fiscal emergency. from detroit to capitol hill, an alarming look at the country's financial affairs. in today's cover story, once the darling of the start-up generation, exactly why groupon fell out of favor. plus, the controversy between food companies and social responsibility. and, the dow makes a run to an all-time high. first business starts now. you're watching first business: financial news, analysis, and today's investment ideas. good morning. it's monday, march 4th. i'm angela miles. in today's first look: market march madness: the dow starts the month less than 100 points away from an all-time high. the dow has rallied every friday this year. the nasdaq and s&p 500 also made gains last week. gold moved down 4

dollars and oil down $1.12 in friday's session. the bp trial continues this week with the current and former executives taking the stand. billions of dollars are at stake as the trial determines bp's liability in the 2010 oil spill. facebook is holding what's billed as a major event thursday. it's anticipated the social media company will unveil a new look for the "newsfeed" on its site. ben lichtenstein of tradersaudio.com is at the ready on this monday morning. good monday morning to you. > > good morning. > what will you be watching for this week ben? > > unfortunately, today specifically we don't have any numbers scheduled for release, so it is going to be a little bit of a technical focus right now. but if you look back to last week, traders have a lot to digest in terms of the information from technical levels, from the energy levels

that we saw, and multiple products that were really on the move. we saw huge strength in the dollar last week, getting back up above that 82- even level. s&ps, they pushed down to that lower level around 1483, but rejected that, so, i am really going to be looking at the technicals this week. i am looking in the s&p's - i think 1483 to the downside. there is a bit of psychological support at that 1500 level, but to the upside we are looking at right around 1430. > is gold in gridlock with buyers and sellers? > > well, gold for the most part here is really mid-range trade coming off to the lower extreme of last year's range, but has really yet to breach any major level of support. again, we just most recently rejected that 1600 level. we have been having a hard time getting back above that. a lot of people kind of just beating gold down verbally right now. again, i have heard a lot of gold-bashers, if you will; but, really, as far as gold goes, as far as it is above 1500, i just think that it is probing lower levels right now, and it has really yet to go vertical on the larger- degree timeframe. > what do you anticipate for oil and gas? > > oil another story. what a big move on friday. we saw vertical activity on the daily

timeframe to the downside, so again, it is really anyone's guess at this point. once the market goes vertical out of that balance area, it is seeking value, so right now, again, crude is seeking value to the downside, and that is really just a continuation of the energy that we were seeing a couple weeks ago when it tested that 98-even high. rejected that. so right now, at this point, again with it being vertical to the downside, it is really anyone's guess where it is going to stop. but right now, it is seeking value lower, i think around the 80-even level is what i think could be a bit of a level that it could kind of pause at if you will, but it certainly has potential for downside activity with energy right now. > thanks ben. have a good day on the trading floor. > > my pleasure, thank you. for a lot of americans, washington politics has become watching the immovable object meet the unstoppable force. and when you ask them about the recent economic policy battles in congress from the fiscal cliff to the sequester and debt ceiling debates yet to come, people we spoke with think it caused a drag on the economy - but by how much is up to debate. "i will say that there will be an impact. i don't know how much, but there will be an impact." "i am concerned about the

airports, but i think if people get aggrivated enough, government will do something." "how would i personally fix it? i'd be hands-off with a lot of the things they want to stick their nose into." nor did people we spoke with have high opinions of how business in washington was being conducted as the sequester deadline drew closer. "what doesn't make sense - and the only thing that we've seen from republicans so far in terms of proposals - is to replace this set of arbitrary cuts with even worse arbitrary cuts. that's not going to help the economy." speaker of the house john boehner has said "the discussion about revenue is over" and stressed taking on the spending problem in washington. on the table for cuts: military

& national security, healthcare, education, and law enforcement. also: disaster relief, unemployment benefits, non-profits, and scientific research the faa could decide this week whether to accept boeing's fix for its troubled 787s. dreamliner jets have been stuck on the ground since january 16th following a fire aboard a parked 787 in boston and a smoking battery that forced a landing in japan. boeing's proposal is to rework the lithium ion batteries to stop the sparking. meanwhile, boeing is cutting hundreds of contracted jobs at its dreamliner plant in south carolina this year. the company claims it has nothing to do with the dreamliner nightmare. a decision is expected this week in the johnson & johnson hip implant case. loren kransky accused johnson & johnson of metal poisoning from a hip implant he received in 2007. his attorneys wants $5 million for pain and suffering and up to $179 million in punitive damages from the company. they claim j&j knew the hip was defective. j&j denies it and says his injuries existed before

surgery. detroit is in a finanicial 911. the governor of michigan declared detroit a "fiscal emergency" friday. motown is reeling from a mass exodous of residents, which translates into less revenue to run the city. the governor is expected to name a manager to take over the city's finances who will likely make severe cuts to services and lay off workers. we spoke with nolan finley, a columnist with the detroit news: "the main criticism - and it's not an illegitimate criticism - is that it amounts to a loss of democracy. you have one of the major cities in america now that doesn't have a democratically-elected voice that will be answering to an appointed emergency manager." the motor city still has more than a week to appeal the governor's decision. meanwhile, detroit is turning in steady growth in auto sales. ford gained 9% in february, its best month since 2007, followed

