January was a terrible month for stocks

Stocks have been having a pretty bad 2015 so far.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The Dow shed 3.7%, the S&P 500 has lost 3.1%, and the Nasdaq is over 2.1% lower.

Talk about a bad start to the year. A quick glance at the chart below shows what a whiplash ride 2015 has been so far with 7 days where the market swung up or down more than 200 points.

Related: Bears warn: A crisis could be near

There's an adage on Wall Street that the early days of the year are a good predictor of the full-year. Historically speaking, there's only about a 50-50 probability that the stock market will end the year on a positive note if January saw market declines, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac.

Dan Greenhaus, chief strategist at BTIG, points out that five of the last six down January's (2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2014) have not prevented the S&P 500 from finishing higher for the full year.

The one exception was 2008, but that was the year of the financial crisis.

But investors might take comfort that January of 2014 was even worse and stocks rebounded significantly to hit record highs in December.

"In an effort to note something positive we can say that while the [S&P 500] index is down [3]% or so this year, the index finished January 2014 down by 3.6%!" Greenhaus wrote in a recent research note.

This time last year the market was worried about an emerging markets meltdown and the impact of the Federal Reserve pullback on so-called quantitative easing (aka bond buying). Those fears are mostly gone. This January investors are worried about cheap oil and the global economic slowdown.

The energy and financial sectors were the biggest losers for the month. Energy is easy to understand. Oil fell below $50 for first time in early January and acted as a psychological trigger that spooked investors. This was followed up by earnings reports and announcements from Big Oil showing major cutbacks in spending and operations. There's little doubt that it will be a leaner year ahead in the energy sector.

Related: America's No. 2 oil company cuts spending

Financials were a bigger surprise. The big bank CEOs blamed Washington regulations for sluggish performance, but the reality is many bank's core investment banking and trading have been suffering.

There was one bright spot in January: Bonds.

As the stock market gyrates, investors have been fleeing to bonds. Several European nations even have negative yields on their bonds, a sign of just how much demand there is for a so-called safe asset.

In the U.S., the 10-year government bond yield is now down to 1.66%, the lowest point since the spring of 2013.

First Published: January 30, 2015: 3:54 PM ET

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Super Bowl tickets are most expensive ever

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The average ticket price so far is $3,554 -- about $1,000 more than last year, according to SeatGeek, which tracks online sales.

SeatGeek analyst Connor Gregoire said he does not expect the price for the few remaining tickets to come down before the Seahawks and Patriots face off on Sunday in front of 72,000 fans in Phoenix.

On Friday, the cheapest ticket was going for nearly $8,000 and the most expensive topped $24,000, according to SeatGeek.

And there are very few left -- only about 300 tickets on Friday. On the same day last year, there were about 4,000.

Related: Snickers cast Danny Trejo in Brady Bunch reboot

Getting a ticket to the Super Bowl is a tricky business. Only 1,000 are sold to fans at face value. The rest are divvied up among the league, which gives a lot to corporate sponsors, and the teams. Those tickets are either auctioned off to season tickets holders, or sold by brokers on the secondary market.

In the past few years, many buyers have held out until the last minute and, in fact, got a good deal as prices fell in the days leading to the game.

Game day is actually the busiest in the resale market, Gregoire said.

But this year prices have gone up. It's not entirely clear why. But there are fewer tickets than expected on the secondary market. That will leave some fans out of luck.

Related: Is a $45 million Super Bowl ad worth it?

First Published: January 30, 2015: 4:50 PM ET

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Seahawks' Paul Allen is the NFL's richest team owner

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen is by far the richest in the league. The Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) co-founder is worth about $17 billion, according to various estimates.

The Seahawks head to the Super Bowl for the second year in a row. This year they face off against the New England Patriots which are owned by Robert Kraft, who has a net worth of $4 billion, making him the sixth richest owner in the NFL.

The two men made their money in very different ways.

Related: NFL gets billions in subsidies from taxpayers

Allen helped Bill Gates start Microsoft when both were students at Harvard, and left the company with a chunk of its then privately-held stock in 1983 which translated in to the bulk of his wealth. Allen also made about $2 billion from the appreciation in value of the Seahawks and the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, both of which he bought decades ago.

Bob Kraft, left, and Paul Allen, right, owners of the two Super Bowl teams, made their fortunes in very different ways.

By contrast, Patriots owner Robert Kraft made most of his $4 billion fortune in football. He bought his team for a reported $172 million in 1994, and today it's worth an estimated $2.6 billion.

Related: Seahawks vs. Patriots - How do the fans measure up?

There's only one NFL team with owners that aren't worth billions. The Green Bay Packers is actually publicly owned by its fans, who hold a special issue of stock in the team that can not be sold or traded.

Related: NFL earns record profits despite ugly image

First Published: January 30, 2015: 4:05 PM ET

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The growing poverty problem in America's schools

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The share of schoolkids who qualify for free or reduced lunches crossed the 50% threshold in 2013, according to a recent Southern Education Foundation report. That compares to fewer than 32% back in 1989.

Students eligible for subsidized school lunches come from families who are in poverty or just above it. A child living with a single parent would qualify if the family's income was less than $28,000. A family of four would receive free or reduced lunches if their income was less than $42,600.

There are three main reasons behind the increase, said Steve Suitts, the report's author.

• Though the economy is recovering, it's not producing enough good-paying jobs to lift families into better financial situations.
• The growth in immigration is bringing more low-income children into the school system.
• Higher-income families are having fewer kids.

About 90% of America's children go to public school. Test scores clearly show that low-income students are far less proficient in math and reading than their better-off peers.

The gap hasn't really budged in a decade, Suitts said.

The divide is also clear in international educational measures.

American children who go to schools with fewer than 10% of students eligible for subsidized lunch score close to the top in math tests given to 15-year-olds, just behind China, Singapore and Taiwan. But kids in schools with 25% to 50% of peers in subsidized lunch fall about 16 rungs to the lower third of developed countries.

Related: States where taxes hit the poor hardest

That doesn't bode well for America's future, especially when these kids enter the job market.

"The nation's performance as a whole will decline until we assist low-income students to perform at higher levels," Suitts said. "These poorly educated adults are going into the workforce and the economy."

While employers increasingly look for more educated workers, students are increasingly leaving school with fewer qualifications. That skills gap will deepen the shortage of qualified job candidates, and keep the next generation from finding good positions, said Anthony Carnevale, director, Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.

"It's a downward spiral of economic opportunity," he said.

First Published: January 29, 2015: 9:45 AM ET

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Greece: Putin's new ally in Europe?

LONDON (CNNMoney)

The countries have a long history of economic, cultural and religious ties. Both are now proving to be a big headache for the European Union.

Greece's government, led by left-wing party Syriza, has started to unpick reforms that were crucial to securing €240 billion ($272 billion) in European and IMF funds keeping the country afloat. Relations between Russia and the EU are the worst they've been since the Cold War due to the Ukraine crisis.

Congratulating Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on his victory, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was confident the two countries would "work together effectively to resolve current European and global problems."

Greece seems receptive to closer links. Tsipras reportedly met with the Russian ambassador hours after taking office, and with Russian officials last May.

Related: Europe to Russia: We won't blink over Ukraine

Syriza and its right-wing coalition partner have been supportive of Putin and deeper cooperation is likely, said Dimitris Papadimitriou, professor of politics at the University of Manchester.

The two countries have established trade ties. Almost 13% of Greek imports came from Russia in 2013, according to the IMF. Greece's share of Russian imports is much less significant. Still, the countries have agreed to make 2016 the "Year of Greece" in Russia, and the "Year of Russia" in Greece.

Against this backdrop, Greece could break ranks with its European partners over how to respond to a recent escalation of violence in Ukraine.

Officials are due to discuss the possibility of further sanctions at a meeting Thursday, after EU leaders said they had evidence of growing support by Russia for separatists in eastern Ukraine. The Greek government was angry that it had not been consulted over the EU leaders' statement.

"Greece's disagreement was that Greece had not been asked, and that its consensus was taken for granted," a government spokesperson told CNN.

"Greece has to have an equal say in all EU decisions," the spokesperson said.

The tussle raised concern that Greek foreign minister Nikos Kotzias could veto any attempt to apply more pressure on Moscow when EU officials meet Thursday.

Kotzias is said to have had close links to the Greek communist party during the Cold War. He also has a record of supporting Russia -- including under Putin -- Manchester University's Papadimitriou said.

Related: Syriza won. What's next for Greece

Some experts say Greece's new guard is simply trying to assert its authority. Expressing concern about sanctions is a far cry from jumping into Moscow's arms in the hope of finding a more sympathetic creditor.

"Greece needs fresh money and a reliable backstop," wrote Berenberg's Holger Schmieding in a note. "Flirting with Russia won't help Greece secure better terms from the only realistic lenders it has."

At the same time, Greece has good reasons to want to develop the relationship, and could do so in some areas without causing big problems for Europe.

One area of potential cooperation is energy. Russia scrapped plans to build a gas pipeline through the Black Sea to Europe last year, and is currently pursuing an alternative partnership with Turkey.

"Greece should be a partner in energy planning for Russia," Papadimitriou said.

