The U.S. housing recovery has been causing home prices to rise.

Las Vegas stands out as one of the hottest markets in America with home prices up 15 percent year-over-year.

"More traditional buyers and sellers are sitting out of the market and investors are bidding up prices for foreclosed homes and [homes] at the lower end of the market," Quinn Eddins at RadarLogic tells Business Insider.

Eddins says investor activity in Las Vegas has increased 67 percent year-over-year through December 2012.

All of this has some economists warn that it may be overheating.

"Phoenix and Las Vegas were cities that had not been very bubbly, but then they joined this bubble around 2004 and then they became wild and they became very speculative and then they crashed over 50%,"Robert Shiller said in an interview with CNBC.

"Now they're starting to come up with some exuberance I have to say. Those are the most dramatic places."

Las Vegas was ground zero of the housing bubble.

Source: The Atlantic Cities

Home prices crashed as much as 62 percent, and are still down 59 percent since their.

Source: CNBC

Seen another way, Vegas home prices are up 15 percent year-over-year.

Source: S&P Indices

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With the stock market sitting near all-time highs, some investors are wondering which stocks they should bet against.

We compiled a list of the 25 most shorted stocks as measured by short interest as a percent of floating shares.

These stocks include for-profit colleges, brick-and-mortar retailers, and direct marketers.

High on this list is Herbalife, the multi-level direct marketer of diet supplement which has been the target of hedge fund giant Bill Ackman.

But despite the high-profile nature of Ackman's massive short position, it is not the most shorted direct marketer on our list.

Molycorp

Ticker: MCP

Industry: Rare earth producer

Percent float: 30.93

Comment: The stock recently hit a 52-week low on rising production costs.

Source: Bloomberg

Heckmann Corp.

Ticker: HEK

Industry: Industrial waste management

Percent float: 31.25

Comment: Heckmann's financials were called "a bit tough to decipher"by the Motley Fool.

Source: Bloomberg

Ruckus Wireless Inc.

Ticker: RKUS

Industry:  Computer- based systems

Percent float: 31.77

Comment: Ruckus went public in November.

Source: Bloomberg

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One World Trade Center's observation deck won't be open for another two years, but today the media got a chance to preview the incredible views of New York offered from the 1,250 feet high room.

The observation deck will be called the One World Observatory, and will be on the 100th floor of the building. It will offer a 360-degree view of the city.

One World Trade Center will be the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere when it is completed, standing at 1776 feet.

You can see the entire city from the vantage point.

It will give a view of the city's waterways ...

... its highways ...

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All too often, business trips are a blur of early-morning airport shuttles, followed by a whirlwind day of meetings, ending with a long night on an extremely uncomfortable hotel bed.

See what to do on your next business trip >

Unless you have a bit of downtime in between meetings, there’s usually no time for sight-seeing or venturing outside the confines of your hotel or convention center. But what’s the point of traveling if you don’t take a little time to explore your destination?

Imagine taking a quick helicopter tour over Manhattan during your lunch break or a dumpling-making class with a local chef in Shanghai before your next client dinner. In the quest to add some inspiration and enjoyment into business travel, we have taken the top 10 US and international cities for business trips and pulled together some of the most exciting tours and activities for each.

So, instead of scheduling that ump-teenth working lunch, punch out for a little sight-seeing, or just schedule your next meeting on a boat tour around the city!

New York City

If your visits to New York are limited to the conference rooms of Midtown or Wall Street, consider putting aside a few minutes to explore what’s on the other side of that window you’re gazing out of.

If you’ve only got half-an-hour, there are a few excellent ways to see Manhattan. You could spend your lunch on a helicopter tour, taking in the city’s most iconic sites, or instead of indulging in yet another steak at Peter Luger, spend a relaxing two hours on a twilight sail of the Hudson.

Or, push your flight home an hour later, and take a behind the scenes look viewing of your favorite TV shows during an NBC studio tour.

