A new survey finds that consumer sentiment -- that's how optimistic we feel about the economy -- was up more than economists expected, near a 2.5 year high. But the Commerce Department says retail sales fell a percent in May. What gives? Stacey Vanek-Smith reports.
Merrill Lynch is being sued by wealthy investors, who lost millions of dollars after buying some complex pools of mortgages that went bad. The people who bought those pools were allowed to do so because they were considered sophisticated investors. Jeremy Hobson reports on why that term is so important.
Walgreen's got a lot of attention recently when it said it would start selling personal genetic kits in its stores. But after questions were raised about the safety and effectiveness of the kits, it said it wouldn't. Now the FDA is stepping in. Gregory Warner reports.
Fortune Magazine's Leigh Gallagher and the Wall Street Journal's Sudeep Reddy talk with Kai Ryssdal about whether the economic unease will get the jobs bill passed in Congress and what will end up in the final financial reform bill.
Hedge funds had a great year in 2009, making up for many of their losses in 2008. That got a group of comedians thinking, if hedge funds still know how to make money, maybe hedge fund managers can dispense all kinds of financial advice. From the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater, the sketch group Hot Mess performs.
With tuition mounting every year and the economy barely coming off the skids, the stress of paying for college is taking its toll on parents. Commentator Kim Clark says government agencies and politicians aren't helping by marketing scholarships and financial aid that doesn't live up to its billing.
That "American Dream" thing? It's got good staying power. The belief that owning a home is financially superior to renting is still strong. But thousands of homeowners are losing their homes. And that can be an eye-opening experience as to how chasing the American Dream can lead you deep down a rabbit hole. Curt Nickisch reports.