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(Reuters) - For investors in internet stocks, it was a banner year: shares of many companies doubled as revenue climbed and on forecasts for rip-roaring growth in earnings. But the gains haven't been anxiety-free, thanks to uncomfortable memories of the 1999 Internet bubble and subsequent bust.

Market strategists and tech experts say the comparison is overblown. While there is the potential for a decline in some Web company stock prices that are out of line with their earnings outlook, they say there is little chance of a bloody retreat.

Most importantly, this year's stars, such as Facebook and Netflix, actually make money. Many of the web companies that were emblems of the previous era had little prospect of ever being profitable and some hardly had any revenue - basing their boasting on non-financial metrics such as numbers of eyeballs, or page clicks.

The Internet and the ways people use and access it have been transformed in the past 14 years. In 1999, it was mainly through slow dial-up services using a desktop computer, now there is faster broadband and mobile access from phones and tablets. Web-based advertising has grown into a mature, viable business, and computing speeds support video and sophisticated gaming.

The market is much more rational than it was in 1999, argues Jeff Dachis, who co-founded and was chief executive of Razorfish, an online ad firm that went public in 1999, and is now part of France's Publicis Groupe.

"What you had then was 100 times the volume of stock with little to none of the credibility or weight in the marketplace that a Facebook or a Twitter has today," said Dachis. "Nobody denies now the growth of online advertising or digital marketing."

WARNING SIGNS

Facebook, Google and Netflix are among the internet companies set to finish 2013 at or near record highs. Less-weighty Web companies such as Yelp and Pandora saw their shares triple.

That is not to say there aren't warning signs. The 160-percent gain in shares of Twitter since its November initial public offering raises awkward questions about the levels of speculative froth given the company has not yet earned a cent.

Also, consumer names like Snapchat and Pinterest are raising eyebrows by garnering millions of dollars in financing at multi-billion dollar valuations - despite being decidedly in the red.

According to CB Insights, there are 26 U.S. tech companies that have raised financing at valuations of $1 billion or more and that could go public in 2014, including Uber and Square.

Hedge fund manager David Einhorn, who has often taken short positions on richly valued stocks, in October asked in a letter to investors whether history was being repeated. "When ... conventional valuation methods no longer apply for many stocks, we can't help but feel a sense of déjà vu," he said.

Still, internet companies are trading at much cheaper valuations than their counterparts in the late 1990s. The stratospheric multiples that defined companies such as Webvan (388 times revenue in 1999) and VerticalNet (268 times sales) are unheard of today.

Twitter, which trades at 73 times its past year's revenue, is among the most richly valued Web stocks by that measure. Google, Netflix and Salesforce.com all trade at below 10 times their trailing twelve-months' revenue.

"The end markets - internet advertising, online retail, online travel - those markets are just dramatically more developed today than they were in ‘99, 2000," said Mark Mahaney, who began his career covering internet stocks in the 1990s at Morgan Stanley, working with star internet analyst Mary Meeker.

TOIL AND TROUBLE

The bursting of the dotcom bubble ranks among investment history's greatest debacles. From its peak of 5123.52 on March 10, 2000, the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 78 percent of its value in just over two-and-a-half years.

Nearly 14 years later, the Nasdaq has still not regained those lofty levels even as most other major U.S. averages have surpassed previous highs, another indication that the market is far from where it was back then.

The turn of the decade came replete with stories about extravagant parties, unabashed flogging of dubious names by investment professionals and startup CEOs, and tales of cash outlays that boggle the mind today, including a Super Bowl 2000 that saw nearly 20 dotcom companies spending about $1.1 million apiece on advertising spots - just before many went under.

At the end of 1999, 8 out of 10 of the most highly valued stocks were tech companies, led by Yahoo trading at almost 577 times projected 2000 earnings, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. Fellow dotcom-era corporations America Online and Cisco Systems Inc - the latter prized because it dominated the market for networking equipment that enabled internet connections - clocked in at 223 times and 102 times, respectively.

Fast-forward to 2013, and just four dotcoms rank among the year's 20 biggest gainers on the S&P 500, led by Netflix's quadrupling. Yahoo is at No. 10 after having doubled. Facebook has more than doubled.

Other big gainers include Best Buy and Micron Technology.

"The consensus view in the market is that things are bubbly but since the valuations are not as expensive as 1999, there is room to run," said Mike O'Rourke, chief market strategist at Jones Trading.

But he said such thinking may be flawed and cautioned that using one of the most expensive periods in stock market history as a comparison is extremely risky, with a limited reward. "When bubbles pop a large portion of the gains are erased very quickly," O'Rourke said.

IPOS MUCH FEWER

The lack of newly listed internet stocks provides some relief for those concerned about a possible bubble.

There were only five U.S. internet IPOs in 2013, including Twitter, compared with 86 in 1999, according to Thomson Reuters data. In fact, the number of IPOs in 1999 is greater than the combined number of public offerings every year since then.

