❗Help close the gap: We still need to raise $40,000 by the end of March. Donate now
Mid-day Update

PODCAST: Walmart profits up, Dish Network at odds with TV execs

Mary Dooe May 17, 2012
HTML EMBED:
COPY
Wal-Mart store signage is seen from the store. The company's profits were up higher than expected. Daniel Aguilar/Getty Images
Mid-day Update

PODCAST: Walmart profits up, Dish Network at odds with TV execs

Mary Dooe May 17, 2012
Wal-Mart store signage is seen from the store. The company's profits were up higher than expected. Daniel Aguilar/Getty Images
HTML EMBED:
COPY

News this morning that Walmart profits are higher than expected during the first three months of the year. Sales are up 2.6 percent.

There’s word just now that new claims for unemployment benefits held steady last week. That’s the latest hint the job market remains weak.

The online site Deadspin has an account of a woman in Philadelphia who was asked to fill out a customer service questionnaire after briefly dating a fellow. The guy submitted questions via email like “Please rate Mike’s outfit, 1 to 10.” or “Mike is very self-conscious about his hair. Does he have reason to be?” Yes, Mike had said he was into quote ‘data’ collection and, yes he works in finance.

Dish Network has unveiled something called the Auto Hop  on new digital video recorders which automatically skips commercials when it records TV shows. As you can imagine, the TV networks really don’t like that. And at least one — Fox — is exacting revenge. Dish Network is trying to air commercials for the new technology and Fox has decided to… skip them.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.