Podcast: Housing optimism and law-school pessimism
Podcast: Housing optimism and law-school pessimism
The number of new homes starts last month fell, but a rise in future home-construction plans gave economists hope that the housing market has stabilized. Meanwhile, the number of new students taking the law-school entrance exam dropped to the lowest level in 12 years.
Also on the show, China announces a major spike in gas prices, a reported delay in cleaner fuels could harm the new engines designed to burn it, and an oil spill off the coast of Brazil last November is the subject of a lawsuit this week.
Plus, our interview with the author of a story on TheAtlantic.com that makes comparisons between Mitt Romney’s GOP campaign and that of French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
In other news…
The International Air Transport Association said this morning airline profits are likely to be 15 percent lower than previously forecast – because of rising oil prices.
Greece’s international creditors say there are “significant risks” that the country might fail to bring down its debt burden and require more assistance loans.
Well its Primary Day in Illinois. And in the Republican Presidential Race… the polls indicate Mitt Romney holds a lead there over Rick Santorum.
And fewer people are putting a ring on it… at least not a diamond ring. Tiffany reported a drop in 4th quarter sales and profits, but says it expects things to pick up this year.
The fast food industry has seen a Coup d’état. Burger King is no longer the number two hamburger chain in the U.S. Wendy’s is now selling more burgers. McDonald’s is still number one.
Disney says it expects its 3D thriller John Carter to lose 200 million dollars by the end of this month. That would put it among Hollywood’s biggest losers.
I don’t know about you, but when I was a teenager, I spent HOURS on the phone with my friends. But apparently, the marathon conversation is going the way of Trapper Keepers and Hyper Color. A new report out from Pew Research Center found that only about a quarter of teens talk on the phone with their friends every day. Instead, they’re texting more… A lot more. Teens now send around 60 texts a day
To Orleans, Massachusetts – where a guy named Jacob Clark got called for Jury Duty. But he says he won’t go. Because he’s only 9 years old. Apparently someone had entered his birth year as 1982 instead of 2002. When asked for a response by the Cape Cod Times, Jacob said: “I was like…what’s a jury duty?“
Turns out Free apps you’ve been downloading might be sapping your phone battery. A new study from Purdue University found only about a quarter of the energy a free app uses goes to the app’s game or service, the rest goes to collecting information about you and tracking your data. Maybe that’s why those Angry birds are so angry.
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