Many companies may simply be waiting longer to take the plunge, debuting at a far more advanced stage of development than the wave of 1999 dotcoms. Facebook, an extreme example, went public with a valuation of more than $100 billion.

"Anything and everything - regardless of how asinine the business model was - was going public and getting ridiculous valuations" back in 1999, said Ryan Jacob, chief executive of the Jacob Funds.

Take eToys, the online toy store whose shares quadrupled on their debut in 1999. It spent tens of millions of dollars on pricey TV ads only to file for bankruptcy in early 2001.

With low interest rates and signs that the U.S. economy is strengthening, internet valuations could go higher in 2014 - though nowhere close to 1999 levels, Jacob says.

He points to LinkedIn's 14 percent decline since more than doubling in the first nine months of the year, as sign that investors aren't losing their heads. "You did have a part of the market that got ahead of themselves, and then took a breather" in 2013, Jacob said.

Canada Bitcoin bank Flexcoin shuts after hacker heist

Flexcoin had been forced to close down after losing Bitcoins worth about $600,000 (437,000 euros) in a hacker attack enabled by flaws in its software, the bank, which is based in Alberta, Canada, announced late on Tuesday.

All of the bank's 896 Bitcoins had been stolen on Sunday, Flexcoin said in a statement posted on its website, adding that it didn't have the resources and assets to come back from this loss.

The closure is the second setback for the Bitcoin community in just a few days following the bankruptcy of Tokyo-based Bitcoin exchange Mt Gox on Friday. Once the world's dominant Bitcoin exchange, Mt Gox filed for insolvency protection after losing an estimated 850,000 Bitcoins due to hacking. According to trading platform Bitstamp, a Bitcoin is currently valued at about $658.

On Tuesday, Flexcoin said it had made every attempt to keep its servers as secure as possible and had repelled thousands of attacks over the past few years.

'But in the end, this was simply not enough,' the bank added in its statement.

However, customers who were holding their Bitcoins in cold storage had not been affected by the hack and would be contacted by Flexcoin to verify their identities, the bank noted. Cold storage means coins are held offline and not within reach of the online attacker.

Virtual currency Bitcoin has drawn growing attention from investors since trading began in 2009 in the wake of the financial crisis. So far the currency is unregulated by governments and central banks and functions on a peer-to-peer network. Bitcoin is viewed with skepticism for its potential to be misused for money laundering and buying illicit products.

As a result of the Mt Gox bankruptcy, the Japanese government on Wednesday announced it was planning to take action on regulating the virtual currency to protect consumers and impose taxes on trades.

Italy’s sovereign debt explodes as economy shrinks in 2013

Italy's sovereign debt surged to 132.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) last year, up significantly from 127 percent of GDP in 2012, according to latest data released by the country's National Statistics Institute (ISTAT) on Monday.

Within the 18-nation eurozone, only Greece had accumulated a higher overall debt mountain, ISTAT said.

The debt explosion was linked to a drop in Italy's 2013 GDP, which shrank an annual 1.9 percent, ISTAT added, thus continuing the country's deep two-year recession. In 2012, the eurozone's third largest economy had decreased by 2.5 percent, suffering from the fallout of the sovereign debt crisis in the currency area.

In spite of its economic weakness, Italy managed to keep its 2013 budget deficit down to 3 percent of GDP, which is exactly the limit allowed under European Union treaties. Moreover, the Italian economy slightly improved in the final quarter of 2013, growing by 0.1 percent.

Nevertheless, unemployment remained steep, hitting its highest level in 37 years in January with a jobless rate of 12.9 percent. Unemployment is especially rampant among young people under the age of 25, among which 42 percent were without jobs.

The new government of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has pledged to tackle the jobs crisis with a package of reforms due to be made public later this month. The measures are expected to include cuts in payroll taxes, changes to strict labor rules and an overhaul of unemployment benefits.

Trade ties expose EU, US rift over Russia sanctions

Scrambling to react to the crisis in Crimea, the Obama administration has threatened Russian officials with visa bans and asset freezes, if the Kremlin refuses to roll back its military intervention in the Black Sea peninsula. But the European Union has proven reluctant to follow suit, holding out hope that diplomacy can resolve the Cold War-style crisis on its doorstep.

The White House has already suspended military ties and trade talks with Moscow, while the entire Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations have agreed to not participate in preparations for their summit in Sochi this June. Meanwhile, EU foreign ministers met in Brussels on Monday, where they strongly condemned 'the clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity by acts of aggression by the Russian Federation.'

Although the EU threatened to suspend bilateral talks with Moscow on trade and visa liberalization and 'consider further targeted measures,' the bloc did not explicitly place the threat of economic sanctions on the table. The EU's 28 leaders are scheduled to meet for an emergency summit on Thursday, where they will consider whether or not to impose punitive measures.

'It's clear that everybody would like to see this crisis solved politically without imposing sanctions, because those would severely damage bilateral relations,' Paul Ivan, an expert on EU sanctions with the European Policy Center, told DW.

