NYSE suspends trading of RadioShack

RadioShack does not have have a high enough valuation to be listed on the exchange, which requires companies to keep a market cap of at least $50 million.

The retailer has also been low on cash. Struggling to compete with online stores like Amazon, losses mounted and RadioShack (RSH) burned through all but $43 million of its cash by last November. Even counting its credit lines, the company only had $63 million available heading into the Christmas shopping season.

Related: 94 years of hits and misses at RadioShack

Although it once boasted about its vast retail network, saying that 90% of the U.S. population lived or worked within a few minutes of a RadioShack location, the company's 5,000 stores have been weighing it down.

Last March, the company announced a plan to close about 1,100 stores, but it's an expensive undertaking due to the cost of severance, liquidating merchandise and paying penalties to get out of leases.

It was only able to close 175 stores through the end of October. By year's end it was battling with its lenders to get the green light to close more.

RadioShack can review and appeal the decision by the NYSE to suspend trading. The company declined to comment.

Related: Time is running out for RadioShack

CNNMoney (New York) February 2, 2015: 6:45 PM ET

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Business Gets Personal - A new look for CNNMoney

Those are the ideas behind CNNMoney's coverage, and that's what our new look is all about.

Nothing matters more to us at CNNMoney than sharing the most important stories with our audience.

You want to know about and understand the biggest news events and trends happening in the world right now.

You have goals -- your retirement, your investments, your kids, your home.

Our mission is to explain it all and help you achieve those goals. And we know you're busy, so we keep it simple.

With today's design changes, you'll see more inviting colors. Bold headlines and images. Nothing between you and the information you want.

The same idea drives our markets data page. We zero in on the most important markets, stocks and stats. Exactly what you need, without the clutter.

We like to move fast and iterate, so these changes are to the home page, markets page and story pages. Throughout the year, we'll continue improving CNNMoney mobile, our apps, and video experience.

And you'll continue to see ambitious journalism, with data and investigative projects, and digital video that pushes the boundaries -- "Sex, Drugs and Silicon Valley" and "Best Jobs in America" are just the first of our big 2015 efforts!

CNNMoney (New York) February 2, 2015: 5:53 PM ET

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FCC will seek heavier regulation of the Internet

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler plans to introduce a proposal that would reclassify high-speed Internet service as a public utility, according to a person who has consulted with the FCC on the forthcoming proposal.

The person insisted on anonymity because Wheeler had not yet spoken publicly about his plans. Wheeler will hold a press briefing about his proposal on Tuesday. Wheeler promised the FCC would vote on the rules at its Feb. 26 meeting, so following FCC procedure, he must present them to colleagues by this Thursday.

By making broadband a public utility, the FCC would gain far more power to regulate the kinds of network-access arrangements that Internet providers make with content providers, such as Netflix (NFLX, Tech30) and Google (GOOGL, Tech30).

Currently, Internet providers can charge content companies to provide direct access to their networks, which speeds up streaming and download speeds for broadband customers.

Under the proposed new rules, the FCC would ensure that broadband companies don't unfairly discriminate against content providers by creating "slow lanes" on the public Internet, according to CNNMoney's anonymous source. But there might still be "fast lanes."

If, for instance, a video streaming service like Netflix feels it is being unjustly charged for the distribution of its content, it will be able to bring a case before the FCC, according to the current draft of the proposal.

"There's a cop on the beat, but we're not going to tell you what's illegal yet," the person said.

Wheeler's approach falls in line with President Obama's firm stand in November that the Internet should be more heavily regulated to ensure it stays open and independent.

The FCC has tried -- and failed -- to regulate this kind of behavior before. Federal courts have blocked the agency, saying that it overstepped its authority. Wheeler's approach is a workaround: Reclassifying Internet providers scoops them up under the FCC's purview.

Even if the the proposal is acceptted, major hurdles remain.

The legal one: Title II rules were written in the 1930s for the Bell phone monopoly, so there are a bunch of rules that don't fit with modern technology. CNNMoney's inside source said the FCC will waive some Title II rules that don't apply to 21st century communications.

When Internet providers fight the FCC in court (and they likely will), they'll point out that the FCC is implementing a rule that's only relevant 1% of the time, said Robert M. McDowell, a former FCC commissioner turned telecom lawyer in Washington, D.C.

Then there's public opinion: Internet providers say it'll lead to more paperwork and higher costs.

