Why India has the cheapest flights on Earth

NEW DELHI (CNNMoney)

Yet the big winners might be price-conscious consumers -- and any carrier strong enough to survive the price wars that have made India the cheapest place to fly on Earth.

Consider this: In India, airlines charge an average $10.20 to travel 100 kilometers, according to a survey by GoEuro. Air travelers in China pay twice as much to go the same distance, and Brazilians pay four times more. Even India's rail lines demand a higher price per kilometer.

The airlines would like to charge more, but they are locked in a race to capture market share -- sometimes operating flights at a loss. Even Air India, the state-owned recipient of seemingly endless bailouts, offers fares that would be more suited to a budget airline.

Helped along by pricing chaos, private carrier Kingfisher Airlines has gone out of business. The government was forced late last year to rescue SpiceJet, the country's third largest carrier.

In total, Indian airlines have reported accumulated losses of more than $10 billion in the last seven years and thereby increased their cumulative debt burden to $16 billion, according to a recent report by industry analytics firm Center for Aviation.

Yet as with many sectors in India, optimism is creeping in around the edges. Funds from foreign investors have provided a boost, and analysts hope that newly-elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi will push through meaningful reforms.

Related: Indian civil servant finally fired after epic 24-year absence

The potential for rapid growth is hard to ignore. India's cities are rapidly growing, and middle-class consumers have money to spend on luxuries like air travel.

Anurag Bhatia, Executive Director of Bird Group, a provider of aviation services to India's biggest airports, believes airlines have a long way to go before tapping the true potential of the market.

"There are 25 to 30 million people that use airplanes in India, whereas there are nearly 300 million that can actually afford to travel but don't because of unavailability of flights or the lack of airports," he said.

Foreign players have taken note. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways took a 24% stake in Jet Airways, India's second largest airline by market share. Singapore Airlines has launched a joint venture with Indian conglomerate Tata Group (Tata also has a deal with AirAsia).

Related: Indian startup funding up 261%

These external entrants have sprung the new government into action as well.

The Modi-led government has pledged to build 200 low-cost airports in tier-II and tier-III cities across the country over the next 20 years to boost regional connectivity.

And the Aviation Ministry is looking to reduce airport charges, which are amongst the highest in the region. The government plans to list Airports Authority of India -- the state-owned airport operator - - to help increase efficiency and improve transparency.

Yet more needs to be done, especially on the issue of fuel taxes, which airlines say are among their biggest costs. The tax on jet fuel can range from 4% in some Indian states to as high as 30% in others.

Dhiraj Mathur, head of PwC India's aviation department, said the high tax rates are "irrational."

"If you levy such high taxes, then how will these airlines operate?" he said. "That's why domestic airlines are finding it hard to become profitable."

First Published: January 14, 2015: 9:18 PM ET

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Mexican billionaire more than doubles New York Times stake

Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim now owns 17% of the New York Times Company.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

Slim has exercised warrants to acquire 15.9 million shares of the company's class A stock at a price of $6.36 per share, according to a company statement.

In 2008, Slim lent the cash-strapped New York Times Company $250 million at an interest rate of 14%, which the company repaid in 2011, in advance of the due date. The warrants Slim has exercised were linked to that deal.

Slim now owns 27.8 million shares, or 17% of the New York Times Company (NYT), a stake worth roughly $341 million based on Wednesday's closing stock price in New York. He previously owned 7%.

The company has received more than $100 million in the transaction, and has been authorized by the board to use the funds to repurchase class A shares.

Related: Billionaires double since financial crisis

The New York Times Company's class A stock is a different category from the controlling class B shares held by the Sulzberger family, which has owned and published the newspaper for generations.

"We believe a share repurchase program in this instance is an appropriate use of the cash proceeds," said Mark Thomposon, president and CEO. "We believe it is in the best interests of the company to continue to maintain a conservative balance sheet and a prudent view on the allocation of free cash flow, and this one-off repurchase program should not be viewed as a change of position about our capital allocation plans."

Mexican billionaire Slim amassed his giant fortune as a telecoms tycoon in South America, and is worth an estimated $73 billion, according to Forbes.

Read next: The richest women around the world

First Published: January 14, 2015: 11:57 PM ET

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India cuts key interest rate in surprise move

RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said that with inflation under control, the bank felt it had room to act.

HONG KONG (CNNMoney)

The central bank was not scheduled to issue a rate decision, and the move took economists and analysts by surprise.

The RBI reduced its key repo rate by 0.25 percentage points to 7.75%, the first such cut in nearly two years. The rupee surged on the news, as did stocks trading in Mumbai.

RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said in a statement that with inflation under control, the bank felt it had room to act.

