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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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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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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Jay-Z buys music streaming Aspiro for $56 million

Jay-Z: artist, entrepreneur -- and now tech investor.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Rapper and record producer Jay-Z is the latest, buying up the Swedish music streaming company Aspiro for $56 million. Both companies announced the deal on Friday.

Aspiro owns the music subscription service WiMP, which streams "HiFi-quality audio," along with magazines and video content too. It has partnerships with major record companies including those at Sony, Universal and Warner -- giving it access to huge libraries of music.

In the United States, the service is known as Tidal.

Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Corey Carter, made the deal indirectly through his business ventures. He owns S. Carter Enterprises, owns Project Panther Bidco, which made the offer to the Swedish music streaming company.

Streaming Media AS, the company that owns 76% of Aspiro, said it will accept the offer. It was a sweet deal. At $56 million, Aspiro is valued at one-and-a-half times what it currently trades at on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.

This continues the recent trend of accomplished, wealthy musicians morphing into technology investors.

Last year, Neil Young raised more than $6 million for his startup Pono, which makes a portable music player that emits vinyl-record quality sound. Then there's Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, who bought headphone maker Beats and later sold it to Apple for a stunning $3 billion.

Jay-Z has the wealth to make those deals, too. Not only is he one of the best-selling artists ever (with more than 100 million records sold), he also sold his Rocawear clothing line for $150 million back in 2007. Last year, Forbes estimated his net worth at $520 million.

Related: Google's ad revenue continues to struggle

Related: The cost of doing business in China? Spying and losing your secret sauce

Related: Tim Cook's Apple is hot. But can it keep going?

First Published: January 30, 2015: 9:59 AM ET

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US economy misses its mark at end of 2014

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

America's economy grew only 2.6% in the final three months of the year, much lower than the estimate of 3.3%.

Overall for 2014, U.S. gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity rose 2.4%. That's the highest mark in four years, according to the Commerce Department, but economist and policymakers want to see growth this year of a lot closer to 3%.

Related: We're on the verge of a crisis, bears warn

There are many signs the economic recovery is stronger. The U.S. had its best year of job growth since 1999 last year. The Federal Reserve ended its stimulus program in October, which is like taking off the training wheels. Consumer confidence levels hit their highest mark in 2014 since the recession began.

The disappointing growth at the end of the year comes on the heels of the economy's incredible 5% growth in the third quarter, which was the best since 2003.

"There were these grand hopes for 3% growth and it still seems elusive on a sustainable basis," says Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at The Lindsey Group. "We still can't get out of this 2 to 2.5% GDP growth rate box you could call it. I don't expect anything different in 2015."

What's ahead for this year: Economists predict the U.S. economy will grow faster in 2015, but the new year has already brought its challenges.

Some are starting to warn that the hiccups could turn into a true illness.

Related: Middle class families are on financial thin ice

The plunge in oil prices is great for Americans who drive with the average household expected to save about $750 on gas this year. But the rapid price drop is causing lots of layoffs for oil workers. Those losses could begin to spill over into other parts of the economy, especially in once fast growing parts of the country like Texas.

"I don't want to call this strong growth until it actually starts pushing up wages and prices," says Josh Bivens, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute.

The strength of the U.S. dollar is another double-edged sword. The dollar is at an 11-year high against the euro and has risen substantially against most other global currencies. It makes travel cheaper for Americans, but it makes products exported to other countries more expensive -- and less attractive -- to foreign buyers.

Many large U.S. companies, like Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30), Google (GOOG) and Visa (V), said this week that the dollar's strength could hurt their sales abroad this year.

Related: Oil boomtown: 'We could see 20,000 layoffs by June'

Then there's the global picture. Europe and Japan are suffering from deflation and flat lining economies. Growth in China -- a major importer of U.S. goods -- also slowed to its lowest point in decades last year.

The slowdown abroad could also affect when the Federal Reserve decides to raise its key interest rate. Fed chair Janet Yellen has given strong indication that rates are likely to go up this year, but most experts now foresee the central bank waiting until at least the second half of 2015 to change rates.

There are new concerns that the malaise of turmoil around the world could hamper U.S. exports, a major concern for businesses, this year.

"Trade will be a steady, slow drag on growth in the next couple years," says Bivens.

Related: Wall Street bears warn: We're on verge of crisis

First Published: January 30, 2015: 8:52 AM ET

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Chevron slashes spending as oil prices crash

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The second-largest U.S. oil company plans to spend $35 billion this year on projects to discover and pump crude. That's down 13% from 2014.

The news comes one day after Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) said it was scaling back its planned capital investment by $15 billion over the next three years.

With oil supplies overflowing and demand sluggish, prices have crashed. Crude plunged below $44 a barrel on Thursday to a level unseen since March 2009 in the midst of the Great Recession. To put that in context, oil averaged about $93 last year.

Chevron CEO John Watson said the company will continue to be "responsive to market conditions," adding that he is prepared to "actively pursue cost reductions" to keep expenses in line.

"At current prices," Watson said Chevron is "selecting only the most attractive opportunities to move forward."

The collapse in oil prices weighed on Chevron's bottom line. The company said Friday that earnings fell to $1.85 per share from $2.57 in the same period last year.

Related: Oil giant Shell cuts spending by $15 billion

Still, the results were better than expected as strength in Chevron's refining business helped offset lower oil prices.

Investors weren't sure how to read the news. Shares of Chevron were down about 2% in early trading and then the stock rebounded to flat.

More bad news for Big Oil: A string of other energy companies have already announced plans to cut investments and jobs due to the slump in oil prices.

Related: The Obama oil boom

BHP Billiton (BBL) announced this month it was cutting its U.S. onshore rig operations by about 40% this year. Schlumberger (SLB) recently announced plans to lay off 9,000 workers.

French energy giant Total (TOT) is also reportedly slashing capital spending by 10% this year.

Meanwhile, there are early signs that U.S. drilling activity is starting to cool down.

The number of U.S. oil rigs actively pumping oil has decreased for seven straight weeks, according to Baker Hughes. The rig count fell to 1,317 as of January 23, down 18% from the record highs of early October back when oil was still at $86 a barrel.

Related: 'Drill, baby, drill' loses momentum

Despite the current oil price crash, Watson said the company still believes that "long-term market fundamentals remain attractive."

-- CNNMoney's Matt Egan contributed to this report.

First Published: January 30, 2015: 10:10 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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Oil giant Shell cuts spending by $15 billion

LONDON (CNNMoney)

Shell said it was scaling back its planned capital investment by $15 billion over the next three years.

Oil is now trading around $45 per barrel, down from over $100 per barrel this summer.

Shares in Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB) fell by about 5% in London after the company said fourth quarter net profit fell 57% versus the same period last year.

"Shell has options to further reduce spending, but we are not over-reacting to current low oil prices," the company said in a statement.

David Madden, a market analyst at IG in London, described the cuts as "enormous." The move "signals cautious times ahead," he added.

Royal Dutch Shell's head office is in the Netherlands.

A string of other energy companies have already announced plans to cut investments and jobs due to the slump in oil prices.

BHP Billiton (BBL) announced this month it was cutting its U.S. onshore rig operations by about 40% this year. Schlumberger (SLB) recently announced plans to lay off 9,000 workers.

French energy giant Total (TOT) is also reportedly slashing capital spending by 10% this year.

But not everyone was feeling down about Shell's results.

"A poor quarterly result does not change our view that Shell has the greatest financial flexibility in the integrated oil sector," said energy analyst Jason Gammel from investment bank Jefferies.

