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Having Children in China
| Jun 1, 2005Today is Children's Day in China. Due to worries about who will support the graying population, some cities have started allowing couples who are both only children to have two kids. But after 25 years of encouraging couples to have just one child, they're finding it's not that easy to turn back the clock. In Shanghai, the local-born population has been shrinking faster than anywhere else in China.
Drug companies under fire
| Jun 1, 2005A congressional study released today blasts drug companies and the agency that regulates them. The report says the pharmaceutical industry is abusing the system for quick approval of new medications; John Dimsdale reports from Washington.
New shredding mandate
| Jun 1, 2005A new law goes into effect today that requires businesses to destroy (once they've used it) any consumer information they've gotten from credit reports. The idea is to make personal information disappear before identity thieves can get their hands on it. Ashley Milne-Tyte reports that not everyone knows about the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act — but ignorance is no defense.
Looking for cover in Florida
| Jun 1, 2005It's been six months since hurricanes slammed Central Florida. Now as hurricane season starts again, some residents are still scrambling for cover. It all has to do with supply and demand. Robin Sussingham reports.
Brazil Intellectual Property
| May 31, 2005When people talk trade war, the battle of behemoths like Boeing and Airbus get most of the ink. But there is another, lower profile scrimmage going with big implications. This one involves multinational companies that refuse to share vital information with local governments. Developing nations complain that puts their economies and their citizens at risk. Today, the story of one developing nation that's decided to go beyond 'complaining'. From the Americas Desk in WLRN in Miami, Dan Grech reports on how Brazil is fighting back.
Paperless Wall Street
| May 31, 2005If you hold stock, chances are there's a fancy certificate somewhere to prove it. Maybe it's under the mattress, or in a safe deposit box. Maybe your broker keeps it for you. Maybe you've never even seen it. If the securities industry has its way, that piece of paper is headed to the recycle bin of history. This month the state of Delaware cleared one of the last hurdles to a nearly paperless stock market. The change could save investors and companies billions of dollars. So why are some of them dragging their feet? Marketplace's Amy Scott reports.
World Poverty
| May 31, 2005The one-time Boomtown Rat who organized the Live Aid concert in the 80's is back at it. Today Bob Geldof announced plans for 5 concerts around the world on July 8th. This time, he says, they don't want money for famine relief. In fact they're not asking for money at all. Instead, he says, they want to influence the Group of 8 industrialized nations. They want to pressure world leaders to eradicate poverty in Africa. Idealistic? Perhaps. But according to Columbia University economist Jeffrey Sachs, the elimination of poverty is not an unrealistic goal. In a new book, Sachs claims global poverty can be eliminated in 20 years. 20 years?
Iraq stock exchange
| May 31, 2005Even as parts of Iraq are still chaotic at best, officials there are doing the best they can to get on with the business of running a country. They've passed a law that allows foreigners to invest in Iraq's upstart stock market. And they're still trying to figure out the rules. Borzou Daragahi spent a day on the trading floor.
Ranking cities
| May 31, 2005Atlanta is apparently the worst place in the country to be if you're worried about identity theft. That's according to the June issue of Men's Health magazine. But another new study finds Atlanta has the best road pavement conditions. There seems to be a constant stream of lists ranking cities on this or that. And various city leaders have mixed feelings about them. Mhari Saito reports from Cleveland, which somehow winds up near the bottom of many of those lists.
Promoting Marriage
| May 30, 2005June is the country's most popular month for weddings, at least traditionally. But in recent years, marriage rates have dropped off. The current administration in Washington is trying to push a plan to encourage marriage, especially among the urban poor. The idea is to provide economic incentives to tie the knot, and thereby reduce the number of single moms. But perhaps this assumes a difference in values that isn't really there. So claims University of Pennsylvania Sociologist Kathryn Edin.
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