OPEC pumps up output in fight for market share

The cartel has just chalked up its biggest monthly increase in production in almost four years as Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Libya all boosted output, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday.

OPEC supply jumped to 31 million barrels per day in March. That was 890,000 barrels per day more than in February -- the biggest rise since June 2011.

Faced with a boom in U.S. shale production, OPEC decided last November not to cut output quotas despite falling prices and calls from some members to act.

Oil prices dropped by about 50% in the last six months of 2014 but have stabilized since then.

The Paris-based IEA, which monitors energy market trends for the world's richest nations, said global oil demand in 2015 will be higher than previously expected. It increased its forecast by 90,000 barrels a day to 93.6 million.

The increase is mainly due to colder temperatures in the first few months of this year, as well as the improving global economy.

Related: Why OPEC can't kill the U.S. oil boom

But the report offered little clarity on how the price collapse would affect supply and demand in longer terms.

"In some ways, the outlook is only getting murkier," the agency said.

It blamed the uncertainty on constant changes in geopolitics -- such as the prospect of Iran sanctions being lifted.

"One of the many questions hanging over the market today is, how quickly could Iran be expected to ramp up output and exports if the agreement were to be made permanent," it said.

U.S. crude futures were trading about 1.2% higher at $54 per barrel on Wednesday.

Related: U.S. on track for record oil production in 2015

CNNMoney (London) April 15, 2015: 7:16 AM ET

05.33 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mark Zuckerberg only works 50 to 60 hours a week

In a surprise Q&A session Tuesday evening, Facebook's (FB, Tech30) CEO said he only spends 50 to 60 hours each week doing "real work" in the office or in meetings. But he conceded that if the definition of "work" were expanded, he'd be working his "whole life."

"That depends on what you count as work," Zuckerberg said in response to a question about how many hours he works each day. "I spend most of my time thinking about how to connect the world and serve our community better, but a lot of that time isn't in our office or meeting with people or doing what you'd call real work."

"I take a lot of time just to read and think about things by myself," he added. "If you count the time I'm in the office, it's probably no more than 50-60 hours a week. But if you count all the time I'm focused on our mission, that's basically my whole life."

Zuckerberg at work. Don't expect to find him here all day.

CEOs famously work long hours and have little time for their families. Though Zuckerberg works a much longer week than the average American, he seems to have struck a better work-life balance than most other heads of corporations.

Zuckerberg sets personal challenges for himself, including hunting all the meat that he eats, learning Mandarin and reading a new book every other week.

In the Q&A, Zuckerberg noted that he reads both fiction and nonfiction but "probably" more fact-based books. He said he is currently reading Peter Huber's "Orwell's Revenge," in addition to the books he is reading for his "A Year of Books" challenge.

As for learning Mandarin, he said the key to learning a language is to "put in the time and let it seep into your mind."

"Learning a language is extremely humbling because there's no way to 'figure it out' by just being clever," he noted.

In addition to discussing his work-life balance, Zuckerberg touched on a number of other subjects, including a couple controversial ones.

His Internet.org initiative to connect underprivileged people to the Internet has caught some flak for picking and choosing which apps those people will have access to. Rather than providing full Internet service, Internet.org will only give its customers "a few basic Internet services." He was asked how that jibes with his support for net neutrality.

"I think net neutrality is important...For people who are not on the internet though, having some connectivity and some ability to share is always much better than having no ability to connect and share at all," Zuckerberg said.

He also addressed his widely panned $100 million donation to the public school system of Newark, New Jersey, which critics say failed to live up to its promise of making the schools "a symbol of educational excellence for the whole nation." The donation was also criticized for giving too much of the money to consulting firms.

"A lot of good work has come from that grant," Zuckerberg said. "The highlight is that the graduation rate has improved by more than 10% since we're started our program there. The leaders we've worked with in NJ have started many new high performing schools, paid teachers more and have improved the schools in lots of other ways."

And, in a rare move, Zuckerberg even flashed some dry humor.

Q: Any chance you can add a sarcasm button for us Brits?

A: Sure, we'll get right on that :-)

Related: Zuckerberg has his Tim Cook moment

Related: Mark Zuckerberg has one rule for hiring

CNNMoney (New York) April 15, 2015: 7:35 AM ET

05.33 | 0 komentar | Read More

One in six retired NFL players goes bankrupt

A new study found that nearly 16 percent of former players end up filing for bankruptcy within a dozen years of retiring.

It also revealed that career earnings and the length of a player's career had little impact on whether they will end up broke. Star players are just as likely to file for bankruptcy as those who spent most of their time on the bench.

"Having played for a long time and been well paid does not provide much protection against the risk of going bankrupt," wrote the study's authors, who teach at Cal Tech, George Washington University and the University of Washington.

Among the high profile players who have filed for bankruptcy are Hall of Fame defensive tackle Warren Sapp, Pro Bowl wide receiver Andre Rison and Pro Bowl quarterback Mark Brunell. Sapp made more than $50 million during his career, according to salary tracker Spotrac, but filed for bankruptcy in 2012, within five years of his final game.

The study says that players should be able to save enough money they make during what they know will be a relatively short career so that they'll be financially secure when the paychecks stop. But many engage in risky investments and begin "rapidly drawing down limited savings" soon after they finish playing.

The study does knock down a widely repeated claim by Sports Illustrated that "by the time they have been retired for two years, 78% of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress because of joblessness or divorce."

Instead, the study found about 2% file for bankruptcy within two years of their career ending, and that rate climbs steadily to nearly 16% within 12 years before leveling off. The study's authors tracked players drafted by NFL teams from 1996 to 2003.

Related: This NFL player used connections as bait for Ponzi scheme

The current NFL minimum salary is $435,000 a year for a rookie and $970,000 for a player with nine or more years in the league. But NFL contracts are not guaranteed the way they are in Major League Baseball or the National Basketball Association, meaning if a player is cut he can lose most of the money promised to him.

NFL careers are also shorter on average than the other sports, with an average length of only a little more than three years. And football is a more punishing physical sport that is more likely to leave players with health problems that can limit their post-playing career opportunities.

Related: NFL gets billions in subsidies from U.S. taxpayers

The National Bureau of Economic Research is one of the nation's leading economics organization. It members determine when recessions begin and end and it publishes studies from many of the nation's top economists.

CNNMoney (New York) April 15, 2015: 8:20 AM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

KFC 'dreadful,' says man who brought franchise to Britain

The man who brought Kentucky Fried Chicken to Britain decades ago now says the food there is "dreadful" and pledged never to eat at the fast-food joint again.

Raymond Allen opened the first KFC franchises in the United Kingdom after a chance encounter with Harlan "the Colonel" Saunders 50 years ago in Chicago, according to The Telegraph.

"We have got one where I now live, but I would not go in there," Allen told the paper in an interview published Tuesday. "I don't use it and I think it is dreadful. The company has ruined the product."

Allen said that he still has a hand-written copy of the secret recipe for KFC locked away in a bank.

But the 87-year-old Allen claims the chicken chain has lost its way. He said KFC now has too many menu items and he doesn't think very highly of any of them.

"Instead of staying with one good thing that was sellable, they have tried to compete with the other fast food units," said Allen. "They should have just stuck with the chicken."

Allen's wife Shirley, 84, isn't impressed with the food either.

"We tried KFC only once about a year ago," she said in the same interview. "We had the traditional original chicken but there were so many different products it was difficult to know what to order. I don't think we will go back."

Related: KFC just can't give up on China

Allen helped spread the KFC franchise across the U.K. before he sold the business in 1973.

KFC, a division of global fast-food giant Yum! Brands (YUM), currently has nearly 200 locations in England, Ireland and Scotland.

However, Allen said it took some time for Kentucky-style fried chicken to catch on in the land of boiled meats.

"In the UK in those days chicken was something you ate for Sunday dinner," said Allen. "It was way before its time. We had to give it away to passers-by initially."

But once Britons developed a taste for KFC, it seemed to take off. At one point, Allen was opening a new location every week, the paper said.

"We were in a race against time with McDonalds as we both wanted to get the best sites," said Allen.

Yet it was a struggle to find financing in the early days. Allen said he "walked the streets of London" looking for a loan because all the banks he went to said there was "no future in the business."

Eventually, he was able to raise the £100,000 he needed from an American company, on the condition that he would sell the business once he opened 100 locations, which he did.

Related: KFC parent cuts profit expectations in half

Allen, who like Saunders was made an official "Kentucky Colonel," couldn't remember the exact recipe for KFC's signature fried chicken, which is widely believed to be made up of 11 herbs and spices.

"It is a lengthy recipe," he said. "I think there are 11 herbs and spices but I can't remember it off the top of my head so I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to."

Allen said he doesn't get asked about the closely-guarded recipe very often since not many people are aware of his involvement with the company.

"I have no idea how much it is worth but I would never sell it," he said.

CNNMoney (New York) April 14, 2015: 7:53 AM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

The rocket built to take down Elon Musk

This week, Elon Musk's SpaceX once again tried to recycle its rocket boosters used to launch satellites, cargo and astronauts by landing the boosters on a barge after they detach from the rocket.

Meanwhile, Boeing (BA) and Lockheed Martin (LMT) on Monday unveiled what they think will be a better -- and cheaper -- booster recycling solution.