Thanos Dokos, from the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, said Greece could also develop trade and tourism ties with Russia.

"But if the current climate between EU and Russia continues, their options are limited," Dokos.

--CNN's Elinda Labropoulou contributed to this report.

First Published: January 29, 2015: 9:01 AM ET

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Nickelodeon to launch direct-to-consumer service

SpongeBob SquarePants is one of Nickelodeon's most popular shows.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Details on the new service were scarce, but Nickelodeon-parent Viacom said more information including the service's name would come at the network's meetings with advertisers in February.

Viacom (VIA) Chief Executive Philippe Dauman announced the new service on a conference call about Viacom's latest financial results.

The new Nickelodeon service will be aimed at the "fast-growing" mobile market and would be attractive for parents and children, he said.

Nickelodeon may be a network for kids, but the shift to a stand-alone service is anything but child's play.

"Kids are nearly as big a reason many people keep cable as sports," tweeted Mike Shields, a senior editor at the Wall Street Journal. "A Nickelodeon [over the top] service feels big."

Kid's programming is also pivotal to the future of streaming services like Netflix. This is why the company is following a strategy of having content for every age, especially the young.

However, it's hard to say what exactly the new Nickelodeon service will offer in terms of content.

Amazon already provides some of the network's shows like Team Umizoomi and Blue's Clues while Netflix is pumping out original content for kids at no extra cost to the consumer.

Yet, with the new service, Nickelodeon is part of a growing trend of networks -- cable and broadcast -- hedging their bets on the future of television by offering digital services along with traditional TV.

For example, HBO announced in October that it would begin selling subscriptions via the Internet sometime in 2015.

"The media business is evolving faster than ever, but our mission remains unchanged: to continually develop more and better entertainment programming," Dauman said in a letter to investors. "Viacom is financially strong and extremely well positioned for the future."

First Published: January 29, 2015: 10:16 AM ET

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Days before kickoff, NBC sells out of Super Bowl ad space

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

On Wednesday the network said that it has sold all of the available ad space for Sunday's game for a record average cost of $4.5 million per 30-second ad.

The figure is up from the $3.5 million that the Peacock network charged the last time it had the game in 2012, and a bit more than the $4 million Fox charged last year.

While good news for NBC, the sellout announcement does come much later than it has in the past. Fox sold out all the ad time For last year's game almost two months before its telecast.

The later timing this year reflects an overall slowdown in television advertising spending. Advertisers have been a bit tight-fisted with their budgets -- they've been making fewer big-dollar commitments ahead of time and have been waiting closer to air time to buy spots.

Related: TV ad sales slowdown affecting the Super Bowl

"It's been a challenging ad sales marketplace," said Seth Winter, the network's executive vice president of sales and marketing, "but we came through with flying colors."

On a conference call with reporters, Winter said the late afternoon pre-show and the post-show are sold out too. (Spots at those hours don't sell for $4.5 million apiece, but they're still enormously expensive, since they're guaranteed to be seen by tens of millions of viewers.)

Some ad spots are still available in the early afternoon hours -- the pre-pre-show, for lack of a better phrase.

Richard Sherman's Seattle Seahawks will take on the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX.

NBC's coverage starts at noon Eastern time on Sunday. Kickoff time is 6:30 p.m. The game will feature the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks.

Over the last five years, the Super Bowl has not dipped below 105 million viewers, and last year's game set a TV ratings record.

This year's match-up could even reach an even bigger audience since NBC is offering 11 hours of free online streaming for the event.

As for who's buying the ads, this year's Super Bowl is a mix of both traditional and rookie advertisers with 15 first time sponsors having ads during the game.

This includes ads from Budweiser, Victoria's Secret, and Skittles (a favorite candy of Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch).

NBC has also created a special Tumblr page where viewers can watch all the highly priced ads that run during the game.

Related: NFL's domestic violence Super Bowl spot: 'It's up to us to listen'

First Published: January 28, 2015: 4:37 PM ET

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Shark Tank contestant may save SkyMall

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Scott Jordan, the chief executive of a company that makes clothes with pockets specially designed for smartphones and other gadgets, plans to bid for SkyMall's assets.

Jordan's products are sold on SkyMall, which is fueling his interest in the company.

SkyMall, a mail order catalog that has been found in seat-back pockets on airplanes for 25 years, filed for bankruptcy last week. It was famous for selling gadgets aimed at travelers, as well as variety of offbeat items like Sasquatch statues and glow in the dark toilet seats.

In its filing, SkyMall said it fell victim to the proliferation of mobile devices on airplanes and competition from more nimble retailers such as Amazon (AMZN, Tech30) and eBay (EBAY, Tech30). But Jordan argues that the in-flight catalog can be reinvented for the Internet age.

"Frankly, SkyMall failed because it was a logistics nightmare," Jordan told CNNMoney. "There is a much easier way to do business and I found it."

Related: The best of SkyMall

Jordan's company, ScotteVest, was a long-time advertiser in the SkyMall catalogue. He says this gives him a unique perspective on how the company works. Jordan has also written a book, called The Pocket Man (pictured above).

Under the old business model, Jordan said passengers were forced to order items in the catalog via mail or by visiting SkyMall's website. The airlines took a cut of the profits in exchange for access to a captive audience.

Jordan proposes that the company work with in-flight Internet providers, such as GoGo (GOGO), and the airlines to allow passengers to order directly from SkyMall vendors. That way, he says SkyMall would no longer be responsible for all the costs associated with filling the orders, and the vendors would get to keep more of the profit.

Related: RadioShack cant escape the 80s

"The new business model will ... not require the new SkyMall to stock products," said Jordan. "We will make the process of buying through SkyMall as instantaneous as possible, and offer perks like the ability to pay with airline miles and credit card points."

Jordan argued that the SkyMall brand has tremendous value, though he acknowledged that the new business may operate under a different name.

On a side note, Jordan is also known for his controversial appearance on ABC's Shark Tank last year, when he stormed off the set after a testy exchange with Mark Cuban.

First Published: January 28, 2015: 4:46 PM ET

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Facebook is growing -- so are its costs

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Facebook (FB, Tech30) had 1.4 billion monthly active users during the quarter, up 13% from a year ago. Nearly 1.2 billion of those people were using mobile devices to access the social network, up 26% over last year.

Mobile is going to be key to getting the rest of the world connected. Many people who are accessing the Internet for the first time are doing so on a phone.

That growing mobile usage is also crucial for Facebook's business, as the number of people visiting Facebook from laptops and PCs declined last quarter. Mobile advertising made up 69% of the company's overall ad sales. Last year, mobile ads made up just over half of Facebook's advertising revenue.

But to succeed in its mission, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said his company has to do more than succeed at mobile. The company has to "evolve," Zuckerberg said, creating new tools to solve fundamental connection problems that some countries face.

In the next three years, Zuckerberg said Facebook is focused on improving its services for businesses and creating a more visual experience for consumers, improving the way people share photos and video.

Multimedia is the fastest-growing part of Facebook's business. Every day, Facebook users upload and watch 3 billion videos, Zuckerberg announced Wednesday. That's up 74% from a year ago.

By 2020, Facebook wants to become a viable search business and connect hundreds of millions more people through Messenger and WhatsApp. Those services already have 500 million and 700 million users, respectively, and Zuckerberg expects them to be the key to connecting Facebook's user base for customers who are getting online for the first time.

In a decade, Zuckerberg hopes that Facebook's Internet.org division will succeed at getting many millions more people connected. The organization has already connected 6 million people who couldn't previously connect to the Internet.

But in its effort to accomplish all that, Facebook's costs are exploding. Last quarter, the time that people spent on Facebook grew 10% compared top the prior year, as Facebook's growing base of users posted, shared, uploaded and watched more than ever on the company's network.

Facebook also grew its headcount by 45% to support its new endeavors.

As a result, Facebook spent a whopping $2.7 billion on storage, IT equipment and other tech-related items. That's up 87% from a year earlier.

Yet Facebook managed to grow its profit 34% to $701 million in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Facebook's advertisers paid 335% more for each ad purchased this past quarter than the price they paid a year earlier, sending profit higher. Meanwhile, Facebook made ads more scarce on its network. The number of Facebook ads served fell 67%, mainly due to the site's redesign of its right column.

"People are bigger believers in Facebook," Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's operations chief, said on the call. "We're showing very healthy, very large return on investment."

Facebook's overall sales rise 49% to $3.8 billion last quarter.

Shares of Facebook fell 2% after hours.

Related: Facebook blocks pages insulting Mohammed

Related: The big business of hashtags

Related: New Facebook feature flags fake news

First Published: January 28, 2015: 4:20 PM ET

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Meteorologist offers 'deepest apologies' over mistaken blizzard forecast

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

While some were annoyed by the inaccurate forecast, one meteorologist felt it necessary to offer an apology.

"My deepest apologies to many key decision makers and so many members of the general public," tweeted Gary Szatkowski, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, early Tuesday morning.

The mea culpa came after weather agencies had forecast as much as three feet of snow for New York City and parts of New Jersey.

The huge projections on Monday led New York and New Jersey state officials to set up travel bans that shut down traffic and train travel.