"These developments have provided headroom for a shift in the monetary policy stance," he said.

Daniel Martin, an economist at Capital Economics, said that more rate cuts are likely. He expects additional central bank actions over the next year or so that will bring the repo rate down to 7%.

"We think today's surprise move marks the start of a loosening cycle," he said. "The economy could certainly use some support, with the industrial sector, in particular, clearly struggling to gain any momentum."

Related: Why India has the cheapest flights on Earth

India's economy has sputtered in recent quarters, despite efforts by the new government to build a consensus around economic reforms.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised to end policy paralysis, reduce inflation and tackle corruption. He also pledged to establish manufacturing hubs and industrial corridors and improve the tax code.

India should get a nice boost from falling oil prices, as cheap gas will give consumers some extra resources in the short-term.

Related: Indian civil servant finally fired after epic 24-year absence

First Published: January 15, 2015: 12:01 AM ET

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Banks to offer FICO credit scores for free

President applauded the move by Bank of America and Chase to make FICO scores free for customers.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Bank of America and Chase will start providing the credit scores to their credit card holders later this year, a change that was applauded by President Obama Monday. Ally Financial (ALLY) also announced that it would start offering its auto loan customers free access to their scores in February.

The FICO score is used by nearly ever major lender to determine the creditworthiness of credit card and loan applicants. And while it had been kept invisible from consumers for years, it's starting to get easier to access.

Related: America's favorite credit card company

In 2013 FICO started allowing lenders to make the scores available to consumers for free. Barclaycard US and First Bankcard (the credit card business of First National Bank of Omaha) were the first to do so, offering scores with their monthly statements.

Since then, Citibank (C), Discover (DFS), Digital Credit Union, the Pentagon Federal Credit Union, and North Carolina's State Employees' Credit Union have also starting offering the FICO score for free to cardholders, according John Ulzheimer, the president of consumer education at CreditSesame.com.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) plans to offer free FICO credit scores to its 10 million Slate cardholders in the coming months. A Bank of America (BAC) spokeswoman said the bank's offering would begin later this year, but would not share any more details.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has urged major credit card issuers to provide free scores to consumers in order to help them improve their credit and turn them into more attractive borrowers.

While consumers are legally entitled to one free copy of their credit report each year, this does not include the actual credit score. The credit report only contains the information used to determine your score, such as outstanding debts and whether or not you've paid your bills on time.

Related: Got medical debt? Your FICO credit score may go up

First Published: January 13, 2015: 8:26 PM ET

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Looking for the new Charlie Hebdo in America? Good luck

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

But good luck getting your hands on a copy in the United States.

Last week's deadly shooting introduced Charlie Hebdo to scores of people around the world who were previously unfamiliar with the French satirical magazine.

As a result, a typical print circulation of 60,000 copies may jump to as many as 3 million for the new issue, which has a cartoon depiction of the Prophet Mohammed on the cover.

The American audience may have to wait, however.

A page on Amazon offers a one-year subscription, a total of 52 issues, for $181.39. The expected delivery time is anywhere from four to six weeks.

Compounding matters for Kindle readers: The Amazon (AMZN, Tech30) page doesn't offer a digital subscription.

It was also unclear Tuesday how much of the new issue, which will stay on sale for eight weeks, will appear on Charlie Hebdo's website. The site has been converted into a fundraising vehicle since the massacre.

Bookseller Barnes & Noble does not carry Charlie Hebdo and has "no plans to do so," according to spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating.

Laura Samuels, a spokeswoman for the Hudson Group, told CNNMoney that she didn't know if her company's hundreds of newsstands and book stores will sell the issue.

Hudson operates over 700 outlets in airports and transportation hubs in the U.S. and Canada.

Samuels said the company has never purchased Charlie Hebdo before and is still figuring out which distribution channels to go through to sell the magazine. She stressed the company is not fearful of selling Charlie Hebdo.

"We're making inquiries," Samuels said. "I can't say that we will and I can't say that we won't."

CNNMoney also called several newsstands in New York City, but employees all said the magazine will not be on their shelves.

Two major stores on the East Coast -- Strand in New York City and Kramerbooks in Washington, D.C. -- also will not sell the magazine.

The best hope, at least for New Yorkers, might be Albertine, a French bookstore that opened in Manhattan last year.

Francois Schmit, the store's manager, told CNNMoney that he might have some issues to sell by the weekend. But he wasn't sure.

"It's very difficult to have more information," he said.

First Published: January 13, 2015: 8:38 PM ET

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Sane investing in a scary market

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

I think you need to reevaluate your approach to investing.