Las Vegas

While Las Vegas is best known for attracting flocks of partiers, it’s also the second most traveled-to city in the U.S. for business travelers.

While some might take this opportunity to gamble away their hard-earned money, there are plenty of adventures off the strip. You could experience the vivid colors and towering spires of Red Rock Canyon from behind the wheel of a Lamborghini, on a supercar tour of the conservation area.

Or, you could flee the confines of the convention center and try out zip lining in Bootleg Canyon, where you’ll zoom down Red Mountain at fifty miles-per-hour. If death-defying stunts aren’t quite your thing, why not relax and sip champagne on a gondola cruise on the crystal waters of Lake Las Vegas?

Chicago

If you’re the one of the lucky ones who can avoid Chicago in the winter, there are a slew of options to explore Chicago’s incredible cultural offerings in the warmer, more enjoyable months.

Skip the workout in the hotel gym and book a walking tour of Chicago’s Gold Coast instead, where you take in the best of the city’s Gilded Age opulence. In the evening, a progressive “dine-around” of the city’s best restaurants is the perfect way to gobble up as much Chicago cuisine as possible. Instead of passing out to a Seinfeld re-run at the hotel, take in a jazz performance in one of the city’s famous blues music emporiums.

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April is here, and if you're stuck indoors waiting out showers that will bring May flowers, consider it a blessing: You'll have an excuse to devote more time to shopping around for the best deals online!

In an effort to guide you towards savvy purchases, we dug through the dealnews archives from years past to see what goods are, well, good to buy in April, and what you should hold off on purchasing. From early spring apparel sales to aggressive iPad prices, here's what's in store this month for the smart shopper.

1. Kindle Fire HD at all-time low price points

Many industry analysts assume that Amazon's Kindle Fire HD tablets are priced near the manufacturing cost, which would mean that Amazon doesn't make much money, if any, from the sales. Likely as a result, we typically haven't seen large or frequent discounts on these tablets.

However, last month Amazon announced that it would cut prices on its entire fleet of 8.9" Fire HD Special Offers tablets. Prices now start at $269 for the base 16GB Wifi version, and although we've seen that particular model for less before, in general, each model is now at or near the lowest price we've seen — making it a good time to give the Fire HD a try.

2. Skip the Canon T5i and opt for a T4i deal

Canon recently announced the newest model in its EOS Rebel line, the T5i, but it appears to offer minimal updates to the previous-generation T4i. The major difference between the two comes down to price: Since the T4i is no longer the latest model, it will see discounts that make it at least $340 less than the T5i.

In fact, last month we saw the body and kit lens bundle fall to its best-ever price of $560, and we expect to see that price (or a better one) again in the coming weeks.

3. Mid-season clothing sales coming to a retailer near you

The general rule to dressing yourself in deals is to wait about two months after a new season of apparel hits stores before cashing in on sizable discounts. Many retailers began debuting their spring merchandise in February, placing April at about the 2-month mark.

Look closely at the discounts though: a spring clothing sale that takes 30% to 40% off is likely a mid-season promotion; for discounts of 50% off or more, wait until May.

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Most people learn time management the hard way, by trial and error, working late nights to meet deadlines.

Etienne Garbugli, a Montreal-based product and marketing consultant, distilled the lessons he wishes he'd known when he was starting into a presentation posted to SlideShare. With his permission we're posting it here.

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Director Judd Apatow and his hilarious wife actress Leslie Mann have just purchased a Malibu Colony home together for $10.825 million, according to real estate blog Trulia.

Property records show the deal was closed between the A-list power couple and Prudential California Realty at the end of last month.

Trulia reports that the 1930's bungalow was previously owned by the late "Pretty Woman" producer Laura Ziskin, and features a gourmet kitchen, courtyard entry, four bedrooms, and expansive views of their beach-side property.

Trulia also points out that this is not the first California home for the family — Apatow and Mann have previously purchased a lot in Santa Monica, a home in Brentwood, and Apatow still owns another Beverly Hills pad.