In the end, New York City had received less than a foot of snow by midday Tuesday. (However, Boston, parts of New England, and Long Island were hit with snowfall levels closer to initial projections.)

Many meteorologists predicted historic snow totals for New York.

"You made a lot of tough decisions expecting us to get it right, and we didn't," Szatkowski added. "Once again, I'm sorry."

Szatkowski, who works in Mount Holly, N.J., was not alone in asking for forgiveness. Other meteorologists like Slate's Eric Holthaus also apologized for their oversized projections.

But some on social media were quick to point out how difficult it is to predict the weather.

It was a sentiment Szatkowski appreciated.

"Thank you to the many folks who have been very gracious on social media this morning. Much appreciated," Szatkowski tweeted after his apology Tuesday.

First Published: January 27, 2015: 4:09 PM ET

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Obamacare 2.0 sign ups hit 9.5 million

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The totals so far make it likely the administration will meet its reduced target of 9.1 million enrollments. Those who have signed up have to pay their first month's premium to be fully enrolled. The data released Tuesday does not indicate how many people have paid.

That target, however, is lower than the 13 million the Congressional Budget Office had originally projected. The administration sought to lower expectations last fall by estimating that enrollment would be closer to 9 million.

On Monday, the CBO lowered its own forecast to 12 million.

Americans seeking individual insurance have to pick a plan by Feb. 15, when open enrollment ends. Experts expect a crush of people to sign up just ahead of the deadline.

In 2014, some 6.7 million people were enrolled in plans.

As of mid-January, more than 7.1 million people signed up for 2015 coverage in the 37 states using the federal exchange, healthcare.gov, while 2.4 million did so in the 13 states and Washington, D.C., which run their own exchanges.

Related: Obamacare website reins in personal data sharing

Subisides have proved once again to be a big draw to the exchanges. Some 87% of those picking plans through healthcare.gov are receiving financial assistance.

But their subsidies could be at risk depending on what the Supreme Court decides later this year. The high court is hearing a case challenging the legality of subsidies on the federal exchange.

In states with their own exchanges, 70% of those signing up qualify for subsidies. The figure, however, does not include data for several key states, including California, which has 1.2 million residents who have picked plans.

These state-exchange enrollees would not be affected by the Supreme Court decision.

Obamacare is drawing many new people this year. About 3 million people, or 42%, of those selecting plans on the federal exchange are getting insurance for the first time.

It's also attracting more Latinos, a key group for the Obama administration because so many are uninsured. As of mid-January, some 10% of those signing up on the federal exchange are Latino, compared to 7% who picked plans by early February last year.

Related: Obamacare tax surprise looming

First Published: January 27, 2015: 4:07 PM ET

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Yahoo soars on Alibaba spinoff

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

She announced a deal Tuesday to spinoff Yahoo's stake in Alibaba that will bring in big bucks for shareholders -- something she's been working on since taking the helm of Yahoo in 2012.

Investors cheered the announcement, sending the stock soaring as much as 8% in after-hours trading.

What's key about the deal is that it is tax free. The move could save shareholders $16 billion in tax costs, Mayer said on a call with investors.

Yahoo already earned $6.3 billion from selling part of its stake in Alibaba (BABA, Tech30) when the company went public last year.

Related: Hedge fund still pushing Yahoo-AOL deal

Alibaba made a killing that week, raising more money than Facebook (FB, Tech30) or Visa (V)did after their IPOs. It was like Christmas in September for Yahoo shareholders.

Yahoo (YHOO, Tech30) still has 384 million shares of Alibaba (BABA, Tech30), about a 15% stake. Those shares will be transferred to a new, publicly traded company called SpinCo, and be distributed among Yahoo investors.

The tax-free transaction maximizes "the value of our Alibaba investment for our shareholders," Mayer said.

After the spinoff, which is expected to complete by the end of 2015, Yahoo will have returned nearly $50 billion dollars of value to its shareholders from its Alibaba investment, based on Tuesday's closing share price.

Related: Jack Ma made $18.5 billion this year

Meanwhile, Yahoo Tuesday reported quarterly results that were so-so. Revenue and profit were both lower than the same quarter in the previous year. But revenue from mobile rose 23% -- it was the first time the company reported that as a separate item. The performance shows "stability in the core business," Mayer said.

First Published: January 27, 2015: 4:26 PM ET

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#HeForShe campaign goes corporate

Emma Watson is a celebrity spokesperson for the HeForShe campaign.

DAVOS, Switzerland (CNNMoney)

The United Nations-backed campaign went viral last year on Twitter (TWTR, Tech30) after actress Emma Watson made an impassioned speech calling on everyday men and women to work towards a fairer society where males and females are treated as equals.

Three major companies pledged to support the movement this week at an event in Davos: Consumer goods giant Unilever (UL), Tupperware Brands (TUP) and global professional services firm PwC.

Political leaders, including the president of Sierra Leone and the prime ministers of Sweden and the Netherlands, also signed on.

The UN said it is making a point of signing up corporates and government leaders because women are underrepresented in the upper echelons of the workplace and in politics.

In her September speech, Watson noted that it is expected to take 75 years for the gender pay gap to close, unless action is taken.

Universities are also being encouraged to join the campaign.

Related: Try our Global Wage Calculator

Gender inequality was a big theme in Davos this week during the World Economic Forum, a high-brow event that's known for being overrun by political leaders and billionaires. Only 17% of attendees were female, up from 15% in the previous year, according to reports.

Facebook's (FB, Tech30) chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg was among the women who attended the World Economic Forum. During a panel discussion, Sandberg outlined the importance of providing Internet access to women in developing nations, saying it can empower them and help improve their lives.

"The benefits of getting women connected often ... outweigh the benefits of men getting connected because they will put those investments back into the education and health care of their children," she said.

According to recent statistics from McKinsey and Facebook, women are 25% less likely to be connected to the Internet than men.

Japan's top central banker, Haruhiko Kuroda, also discussed gender issues at the event.

Kuroda reported that the ratio of women participating in the Japanese labor market has hit an all-time high, though it's still well below the average for developed nations.

Japan has been encouraging female participation in the workforce in an effort to boost economic growth. While Kuroda didn't say what the new ratio was, CNNMoney has reported that Japan's female employment rate is around 60%, far below the 80% rate for men.

Japan's male-dominated corporate culture and inflexible maternity leave policies have been known to discourage educated women from pursuing jobs.

First Published: January 24, 2015: 5:55 PM ET

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2015: The global economy's 'sink or swim' moment

The global economy is facing a 'sink or swim' situation now that central banks have done all they can to pump liquidity into the markets.

DAVOS, Switzerland (CNNMoney)

This week the European Central Bank unveiled a massive stimulus program -- worth $1.3 trillion -- to lift the region out of its economic malaise.

It was the latest in a long line of stimulus measures from central banks around the world. But it will only work if everybody else follows through.

European politicians and policy makers must now make decisive moves to increase productivity, investment and growth, which can involve reforming labor market rules, promoting entrepreneurship and tweaking tax codes.

"We all have a job to do," said ECB member Benoit Coeure during a panel discussion on Saturday at the World Economic Forum in Davos. "We have done our part. Others have to do their part."

The stimulus certainly buys more time for European governments to press ahead with economic reforms.

But they had better move quickly! The head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, told CNN this week that "inaction" is currently the biggest global risk.

Related: See complete coverage from Davos

But as the ECB money starts sloshing around the financial system and flowing into other parts of the world, concerns have been raised about reckless risk taking and financial instability.

Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, warned that markets shouldn't assume central banks will always come to the rescue when asset prices fall.

Carney also said he was expecting more market volatility and cash crunches to emerge in different markets as diverging central bank policies in Europe, Japan and the U.S. lead to unexpected shifts in the flow of money.

In short, central banks are watching out for these risks, but investors had better be careful too.

ECB member Benoit Coeure (left) with Bank of England governor Mark Carney at the World Economic Forum.

There's also the distinct possibility that the new ECB program will fuel further wealth inequality, which could lead to growing social division.

Both Carney and Coeure recognized that central bank stimulus measures tend to benefit people who already have investments and assets, while hurting everyday savers.

"Monetary policy always has distributional consequences," said Carney.

Billionaire investor George Soros also warned about the issue this week.

"My main concern is that [the ECB stimulus] will make the divergence between the rich and poor bigger," he said, during a separate Davos event.

But growing inequality isn't a sure thing.

"You can have the best of both worlds" if countries implement programs to support the unemployed and improve the labor market, said Coeure.

But then again, these financial heavyweights don't have crystal balls to see the future.

In fact, as they try to predict what to expect in 2015, they are humbled by the fact that they did not predict falling oil prices, a crisis in Ukraine, a fall-out with Russia and a rise in the extremist group ISIS in 2014.

"I hope we're going to be a little better [with our predictions] this time," said Laurence Fink, CEO of BlackRock (BLK), who moderated the Davos panel on Saturday.

When it comes to expecting the unexpected, the panelists agree that technology has the power to reshape global dynamics.

For example, fracking technology created a glut of oil supplies and drove crude prices below $50 per barrel, causing a range of knock on effects around the world that no one could have predicted.

