about them rather than for the product itself,” explained Ariel Adams, Editor-In-Chief of aBlogtoRead.com and WorldWatchReport contributor. "And these people want to buy this status for the cheapest price possible."

Apart from history and brand recognition, pop culture is a huge factor in a watch's status. It's not uncommon for major brands to secure celebrity endorsements to attract consumers.

For instance, there was a 45% increase in consumer interest on WorldWatchReport for the OMEGA Seamaster collection after the James Bond movie "Skyfall," according to Digital Luxury Group. Men scrambled to buy the watch 007 wore not only because the Seamaster was a high-quality product, but because it symbolized an aspirational lifestyle.

"Brands make heavy investments in securing the right 'Brand Ambassadors' and event sponsorship," explained Laetitia Hirschy, a WorldWatchReport Project Manager at Digital Luxury Group. "It's to help ensure a maximum of visibility and aspiration from current and potential consumers who 'look up' to these celebrities and associate them to the watch brand they are wearing."

And it's not just Hollywood. Thanks to brand ambassadors like Michael Phelps during the 2012 Olympic Games, watch searches skyrocketed on WorldWatchReport.

Replace an iPhone, but not a watch

Mechanical watches have remained popular through the digital age because of their craftsmanship and superior quality.

"We're all extremely attached to our cameras, our phones, our computers, our iPads, and I think there's something charming about owning something analogue," Stephen Puvirent, associate editor of the online watch publication HODINKEE, told us. "I'm going to replace my iPhone sometime in the next few years. But a really high-quality watch I can wear and enjoy on a daily basis."

Watch buyers accept that they're paying tens of thousands of dollars for what went into making their watch because they expect it to last.

It takes master watchmakers months and sometimes years to create the elaborate interior mechanisms that make mechanical collectors' watches so special, such as a split-second chronograph (two second hands to time different events) and perpetual calendars (which are designed to display the correct date on any given day in the future).

"For our collectors, it's something that they admire as a collectible, they see these pieces as art," A. Lange & Söhne PR Manager Alexander Haxton told us. 

Because watches are of such high-quality, the market for vintage watches has also remained strong. "These things come to you with a story," Pulvirent said. "You may get a vintage diving watch from the 1970s that was actually on the wrist of a professional diver for 20 years by the time it gets to you. I think in our current society, watches offer a unique opportunity to be a part of an extremely long life span of a beautiful object."

Watches span generations

Never underestimate the power of history and nostalgia. 

Watch brands recognize that even if people aren't necessarily wearing watches to tell time, the watch can still be a symbol of something more personal.

"I can give my watch to my children and they can give it to one of their children," Pulvirent said. "It's something that works in perpetuity since watches aren't something that needs to be changed constantly."

Because it's so common to pass watches down from generation to generation, brands have integrated this into their marketing: Patek Philippe's motto is, “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely take care of it for the next generation.”

Haxton explains, "For the people who are buying our watches, it's a collector's item, something they'll be passing down." 

Part of our national social consciousness

For some people, wearing a watch is a habit they've retained since they were children with their first Mickey Mouse watch. For others, it's a memory of a special graduation or wedding present.

"I don't wear my watch to tell time, I wear it because my wife's father gave it to me as a wedding gift,"Business Insider Senior Editor Chris C. Anderson said. "It's my way of showing respect to him. I'm a non-watch person who wears a watch."

And despite new technology, the luxury watch industry is still going strong.

"I don't think the watch industry is going anywhere," Haxton agreed. "There's a lot of newer technology like Apple's smart watch, and of course, everyone has their cellphones. But people are still appreciating watches and have been for awhile, including the younger generations."

The classic wrist watch isn't going anywhere. 

DON'T MISS: The 7 Hottest Watches At The World's Biggest Timepiece Fair

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Join the conversation about this story »

Tesla Motors announced its first-ever quarterly profit on Wednesday.

Yesterday, Consumer Reports gave Tesla's Model S its highest score ever for a car in its 2013 review.

And the stock has been up over 40% in the last two days. 

But the company hasn't always had it good.

It nearly collapsed during the financial crisis.

A negative review from The New York Times earlier this year prompted CEO Elon Musk to take to Twitter and appear on CNBC and Bloomberg TV to criticize the review. Its stock was battered at the time.