"The FCC's planting a big seed of regulation that'll probably only grow," McDowell said. And that might one day mean extra rules for Google and Netflix, which have data centers and could be considered network owners too.

Others say more regulation could mean more freedom, lower prices and better treatment for customers.

"These [telecom companies] are consolidating, monopolizing and controlling wider swathes of broadband... you have to protect public interest," said Michael Copps, a former FCC commissioner who now leads Common Cause, a populist citizen lobby group.

Given the uncertainty about what's actually in the proposal, Free Press, one of the foremost public interest groups that has been lobbying for strong net neutrality protections, was careful in its statement on Monday, saying "we can't judge what we have yet to see."

But "from all indications, Chairman Wheeler seems intent on choosing the correct path to protecting the open Internet," Free Press CEO Craig Aaron said.

"If the FCC does that -- and also keeps the final order free of loopholes and industry meddling -- the chairman should be cheered by the millions who have mobilized to save the Internet," Aaron said.

Related: Obama puts foot down and says no Internet fast lanes

Related: Under pressure, FCC revises fast lane plan

Related: Netflix blasts Internet providers: 'Consumers deserve better'

CNNMoney (New York) February 2, 2015: 8:09 PM ET

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The tale of the missing tape from Super Bowl I

Most of the first Super Bowl in 1967 was lost to history - until a dusty copy of the broadcast was found in a Pennsylvania attic. Now it's in legal limbo.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

"All I have is what's in my memory," said Whitaker, now 90.

Neither CBS, where Whitaker worked during the 1967 game, or the other network that televised it that year, NBC, have recordings of the match up between the Packers and the Chiefs.

There are snippets of tape available, mostly from the sidelines, but most of the game has been lost to history.

Until a man found a copy in an attic in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and came forward with it in 2005.

Now the man's incredible discovery is in a sort of legal limbo, and the tape is yet to be seen by the public.

Slide show: The latest Super Bowl ads

The Paley Center for Media, a cultural organization, restored the recording -- originally on two-inch quadruplex tapes -- but "we keep it locked up in a vault," said Ron Simon, Paley's curator.

Simon has seen the whole game -- complete with an interview of Packers coach Vince Lombardi at the end. He called it "a remarkable document."

"It's really a history of what the game is," he said.

But he needs the permission of the man who found the recording, and "maybe the NFL's permission too," to screen it for anyone else.

Steven Harwood is an attorney for the man, who wishes to remain anonymous. I interviewed Harwood on CNN's "Reliable Sources" on Sunday.

Harwood said he'd like to strike a deal with the NFL, which has a copyright on the game. But he suggested that the two sides don't see eye to eye about the tape's worth.

"We feel being compensated for preserving it for all these years is certainly a reasonable thing to do," he said.

Harwood cited what Sports Illustrated wrote in 2005 when it listed the tape as one of the sports world's 25 "lost treasures" -- an estimated value of "more than $1 million."

"To put that in perspective, $1 million is the equivalent of about seven seconds of commercial airtime on today's game," he said.

Harwood also mentioned that "Super Bowl 50 is coming up next year," so it's "an exciting time to revisit what happened in January 1967."

Simon, the Paley Center curator, isn't sure when or how the tape will see the light of day, but he is confident that "one day it's going to happen."

Simon and Harwood have stayed in touch over the years. And I'm going to put Whitaker and Simon in touch, too, in case they can work something out.

"We didn't have [many] people who were interested in the history of our industry in those days," Whitaker told me. "We lost a lot of important tapes and recordings of important events. I think that's been corrected now, thank goodness."

Whitaker was an announcer on 12 Super Bowl broadcasts, but he said "none of them kind of measure up" to that first one.

For Simon, having a restored copy of Super Bowl I is valuable, even though he can't show it to anyone.

Just knowing that it was laying dormant in an attic for so long, he said, "gives us hope that there are other things out there like it."

First Published: February 1, 2015: 5:02 PM ET

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More than 3,300 crash claims filed against GM as window closes

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The claims were filed to Kenneth Feinberg, the victim compensation specialist hired by GM (GM) to evaluate the claims and authorize payouts.

His office has so far ruled at least 125 claims eligible, including 50 deaths. Nearly 400 were ruled ineligible for compensation through the fund and thousands more are either under review or were submitted without adequate documentation.

The deadline to file claims was Saturday, and fund deputy administrator Camille Biros told CNNMoney the 3,350 total represents claims filed through Thursday. The number was first reported by The New York Times. Biros said new figures would be released on Monday.

