all shook up: the markets get rattled. is there a silver lining to the latest fears? in today's cover story, as cyprus inches closer to a bailout, its citizens hit "withdraw." plus, a facebook exec calls for more females in the corner office. ways her words are rippling through corporate america and, down but not out: are you ready to bite on a fallen apple? first business starts now. you're watching first business: financial news, analysis, and today's investment ideas. good morning. it's tuesday, march 19th. i'm angela miles. in today's first look: crisis in cyprus? maybe, maybe not, if you ask traders. stocks took a large hit at the start of trading yesterday, then rallied back to close with the

dow down 62, nasdaq off 11 and s&p down 9. gold raced up 11 dollars, while oil bounced around closing out near 94 dollars. it's game over for the ceo of electronic arts. he's stepping down just as the company warns profits will fall short. and, it's estimated march madness will cost american businesses $134 million in lost productivity. keep that in mind as you fill in your brackets. scott bauer of trading advantage joins us now for a look at the trading day. good morning to you scott. > > good morning angie. > what matters most to traders: cypress, or the fed? > > i tell you that cypress is behind us except for their definitive announcement, which is about to come out three or

four hours from now about what they are really going to do. but, you look over the weekend, and on sunday, that is when everyone was first concerned about it. by the end of the trading day yesterday, it was almost an afterthought. everyone is really focused on bernanke and the fed announcement on wednesday. > which takes us to the big banks: some people were concerned about the exposure of u.s. banks to cyprus, but that seems like it's almost becoming very minimal at this point. > > yeah, and i'll tell you what the sentiment on the floor is really, is that in the the long term, if this is really going to be an issue in europe outside of cyprus and some of the other european banks, people are going to flock out of those european banks, and where are they going to put their money? they are going to come to the u.s. banks. so at the end of the day, this may actually be a positive for some of the bigger

u.s. banks. > and what was going on with oil yesterday? there was some slippery trading happening. > > that is a good one. early in the morning, when the news first came out with cyprus and everything and there was a little bit of panic, oil was down over $2 a barrel. sure enough, by the end of the day, it crept up, crept up, crept up, and we saw it actually up by the end of the day. so, again, i think cyprus is behind everyone, and the focus again is on the fed. > good to have you on the show. that is scott bauer of trading advantage. have a good one. > > you too angie. if you want to incite a run on atms, just tell bank depositers that a portion of their savings will be confiscated in a tax to bail out the country's finances. in our cover story, that's the scene as the mediterranean island of cyprus faces what its president calls "blackmail" for a bailout. *the run on atms in cyprus was sparked by a controversial deal demanded by the european union. in exchange for a $13-billion bailout to the country, a portion of bank deposit accounts from the poorest pensioners to the richest investors would be confiscated. "some of the banks put cash back in the machines, and soon there were lines around them." it's the first time depositers would pay for a bailout - 6.7% on accounts below the equivalent of $130,000, and 9.9% taken from accounts higher than that. the island nation's

parliment is poised to approve or reject it. "i can't imagine parliment passing it. it's anyone's guess what parliment will do." cyprus has become a haven for offshore accounts - moody's estimates as much as half of cyprus' bank deposits - $31 billion - are from russia, much of it suspected to be involved in money laundering, leaving ordinary depositers caught in the middle. "what's happening is a one- size-fits-all tax that would affect everybody, including small depositers like pensioners." the terms of the bailout may please financial hard-liners, but cypriots who think government-insured deposits aren't as safe as they thought may be followed by savers in spain or italy who fear the same fate and withdraw as much as they can. cyprus' parliment delayed a vote on the bailout terms, which may be modified. but it may be too late. some believe a lot of foreign money has already left cypress for dubai and singapore.

jack lew arrives in china today as he starts his first international trip as treasury secretary. lew will meet with officials in new president jinping's administration and reportedly press them to crack down on cyber attacks aimed at the u.s. he is also expected to lobby about the value of china's currency. during his trip, lew will no doubt continue to keep a close eye on the situation in cyprus. the treasury department issued a statement saying lew has been speaking with his european counterparts. ratings agencies are facing harsh criticism in europe. a watchdog group revealed this week that ratings agencies have "shortcomings." those agencies, including fitch, standard & poors and moodys, have all been asked to provide more details on how ratings are calculated. the industry has faced pushback since risky ratings hurt investors during the financial crisis. president obama is nominating thomas perez as his next secretary of labor. "he helped pay his way through college as a garbage collector and working at a warehouse, he