First Published: January 29, 2015: 7:53 AM 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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Ford is recalling this cop car

Ford's Interceptor is a specially-designed cop car.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Ford is recalling its specially-designed police sedans called Interceptors. The recall stems from a problem with a spring in the interior door handle, which Ford said could cause the door to unlatch during a side-impact crash.

Ford (F) said Wednesday it is recalling a total of 205,000 cars -- which includes the Taurus and the Lincoln MKS sedan, along with the police Interceptor.

The automaker said it is not aware of any accidents or injuries related to this issue.

Related: Ford recalls SUVs because drivers are accidentally turning them off

Ford dealers will inspect the door handles and replace them if necessary, at no cost to the owner.

The recall covers Interceptors built between 2009 and 20012; Ford Taurus vehicles built between 2009 and 2012 and Lincoln MKS sedans built in 2011. All the recalled cars were assembled at a plant in Chicago.

Related: Ford recalls cars to fix 'improper' recall

Related: Fix for exploding airbags may be more deadly than the problem

First Published: January 28, 2015: 9:50 AM ET

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74.5 million iPhones is ...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

All of Apple's (AAPL, Tech30) products sold well. But the biggest ticket by far was a record 74.5 million iPhone sales.

To put that number into perspective, 74.5 million iPhones is ...

... enough to give an iPhone to every person in France, the United Kingdom, or Italy, and enough to give two to every person in Canada.

... more smartphones than BlackBerry (BBRY, Tech30) sold over the past three years and 39 times the number of BlackBerries sold in the last quarter.

... just 5 million fewer phones than the Lumia smartphones that Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) and Nokia have sold -- ever.

... enough to stretch 317 miles high if laid down flat and stacked one on top of another. The stack of iPhones would soar well above the International Space Station.

... 34,000 iPhones sold every hour, every day, every week of the past three months. That's nine iPhones every second.

... more than the total number of televisions and tablets sold last quarter.

Related: Apple just posted the best quarter in corporate history

The $51.2 billion Apple sold in iPhones last quarter was more revenue than all but 54 companies around the country made last year. That means one quarter of iPhone sales was bigger than ...

... the annual revenues of Cisco (CSCO, Tech30), Disney (DIS), FedEx (FDX), Goldman Sachs (GS), Delta (DAL), DirecTV (DTV) and McDonald's (MCD).

... the gross domestic products of Costa Rica, Ghana, Slovenia, Ethiopia and Tunisia.

Related: Apple Pay won't add to Apple's profit

Related: I did LSD with Steve Jobs

First Published: January 28, 2015: 9:58 AM ET

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Karl Rove: I don't hate poor people. I 'came from nothing.'

Hollywood Beach, Florida (CNNMoney)

But the Republican political operative believes there should be limits on how much the government spends on things like welfare.

"This is where liberals go: If you don't follow their policy descriptions, you hate poor people. Look, I came from nothing," Rove said this week during a colorful debate on economic policy with former Democratic strategist James Carville.

Rove explained he only was able to go to college because he received a $1,500-a-year scholarship and worked the cash register at "a hippie shop."

"But I don't want my kid living in a country that is making a series of promises that will break the country," Rove said during a presentation at ETF.com's Inside ETFs Conference.

Related: Best Jobs in America

Rove, a former political adviser to President George W. Bush, made the comments after Carville said he's "fine" with throwing in an extra buck or two to help someone go to community college. President Obama recently proposed making two years of community college free.

"It bothers me that statistically the greatest predictor of a child's financial security in the United States is the financial circumstances of their parents," said Carville, a former CNN contributor.

Income inequality is likely to be a central theme in the 2016 presidential elections. Last year the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that Americans at the top of the income scale saw their incomes soar by 200% between 1979 and 2011, while incomes for those further down rose between 40% and 67%.

Related: How much it takes to get into the top 1%

Better than 6 years ago? Rove and Carville debated the overall health of Obama's economy.

"It's improving but this is the weakest recovery we've had in the economic history of the United States," Rove said, noting it took until mid-2014 to recover all the jobs lost during the Great Recession.

Rove argued that President Obama failed to achieve the economic targets he promised when he came into office.

Carville doesn't think that's the only way the economy should be measured.

"Could we do better? Yes. But it's a helluva lot better than it was six years ago," he said. "Anybody that bet against this country has lost a ton of money."

Rove attributed the economic gains to less government spending and the U.S. energy revolution, which he said "the federal government had nothing to do with."

"The less government is playing a dominant role in our economic life, the better off we are," said Rove.

Related: U.S. deficit to 'hold steady' until 2018

Fed debates economy, too: A less entertaining -- but far more important -- economic debate is going on at the Federal Reserve, which is wrapping up a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday.

The central bank is trying to decide if the U.S. economy is finally strong enough to be able to stand on its own two feet. If the Fed believes it is, officials will signal the first interest rate hike in nearly a decade.

On the one hand, the U.S. is coming off the best year of jobs growth since 1999. The economy zoomed ahead at a 5% clip during the third quarter, the best rate since 2003.

Yet that job growth has largely come without a badly-needed increase in wages. And the economy is facing serious headwinds overseas, where China's economy is slowing, political chaos threatens Europe and Japan remains in deflationary trouble.

Related: Obama says wages are growing. They're not

U.S. companies like Caterpillar (CAT) this week also revealed how they have been hurt by tumbling oil prices and the U.S. dollar, which has surged thanks to the relative economic strength. A stronger greenback hurts demand for exports, though it's great for tourists going overseas.

As Carville noted, there are more good things than bad things about the U.S. economy now. But will that be enough for the Fed to raise interest rates?

First Published: January 28, 2015: 10:03 AM ET

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Winklevoss twins: Bitcoin will explode beyond $1 trillion

The Winklevoss twins at ETF.com's Inside ETFs Conference.

Hollywood Beach, Florida (CNNMoney)

The brothers, known for their legal battle with Facebook (FB, Tech30) founder Mark Zuckerberg, believe the controversial cryptocurrency is the payments network of the future. That's despite Bitcoin's 60% plunge in 2014.

They predict Bitcoin's market capitalization could easily skyrocket to at least $400 billion, or roughly the combined size of modern day payments companies like American Express (AXP), Visa (V), MasterCard (MA) and Western Union (WU).

But the Internet entrepreneurs are taking it one step further. They believe Bitcoin could one day morph into a gold-like asset class -- or even surpass it.

"If Bitcoin is a better gold or seen as a type of gold-like asset, then it could be in the trillions on a market cap," Tyler Winklevoss told CNNMoney. "We do feel those are very real possibilities."

Related: Gold is sexy again as it jumps above $1,300

Reaching over $1 trillion in market cap is hard to fathom, especially because Bitcoin's current market cap is less than $4 billion.

Many skeptics remain convinced Bitcoin was a bubble that will soon die out. Jeffrey Gundlach, the new so-called "bond king," recently said Bitcoin is "on its way to being relegated to the ash heap of digital currencies."

Related: Will Bitcoin ever rebound?

Buying opportunity? Don't tell that to the Winklevii, as they are sometimes called. The twins are huge backers of Bitcoin and stand to profit handsomely if their vision comes true.

They're not worried by the currency's recent glitches or its price decline. One Bitcoin is currently worth about $265 -- a big drop-off from its peak of more than $1,200 back in late 2013.

"It's a buying opportunity. We've never sold a Bitcoin. We're in it for the long haul," Camerson Winklevoss said during a presentation at ETF.com's Inside ETFs Conference.

Related: Spent bitcoins? Expect a tax headache

But the WInklevoss twins realize Bitcoin needs help. The 2014 bankruptcy of Mt. Gox, a Tokyo-based Bitcoin exchange, has raised questions about the currency's security. Price declines and volatility also spook some potential investors.

"People get fixated on the cost," Cameron Winklevoss said. "It's going to have lots gyrations. But it's new and you have to bare with it."