"Technology ... is under appreciated, at least by politicians, as to how [it's] transforming their societies," said Fink.

First Published: January 24, 2015: 2:48 PM ET

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Second record weekend for 'American Sniper'

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The Oscar-nominated Iraq War movie, starring Bradley Cooper as the legendary sniper Chris Kyle, earned $18.3 million at the box office on Friday.

For perspective, the next biggest movie in the United States this weekend is "The Boy Next Door," starring Jennifer Lopez. It is on track to make $16 million for the whole weekend.

"We continue to rewrite the record books," Dan Fellman, the president of Warner Bros. domestic distribution, said Saturday.

He said he'd make a projection for the whole weekend on Sunday morning. Outside analysts are predicting a haul of $61 million to $65 million. That would give "American Sniper" one of the top ten "second weekends" in Hollywood history.

Watch: Will 'Sniper' debate affect veteran's trial?

The movie has generated new conversation -- and controversy -- about the Iraq War and about Kyle, who was killed in 2013. On Friday night Bill Maher called Kyle a "psychopath patriot."

Movies make most of their money Fridays through Sundays. In its opening weekend, including the Martin Luther King Day holiday on Monday, "Sniper" made $105 million, setting a new record for a January movie release.

The movie continued to perform well all week long, invigorating Warner Bros., the studio division of Time Warner. CNN, the parent of this web site, is also owned by Time Warner (TWX).

"It feels like summer in January," Rentrak senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian said earlier this week.

"This film is swimming in blockbuster waters and generating numbers generally reserved for super-heroes and summer movies," Dergarabedian said.

The movie may go on to beat 2004's "The Passion of the Christ," which currently ranks as the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time.

One sign of "American Sniper's" strength is the relatively small week-to-week drop-off in ticket sales. Movies like "Sniper" regularly see a 50% to 60% decline in week two. But the fall in ticket sales between the first and second Friday was only 40%.

Translation: "American Sniper' is still generating lots of interest.

Fellman said it was "the least percentage drop of any film that opened to an $85 million weekend or better."

The strong start for "American Sniper" was boosted by the Oscar nomination of star Bradley Cooper.

The movie was initially released in December to only two theaters in New York, one in Dallas, and one in Los Angeles.

The strategy, Fellman said, was to "get people to line up -- make it a hard ticket -- and have people see it in packed theaters."

The strategy worked, and there was widespread interest in the movie by the time it opened nationwide on January 16.

It wasn't a coincidence that the Academy Awards nominations were announced a day earlier. Cooper was nominated for best actor, and the movie was nominated for best picture. That gave "Sniper" even more momentum.

Controversies surrounding the movie have helped to sustain interest, even though some of the stories have been sharply negative.

Some people have celebrated the movie for its unflinching portrayal of combat in Iraq, while others have assailed it as war propaganda. The word "MURDER" was scrawled on one movie billboard near Hollywood.

Fellman, for his part, said the movie is open to interpretation: "Some people call it a war movie. Some people call it an anti-war movie."

--Molly Shiels and Frank Pallotta contributed reporting.

Related: Box office for 'Sniper' helps book sales

Related: Why it's a great time to be a filmmaker at Sundance

First Published: January 24, 2015: 2:51 PM ET

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Sports Illustrated lays off its staff photographers

Sports Illustrated, which boasts a long history of indelible photos, laid off all six of its staff photographers this week.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Brad Smith, director of photography for Sports Illustrated, spoke about the move Friday in a report from the National Press Photographers Association.

"There was a decision made through the company to restructure various departments, including at Sports Illustrated," Smith said. "Unfortunately economic circumstances are such that it has cut the six staff photographers."

The layoffs occurred on Thursday.

The weekly magazine, which is owned by Time Inc. (TIME), will fill the void by leaning on what spokesman Scott Novak told CNNMoney will be "a broader worldwide contributor network."

Novak stressed that Sports Illustrated has a long history of turning to freelancers -- including in the magazine's last issue. He said the magazine has long had a small photography staff, averaging fewer than six over its six decades of publication.

"This approach is neither radical nor unprecedented for Sports Illustrated," Novak.

Novak acknowledged that the decision was driven in part by financial considerations.

"As a media enterprise, it's incumbent upon us to manage our business in a way that delivers the best products to our consumers and drives the most value to the bottom line," Novak said.

Photography has long been the lifeblood for Sports Illustrated, which boasts a number of iconic covers in its archives.

The magazine will maintain a photography department with editors and personnel like Smith still in place. Novak declined to comment about the magazine's freelance budget.

Time Inc. was spun off by Time Warner (TWX), the owner of CNN and CNNMoney, last year.

First Published: January 23, 2015: 4:08 PM ET

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Obamacare website reins in personal data sharing

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Earlier this week, the government came under fire after the Associated Press showed that Healthcare.gov was relaying users' personal information, such as zip code, income level, pregnancy status and whether or not you are a smoker.

That information was being shared with Google (GOOG), Twitter (TWTR, Tech30), Yahoo (YHOO, Tech30) and other companies that track people online, like the advertisement display service DoubleClick.

The evidence was on the website code itself.

But on Friday, CNNMoney read the code and found that Healthcare.gov was no longer relaying personal information to DoubleClick and others.

Obama administration officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

After last week's report, Republican Senators Orrin Hatch and Chuck Grassley wrote a letter to the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services demanding answers.

Citing Healthcare.gov's many technology glitches, they wrote: "This new information is extremely concerning, not only because it violates the privacy of millions of Americans, but because it may potentially compromise their security."

To be fair, the software tools used by Healthcare.gov were popular services that help improve a website's design (CNNMoney uses them).

But health officials would not explain why DoubleClick, a company in the advertising industry that already tracks people's browsing habits, should be allowed to know whether users smoke or are pregnant.

When CNNMoney learned that the Health and Human Services Department was sending information to third parties in 2013, HHS would only assure that the data being shared with DoubleClick and others is transmitted to them securely.

That approach was criticized by privacy advocates such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Noah Lang, CEO of a health insurance startup Health Stride, said use of those tracking tools was sloppy and uncalled for.

"I don't think it's necessary to build a great user experience," he said. "Should they be sending identifying information to a third-party advertiser? The pretty clear answer there is no. It's a massive breach of personal privacy."

When CNNMoney read through the computer code on the Healthcare.gov website on Friday, certain lines of code that indicated the website was sending such personal information during the sign-up process were gone.

Cooper Quintin, a staff technologist at EFF, confirmed that the code was gone.

"That's a great first step for them to take," he said.

While Healthcare.gov is no longer relaying your personal information on the front end, there's no telling what information might get shared once it is stored in the government's computers, however.

Related: Obamacare website sends your data to private companies

Related: AT&T texts can be faked to hack you

Related: How safe are you? CNN's cybersecurity magazine

First Published: January 23, 2015: 4:48 PM ET

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Friday Links

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

A weekly collection of design, data and interactive links.

Photo/Video
Fibonacci Zoetrope Sculptures | 3-D printed sculptures animate when spun under a strobe light
Woodworking | A look at Japanese joinery
Gotham 7.5K | A rare high altitude night flight above NYC
California Inspires Me | Narrated by Mike Mills
365 | One year, one film, one second a day
Lapka | Google's modular concept phone

Design/Data viz
Manuals 2 | Design and Identity Guidelines
Lilium | Kenichi Yoneda (Kynd) in collaboration with BRDG
Airbnb Map | Stylized WebGL 3d map
Ross Sonnenberg | How to make images with fireworks and photo paper
Homunculus | Innvotative portfolio site
Genetic Algorithm Walkers | Watch walking creatures evolve through genetic algorithms
See last week's links
Have a nice weekend

@dubly and @talyellin

First Published: January 23, 2015: 5:26 PM ET

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Jay Leno wades into Cosby controversy

Jay Leno spoke about Cosby at a media conference in Miami.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

"I don't know why it's so hard to believe women," Leno said during a TV conference in Miami. "You to go Saudi Arabia and you need two women to testify against a man. Here you need 25."

The ex-late night host was at the National Association of Television Program Executives conference when he was asked about the sexual assault accusations toward Cosby.

Over the last few months, more than a dozen women have accused Cosby of committing sexual assault. Cosby has never been charged with a crime stemming from these accusations.

The controversy has caused Cosby to lose projects and has followed him on his current live comedy tour.

Leno credited the viral nature of new media in shining the light on Cosby's accusations. He said comedian Hannibal Buress's routine about Cosby in October would have been edited if it was on TV.

Buress called Cosby a rapist on stage, which sparked the current scandal.

However, instead of being edited, Buress' act went viral, leading to the public getting its news without any filter.

"Because somebody just filmed it and put it out there, you're getting your news raw and unfiltered, which I think is fantastic," Leno said about the Buress routine.

Related: Derision for Bill Cosby at Golden Globes

Leno's words came just one day after Larry Wilmore devoted an entire episode of his new Comedy Central show, "The Nightly Show," to the charges alleged towards Cosby.

During the telecast, Wilmore also asked why it was so hard to believe the women accusing Cosby.