Here, we take a look at the company's origins, the drama among its founders, its near collapse, and the development of its Roadster, Model S, and Model X cars.

Tesla Motors was founded in 2003 by five Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.

Tesla was founded by Marc Tarpenning, JB Straubel, Ian Wright, Elon Musk, and Martin Eberhard. The five collaborated after they tried to commercialize the T-Zero prototype electric sports car created by AC Propulsion.

When he was in college Elon Musk had said there were two important problems worth studying; one was how to make transportation environment-friendly and the other was how to colonize another planet.

The company was named after electrical engineer Nikola Tesla and aimed to "accelerate the world’s transition to electric mobility with a full range of increasingly affordable electric cars."

Source: Tesla / NPR

The Tesla Roadster prototype was introduced to the public in 2006 and general production began in 2008.

Tesla raised $60 million and spent about $25 million developing its two-seat Roadster vehicle that sells for $109,000. The Roadster goes from zero to 60 miles per hour in four seconds and can go 250 miles on a single charge. 

The Roadster came 10 years after General Motors introduced its two-seat electric car, the EV-1, which GM eventually withdrew because it had a 100-mile limit on one charge. 

Source: The New York Times

Tesla has maintained that it plans to get to the mass market by selling it to rich people first and kicking off production.

Martin Eberhard former CEO of Tesla was quoted by The New York Times:

“According to Mr. Eberhard, the way to get a new product into the mass market is to sell it to rich people.

“‘Cellphones, refrigerators, color TV’s, they didn’t start off by making a low-end product for masses,’ he said. ‘They were relatively expensive, for people who could afford it.’ The companies that sold those products at first, he said, did so “not because they were stupid and they thought the real market was at the high end of the market,’ but because that was how to get production started. His company and others that have tried electric cars, he said, are too small to produce by the tens of thousands anyway.”

And Elon Musk has always maintained that its goal is to create a mass-market electric vehicle that could be as cheap as $20,000 in third-generation cars.

Until 2008 most car sales were done in person, over the phone or via the internet. 

Source: The New York Times

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Raffles Dubaiput the world's most expensive dress on display last fall, and leave it to them to outdo themselves in a matter of months (who else could, really?).

This spring Raffles is introducing what they call the Middle East's most luxurious floor— a 21,500 square-foot "space" that takes up most of the 14th level of the hotel. That's right, a private floor with six rooms, a spa, hair salon, majlis (that's meeting room, in basic terms), three private kitchens and a cinema that seats nine. Damn! (but watch your language if you see it, ok?)

Click here to go straight to the pictures >

Not impressed, you snort? Pfft. Fine. How about access via a private elevator, 24-hour check in, a private limousine service and chauffeur, customized linens, a private chef, and a dedicated butler? Sound good? Sounds like another case of Dubai being as flossy as they wanna be. Don't hate!

"A lot of the hotel guests travel with a big entourage and sometimes book half a floor," a hotel employee has said. "The Dubai Floor is perfect for this type of guest as they'll have a whole floor for themselves and privacy. This what makes it unique."

Check out the photo gallery of the über luxurious floor. Are you impressed? Raffles thinks it's a nice spot for large families, newlyweds, and private screenings. Ohhkay.

Prices aren't yet available for this floor, but considering the current starting room rates at Raffles are around $1,295 a night, the full beauty of this floor will probably not be realized by short-pocket people.

Still, it looks good, though, huh? And eye-candy doesn't put pounds on your hips.

Here's an aerial view of the Raffles Dubai.

The Dubai Floor is enormous.

The living room is spacious.

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With the real estate market as shaky as it is, homeowners can't afford to deal with more problems.

And yet there are always problems, ranging from noisy neighbors to sinkholes.

We've rounded up some of the biggest threats to the value of a home.

Sinkhole damage sucks property values down a staggering 30%.

The prevalence of reports of sinkhole damage in the U.S. this year has raised questions about the impact on property values. 

It's not the threat of a sinkhole that damages property value –– there's insurance coverage specifically for sinkhole damage. In fact, a 2007 study found no statistically significant difference in home values in areas prone to sinkholes. Like earthquakes, it's only after sinkholes hit your property that problems arise. 