Feinberg's office will also review claims that are currently in the mail but were postmarked Saturday, and continue to accept and consider evidence for claims it has already received. He said earlier the goal is to respond to each claim within three to four months.

Attorneys representing victims, as well as lawmakers, urged GM to extend the deadline, which it did once by setting Saturday's date. The company has said, "Our goal with the program has been to reach every eligible person impacted."

GM originally said 13 deaths were linked to the issue.

Related: Driver of recalled GM car cleared in boyfriend's death

Some alleged victims of the ignition switch flaw have taken GM and parts supplier Delphi Automotive to court. But their lawsuits are on hold until a bankruptcy court decides this month whether the company's bankruptcy means it has a so-called liability shield that protects it from earlier claims.

GM set aside $400 million for the Feinberg-administered compensation program, but said it is limitless. Each victim Feinberg rules eligible is allowed a baseline amount -- $1 million for a death, for example -- plus funds to cover lost wages and costs like medical bills.

General Motors' recall of 2.6 million vehicles that may have the faulty switches set off intense scrutiny of the company's safety practices because it revealed some employees knew of the problem a decade ago. A report by former federal prosecutor Anton Valukas found internal communication was flawed, but no conspiracy to cover up the issue.

Related: GM victim accepts payout, but wants vindication

GM CEO Mary Barra, a veteran of the company but new to the corner office, apologized.

By the end of 2014, GM recalled a record-setting 30 million vehicles for issues ranging from faulty seat belts to electrical and computer problems.

Barra has tried to move forward, and last month GM released data showing car sales increased last year by 5% over 2013 levels.

Related: How Brooke Melton's death led to the GM recall

First Published: February 1, 2015: 3:41 PM ET

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Super Bowl advertisers 'are on trial'

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Months of planning and weeks of promotion are culminating in Super Bowl ads premiering in front of more than 100 million viewers -- and those viewers are delivering their verdicts via the Internet within seconds.

"Advertisers are on trial via social media," said media strategist Shari Anne Brill, a former executive at the ad agency Carat.

Related: Seahawks and Patriots fans face off

Well-received ads included BMW's humorous ad with Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel; a serious Coca Cola ad rebuking Internet "haters;" a throw-back Snickers ad starring Danny Trejo and Steve Buscemi; and an almost universally praised Dodge ad featuring senior citizens.

Companies facing more negative reviews -- but still lots of chatter about their ads -- included Nationwide Insurance, T-Mobile and GoDaddy.

There were lots of ads with babies, lots of ads with dads -- and some unusually dark themes on a usually fun-filled occasion.

"With ads about domestic violence, dead kids, blade-runner kids and online bullying, this may be most depressing Super Bowl ever," Variety senior TV editor Brian Steinberg tweeted.

"That Nationwide ad just knocked me off my chair," wrote CNNMoney's Frank Pallotta. It showed a child, back from the dead, speaking about the life he would have lived if he hadn't been killed in an accident.

The provocative messages were meant to stand out from the dozens of other spots.

Related: Will the Super Bowl get record ratings?

Paying an average of $4.5 million for 30 seconds of air time, advertisers during the four quarters of the Super Bowl face extraordinarily high stakes. (And that's just the price paid to NBC -- companies pay huge amounts of money to get the ads produced.)

One ad right before kickoff that drew immediate commentary: a spot by Chevrolet about the wireless Internet capabilities of its Colorado trucks.

"Chevy trucks advertising 4G LTE instead of driving through gratuitous mud. The world has truly gone tech," Mashable chief strategy officer Adam Ostrow wrote on Twitter.

The all-important first ad position after kick-off belonged to Toyota, (TM) which had a feel-good ad starring Paralympic athlete Amy Purdy.

A few minutes later, commenters on Twitter were surprised by an ad for a mobile game called "Game of War."

The game's creator, Machine Zone Inc., isn't alone -- mobile developer UCool had a spot promoting its game "Heroes Charge" later in the evening.

Some advertisers have tried to capitalize by releasing their ads days ahead of time, and promoting them with YouTube teasers, Facebook messages and tweets.

"Puppies, laughs, celebrities, sex and family values continue to drive advertising creatives," said Sean Muller, the CEO of Visible Measures, which keeps track of online views of Super Bowl ads.

What's different this year, he said, is "the volume of pre-releases/teasers."