The companies' joint venture, United Launch Alliance, announced a new "Vulcan" rocket whose booster engines can be recaptured and preserved in mid-air after being intercepted by helicopters.

The Boeing-Lockheed venture is responsible for 70% of U.S. space launches.

The Vulcan's space capsule will also be equipped with a super-efficient engine that can be used in space for weeks instead of hours -- enabling visits to multiple space stations or moon missions. The engine will be powered by liquid natural gas, which is cheaper than standard fuel used to power missions.

The new engine is under development by Blue Origin, an aerospace company owned by Amazon (AMZN, Tech30) CEO Jeff Bezos. It will be "the highest-performing, most cost-efficient rocket on the market," according to Tory Bruno, CEO of United Launch Alliance.

Boeing and Lockheed Martin's announcement is aimed at preserving the joint venture's lucrative Pentagon and NASA contracts. Congress has criticized the venture's use of Russian-made RD-180 engines, and SpaceX's potentially cheaper space missions could steal business away from ULA.

"Whether it is scientific missions, medical advancements, national security or new economic opportunities for businesses, ULA's new Vulcan rocket is a game-changer in terms of creating endless possibilities in space," said Bruno. "It will open up new opportunities for the nation's use of space."

SpaceX aborted its attempt to land its rocket booster on a barge on Monday due to weather. The company has failed several times to recapture its boosters, but Musk believes the company has an 80% chance of succeeding by the end of the year.

Related: Brian Grazer and Ron Howard working on space series

Related: Why is Fidelity investing in SpaceX?

CNNMoney (New York) April 14, 2015: 7:48 AM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Alan Turing manuscript fetches $1 million at auction

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, and won the award for best adapted screenplay.

The winning bid on Monday was near the low end of the expected sales price announced by Bonhams, which handled the New York auction.

"This is a wonderful result and a fitting testament to Alan Turing's impact and legacy," said Cassandra Hatton, an executive at Bonhams.

The book was originally 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 owner of the manuscript who put it up for auction was not disclosed by the auction house, nor was the buyer. An undisclosed amount of the proceeds of Monday's auction are being donated to charity.

Related: First U.S. penny sold for $1.2 million

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.

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.

Related: Steve McQueen's old motorcycle goes for $775,000

CNNMoney (New York) April 14, 2015: 8:18 AM ET

05.32 | 1 komentar | Read More

Revenge porn could get you two years in jail in England

The law forbids people from disclosing "a private sexual photograph or film if the disclosure is made without the consent of an individual who appears in the photograph or film, and with the intention of causing that individual distress."

Revenge porn has come under increased global scrutiny after several high-profile legal cases resulted in little or no jail time.

In November, 21-year old Luke King was the first person to be prosecuted in England for posting revenge porn. King had shared nude images of his ex-girlfriend on WhatsApp. But a national outcry erupted after he received just a 12-week jail sentence -- the maximum penalty under previous laws.

Following a U.S. Federal Trade Commission investigation, Craig Brittan agreed in January to destroy the 1,000 revenge porn images and videos he had posted to his now-defunct website, isanybodydown.com. Known as the "Revenge Porn King," Brittan also collected and posted women's personal information in addition to their intimate photos.

But Brittan didn't serve any jail time, because revenge porn isn't a federal crime in the United States. The FTC charged him with violating the Federal Trade Commission Act, opting to settle after he destroyed the pornographic images and information.

So far, 16 U.S. states have made revenge porn illegal. But those laws are largely ineffective against websites, which are protected by section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act. The act gives platforms like Twitter (TWTR, Tech30), Facebook (FB, Tech30) and Reddit immunity when third parties post anything that doesn't violate federal law.

As a result, social networks are taking matters into their own hands. Twitter, Facebook and Reddit have all recently banned revenge porn.

The Scottish government is considering introducing similar legislation to England and Wales. Revenge porn is also illegal in Germany and Israel.

Related: Here's exactly what Facebook means by 'nudity'

Related: Revenge porn king wants a clean slate

CNNMoney (New York) April 13, 2015: 7:36 AM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nine things to know about legal pot

People who've never been high are suddenly wondering how much an eighth really is. And those that could spot an eighth of weed from across a room can now, in some places, walk into a store and buy it. (Try Mary Mart, Bud Commander or the Happy Crop Shoppe -- all stores in Washington.)

But rules are still hazy about where you can buy pot and who can smoke. It gets more complicated for those who want to sell it.

Here's what you need to know.

1. Anyone over 21 can buy marijuana in Colorado and Washington.

There are 833 recreational pot shops in Colorado and 123 in Washington.

2. You can smoke it legally in Alaska, D.C. and -- by the end of the year -- in Oregon, as long as you're older than 21.

But it won't be legal to buy it in those states for at least another year while lawmakers hammer out the details. It could take longer in D.C.

3. No one can smoke weed in public, anywhere.

4. Medical marijuana is legal in 23 states, and D.C.

5.You can still be fired for smoking marijuana.

Even if you show up for work stone cold sober, you can be fired for flunking a drug test in most states. But that's being challenged in court.

6. There is actually one government-run pot store.

The profits from a shop in Washington State called Cannabis Corner will go to special city projects, like upgrading the local playground.

7. There's still a black market for pot, even where it's legal.

That's because it's cheaper. Pot sold legally in stores is taxed heavily. In Colorado the rate is 28%.

8. Everyone in Colorado could get a pot tax refund.

Thanks to Colorado's new pot tax and a quirky state law, residents may get a special one-time tax refund next year. It's expected to be about $58 million distributed among 5.4 million residents.

9. Banking is still a huge problem for pot shops.

Pot is illegal on the federal level, which means many shops can't get bank accounts, since banks are regulated by the feds. Retailers have to pay employees and taxes in cash, which makes the business dangerous. But there is legislation has been proposed to make banking easier for selling medical marijuana sellers.

CNNMoney (New York) April 13, 2015: 7:14 AM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nearly 90 percent of Americans have health coverage

A poll by Gallup found that the uninsured rate among U.S adults declined to 11.9% in the first quarter, down one percentage point from the end of last year and an improvement from the 18% without insurance in the fall of 2013, when the Americans were first were able to sign up for coverage at state and federal exchanges.

This is the lowest percentage of Americans without coverage since Gallup started tracking the figure in 2008. Those without coverage was just under 15% at that time, then remained in the range of 15% to 18% before it started declining sharply two years ago. The law requiring most Americans to have coverage or pay a penalty took effect at the start of 2014.

"An improving economy and a falling unemployment rate may also have accelerated the steep drop in the percentage of uninsured over the past year," said the Gallup report. "However, the uninsured rate is significantly lower than it was in early 2008, before the depths of the economic recession, suggesting that the recent decline is due to more than just an improving economy."

Related: Five ways Obamacare has helped Americans

Those making less than $36,000 a year have seen the most significant rate of improvement. Though 22% still do not have coverage, that's down from 30.7% at the end of 2013.

Those 26 to 34 years old have also seen the most improvement of any age group, but again, more than 20% still lack coverage. About 98% of those age 65 and older have coverage, basically unchanged from two years ago, as almost all of them qualify for Medicare.

Related: Obamacare's second round attracts more Americans

And far more minority adults still are without coverage, as about 13% of of blacks and 30% of Hispanics don't have coverage. But once again, they've seen greater improvement in their rates of coverage than have whites.

CNNMoney (New York) April 13, 2015: 8:27 AM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

The Obamas paid $93,362 in federal income taxes

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama reported about the same amount of income in 2014 as they did in 2013.

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama reported $495,964 in gross income last year, according to their 2014 tax returns released by the White House on Friday afternoon.

The president's salary accounted for nearly $395,000 of that, while their net business income came to $88,181 from Random House and literary management company Dystel & Goderich. They also earned about $16,000 in taxable interest.

After accounting for $17,400 in tax-deferred retirement savings and a $1,181 deduction for the self-employment payroll taxes they paid, their adjusted gross income came to $477,383, just a little less than they earned the year before.

Related: Top 400 taxpayers' average income jumps to $336 million

So how much of all that went to Uncle Sam? The Obamas' federal income tax bite came to $93,362, or 19.6% of their AGI.

A piece of that tax burden -- $2,035 -- was attributable to the Medicare surtax on high earners that was created to help fund Obamacare.

The Obamas donated $70,712, or about 15% of their AGI, to more than 30 charities.

They also paid $22,640 in income taxes to their home state of Illinois.

CNNMoney (New York) April 10, 2015: 6:33 PM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

HBO still hasn't heard from Scientology lawyers for 'Going Clear'

"Facts are stubborn things," HBO CEO Richard Plepler said in an interview with CNNMoney this week.

"Everybody's entitled to their own opinion, but they're not entitled to their own facts," he added. "I think the documentary bears up very well to any kind of scrutiny."

Sheila Nevins, the president of HBO's documentary division, had a similar comment -- "facts are facts" -- when asked about the film at a party on Wednesday held by The Hollywood Reporter.

The March 29 premiere of "Going Clear" scored the highest overnight viewership for an HBO documentary in nine years. Nevins and Plepler pointed out that the documentary is still reaching new viewers every day thanks to repeats and HBO's various on-demand services.