"Why aren't people listening to these women?" Wilmore said during his opening monologue. "The current tally stands at 35 woman. Really folks, how many do we need?"

In November an attorney for Cosby, John P. Schmitt, called the allegations "discredited."

Cosby's representatives could not be reached for comment on Wednesday night.

First Published: January 21, 2015: 6:27 PM ET

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Oil tycoon Harold Hamm sells company for $3 billion

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Kinder Morgan (KMI) said Wednesday that it will buy Hamm's company Hiland, which owns gas and oil pipelines and plants primarily in North Dakota's Baaken oil field. It expects to finalize the sale in the next three months.

Hamm has lost nearly half his wealth in the past six months, thanks to the dramatic drop in oil prices that crushed the value of his other oil company, Continental Resources, Inc (CLR). That brings his net worth down to $9.3 billion, according to Wealth-X, a wealth tracking company.

Related: Oil tycoon lost $9.2 billion in six months

His wallet has also been hit by a very public and expensive divorce that is costing him another $1 billion. His ex, Sue Ann Arnall, has already cashed his check for the full amount, but is appealing the judge's ruling. She says she's entitled to more.

Hamm has also appealed, claiming that he can no longer afford the $1 billion settlement because of the declining value of his company. He recently secured a personal loan, using shares of Continental Resources as collateral. It's unclear how much the loan is for.

Hamm's lawyer would not comment for this story.

Related: Winners and losers of oil's plunge

First Published: January 21, 2015: 6:32 PM ET

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State of the Union was President Obama's lowest-rated yet

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Does that sound like a surprisingly high number to you, or a woefully low number? The answer may depend on your opinion of President Obama and your optimism about Americans' civic engagement.

According to Nielsen, 31.7 million makes Tuesday the lowest-rated State of the Union of the Obama presidency -- but not by much. Last year about 33.3 million people watched.

Obama's highest-rated State of the Union was his first, in 2009, when 52.4 million people tuned in. The total audience has declined each year since.

This time around, the president was battling both second-term fatigue and the same thing television executives are battling: seismic changes in how people are watching TV.

Some explanation is in order: Nielsen's estimates only include viewers who watched on TVs at home in the United States. Viewership via the Internet is measured separately, and no comprehensive data is available for Tuesday's speech.

The White House said it recorded more than 1.2 million views of its speech video stream over the course of the night -- but it didn't release the average minute-by-minute audience, which would be more comparable to the Nielsen numbers.

White House officials sought to make the speech "go viral" by promoting policy proposal "spoilers" days ahead of time; by having Obama encourage tune-in through YouTube, Facebook and Twitter; and by publishing the text of the speech on Medium in the minutes before it was read aloud.

On Wednesday the White House said clips from the speech received "almost 1.5 million views on Facebook" while the speech was still happening.

Nielsen provided another new media metric for the speech: 9.7 million people on Twitter "saw one or more of the 2.6 million tweets sent in the U.S." about the speech, the company said.

Television is still the dominant medium for a political spectacle like the State of the Union, though. CBS, bolstered by the popular drama "NCIS" at 8 p.m., had the biggest single audience for the speech at 9 p.m. -- about 7.3 million. NBC had 5.3 million, ABC had 4.6 million, and Fox had 2.8 million.

First Published: January 21, 2015: 6:57 PM ET

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Big box office for 'American Sniper' boosts book sales

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Over the weekend, the Bradley Cooper film based on the real-life story of military sharpshooter Chris Kyle hauled in $110 million, shattering box office records for January.

Thanks in part to the unprecedented total, Kyle's autobiography -- which the film is based on -- is now taking up several spots on book bestseller lists.

The mass market paperback of Kyle's memoir currently sits atop Amazon's best-selling books while the movie's tie-in version is at #6. A memorial hardcover edition just misses the top ten, coming in at #11 on Tuesday afternoon.

"Sniper" is also currently #2 on the New York Times' paperback nonfiction list, #2 on USA Today's best-selling books, and #2 and #4 on Barnes & Noble's top 100 books.

For the book's publisher, Wiliam Morrow, the movie has enabled the book to expand to new audiences.

"We are thrilled to see so many new readers embracing Chris's memoir," Liate Stehlik, the publisher of William Morrow, told CNNMoney. "We've been honored to be a part of this journey."

The book cover of the movie's tie-in version.

The book has had a presence on the bestseller lists for several weeks already, due to the movie's limited release in theaters last month along with a marketing campaign by Warner Bros.

(Warner Bros. is owned by Time Warner, which also owns this web site.)

Along with the ticket sales and book sales has come controversy -- criticism about the film's message and its depictions of Kyle have apparently caused Kyle's widow Taya to cancel some scheduled interviews.

This is not the first time Kyle's autobiography has been a bestseller: when first released in 2012, the book was an instant hit.

It also saw a resurgence amid tragic circumstances after Kyle's death in 2013.

First Published: January 20, 2015: 5:42 PM ET

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Can I afford to retire early?

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

At first glance, it appears you should be able to pull off early retirement quite nicely.

After all, if you're really able to cover your annual living expenses by drawing roughly 3% ($81,000 in your case) from your nest egg and then increasing that amount each year by the inflation rate to maintain purchasing power, there's a high likelihood your nest egg will be able to support you for upwards of 40 years.

Besides, I assume you and your wife will also eventually qualify for Social Security benefits, which will give you an extra margin of safety.

That said, retiring early could also turn out to be more of a challenge than you think.

For one thing, if your nest egg were to take a 2008-style hit soon after you retire, the combination of investment losses and withdrawals could so deplete its value that you could run through your savings early in retirement.

Related: Am I on track to retire right?

Your expenses after leaving the workforce could also be much higher than you project. One potential wild card is health care. Even though the Affordable Care Act has made it easier for early retirees to find affordable health coverage until they qualify for Medicare at age 65, the cost for insurance and health care services can still eat up a lot of your budget. Even after Medicare kicks in, medical expenses can still be quite daunting as AARP's Health Care Cost Calculator shows.

And let's not forget you've still got those two daughters to raise. Children can wreak havoc on a budget, especially when they move into their teen years. No wonder the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently estimated the average cost of raising a child at $245,000.

To the extent you'll be relying on money in tax-advantaged accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs for spending cash, early retirement presents another challenge: Can you tap those accounts without shelling out an extra 10% tax for early distributions?

There are ways to do that. The "72(t)" annuity exemption allows you to dodge the early withdrawal tax by taking "substantially equal periodic payments" based on life expectancy.

IRS Publication 590 points out a few other exceptions to the tax on early withdrawals from IRAs. If you retire at 55 or later, you can pull money from your employer's 401(k) plan without penalty. And if you have money in Roth accounts -- or even after-tax contributions in your 401(k) -- you may be able to tap at least some of those funds early tax-free. Doing so can be tricky, however, so you'll definitely want to check the distribution rules beforehand at a site like Fairmark.com.

Given all these issues, I strongly recommend you do a thorough assessment of your retirement prospects before you leave your job.

Calculator: How much will I need to retire?

Start by completing a retirement expenses worksheet. No estimate is going to be totally precise, but try to be as realistic as you can, especially when it comes to health care expenses.

Next, turn to Social Security. By leaving the workforce in your mid-50s, you'll almost certainly qualify for a smaller benefit than had you kept working. Your check will be reduced even more if you and your wife begin taking benefits before full retirement age (67 in your case). Go to Social Security's Retirement Estimator to get an estimate of the benefits you'll receive.

Do some "lifestyle planning" as well. Among the issues you'll want to examine: Do you want to stay in your current home or relocate? How will you fill the hours of each day once you no longer have a job to provide structure? Do you have a network of friends who can provide companionship and support? The "Ready-2-Retire" tool can help you address these questions.

Once you've got a handle on income and expenses, plug this information, as well as details like your nest egg's value and how your savings are invested, into a good retirement income calculator. You'll come away with an estimate of the probability that your resources will be able to generate the income you'll need for the rest of your life.

Related: The smart way to double your nest egg in 10 years

Then run the analysis again, assuming a smaller savings balance and higher expenses. This will give you a sense of how much wiggle room you'll have should your nest egg take a hit or you end up spending more than you anticipate.

If you feel that this sort of evaluation is more than you can handle on your own, you can always consult an adviser. But if you really want to know whether early retirement is a real possibility, this is what you need to do. And you need to do it before you exit the workforce. Otherwise, you may find you've taken retirement not early, but too early.

More from RealDealRetirement.com

3 simple steps to crash-proof your retirement plan

Market jitters? Do this 15-minute portfolio check-up now

5 ways to tell if you're really ready to retire

First Published: January 20, 2015: 6:26 PM ET

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AK-47s: Soon to be made in USA

Rick Young, a salesman for Kalashnikov USA, poses with a classic AK-47 at the booth at the gun show in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS (CNNMoney)

The U.S.-made gun will have same name as the original: AK-47, arguably the most ubiquitous assault rifle in the world.

The gun will be made by American company RWC, which is the official importer and distributor of Kalashnikov AK-47s. The company had to stop importing the guns after the U.S. imposed sanctions in July against Russia for its role in the Ukraine crisis.

