Week of February 12th, 2007

With Palestinian President Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Olmert meeting on Monday, Jewish settlers in the Palestinian territories are looking for signs of what might happen to their lives and homes. Orly Halpern reports.

To help pay the costs of New York City's transit system, MTA officials are taking a cue from professional sports. Alisa Roth reports on their new approach.

Published reports say General Motors is considering buying the Chrysler Group. Amy Scott looked into why one troubled automaker might want to buy another.

New-home construction plunged 14% last month. Residential building is at a 10-year low. And January housing starts are down 38% over last year. Ashley Milne-Tyte reports on the housing market's search for the bottom.

Current TV regulations put strong restrictions on sex, but not violence. That could change under some new rules the Federal Communications Commission is considering. Pat Loeb reports.

The House has voted in opposition to President Bush's Iraq war plans, ending three days of speeches. Left unsaid, but not forgotten, was how to pay for the extra troops the president wants to deploy. Eric Niiler reports.

Stockbroker and business analyst David Johnson discusses with host Kai Ryssdal what happened on Wall Street this week and what may lie ahead.

Congressman Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee talks with Kai Ryssdal about the committee's hearing on how to balance economic growth with social fairness.

Our economics editor Chris Farrell answers your burning money questions. This week, advice on: funding a child's college education, dealing with identity theft, transferring stock as a gift and answering the question, "What protections does a mutual fund have?"

The Labor Department will issue new guidelines for work retirement plans. Economics editor Chris Farrell has some recommendations.

On this week's 'A Day In the Work Life,' our regular look at how folks trade time for money, we hold steady with a lion tamer.

Life is hard enough without having to decipher everything. Each week, Marketplace Money brings you a word or a phrase that has bubbled to the top of the news. For instance, "Piggyback." You hear it, you see it, but do you really know it?

Congress wants to guarantee all American workers a week of paid sick leave a year. But the legislation is making some businesses sick with worry. Tess Vigeland interviews Debra Ness of the National Partnership for Women and Families.

Our special series continues on investment clubs in America. Host Tess Vigeland takes us to a club meeting in San Jose. Meet a co-ed group that does lunch, chews over spreadsheets and cooks up a nice profit in the stock market.

First comes love, then comes not getting married. A growing number of Americans are choosing to skip the walk down the aisle. But what effect does this have on their finances? Alex Cohen reports.

The IRS wants to fix the tax gap. Going after uncollected tax revenue could mean more individual audits. John Dimsdale reports.

A House committee is holding hearings to figure out why the gap between the wealthy and the middle class just keeps getting wider — and what to do about it.

More parents are opting to have their newborns' umbilical cord blood collected and stored. It's expensive and at this point chances they'll ever use it are slim, but what if. . .

When digital video recorders gained popularity in the consumer market, advertisers were in a panic. Some folks predicted the death of TV as we know it. Turns out, we're still watching the commercials.

The FDA and the pharmaceutical companies have come up with a new proposal for a program that charges drugmakers fees to speed up FDA approval process, but critics say it doesn't do enough to protect consumers.

As Republicans work to win back public favor, there's word today that President Bush may be willing to tax the rich to take the Alternative Minimum Tax burden off the middle class.

Boeing and Lockheed Martin are prepared to spend as much as $10 billion buying British defense companies in order to win more contracts in the U.K.

Rising middle classes in Asia and South America's emerging markets are developing a taste for better whisky. So Johnnie Walker scotch parent Diageo is making a major investment to meet demand and fill their glasses.

A San Francisco comedy troupe has unleashed its dark humor on in-flight catalogs. SkyMaul has everything you never knew you didn't want, from Llamacycles to Banana-ganizers. And it might be the funniest thing you read this year.

Flu vaccine administered as a nasal spray not only lets kids avoid scary needles, a new study shows it may actually be more effective at preventing the flu.

Marketplace Money for February 16, 2007

Starbucks has been accused of blocking Ethiopian farmers' attempts to trademark their coffee beans. A group representing Africa's top coffee growers is now backing the farmers' efforts. Stephen Beard reports.

A series of powerful winter storms has shut down some of America's busiest airports recently. But commentator Christopher Elliott thinks airlines are being a little too quick to take a snow day.

After controversy last year over its ownership of six U.S. seaports, Dubai Ports World has been trying to sell the holdings to global insurance giant AIG. But the deal's not going smoothly. Amy Scott reports.

One of the factors often cited as contributing to high health-care costs is the money paid to executives of medical and drug companies. Helen Palmer looks at whether the bosses are worth what they get.

With some tough talk, Senate Democrats introduced legislation today that would tighten rules on defense contractors. Eric Niiler reports.