John Travolta isn't interested in watching HBO's Scientology documentary 'Going Clear.'

"Going Clear" was back in the news this week when John Travolta, a member of the church, said he was uninterested in seeing it.

The documentary, by well-known filmmaker Alex Gibney, is based on the book of the same name by Lawrence Wright.

In an interview before the premiere, Gibney said he was well aware of the possibility that Scientology might try to strike back with lawsuits.

But, he said, "we were very rigorous in terms of how we checked our story, how we had it scrutinized extensively by lawyers -- not only my own lawyers but by HBO's lawyers," Gibney said.

Nevins once commented that there were "probably 160 lawyers" involved, but she meant that hyperbolically.

HBO's other recent documentary success was "The Jinx," a six-part series about the troubled multi-millionaire Robert Durst, a suspect in several murders.

There have been questions about the extent of filmmaker Andrew Jarecki's communication with law enforcement, particularly due to the recording of Durst apparently saying to himself he "killed them all."

"I can tell you unequivocally we did not withhold any evidence," Plepler said, calling Jarecki "very scrupulous."

"I think what's important to remember is that a 30-year -- 30-year -- murder mystery was essentially opened up" by Jarecki and his colleagues, Plepler added.

HBO and the parent of this web site, CNN, are both owned by Time Warner.

CNNMoney (New York) April 10, 2015: 6:34 PM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Hillary Clinton's economic plans need an overhaul

Clinton is expected to begin her presidential campaign this weekend, yet she's stayed mum on the economy -- something she hammered on during the 2008 campaign.

"She's a blank check at this point," says Dean Baker, co-director for the Center for Economic and Policy Research. "She'll be pressed to take positions."

America's economy has come a long way from 2008. Back then, the country was headed toward a recession. The unemployment rate was climbing -- eventually on its way to 10% -- while America's housing market was collapsing. The divide between Wall Street and Main Street was just beginning to widen, some argue.

Now, unemployment is down to 5.5% -- not far from its target level. Last year was America's best year of job growth since 1999. However, some big issues remain. Inequality is worsening and most people's wages have barely grown.

How Hillary approaches inequality, as well as her relationships with Wall Street and Main Street, will be key to her success in this campaign.

Here's how Hillary may shift her approach for 2016:

Related: 'Hillary' websites going for up to $295k

1. How will she tackle Inequality?

Then: Clinton heavily criticized President George W. Bush for his handling of the economy in 2008. She zeroed in on jobs losses, rising inequality and no wage growth.

While the economy hadn't fallen off a cliff yet -- unemployment was 5.6% when she lost the primary race -- her inequality rhetoric resonated with many Americans.

A Republican president ineligible for another election presented an easy punching bag for Clinton on inequality.

"President Bush had one final chance tonight to acknowledge what the American people have known for years: that the economy is not working for middle class families," Clinton said of Bush's State of the Union address in January 2008.

Now: Those problems haven't changed much under President Obama, but Clinton is unlikely to throw the same darts at her former boss.

Inequality is arguably worse now, and wage growth remains the economy's sore spot. In 2008, median weekly wages were $796 -- the exact same amount at the end of 2014, adjusted for inflation, according to the Labor Department.

Clinton must carefully calculate an inequality message without distancing herself from Obama's economic achievements, experts say.

"It s a very different world" from 2008, says Gary Burtless, an economist at the Brookings Institution. "There's more anger out there about the economy and inequality. She'll modify the rhetoric she uses."

Related: The tough task of going through Hillary's emails

2. Too cozy with Wall Street?

Then: The stock market boomed during Bill Clinton's time in office. Hillary liked to remind Wall Street of that in 2008. The tech boom, free trade agreements and bull market were all hallmarks of President Clinton's economy.

Bill had cemented a relationship with Wall Street that Hillary benefited from in 2008, says Larry Sabato, a politics professor at the University of Virginia.

"She was the candidate of Wall Street" in 2008, says Sabato.

Now: Wall Street is still expected to doll out millions to Hillary's campaign, but she must tip-toe more carefully around that support, experts say. The recession generated a scathing image of the bankers who helped finance Hillary's run in '08.

Most recently, democratic senator Elizabeth Warren is hammering big banks for more reforms and could press Hillary and others to take stance as well.

Hillary will have to find the balance between appealing to the Warren democrats that want greater financial change and Clinton's loyal Wall Street donor base, experts say.

"She'll want the populist rhetoric but also the money," says Sabato. With the Clintons, "the money comes first and it may be completely separate from the rhetoric."

Related: He serves BBQ to Bill & Hillary Clinton

3. Can she connect with Main Street?

Then: Clinton ridiculed President Bush in 2008, telling USA Today that the "moneyed class" had reaped all the benefits of his economy.

As a New York senator -- and former First Lady -- she championed middle class jobs, minimum wage laws and pushed for health care reform.

Several years later, Clinton's relationship with the moneyed class is much more public and perhaps political dynamite for her economic policies during this campaign.

Now: Average Americans are still struggling. Inequality is a much bigger issue than it was eight years ago, propelling Thomas Piketty's 700-page book "Capital in the 21st Century" to bestseller status last year.

Experts say Clinton's problem will be connecting with typical Americans. Since leaving the State Department, Hillary has made a fortune on speeches and her book, on top of Bill's well-known wealth.

Knowing this perception, Clinton plans to hold small campaign events this week geared at giving face time to average folks. How Clinton tries to relate to Americans on hot topics like inequality, middle class jobs and the federal minimum wage could be key early on.

Clinton has already tried once to convince Americans she had it hard. One political slip-up came when she wrote in her book, "Hard Choices" that she and Bill were "dead broke" when they left the White House in 2001. The comment was widely viewed as out-of-touch with Main Street realities.

"It was just bizarre," says Baker. The Clinton's wealth "is not anyone's idea of flat broke."

Related: 'President' Hillary Clinton: Good for stocks?

CNNMoney (New York) April 11, 2015: 9:05 AM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

The Obamas paid $93,362 in federal income taxes

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama reported about the same amount of income in 2014 as they did in 2013.

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama reported $495,964 in gross income last year, according to their 2014 tax returns released by the White House on Friday afternoon.

The president's salary accounted for nearly $395,000 of that, while their net business income came to $88,181 from Random House and literary management company Dystel & Goderich. They also earned about $16,000 in taxable interest.

After accounting for $17,400 in tax-deferred retirement savings and a $1,181 deduction for the self-employment payroll taxes they paid, their adjusted gross income came to $477,383, just a little less than they earned the year before.

Related: Top 400 taxpayers' average income jumps to $336 million

So how much of all that went to Uncle Sam? The Obamas' federal income tax bite came to $93,362, or 19.6% of their AGI.

A piece of that tax burden -- $2,035 -- was attributable to the Medicare surtax on high earners that was created to help fund Obamacare.

The Obamas donated $70,712, or about 15% of their AGI, to more than 30 charities.

They also paid $22,640 in income taxes to their home state of Illinois.

CNNMoney (New York) April 10, 2015: 6:33 PM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

BuzzFeed reposts deleted Dove article

BuzzFeed reposted a story about Dove soap after questions arose over why it had been deleted.

"I blew it," Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith wrote in a memo that he tweeted Friday. "Twice in the last couple of months, I've asked editors -- over their better judgment and without any respect to our standards or process -- to delete recently published posts from the site."

Smith added that he "reacted impulsively when I saw the posts and I was wrong to do that" and that both posts would be reinstated with a brief note.

One of the deleted then reinstated stories was posted in February and concerned the game of Monopoly. The other was posted to the site's "Life" page on Wednesday and was critical of a Dove advertising campaign.

"This post was inappropriately deleted amid an ongoing conversation about how and when to publish personal opinion pieces on BuzzFeed," an update read on the reinstated story. "The deletion was in violation of our editorial standards and the post has been reinstated."

Gawker noticed the deletion on Thursday and raised the question whether the article was taken down due to the BuzzFeed's relationship to Unilever, Dove's owner, and a BuzzFeed advertiser.

Hasbro, the makers of Monopoly, is also an advertiser.

Smith denied that advertiser pressure was behind the Dove story deletion.

"You also have a right to ask about whether we did this because of advertiser pressure, as Gawker suggested," Smith wrote to the BuzzFeed staff on Friday. "The answer is no."

Soon after Gawker's story on Thursday, Smith posted a memo on Twitter written by BuzzFeed Life editorial director Peggy Wang and BuzzFeed Food editor Emily Fleischaker.

The memo said that the piece was pulled due to the article's voice and not its content.

"When we approach charged topics like body image and feminism, we need to show not tell," the memo read. "Using our own voices (and hence, BuzzFeed's voice) to advance a personal opinion often isn't in line with BuzzFeed Life's tone and editorial mission."

Or as Smith said in the tweet attached to the Thursday memo: "We are trying not to do hot takes."

On Friday, Smith made it clear that advertiser pressure is something he tries to shield his staff from.

"I field complaints all the time from companies and individuals, including advertisers, and I see it as my job to shield you from that pressure," he wrote.

Related: BuzzFeed wants to expand its content empire.