RWC said it is not permitted to have any contact with the Russian company, Kalashnikov Concern, which makes the AK-47s.

"We are not permitted to pick up the phone and to talk to them," said Thomas McCrossin, CEO of RWC, which owns the Kalashnikov USA brand. "We were forced to stop doing business with them because of the sanctions."

RWC, based in Tullytown, Pa., has the rights to the AK-47 Kalashnikov brand of guns, which has been produced in the Soviet Union after World War II.

It is arguably one of the most famous firearm brands in the world. The original AK-47s are made by the 200-year-old Russian company, but it is one of the most copied assault rifles in the world with knock-offs made all over the globe, including China, Europe and the U.S.

Related: AK-47s become hot commodity after U.S. sanctions

Demand for Ak-47s -- already very high in the U.S. -- has surged after the sanctions.

For now, the company has enough guns to meet the demand.

"I have a lot of inventory on my shelf bought and paid for," McCrossin told CNNMoney in Las Vegas at the annual gun industry show. "We are permitted to sell these weapons because they were already in the U.S. But when the inventory goes down to zero, there are no more."

McCrossin plans to change that with a new factory that will make the first AK-47s in the U.S.

"In the second quarter of this year we are going to start manufacturing here in the U.S.," said McCrossin. "What I'm manufacturing are our own AK-47s and shotguns under the Kalashnikov brand."

Related: Kalashnikovs get new look to boost sales as Russian sanctions bite

CNNMoney has reached out to Kalashnikov Concern in Moscow for comment, but hasn't heard back.

McCrossin said he's shopping around for a location for the factory. He said that he plans to hire people, but he wouldn't say how many.

He made the announcement at the Kalashnikov USA booth at the SHOT Show. The booth carried the slogans "Russian heritage" and "Made in USA."

First Published: January 20, 2015: 6:17 PM ET

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NFL conference championships bring big ratings for Fox, CBS

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

According to Nielsen, 49.8 million viewers tuned into Fox to witness Seattle's wild overtime win over the Green Bay Packers, 28-22, in the NFC championship.

Those numbers make the game the most-watched program on American television since Super Bowl XLVIII last year.

The game's madcap final minutes -- agonizing for Packers fans, energizing for Seahawks fans -- helped its audience peak at 59.6 million viewers as it went into overtime.

Keep in mind, Nielsen only counts viewers at home, not groups of people gathered at bars, restaurants and viewing parties.

Later in the day, over on CBS, 42.1 million viewers watched a more subdued AFC championship as the New England Patriots decimated the Indianapolis Colts 45-7.

The strong ratings for CBS came just hours after the network announced it would once again be the home for Thursday Night Football in 2015.

Overall, this weekend's conference championships averaged over 45 million viewers.

While high, these totals were down from the comparable week last year, when 55.9 million viewers watched the NFC championship and 51.3 million watched the AFC championship.

But they're up from the totals a year earlier, in 2013, when the NFC championship drew 42 million viewers and the AFC drew 47.7 million.

While a big ratings hit for Fox, this year's Seahawks' game also had an incredible social presence online.

Fans on social media followed along, almost dumbstruck, as the Seahawks somehow, someway erased a sixteen point halftime deficit to defeat the Packers.

"Based on my Twitter feed, this game should get a Nielsen rating of 'everyone,'" tweeted Brent Weinstein, head of digital media at United Talent Agency.

While the audience wasn't everyone, the NFC Championship did result in 358 million Twitter impressions.

The last minute heroics of Seattle are a great example of why the league's games have to be watched live, which is a rarity in today's delayed TV viewing world.

And the biggest broadcast of all is still to come: the Seahawks take on the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX on NBC on February 1.

First Published: January 19, 2015: 5:37 PM ET

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Patriots win hurts Super Bowl ticket prices

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

On average, tickets were selling for $2,879 on Monday, according to SeatGeek, a search engine that tracks online sales.

That's down 20% compared to the same day last year. And it's actually 18% cheaper than what Super Bowl tickets were selling for on Saturday, before Sunday's games decided the match-up: New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks.

The price drop is mostly due to "Patriots Super Bowl Fatigue," said Connor Gregoire at SeatGeek.

Related: Budweiser lost puppy among Super Bowl ads

The team has reached the Super Bowl six times in the last 14 years. Some New England fans may have gotten used to watching their team play from their living rooms. Others might not want to shell out the big bucks to go in person, again, especially when this year's game is being played across the country in Arizona.

"As the Patriots started to pull away during the game on Sunday, that's when the price drop started to accelerate," Gregoire said.

The cheapest ticket sold on Sunday cost about $1,600.

Related: Super luxury Super Bowl rentals

Getting a ticket to the Super Bowl is tricky business. Only 1,000 are sold to fans at face value. The rest are divvied up among the league -- which gives a lot to corporate sponsors -- and the teams, which end up using brokers to sell them on the secondary market.

Savvy buyers tend to hold out until the last minute. The day of the game is actually the busiest in the resale market, Gregoire said.

He expects prices to settle this week and slowly decline until a more dramatic drop three of four days before the game on February 1.

First Published: January 19, 2015: 6:26 PM ET

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Big job cuts coming at DreamWorks Animation

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

A person with knowledge of the plan confirmed a Los Angeles Times report that the cuts "are expected to include animators, story-board artists and other production personnel and support staff."

DreamWorks employs about 2,200 people - the Times said more than 350 are likely to be laid off.

The company last suffered layoffs in early 2013.

A spokesman for the studio declined to comment on Monday, possibly because the cutbacks have begun but are not yet complete.

Steve Hulett, a representative of The Animators Guild, said "we've received calls from DreamWorks Animation employees who are getting laid off, and have told us that others are getting laid off as well."

He said DreamWorks executives have not been in touch with the guild about the layoffs yet.

The studio -- known for past hits like "Shrek" and "How to Drain Your Dragon" -- has racked up a series of disappointments recently, including a relatively weak showing by last November's "Penguins of Madagascar."

"It has been unable to build new franchises and its new releases have not been profitable," BTIG Research analyst Rich Greenfield said in an email.

Talks to sell the company have led nowhere.

"Unfortunately, everyone in the industry sees the predicament DreamWorks is in, making it impossible to sell the company anywhere near current levels," Greenfield said. "Cutting costs is the only near-term option."

DreamWorks is led by CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg.

Two weeks ago the company's chief creative officer, Bill Damaschke, was replaced by two producers, Bonnie Arnold and Mireille Soria. They are now the co-presidents of feature animation.

Related: Amazon is going to make movies

First Published: January 19, 2015: 6:34 PM ET

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Uber makes nice with Europe: We can add 50,000 jobs

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Uber has run into problems with regulators in Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere who have shown a willingness to shut down its popular taxi-service app. The company has sparked or found itself at the center of controversy after controversy.

While traditional transportation providers cry foul at Uber's tactics, the company said the competition and technology it brings is good for governments and local economies.

"Uber can share smart data with partner cities to help them manage growth, reduce congestion and greenhouse gas emissions and expand public transportation," the company said in a blog post as CEO Travis Kalanick unveiled its pitch at a major tech industry conference in Germany.

Related: Where Uber prices surged the most

Specifically, it said an expansion of Uber across Europe would "take 400,000 cars off the road" this year. It did not provide details about how it arrived at the vehicle and job numbers.

The company also confronted one of the key criticisms of its service: passenger safety. The company said it would look for ways to improve and expand its system of background checks for potential drivers, "and improve communication with local officials and law enforcement."

Related: Taxi drivers strike in China over steep fees ... and Uber

First Published: January 18, 2015: 6:55 PM ET

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State of the Union spoilers: What you need to know about Obama's proposal for the middle class

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Obama is expected to unveil proposals that would expand tax credits for parents, workers and students. And he'll call for paying for them by closing tax breaks on the the wealthy and hitting mega banks with new fees.

If the point is to start a debate, that has begun. If the point is to get his package passed as a whole, well, that's not going to happen.

Republicans with whom he's frequently been at loggerheads now control both houses of Congress. They are making it clear they disagree with Obama's approach. Representative Jason Chaffetz said Sunday on CNN they're a "non starter."

Below is a crib sheet on what the White House says Obama will outline. Let the debate begin!

Introduce tax credit for working couples: The White House says the aim of this proposal is to help families in which both spouses work, while defraying the costs of things like commuting and care for children or aging parents.

The White House says it would affect 24 million couples. The full value would be available to couples earning less than $120,000, while couples with income up to $210,000 would receive partial credits.

Require paid sick leave: Obama backs a proposed law that would allow workers who don't already receive paid sick time to accumulate up to seven days each year. (A study found more than 40% of workers in the private sector don't receive the benefit now.)

He is also instituting a new policy for federal employees: six weeks of paid leave for new mothers and fathers, and the same amount of time to care for an ill relative.

Expand child care tax credit: Childcare is expensive, and the federal incentives -- like flexible spending accounts and the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit -- offer a patchwork of support.

The White House says Obama's plan would "streamline" the options into a single credit. It would cover half of childcare costs with a maximum credit of $3,000 per pre-school child.

Encourage higher education: Obama's proposal would also expand the federal incentives for a college education.

