A report today shows wholesale prices going up 3/10 of a percent. This is not good news for a couple of reasons. First, if wholesale prices go up, consumer prices can't be far behind. Second, well...it has to do with interest rates. Investment advisor Gabriel Wisdom says we need to understand what the 'inverted-yield-curve' is.We were reluctant to go into this, but...well, We're gonna have to use language some Marketplace listeners may find offensive.

Latin America is seeing its best economic growth in 20 years. Brazil's economy grew by 5 percent last year... its best rate in a decade. Marketplace Americas Desk reporter Dan Grech takes us to Sao Paulo to find out what's giving the country's economy its kick.

It's not easy being a bean counter. Not even if you're a superstar bean counter. That's the point Scott Sullivan's trying to make on the witness stand. Sullivan is former chief financial officer of WorldCom. He's testifying in the trial of his former boss. Bernie Ebbers is accused of orchestrating an $11 billion dollar accounting fraud which led to Worldcom's collapse. Sullivan says there was intense pressure to meet Wall Street's projections. And he says Ebbers told him to make the numbers live up to those expectations. Commentator and writer David Callahan says the testimony raises as many questions as it answers.