Muller said some advertisers are using Facebook's relatively new video features to get attention, and it's "driving up viewing and social activity significantly."

But "the volume of views and activity on Facebook appears to be an additive, meaning it's not taking away from activity on other platforms," like YouTube, Muller said.

"And secondly, some brands aren't utilizing it yet -- I suspect that will change next year."

Sunday's game was expected to feature 15 first-time Super Bowl advertisers.

"If you would have told me 10 years ago that Chevy wouldn't be in the Super Bowl, but that Wix.com or Dove products for men would be, I'd be very surprised," Richard Kirshenbaum, the CEO of ad agency NSG/SWAT, said on CNN's "New Day."

"But there's a new lineup. There's a new America," he added.

Super Bowl regulars like McDonald's (MCD), Coca-Cola (KO), Budweiser, and BMW will be present, too.

Perhaps the most thought-provoking ad of the game was the one commissioned by the NFL for its "No More" initiative, intended to stop domestic violence and sexual assault.

"The spot, which features a woman calling 911 and pretending to order a pizza because her husband is in the room, is based on a real 911 call," said the ad blog Spot Bowl, which called it a "game-changer."

It said the NFL was giving over "some of the airtime it normally reserves for light-hearted self promos" for the PSA.

Brill noted that the NFL says it is contributing $5 million per year for the next five years to the National Domestic Violence hotline.

"It's about time," she said.

First Published: February 1, 2015: 7:21 PM ET

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2.1 million cars recalled for crash sensors

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

All the vehicles had previously been recalled for this issue but the manufacturers' repairs have not stopped the problem. The sensors, which are designed to sense a serious impact, were made by auto parts supplier TRW (TRW).

The earlier fix, which involved installing devices to protect the airbag sensor module from electrical surges, was very effective, reducing inadvertent airbag deployments by about 85%, according to NHTSA. But some unwarranted deployments were still occurring.

Manufacturers will now entirely replace the impact sensors with new units. It will take some time to have the new sensors ready. Meanwhile, NHTSA is instructing vehicle owners who have had not had the initial recall fix done to contact their dealers had have it done.

Related: Cars with the best resale value

"Even though it's a temporary solution until the new remedy is available, they and their families will be safer if they take the time to learn if their vehicle is covered and follow their manufacturers' instructions," NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said in an announcement. "A hassle is much better than a family tragedy."

About half of the vehicles were also involved in recalls for faulty Takata airbags. Those airbags have faulty inflators that can explode, shooting out sharp metal fragments.

Related: Ford recalls police cars

That makes attention to this recall especially important, NHTSA said, since occupants in those cars can be badly injured by their airbags.

The vehicles involved are Acura MDX, Dodge Viper, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Liberty, Honda Odyssey, Pontiac Vibe, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Matrix and Toyota Avalon.

Related: Honda hit with $70 million in fines for failing to report accidents over 11 years

The vehicles involved are all from model years 2002 through 2004. The age of the vehicles can make it difficult to track down current owners since many of these cars and trucks will be with their second or third owners. For that reason, NHTSA as taking extraordinary steps to get out word of this recall.

For more information car owners should go to http://www.safercar.gov/.

First Published: January 31, 2015: 11:59 AM ET

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In football they trust: Polynesians' pipeline to the American dream

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

"As Polynesian kids, we were much bigger than the other kids in high school so it was natural for us to excel and do well in football, said Tongan Tony Vainuku.

Vainuku is the director of the documentary, "In Football We Trust," which debuted at the Sundance Film festival this past week.

The film chronicles the lives of four young NFL hopefuls in the Salt Lake City area, which boasts one of the largest Polynesian communities outside of Samoa and Tonga.

"The Polynesian football phenomenon is a big thing but not many people including our own community in Salt Lake City and Utah know anything besides that," said co-director and producer Erika Cohn.

Related: NFL gets billions in subsidies from taxpayers

For many Polynesian families, playing football is the road to a good education and way to support the entire family.

But that journey to the top isn't all glitz and glamor.

Recruited and groomed for the NFL

Al Lolotai. Manu Tuiasospo. Haloti Ngata. Troy Polamalu.

Their names have filled college and NFL rosters in the last several decades. There have been more than 200 Polynesians who have played professionally in NFL and CFL.

Getting to play at a top college and eventually the NFL like their peers before them has inspired many Polynesian youth to start young and play football in high school.

