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News In Brief

MID-DAY UPDATE: Government shutdown looms, Myspace hits the sales rack

Katharine Crnko Apr 6, 2011

Here are today’s headlines from the Marketplace Morning Report and from around the web.

A possible government shutdown is threatening Tax Day and foreign aid, among other things, because budget negotiations between the White House and House Republicans seem to be at an impasse. Here’s our coverage.

You know what’s up? TV ratings for Spanish language TV here in the U.S. Univision edged out NBC last week in the race for viewers. It was the second time in four weeks that Univision beat one of the big four U.S. networks.

News from tech world this morning — Myspace is accepting bids. Anyone who wants to buy the social network can have a look at the books. News Corp. bought Myspace for $580 million back in 2005. I’m betting the price will be a bit lower today. Just a guess. Here‘s Marketplace’s coverage.

I’ve got a money saving tip for you, courtesy of Consumer Reports. They tested out 14 dish soaps from the $2.10 Ajax right up to the $15 bottle called “The Laundress” And found that they all worked equally well at cleaning dishes. Consumer Reports says it is now safe to buy dish soap based on price. How nice.

Investor Service Moody’s says it could downgrade Toyota’s credit rating because of production disruptions in Japan.

Satellite TV provider Dish Network won a bankruptcy auction for video rental chain Blockbuster.

The latest data on mortgage applications is out. They fell for the second straight week. In the last few weeks, fewer people have been applying for loans. That’s despite lower home prices and a slew of available houses — including foreclosures on the market.

Gold is seen as a hedge against inflation and the latest rise in price follows yesterday’s move by the Bank of China. The bank raised interest rates for the fourth time in less than six months to fight inflation.

You can read the rest of today’s stories from the Marketplace Morning Report here.

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