went on to become the first lawyer in his family, so his story reminds of this country's promise. if you are willing to work hard, it doesn't matter who you are, where you come from, or what your last name is, you can make it." mr. perez currently serves as assistant attorney general and is the son of immigrants from the dominican republic. if confirmed by congress, he will likely tackle changes to immigration and minimum wage. one of the first industries outside of government to feel the pain of sequester cuts is travel. after the automatic budget cuts took effect, non- essential travel by federal employees was eliminated. that translates into a loss of at least 30% of the business for some hotels. the faa has also threatened the closing of control towers at smaller airports and longer lines at bigger airports, all due to the automatic sequester cuts. boeing may be losing altitude with customers. spice jet limited, an indian discount carrier that once operated 100% with boeing jets, is

considering a full switch to airbus. according to bloomberg news, the decision is based on next generation technology in airbus aircrafts. yesterday, lion air signed a $24-billion deal with airbus rather than boeing. boeing continues to test its troubled dreamliner batteries with hopes of getting its 787s back in the air. the stock continues to trade shy of a 5- year high. despite still working its way through bankruptcy, american airlines plans to give its departing ceo a $20-million pay-out. a trustee assigned to the bankruptcy has asked the airline to justify the amount. ceo tom horton is leaving as a result of american's merger with u.s. airways group. that merger is expected to be finalized in the third quarter. it's a dark day for solar panel company suntech. one of the largest makers of solar panels in the world defaulted on a $541-million bond payment. the industry continues to hurt under a glut of solar panels. suntech's stock now trades

around 64 cents. the mayor of new york is taking on cigarettes as a follow up to his anti-sugar campaign. tomorrow, mayor bloomberg will propose two bills to the city council requiring retailers to keep cigarettes in a drawer or other hidden location. smoking rates have declined in canada, where such rules have gone into effect. phillip morris opposes the bill and tells us: "to the extent that this proposed law would ban the display of products to adult tobacco consumers, we believe it goes too far." the supreme court will listen to arguments from a generic drug company in a critical case. millions of dollars are at stake as mutual pharmaceutical asks the nation's top court to overturn a $21-million jury award to a new hampshire woman. she took the company's generic verision of an anti- inflammatory drug, which left her blind and scarred. the case could determine the extent generic drug makers are liable for injuries even though federal laws require an exact copycat of the original drug.

"if the supreme court decides to reverse the appellete court decision, which is 75% likely, it means it will almost be impossible to sue a generic drugmaker for anything." that was hugh totten of valorem law group. nearly 80% of all u.s. perscriptions are generics. fee hikes for merchants that sell on amazon are causing tension. amazon can thank third- party retailers - entities that sell on amazon's site - for amazon's record profits and 40% of its business, but now a series of fee increases for those sellers is making some defect to other sites. the situtation could end up benefitting amazon rival ebay. startling details are coming to light about campaign cash and family ties. a usa today study reveals congress paid out more than $2 million in campaign funds to relatives during the 2012 election. payments to children, spouses, aunts and uncles did not involve taxpayer money and are legal. however, campaign fund watchdogs contend there is a conflict when family

members belong to special interest groups. move over superbowl. the ncaa is now the ad champion when it comes to sports championship games. the month-long tournament known as march madness brings in more ad revenue than any other sports championship all year. ad spending surpassed a billion dollars last year. the average ad during the final game is $1.4 million. the first round tips off tonight. still to come, dollars and cents: why banking at a credit union could save you more money than you would think. that's later on. but first, a new book is stirring up conversation about women in the boardroom. thoughts on that and more next with bill moller, after this "in the know" message.

you remember the old virginia slims cigarette ad, "you've come along way baby?" women have made strides, and it's important to take stock of those advances during women's history month - this is that month - but also to recognize they haven't yet arrived to a point of parity with men. hedy ratner is the co-founder and co-president of the women's business development center, the largest, oldest such center in the country. so, virginia slims, there is another song of that era that you are more interested

in. > > helen reddy: "i am woman, hear me roar." and women are roaring. women are empowered, women have their own table, rather than a seat at the table, and i am very impressed with the progress we have made, but there is much to be done. > let me ask you about two women who do have a seat at the table, if not their own table: of yahoo, it's marissa mayer, and sheryl sandberg of facebook. they have made some rather controversial comments of late as to the role of women and where women fit in the workplace. your reaction? > > my reaction is that these are very privileged women, highly educated, with many opportunities. i do not believe that they are an expression of women today. most people say, in terms of marissa mayer, that, if you want productivity, you let people work from home because they have more time, more energy and more flexibility; and if you want innovation, then you bring them all together. and i think a combination of those two things

is the best way to support an institution, a culture, and a business. on the other hand, i am very concerned about it. i think the issue is that women are empowered. we do not- > sandberg you are talking about? > > yes. we do not get our power from men, we do not get our power from others, we do not have to accommodate or manipulate to become empowered. we do have the education, we have the experience, we have the knowledge, and we are empowered. so i believe that i am in opposition to the position of both of those two women. > let me ask you about sexism. there is blatant sexism in countries such as india or afghanistan- > > and the united states. > and the united states as well. would you say it's blatant still? > > it is still. > but not to that degree? > > it is not so blatant. but

the discrimination exists, sexism exists. there are major, major issues- > do you see a day when there will be absolute equality? or is that to elusive to ever expect? > > i do think it's elusive. i think it is possible. and it is to set policies where women become more activist to really support the positions that are critical, to women, to families, and to life in america. > hedy ratner. thank you so much. > > my pleasure. thank you bill. still ahead, what's better for your wallet, a bank or a credit union? the real deal after the break.