Given the way the stock market's been jumping around lately -- stomach-wrenching dives, followed by dramatic rebounds -- I can understand why you're not sure whether to stay or go.

On the one hand, the U.S. economy seems to be cruising along nicely. So this bull market may have more room to run. At the same time, the recent drop in oil prices and ultra-low yields on U.S and foreign government bonds may be signaling slower growth abroad and potential losses for the U.S. stock market ahead.

But guess what? The future path of stock prices is always uncertain. You can never know for sure how the myriad forces pushing and pulling at the economy and financial markets will play out. And people who think they do are fooling themselves.

For example, the market got off to a rocky start last year when jitters about emerging economies and a weak manufacturing report in China sent stocks on a slide that left the Standard & Poor's 500 index down roughly 6% as of early February. Anyone who bailed and stayed out of stocks would have missed a double-digit return for the year.

Related: Am I on track to retire right?

That's not to say that investors who stuck with stocks didn't endure a bumpy ride. After that initial hiccup, the market slipped by 4% or more four more times en route to its near 14% 2014 gain.

The point is that trying to outguess the market is futile. Clearly, there are going to be serious setbacks in stock prices. Since World War II, we've had eight major downturns averaging nearly 39% and lasting an average of 19 months.

But predicting whether a dip in prices like we saw last week is the prelude to a meltdown or a false alarm from which the market will recover and march to new gains is virtually impossible.

So rather than guessing whether to stay or bolt, you're better off developing an actual investing strategy -- namely, building a diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds you can live with through all sorts of market and economic conditions.

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

Start by assessing your appetite for risk, which you can do by completing this risk tolerance questionnaire. Based on how you answer such questions as how long you intend to keep your money invested and how much of a loss you can stomach before selling off investments, you'll receive a suggested mix of stocks and bonds.

You'll also see how that recommended mix performed over previous decades, as well as how it did in its best and worst years. In other words, you'll get a sense of the potential upside, downside and long-term average.

Once you've settled on a stocks-bonds blend you're comfortable with, avoid the natural instinct to start investing more heavily in stocks in an attempt to grab bigger gains when the market is soaring or tilting your portfolio more toward bonds for greater protection when stock prices are falling (or seem ready to plunge).

Indeed, the reason for setting your asset allocation in the first place is to prevent you from giving in to emotions and instead maintain a consistent tradeoff between risk and return. So aside from periodically rebalancing your portfolio to bring your mix back to its original proportions, you largely want to resist the urge to move your money based on the shifting investment winds.

Related: The only funds you need in your portfolio now

As for choosing investments for your portfolio, you can create a perfectly well-rounded portfolio with just a few funds, or even one fund.

And, in fact, keeping it simple is the better way to go. If you lard your portfolio with all manner of funds and ETFs that engage in arcane investing strategies or invest in obscure corners of the market, you'll more likely end up diworse-ifying than diversifying. You'll also probably shell out more in fees.

But the biggest advantage to following the approach I've outlined is that you'll come away with a disciplined investing strategy, and a portfolio that will give you a reasonable shot at solid long-term returns without taking unnecessary risk. So you won't have to engage in that futile "Should-I-stay-or-should-I-go?" guessing game ever again.

More from RealDealRetirement.com:

3 simple steps to crash-proof your retirement plan

Simple but effective retirement portfolios for 2015 and beyond

Should you bother to rebalance your portfolio?

First Published: January 13, 2015: 9:02 PM ET

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ESPN's $7.3 billion college football playoff gamble pays off

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

When the network signed a reported $7.3 billion deal for the college playoffs in 2012, the format was unknown and untested.

But record breaking ratings on New Year's Day for the inaugural semifinals show that ESPN's gamble just might be paying off.

"We're thrilled with the results," said Mike Soltys, ESPN's vice president of communications.

He said that live sports have become much more valuable in a world where most TV shows are not watched live.

Oregon's mascot greets fans at the Rose Bowl. The New Year's Day game brought in over 28 million viewers for ESPN.

Reports have the network fetching upwards of $1 million per ad for the national championship.

To put that number into context, NBC's asking price for this year's Super Bowl is $4.5 million per ad.

However, last year's Super Bowl pulled in 111 million viewers, or about four times the audience of the college playoff's semifinal games.

Does that mean ESPN is treating Monday's game as its own Super Bowl? Possibly, especially with the big viewership and growing anticipation for the championship.

"This is going to be their Super Bowl," said Brad Adgate, senior vice president of research at Horizon Media. "Year in and year out, this is going to be their highest rated show."

This is however only the first year, and it's unclear if this year's momentum will carry over into future years.

First Published: January 12, 2015: 6:24 PM ET

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