Rico Gagliano

Hitachi has new technology that lets you operate electronics without lifting a finger. Rico Gagliano looked into how it works, including some of its remote possibilities.

Next year's smoking ban on all Dutch restaurants and bars will have a unique effect on shops that specialize in selling marijuana and hashish. At least, that's what correspondent Rico Gagliano seems to remember...

Demand for tee time in smaller countries tends to make golf a bit on the pricey side. Rico Gagliano discovered a field in The Netherlands that found a creative way to keep prices down.

Fluency in English is considered key to success in South Korea. So the country is creating opportunities for citizens to visit English-speaking locales — and one's not too far from Seoul. Rico Gagliano checked it out.

U.K. radio's Classic FM says its audience now boasts almost half a million young teens — 50 percent more than February. The Marketplace Players wish the great composers were around to take advantage of the new youth market.

The tiny town of Knock, Ireland has become a popular Catholic pilgrimage since residents say they saw an apparition of Virgin Mary in 1879. And a million and a half visitors each year equal a million and a half consumers.

Rico Gagliano of the Marketplace Players says if he could apply the same policy to humor that Treasury Secy. Paulson is advocating for business, it would make him more competitive, too.

Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin met with lawmakers yesterday making the case that a merger with XM wouldn't be anti-competitive even though it only left one satellite radio company. But it didn't quite add up for the Marketplace Players.

No Golden Globes gift bags?! The Marketplace Players make a plea to save our favorite celebrities from a swagless awards season.

The singer Morrissey — not exactly Mr. Happy — is in talks with the BBC to write Britain's entry in a European song contest. The Marketplace Players have an exclusive version of what we might expect.