credit unions continue to be the better deal compared to banks. greg mcbride of bankrate.com is here via skype to count the ways. good morning to you. > > good morning, angie. > when it comes to free checking, greg, which is better to go with, a bank or a credit union? > > we see a much higher incidence of free checking at credit unions. even though we have seen a sharp decline in the availability of free checking at banks in recent years, even now, credit unions, 72% to the nation's largest credit unions still offer a free checking account. that is almost double the pace or the rate at which we see that at banks. > what about with atm surcharges? > > an atm surcharge is something that is assessed to a non-customer or non-member that is using the bank or the credit

union's atm. this is actually a commonality. the bottom line is, if you are a non-customer or a non-member using an atm, you can expect to pay. that is almost universal. > how do thing stack up when it comes to savings deposits? > > you know, the barriers to entry are pretty low in the sense that we didn't see any accounts that required more than $100 to open at the nation's largest credit unions, and nearly three out of four had no minimum balance requirement in order to avoid a fee on a monthly basis. so, not only is free checking pretty prevalent, but even in the accounts where you didn't have free checking, we are still talking about very low balance requirements. > are credit unions becoming more of a threat to banks? > > i think for consumers that are fee-sensitive. if you are shopping around and looking for a better deal, you have to include credit unions in your search. again, we see that in terms of a higher incidence of

free checking, lower balance requirements, lower monthly fees, and fewer fees. i think all told that makes a pretty competitive offering, and that is why consumers need to include them in their search. > but does everybody have access to a credit union? > > it is actually a lot better than it has been in years past. the fields of membership have been greatly expanded in recent years, and there are a lot of what are known as community credit unions, where basically anybody who lives or works in a particular community is eligible to join a credit union. so, a lot of people may be eligible and not even realize it. > are you surprised banks aren't doing more to become even more competitive, then, against credit unions? > > well, banks have this big revenue gap that they have to fill, and while credit unions are contending with some of the same regulatory challenges, their not-for-profit status gives them some other leverage that they can pull before they have to resort to things like ratcheting up fees the way the banks have done. > thank you greg. that is greg mcbride of bankrate.com. just ahead, why investors are suddenly banking on apple. chart talk is next.

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apple stock jumped $12 yesterday. joining us now, matt shapiro, president of mws capitol. what kind of a signal is this giving to investors? this stock has struggled of late. had a great day yesterday. what do you think? > > you know, actually i have been talking about this stock a lot to my clients, because we own it, and what is going to happen going forward? i am actually really positive. if you look at the fundamentals of apple, they are very good. its p/e is low, it still has an incredible franchise and a lot of business momentum, and of course, you throw in the catalyst of them raising their dividend, and the stock could easily get to $500. so, a lot of people abandoned the stock, gave up hope, but look what happened. you had a little window to get, $420, $430, and

now it is rising. > so you think it is ramping up? do you see it going to $500? at what level did you buy this stock? > > i bought it at about $90 several years ago- > oh, you're killing us. > > -and i pruned it back though a little too early around the $400 level. it went to $600, and some of my clients were like, "why are you selling that stock?" well, you know, when it gets just a little too popular, you want to sort of tame it down in the portfolio. but, the fundamental analysis is this: it is an all-american stock with a dividend yield going to be over 3%, and it has a franchise that is not declining but is still healthy and vibrant. so when you look at all these facts lined up, the stock could easily get back to $500, get back to $550. > and you think the traders are out of this, the people who were using it as a trading vehicle as opposed to just a simple investment?

> > right. it got too big last year. when it was rising so much and it became such a big part of the s&p 500, a lot of fund managers had to be in it. then the reverse happened this year. now it is a drag on portfolios. for instance, fidelity growth discovery fund had a large position in apple. its portfolio had not done so well this year. so now maybe i think that is creeping in, and some of the fundamental investors are getting in, and i think that's a good sign, because fundamentally, i agree, there is a lot of potential for the stock to get to $500, get to $550. remember, the products still sell very, very well. > thanks a lot, matt. have a good one. > > you're welcome. that's it for now. coming up tomorrow, a spring fling: the super extremes retailers are going to to lure in shoppers. thank you for watching today, and have a great tuesday!