"If I keep making the right choices and keep my head straight, things start falling in place you know, I'll get my degree. I'll go on and get a good paying job in the league. If I'm in the league you know, the first couple checks go to the family," said Harvey Langi, one of Utah's top high school running backs interviewed in the film.

The average salary range for a NFL player ranges from $750,000 to $22 million for top players, according to Spotrac.com.

Related: Who is the richest NFL team owner?

During his senior year in high school, Langi received football scholarships offers from almost every top Division I school. But a trespassing incident that involved suspected marijuana use limited those choices as schools withdrew their scholarship offers.

"It's just so much pressure on your shoulders. It's like I could hardly carry it sometimes," Langi said in the film.

"If you fail this Harvey, all of your scholarships will be gone. That's when it hit me. If it's in my system and I test positive, I'd get just a regular job and be a normal person and if it comes out negative, I tell myself I'm going to make it today in the field," he said.

Langi tested negative for marijuana and was suspended but allowed to stay on the football team at Bingham High School in South Jordan, Utah.

"The thing that's difficult for the kids that are growing up is that their parents expect them to play in the NFL at the cost of everything else. It's hard to get in there. It's even harder to stay. And if kids grow up thinking well that's what I'm going to do and nothing else, they're a long shot to success in life period," said former Green Bay Packer and Philadelphia Eagle player Vai Sikahema, the first Tongan to play in the NFL.

Langi ended up committing to the University of Utah but after a year he decided to go on a mission with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for two years.

"A lot of people think I'm just doing my mission because maybe I'm scared of football -- scared of not playing because I didn't do good my first year. I'm not scared. I can still play ball. I want to be a running back. I want to show that Polynesians can be a running back in the league. And I know I have the ability to do it," Langi said in the film.

After returning from his mission, Langi is now playing football at Brigham Young University.

A vehicle to stay out of trouble

For other families, football was a means to stay out of bad situations and finance an education.

"It does take a toll on your family. Sacrifice is something huge for us where we feel we're going to do whatever we need to do with whatever means we have," said Kauta Bloomfield, mother of Leva and Vita -- brothers who were profiled in the film as they struggled to disassociate their ties from gangs while playing football. Leva was sent to juvenile detention after he brought a gun to school.

Their father Fua was a former Brigham Young University running back who founded one of Utah's first Polynesian gangs.

"When I look back we did invest a lot in Leva and Vita because they were the oldest of the nine (children). We always figured that we invest all of this time and money into them it's all going to pay off -- which it did, they got full ride scholarships, however it did take a lot of time from our younger kids," Bloomfield told CNNMoney by phone Friday. "So when they did make bad choices it did make me question myself as far as parenting -- where was it worth all of that, because they still ended up making other choices."

Leva and Vita completed their high school coursework and Leva is now playing football at Snow College and Vita is a football coach at the University of Utah.

A means to something greater

For Fihi Kaufusi, football was never the end game.

"Football is not always going to be there for me. I may have a good body -- body type for speed and stuff but that's going to only last so long. I got to figure it out...school job and a career," Kaufusi said.

As the oldest in his family, Kaufusi's mother pushed him to set an example for his other brothers and sisters.

After returning from his mission with the LDS church, Kaufusi is now playing football at Weber State University.

"I used football as a means of transportation to get where I needed to go. I knew in my heart, football was going to be done soon for me and I wouldn't be able to continue on after college," Kaufusi said by phone Friday. "But I can use it to get me to college and to get my degree and that would do a lot for my family."

First Published: January 31, 2015: 10:34 AM ET

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What Super Bowl? The Ad Bowl has already begun

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Some Super Bowl advertisers have been previewing their ads for days, trying to maximize their multimillion dollar investments. Others are keeping their ads under wraps until game time, believing that's the best way to stand out.

At an average cost of $4.5 million per 30-second ad, the stakes are obviously high.

NBC said ad time during the four quarters of the game officially sold out earlier this week. Almost as valuable is the commercial time during the network's six-hour pre-show -- and after the game, when NBC will show its popular drama "The Blacklist."

Watch: Super Bowl's strangest prop bets

More than ever, Super Bowl advertisers are supplementing their 15-, 30- and 60-second spots with viral online videos and what marketers call "social media war rooms."

But the spots are undoubtedly the most important part. On top of what's paid to NBC, companies pay advertising firms huge amounts of money to distill brand messages into funny, timely, celeb-filled, sex-soaked ads.

The game will feature 15 first-time Super Bowl advertisers.