Welcome to the Apatow/Mann family's new Malibu Colony Road home.

Source: Prudential California Realty

The bungalow has 2,550 square feet of space.

Source: Trulia

There's a gourmet kitchen with cozy reading corner close by.

Source: Prudential California Realty

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is one of the premier art institutions in the world.

But with tens of thousands of works of art on display at any given time and two million square feet of exhibition space, it can be difficult to choose which works of art to seek out. In fact, it seems like you could spend days inside the museum and still not see everything.

Christine Kuan, the chief curator at Artsy, selected 15 must-see works of art at the Met.

"The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a treasure trove of masterpieces from every culture, time period, and medium, so choosing a mere fifteen is almost impossible," Kuan said. "The ones shown here are personal favorites — they stun me with their beauty, imagination, and power. More than just exceptional works of artistic achievement, these objects also demonstrate what human civilization can produce at its best."

Kuan also provided descriptions of these works, and told us why she thinks they're so important.

"The Harvesters" by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. "One of the never-ending delights of Pieter Bruegel the Elder is his depiction of everyday Netherlandish life. You can bask in every detail of the peasants enjoying a delicious picnic at the end of a day of hard labor in the golden fields."

Rodarte ensemble (2004) on view in The Costume Institute from May 9 to August 14. "This Rodarte knit dress captures that feeling of rebellion and sexiness that ground-breaking fashion designers inspire in all of us. The Met’s Costume Institute is one of the most important costume collections in the world and continues to wow us each year with spectacular exhibitions (and parties!)."

Fragment of a Queen's Face (ca. 1353–1336 B.C.). "Of all the extraordinary objects in the Met’s Egyptian collection, this fragment of a queen’s face blows me away with its exquisite and sensuous modeling. The yellow jasper seems as palpable as flesh and the sculpture is as modern as a Brancusi."

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March auto sales numbers were just released today, and every major manufacturer gave us the lowdown on just how many of each vehicle they sold last month.

Ford leads the list with five models in the top 19, while GM– with four models on the list – comes in close second.

Toyota and Honda each contributed 3 models to the top 19 best-sellers.

Hyundai, Nissan, and Dodge models round it out.

#19: Ford Explorer

March sales: 17,509

Change from a year ago: 32.5 percent

Sticker price: $28,870

Source:  Ford,  press release

#18: Hyundai Sonata

March sales: 18,031

Change from a year ago: -22.6 percent

Sticker price: $20,895

Source:  HyundaiUSA,  press release

#17: Chevy Malibu

March sales: 18,539

Change from a year ago: -22.4 percent

Sticker price: $21,995

Source:  Chevrolet,  press release

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Amanda Knox, who's now 25, became a household name in 2007 after she was accused of murdering her study-abroad roommate in Italy as part of a bizarre sex game.

An Italian appeals court ruled the DNA evidence was "flawed" and overturned her conviction in 2011. But last week the bizarre Italian court system struck down her acquittal and ordered that she be re-tried— meaning that she could be found guilty again.

Amanda Knox's story begins in 2007 with her decision to study abroad in Perugia, a quiet Italian city just north of Rome famous for its university and its chocolate festival.

Knox was studying Italian and creative writing at the University of Washington. Her parents and friends described her as friendly and book-smart, Rolling Stone reported.

Source: Rolling Stone

Knox, who was then 20 years old, rented this house with three roommates, including British student Meredith Kercher.

Source: Candace Dempsey in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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Now that Yale acceptance letters have been sent out, Bulldogs-in-waiting can start planning their college experience.

And in the grand tradition of that venerable institution, some freshmen may want to consider joining a secret society. The thing is — they're not that secret.

Last summer The Yale Herald conducted a survey of over 1,000 students that showed that a whopping 50.6% of seniors were in secret societies, while 63% of juniors were under consideration to join one.