The White House said the president would increase the maximum refund under the American Opportunity Tax Credit from $1,000 to $1,500. He would also make it permanent; it is currently set to expire in 2017.

Another part of his plan would answer a major tax concern of students who qualify for income-based loan repayment plans. After 20 years of income-based student loan payments under the Pay As You Earn plan, the remainder of the loan is forgiven, but students still owe tax on it. The proposal would also simplify the rules for federal Pell Grants and taxes on student loan interest.

Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit: There's something in Obama's proposal for working families without kids, too.

The Earned Income Tax Credit is available to low-income workers. But the credit is significantly smaller for a childless earner than someone with children.

Obama's proposal would give childless workers who are already eligible twice the amount they can currently claim. He would also expand it to include more low-income workers by raising the cap on claiming the credit -- currently at $14,590 for a childless single person -- and lowering the eligibility age from 25 to 21.

Encourage retirement saving: The president's retirement savings push is mostly targeted at companies.

His plan would expand access to retirement savings by requiring nearly all employers who don't currently offer an IRA to automatically enroll their employees in one. It would also require companies to accept more part-time employees into retirement savings plans.

Obama's plan also calls for tax cuts for companies that currently offer IRAs, begin offering IRS or automatically enroll employees.

That's on top of the myRA, a starter IRA for people who don't have a workplace retirement plan. It was unveiled in last year's State of the Union address and became available this year.

Tax inheritances like other capital gains: Obama also called for changing the way inheritances are taxed.

When individuals sell an investment, like a stock, they calculate the taxable value by subtracting what it was worth when bought from what it was worth when sold. (That's called "capital gains.")

But when stocks are passed from one generation to another, the calculation changes: The person who inherits doesn't pay tax on capital gains during the previous owner's lifetime. That lets "the wealthy pass appreciated assets onto their heirs tax-free," the White House said.

Obama wants to change that, unless the investment is donated to charity. The White House outlined several exemptions it says mean the change would mostly hit the wealthy, like allowing people to inherit a home and small businesses without another hefty dose of taxes.

He also wants to increase the tax on capital gains from 20% to 28%.

His other proposals: The president has been offering up State of the Union "spoilers" for two weeks now, like his proposals to make community college free for some students, increase internet speeds, and lower fees on government-backed mortgages. Some require Congress to act; others, like the mortgage plan, don't.

First Published: January 18, 2015: 7:12 PM ET

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'American Sniper' breaks January box office records

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The Clint Eastwood and Bradley Cooper film not only picked up a bevy of Oscar nominations on Thursday, but it also destroyed several box office records with an estimated $90.2 million in ticket sales over the weekend.

That early total gives "American Sniper" the largest-ever opening in January. And the number will likely grow even larger over the rest of the long weekend, because Monday is a holiday for many in the U.S.

The film's true-life story of military sharpshooter Chris Kyle opened like a summer blockbuster for several reasons, according to Rentrak box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian. One was strong word-of-mouth due to the film's limited release in December.

"By limiting the availability of 'Sniper' for the first three weekends, [the film's studio, Warner Bros.] built up a demand that was fully manifested by this massive outpouring," Dergarabedian said. (Warner Bros. is owned by Time Warner, which also owns this website.)

The last time a movie was this big in January was in 2010: "Avatar" brought in $68.5 million in its third weekend.

"American Sniper" is also a record breaker for both star Bradley Cooper and director Clint Eastwood.

It is the largest box office debut for an Eastwood-directed film, easily lapping his "Gran Torino," which opened to sales of $29.4 million in 2009.

As for Cooper, "Sniper" is his biggest live action opening passing 2011's "The Hangover Part II."

Yet, the craziest point of all may be that "Sniper" almost beat the biggest opening of Cooper's career, "Guardians of the Galaxy," which debuted to $94.3 million last August and was one of the biggest films of 2014.

The record opening for "Sniper" also raises the box office average for the Best Picture nominees. This year's slate had fared better with industry critics than at the box office.

Related: Box office duds threaten Oscar ratings

First Published: January 18, 2015: 4:06 PM ET

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Software can't replace mass spying

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

But that doesn't mean the mass spying should keep happening, it added.

The long-awaited report was released Thursday by the National Academy of Sciences. It came from the committee that President Obama put together after ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed the extent of U.S. government spying on the American public's phone records, email logs and more.

In response to the report, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union noted that the committee doesn't condone current mass surveillance practices. Quite the opposite, Neema Singh Guliani said.

"The report does not even attempt to provide one concrete example of a case where bulk collection was essential to a national security investigation," she said in a blog post.

This committee was made up of academics and technology professionals from Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30), Oracle (ORCL, Tech30) and elsewhere.

Its job was to figure out whether the government could ditch the current strategy of collecting lots of information on nearly everyone and manually sort through it and instead, use computer software to narrow down the spying.

However, the committee concluded, for the government to know everything, it has to collect everything.

The committee suggested putting automatic controls that limit who can access the data collected by government spies. That addresses one of the main criticisms voiced by Snowden: that lots of intelligence agents and private contractors get creepy access into our personal lives, from webcams to private chats with friends and family.

Such computer software would also make it easier for the government to catch when spies behave badly -- and make that information public.

Related: U.S. planes spy on American phones

Related: How the NSA can 'turn on' your phone remotely

First Published: January 16, 2015: 6:20 PM ET

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Where is Charlie Hebdo? My pursuit of the first copies in America

Charlie Hebdo sold out almost immediately in Paris, and millions of copies are being printed, but the once-obscure magazine was hard to find in New York despite demand for it.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The message anticipated a question that employees of the French book shop had heard hundreds of times.

Stores and newsstands throughout New York that had never sold Charlie Hebdo had been inundated with inquiries from people who have probably never read the satirical magazine.

In New York City, at least, "I am Charlie" had become "Where is Charlie?"

The answer emerged on Friday morning with the arrival of what were likely some of the first copies of the magazine's latest issue in the United States.

The magazine, the first since the attack on Charlie Hebdo's offices that left 12 dead, sold out in Paris almost immediately and as many as 5 million copies are being printed. But getting the once-obscure publication to America wasn't easy.

Some newsstand distributors tried to work directly with Charlie Hebdo's distributors -- a task that turned out to be difficult, at least initially.

But places like Albertine and Book Culture, another Manhattan shop, went a different route.

The stores made arrangements with Emmanuel Saint-Martin, the owner of a website catering to French ex-pats who has fielded "thousands" of requests for the new issue.

Saint-Martin reached out to Uni-Presse, a French government-backed organization dedicated to promoting French culture and press throughout the world.

He arranged for Air France and La Compagnie, another French airline that flies to Newark Liberty Airport in New Jersey, to get the issues across the Atlantic.

And on Friday morning, about 20 copies then arrived via FedEx to the upstate New York home of Catherine Lamy, the East Coast representative for Uni-Presse.

She and Saint-Martin hope to get as many as 1,500 copies next week to send to other American cities. The first round went to a select few in New York.

So a little before 11:30 a.m. on Friday, an employee removed the sign from Albertine's door and Lamy entered ten minutes later. She had a white envelope. Nobody needed to ask what was inside.

She gave bookstore employees two copies. They examined the cover image -- a cartoon depiction of the Prophet Mohammed -- that has spawned renewed debates over free speech.

It was decided that one copy would be laminated for posterity, and the employees placed one copy on a windowsill sandwiched between two bookshelves.

One customer wanting to buy one was invited instead to read the issue near the window. He sat in one of the store's leather chairs and scanned the cartoons and articles. When he was finished, a young woman had her turn to read the magazine.

Albertine won't have copies to sell until next week.

Albertine bookshop in Manhattan wasn't selling Charlie Hebdo at first, but it was letting customers sit and read the issue.

After an hour at Albertine, Lamy was off to her next destination: Book Culture, located on the other side of Central Park.

During the cab ride west, Lamy stressed that Uni-Presse will only provide copies to stores that pledge to make "no margin" on the transaction.

"We don't want to see this craziness you see on eBay," she said, referring to the markup on issues that have been sold on the online marketplace. "We're very clear to the stores on that."

She said Uni-Press hasn't collected any commission on Charlie Hebdo subscriptions since the attack.

We arrived at Book Culture, part of a three-store chain on Manhattan's Upper West Side. CBS News had a camera there. And a reporter for the Japanese television network TV Asahi stood outside the store.

"Are you here with the delivery?" the reporter asked Lamy.

With film crews capturing the footage, Lamy pulled a copy out of the white envelope and handed it Chris Doeblin, the store's owner.

"Beautiful," Doeblin said, holding up the Mohammed cartoon for everyone in the store to see. He plans to frame one of the copies for display. The other will be available for viewing. Doeblin hopes to get more to sell, but obtaining a mere two copies was still important to him.

For the last several days, the store's front window has displayed an enormous sign with the now-ubiqitous rallying cry, "Je suis Charlie."

Doeblin said the sign has "garnered some ill will."

He's thought about the security risk of associating with the magazine, but said he's "not that concerned about it."

Book Culture plans to frame one of the Charlie Hebdo covers for display in the store.

