While the U.K.'s biggest banks are reporting record profits, consumer groups say hundreds of thousands of customers should get their money back. Stephen Beard reports.
Comptroller General David Walker felt this week's U.S. market plummet was a call to attention for the country, and that maybe we shouldn't always depend on foreign investors to bail us out. Bob Moon has the story.
Faced with his own mortality, the 76-year-old Berkshire Hathaway CIO wants to find someone younger to take the reins. Bob Moon talks to Buffett biographer Andy Kilpatrick about filling Buffett's shoes.
Congress said the president's spending plan for the next fiscal year fails to balance the nation's books by 2012. A couple of senators have come up with a plan for turning back the tide of red ink. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.
The House's Employee Free Choice Act would make it easier for employees to unionize before their employers knew what hit them. But commentator Seth Borden thinks the bill is just a way for unions to be more pushy.
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said this week his government will take over control of four key oil projects, including one held by ExxonMobil. He's set an ambitious 60-day deadline for the handover. Dan Grech reports.
Scientists now have a new way to get motivated as more companies offer their philanthropy in the form of prizes. Pat Loeb reports on the X Prize Foundation.
Our economics editor Chris Farrell answers your burning money questions. This week, advice on switching the name on a Roth account, investing in stock options, and cleaning up a bad investment.
Each week, Marketplace Money brings you a word or a phrase that has recently bubbled to the top of the news. This week's buzzword is "Wage Insurance." You hear it, you see it, but do you really know it?
In the latest installment of our investment club series, host Tess Vigeland takes us to Fairfax, Virginia. Meet a group of ladies who make homemade cinnamon rolls and invest in some sweet deals on the S&P 500.
Ever wonder what teenagers are thinking about the world of business and finance? One high school teacher in Delaware says it's the things that affect them, of course: minimum wage and gas prices.
Some women still prefer to make quiet references to "the change" and men want nothing to do with it, but a growing number of women are not only talking — and laughing — about menopause, they're turning a profit.
The major studios and TV networks are holding out for a substantial chunk of YouTube's advertising revenue, but in the meantime, smaller content providers have been flocking to the online video site.
Homeland Security has extended the deadline for states to comply with new regulations for IDs, but there are still concerns about privacy laws, not to mention how much the changes will cost.
Microsoft has already been fined $950 million for failing to comply with an anti-trust ruling in Europe. The E.U. says Microsoft is still dragging its feet and has threatened to start tacking on an additional $4 million a day.
It's been a dizzying week on Wall Street as a wave of sell-offs swept world markets. U.S. markets have managed to rebound for the most part, but some folks overseas think we might take a bigger hit yet.
After a year of free trade between the U.S. and a handful of Central American countries, the outlook on whether it's a good deal — and for whom — is still split down the usual lines.
The FEC has OK'd presidential candidate Barack Obama's request to raise private money for his campaign now, but switch to public funds if he wins the Democratic Party's nomination.
After Tuesday's market snafu, the Securities and Exchange Commission is cracking down on the technology used by the New York Stock Exchange. Bob Moon talks to David Easthope, a senior analyst with technology consulting firm Celent.
The SEC and the U.S. Attorney's Office today brought separate charges against a group of Wall Street workers they accused of insider trading. The scheme involved high-level employees from UBS and Morgan Stanley among other firms. Ashley Milne-Tyte reports.
Last year, alleged steroid abuse overshadowed Barry Bonds' career. But as Major League Baseball's spring training rolls out for 2007, do people still care? Bob Moon talks to our business of sports analyst Diana Nyad.
While President Bush has been criticized for not doing enough for New Orleans, small-business owners are organizing to get things done. We get the story from French Quarter dress shop owner Marianne Lewis.
A flush economy comes at a price, as Venezuelans are discovering with fast-rising inflation. Dan Grech went to Caracas to see how the country's spending is catching up to the local market.
ConAgra foods has resurrected Orville Redenbacher to once again get sales of his famous popcorn rising. Chicago Public Radio's Mike Rhee explains why some have been left with a bad taste in their mouth.
A special congressional advisory committee met today to try to find ways to curb Medicare costs. As Helen Palmer reports, they may want to provide better incentives to physicians.
McDonald's was none too happy after Prince Charles reportedly called for a ban on the fast food burger giant, but it has found an unlikely champion in the fallout.
Markets from Wall Street to Europe to Brazil continue to yo-yo, following sharp declines in Asia. But analysts say our economic numbers are good — as is the sign that we keep bouncing back from the drops.
Scientists have made a major advancement in the development of graphene — the world's thinnest substance. It also happens to be an even better conductor than silicon.
The Los Angeles Dodgers plan to move their training camp from Vero Beach, Florida to Glendale, Arizona in 2009 — and it's probably a smart business move from any seat in the stands says David Carter.
Starting today, doctors and other health experts will be able to "bet" on the likelihood of an avian flu pandemic using a new predictive market at the University of Iowa.
Taxpayers in New York, Los Angeles and other major U.S. cities have been footing the bill for tens of millions of dollars in indirect costs for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And now they want the federal government to pay them back.
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.
Even as Airbus workers in France and Germany threaten further walkouts over the 10,000 planned job cuts, analysts say the company's restructuring path practically guarantees more jobs will be shifted out of Europe.
Sure you can already download clips of your favorite shows to your cell phone, but soon Verizon subscribers will be able to get entire episodes from Comedy Central, Fox and MTV — if they upgrade their plans of course.