That isn't to say these clubs aren't attractive anymore. Over 73% of underclassmen surveyed said that they wanted to join one. Lucky for them, some upperclassmen were kind enough to share the questions they were asked while they were pledging.

Now we're passing those along to you.

Carrie Hojnicki contributed to the reporting of this story.

If you had a house made of anything, what would it be?

Source: The Yale Herald

If you could be president, during what historical event would it be?

Source: The Yale Herald

Would you rather lose all of your hair permanently or sweat melted cheese?

Source: The Yale Herald

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Apple is suspected to have a budget iPhone in the works that it would sell to people who want a more affordable entry to the iOS ecosystem. The rumors have been flying for a while and a report from the Wall Street Journal backs them up.

It would be an opportunity for the iPhone to take off in developing markets and compete against lower-end phones.

Nickolay Lamm and Matteo Gianni have created some gorgeous concept designs that explore what such a phone may look like.

Lamm and Gianni envision a throwback to Apple's colored acrylic iMac days.

Instead of glass and metal, the body is bright plastic.

Lamm and Gianni propose the headphone jack on the bottom, but everything else appears to be mostly unmoved.

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The hottest new attraction in the United Kingdom these days is not a royal palace or some rocks in a field.

It's the studio in Leavesden where Warner Bros. spent ten years making the Harry Potter movies.

A converted factory that was once used to make planes in World War II, Leavesden is still a working studio. But a big portion of it has been transformed into a gigantic show-and-tell Harry Potter sound stage exhibit.

About 5,000 people a day make the trek to Leavesden, which is a half-hour northwest of London. They pay about $30 apiece to get in.

That means that Warner is coining ~$50 million a year from Harry Potter studio tours from ticket prices alone.

(And you're not going to leave with just a ticket — believe me.)

My family is way into Harry Potter, and we were in London last week. So, of course, we went.

It was awesome.

The tour starts with a shuttle bus that picks you up at the Watford Junction train station. The one that picked us up came roaring in so fast it almost ran over my daughter. (Phew!)

Every train that comes to Watford is full of Harry Potter fans. They come from everywhere — even New Zealand. Some have scars painted on their foreheads and round glasses on their heads.

Warner Bros takes the opportunity to show you some upcoming movie trailers on the bus, of course. But in 20 minutes, you're there.

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Over 80 percent of Singapore's population lives in government housing.

That's because the cost of housing is astronomically expensive in the dense city-state. Generally, only millionaires live in private condos, while the rest of the population — anyone who makes under approximately S$120,000 per year — resides in public housing complexes.

Click here to go straight to the housing complex >

But Singapore's version of public housing is glamorous, and looks much more like luxury condos than what we typically think of as public housing in the U.S.

I recently toured the Pinnacle @ Duxton, a public housing complex in Singapore which opened in 2010. There are 1,848 units — almost all of which are spacious and modern three-bedrooms — in the seven towers. The towers are connected by a furnished roof deck on the 50th floor, which has gyms, running tracks, playgrounds, and spectacular views of the city and harbor.

Of course the Pinnacle @ Duxton represents the higher end of public housing and plenty of people live in older units, but it also marks the direction that Singapore's Housing & Development Board (HDB) will go in the future.

Architecture firm ARC Studio constructed the complex with the goal of housing an extremely dense population in a very livable way. One of the ways they do that is with greenery: the outdoor spaces have gardens and leisure facilities.

"We are fascinated by how greenery and nature collide with architecture," principal architect Khoo Peng Beng said.

The result is a modern, livable housing complex that feels surprisingly intimate despite its huge scale.

Disclosure: Our trip to Singapore, including travel and lodging expenses, was sponsored by the Singapore Tourism Board.

Here's what the Pinnacle looks like from the outside. There are 7 towers, which are connected by a roof deck on the 50th floor and an observation deck on the 26th floor.

We met a 73-year-old resident named Rahman, who showed us his 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom apartment on the 41st floor.