With basic staples getting harder to find on supermarket shelves in Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez is accusing businesses of holding back to avoid selling at the government's fixed prices. Dan Grech reports.

Owners of some big-time American sports franchises are betting heavily on English football — as they call it over there. Business-of-sports analyst Ed Derse talks with Kai Ryssdal about the trend.

Republicans were able to block it for over a decade, but Congress may finally be ready to pass legislation that'll ban employers and insurers from discriminating against people based on DNA.

Survey says: Newspapers that invest more money in their newsrooms make more money. Researchers say the media industry's recent inclination to slash jobs to cut costs is not only ineffective, but detrimental.

The SEC wants to limit damages against corporations accused of fraud, but critics say the plan runs the risk of squashing accountability and opening the floodgates for wrongdoing.

Under public pressure from social activists, Starbucks has announced that it will double the amount of coffee it purchases from East Africa by 2009 — but it won't necessarily pay more for it.

Toyota is already poised to overtake GM as the No. 2 automaker, but USC Sports Business Institute's David Carter says aligning with NASCAR is a no-brainer — and this is the year to do it.

A popular Middle Eastern doll made her U.S. debut at the New York Toy Fair this week. Fulla looks a lot like Barbie, but she dresses conservatively, she's studious — and she has no interest in Ken.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduces a bill today that would allow the FDA to regulate tobacco. And anti-smoking activists say past failures might not mean a thing in the new, more liberal Congress.

It wasn't a big surprise when DaimlerChrysler announced its Chrysler division lost $160 million in the fourth quarter. But what it might do with Chrysler got investors' attention. Alisa Roth reports.

We were wondering how New York City's snow and freezing conditions might affect people's Valentine's Day plans. Ashley Milne-Tyte went out into the elements to do a little digging.

Nearly 30 years after the "killing fields," Cambodia still struggles for economic recovery. But there is one unusual business that's turning a national burden into a proud export. Megan Williams reports.

Remember the story of the American Enterprise Institute offering money to scientists to write critical reviews of a U.N. report on global warming? AEI fellow David Frum has some thoughts on the matter.

Imagine what it would be like waking up each morning next to your business partner. Steve Tripoli found out how some couples manage to both love and labor together.

After today, the insurer known for its wacky duck commercials will also be known as the first major U.S. company to give shareholders a say on executive compensation. Amy Scott reports.

Millions of Iraqi citizens have fled their homeland to escape the sectarian violence. The Bush administration says it's going to allow 7,000 of them to settle in the U.S. Why such a small number? Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.

The United Nation's Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres has been meeting with members of the Bush administration about the problem of displaced Iraqis. He talked with host Bob Moon.

The U.S. automaker announces a restructuring plan today that's expected to include plant closings and more than 10,000 job cuts. And they might even have to learn how to share.

Divine Chocolate is part-owned by cocoa farmers in Ghana, it's Fair Trade Certified — and now just in time for Valentine's Day, it's available in the States.

An E.U. court official has labeled Germany's "Volkswagen law"— which protects the carmaker from hostile takeovers — illegal. And that's opened the door for Porsche.

Lawmakers are working to move California's presidential primary from June to February to up its influence on the race. The move would have a major impact on the campaign — politically and financially.

Lovers will exchange some 175 million roses today. Many of these flowers are shipped from Latin America and inspected for bugs before they're let into the U.S., so growers cut their risks with pesticides.

A major lender has announced it's going to stop making risky loans that help financially-stretched homebuyers pull together a down payment. That's likely to further weaken demand in the slumping housing market.

The U.S. wants India to change a law that bars foreign companies from selling directly to its consumers. Wal-Mart is halfway there, so the government is trying to help push the retail giant through the door.

Commentator Robert Reich says all the politicking over balancing the federal budget is an exercise in accounting futility that doesn't necessarily lead to smarter spending or borrowing.

Demonstrators in six cities around the world today will protest the closing of a Burberry factory in Wales as the outsourcing of those 300 jobs to China has grown into a bit of a cause célèbre.

Regulators have fined three mutual-fund companies $700,000 for trying to win business with expensive meals and fancy trips. Pat Loeb reports.

Bank of America showed its eagerness to expand its Hispanic-targeted services. It's the first to offer credit cards, sometimes to clients without Social Security numbers. Sam Eaton reports.

There's no federal requirement for paid sick days. Democrats argue that's hurting paychecks and the workplace. But business groups aren't buying that argument. Sarah Gardner reports.

Kai Ryssdal reviews your letters reacting to our reports and commentaries — from online lending and Robert Reich to the Jewish sabbath and the American Enterprise Institute.

A newspaper story says two mining companies want to buy the aluminum producer Alcoa. One company says it's not true. The other's not talking. But investors weren't listening anyway. Amy Scott reports.