CNNMoney (New York) April 10, 2015: 6:14 PM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

HBO still hasn't heard from Scientology lawyers for 'Going Clear'

"Facts are stubborn things," HBO CEO Richard Plepler said in an interview with CNNMoney this week.

"Everybody's entitled to their own opinion, but they're not entitled to their own facts," he added. "I think the documentary bears up very well to any kind of scrutiny."

Sheila Nevins, the president of HBO's documentary division, had a similar comment -- "facts are facts" -- when asked about the film at a party on Wednesday held by The Hollywood Reporter.

The March 29 premiere of "Going Clear" scored the highest overnight viewership for an HBO documentary in nine years. Nevins and Plepler pointed out that the documentary is still reaching new viewers every day thanks to repeats and HBO's various on-demand services.

John Travolta isn't interested in watching HBO's Scientology documentary 'Going Clear.'

"Going Clear" was back in the news this week when John Travolta, a member of the church, said he was uninterested in seeing it.

The documentary, by well-known filmmaker Alex Gibney, is based on the book of the same name by Lawrence Wright.

In an interview before the premiere, Gibney said he was well aware of the possibility that Scientology might try to strike back with lawsuits.

But, he said, "we were very rigorous in terms of how we checked our story, how we had it scrutinized extensively by lawyers -- not only my own lawyers but by HBO's lawyers," Gibney said.

Nevins once commented that there were "probably 160 lawyers" involved, but she meant that hyperbolically.

HBO's other recent documentary success was "The Jinx," a six-part series about the troubled multi-millionaire Robert Durst, a suspect in several murders.

There have been questions about the extent of filmmaker Andrew Jarecki's communication with law enforcement, particularly due to the recording of Durst apparently saying to himself he "killed them all."

"I can tell you unequivocally we did not withhold any evidence," Plepler said, calling Jarecki "very scrupulous."

"I think what's important to remember is that a 30-year -- 30-year -- murder mystery was essentially opened up" by Jarecki and his colleagues, Plepler added.

HBO and the parent of this web site, CNN, are both owned by Time Warner.

CNNMoney (New York) April 10, 2015: 6:34 PM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Elizabeth Warren: 2016 race should focus on families

Year after year, they take one blow after another, Warren said on CNN's New Day on Friday, where she appeared to talk about her book "A Fighting Chance."

"We live in an America now where the game is rigged. Where Washington works really great for those who hire armies of lobbyists, armies of lawyers. It's just not working so well for the rest of America," she said.

Warren wants candidates running in 2016 to talk about how they'll change that and "make Washington work for families again."

The Democratic Senator from Massachusetts has long been a champion for the middle class, advocating for a higher minimum wage, making education more affordable, and protecting benefits like Social Security and Medicare.

Related: Elizabeth Warren tells Wall Street: 'Bring it on'

Many of her supporters hope she would run for President, challenging Hillary Clinton, who is expected to announced her candidacy on Sunday, for the Democratic nomination in 2016. But Warren has consistently said she isn't running.

And she wouldn't throw her support behind anyone on Friday or in the near future. Only Republicans Ted Cruz and Rand Paul have announced their candidacies.

"In my view, [they're] out of the running for really working for middle-class families," Warren said.

Related: What Rand Paul's flat tax plan would look like

CNNMoney (New York) April 10, 2015: 8:10 AM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Opinion: Want to save Social Security? Embrace Latinos

But that eighth wonder is now under pressure from three powerful levers: falling birth rates, rising longevity, and hordes of retiring baby boomers. The first decreases the number of new taxpayers while the other two increase the number of retirees.

That hurts the foundation of our public pension program: essentially a population-based, pay-as you-go model, where today's workers' pay for today's beneficiaries through their payroll taxes.

It works -- so long as we have many more tax paying workers than retirees. But we no longer do.

So what is the solution? It's actually staring us right in the face with its sheer numbers: The Latino population. And the key to combat this perfect storm is empowering America's Latino youth.

According to the U.S. Census, from 2000-2010 the population of Latino children increased by 4.8 million, while white children decreased by 4.3 million. Were it not for Latinos, the nation's population of children would have declined.

The U.S. Census similarly projects that the white labor force population will decline by 15 million from 2010 to 2030 while Latinos will grow by 17 million. A February 2015 report by leading global research firm IHS Global Insight found that Latinos will account for 75% of employment growth from 2020 to 2034.

Surveys show this demographic shift has created fear and resentment towards Latinos among retiring baby boomers who remain oblivious to the irony: The solvency of their government supported retirement and health care is directly dependent on the payroll tax contributions of a largely Latino future work force.

Anyone who thinks Latino immigrants are a drag on the economy are wrong. In fact, they have the potential to make an increasingly bigger contribution.

Related: What Rand Paul's flat tax plan looks like

Latino population growth is giving America a global competitive advantage. We simply could not meet our nation's demand for labor or solve our fiscal challenges without them.

Take for example, Social Security and health care entitlements (e.g., Medicare), along with other safety net programs for federal retirees and veterans, that have already risen to cost 67 cents of every dollar spent in our budget. And this nondiscretionary spending will continue to rise. Over the next 10 years, due to baby boomers living longer, total annual federal spending will increase from $3.5 trillion in 2014 to $5.8 trillion in 2024.

Related: 7 ways to maximize your Social Security Benefits

We have known about this issue for a long time. In a 1999 article titled The Biggest Ponzi Scheme on Earth, Nobel economist Milton Friedman warned that the imbalance of workers and beneficiaries would soon become a full-fledged crisis.

According to the Social Security Administration, the worker-to-beneficiary ratio will fall to 2.1 in 2040, which is when they predict the Social Security fund will be vastly depleted.

Given the structural underfunding of our pension systems, it is high time we realize that the solution to saving Social Security and firing up our economy is right at our doorstep -- maximizing the productivity of our young Latinos.

The Economist magazine's overwhelmingly positive 16-page cover story last month on America's 57 million Hispanics summed it up: "The rise of Latinos is a huge opportunity. The United States must not squander it."

--Charles P. Garcia is the CEO of the Association of Latino Professionals for America. ALPFA's mission is to empower and develop Latino men and women as leaders of character for the nation in every sector of the global economy.

CNNMoney (New York) April 10, 2015: 7:39 AM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Gillette shows off 'Avenger' razors for an 'Iron Man' beard

How else would Iron Man's alter ego generate the perpetual energy supply he needs to obliterate facial hair with uni-beam pulse bolts?

Gillette pulled a clever stunt Friday aimed directly at fans of the Marvel's "The Avengers."

The 110-year-old grooming company says it has partnered with Stark Industries, the conglomerate run the billionaire playboy and superhero Tony Stark, better known as Iron Man.

Yes, this is a joke.

Gillette says Stark Industries has developed four prototypes inspired by characters from "The Avengers" franchise, including Iron Man, The Hulk, Captain America and Thor.

Related: Marvel names new directors for 'Avengers: Infinity War'

In a movie trailer-like YouTube video, Gillette introduces the prototypes one by one.

There's the Iron Man-inspired "Repulsor1," which is built using Stark Industry's expertise in robotics, aeronautics, "fringe science," and weaponry.

The "XL Gamma" razor has an "unstable molecular structure" that causes it to expand 700% in size and "brute shaving force." Like The Hulk, this razor "gets angry with missed hairs...very angry."

Related: This Iron Man toy soars 200 feet

Capitan America's razor has been rebuilt using "super solider technology." The "Ultra Strike" razor has a "Vibranium" shield cartridge shoots out to "target hairs not once, not twice, but up to 87 times."

Last but not least, the "Thunder" razor uses "micro lightening" to scorch stubble "to the follicle." It also has an "honor based gyro-gravity field" that prevents anyone other than the rightful owner from using it, just like Thor's hammer.

Related: Sony makes deal to bring Spider-Man to Disney's Marvel

"We are excited to see what happens in testing as the Avengers-inspired technology is incorporated into the razors," said Stew Taub, director of R&D at Gillette.

He's probably not the only one. Fans of The Avengers are gearing up for the latest release, "The Avengers: Age of Ultron," which comes out on May 1.

Alas, it's unclear if any of the Avengers themed razors will be available in stores, even without the super powers.

The YouTube video ends with a narrator saying: "Shaving rebuilt with Avengers technology. Coming soon! Maybe."

Related: 'Furious 7' races to record $147 million opening box office

Related: 'Star Wars' films available for digital download for first time ever

CNNMoney (New York) April 10, 2015: 8:24 AM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rob Lowe defends his 'funny' DirecTV ads

Rob Lowe fired back on Twitter after the Better Business Bureau recommended that DirecTV stop airing ads starring the actor.

The ads came under fire this week after the Better Business Bureau recommended that DirecTV (DTV) discontinue the spots, because the satellite TV company couldn't substantiate many of the claims they made. The ruling came after Comcast (CMCSA) took issue with the commercials.

Lowe weighed in sarcastically on Twitter on Wednesday: "Recent events have underlined my belief that for something to be truly original, funny and subversive, there must also be fallout. #Life"

In the ads, the actor plays various awkward versions of himself, including a Rob Lowe with scrawny arms, "painfully awkward" Rob Lowe, "super creepy" Rob Lowe, "far less attractive" Rob Lowe and "meathead" Rob Lowe.