Improving the system: To help Bitcoin get through its growing pains, the twins are building infrastructure aimed at legitimizing and securing the currency. Last week they unveiled Gemini, a Bitcoin exchange for U.S. consumers. They hope it will become the "Nasdaq of Bitcoin."

They may have been beaten to the punch by Coinbase, a U.S.-based Bitcoin exchange that opened on Monday with backing from the likes of the New York Stock Exchange.

Second, the Winklevoss twins are awaiting regulatory approval for the first exchange-traded fund holding Bitcoins. Just like GLD (GLD), the popular gold ETF, the fund would trade securities based off of Bitcoin.

The twins believe such an ETF would appeal to gold bugs because Bitcoin, just like gold, can be used as a hedge against inflation. They say Bitcoin is more durable, divisible and affordable than the yellow metal.

"If you like gold, there are many reasons you should like Bitcoin," said Cameron Winklevoss.

Of course, gold has been around as an asset class for thousands of years. By comparison, Bitcoin is still just a baby.

First Published: January 27, 2015: 6:17 AM ET

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Natural gas prices bounce as blizzard blows

LONDON (CNNMoney)

Natural gas futures are up 3.5% to roughly $3 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Traders appear to be expecting a surge in heating demand because of the blizzard.

Roughly half of American households use natural gas for heating and cooking.

The bounce comes as prices have taken a sharp fall over the last few weeks. Natural gas prices have plunged by about 35% since late November as unusually warm temperatures in the eastern United States have crimped overall demand.

Raymond James energy analyst Pavel Molchanov said natural gas prices have "always been notoriously weather-sensitive."

"Right now, in the midst of an epic blizzard (and this pickup in gas demand for heating), a modest rebound is to be expected, though prices are still much lower than a year ago," he said.

Prices have also been pushed down amid a glut of supply from fracking operations in the United States and Canada.

Related: Blizzard costs fliers big bucks

First Published: January 27, 2015: 7:43 AM ET

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Europe is on sale for American travelers

Many parts of Europe are on sale now that the euro is at an 11-year low against the U.S. dollar.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Christopher Vecchio spends his days analyzing the moves of the U.S. dollar, British pound, Swiss franc and other global currencies. At the moment, he's extremely excited about booking a trip to France because the euro is so weak.

"I'm looking forward to spending my dollars over in Europe. Literally, they haven't been stronger in 11 years," said Vecchio, an analyst at DailyFX.

He and his fiancee want to spend their August honeymoon in Europe. They have a short list of countries they are debating. Vecchio crossed Switzerland off after the Swiss franc spiked 30% earlier this month. But any country that uses the euro looks like a great deal.

Related: Sleep Switzerland jolts currency markets

The exchange rate dipped as low as $1.10 to €1 over the weekend. That's the best rate for Americans since 2003, and some experts predict the dollar and euro could equal each other soon.

It's a heck of a departure from late 2008, when the exchange rate was $1.50 to €1.

"Head for the Alps, either France or Austria to ski this winter," jokes Sebastien Galy, senior currency strategist at Societe Generale. "It's going to be significantly cheaper than the U.S. slopes."

To put it another way, a Big Mac currently costs $4.79 on average in the United States. In Europe, a Big Mac goes for about $4.26, according to the latest calculation from The Economist.

What's making Europe cheap? Europe's economy is going through a bumpy patch. While the U.S. economy continues to rebound, Europe's is teetering on another recession. The prices of goods in many parts of Europe are actually falling, a phenomenon called deflation, which one hedge fund manager recently compared to Darth Vader.

Related: Deflation 'Death Star' shows up in Europe

As Europe struggles economically, so does its currency. The euro took another hit over the weekend when Greece voted Syriza into power, a political party that campaigned to roll back austerity measures. It could possibly mean Greece will leave the euro, a move that would send further unrest in the European markets.

"I haven't booked [my trip] yet. I still think the euro is going to fall," Vecchio says.

Greek and European leaders are currently in talks to figure out next steps, especially over what to do about Greece's substantial government debt.

Flight problem: While Europe will feel cheaper when you get there, airlines haven't cut their prices much despite the dramatic fall in fuel costs.

Delta (DAL) expects to save $2 billion this year on fuel costs, but those savings aren't being passed on to the consumer.

Galy also notes that while the euro is much more of a bargain than it was before for American travelers, many places in France and Germany are still pricey relatively speaking. The best deals are likely to be found in Spain and Greece where the economies are even more depressed.

Related: Why airfares are sky-high when jet fuel is dirt cheap

European wine looks good: Even if you aren't planning a trip to Europe, you could still benefit from less expensive European goods.

"Anybody who has European roots will be happy importing Italian shoes and French wine," Galy says.

The average consumer might also notice a drop in the price of cars and car parts, especially on European brands like Mercedes-Benz.

Related: Hershey lawsuit angers fans of British chocolate in U.S.

First Published: January 27, 2015: 6:24 AM ET

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Hashtag #money. The business of the pound sign

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

And even Twitter, at first, rejected the idea, which came from Chris Messina, an early user of the service.

He proposed the symbol -- and its functionality -- as a way to allow Twitter users to sift through the daunting, constantly updating newsfeed. When affixed to a word or phrase, the symbol would serve as a clickable tag.

Eventually Twitter (TWTR, Tech30) came around. That was in 2007. Today, the hashtag has far more reach than just as a ubiquitous tag among social sites.

It has spawned entirely new businesses

"We bet it all on the hashtag," said Josh Decker, CEO and founder of startup Tagboard.

Launched in 2011, Tagboard lets users follow hashtag conversations by aggregating posts from six of the social media biggies -- Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Google Plus, Vine and Flickr -- on one page. It's been used by news organizations like the BBC, in stadiums and on the web.

Anyone can use the platform's basic features for free -- but businesses can pay for services like embedding a Tagboard page on their site or using more than one hashtags. The startup counts Samsung (SSNLF), Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30), Audi (AUDVF) and Nike (NKE) among its 1,000 clients.

And it has one important supporter: Messina, who joined the board in June.

Related: I have a finance, a girlfriend and two boyfriends

Decker points to the Super Bowl as an example of the hashtag's proliferation. In 2012, 7% of Super Bowl ads featured hashtags. In 2014, 58% of did, according to Decker.

Though not yet profitable, Tagboard's user base and revenue grew sixfold from 2013 to 2014.

Decker's business (and others like U.K.-based startup Hashtagify, which helps businesses identify and suggest tags) aims to fill an open market.

"It's something that needs a lot of understanding," said Sree Sreenivasan, chief digital officer at the Met Museum who has been training professionals on using digital media for decades.

"I don't think we've reached a point where everyone understands what it is," added Sreenivasan (who said this year, every Met exhibit will have its own hashtag). "I joke, 'my children eat in part because people don't understand what a hashtag is.'"

Related: Sex, Drugs, and Silicon Valley

The symbol's overuse -- and misuse -- has become the subject of mockery in pop culture. That's become a business opportunity on its own.

Brands like Kate Spade have introduced the symbol on totes ("Is this seat taken? #Handsomestranger") and tech accessories ("He said, she said #talkischeap"). Kate Spade declined to comment.

The most popular hashtag product on CafePress is this basic tee which goes for $25.

CafePress, the custom t-shirt, apparel and gift site, has 189,000 items that include the hashtag (out of over 1 billion user-generated designs). According to Sarah Segal, director of public relations, sales for hashtag-related products have been on the rise since 2009. The most popular? A t-shirt featuring just a simple hashtag. Other popular designs include #YOLO, #Swag, #NoFilter, #Bestie and #Selfie.