Rob Arnold, a Florida real estate investor and realtor who has bought and sold more than 30 sinkhole properties in the last five years, told CF13 News he tells owners of damaged homes to knock 30% off their asking price, plus the cost of any repairs. 

City dumps and power plants can drag down your home value by about 7%.

Pick a home in close proximity to a dump or a power plant and watch your property value get dinged.

When researchers looked at five municipal landfills on residential property in Cleveland, Ohio, they found the stench was enough to drag down property values by 5.5 to 7.3%. Landfills are most hurtful in populated, expensive, residential areas. The effect was basically nonexistent in sparse, rural areas. 

Likewise, the University of California at Berkeley found homes within two miles of a power plant saw values drop 4 to 7%.

Hoarders knock property values down 5 to 10%.

A nearby property's overgrown yard, peeling paint, and clutter can easily knock 5 to 10% off the sale price of your home, said Joe Magdziarz, the president of the Appraisal Institute and a real-estate appraiser with 40 years of experience. A true disaster — a junky home in deplorable condition and a yard packed with debris — could cost you even more.

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This is the Pizza Cone Maker from Pizzacraft.

Why We Love It: Pizza now comes in a shape usually reserved for ice cream. The Pizza Cone Set includes non-stick molds and stands so you can work your dough into a cone shape before baking it in the oven.

Once the dough is crispy, place it in the spiral stand and fill with sauce, cheese, and anything else your heart desires before putting it back into the oven until the cone is golden, bubbly, and delicious.

Set comes with two non-stick molds, two stands, a crust crimper, and a mold for perfectly-shaped dough.

Where To Buy: Available through Amazon and Target.

Cost: $20.

Want to nominate a cool product for Stuff We Love? Send an email to Megan Willett at mwillett@businessinsider.com with "Stuff We Love" in the subject line.

SEE ALSO: The Brolly Umbrella Leaves Your Fingers Free For Texting

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Turkish artist Hasan Kale paints gorgeous, miniature paintings on teeny, tiny surfaces, ranging from small pills to the wings of butterflies and beetles.

His subjects are predominantly water scenes and cityscapes of Istanbul, and he hand-paints all of his art using a small artist's brush and no magnifying glass.

The paintings are so detailed that to prove their authenticity, Kale has uploaded numerous videos of himself at work to his Facebook page.

He shared some highlights from his collection with Business Insider.

Many of Hasan Kale's tiny paintings are on the wings of butterflies.

This could easily be a renaissance painting, except that it's on a cashew.

If you look closely, you can see a cityscape on the beetle's wings.

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JP Morgan's Tom Lee is one of the most accurate strategists on Wall Street, having nailed the S&P 500's path in 2012.

In his brand new note to clients, he offers his list of "23 Ideas For The Next 3-6 Months."

"Our base case in the short term sees equities higher through the end of 2Q and Cyclicals outperforming (dead cat bounce, 1Q laggards leading in 2Q, etc.)," he wrote. "However, there is a case to be made that Cyclical leadership will likely be a three- to five-year story with Technology, arguably the least consensus, therefore perhaps best positioned"

Lee's picks run the gamut from biotech to semiconductors to retail.

The group boasts an average 2013 estimated price-to-earnings ratio of 12.3x and an average upside potential to their target prices of 13%.

23) CBL & Associates Properties Inc.

Ticker: CBL

Sector: Retail REITs

Target price: $25

Dividend yield: 3.7%

Comment: CBL was recently upgraded to "buy" by Goldman Sachs based on the belief that fears about tenant risk are overrated. 

Source: JPM, Zolmax

22) General Dynamics

Ticker: GD

Sector: Defense

Target price: $75

Dividend yield: 2.9%

Comment: General Dynamics just reupped with the Pentagon to the tune of $180 million for more land systems.  

Source: JPM, Crain's

21) Texas Instruments

Ticker: TXN

Sector: Semiconductors

Target price: $37

Dividend yield: 2.4%

Comment: Texas Instruments remained the No. 1 global supplier of industrial semiconductors in 2012.  

Source: JPM, Dallas News

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Joe Maddon may be the quirkiest person in baseball.

He is the ultimate players manager, constantly doing things never seen before in the sport, all in an effort to keep things fresh for his players so that they can perform at their highest level.