At the end of the commercials, the normal DirecTV version of Lowe says, "Don't be like this me. Get rid of cable and upgrade to DirecTV."

DirecTV claims in the spots that its service gets 99% signal reliability, up to 1080p HD programming, better picture and sound quality than cable, more sports programming than its rivals and shorter customer service wait times than its cable competitors. It also said it was rated No. 1 in customer satisfaction.

But the Better Business Bureau National Advertising Division review board said it found no supporting evidence to substantiate the "far less attractive" Rob Lowe commercial's claim that DirecTV has better picture and sound quality than cable. "Scrawny arms" Rob Lowe also claimed DirecTV has more sports programming, but the NAD said that was unsupported, too.

The review board said DirecTV failed to explain how it arrived at its customer service claims and even took issue with the commercials' statement "don't be like this me," because it "conveyed a comparative and unsupported superiority message."

It did, however, find that DirecTV's message of 99% signal reliability and "up to 1080p" picture were solid.

DirecTV is appealing the claim that the ads are deceptive.

Related: DirecTV told to pull Rob Lowe ads after Comcast complains

Related: DirecTV charged with false advertising

CNNMoney (New York) April 9, 2015: 8:02 AM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Jamie Dimon: New crisis coming, regs will make it worse

"Some things never change," the CEO of JP Morgan writes in a 39-page annual letter to shareholders on Wednesday. "There will be another crisis, and its impact will be felt by the financial markets."

Dimon describes how investors typically react in a crisis, rushing to sell problem assets and stocking up on safe havens, such as U.S. Treasuries. It's the classic "run-on-the-market phenomenon," he adds.

In what he calls a "thought exercise," Dimon speculates about how new banking rules put in place after the 2008 crisis might play out when there's a run on the market.

Related: Finally, Jamie Dimon gets his cash bonus

While he says the financial system is much stronger than it was in the past, Dimon suggests that higher capital and liquidity requirements could have unintended consequences.

Essentially, he argues that banks would be less nimble in a crisis because they have to hold more cash in reserve and are unable to take certain risks.

For example, he says healthy banks like JP Morgan (JPM) may be reluctant to accept deposits during a crisis because they would be considered short-term in nature and would cost banks valuable capital under new leverage rules.

He also notes that during a crisis many people tap lines of credit to have cash on hand just in case. Under new rules, this would make it appear that the bank is holding more risky assets and could "force banks to hoard capital."

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

In the next crisis, he says healthy banks won't be able to buy and hold securities or loans because of limitations on the amount of risk they can take on. And banks won't be able to underwrite stock offerings during a crisis because it would use capital they need to hold under new rules.

Dimon also suggests that the new rules make it more likely that "non-bank lenders" will step in to lend money "at exorbitant prices that take advantage of the crisis situation."

Of course, Dimon has some advice for regulators on how they could improve the situation.

He says they could allow banks to provide liquidity cash on a "graduated basis" and accept more forms of collateral.

"That is, they can give themselves both gas and brakes; i.e., change liquidity rules to fit the environment," Dimon concludes.

CNNMoney (New York) April 9, 2015: 8:28 AM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

U.K. makes a big oil discovery

An exploration firm in Britain says it has discovered a potential "world class" oil reserve.

Exploration firm U.K. Oil & Gas Investments said Thursday there may be up to 100 billion barrels of oil at an onshore site in south England, a company spokesperson told CNN.

That's more than double the amount of oil pumped from Britain's energy offshore North Sea fields in the past 40 years.

The company's share of the total reserves are estimated at close to 9 billion barrels.

UKOG chief executive Stephen Sanderson described the discovery as a "world class potential resource."

"This [find] has the potential for significant daily oil production," he said in a statement.

Related: Surprise! Green energy surged despite cheap oil

But the find may not be as significant as it looks at first glance. The firm said based on similar sites in the U.S. and Siberia, only between 3% and 15% the total reserves would likely be recovered.

Britain's energy industry has suffered along with the rest of the world over the past six months due to a sharp drop in the oil price.

In February, trade group Oil & Gas UK said new investment in the North Sea would fall by about one third in 2015 as weak oil prices and rising production costs force companies are forced to pull back.

At the same time, low energy prices are fueling a wave of tie-ups in the oil sector. On Wednesday, Royal Dutch Shell and British firm BG Group announced a £47 billion ($69.7 billion) merger.

That bid brought global M&A volume in the oil and gas industry to $112 billion so far this year, according to Dealogic -- nearly double the $61.4 billion registered over the same period in 2014.

Related: Oil fallout: U.S. companies kill over 51,000 jobs

CNNMoney (London) April 9, 2015: 8:26 AM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Female finalists to be the new face of the $20 bill

A group pushing to replace Jackson on the $20 bill with a woman has narrowed it down to four potential candidates - including a famous female Native Indian chief.

The final cut of Eleanor Roosevelt, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and Mankiller were selected by more than 250,000 voters in an online poll from a field of 15 famous American women, according to Women On 20s.

The group, which also goes by W20, is lobbying to put one of these women on the $20 bill by 2020, the 100th anniversary off the ratification of the 19th amendment, which granted women the right to vote.

Related: America's best-performing female CEOs

Roosevelt, Tubman and Parks emerged at the top of the balloting. Mankiller, a Cherokee Chief who received the Medal of Freedom in 1998, was added to have a Native American women in the running. Mankiller died in 2010.

Among the original candidates who did not make the final four was Susan B. Anthony. The leader of the women's suffrage movement in the 1800's appeared on the dollar coin before she was replaced with an image of Sacagawea, a Native American woman who helped the explorers Lewis and Clark.

But there are still no women on U.S. paper currency and W20 is petitioning the president and Congress to change that.

"We believe this simple, symbolic and long-overdue change could be an important stepping stone for other initiatives promoting gender equality," the group says on its website. "Our money does say something about us, about what we value."

Related: The $10 bill is up next for a new look

Related: The woman who broke into the BBQ 'boys club'

CNNMoney (New York) April 8, 2015: 8:29 AM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

DirecTV told to pull Rob Lowe ads after Comcast complains

"And I'm deceptive advertising Rob Lowe, and I have DirecTV."

Following a Comcast (CMCSA) complaint, the Better Business Bureau this week recommended that DirecTV (DTV) discontinue its hilarious ad campaign featuring actor Rob Lowe, because the satellite TV company couldn't substantiate many of the claims made in the commercials.

DirecTV clams in the spots that its service gets 99% signal reliability, up to 1080p HD programming, better picture and sound quality than cable, more sports programming than its rivals and shorter customer service wait times than its cable competitors. It also said it was rated No. 1 in customer satisfaction.

The ads feature Lowe playing various awkward versions of himself, including a Rob Lowe with scrawny arms, "painfully awkward" Rob Lowe, "super creepy" Rob Lowe, "far less attractive" Rob Lowe and "meathead" Rob Lowe.

Super creepy Rob Lowe is also super deceptive, according to the Better Business Bureau.

At the end of the commercials, the normal, DirecTV version of Lowe says, "Don't be like this me. Get rid of cable and upgrade to DirecTV."

In most cases, the Better Business Bureau National Advertising Division review board agreed with Comcast and urged DirecTV to pull or modify the ads.

For instance, the NAD found no supporting evidence to substantiate the "far less attractive" Rob Lowe commercial's claim that DirecTV has better picture and sound quality than cable. "Scrawny arms" Rob Lowe claimed DirecTV has more sports programming, but the NAD said that was also unsupported.

The review board also said DirecTV failed to explain how it arrived at its customer service claims. The NAD even took issue with the commercials' statement "don't be like this me," because it "conveyed a comparative and unsupported superiority message."

It did, however, find that DirecTV's message of 99% signal reliability and "up to 1080p" picture were solid.

DirecTV is appealing the claim that the ads are deceptive.

In a statement, the company said it "continues to believe that the various Rob Lowe advertisements are so outlandish and exaggerated that no reasonable consumer would believe that the statements being made by the alter-ego characters are comparative or need to be substantiated."

According to a report in Variety, DirecTV has stopped airing the Lowe ads because the company had moved on to another ad campaign.

This isn't the first time DirecTV has been charged with false or misleading advertising.

The Federal Trade Commission ruled in March that the satellite company failed to make it clear that its $19.95-a-month plan requires two-year contract is required, and that customers must proactively cancel the free premium channels like HBO and Showtime that they get during the first three months of the package

Related: AMC sells out advertising space for the 'Mad Men' series finale

Related: DirecTV charged with false advertising

CNNMoney (New York) April 8, 2015: 7:37 AM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tesla introduces new $75,000 car: the Model S 70D

The car it announced on Wednesday is called the Tesla Model S 70D and it'll start at $75,000, although buyers are eligible for a federal tax credit that brings the price down to $67,500. The Model S starts at $70,000.

The "D" stands for dual motor, which will come standard. The car has all-wheel-drive, 514 horsepower and a 0-60 acceleration time of 5.2 seconds. It will also have a 70 KW-Hour battery and a 240 mile driving range.

And here's another wrinkle, as of today the $70,000 version of the Model S will no longer be available new. Tesla (TSLA) is taking it out of its lineup.