by sales at gm, which grew 7%. chrysler sales rose 4%, while volkswagen sales ticked up 2.9% - its best month since 1973. toyota sales were up 4%. automakers say the sequester threat and gas prices brought a more moderate pace to sales numbers. unemployment is reaching record levels in europe. the latest data shows the jobless rate in the eurozone at 11.9%. economists suggest the extreme amount of people without jobs could prompt the european central bank to stimiulate the economy when it meets this week. one bright spot out of the eurozone - german manufacturing is up for a second month in a row. manufacturing momentum is also happening in the u.s. the ism factory index rose to 54.2, which means u.s. factories are working at their fastest pace in nearly 2 years. the rebound in the housing market, new car sales, plus a boost in overall business demand is behind the growth in production. consumers are taking a hit in

the wallet. americans' incomes are down 3.6%, the most in 20 years. as higher taxes take hold of paychecks, economists predict it will have a negative effect on consumer spending in the months to come. now that groupon has fired its founder, andrew mason, what next for the online coupon company? our cover story takes a look at analysts' take on the regrouping at groupon. groupon's future may be the mobile user, according to frank sennett, who wrote the inside story "groupon's biggest deal ever." "their big strength is mobile. it's growing exponentially." and others think it might take on amazon or ebay. "ebay would be easeir because they don't have the retail infrastructure amazon has." despite groupon's stock plunge after its ipo, shares went up slightly with news of its founder andrew mason's firing as ceo. now comes the task of

reconnecting with retailers who thought they never really got their money's worth of new customers after the initial group coupon - hence "groupon" - was cashed. "you do hear some merchants complain of 'bottom-feeders,' but i think the jury's still out on that." another problem - the business model was pretty easy to replicate, and plenty of imitators did so. living social, funded by amazon; scoutmob, which uses a phone app in roughly 20 cities; google offers, after google failed to buy groupon itself; and savvycircle, which targets shoppers of more than 200 specific retailers. "the way forward is to get a big retailer like nordstrom rack to let people know groupon's still relavent." it's hardly the first time an

entrepreneur had a rough transition into becoming a ceo, and it's likely not the last - nor the last we've heard of andrew mason. "he's gonna have a second act. he left in a very classy way." mason's millions came when he cashed out groupon shares before its ipo. he also holds nearly 47 million shares, worth about $213 million. it could be a turning point for best buy. 4th quarter earnings revealed revenue inched up .9% as the new ceo makes strides to be more 'price competitive.' meanwhile, best buy founder richard schulze has ended his attempts to take over the company. horse meat could soon be on the menu in the u.s. the u.s. department of agriculture is set to approve a horse slaughtering plant in new mexico, allowing horse meat for human consumption. meanwhile, in britain, tesco, nestlé, ikea, and, most recently, taco bell have admitted to selling beef that contains horsemeat. the irs is giving criminals an

opportunity to fess up to bad behavior. the irs provides a line on all tax forms to declare any illegal income, including money made in drug deals. not many people actually admit to crime this way - however, cnn reports crooks are more likely to report the income if they have been caught or anticipate getting caught. the faa just can't shake this off. the latest viral video craze, the harlem shake, made its way onboard an airbus flight last month. the video, seen here, brought criticism by federal administrators, who say the dancing aboard violated safety standards. students say they had permission from the crew to get their harlem shake on. colossal cranes recently arrived in a london. the sky-high devices will be used to lift containers from the "next generation" of "ultra large cargo ships" coming into london's new seaport. it's a tall story we didn't want you to miss. still to come, don't break the bank this spring. the hot spots for the best spring getaways. that's later on.

but first, controversial ingredients. why some food companies are coming under fire for business abroad. that's next.

most companies would freely admit it's important to operate with sound social & environmental policies in place - to make a profit of course, but also to do good in the world. but how much good?

oxfam, the global anti-poverty and social justice organization, just issued a report that it says shows some large food companies aren't doing enough good. emily bryson- york reported on this for the chicago tribune. who did oxfam look at? > > thanks for having me bill. oxfam looked at the 10 largest food companies in the world, which include nestle, mondelez, mars, some of the best-known names in food. > and what was the measuring stick they were applying to those companies? > > they were looking at public commitments to things like use of the land where commodities that are used to make their products, what the companies are doing there, anything that is being done to ensure environmental sustainability, anything that is done to secure the rights of women, things to protect the communities. > took a look at some of the information in the reporting and your report about it, and

it seems like chocolate companies were particularly singled out for ridicule. > > exactly. and cocoa, being something that is grown particularly in less-developed countries, cocoa has always been a controversial commodity. these are areas where these big companies are doing business. understandably, oxfam and these companies have a different idea of what constitutes sustainable or responsible. > certainly so. mondelez, they make oreo cookies and trident chewing gum and ritz crackers, they put out a release saying it was surprised it came in so low on the score. it said it has pledged something like $600 million over the next 10 years to improve a sustainable cocoa supply chain. it is the largest buyer in the world of fair- trade and rainforest alliance- certified cocoa. > > exactly. and mondelez, which is a company that i cover on a regular basis, did say that they were surprised at coming in so low and the fact that they were viewed as not doing enough. they have $600 million over 10 years, and i think it is a matter of- it is a distinct difference of opinion.