Much of what we call work still needs people to happen. But offices are changing to accommodate the way we work today. John Dimsdale reports on a visit he took to a model workplace of the future.

Economist Marcellus Andrews says that if Americans keep buying more from China than we sell to China, our standard of living is going to decline — and pretty soon.

In most countries, scandal is bad for business. But in China, being on the up and up can mean lost business. Jocelyn Ford reports.

The agreement on North Korea's nuclear program has one sticking point both sides agreed to leave for later: Whether Pyongyang gets its hands on millions of dollars sitting in a bank in Macau. Kai Ryssdal has more.

Bank of America is reportedly marketing credit cards to customers without Social Security numbers. The company launched the new program in 51 Los Angeles branches last week and hopes to take it national later this year.

Commentator Angela Glover Blackwell says grocers would be wise to invest in inner cities, where healthy food choices are limited and dense populations offer more profit per square foot.

Who says there's no market for taxertainment? The company that makes TurboTax software is using rapper Vanilla Ice as a spokesman to scratch up some business.

Democrats want to guarantee all Americans seven days of paid sick leave a year, but passing the legislation won't be a slam dunk: Some Republicans and the business lobby are resistant.

Metal prices are hot right now and that's got two wealthy mining companies fighting over the affections of the struggling aluminum giant. They're reportedly serenading Alcoa with buyout offers to the tune of $40 billion.

British Airways is coming under fire for a new policy which requires travelers to pay as much as $500 for a second piece of checked luggage. But there are many exceptions to the new rule.

All good things must come to an end: Some analysts say Wall Street's long-lived upswing is due for a correction any day now. And it'll probably happen when we least expect it.

Canadian National Railway workers are striking over wages and if that dispute drags on, it could stop assembly lines at U.S. auto plants in their tracks.

Just four months after it tested a nuclear bomb, North Korea has agreed to shut down its main nuclear reactor and eventually dismantle its atomic weapons program. Seems economic sanctions may have done the trick.

This Valentine's Day, some consumers are opting for high-quality diamonds produced in a lab. They're cheaper and guilt-free — and the mined diamond industry isn't happy about it.

After a string of big deals, the past weekend proved rough for mergers and acquisitions. London Stock Exchange shareholders nixed Nasdaq's bid, and Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis halted talks. Amy Scott reports.

In Omaha, Neb., a gas-station chain is hoping to convince Americans to stop buying crude from the Middle East. It could be coming to a city near you. Avishay Artsy reports.

Americans expect researchers in this country to consistently lead the world in innovation. But commentator Lawrence Summers says the United States has some work to do if it wants to stay on the leading edge.

Former Treasury Undersecretary John Taylor tells Kai Ryssdal about his experiences in searching out and destroying terrorist financing after 9/11, and trying to get the Iraqi economy going again.

The British cell-phone giant Vodafone has bought control of India's 4th-largest mobile-phone operation. India's phone market is the world's fastest growing. Stephen Beard reports.

Mainline media companies are objecting to ties Google has with some less-than-reputable downloading websites. Matthew Karnitschnig had the story in today's Wall Street Journal. He talks with Kai Ryssdal.

The L.A. Galaxy soccer team is looking for a few good men to play (cheap) alongside newly-signed British star David Beckham. Tryouts were held this past weekend. Jane Lindholm hit the field with the hopefuls.

Newsweek's Allan Sloan says the Canadian insurance company has come up with a crafty way to get money today for tax savings it thinks it'll have in the future.

While Nasdaq's overseas bid has fizzled, the SEC is reportedly close to approving the NYSE's merger with Euronext.

A group of public pension funds wants the oil giant to connect executive pay to safety, not just cost-cutting. And some are calling for a pay freeze for the outgoing CEO.

Most Americans support an automatic R rating for movies that show actors smoking cigarettes. So says a poll out today. If that happened, it could cost the tobacco industry billions.

The home improvement giant rolls out a new ad campaign today and it's meant to tug at consumers' heartstrings. The retailer is hoping to move past the bad publicity surrounding former CEO Bob Nardelli's departure.

Intel's newest chip is fast alright, but IT expert Barry Fox says what's really revolutionary here is how little energy it runs on.

Africa is finally getting a little recognition. The Pentagon is creating a U.S. command center for the region in order to, among other things, protect economic interests there — such as oil.

Nasdaq won over less than a percent of London Stock Exchange shareholders with its hostile takeover bid. And that leaves the LSE free to pursue a partnership with Tokyo.

A Virginia company is selling one of its subsidiaries back to Venezuela for less than half the purchase price as Hugo Chavez makes good on his promise to nationalize the country's energy companies.