Rahman lives with his son and his cat, Sess. (Most extended families live together in Singapore.)

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Last year, we told you about the real brands that have appeared in Mad Men and the fake ads that the staff of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce have created for them over the years.

Since then, a whole new bunch of clients have come and gone at Don Draper's agency.

So in advance of the premiere of Mad Men Season 6 on AMC this Sunday, we have once again trawled the agency's archives to compare the fake ads of Sterling Cooper vs. the ones that actually ran back in the 1960s.

Those clients include Playtex, Mohawk Airlines, American Airlines and Samsonite luggage.

Turns out the fictional ads are vastly different from the real ones — and that Sterling Cooper's are often better. Hindsight is 20/20, of course ...

Sterling Cooper's Belle Jolie lipstick ad from Season 5 ...

Belle Jolie was one of few made-up brands on the show. In reality, cosmetics companies had been using photos instead of drawings in their ads for years. This one was from 1963.

Sterling Cooper's ad for Playtex Living Gloves ...

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The retail and fast food industries employ more people than any other sector. 

Glassdoor.com helped us to compile the companies that paid the best hourly wages in the industry over the past year.

We asked the job review site to consider both retail and fast food companies, but Panera Bread was the only fast food chain to make the top 20.

 For the purpose of the report, managerial and senior leader roles were excluded. 

Despite the fact that it frequently draws ire for paying too little, Wal-Mart makes the list for paying a relatively high wage.  

20: Panera Bread

Position: Cashier

Hourly pay: $8.60

Source: Glassdoor Report

19: Target

Position: Guest Service Team Member

Hourly pay: $8.73

Source: Glassdoor Report

18: Urban Outfitters

Position: Sales Associate

Hourly pay: 8.77

Source: Glassdoor Report

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Everyone loves a rags-to-riches story, but some of these riches-to-extreme riches are pretty compelling, too.

We're not counting the children of celebrities, nor those who got famous in large part because of their wealth (sorry, Paris), but the stars who attended the best schools and had the sweetest childhood vacations.

12. Beyoncé's dad was a successful Xerox salesman before becoming her manager.

Beyonce Knowles' father Mathew served as his daughter's manager for decades, but before that he was a successful salesman for the Xerox Corporation.

From 1992 onward, he devoted all his time to Music World Entertainment, which offers management and artist development services.

11. Glenn Close is the daughter of an esteemed doctor.

Glenn Close had a fascinating upbringing.

The daughter of a doctor who was once the personal physician to Congo president Mobutu Sese Seko, Close was raised in a stone cottage on her grandfather's estate until her parents joined Moral Re-Armament, which advocated communal living.

10. Chevy Chase is a private school kid with literary and musical parents.

Chevy Chase is a fourteenth generation New Yorker with a bevy of established relatives in the city's Social Register. His father was a book editor and magazine writer, his mother a concert pianist and librettist.

He attended a number of private schools, including The Dalton School on Manhattan's Upper East Side, before heading to college at Bard.

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When you're the 15th-richest person in the world, people are always going to be after your Lucky Charms.

So it is that Las Vegas Sands chairman Sheldon Adelson finds himself on the witness stand this week, defending his company from a former consultant who alleges he's owed millions from Las Vegas Sands after persuading Chinese government officials to permit Adelson to expand his empire.

But of course, all of that only dates back to 2001 at the earliest. We wanted to take you back to the beginning, and explain how Adelson ended up at the top of the casino world.

We previously alluded to his rise when we ranked him No. 13 on our Horatio Alger Index of most impressive rags-to-riches stories in America. 

If you missed that, you'll quickly agree that he's come a long, long way.

Sheldon Adelson came from nothing.

He grew up in Boston during the Great Depression, the son of immigrants. His father was a taxi driver. Along with three other siblings, the family lived in a one-room tenement.

Source: Fortune, Guardian, New Yorker

His first big deal was reportedly buying out a newsstand at age 12.

