For entrepreneur Steve Sodell, the Super Bowl started in late October. That's when he and his staff of 12 began renting retail space in shopping malls and hotels across the Phoenix metro area—stuffing shelves with NFL-licensed T-shirts, hats, and other collectibles emblazoned with this year's Super Bowl XLII logo. By the day of the big game on Feb. 3, his makeshift merchandise empire will comprise 24 stores and 42 employees. Ten days later, business shuts down and Sodell starts planning for next year's Super Bowl in Tampa. "We have a very short window of opportunity to make our money," he says.

The race for Super Bowl profits is on. While the New England Patriots attempt to become the first team in the National Football League to reach a perfect 19-0 record, businesses across the country are banking on this game to be a bigger economic driver than any single sporting event in history.

Some records have already been set: The cost of a 30-second commercial during Fox's broadcast, $2.7 million, is the highest ever. So is the price tailgaters will pay to get inside University of Phoenix Stadium, between $700 and $900. But the cavalcade of businesses and entrepreneurs that have come to surround the Super Bowl—from snackmakers and electronics retailers to the bookies in Vegas and the hotel operators in Phoenix—are gearing up and holding onto hope that consumers will put aside concerns of a tightening economy and indulge in this Super Sunday with extravagant parties, big-ticket purchases, and

Gold prices continued to skyrocket Thursday on the falling U.S. dollar, supply concerns and high world-wide demand.

At the market's close Thursday, gold for April delivery traded at $928 an ounce, up from the previous record close on the New York Mercantile Exchange of $926.30 set Wednesday.

Gold for April delivery is currently trading at the highest volume at the exchange. February contracts for gold - the nearest traded contracts - settled at $922.70 an ounce, and March contracts closed at $925.70.

The commodity soared Wednesday as the Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate for the second time in just over a week. Lower interest rates stimulate the economy, but they can also weaken the dollar. With inflation on the rise amid a slumping stock market, many investors have turned to gold as a safety net, sending the price of gold soaring.

"We have seen a lot of momentum trading recently," said Jon Nadler, an analyst with Kitco. "There was a bit of a knee-jerk reaction after the Fed."

Gold futures have risen more than 42% since August. In early January, they surpassed the previous all-time high of $847 an ounce - a record that dated back 28 years.

As inflation and resulting demand for gold drives the price of the precious metal higher, supply concerns

Question: What should I do if my employer doesn't offer a 401(k)? I feel like I took a pay cut when I accepted my job since I am losing a significant benefit. I already do an IRA, but would like to do more. --S. R., Fort Lee, New Jersey

Answer: I don't know whether you effectively took a salary cut in moving to your new job. After all, it's possible that you also gained some benefits or perks that your previous employer didn't provide.

But I can say that not having access to a 401(k) will make it more challenging for you to save for retirement.

So the question is: How do you respond to that challenge and stay on track toward a secure retirement?

Roth vs. traditional IRA

You don't say whether you're doing a regular deductible IRA or a Roth IRA, but I think you should at least consider the Roth for several reasons. One is that you've already put money into a tax-deferred retirement account (the 401(k) at your old job) that will be taxed at ordinary income rates when you withdraw at retirement. Adding a Roth IRA, which offers the prospect of tax-free withdrawals, will allow you to hedge your tax exposure in retirement.

What's more, the fact that Congress set the same contribution limits for both regular and Roth IRAs effectively allows you to put away more money on a tax-advantaged basis by doing a Roth. That ability

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Google Inc.'s earnings and revenue growth decelerated more than analysts anticipated during the fourth quarter, magnifying worries that the Internet search leader's moneymaking machine is bogging down as the U.S. economy teeters on the brink of recession.

The quarterly results released Thursday spooked already jittery investors, causing Google's slumping stock price to plunge another 7 percent.

Google earned $1.21 billion, or $3.79 per share, during the final three months of 2007. That's up 17 percent from net income of $1.03 billion, or $3.29 per share, in the same period a year earlier.

It's the first time Google's profit Google's quarterly profit has climbed by less than 25 percent since the Mountain View-based company went public nearly 3 1/2 years ago.