'Sanctions are the most serious measure you can take before going to war,' he said.

'Sanctions that bite'

As Russia's largest trading partner, the EU wields considerable economic clout with its eastern neighbor. In 2012 alone, the two traded nearly 400 billion euros worth of goods and services. And EU member states accounted for nearly 75 percent of the foreign direct investment stocks in Russia, according to figures published by the European Commission\'s Directorate-General for Trade.

But the economic relationship is one of mutual dependence. Approximately 33 percent of the EU\'s petroleum imports come from Russia, according to Eurostat. And key actors in the EU, such as the UK and Germany, have their own national economic interests at stake in the country.

'There can be sanctions that will actually bite,' Ivan said. 'One of the problems is that those would also bite the European economy.'

In contrast to the EU, the United States trade in goods with Russia amounted to just 30 billion euros ($40 billion) in 2012, according to the US Census Bureau.

No trade sanctions…for now

On Monday, a freelance journalist managed to snap a picture of a secret document being carried by an unnamed British official on the way to a national security council meeting in Downing Street. The document said that Britain 'should not support, for now, trade sanctions…or close London's financial centre to Russian officials.'

If the EU is broken down into member states, then Germany is Moscow's third largest trade partner overall after the Netherlands and China, accounting for 35 percent of all EU exports to Russia. That's according to the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, which represents German business interests in the region.

'We have to see the consequences of possible countersanctions in the areas of raw material deliveries and entry bans for German and European citizens,' Rainer Lindner, the managing director of the committee, told the Reuters news agency.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned during a news conference on Tuesday that sanctions would ultimately backfire against the EU and US. Russian lawmakers are working on legislation that would confiscate property, assets and accounts of US and European companies if sanctions are imposed, according to the RIA news agency.

Unanimous decision required

The EU also has a cumbersome decision-making process compared to the US. All 28 member states will have to unanimously agree on a sanctions package. With each of those countries having a different relationship with Russia, Ivan believes compromise will be inevitable.

'In the end because you have 28 member states, and not as in the case of the US where you have only one administration that has to decide, here you have to reach a lot of compromises,' he said.

'Even before the crisis you had differences between EU member states in how they see relations with Russia, so we might see the EU taking decisions slower than the US, or having less tough measures.

Gas on the front line in Russia – Ukraine crisis

Russian gas – a weapon of strength or of weakness in the Ukraine crisis? Gazrpom has indicated it may raise prices for Kyiv in the next quarter. Currently Moscow sells to its neighbour at a hefty discount as part of 20 billion dollar support package. Negotiations are ongoing to maintain the cut price deal but if no agreement is reached the price could rise in the second quarter. Around 70 percent of Ukraine’s imported gas comes from Russia, currently it has cut back and is using up gas in storage. About 30 percent of Europe’s supplies come from Russia half of which transit through Ukraine. In two recent commercial disputes with Naftogaz – Ukraine’s state energy company Gazprom cut commercial deliveries disrupting supplies to much of Europe. Analysts believe playing the gas card in this crisis could be to Russia’s disadvantage. Its stock fell more than 13 percent amid market jitters over gas flows via Ukraine. But at its annual meeting with investors the Russian state company said it believed Europe would become even more dependent on Gazprom’s supplies

Your worst crime: Sleeping with makeup on

If you are doing everything possible to get healthy skin but nothing seems to work, maybe you are making one big mistake that is ruining your skin.

Many women tend to sleep with their makeup on, either because they forget to remove it, are too lazy or tired to remove it, or some actually think it’s not that big of a deal.

When you cover your face with makeup, it clogs the pores in your skin. Your pores allow your skin to sweat and produce sebum (which helps moisturize our skin). So when you cover your face with makeup 24/7, sebum builds up and causes acne.

So sleeping with makeup on will leave the skin unable to breathe, regenerate tissue, exfoliate dead surface cells and heal itself.

You also need to remove your eye makeup as well to avoid irritation and allergic reactions.

So no matter how tired or sleepy you are, make sure you always remove your makeup before going to bed.

Michelle Obama Workouts With Hula Hoops

If the First Lady has been on a mission since entering the White House, it’s been a mission for health, wellness and fitness. And, if her fit body is any indication, she’s doing something right!

How does Michelle Obama workout?

Well, one way is by having fun while doing it! In a recent interview, Michelle Obama revealed that one of her favorite fun fitness activities is hula-hooping, saying, “If I do have a talent, it is hula-hooping. I can hula-hoop forever. And I’ve been a hula-hooper since I was little.” President Barack Obama agrees, confirming his wife Michelle “is the best hula-hoopers I know.”

Hula Hooping, though, is more than child’s play. Rather, the total body workout can improve your flexibility and balance, strengthening your core and tone your arms and legs.

Want to give it a shot? Check out Hoopnotica, a hula-hooping program that utilizes the hoop as a cardio and resistance tool for an effective, low-impact and total body workout. You can take a Hoopnotica class or check out their hula-hoop workout DVDs.