Tesla is still working on a cheaper entry-level vehicle, the hotly awaited Model 3 which is expected to start at $34,000. This isn't it. The Model 3 won't be available for a couple more years.

Related: America's Greenest cars

Tesla's new Model S 70D will start at $75,000 but cost a lot less after a federal tax break.

CNNMoney (New York) April 8, 2015: 7:58 AM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Investors are lining up to get into Iran

Yazdizadeh is one of the partners in Pasargad, an Iran-based investment fund.

At the moment, international sanctions make it nearly impossible for anyone outside of Iran to invest there. Even those in other Middle Eastern countries have largely stayed away. But all that could change if the nuclear deal is approved and sanctions are removed.

Iranians are certainly optimistic. The Tehran Stock Exchange has surged nearly 8% since the deal was announced on Thursday.

Related: Iran deal could unlock huge economic potential

Interest in doing business in Iran started long before last week. Everyone from investors to banking institutions to auditors have been analyzing the possibilities. The country has large natural resources and, equally as important, a well-educated workforce.

Investing in Iran: Yazdizadeh has been flying around the world in recent months explaining possibilities to potential investors. He's seen the most interest from Iranians living abroad, including in the U.S., and people in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and even Saudi Arabia.

"A lot of them have already done their homework," he said. "No check has been issued yet from foreign investors, but they have started traveling [to Iran]."

The framework calls for sanctions to be removed once the International Atomic Energy Agency "has verified that Iran has taken all of its key nuclear-related steps," according to an explainer from the White House.

While there has been a lot of Republican opposition to the plan, political insiders think it will be hard to defeat.

"I think this is winnable for Obama," says Greg Valliere, chief political strategist at Potomac Research Group.

Only Congress can lift sanctions, but almost all the sanctions laws give the president some authority to waive or suspend them, according to an analysis from the Rand Corporation.

Related: What the Iran deal could mean for oil

Hope in Iran: Yazdizadeh, a 34-year-old who was educated at Oxford University, spent several years working in London before returning to his homeland. Like many young Iranians, he sees these talks as a "binary situation" -- either the talks fail and Iran goes into a sort of dark age, or the plan goes through and a whole new world of economic possibilities arrives.

"I have my whole life gambled on this," Yazdizadeh said. "This is why I moved to Iran."

It won't be a quick process. Even if a deal is reached by June, the sanctions probably won't come off until the end of 2015, if not later.

"Removing the sanctions will take time. But what will take much more time is creating an efficient business environment with rule of law and transparent regulations," says Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Yazdiazdeh agrees. He notes the banking system in Iran simply isn't up to international standards yet.

Related: The hottest stock market in the world

Investment opportunities: There's been a lot of emphasis on Iran's oil assets. Even with the sanctions in place, Iran is still one of the world's top oil producing nations.

But the investing opportunities go beyond energy. Yazdizadeh's fund is focusing more on the hospitality, retail and service sectors.

There's an expectation that more people will travel to Iran once sanctions lift and the government isn't viewed as so hardline conservative. There's also reason to believe that Iran's middle and upper classes will also begin to spend more on travel, leisure and luxury.

Given the lack of sophistication in the country's markets and businesses, Yazdizadeh plans to have management control of any companies his firm invests in, similar to a private equity model.

"The rewards in Iran are potentially huge, but so are the risks," Sadjadpour says.

Related: Everyone wants to go to Cuba now. Too bad for the rest of the Caribbean

Related: Warren Buffett doesn't see a bubble in the stock market

CNNMoney (New York) April 7, 2015: 8:21 AM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kansas wants to ban welfare recipients from buying...

These are on the long list of things that will be off limits for welfare recipients in Kansas, where lawmakers have recently approved a bill that would forbid residents from spending public assistance dollars in ways deemed inappropriate by the state.

The bill concerns Kansas' Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which provides cash payments of up to $497 per month for a family of four.

The program is designed to help low-income residents who may be between jobs or struggling to care for a relative. But state lawmakers feel there should be limitations on where welfare recipients can spend the money and what they can buy.

"We're trying to make sure those benefits are used the way they were intended," state Senator Michael O'Donnell told the Topeka Capital-Journal. "This is about prosperity. This is about having a great life."

Governor Sam Brownback, a Republican, is expected to sign the bill, which passed both houses of the Republican-controlled legislature last week.

Related: 1 million expected to lose food stamps as economy improves

Here's a list of what would be off limits:

Alcoholic beverages

Casinos

Gaming establishments

Jewelry stores

Tattoo parlors

Massage parlors

Body piercing parlors

Spas

Nail salons

Lingerie shops

Tobacco paraphernalia stores

Vapor cigarette stores

Psychic or fortune telling businesses

Bail bond companies

Video arcades

Movie theaters

Swimming pools

Cruise ships

Theme parks

Dog or horse racing facilities

Parimutuel facilities (off-track betting)

Cigarettes and tobacco products

Lottery tickets

Concert tickets

Tickets for professional or collegiate sporting events

Tickets for other entertainment events intended for the general public

Sexually oriented adult materials

Sexually oriented businesses

Strip clubs

Any business or retail establishment where minors under age 18 are not permitted

Related: CFO's viral video leaves him on food stamps

Related: When raising the minimum wage isn't enough

CNNMoney (New York) April 7, 2015: 7:54 AM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Jay Z pulls album from Spotify in favor of Tidal

"Reasonable Doubt," Jay Z's 1996 debut album, had been listed on Spotify as recently as Monday. Now, Spotify customers can only listen to one song from that album: track 11, "Coming of Age." The rest of the tracks have been grayed out.

Jay Z's other albums remain on Spotify ... at least for the moment. But Tidal advertises itself as a "platform that's owned by artists," and the promise to give all the proceeds straight to musicians has earned the new streaming service some early cachet with performers.

In addition to Jay Z's "Reasonable Doubt" shift, other artists have been quick to release exclusive Tidal albums, including Beyonce's "Die With You" and Rihanna's "American Oxygen."

On Spotify, Jay Z's album 'Reasonable Doubt' is all grayed out.

Taylor Swift, who famously unplugged from Spotify in November over a tiff about royalties, has placed her albums on Tidal as well (with the exception of her latest smash album "1989").

Jay Z launched Tidal late last month as a subscription-based music service offering high-quality music and sound. It starts at $9.99 a month -- the same as Spotify's premium version (Spotify also has a free, ad-based option, unlike Tidal.) Jay Z's Tidal also has a $19.99-a-month version that lets customers listen to HD-quality audio.

Related: Jay Z's Tidal music service to be owned by artists

Related: How much did Taylor Swift really make off Spotify?

CNNMoney (New York) April 7, 2015: 8:14 AM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

John Oliver lands Edward Snowden interview from Russia

The comedian surprised viewers on Sunday night by revealing that he visited Russia last week and met with Snowden, who leaked a trove of documents about the American government's mass surveillance programs to journalists in 2013.

The result was a half humorous, half serious R-rated conversation about surveillance, centering around one specific possibility: Can the government secretly access Americans' naked selfies?

Snowden's answer was, Yes.

"If you have your email somewhere like Gmail, hosted on a server overseas or transferred overseas or [if it] at anytime crosses outside the borders of the United States, your junk ends up in the database."

He added, "Even if you send it to somebody within the United States, your wholly domestic communication between you and your wife can go from New York to London and back and get caught up in the database."

Oliver's show "Last Week Tonight" has become known for its lengthy examinations of under-covered but critically important topics. The Snowden interview is another example of what some have called "investigative comedy."

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

The interview almost certainly took months to arrange. Only a handful of American journalists have traveled to Russia to meet Snowden in person. (Snowden has been living there in exile while his lawyers seek a way for him to return to the United States.)

Snowden's ACLU attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment about how the interview came about.

With Oliver, Snowden spoke frankly about his fears that the initial reports by The Guardian, The Washington Post and other news outlets would not get sustained attention.

"I was initially terrified that this was going to be a three-day story. Everybody was going to forget about it," he told Oliver. "But when I saw that everybody in the world said, 'Whoa, this is a problem, we have to do something about this,' it felt like vindication."

Oliver challenged him on that. HBO had sent camera crews to Times Square in New York to ask Americans about mass surveillance. The crews came back with tapes of people saying "I have no idea who Edward Snowden is."

Oliver played the tape for Snowden, who seemed to grimace at one point while watching it.

Oliver asked him, "Is it a conversation that we have the capacity to have? Because it's so complicated, we don't fundamentally understand it."

"It's a real challenge to figure out -- how do we communicate things that require sort of years and years of technical understanding, and compress that into seconds of speech, so I'm sympathetic to the problem," Snowden said.

That's when Oliver sought to make it about something very specific: naked selfies.

Oliver showed Snowden more tape from Times Square -- this time, with passersby saying things like, "If my husband sent me a picture of his penis, and the government could access it, I would want that program to be shut down."

CNNMoney (New York) April 6, 2015: 8:05 AM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

How Ellen Pao hires for diversity at Reddit

As interim-CEO of Reddit, Pao is taking steps to make sure women are treated equally to men at the social media website.

Pao was back at work after a San Francisco jury late last month found that her former employer, venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, did not discriminate against her because she's a woman.

It was a closely-watched case in Silicon Valley and cast a spotlight on the challenges women face in the technology industry.