His antics range from the clubhouse to the field. And in many cases, he is influencing how the game of baseball is evolving.

On the next few pages, we'll take a look at some of his crazier moments since becoming manager in 2006...

He only accepted the job as Rays manager after making it clear to management that he needed two days off during the season to attend his (then) girlfriend's graduation from law school

source: MLB.com

He once walked Josh Hamilton with the bases loaded (the Rays won the game)

He started the fad in baseball where teams dress up under a specific theme for road trips, such as the Nerds trip in 2012

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Following a brutal 15-year civil war that tore the city apart, Beirut has recovered remarkably; it was voted the number one destination to visit by the New York Times in 2009, and, more recently, received a similar title by Frommer’s.

The city is in the second phase of one of the biggest urban reconstruction projects in the world, run by Solidere, which has brought architects like Steven Holl, Herzog & DeMeuron, Zaha Hadid, Vincent James, and Rafael Moneo to the local scene.

In less internationalized parts of the city sit the landmarks of the 1960s and 1970s, Beirut’s pre-war glory days, including buildings by names such as Alvar Aalto, Victor Gruen, and the Swiss Addor & Julliard.

With a city growing as fast as Beirut it is impossible to have a final city guide, so we look forward to hearing your suggestions and building on this over the years.

CGM CMA Headquarters / Nabil Gholam

SJ Campus of Sport and Innovation / Youssef Tohme and 109 Architects

Holiday-Inn Beirut / Andre Wogenscky

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Los Angeles is the city of dreams, Hollywood, and the paparazzi. It also has some really terrible rooms for rent.

Inspired by a Tumblr showing the most terrible rooms/shares on NYC Craigslist that recently went viral, we decided to comb the listings and see if things were as bad in LA.

The options we found were all far less than $1,500 — the standard monthly rent in Los Angeles — but most were shared rooms or creepy roommate situations you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy.

Silver Lake, LA, $450/a month: "It is a very cute and quite intimate space. Not much privacy."

West Adams, LA, $325/a month: "Beautiful big dorm house." Price per bed.

Hollywood, LA, FREE. "I recently got separated from my ex-wife and I have a dislocated shoulder so its very difficult for me to keep the front house where I live tidy. You will be cleaning mostly 2hrs a day M-F and every now and then do laundry."

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Mother's Day is just a few days away. To make sure that you treat your mom to the perfect Mother's Day brunch, you'll need to make a reservation stat.

Opentable.com recently released its list of the 100 Best Brunch Restaurants in America. The list is based on more than 5 million reviews submitted by OpenTable diners for more than 15,000 restaurants in the U.S.

Of the top 100 restaurants that made the list, 11 are based in New York City.

From Manhattan to Brooklyn and Queens, these are the best places for a Mother's Day brunch—or brunch any time—in New York City.

Cookshop

156 10th Ave., Manhattan

Cuisine: American

Price: $31 to $50

Arrive early because the wait for brunch at Cookshop can be hours-long. That's because the brunch is incredible: Imagine buttermilk sour cream pancakes made in a cast iron griddle, hot fried beignets served with fresh ricotta, and gooey scrambled eggs with smoked trout and chives.

Corner Shop Cafe

643 Broadway, Manhattan

Cuisine: American

Price: $30 and under

The Corner Shop Cafe is a great spot for a quick, casual brunch. It provides a quiet refuge from the bustling crowds on Broadway.

Gramercy Terrace

2 Lexington Ave., Manhattan

Cuisine: American

Price: $30 and under

Located on the 17th floor of the Gramercy Park Hotel, the Gramercy Terrace has a retractable roof that opens on sunny days. Stumptown coffee is served at brunch, along with classic brunch dishes like poached eggs and French toast.

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Legendary NBA coach Pat Riley has put his Malibu beach home up for rent for $18,500 per month, according to Trulia.com.

Riley purchased the beachfront home in 1989 for $1.6 million, and he and his wife own another home a couple doors down.

The home for rent has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and floor to ceiling windows with views of the Pacific. It's the perfect beach getaway house. The backyard is the beach.

Here's what the house looks like from the beach

The awesome back porch

It's huge

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Home prices have begun to gather steam. Economists expect prices to rise 8% in 2013.

But some are anxious about another housing bubble. Robert Shiller has said that some markets like Las Vegas look frothy.

