Computer maker Dell said yesterday it wants to build up its presence in India. No big surprise there - U.S. Companies are flocking to India and China for skilled and cheap labor. But operating a business in another country can be tricky, and dangerous. So how do companies decide where it's safe - and profitable - to go? As Marketplace's Scott Jagow reports, they pay someone.
You can't blame vegetarians if they dread Thanksgiving. While everyone else is munching on turkey, vegetarians can only pile their plates with side dishes. Unless they buy a "tofurkey."Reporter Mitchell Hartman visited the town of Hood River, Oregon, to hunt down the tofu alternative for Thanksgiving.
Last spring, the Shenandoah Valley took an economic hit. Poultry giant Pilgrim's Pride announced it was closing its turkey processing plant in Hinton, Virginia. Hundreds of people lost their jobs and about 150 turkey farmers were left with no one to buy their birds. But instead of simply accepting the situation, a group of farmers said "not in our Valley". And they formed the Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative. Seven months later, the Hinton plant is poised to reopen... as Martha Woodroof reports.
Hectic work lives and demanding careers are stretching families further and further apart. Thanksgiving is one of the few holidays when we try to go home again and recreate a kind of Norman Rockwell picture. In Italy, people also cling to the notion of a tightknit family - complete with children, parents, and grandparents. But the reality is that life is changing there, too. And as Megan Williams reports, some family members are getting left out.
This weekend starts the month-long spending spree known as the holiday shopping season. But as Marketplace commentator Robert Reich tells us in this edition of The Public's Business, you might want to think twice before taking on any more debt.
When most Americans sit down to their Thanksgiving meal, many recent Chinese immigrants will be enjoying dinner at a wedding. Alisa Roth reports Thanksgiving is one of the few days many Chinese immigrants have off, making it a great day for weddings and the wedding industry.
News out of Asia has it that Walmart is allowing it's Chinese workers to unionize. Will this have any affect here in the U.S., where no Walmart employees are labor union members? Marketplace's Jocelyn Ford explains the differences between American and Chinese unions.
Congress says it will now let U.S. employers hire 20,000 more high tech workers from overseas. American companies say they can't compete globally without dipping deeper into the pool of foreign talent. But as Marketplace's Hillary Wicai reports, some critics think American workers may be on the losing end of this deal...
This is a busy time for non-profits. From collecting and delivering Turkey dinners to organizing Christmas toy drives, there's lots of work for volunteers to do. And plenty of people who wanna help. But as Emily Donahue reports from KUT in Austin, Texas, finding intelligent and creative ways to use those volunteers can be serious work.
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Taking the operation overseas
Hmmm, tastes a bit like chicken ...
A valley fights back and wins
The changing family
Watch your spending
Holiday weddings
Labor Unions -- the China way
A raw deal?
Letters!!
That charitable season
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