"We've been considered a barometer for things that are trending," said Segal, who declined to disclose specific sales figures.

Related: Fashion startups to watch

Bow & Drape, a New York City-based fashion firm that lets women customize basic articles of clothing is also getting in on the trend. According to co-founder Aubrie Pagano, sales of items with a hashtag have grown an average 212% every month since first rolling in September.

It appears the hashtag has finally made it.

"It's left nerd-dom and now it's out there in the world," said Messina.

--Laurie Segall contributed reporting to this article.

First Published: January 26, 2015: 9:33 AM ET

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Barbie-maker Mattel CEO out as sales falter

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

After reporting declining sales and profits, Barbie-maker Mattel's CEO Bryan Stockton is stepping down.

Stockton will be replaced by Christopher Sinclair, a long-time board member and former Pepsi (PEP) executive, the company said Monday.

Mattel (MAT) also released fourth-quarter results ahead of schedule. Sales fell 6% to $1.99 billion during the quarter, which included the crucial holiday sales period.

First Published: January 26, 2015: 9:50 AM ET

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Best dividend stocks to buy now

NEW YORK

But a quick look beyond the tempting yield reveals that Philip Morris' dividend growth rate slowed significantly last year, growing just 6% compared to a 10% rise the two previous years and 20% growth in 2011.

Investors know that the best dividend stocks offer investors more than sky-high dividend yields. Three Motley Fool contributors explain why Vector Group (VGR), Kinder Morgan (KMI), and Apple (AAPL, Tech30) are better dividend stocks than Philip Morris today.

Related: Big week for the stock market

1. Dan Caplinger picks the Vector Group: As lucrative a dividend stock as Philip Morris has been since its 2008 spinoff, I like the moves that tobacco peer Vector Group has made recently. Vector Group sells cigarettes primarily toward the discount end of the price spectrum, and as cash-strapped customers face ever-increasing cigarette taxes, Vector's products offer a value proposition to customers that they increasingly can't find from premium brands.

Many dividend investors have worried for years that Vector's 7.6% dividend yield was unsustainable, but that hasn't stopped the company from making small, but significant increases to its quarterly payouts over time -- as well as issuing stock dividends that amount to mini-splits and have left longtime investors with a greater number of shares than when they started.

Related: Vanguard's Best ETFs

Vector also offers a unique opportunity because of its stake in New York City real-estate giant Douglas Elliman. With the New York real-estate market performing extremely well, Vector has clearly benefited from having exposure outside the tobacco industry, where increasing competition from major cigarette players even in the discount arena has threatened Vector's market share. If Vector decides to spin off its stake in Douglas Elliman, it could give current shareholders the best of both worlds and let them choose which side of the business has the better potential for future growth.

2. Joe Tenebruso likes Kinder Morgan: The best dividend stocks combine a sizable current yield with the likelihood of strong dividend growth in the years ahead. Few companies possess such a powerful combination of these two wealth-creating features as Kinder Morgan.

With more than 80,000 miles of pipelines, Kinder Morgan owns and operates the largest network of natural gas pipelines in the U.S. and is the third largest energy company (based on enterprise value) in North America.

The energy titan recently became even more powerful when, in November, it completed its purchase of all of its publicly traded subsidiaries. Management expects the combined entity to benefit from a lower cost of capital, and investors will likely appreciate a less-complicated corporate structure. An additional benefit of the merger is that the new combined company will be a traditional C-Corporation, thereby helping investors avoid the tax complications of master limited partnerships, particularly as they relate to retirement accounts.

Related: 5 Top Stocks to Own if Europe's Economy Recovers

Kinder Morgan currently yields 4.3%, and management has announced its intention to raise the dividend to $2 (a 4.8% yield at today's prices) in 2015. Although the recent swoon in oil prices will likely make it more difficult, management has also announced that it expects to raise Kinder Morgan's dividend at a rate of 10% per year from 2015 to 2020. A nearly 5% yield that's likely to grow at 10% per year -- that's hard to come by in todays' market.

All told, Kinder Morgan is an outstanding business that's now well-positioned to profit from the tremendous demand for energy infrastructure in North America, and its new, simpler corporate structure should help investors to better understand and appreciate its income-generating prowess in the years ahead.

3. Tamara Walsh recommends Apple: For investors looking for solid returns and low risk, Apple stands out as a top dividend stock to own. The tech giant began paying dividends in fiscal 2013, which is relatively recent compared to other top dividend stocks. However, unlike many other dividend payers, Apple offers investors both income and growth.

Related: Warren Buffett Tells You How to Turn $40 Into $10 Million

Apple currently has around $164 billion in cash on its books. This means it has more than enough money to reinvest in the business, while also returning loads of cash to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks. The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.47 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.71%. While this yield doesn't beat Philip Morris' 4% yield, Apple is growing its dividend twice as fast as the tobacco stock today. In fact, Apple grew its dividend at an annualized growth rate of 11.2% during the past two years.

On top of this, Apple is also creating shareholder value by aggressively buying back its own shares. As of Sept. 2014, Apple had repurchased $67.9 billion of the allotted $90 billion repurchase plan. Additionally, management returned $11.1 billion in dividends to shareholders in 2014, and it plans to increase its dividend annually for the foreseeable future.

Given Apple's unrivaled ability to generate loads of cash, the company should have no problem growing its dividend for many years to come. In fact, analysts at Credit Suisse see Apple increasing its cash return program to more than $200 billion for the next three years. For these reasons, I believe Apple is one of the best dividend stocks to own today.

Editor's note: The Motley Fool currently recommends Apple and Kinder Morgan.

First Published: January 26, 2015: 10:14 AM 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.

For its part, Google told CNNMoney it doesn't desire your personal health information anyway.

"We don't want and don't use that kind of data," said Andrea Faville, a Google spokeswoman. "And we don't allow DoubleClick systems to be used to target ads based on health or medical history information."

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 Stride Health, 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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Indiana church sues JPMorgan for millions

Christ Church Cathedral (left) in downtown Indianapolis, and Rev. Stephen Carlsen, the cathedral's dean.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Carlsen is dean of Christ Church Cathedral of Indianapolis, which is suing JPMorgan Chase (JPM) for millions.

The church claims that JPMorgan intentionally mismanaged its funds, which shrank in the past decade. Meanwhile, the fees the church paid JPMorgan skyrocketed.

The church has had to scale back its charitable work in Indianapolis and abroad because of an alleged $13 million in losses caused by JPMorgan. After many hours of prayer and frustrating dialogue with the bank, Christ Church decided to fight.

"They didn't teach me any of this at seminary," says Rev. Carlsen. "Legal action was a last resort."

Related: JPMorgan's Dimon says bank is 'under assault' by regulators

Big money: Founded in 1837 in the heart of Indianapolis, the Episcopal congregation has a large trust fund, thanks to Eli Lilly, Jr., who built his family's pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly (LLY) into a power player. Lilly, Jr. gifted the church 10% of his massive estate in the 1970s.

Not wanting to burden the church with handling such a large endowment, Lilly appointed three banks -- Indiana National Bank, American Fletcher National Bank and Trust and Merchants National Bank & Trust Company of Indianapolis -- as trustees. They were all located within a few blocks of the church.

The plan was to keep the money in reliable local hands, but that imploded after JPMorgan acquired two of the three banks in 2004.

Suddenly a Wall Street bank that's headquartered hundreds of miles away was calling the shots.

Related: Rough seas: Stock market volatility is here to stay

The church's investments began to change rapidly once JPMorgan took control. Almost overnight, the church's fairly mundane portfolio of stock and bond funds was replaced with a litany of JPMorgan's own funds, according to the court filing.

