Wednesday, March 17, 2004 The Marketplace Morning Report with Kai Ryssdal and Tess Vigeland is a series of seven 9-minute business news modules airing weekdays. This timely report delivers a global business newscast and a hard-hitting feature report. Visit the archive to browse previous stories. Note: Each of the broadcasts contains some of the newscast items below and one of the features. Since only a few radio markets get all seven broadcasts, we've made them available below.

Broadcasts Listen: 2:50 | 3:50 | 4:50 | 5:50 | 6:50 | 7:50 | 8:50 (times are a.m., Pacific Standard Time)

Newscast Stories From New York: Amy Scott finds that major investment banks appear to be reaping the rewards of the economic rebound. From New York: Hewlett Packard announced it may start selling PCs loaded with the Linux operating system in Asian markets. Jessica Smith examines the prospects for Linux in the U.S. From Los Angeles: The FDA wants to help speed new therapies to market. As Julie Small reports, it has launched a new report that proposes closer cooperation with drug companies, academic researchers and patient groups. From Los Angeles: A new survey says more than 90 million Americans plan to wear green to celebrate St. Patrick's Day this year -- and that has merchants seeing green, too. Matthew Algeo has the story. From Los Angeles: Stacey Vanek-Smith looks into the reasons behind the trend of recent earnings restatements. From Beijing: The U.S. is preparing its first unfair trade complaint against China under the WTO due to a tax system that rewards manufacturers that use semiconductors designed and manufactured inside China. Jocelyn Ford reports. From London: A British train company with the worst punctuality record in the country has resorted to a traditional method to make the trains run on time: It has given platform staff whistles. Stephen Beard has more. From Berlin: While Germany has been waiting for the recovery economists promised, one group is helping hold that upturn at bay: consumers, and they aren't spending. Kyle James has the story. From New York: The Bush administration is under scrutiny over allegations it deliberately mislead Congress about how much last fall's Medicare reforms would cost. Amy Scott reports. Features Why isn't the Fed worried about inflation? / History to repeat itself regarding interest rates The Fed left interest rates unchanged yesterday, even though commodity and import prices are climbing. Alex McRae explains why the Central Bank's not worried about inflation. Then, commentator Robert Reich explains that after the Fed weas criticized when the stock market imploded in 2000, it looks like history could be repeating itelf -- this time, in the housing market.

Why nursing schools are turning applicants away The U.S. is not only facing a nursing shortage right now, it also lacks professionals needed to teach new nurses. Tanya Ott reports.