Mid-day Update

PODCAST: Facebook for kids and China blocks ‘Shanghai Composite Index’

Katie Long Jun 4, 2012
HTML EMBED:
COPY
Mid-day Update

PODCAST: Facebook for kids and China blocks ‘Shanghai Composite Index’

Katie Long Jun 4, 2012
HTML EMBED:
COPY

How young is too young to be on Facebook? In order to increase its reach, Facebook is now developing a system that would allow children under the age of 13 to play games and use the social network. Until now, that age group has been barred from the site. Child advocates and some psychologists are raising privacy and developmental concerns.

Tokyo shares are at their lowest level in 28 years.

The Shanghai composite fell 64.89 points. And I’m being specific about that because 6/4/89 is the date of the massacre at Tiananmen Square in Beijing. And today happens to be the 23rd anniversary of that event. Our China correspondent reports the term “Shanghai Composite Index” is blocked from search engines in China today.

American Apparel, the struggling company’s big thing is that it makes its apparel in America.  Now the company’s controversial CEO says he’s under pressure to start importing. Dov Charney tells the LA Times he has hasn’t caved yet but he can’t rule out moving some manufacturing abroad.

The interest rate on 10 year government bonds is back up — if you can call it that — above 1.5 percent. It hit a record low of 1.45 percent on Friday as investors jumped to the safety of U.S. government bonds.

Thoughts on retirement from the former head of the bailed-out insurance giant AIG — Robert Benmosche told Bloomberg news that going forward, people may have to work until they’re 80 to cut down on public pension costs. Mr. Benmosche, who is 68, made the comments from Croatia where he was relaxing at his seaside villa.

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.