> probably there will always be that kind of separation. how about transparency? that was an issue too. > > that is going to be another sticking point between these organizations that are geared toward hunger relief and public companies that are geared toward generating shareholder returns. mondelez is working toward sustainability, but oxfam believes that mondelez and other companies could do a lot more to make these efforts more transparent, to make the process clearer in their public filings. > emily york. thanks so much. > > thank you for having me. thanks bill. still ahead, is the recent cruisliner crisis sinking passenger interest? that's coming up next.

it's a rare but stressful occurance: you get to your destination, but your suitcase does not. in 2012, studies found it only happened to 3 out of every thousand travelers. but a little knowledge of what you're owed if this happens can be a big help. the new york times says if luggage is lost or damaged, airlines must compensate passengers by up to $3300 for domestic flights, $1700 for international flights, depending on the severity of damage. it's not too late to find a good deal for a spring break getaway. jeanenne tornatore of orbitz joins us on the show from orlando. we would love to be joining you there this morning jeanenne.

> good morning. > > how are the airfares averaging right now? what are you seeing in prices? > > for the spring break period, really march through mid-april, we are seeing average airfares are down compared to what they were during this timeperiod in 2012, so that is good news for travelers who are planning their spring breaks right now. anywhere from $300 to $350 is what we are seeing as the average for some of our top destinations. > do you have any data to show which turn out to be the busiest travel weeks during spring break? > > for families we typically see the busier travel weeks are toward the end of march. most of the kids have their spring breaks near that easter weekend toward the end of the month. however, colleges kind of vary throughout the month of march. so, really, the entire month of march is a very high-travel period for us. > what are the best places to go right now to get the best deals? i am talking rock bottom here. > > i will start with where our

top destination is, which is orlando, our number-one booked spring break destination. here we are seeing the average hotel rates are just $130 a night. if you are looking for other deals, look at some of the other florida destinations, even the ones on our top list: ft. myers and tampa both on there, under $150 a night, even fort lauderdale under $200 a night. so you will find some of these southern, warm-weather beach destinations as affordable this year. > isn't it surprising that these great deals are still available? > > you know, the closer we get to mid-march, the more expensive they are going to become, so if you are looking at taking a spring break vacation and you haven't booked, i highly recommend you do it as soon as possible. not only will the availability become more slim and the prices go up for your hotels, but you are going to find that the airfare is going to go up, and it is going to be really hard to find the seats that you want on the flights that you want to some of these popular destinations this spring. > i am extremely curious what is going on with cruise prices in the wake of that disaster for carnival. what are you seeing there?

> > we are not seeing really any big changes, nor in bookings, nor prices. right now it is still kind of high season for cruises, and cruises are booking very well right now as we get closer to summer. that is when you are going to see some of the more discounted pricing as the caribbean goes into its off- season. > the consumers are bouncing back from that disaster. good to have you on the show. that is jeanenne tornatore of orbitz. enjoy florida. > > thanks. my pleasure. coming up, how a fluttering airline stock could lead to profits for one trader. chart talk is next.

andrew keene, president of keeneonthemarket.com, joins us now for chart talk. good morning on this monday to you as well andrew. what do you think about u.s. airways stock? > > i have been looking at this one for a while, and it has recently had a nice little pullback. on the daily chart, it got down to $12.70, and then it had a big tail on the bottom - big tail means aggressive buying. on friday the stock surged up to $13.95. also we have seen unusual option activity. i have seen a lot of calls being bought, and a lot of traders talk about this a lot, calls being bought on the march 14 line and the april 14 line. so i am long lcc by buying the april 14 calls. i am on long those for about 61¢. > do you anticipate this volatility will continue in this stock? > > yeah. also, the airlines

have looked pretty well. the market looks a little dicey here, the market kind of seems like it wants to roll over, but we also see oil heading lower, and oil heading lower is good for the airlines. i am also long calls of luv. that stock is at $13.82, that is a 52-week high. i think lcc, if it can pop through this $14 level, it can get to the recent highs of $15.50. and if it pops higher, the volatility might explode. we're talking about this merger deal - lcc with american airlines - so i think this deal will happen, and once it does, i think the stock is headed to $16. > we have high hopes for you andrew. thank you. > > thank you. that's if for now. coming up tomorrow, how high-tech equipment is making vast improvements in american schools. find out which tech companies are making a difference. from all of us at first business, have a great monday!