In her new list of four hot housing topics, Bank of America economist Michelle Meyer explains why she doesn't expect a housing bubble this time around.

She notes that valuation, price expectations, leverage, and investor speculation do not support the bubble case. "We believe in the housing recovery," wrote Meyer.

She elaborates on her skepticism toward a housing bubble, which is just one of four hot housing topics that Meyer thinks investors need to watch.

1. A new housing bubble is not emerging.

Rising home prices have got some people worried about a new housing bubble, but Meyer thinks this isn't going to happen, for four key reasons.

1. Valuation – Meyer says home prices are undervalued.
2. Expectations – Another feature of the housing bubble was the "expectation" that home prices would only go higher, this seems to be more moderate this time around.
3. Investor speculation – While there is investor speculation in the market, there isn't an overwhelming presence of "less sophisticated investors" with "irrational expectations."
4. Leverage – Credit conditions are tight. "90% of lending is backed by the government, and average FICO scores for new purchase loans remain exceptionally high."

Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

2. The argument that institutional investors and international buyers are driving the recovery is a myth.

One of the arguments being made against the U.S. housing recovery is that it is being driven by institutional investors and international buyers. But this is a myth according to Meyer, who writes that investors accounted for 22% of Q1 sales and foreign buyers only 2%. 

"In certain markets investors and international buyers play a bigger role. Investors buy a disproportionate share of distressed properties, making them more relevant in markets with high delinquencies. Similarly, in big cities such as Manhattan, Miami and San Francisco, international buyers are a much larger share of sales." 

Meyer writes that primary homebuyers are still the largest share of the market, though access to credit is still an impediment.

Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

3. Renovation spending has been declining, but should get revised higher.

Despite Hurricane Sandy and better housing fundamentals, renovation spending has declined sharply between November 2012 - March 2013. Meyer believes that Census data will be revised higher.

This, she says, is because of Hurricane Sandy.

1. Sales of building materials increased 9.1% in Q1.
2. Home Depot transactions were up 8.6% on the year in the quarter ending January. Revenue also increased at building material companies like Masco and Owens Corning.
3. An index measuring construction permits for remodeling homes, the BuildFax Remodeling Index, jumped in January and February.

Source: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

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Electric carmaker Tesla is on a tear: The company just announced its first-ever quarterly profit, and its Model S got a rave review from Consumer Reports.

Tesla fans have a lot to celebrate. Fortunately for them, the company sells a ton of branded apparel, and makes millions of dollars doing so.

If you love Tesla but can't afford one, or own a Tesla and want everyone to know, get shopping in Tesla's online store.

Here's a roundup of our favorite Tesla gear.

Racing Stripe Tee

This cotton t-shirt sports a large Tesla logo on the front with a small red "T" on the right sleeve. 

It is available in black, grey, white, and red.

Get it for $28

Baby Onesie "Model S"

The perfect outfit for a Tesla fanboy in the making.

The "Model S" logo is small enough to not bring too much attention, while still displaying something cooler than Elmo.

Get it for $22

Infant TESLA Beanie

If you are considering the onesie, you need to get the beanie.

Every baby looks good in a beanie, especially a Tesla Beanie.

Buy it for $12

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The New York Times is reporting that NASCAR superstar Jeff Gordon is selling his condo at Manhattan's 15 Central Park West for $30 million.

Gordon and his wife, Ingrid Vadebosch, bought the home for $9.67 million back in 2007. It was initially a plain white apartment with high ceilings,  and the couple completely redecorated and customized the condo, according to the NYT.

Property agents Nora Ariffin and Christopher Kromer told The Times that Gordon decided to list his home with Halstead Property because "the demand for trophy apartments is pretty strong." The $30 million asking price was chosen since a similar, slightly larger unit was listed in the building for $36 million in December 2012.

The three-bedroom home has Brazilian cherry floors and gorgeous views of Central Park. The master suite alone takes up 743 square feet of the 3,454-square-foot pad.

Welcome to Jeff Gordon and Ingrid Vadebosch's 15 Central Park West home.

Source: Halstead Property

It has 3,454 square feet, with views of Central Park outside the windows.

Source: Halstead Property

The home has an open floor plan, as well as an oak "sushi bar" in the living room.

Source: Halstead Property

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