JPMorgan changes the church investments: By 2007, JPMorgan even started adding so-called alternative investments -- structured notes, derivatives and hedge funds. Complex investments like those usually result in higher fees for JPMorgan.

The church paid over five times more in fees -- rising to $177,800 by 2013 from $35,000 a year in 2004. And that was just the basic management fee. There were other fees that JPMorgan tacked on, although the bank never fully disclosed those despite repeated requests from the church, the lawsuit alleges.

By the end of 2009, JPMorgan had the church invested in 52 different investment funds, with 75% of them in JPMorgan's own proprietary products.

The fees went up, but performance didn't.

When JPMorgan took over the church's trust fund in the summer of 2004, it had $34.6 million. By December 2013, the value fell to $31.6 million, according to the lawsuit. For context, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose over 50% during that time frame.

The losses meant the church wasn't able to do as much for downtown Indianapolis or places around the world. The church is a key supporter of a food bank, a homeless shelter and a center of abused women, and it gave aid to Haiti.

"We've had to cut staff and cut back on the amount of money we give away to the community," says Rev. Carlsen. "The cutbacks have been real."

Related: Your next bank teller could be a robot

JPMorgan fires back: JPMorgan is fighting the lawsuit, claiming the church is "cherry picking" the details. The bank denies poor performance.

"Even though the Trust distributed more than $13 million to the church between 2006 and 2013, the Trust still gained well over $10 million during that period," JPMorgan spokeswoman Kristen Chambers said in an email.

Like many charities, the church spends a small portion of the endowment returns every year to help fund its aid work. The church argues its investment strategy should have allowed it to make a draw from the endowment without losing money over time.

The church repeatedly tried to become more involved in the management of the funds despite the restrictions in Lilly Jr.'s will. By the end of 2013, JPMorgan voluntarily stepped down as trustee and an Indiana court appointed Christ Church Cathedral Foundation as the new trustee.

"It's not cherry picking...It's like they got cherry juice all over them," says Linda Pence of Pence Hensel, the law firm representing Christ Church Cathedral.

The church is seeking to recover $13 million in investment losses from JPMorgan, plus legal costs.

Related: Warning: Bond rates are going negative

A bigger debate: The Indianapolis church isn't alone. Sandscrest Foundation, a retreat center in West Virginia, has filed a similar lawsuit against JPMorgan for mismanagement of a charitable trust.

At the heart of these cases is a bigger debate about conflicts of interest when big banks serve as trustees of foundations and have the ability to use client money to buy the bank's own investment products.

"We need a larger conversation about ethics in this country," says Rev. Carlsen.

First Published: January 24, 2015: 8:11 AM ET

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First big IPO of 2015: Box (finally) goes public

Aaron Levie is the CEO and co-founder of Box, an enterprise cloud storage company that debutes as a public company on Friday.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

A year after it first began the process of going public, Box is debuting on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday under the ticker symbol "BOX."

Keep a close eye on Box (BOX) because its initial public offering -- the first high-profile one of 2015 -- could prove to be a trial balloon for investors' appetite for risk, especially given recent turbulence in the financial markets.

Related: 16 companies worth over $1 billion to lose money

What is Box? Think of Box as the business-friendly version of DropBox. It uses cloud software to provide online storage services that cater to companies.

It wanted to go public last year, but had to delay the offering due to market turbulence and questions about when it will gain profitability.

Late Thursday Box priced its initial public offering at $14 per share. That means there's lots of demand for Box shares because the company anticipated going public at $11 to $13. The company likely benefited from investor euphoria over the European Central Bank's big stimulus plan announced earlier on Thursday.

Related: European Central Bank unveils big new stimulus program

How will it turn a profit? The IPO values Box at about $1.6 billion -- even though it remains unprofitable. The deal raised $175 million, which is less the $250 million it hoped to raise last year.

Still, Box can use the new cash to fund its expensive business model. Like other cloud companies, Box is grappling with heavy costs and marketing expenses. It faces steep competition from deep-pocketed tech giants Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) and Amazon.com (AMZN, Tech30).

Led by co-founder Aaron Levie, Box is plotting to expand its business by specializing in specific areas like healthcare and legal.

First Published: January 23, 2015: 9:53 AM ET

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UPS delivers bad news. Stock tumbles 10%

UPS was overprepared for the holidays, which will hurt its earnings.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The company had ramped up sharply -- hiring 95,000 seasonal employees and preparing modular facilities or "mobile delivery villages" -- to handle additional package deliveries in the last three months of last year.

Turns out UPS (UPS) spent too much, and holiday shopping wasn't as hot. The company warned that its fourth quarter results will fall short. The news sent its shares tumbling 10% Friday morning.

"Though customers enjoyed high quality service, it came at a cost to UPS," said CEO David Abney, who called the company's financial performance "disappointing."

UPS said it also paid more in overtime and training as well as higher rates to contractors. A labor dispute at a port on the West Coast added to the costs.

The company, which is scheduled to officially report its fourth-quarter results next week, said it expects earnings per share to be $1.25 for the final three months of 2014. Analysts had forecast fourth-quarter earnings of $1.47 a share, according to FactSet.

First Published: January 23, 2015: 10:05 AM ET

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McDead? More lousy result from McDonald's

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Investors were in a forgiving mood though. The stock rose slightly Friday morning as Wall Street was expecting numbers to be even worse.

But make no mistake. McDonald's (MCD) is in desperate need of a turnaround.

The company reported that its overall sales in the fourth quarter fell 7%. And comparable or same-store sales, a key measure of health in the restaurant industry, fell nearly 1%. Profits were down 21%.

For the full year, sales dropped by 2% and earnings fell 15%.

Related: McDonald's is shrinking its menu

Is McDonald's too fried? Shares of McDonald's have fallen 8% over the past three years ... a period of time when the broader market -- as well as fast food rivals -- such as Wendy's (WEN) and Yum! Brands (YUM) have surged.

"As we begin 2015, we are taking decisive action to regain momentum in sales, guest counts and market share," said CEO Don Thompson said in a statement Friday.

The company has been trying to focus more on healthier food to try and rejuvenate sales around the world. While its struggles in its home market have been widely publicized, McDonald's sales are also falling in Europe and Asia.

Related: Plastic found in Chicken McNuggets in Japan

An issue with a supplier of tainted meat in Asia last summer hurt sales in China and Japan in the fourth quarter as well.

McDonald's said in its earnings release that it plans to further simplify its menu this year and also try to cater more to "local customer tastes and preferences."

CFO Peter Bensen added that the company is also planning to slow down its expansion. He said that McDonald's only plans to spend $2 billion on capital expenditures in 2015 -- its smallest budget in more than 5 years. He also said that there will be fewer restaurant openings in the company's "most challenged markets."

Will this be enough to restore the shine in those Golden Arches though?

Related: High calories = high stock prices ... except for McDonald's

Thompson said that same-store sales would fall in January and that the company's results will remain under pressure for some time. Yet, he's still hopeful.

"I am energized by the opportunities ahead for McDonald's and remain confident that we can regain our momentum and build value for shareholders over the long term," he said.

More competition: But there is intense competition in the restaurant business. The so-called fast casual craze has hurt McDonald's.

Related: Forget healthy, Americans indulge on Sonic

Ironically enough, the leader of the fast casual revolution, Mexican chain Chipotle (CMG), was spun off by McDonald's in 2006.

The burger wars are heating up too. In addition to companies like Wendy's and Burger King (QSR), several upstart burger joints are generating a lot of buzz as well.

Habit Restaurants (HABT), a West-Coast based burger chain, went public late last year and shares more than doubled on their first day.

And investors are eagerly awaiting the debut of Shake Shack (SHAK), which is set to start trading next week.

