Apr 10, 2012

Marketplace Morning Report for Tuesday, April 10, 2012

It's been more than four years since the giant investment bank Bear Stearns collapsed, and the banking system is still in trouble -- but bank stocks have been soaring recently. Facebook is making its biggest purchase yet, as it gears up to go public. This Sunday is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, and Belfast, Northern Ireland is hoping to become the center of Titanic tourism.

Segments From this episode

Profits, for now, fuel bank stocks

by Stacey Vanek Smith

Apr 9, 2012

As earnings season begins, banks are predicted to post the strongest growth this year. But revenues are sluggish, so how do profits keep soaring?

Bank of America mortgage services representatives help register people looking for help with their mortgages on February 22, 2012 in Miami, Fla. Bank of America is among the banking giants who have seen their stocks soaring recently.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Food and Drink

Red Lobster building huge aquafarm in Malaysia

by Elizabeth Wynne Johnson

Apr 9, 2012

The parent company of Red Lobster will create a 35-square-mile aquafarm to help keep its restaurants from running out of lobster.

Missouri's low cigarette tax under fire

by Maria Altman

Apr 10, 2012

A ballot initiative could raise the tax rate on a pack of smokes in Missouri, which is 8x lower than the national average.

Is Facebook's big Instagram purchase worth it?

by Eve Troeh

Apr 10, 2012

Facebook is making its biggest purchase yet as it prepares to go public. The company is buying the photo-sharing app Instagram for a billion dollars.

Insta-billion: The price tag on Instagram

by David Brancaccio

Apr 10, 2012

A wee little program that lets you send photos from your cell phone to your pals is worth a billion U.S. dollars. That’s the price the social networking company Facebook is paying to snap up Instagram, an app that also lets the sender mess with the photos before sending them.

BBC World Service

Greek police officers, vehicles for rent

by Mark Lowen

Apr 10, 2012

The new scheme could help the police force raise money and stop the taxpayer from footing the bill.

The Titanic: Now a source of pride for Belfast

by Stephen Beard

Apr 10, 2012

After decades of wariness about having built the ship that came to a tragic end, Belfast is now trying to cash in on the Titanic connection.

The motivation behind Facebook's Instagram buy

by John Moe

Apr 10, 2012

Facebook is making its biggest purchase yet as it prepares to go public. The company is buying the photo-sharing app Instagram for a billion dollars. Is it worth the price tag?

Government's new plan to end growing cell phone theft

by Marketplace Staff

Apr 10, 2012

There’s word today the federal government is moving to render those stolen cell phones a lot less valuable. The plan is to make phone companies keep a registry of specific phones as opposed to phone numbers.

Mid-day Update

PODCAST: Big banks need more capital, a new Oval Office

by Mary Dooe

Apr 10, 2012

The desk of U.S. President Barack Obama sits in the newly redecorated Oval Office of the White House August 31, 2010 in Washington, D.C. U.S.

Brendan Smialowski-Pool/Getty Images

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Mid-day Update

Hybrid car buyers aren't the most loyal

by David Brancaccio and Jeremy Hobson

Apr 10, 2012

Turns out, many Americans who purchase a hybrid car end up going back to a non-hybrid the next time they hit the car lot.

What we can expect from earnings season

by Juli Niemann

Apr 10, 2012

With some tough economic news in the last week or so with the jobs report, and today some evidence of a slowdown in China, Wall Street is anticipating modest reports from corporations.

Instagram could struggle to turn a profit

by Eve Troeh

Apr 10, 2012

Facebook is buying the mobile app company Instagram for $1 billion. But when many similar image-based companies have failed to make a profit, will Instagram be any different?

Brewing companies look to up their game in China

by David Brancaccio

Apr 10, 2012

Bloomberg News reports that local beer in China tends go for the equivalent of about 30 cents a can, so there's the push is on for super fancy high end beer like... Budweiser.

It’s been more than four years since the giant investment bank Bear Stearns collapsed, and the banking system is still in trouble — but bank stocks have been soaring recently. Facebook is making its biggest purchase yet, as it gears up to go public. This Sunday is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, and Belfast, Northern Ireland is hoping to become the center of Titanic tourism.