Related: 'Things will not change' after sex bias verdict without push

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Pao says she wants to stay on as CEO after her one year interim gig ends. She described how she hires for diversity.

-- She has eliminated salary negotiations from the hiring process because women often end up fairing worse in terms of pay.

-- She has hired a well-known diversity consultant to advise Reddit.

-- She has passed over candidates who are not committed to gender and racial diversity, according to the interview.

"We ask people what they think about diversity, and we did weed people out because of that," she said.

Related: 9 reasons to be hopeful about women in tech

Related: Saadia Muzaffar is fighting for women in tech

CNNMoney (New York) April 6, 2015: 7:15 AM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Kansas City Royals raise ticket prices 20%

Kansas City fans at last year's World Series.

The team made it to baseball's playoffs and World Series for the first time since 1985 last season.

And now? The Royals had by far the biggest jump in ticket prices this season, according to Team Marketing Report.

The average ticket in Kansas City will cost $29.76, a 20% jump. Only two other teams had double-digit increases: The Houston Astros, up about 14%, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, up 11%. The San Francisco Giants, which beat the Royals in the World Series, raised prices 7% to $33.78.

The average price increase league-wide was 3%.

Still, tickets for the two most expensive teams are way out in front: The Boston Red Sox ($52.34) and The New York Yankees ($51.55). The good news is that both teams kept their prices unchanged.

Related: Mayweather-Pacquiao tickets on pace to be most expensive ever in sports history

Red Sox and Yankees fans will also pay the most at the concession stands and to park. Both charge about $35 for parking.

Of course, ticket prices are only one piece for a family outing to the ballpark.

Team Marketing's Fan Cost Index looks at the total cost for a family of four, including four tickets; four hot dogs; four soft drinks; two beers; parking and two baseball caps.

For all that, trips to Boston's Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium in the Bronx top the list at $350.86 and $337.20.

Even so, baseball is a relative bargain compared to other sports. The average ticket prices in the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League are both more expensive than the average Red Sox ticket, as is the cheapest average ticket price in the NFL: $54.20 to see the Cleveland Browns.

Related: Standing room tickets to Game 7 of World Series - $800

CNNMoney (New York) April 6, 2015: 8:24 AM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

UVA four months later: 'Rolling Stone didn't do its job'

That's the feeling at the University of Virginia, four months after Rolling Stone magazine published and then all but retracted a story detailing an alleged gang rape at the campus.

Now the magazine is preparing to publish an independent review by Columbia University of what went wrong in the making of the story. For UVA, that means yet another round of news coverage.

Journalism students at UVA have seen up close how a news organization can hurt a community. Professors have thought about incorporating the lessons into classes.

Perhaps most importantly, student activists are working overtime to correct persistent misperceptions about college sexual assault and support victims.

"Rolling Stone didn't do its job," said UVA student body president Abraham Axler. "And in some ways our community was responsible for the cleanup of that mistake, and that's what people are angry about."

Related: How UVA story became a national issue

The 9,000-word story, titled "A Rape on Campus," focused on the alleged gang rape of a freshman named "Jackie" in 2012. It also asserted that the university failed to meaningfully respond to the crime and connected this to systemic problems across the country.

When the article came out in late November, "everyone was affected deeply," said Siva Vaidhyanathan, a UVA media studies professor. "The vividness of the story was gut-wrenching."

But Vaidhyanathan had doubts right away because, he said, the story "demonized" administrators who were sincerely trying to improve UVA's handling of rape cases.

The writer, Sabrina Rudin Erdely, soon came under scrutiny.

"It was as if she came into the story with the plot already lined up, and she was just looking for that killer anecdote to fill in the gaps," Vaidhyanathan said.

By early December, the gang rape story had unraveled. Amid mounting doubts about some of the details in Jackie's story -- seven attackers over a period of hours -- and widespread criticism of Rolling Stone's decision not to contact the alleged rapists, the magazine apologized and said it would investigate further.

The magazine asked Columbia's graduate school of journalism to lead a review.

In March, the local police said they could find no evidence the rape had occurred, but also said it remains possible something very traumatic happened. Jackie has not spoken publicly.

Alex Pinkleton, a friend of Jackie's who was interviewed for the original article, said her primary disappointment is that the story's image of "such a brutal, bloody rape is what many people, including legislators, still have in their mind when they are creating new sexual assault legislation."

But "the reality of campus rape is that around 70% of sexual assaults are by an acquaintance or someone the person knows, alcohol is usually present, and it is rare (if it happens at all) to see any sort of beat down (especially one to the degree of the fabricated story)," she wrote in an email.

Experts generally agree. And the point was unfortunately reiterated at UVA earlier this week: On Friday students were alerted that a female student had reported being sexually assaulted by a male student at the end of March. The two students had previously dated.

"The university has taken immediate measures to protect the safety of the victim and is investigating the incident in accordance with Title IX and the Violence Against Women Act," a message to the UVA community said.

Vaidhyanathan said the existence of the campus-wide message is an example of the nuanced reforms that are being implemented.

On-campus activism has continued out of the national media spotlight.

"What Rolling Stone did is gave us the mandate to really work on things that needed to be worked on," said Axler, the student body president. "I think we would have gotten there eventually, but it gave us a sense of urgency. Something we had to do. In some ways, for the long term, that might be a small benefit of an otherwise horrific saga."

Axler added, "The facts of it were wrong, but it wasn't impossible to believe it. What she wrote was fiction, but it was such a believable and horrific thing, it led people to institute reforms."

Vaidhyanathan said he's planning to review the discredited story and its fallout with a class of UVA students next spring in a course called Reporting Crime and Punishment.

One obvious lesson for his journalism students has to do with necessary skepticism, he said.

"Sources, especially sources who have gone through trauma, might not tell you the truth, even if they think they are. That's a hard lesson for reporters who care about people to grasp," Vaidhyanathan said.

"So you have to be the most cynical person you can be, while still having a connection to the deep human feelings that motivate people. Making yourself into that journalist is really hard."

CNNMoney (New York) April 4, 2015: 4:32 PM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Furious 7' on track for $150 million opening weekend

Analysts are now saying it could make $150 million throughout North America by Sunday night.

A week ago, they were predicting $115 to $125 million for this weekend -- and even those projections were turning heads in Hollywood.

Then, after seeing some of Friday's results, the projections nudged up to $130 to $140 million.

On Saturday morning, expectations soared even higher, thanks to sellout crowds at some theaters on Friday night. $148 to $150 million now looks likely.

The film is having the biggest opening of 2015 to date, easily overtaking February's $85 million opening of "Fifty Shades of Grey."

It's also driving right past last year's $95 million opening of "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" -- which was, until now, April's biggest opening in movie history.

"Furious 7," starring Vin Diesel and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, marks the unofficial start of the summer movie season.

The film franchise has been hugely popular for over a decade. Its loyal following has helped it make $2.4 billion worldwide since 2001.

This time around, there's even more interest, partly because the seventh film is the last to include the actor Paul Walker.

Walker died in a 2013 car crash while the film production was still taking place.

Related: Buckle up: 'Furious 7' will be emotional for Paul Walker fans

The film is being released by Universal, a division of NBCUniversal.

Coincidentally, February's "Fifty Shades of Grey" was also a Universal picture.

Industry estimates indicate that "Furious 7" made about $16 million during special Thursday night showings.

By Friday night, it had made more than $67 million, which was even higher than originally expected. (That total includes Thursday's screenings.)

Universal will wait to publicly celebrate until sometime Saturday or Sunday. The studio is officially projecting $149.5 million, just slightly below the $150 million mark.

No matter what the final total, it's clear that "Furious 7" will become the biggest opening in "Fast" series history, passing the $97.3 million "Fast & Furious 6" launch in May 2013.

The first film in the series made $144 million overall, not adjusting for inflation. No. 7 is likely to beat that figure in its first weekend.

"Furious 7" will also set the template for what Hollywood hopes will be a hot season after last year's dismal U.S. summer box office.

CNNMoney (New York) April 4, 2015: 12:49 PM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nigerian immigrant accepted by all 8 Ivy League schools

Harold Ekeh is a senior at Elmont Memorial High School in Elemont, New York.

Now comes the really hard part: Deciding where to go. He actually got into all 13 schools he applied to, including MIT and Johns Hopkins.

"I am leaning toward Yale," he told CNNMoney. "I competed at Yale for Model UN, and I like the passion people at Yale had."

Some of the Yale students he met became his friends and mentors, offering advice on the college application process. Now Ekeh is trying to do the same thing.

Ekeh, 17, founded a college mentoring program at his school, Elmont Memorial High School on Long Island in the New York city suburbs. His goal is to get more students into top universities.

Related: Harvard rejects about 95% of applicants

American dream: Ekeh was born in Nigeria and came to the United States when he was eight. He wrote his main college essay about the struggle to adjust, including being clueless in U.S. history classes at school. He said he would ask his parents repeatedly why they moved.

"We had a fairly comfortable life in Nigeria, but they told me we moved to America for the opportunities like the educational opportunities," he recalled.

The salutatorian is quick to credit his parents, school and community for his success.

"I am very humbled by this," Ekeh said. "It's not just for me, but for my school and community. We can accomplish great things here."