Book Culture employees paged through one of the copies behind the store's counter. A customer asked if any issues were for sale. John R. MacArthur, the president and publisher of Harper's Magazine, eventually strolled in and made small talk with Lamy. Harper's has a partnership with the store.

"We're not Charlie Hebdo in style, but we are in spirit," MacArthur said of his magazine.

As the news crews filed out of the store, Lamy was joined by Saint-Martin, whose website had received thousands of requests for the magazine

The two made plans to deliver the remaining issues Lamy had with her that day. One was going to a man in Brooklyn who called last week to start a subscription.

Lamy wouldn't disclose where the other dozen-plus copies were going. She said those recipients did not want to be identified.

First Published: January 17, 2015: 9:05 AM ET

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Charlie Hebdo now printing 7 million copies

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The new total reflects extraordinary demand for what has become known as the magazine's "survivors issue." It was produced in the days immediately following a terrorist attack at the magazine's office in Paris. The attackers were apparently motivated by the magazine's criticisms of Islam and depictions of the Prophet Mohammed.

The cover of the new issue has a cartoon of the prophet holding up a sign that reads "I Am Charlie" in French.

Customers at newsstands continue to seek copies of the issue -- not just in France, where there were long lines observed earlier this week, but also in Germany, where the magazine went on sale on Saturday.

There were local reports that the copies quickly sold out in cities like Berlin and Hamburg.

"We could have ordered 500 copies -- they would have sold out," a vendor at the main train station in Stuttgart told DPA, Germany's main news agency.

Customers in Germany lined up on Saturday to buy the new edition of Charlie Hebdo.

For some, buying a copy is a way to show solidarity with the magazine and support freedom of expression.

The magazine's French distributor, MLP, has been trying -- mostly unsuccessfully -- to keep pace with demand.

Roughly one million copies each were distributed on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Technical problems limited the number of copies available in France over the weekend, so it'll take several days to reach the 5 million mark.

On Saturday, MLP boosted the planned total to 7 million.

The French newspaper Le Figaro called it "a record in the history of the French press."

Michel Salion, a spokesman for MLP, told CNN it is "too early" to say how much money has been made through the sales.

A small number of copies began to reach the United States on Friday, and more are expected to go on sale in the coming days.

To put the 7 million figure in perspective, only a small number of U.S. magazines print that many copies -- AARP The Magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, and Game Informer Magazine.

"Nothing in the United States compares to the Charlie Hebdo print run," said Sid Holt, chief executive of the American Society of Magazine Editors.

He said Charlie Hebdo's past 60,000 circulation "is small even by French standards. Paris Match, by comparison, has a circulation of 600,000."

"But the equivalent of going from 60,000 to 6 million would be as if a magazine in the United States sold 30 million copies -- 30 times what People sells on the newsstand every week," Hold said.

Related: Where is Charlie Hebdo? My pursuit of the first copies in America

While support for the new issue has been widespread, opposition to the Mohammed drawing on the cover has been expressed by Islamic leaders and government officials in a number of countries in the Middle East and Africa.

The cover has been described as insulting to Muslims and needlessly provocative.

Protests against the new cover were reported in Pakistan, Jordan, Algeria, Niger, Mali, Somalia, Senegal, and Mauritania.

In Karachi, Pakistan on Friday, one protest turned violent, and a photographer working for the Paris-based news agency was injured by gunfire.

In Niger, a number of churches were set on fire and several people were killed. The French embassy in Niamey advised its citizens to be vigilant and avoid going outdoors.

Related: Charlie Hebdo co-founder: Prophet cartoons went too far

Publishers in some parts of the world have declined to reprint the cover. A new issue of The Economist magazine includes a small picture of the cover, but it's just a blank spot in the edition printed in Singapore. The Economist included a note explaining the missing content to readers, and referred them to a web page where they could see the cover.

A wide array of other news outlets, including CNN, have opted not to show the cover.

Meanwhile, the surviving editors of the magazine have said little about their plans for future issues, but they have vowed to keep publishing.

Laurent Joffrin, the editor of the French paper Liberation, said the staffers could continue to borrow its office space -- "As long as they want to stay, they can stay, there's no problem."

Joffrin told CNN, "They have many new friends and new subscribers, and they have money, investment, so they can go on."

--Claire Calzonetti contributed reporting.

First Published: January 17, 2015: 1:05 PM ET

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In year of 'Selma,' critics blast Oscars for all-white Best Actor field

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The lack of diversity in that category was punctuated by the absence of David Oyelowo, who gave an acclaimed performance in "Selma" as Martin Luther King Jr.

Actors Eddie Redmayne, Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Keaton, Bradley Cooper and Steve Carell were all nominated over Oyelowo.

The exclusion of Oyelowo from Best Actor wasn't the only "Selma" exclusion many took issue with.

The film's director, Ava DuVernay, wasn't nominated for Best Director. She would have been the first African-American woman ever in the category.

In all, the well-reviewed "Selma" picked up two awards: Best Picture and Best Song.

Other major categories, including Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, also had all-white slates of nominees.

Many felt that David Oyelowo's performance in "Selma" was grossly overlooked.

Backlash from fans and critics was fervent.

"It's a movie about blacks being shut out of society. ... And now we're shut out of Hollywood," Al Sharpton told the New York Daily News.

On social media, many conveyed their outrage with the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite.

Others pointed out what they called the Academy's inconsistencies.

"Selma? One of the best pics of the year. But the directing, script, all the acting, & cinematography? Meh," comedian Patton Oswalt tweeted. "Nice song, though."

The widespread criticism comes a year after the Oscars celebrated nominees from diverse backgrounds.

At last year's Oscars, "12 Years A Slave" won the biggest prize of all: Best Picture. Other awards like Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay also went to people of color.

Yet, while "Selma" was neglected by the Academy, it will have the honor of being shown at the White House as President Obama hosts a screening of the film on Friday night.

The Oscars will be broadcast on ABC on February 22.

Related: Is this why 'Selma' was snubbed?

First Published: January 16, 2015: 2:26 PM ET

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Charlie Hebdo co-founder: Prophet cartoons went too far

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Henri Roussel, now 80, wrote a letter with his views in the wake of the terrorist attack at the magazine's office in Paris. Twelve people were killed, including Charbonnier, known as "Charb."

Roussel called Charbonnier "brilliant" but "stubborn." He said he thought the magazine went too far with its provocative images, particularly after the 2011 firebombing of the office. That incident came at the same time the magazine published a cover image depicting the prophet.

"What made him feel the need to drag the team into overdoing it?" Roussel asked, according to an English translation of his letter in the French-language magazine Nouvel Obs.

"I'm upset at you, Charb," he added.

Roussel's remarks mimic the public debate about the appropriateness of Charlie Hebdo's depictions of the prophet.

According to British media reports, Charlie Hebdo lawyer Richard Malka condemned Roussel's comments, calling them "polemical and venomous."

The magazine's so-called "survivors' issue," published Wednesday, expressed appreciation for the outpouring of public support after the January 7 attack. The support continues, with sellouts at newsstands across Paris on Friday for a third day in a row.

"It's still sold out almost everywhere we look," CNN's John Berman said.

About 1 million copies of the magazine are being printed each day. Michel Salion, a spokesman for the magazine's distributor, said technical problems will result in fewer copies than expected on Saturday; normal distribution will resume on Monday.

"Merci de votre patience," he wrote on Twitter -- "thank you for your patience."

Meanwhile, opposition to the new issue's cover image, which portrays the Prophet Mohammed, turned violent during a protest in Karachi, Pakistan on Friday. Demonstrators tried to march to the French consulate but were turned back by police water cannons and tear gas.

A photographer working for AFP, a wire service based in Paris, was shot during the chaos.

"Investigations are underway to determine who shot him," Ahmed Chinoy, chief of Karachi's Citizen Police Liaison Committee, told CNN.

--CNN's Sophia Saifi contributed reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan.

First Published: January 16, 2015: 5:32 PM ET

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Software can't replace mass spying

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

But that doesn't mean the mass spying should keep happening, it added.

The long-awaited report was released Thursday by the National Academy of Sciences. It came from the committee that President Obama put together after ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed the extent of U.S. government spying on the American public's phone records, email logs and more.

In response to the report, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union noted that the committee doesn't condone current mass surveillance practices. Quite the opposite, Neema Singh Guliani said.

"The report does not even attempt to provide one concrete example of a case where bulk collection was essential to a national security investigation," she said in a blog post.

This committee was made up of academics and technology professionals from Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30), Oracle (ORCL, Tech30) and elsewhere.

Its job was to figure out whether the government could ditch the current strategy of collecting lots of information on nearly everyone and manually sort through it and instead, use computer software to narrow down the spying.

However, the committee concluded, for the government to know everything, it has to collect everything.

The committee suggested putting automatic controls that limit who can access the data collected by government spies. That addresses one of the main criticisms voiced by Snowden: that lots of intelligence agents and private contractors get creepy access into our personal lives, from webcams to private chats with friends and family.

Such computer software would also make it easier for the government to catch when spies behave badly -- and make that information public.

Related: U.S. planes spy on American phones

Related: How the NSA can 'turn on' your phone remotely

First Published: January 16, 2015: 6:20 PM ET

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