McDonald's also has a lot to do to repair its public image.

The company has launched a new ad campaign that's an attempt to pull at the heartstrings ... but has come across as being insensitive to some critics since it references national tragedies such as 9/11 and the Boston Marathon bombing.

Related: McDonald's sued over claims of racism

And McDonald's is also one of the most prominent companies targeted by workers who have taken part in nationwide protests calling for a higher minimum wage.

McDonald's clearly needs a new special sauce to convince consumers and investors why they should be lovin' it again.

First Published: January 23, 2015: 10:09 AM ET

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I've made millions playing poker, own almost nothing - and I've never been happier

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

By 2009, at age 24, I was crowned "Player of the Year" by the World Poker Tour and had $2.5 million in poker winnings. But I was worn out and thought I was ready to settle down. It didn't take long to learn I was wrong.

I landed in Chicago and, for a brief period, I thought I had it all: An apartment on the 43rd floor of the award-winning Aqua building, with floor-to-ceiling bay windows and a view of Millennium Park.

It took about six months for me to start missing the road. Unfortunately, I felt locked in, with an 18-month lease and all the furniture I had bought. Plus, I had my social group back, friends with whom I could watch sports, attend house parties, and go out to restaurants with.

I started to recognize that familiar feeling, being "pot committed." It's a saying we have in poker. It means you've invested a bunch of chips, and even if your hand feels like a loser, you stay with it.

But you have to have the discipline to throw it away and move on. And that's exactly what I did.

Fast forward to 2012. I traveled to 45 cities, 13 different countries, and took 57 flights. I was working along the way, hitting major poker tournaments and playing online, but I was experiencing so much more.

In 2013, my travels led me to a silent meditation retreat at a Buddhist monastery on a small island in Thailand. I handed over what was left of my belongings, including with my laptop and iPhone, for the duration of the retreat. I spent the next 10 days showering out of a tub of water and sleeping on a wooden bunk bed, with no possessions.

The collection of my experiences, what they meant, and what I was in search of started to come together. I was the happiest I had ever been, and I had absolutely nothing.

Turns out I didn't need a closet full of clothing options, just the right type of clothes. My entire wardrobe is packed very strategically with versatile clothing and shoes that I can mix and match to be prepared for every type of occasion. I have workdays at coffee shops around the world. I often refer to Starbucks as "my office."

For nearly four years, I've been living out of a backpack and suit bag with the following items:
- 5 T-shirts
- 2 pairs of shoes (one formal and one for sports/casual wear)
- 3 button-ups and a sports coat (in case I find myself at a final table on TV or a night out)
- Swim trunks
- Variety of plugs and adapters (So I can charge and plug into various monitors/TVs to work on the road)
- Laptop

You don't have to be a professional poker player to live the lifestyle I'm living. I often hear people make the same excuses: "Man if I had the money I would totally be doing what you do," or, "I can't just drop everything and travel like you, I have friends and family that care about me and need me."

My response is that you can always find a reason why you "can't" do something.

We live in a world where Internet is everywhere and you can work from your computer. We live in a world where, thanks to Airbnb, you can rent out someone's apartment or live with a local for weeks at a very affordable price.

Even maintaining relationships with friends and family from a distance is a lot easier with the ability to make video calls from anywhere, like the mountains of Peru or high above the city in Tokyo. (Also a good way to convince people to join you.)

Making changes takes effort, and most importantly, letting go. The reality is that we live in a changing world. And it's never been easier to break free.

Related: Left work to ride from Argentina to L.A.

Related: How much do you need to be happy?

First Published: January 22, 2015: 9:10 AM ET

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Turing manuscript going up for auction

Alan Turing, the mathematician credited with inventing one of the first computers which was used to break the German military's code during World War II.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Turing apparently wrote the 56-page manuscript in 1942 when he was trying to create one of the world's first computers in order to break the German military's code, known as Enigma. Those efforts, which were successful and were credited with being a key to the Allied victory in World War II, are the focus of much of the movie. It received eight Academy Award nominations, including for Best Picture and Best Actor for Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Turing.

The manuscript is expected to sell for at least $1 million, according to Bonhams, the auction house that's handling the sale on April 13 in New York. The book was left to a close friend of Turing, fellow mathematician Robin Gandy. Gandy also wrote his own notes in the blank spaces of the manuscript.

Gandy died in 1995, and the current owner of the manuscript was not disclosed by the auction house. Some of the proceeds are to be donated to charity.

There was a time that computers were known as Turing machines. But Turing's life story became tragic when he faced criminal charges in England for being a homosexual, which was illegal at the time. He was given the choice between chemical castration to "cure" his homosexuality or imprisonment. He chose the former so that he could continue his work creating early computers.

Related: Unraveling the tale behind the Apple logo

He committed suicide in 1954, although there are conspiracy theories that he was murdered. He received a posthumous apology from British Prime Minister Gordon Brown for his "appalling" treatment in 2009 and a royal pardon five years later.

First Published: January 22, 2015: 9:29 AM ET

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Smarter people use iPhones - study

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

A new study conducted by online advertising network Chitika found that states with more college graduates tend to also have higher iPhone sales.

Alaska (66%), Montana and Vermont have the largest percentage of iPhone users. New Mexico (41%), Iowa and Delaware have the lowest share of iPhone sales per capita.

Notably, Chitika found that increased wealth is also linked to greater iPhone sales -- but since college degrees also correlate with higher incomes, Chitika says those results are redundant.

Other studies have found similar results. Rich, white males tend to buy more iPhones, particularly in the first weeks that they go on sale.

In the first month of sales, nearly 80% of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus buyers in the United States were male, and more than 60% made over $75,000 a year, according to Slice, a company that tracks consumer purchases.

A new study shows that states with more college-educated people tend to have higher iPhone sales.

Related: Vast majority of iPhone 6 buyers are rich, white men

The study also notes that iPhone sales correlate to population density. The more densely populated the state, the greater the chance that iPhone sales will be higher in that state.

On a whole, Google's (GOOGL, Tech30) Android sales are significantly higher than Apple's (AAPL, Tech30) sales, but the iPhone remains the single most popular smartphone in the United States. More than 42% of U.S. smartphones are iPhones, according to comScore. Runner-up Samsung commands 28% of the U.S. market.

Yet it's important to take Chitika's results with a grain of salt. Even Chitika admits that its results "are not comprehensive." Because the company focused on states and not smaller regions, such as cities or neighborhoods, the results lack "a great deal of granularity."

Here's the state-by-state breakdown, according to Chitika.

• Alaska: 65.5%
• Montana: 60.1%
• Vermont: 59.4%
• Hawaii: 58.7%
• Mississippi: 58.7%
• Connecticut: 58.1%
• Massachusetts: 56.6%
• New York: 56.2%
• Kansas: 55.6%
• New Jersey: 55.3%
• California: 53.3%
• Louisiana: 53.3%
• South Dakota: 52.9%
• West Virginia: 52.4%
• New Hampshire: 52.1%
• Rhode Island: 52%
• Illinois: 51.5%
• Georgia: 50.8%
• Idaho: 50.8%
• Kentucky: 50.5%
• Nevada: 50.5%
• Arkansas: 50.4%
• Maine: 50%
• Virginia: 50%
• Oregon: 49.7%
• Pennsylvania: 49.5%
• Wyoming: 49.5%
• Nebraska: 49%
• Utah: 49%
• North Dakota: 48.5%
• Colorado: 48.3%
• Minnesota: 48.3%
• Tennessee: 48.0%
• Maryland: 47.8%
• South Carolina: 47.2%
• Alabama: 47.1%
• Ohio: 46.3%
• North Carolina: 46.2%
• Florida: 45.8%
• Oklahoma: 45.1%
• Texas: 44.9%
• Arizona: 44.6%
• Indiana: 44.6%
• Michigan: 43.8%
• Missouri: 43.6%
• Washington: 43.6%
• Wisconsin: 43.1%
• Delaware: 42.2%
• Iowa: 42.1%
• New Mexico: 40.5%

Related: 5 things Steve Jobs said Apple would never do - and Apple is doing

Related: Apple is testing a new super-thin MacBook Air

First Published: January 22, 2015: 8:30 AM ET

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U.S. shale industry may shrink by 30% -- Ross Perot Jr.

