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Marketplace Music

Playlist: Buzz words and Wii

Katharine Crnko Dec 23, 2010

Posted by Katharine Crnko

For Marketplace Morning Report, Thursday, December 23, 2010

Earmark, pork barrel, filibuster: we hear these words all the time in politics, but where did they come from? Steve Chiotakis talks to the Oxford English Dictionary’s Jesse Sheidlower.

Nintendo’s wireless Wii system was a big hit a couple years ago, appealing most to usual non-gamers for its ease. But this season, sales are down nearly a quarter.

A senior Chinese official said he sees the Eurozone as a major market for investment. Could Chinese investment solve Europe’s economic woes?

Gasoline prices are rising all across the U.S., and some are worried that consumers may begin to rein in their spending as a result, and bring the improving economy down again.

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has before expressed his interest in bringing the social network to China, but he does face some obstacles.

Plastic is back. And a new study shows Americans got a lot more credit card offers this year than last year.

Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics has released a list of 55 U.S. according to how cost effective it is to rent a home, rather than buy. The list is organized by ratios: the price to buy a typical home divided by the annual cost of renting that home. See the list, and hear Eve Troeh’s report.

Consumer spending rose in November for the fifth straight month.

Here are the songs we played:

  • The Healer — Erykah Badu Buy
  • Arroz Con Pollo — Maxwell Buy
  • Get Up — Amel Larrieux Buy
  • Fefe Naa Efe — Fela Kuti Buy

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