Mid-day Update

PODCAST: Gold prices spike, Wholesale inventories up

Daryl Paranada Aug 10, 2011

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

Gold prices continue to surge. They’re around $1,770 dollars an ounce this morning.

The yield on the U.S. government’s 10-year Treasury bond is 2.16 percent this morning. We’re getting very close to the low it hit in December of 2008.

Wholesale companies added more autos, machinery and computers to their stockpiles in June, pushing inventories up for the 18th consecutive month.

The Federal Reserve says because of the rough economy it’s keeping its key interest rate near zero percent through 2013. That’s the Fed’s way of influencing the rates we pay for everything from student loans to mortgages.

Nestle raised its expectations for the year, saying it sees higher coffee and chocolate sales in emerging markets.

Chinese exports hit a record high for the month of July — up more than 20 percent over the same time last year.

Did you hear about the plane that flew over Wall Street yesterday — right by the headquarters of Standard & Poor’s? It had one of those banners
hanging off the back that said: “Thanks for the downgrade. You should all be fired.” The person who paid for the stunt actually wanted to have the plane flown over Washington, D.C. But she found out that due to flight restrictions, you can’t do that. Oh and turns out she’s a broker from Wedbush Morgan Securities in St. Louis.

A Marrietta, Ga., church got an odd donation left in its collection plate a few Sundays back. It wasn’t cash or a check. Wasn’t even an IOU. The anonymous donor dropped three Keno tickets from the Georgia Lottery into the plate — and it turns out the tickets were winners. Worth more than $4,000.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.