Posted by Chau Tu

For Marketplace, Thursday, October 7, 2010

Today’s show took a closer look into Fort McMurray, a town in Canada that is nearly single-handedly handling the oil sands that have become the second largest petroleum reserve outside of Saudi Arabia. The atmosphere there is that of a boomtown, with thousands of workers filing in and boosting the area’s economy up and up. Meanwhile, back in the States, foreclosures hit another glitch, and NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to ban the use of food stamps on sugary drinks like soda. Businesses and unions are taking full advantage of the Supreme Court decision to spend as much money as they want on campaign ads, and companies are spending the money they’re making by not hiring back employees, but buying their own stock back. And finally, Kai chatted with Shanghai correspondent Rob Schmitz about how the Chinese “foreigner price” is affecting foreign businesses. And here are the songs we played:

• Getting Better John – Mux MoolBuy
• Seasick, Yet Still DockedBuy
• I’m Coming Out – Diana Ross and the Supremes
  Buy
• Such (A One Year Stem) – ParlourBuy

Stories You Might Like

The “deep, dark secret” that changes how you shop for groceries

Tech hasn’t kept up with food stamp users’ needs

Diet soda sales fizzle as health-conscious consumers turn to other drinks

What if the social safety net isn’t safe anymore?

Pepsi takes another shot at the coffee market

Georgia experiments with food stamp work training program