If not for stock awards given to its employees, Google said it would have made $4.43 per share -- a penny below the average estimate among analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

Chief Executive Eric Schmidt rebuffed the notion that the feeble U.S. economy undercut Google's growth.

"I am happy to say we have not seen a negative impact from the rumors of a future recession," Schmidt

Following is a sampling of stocks that recently jumped to 5 stars. By way of background, we award a stock 5 stars when it trades at a suitably large discount--i.e., a margin of safety--to our fair value estimate. Thus, when a stock hits 5-star territory, we consider it an especially compelling value.

Anheuser-Busch Companies
Moat: Wide
Risk: Below Average
Price/Fair Value Ratio*: 0.83
Three-Year Expected Annual Return*: 15.5%

What It Does: Anheuser-Busch (NYSE:BUD - News) is the largest American brewer. Its domestic beer brands, which include Budweiser, Michelob, Busch, and Natural Light, are produced at 12 breweries in the United States. The company owns 50% of Grupo Modelo and has made substantial investments in Chinese breweries. It also owns a brewery in the United Kingdom and licenses its brands to various brewers worldwide. The company owns packaging companies and nine theme parks, including Sea World and Busch Gardens.

What Gives It an Edge: Morningstar analyst Ann Gilpin thinks Anheuser-Busch has a wide economic moat. The firm dominates the domestic beer market with nearly 50% share, and this scale advantage has

SEATTLE (AP) -- Amazon.com Inc. said Wednesday its fourth-quarter profit more than doubled, helped by fast-growing international sales.

The Web retailer also issued better-than-expected sales guidance and appeared unconcerned about a possible recession.

But its shares sank after hours as investors did the math and saw that rising sales wouldn't bring as rich a profit as they'd hoped.

The stock plunged $8.33, or 11 percent, to $65.88 in electronic trading, after ending the day with a small gain at $74.21.

Amazon's earnings in the crucial holiday quarter climbed to $207 million, or 48 cents per share, from $98 million, or 23 cents per share, in the same period last year.

Results matched Wall Street's expectations: Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast a profit of 48 cents per share.

Revenue rose 42 percent to $5.67 billion from $3.9 billion in the year-ago quarter, topping analysts

Should I pay off my mortgage early to get rid of the monthly payments?

I retired five years ago at age 55 with a pension and a 401(k) from which I took fixed withdrawals through age 59 1/2. Then, I rolled over the 401(k) to a low-risk annuity with a $200,000 balance. I have $50,000 left to pay on my mortgage (five years left on a 10-year loan with a 5.375% interest rate). With most of the interest paid on this loan, I'm wondering if it would be better to pay off the balance with an annuity withdrawal or continue to make monthly payments. I realize I would have to pay taxes on the annuity withdrawal, but I could use the extra $1,000 a month now rather than in five years.

--James Wilson, Chula Vista, Calif.


Your dilemma is a common one: Should people pay off their mortgage when they retire -- and get rid of that big monthly expense?

Part of the decision is based on what helps you sleep better at night. Some retirees prefer to spend a chunk of their nest egg upfront so they no longer have to worry about a mortgage; others feel more secure keeping the money in their savings accounts as long as possible.

Looking at the numbers rather than the feelings involved, three certified financial planners we consulted all had the same advice: In most cases, your best bet would be using the annuity to fund your monthly

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The $422 million loss Countrywide Financial Corp. reported Tuesday didn't appear to scare off Bank of America.

"At this point, everything is a go to complete this transaction," Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Ken Lewis said at an investor conference in New York.

Countrywide's fourth-quarter earnings fell far short of Wall Street estimates, with a loss more than double what analysts predicted. But investors didn't run away from the nation's mortgage lender; instead, they sent Countrywide shares up 36 cents, or 6.5 percent, to close at $6.31.

Stock in Bank of America -- which has offered $4.1 billion in stock for Countrywide -- rose 74 cents, or 1.8 percent, to close at $41.94 Tuesday.

Calabasas, Calif.-based Countrywide posted its second consecutive quarterly loss as rising home loan delinquencies forced it to boost loss provisions and take impairment charges.

In the third quarter, it reported a loss of $1.2 billion.

The $422 million loss -- or 79 cents per share -- contrasts with earnings of $622 million -- $1.01 per share -- during the same period the previous year. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial, on average, has