U.S. shale oil drillers will shut down production faster than many expect.

DAVOS, Switzerland (CNNMoney)

The son of legendary oil magnate Henry Ross Perot Sr. said the recent U.S. shale gas boom was "unsustainable," and now it's time for a bust.

He predicts that crude oil prices could go below $40 per barrel, which would shut down 20% to 30% of U.S. shale industry as the declining price makes production too expensive.

"I think the world will be shocked how quickly we [shut down production] within Texas," he told CNN during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Related: Oil producers caught in a perfect storm

U.S. shale producers are pumping nearly 4 million barrels a day, more oil than Iraq.

Crude prices are trading around $47 per barrel, but were trading over $100 in June.

Perot's comments come as a growing number of oil companies announce cuts to jobs, production and investment.

BHP Billiton (BBL) announced Wednesday it was cutting its U.S. onshore rig operations by about 40% this year.

On Tuesday, Baker Hughes (BHI) revealed plans to slash 7,000 jobs and cut capital spending by 20%.

Schlumberger (SLB) also recently announced plans to lay off 9,000 workers and French energy giant Total (TOT) is reportedly slashing capital spending by 10% this year.

Related: Delta Air Lines is saving $2 billion on fuel

But it's not all doom and gloom, according to Perot.

He predicts oil prices will eventually bounce back to about $70 to $80 per barrel over the next two years.

"Things will get back to equilibrium," he told CNN. "The great oil man will continue to move forward ... It's a wonderful time for veteran investors to jump back into the U.S. oil patch."

First Published: January 21, 2015: 9:29 AM ET

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Driving a jet-powered Corvette

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

But it's when the engine starts that you know there's something really weird about this car. The sound of a jet engine fills the air as heat ripples blur the pavement behind it where that hot exhaust is pouring out.

This Corvette has an 880 horsepower Pratt & Whitney jet engine under the hood.

It's not really a jet-powered car, strictly speaking. It's a turbine car. It's not pushed through the air by the exhaust coming out the back. Instead, the rapidly spinning jet turbine spins a crankshaft that drives the car's back wheels.

And I got to drive it.

In fact, my experience behind the wheel of this bizarre automobile clinched my membership in a very, very small club.

I'm one of the very few people on earth to have driven two different turbine powered automobiles. The other, which I drove just a couple months before, was a 1963 Chrysler Turbine Car.

Both cars were perfectly legal to drive on public roads, but the Chrysler, of which 55 were built, felt absolutely ordinary compared to the one-and-only Jet Vette.

While the Chrysler Turbine car was once lent out to ordinary American families to drive for weeks at a time, the Jet Vette was created for the son of a racing team owner as his own personal insanity project. Clearly, Vince Granatelli did not intend to hand the keys to just anyone.

Photos - Cool cars from the Detroit auto show

For one thing, this car goes 65 miles an hour ... at idle. In other words, if you were to put the car in gear and just take your foot off the brake, the car would immediately start accelerating -- pretty fast -- up to 65 miles an hour without you even having to touch the gas pedal. It's basically terrifying unintended acceleration except that it's completely intentional. Fortunately, it's equipped with gigantic brakes like the ones used in Nascar.

Starting it up required turning a key, just like in any other car. That was pretty much it for the "just like any other car" part. After that, I had to pull out the fuel rod and start the igniters. Then check some gauges, press a couple more buttons, then turn off the igniters and push the fuel rod back in. Only then were we ready to go.

As I put the car in gear, the back end dropped down from the pulling force of the engine's torque. (A brake mechanism grabs a flywheel to slow the engine down enough to connect it to the transmission.) Then I let my brake foot up gradually and we were off.

In fact, my foot was on the brake most of the time as I took the car out on the track at Auto Club Speedway. I gently released the pedal as the car built up speed on the oval track. I'd been warned about the dwindling supply of jet fuel and the fact that the tires and suspension were set up for street speeds. On the straights, I gently nudged the car toward 100 miles an hour as the sound of that monstrously hissing jet engine filled my helmet.

The Chevrolet Corvette was the only car with a hood long enough to fit the engine. Still, it needed an entirely new frame.

This car is reportedly capable of going from zero to 60 miles per hour in an insane three seconds, but acceleration once higher speeds were reached seemed relatively sane, if noisy. After we got done the car sat there happily hissing like dragon with smoke drifting of out its hood vents. I was told that was perfectly normal.

The idea for this car had come from Vince's father, Andy Granatelli's, turbine-driven Lotus race car that almost won Indy in the 1960s. Rule changes quickly made it impossible for turbine cars to compete but the idea seems to have stuck with Vince. A decade later, decided he wanted to put that same sort engine into a street legal automobile. General Motors' (GM) Chevrolet Corvette was only car with a nose big enough to hold it. So that he bought one, brand new, and made this.

Texan Milton Verrett bought it in 1982 for $550,000. Last week, he put it up for sale at the Barrett-Jackson collector car auctions where no-one bid high enough to take it home. So, if you're interested, it's still available.

First Published: January 21, 2015: 9:04 AM ET

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Fox's Bill O'Reilly calls possible lawsuit from Paris 'ridiculous'

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

There you have it -- Bill O'Reilly's verdict on the warning by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo that her city may sue Fox News.

O'Reilly, Fox's highest-rated host, addressed the lawsuit threat on the Tuesday night edition of his program. It was the day's only mention of the threat on Fox.

Among O'Reilly's points:

--"The mayor is a socialist."

--"Fox News isn't even seen in France, because they block it."

--"This is just an attention-getter."

O'Reilly accused Hidalgo of "playing to the left" and added, "The suit's going nowhere. It's ridiculous."

On Tuesday Hidalgo told CNN's Christiane Amanpour that Fox News had "insulted" her city through repetitive coverage of supposed "no-go" zones for non-Muslims in Paris and elsewhere in Europe. She said, "I think we'll have to sue."

"The image of Paris has been prejudiced, and the honor of Paris has been prejudiced," Hidalgo said.

The "no-go" zone idea has been largely discredited and French media outlets have had a field day with Fox's coverage.

And O'Reilly pointedly said on Tuesday night that "I didn't have anything to do with this."

Then he went after Hidalgo.

His guest, media analyst Bernie Goldberg, said, "I don't know what the laws are in France. If this were in America, it would be called a frivolous lawsuit... Anybody can sue anybody, but a city can't win a lawsuit because it's been insulted."

"Right. And we didn't even insult it," O'Reilly said.

"Well, somebody did," Goldberg responded.

Earlier on Tuesday, Fox News executive vice president Michael Clemente called the potential lawsuit "misplaced."

"We empathize with the citizens of France as they go through a healing process and return to everyday life," he said. "However, we find the mayor's comments regarding a lawsuit misplaced."

Outside legal analysts have largely dismissed the likelihood that a lawsuit would succeed.

Related: Fox News apologizes for inaccurate comments about Muslims in Europe

First Published: January 21, 2015: 9:07 AM ET

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A grown up theme for a grown up Davos?

DAVOS, Switzerland (CNNMoney)

For years I have railed against the annual game of "guess what the Davos theme actually means."