He still maintains a lifelong interest in newspapers.

He enrolled at City College in the Bronx, but dropped out.

He preferred working, though couldn't hold a steady job: mortgage banking, running a toiletry-packing business for hotels, and operating a charter travel company are just some of the gigs he held.

Source: New York Times

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You can learn a lot about someone depending on what's in their bag, or what they leave out.

A huge chunk of successful executives' lives is spent traveling, in meetings, and trying to keep track of a massive list of priorities, so they have refined what they carry and how they work into an art.

LinkedIn asked 50+ of its influencers to name the "secret weapons" that they simply can't work without. 

Richard Branson would be lost without his personal assistant, Helen. Asana co-founder Justin Rosenstein relies on pen and paper for big ideas and the satisfaction of physically ripping up discarded plans. And the Samsung vs. Apple battle rages all the way at the top, with devotees of both the Galaxy Note, iPad, and everything in between. 

Richard Branson's assistant is his 'extra memory.'

"I couldn’t get through the workday without my assistant, Helen. While gadgets like smartphones and tablets certainly do have a huge positive impact upon my working life,
it is the people around me who really make the difference.

"Helen is my memory. She travels the world with me, is delightful to have around, and is
extremely adaptable and sociable wherever we find ourselves. With so much going on with my mind, having an extra memory is important. Before I ask her to do something, she can read my mind and know what it is I am thinking before I ask."

Source: LinkedIn

HP CEO Meg Whitman can't live without her country music playlist.

"While I’m accustomed to frequent travel and moving at a fast pace, there are a few things I always try to carry and can’t go without. These help me stay focused, tune out the noise and provide the flexibility I need whether I’m at home or on the road."

Here are her essentials:

• Her phone, loaded with country music. "Favorites include George Strait, Brooks & Dunn and Shania Twain," she writes.

• A swimsuit, so she can get in a morning swim regardless of her time zone.

• HP's latest laptop hybrid, the HP Envy which she uses to work on a plane, and to watch movies when she wants to decompress. 

Source: LinkedIn

Buddy Media Co-Founder Michael Lazerow keeps 'wonder drug' Tylenol PM on him whenever he travels.

"I’m a morning person. It’s when I function my best. I love going to sleep early. I love getting up before everyone else. It’s when I work out, write and focus my brain on tasks at hand. I sometimes find myself sitting in a hotel bed not able to fall asleep late at night. More often than not, it’s because I have a headache from exhaustion, dehydration or other abuses of my body while I’m on the road. Tylenol PM gets rid of any headaches while helping me fall asleep. It’s the wonder drug. And it doesn’t even require a prescription."

Source: LinkedIn

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Sunny. Walkable. And a low cost of living.

Nerdwallet recently came out with its rankings of the ten best cities for retirees. 

Ranking cities by factors like medical care, climate and cost of living*, they sought to find the kind of places where retirees can kick back and relax but still engage in a bustling city culture when they want.

Cost of living used was based on the ACCRA cost of living index. The nationwide ACCRA average is 100. The numbers noted on each slide are percentages of that average.

10. Nashville, Tenn.

Cost of living index: 87.7

Percentage of people over age 65: 10.2 percent

Cost of a doctor's visit: $79

Nashville's average temperature is just shy of 60 degrees. Plus, the city made Conde Nast's list of the five best places to go in 2013 for its trendy food and famous music.

9. Tucson, Ariz.

Cost of living index: 93.8

Percentage of people over age 65: 11.9 percent

Cost of a doctor's visit: $100

Tucson received higher marks for walkability than most cities on the list. It has plenty of nearby hiking trails and birdwatching locations.

8. Louisville, Ky.

Cost of living index: 91.6

Percentage of people over age 65: 12.6 percent

Cost of a doctor's visit: $83

Behind Miami, Louisville has the second-highest concentration of people over 65 noted on the list. The city has also been named one of the country's safest cities and is home to the Kentucky Derby.

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