"If you would have told me 10 years ago that Chevy wouldn't be in the Super Bowl, but that Wix.com or Dove products for men would be, I'd be very surprised," Richard Kirshenbaum, the CEO of ad agency NSG/SWAT, said on CNN's "New Day."

"But there's a new lineup. There's a new America," he added.

Wix, a website-building company, is one of the first-timers. Chief marketing officer Omer Shai told CNNMoney that it prepared almost a dozen "teaser" ads ahead of Sunday.

"We are updating and changing the campaign on a daily basis according to performance," Shai said. "This is the year that we're comfortable [taking] the brand to the next level."

Other newbies include the online insurance company Esurance, the glue brand Loctite, the toenail fungus treatment Jublia, and the mobile game maker UCool.

Related: Preview 17 Super Bowl ads

Household names like McDonald's (MCD), Coca-Cola (KO), Budweiser, and BMW will be present, too.

Coca Cola has a 60-second ad rebuking Internet "haters" that won't be seen until the game. But the company has already released clips with stars like Danica Patrick, Michael Sam and Robby Novak, better known as Kid President.

A Coke representative said the ad is "intended to disrupt the complacency that's set in around online negativity" -- something that anyone who's spent time on Facebook or Twitter knows about.

Perhaps the most thought-provoking ad of the game will be the one commissioned by the NFL for its "No More" initiative, intended to stop domestic violence and sexual assault.

"The spot, which features a woman calling 911 and pretending to order a pizza because her husband is in the room, is based on a real 911 call," said the ad blog Spot Bowl, which called it a "game-changer."

It said the NFL was giving over "some of the airtime it normally reserves for light-hearted self promos" for the PSA.

Marketers come to the Super Bowl with a wide variety of missions.

For Victoria's Secret, its ad is part of a weeks-long campaign leading up to Valentine's Day.

For TurboTax, the timing is right, too, because it's tax season.

Weight Watchers is using the stage to introduce a rebooted brand.

NBC will be promoting several of its forthcoming shows, like "Odyssey" and a variety show hosted by Neil Patrick Harris.

Most of the ads will, in one form or another, strive to make 110 million viewers laugh -- and, most importantly, remember the advertisers.

First Published: January 31, 2015: 3:58 PM ET

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January was a terrible month for stocks

Stocks have been having a pretty bad 2015 so far.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The Dow shed 3.7%, the S&P 500 has lost 3.1%, and the Nasdaq is over 2.1% lower.

Talk about a bad start to the year. A quick glance at the chart below shows what a whiplash ride 2015 has been so far with 7 days where the market swung up or down more than 200 points.

Related: Bears warn: A crisis could be near

There's an adage on Wall Street that the early days of the year are a good predictor of the full-year. Historically speaking, there's only about a 50-50 probability that the stock market will end the year on a positive note if January saw market declines, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac.

Dan Greenhaus, chief strategist at BTIG, points out that five of the last six down January's (2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2014) have not prevented the S&P 500 from finishing higher for the full year.

The one exception was 2008, but that was the year of the financial crisis.

But investors might take comfort that January of 2014 was even worse and stocks rebounded significantly to hit record highs in December.

"In an effort to note something positive we can say that while the [S&P 500] index is down [3]% or so this year, the index finished January 2014 down by 3.6%!" Greenhaus wrote in a recent research note.

This time last year the market was worried about an emerging markets meltdown and the impact of the Federal Reserve pullback on so-called quantitative easing (aka bond buying). Those fears are mostly gone. This January investors are worried about cheap oil and the global economic slowdown.

The energy and financial sectors were the biggest losers for the month. Energy is easy to understand. Oil fell below $50 for first time in early January and acted as a psychological trigger that spooked investors. This was followed up by earnings reports and announcements from Big Oil showing major cutbacks in spending and operations. There's little doubt that it will be a leaner year ahead in the energy sector.

Related: America's No. 2 oil company cuts spending

Financials were a bigger surprise. The big bank CEOs blamed Washington regulations for sluggish performance, but the reality is many bank's core investment banking and trading have been suffering.

There was one bright spot in January: Bonds.

As the stock market gyrates, investors have been fleeing to bonds. Several European nations even have negative yields on their bonds, a sign of just how much demand there is for a so-called safe asset.

In the U.S., the 10-year government bond yield is now down to 1.66%, the lowest point since the spring of 2013.

First Published: January 30, 2015: 3:54 PM ET

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