I have suffered through "Great transformations -- shaping new models," "Rethink, Redesign, Rebuild," and my favorite bit of Davosian nonsense, "Resilient Dynamism."

The message seems to have got through at last. For the first time in a decade, the theme is in plain English, and might actually mean something. Davos will be discussing "The New Global Context."

The World Economic Forum's (WEF) explanation is that the new world order is fraught with "complexity, fragility, and uncertainty." (Davos was always good at stating the obvious). Many of those attending the forum this week are charged with taking on these issues on behalf of the rest of us.

Related: Davos complete coverage

The context of this year's Davos is, of course, very different to that of recent years. Profound quandaries are everywhere. Even if they are not technically new paradigms they are, in blunt terms, damned difficult to solve.

Naturally, events in Paris will be on everyone's minds. In the most simplistic sense, how can journalists go about their daily business as usual? How can Jews quietly prepare for the Sabbath? A march in Dresden illustrates the rising tide of Islamophobia; and what of Hungary's prime minister railing against immigration?

Economically, we have the seemingly endless cycle of eurozone misery. As ECB President Mario Draghi readies the euro printing presses in a bid to get growth moving and create a bit of inflation, the U.S. is thinking about tightening policy.

China faces a slowdown, the effects of which no one truly understands (because no one truly understands China's economy), while emerging nations wait to see if they get clobbered by one superpower's policies or another.

Then there is oil: down more than 60 per cent since June. This fall might be a boon to consumers and oil importing nations, but such dramatic movement in such a short time is deeply destabilizing.

Opinion: Don't just write a check! Get involved

Expect, also, hot air about two huge trade deals the U.S. is negotiating, one with Asia, the other with Europe. The Asian deal might get done before I retire; I am less optimistic about the EU deal. It certainly won't be signed before the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

The geopolitical picture is the murkiest it has been for decades. Russia -- enfeebled economically, emboldened militarily, belligerent politically -- is unpredictable. An assertive China is grappling with the problem of a truculent Hong Kong. The vortex of Syria and Iraq continues to draw its neighbors into peril.

From economics to politics to security, today's world is a web of fraying strands, swaying in the wind of change. If that doesn't constitute a "New Global Context" I don't know what does.

Tidying up this mess is beyond the capabilities of the WEF in one short week. So the issue is, as always, what contribution can Davos make to putting us on the right road?

If delegates come to pat each other on the back, tut-tut at the state of the world, and then blame everyone else, they are wasting our time. If they come prepared to face up to the unpleasant reality, we stand a chance of at least making a start.

That Davos has sharpened its theme, and given us something that we can understand and use, is a sign of serious times. The New Global Context is real and, perhaps, Davos has grown up.

-- CNN's Richard Quest is anchor of Quest Means Business.

Related: What you need to know about Davos

First Published: January 20, 2015: 9:29 AM ET

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I haven't gotten a raise in years

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The Oklahoma state worker hasn't gotten a raise since 2012, and she's not expecting one this year either.

That's making it tough for her to meet her bills, even though she and her husband have moved to a home with lower rent and utility costs.

"I once was middle class, but I'm now lower middle class and falling," said Humphrey, 57, an accounts payable manager. "Everything around us has gone up."

The Humphreys may start a side business of creating and selling lamps made from bottles and pipes.

James and Sandy Humphrey

"We're looking to add to our income by using the talents we have," she said, noting that she's creative and her husband knows how to do electrical work. "You can't count on getting that raise."

The lack of wage growth is one of the major problems afflicting the country. Average hourly earnings barely rose above inflation last year and median income is back to 1995 levels, leaving many people feeling strapped.

Related: Here's why the middle class feels squeezed

These measures, however, look at the economy in the big picture. Hidden within are the millions of Americans like Humphrey who literally have not received a raise...some of them for years.

Take Theresa Raimondi of Milford, Conn.

The insurance account manager has not received a raise in the three years she's worked at a small firm. She's asked for an increase during her annual reviews in February, only to be told to wait. Last summer, Raimondi requested a bump just to keep up with inflation and higher health insurance costs, only to be brushed off again.

Theresa Raimondi

Raimondi said she's been offered other jobs, but at lower salaries. Meanwhile, she has to shell out more for rent, utilities, food and school supplies for her daughter, an honors high school student. And after her employer restructured the firm's health insurance plan, she's paying 10 times more for medical care.

"It's now costing me more just to work," she said.

President Obama is looking to put a few more dollars into middle class and working families' paychecks. During his State of the Union speech Tuesday, he is set to propose a $500 tax credit for married couples who each hold jobs to help alleviate the costs of child care and commuting.

Related: Most Americans feel they are falling behind

Some people, like Derek Squires of Augusta, Maine, have received tiny raises that have been eaten up by higher health care costs.

An accountant with a federal agency, Squires suffered through a pay freeze in 2011, 2012 and 2013. He received a 1% raise last year, but his health insurance premium soared 7%. So he was taking less home. This year, he's expecting another paltry 1% raise.

He and his co-workers were recently reminiscing about the days a decade ago when they got decent raises. Now, Squires is sleeping under extra blankets to try to lower his heating costs and has cut down on buying fresh fruit and fish for himself and his wife, though he still provides it for his two young children at home. Healthy food is now a luxury, not a weekly staple for him.

"The economy is getting better by the statistics, but it's not getting better for the middle class," Squires said.

First Published: January 20, 2015: 9:38 AM ET

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Delta Air Lines is saving $2 billion on fuel

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Delta (DAL) CEO Richard Anderson said in a statement that lower fuel prices should save the company more than $2 billion this year.

Shares of Delta rose nearly 5% in early trading on the news.

The airline is already doing well. Delta reported a fourth-quarter profit, excluding one-time charges, that topped expectations Tuesday.

Related: Falling oil's next victim

Now the forecast for Delta looks even sunnier. Delta promised strong profit margins for the first quarter and predicted earnings growth in the double digits for the full year.

Delta, along with other airlines, were among the top performers on Wall Street last year thanks largely to lower fuel costs. The stock gained nearly 70% in 2014.

Southwest (LUV), which will report earnings on Thursday, soared about 120% last year, making it the best stock in the S&P 500. Its shares rose on Tuesday morning as well.

So did the stocks of rivals United Continental (UAL), American (AAL), JetBlue (JBLU) and Alaska Air (ALK). Those four airlines will also report their latest results in the coming days.

Shares of smaller airlines Spirit (SAVE) and recent IPO Virgin America (VA) also gained altitude on Tuesday.

Related: Will Bitcoin ever rebound?

But while the sudden plunge in fuel costs is sure to help the airlines for the rest of the year, Delta did take a hit in the fourth quarter as a result of how fast they fell.

The airline technically reported a loss due mostly to a $1.2 billion charge it took to adjust for the cost of fuel-hedging contracts that had been set up in anticipation of higher energy prices.

Most airlines use such hedges so they don't get caught off guard by a big spike in fuel costs.

Still, it appears that investors are more excited about the possibility of cheaper fuel in the future than about the hedging mishap.

Lower energy prices also mean that consumers and business travelers are more willing to fly as well. To that end, Delta said that its revenues were up nearly 6% in the fourth quarter.

Related: Why is United Airlines suing a 22-year-old?

Passenger revenue in the United States surged nearly 11%, a clear sign that Americans are taking to the friendly skies in droves.

But the increase in Delta's overall sales was higher than the increase in passenger traffic and capacity. That shows that Delta and other airlines are also doing well thanks to a litany of surcharges that travelers are now forced to pay.

So it will be interesting to see if lower fuel prices eventually lead to lower fares now that the airlines are raking in big profits.

First Published: January 20, 2015: 10:04 AM ET

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