Related: 17-year old rejects Duke's rejection letter

A passion for science: He wants to major in neurobiology or chemistry in college and later become doctor and, ultimately, a neurosurgeon. He was named a 2015 Intel Science Talent Search semifinalist earlier this year for his research on how the acid DHA can slow Alzheimer's.

For Ekeh, the cause is personal. His grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's when he was 11. One of his proudest moments was running home to tell his mother and aunts about the breakthroughs he was finding with DHA.

"When other kids would say, 'I want to be a superhero or police officer,' I would say, 'I want to know what is on the inside of us,'" he said.

Related: Stanford offers free tuition for families with less than $125,000

The key to success: Outside of the lab, Ekeh directs a youth choir at his church, plays the drums, is part of Key Club and Model UN and was elected to the Homecoming court. He speaks Igbo and Spanish and has a 100.5% GPA. He's proud of acing the AP History Exam despite his early struggles with the subject.

Elmont High School is 99% minority. Ekeh is the second student in recent years to win a prestigious Intel Science award.

Principal John Capozzi calls Ekeh "one of the most humble young men I've ever had the opportunity to meet." The lab where Ekeh did his award-winning research is modest and only staffed part-time by a passionate chemistry teacher, but the community makes the most of what it has.

Ekeh will spend the coming weeks visiting all the schools before making his final decision.

His advice to other high school students is simple: "Like my parents always told us, the secret to success is unbridled resolve."

Related: Private college with the biggest payoff

Related: University of Phoenix has lost half its students

CNNMoney (New York) April 5, 2015: 8:20 AM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Mad Men' brings prestige, if not powerful ratings, to AMC

Much has been made about the final season of the critically acclaimed drama such as a "Mad Men" style bench outside the Time-Life Building in New York City.

The AMC drama is beginning the second half of its final season on Sunday. Over the years it has won 15 Emmys, including Outstanding Drama Series, four years in a row.

But in the ratings last year it ranked a lowly #21 among all the dramas on cable. Add all the dramas on broadcast TV, and it would rank even lower on the list.

During its seven episodes last spring, the first half of the final season, "Mad Men" averaged 3.7 million viewers in the Nielsen "Live+7" ratings that combine live viewership and a week's worth of delayed viewership.

The live average viewership was just 1.4 million viewers, according to Nielsen. That means more than half the audience used digital video recorders and video-on-demand systems to catch up.

With 3.7 million "Live+7" viewers, "Mad Men" ranked below shows like FX's "Fargo," BET's "Being Mary Jane," TNT's "Perception," and USA's "Suits."

Based on all the awards and press acclaim, you might have guessed its audience was a lot bigger.

What the series lacks in sheer audience size, however, it makes up for with influence and affluence, something advertisers crave.

"Mad Men" kicks off the second part of its final season on Sunday.

"Mad Men" is one of the most upscale shows on ad-supported TV. 53 percent of "Mad Men" viewers ages 25 to 54 are from households with incomes that exceed $100,000.

According to AMC, no other prime time series comes close to that level of affluence. It helps the channel charge more for ads on the show.

AMC said earlier this week that ad space on the May 17 finale is sold out.

The show has been valuable for other reasons, too. It -- and "Breaking Bad" -- made AMC a real player in the cable programming business.

"'Mad Men' had an immediate impact and quickly became a calling card for AMC. It helped lay the foundation for everything that followed," Charlie Collier, AMC's president, said in an email.

"It also set a standard with respect to its ability to reach and connect with very difficult-to-reach audiences including the most upscale influencers and tastemakers across the worlds of media, music, fashion, design, politics and more," he added.

Related: 'Walking Dead' helps 'Better Call Saul' set cable record

The series has spawned fashion tastes, college courses, and Internet memes, not to mention the countless marketing materials that the network has produced to celebrate the second half of the final season.

This includes a exhibition at the Museum of the Moving Image, a "Mad Men" Dining Week, and a bench outside of the Time-Life Building with the iconic silhouette of the show's anti-hero Don Draper. And that's just in New York.

TV historian Tim Brooks affirmed that Nielsen ratings alone mask the true significance of the series.

"It paid off as a marquee program," Brooks said. "It drew a lot of attention to itself and AMC by bringing in that upscale audience and the attention and awards that came with it. It serves a different purpose."

CNNMoney (New York) April 3, 2015: 1:49 PM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

Wal-Mart exec: Credit card upgrade a 'joke'

The new "chip & signature" program is barely an improvement on security and fraud, said Mike Cook, Wal-Mart's assistant treasurer and a senior vice president, at this week's Electronic Transaction Association's Transact conference in San Francisco. Cook said Wal-Mart would have preferred a "chip and PIN" system that Europe and Africa have, since PINs would protect cards from being stolen.

"The fact that we didn't go to PIN is such a joke," Cook told CNNMoney.

Cook said signatures on checks were sufficient 100 years ago, but they're outdated today. PINs on debit cards were a major improvement to stop thieves decades ago. They'd do the same for credit cards -- which is why banks should use them for all cards.

"Signature is worthless as a form of authentication," Cook said during a presentation at the conference. "If you look at the Target and Home Depot breaches ... not a single PIN debit card needed to be reissued in those breaches. The card number was worthless to the individual thief and fraudsters, because they didn't know the PIN."

This comes from a company that's been adamant about adopting technology to stop fraud. Wal-Mart (WMT) has been ahead of the curve -- more so than any other U.S. retailer. It started installing EMV-capable payment terminals at its stores eight years ago, and they're already active today. That means you can dip a chip-enabled card there, a safer way to pay than swiping.

New chip credit cards are using signature, instead of more secure PINs. One Wal-Mart executive isn't happy.

Related: What hackers know about you

Retailers in general have been critical of the U.S. banking industry's decision to avoid PINs on credit cards, calling it a half-step in the right direction.

The United Kingdom, for example, implemented chip-and-PIN and saw a dramatic decrease in fraud stemming from counterfeit cards and stolen cards. By using chips alone, the American upgrade would only cut down on counterfeiting.

However, both companies leading this upgrade -- Visa (V) and MasterCard (MA) -- note that counterfeiting makes up the vast majority of credit card fraud anyway. So, they're tackling the biggest problem currently hurting banks and annoying shoppers, who keep getting reissued cards.

Banks don't want to add a PIN to your credit card for other reasons too. Banks fight to be your most frequently used card. A PIN-required card might annoy you enough to make you relegate it to second place. No bank wants to be card number two -- even if it's safer, said Martin Ferenczi, a top executive at one of the world's largest card makers, Oberthur Technologies.

Also, it's expensive. Attaching PINs to credit cards is an extra batch of data running along the credit card network. That tiny addition requires a multi-billion dollar software upgrade at credit card companies, banks, makers of payment terminals and merchants, experts say.

Besides, better technology has already come around, like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, tap-to-pay features that use your phone. They hide your credit card number from retailers, and they use unique one-time codes that are useless to hackers and thieves. Banks hope these will become main payment methods in just a few years.

"We don't see a need for it," said Visa vice president of risk products Stephanie Ericksen. "[Chip-and-PIN] will have a shorter shelf life. We're moving to new technologies and innovation."

Did someone steal your tax refund? Share your story with CNN.

Related: You're about to get a new credit card - and it's an epic failure

Related: Credit card of the future could stop fraud

Related: Apple's plan to change how you pay for everything

CNNMoney (New York) April 3, 2015: 3:28 PM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More

'Furious 7' revs up for biggest box office opening of 2015 to date

After seeing some of Friday's results, industry analysts now expect the film to earn $130 to $140 million throughout North America this weekend.

Earlier, they were predicting $115 to $125 million -- and even those projections were turning heads in Hollywood.

The film is sure to have the biggest opening of 2015 to date, pretty easily overtaking February's $85 million opening of "Fifty Shades of Grey."

A $130 to $140 million box office total would also drive right by last year's $95 million opening of "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" -- which was, until now, April's biggest opening ever.

"Furious 7," starring Vin Diesel and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, marks the unofficial start of the summer movie season.

The film franchise has been hugely popular for over a decade. Its loyal following has helped it make $2.4 billion worldwide since 2001.

This time around, there's even more interest, partly because the seventh film is the last to include the actor Paul Walker.

Walker died in a 2013 car crash while the film production was still taking place.

Related: Buckle up: 'Furious 7' will be emotional for Paul Walker fans

The film is being released by Universal, a division of NBCUniversal.

Coincidentally, February's "Fifty Shades of Grey" was also a Universal picture.

Industry estimates indicate that "Furious 7" made about $16 million during special Thursday night showings.

Variety reported that it is expected to earn another $58 to $60 million on Friday. These totals, even higher than originally expected, are what's driving the total projections above $130 million.

Universal will wait to publicly celebrate until sometime Saturday or Sunday.

No matter what the final total for opening weekend, it's clear that "Furious 7" will become the biggest opening in "Fast" series history, passing the $97.3 million "Fast & Furious 6" launch in May 2013.

It will also set the template for what Hollywood hopes will be a hot season after last year's dismal U.S. summer box office.

CNNMoney (New York) April 3, 2015: 9:58 PM ET

05.32 | 0 komentar | Read More