Peruvians are known for being late, an hour give or take. So all 28 million are being asked to change their ways today in the hopes of shedding the nation's reputation for tardiness.
A House bill to make it easier for unions to organize is facing a heated fight between business groups and labor activists. Those against the bill have put up a $1 million ad campaign. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.
Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin tried to smooth out House concerns over the company's merger with XM. The satellite broadcaster is forging a $13 billion deal. Kai Ryssdal has more.
Some listeners liked the idea of a comfortable, alternative-style workplace. Others said you shouldn't treat your office like your home. Kai Ryssdal goes over these and other letters.
Mechanic Pedro Cordova risks his health in a noisy, polluted smelting factory in La Oroya, Peru. The latest in our "Working" series, which profiles workers around the world.
Airbus is hoping the announcement of 10,000 job cuts will end bickering between Germany and France. But unions who want to prevent the cuts will continue to fight. Stephen Beard reports.
The Iraqi cabinet approved a plan this week to share oil revenue amongst its provinces. Commentator Susan Lee says to prevent the government from invading the oil money cookie jar, they should take a cue from Alaska.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke accentuated the positive today on Capitol Hill, and investors tried to maintain the same outlook. Kai Ryssdal and Bob Moon look into the effects of yesterday's Wall Street slide.
A strange AIDS-like disease is wiping out an unprecedented number of honeybees in the U.S. Experts predict a pollination crisis in orchards and fields. Sam Eaton reports.
The Employee Free Choice Act would make a major change in how workers choose whether to join a union — the first such change since 1935. Commentator Robert Reich says it's about time.
Scott Jagow checks in with fund manager Justin Urquhart-Stewart in London to see what's happening on the European exchanges after yesterday's big sell-off.
After weeks of wrangling behind the scenes, the European plane maker is about to announce its cost-cutting program. About 10,000 jobs are likely to go, mostly in France and Germany. Stephen Beard reports.
Those gains the markets enjoyed so far this year? Gone. The three major indices are now below where they started the year. Kai Ryssdal talks with market strategist Al Goldman and business analyst David Johnson about today's market shake-up.
Quality health care can be hard to find for residents of small towns and rural areas. Pomeroy, Wash., is trying once again to sell small-town life to big-city doctors. Chana Joffe-Walt reports.
Disneyland is suing its hometown of Anaheim, Calif. The park wants to make sure no new housing goes up within two miles of its front door. Pat Loeb reports.
Just inside Kenya's border with Somalia, some 170,000 Somalis live in refugee camps, waiting for peace in their homeland. In the camps, people balance dependence on aid with grassroots economic development. Gretchen Wilson reports.
Robert Hormats, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs International, talks with Kai Ryssdal about what might have caused today's market fall in China and whether it will have a lasting impact.
In a PBS Frontline documentary, correspondent Lowell Bergman looks at the economics of the news business. Kai Ryssdal talks with him about how the Internet has changed journalism.
El Salvador's President Tony Saca is a strong ally of the Bush administration, but now he's trying to make friends with top Democrats and it has everything to do with immigration.
China's market fell nearly 9 percent today — its biggest drop in more than a decade. What happened? Could be that the volatile market was just due for a correction.
Barcode-scanning cell phones are common in parts of Asia, but now they're expected to make it to Europe and the U.S. within a year as major phone companies work to come up with a universal barcode standard.
Some in Congress want to pass legislation that would give shareholders a non-binding voice in executive compensation, but critics say Joe Shareholder isn't really qualified to weigh in.
Prices for flat panel TVs and high-definition DVD players keep coming down but consumers still aren't biting. Seems they're satisfied with their current picture — at least enough to wait and see whether Blu-ray or HD-DVD wins out.
Even as the housing market continues its slide, depleted university budgets and an upward trend in student enrollment have built a profitable little investment pocket in some college towns.
The European Union is considering new criminal penalties for counterfeiting and intellectual piracy that could mean four years in jail and fines of up to $360,000 for some violations.
Consumer groups are advocating to keep electric utilities under government control. They point to higher rates and energy shortages in states that have deregulated power.
Digital download service BitTorrent is cozying up to Hollywood. Will people go for legal movie downloads? Janet Babin reports from the Marketplace Innovations Desk at North Carolina Public Radio.
Kai Ryssdal talks with David Hawkins, who runs the climate center at the Natural Resources Defense Council, about the effects global warming is having on business deals.
Today, a rule that New York restaurants post nutrition information on their menus may be in question, just as other cities are looking to follow suit. Amy Scott digests the story for us.
Did Helen Mirren's handbag catch your fancy? Some of the styles seen on the red carpet on Sunday will be headed to a store near you. Not to buy, but to rent. Nancy Farghalli reports.
Even though the Dow Industrials last week had its worst week since August, Wall Street did set a significant record. Newsweek's Allan Sloan explains to Scott Jagow why things are actually looking up.
British candy and soft-drink maker Cadbury Schweppes' has apologized for a Dr. Pepper promotional campaign in which treasure-hunt prizes were buried in a historic Boston cemetery. Stephen Beard reports, with Scott Jagow.
Drug wholesalers in Britain are threatening legal action to block a plan by Pfizer to supply medicines for the U.K. market through a single company. Stephen Beard reports.
U.S. postal regulators will likely recommend another increase in the price of stamps today, to 42 cents.They might also recommend a new kind of stamp that would really stick. Pat Loeb reports.
XM and Sirius, the country's only satellite radio networks, will make their case before Congress this week for why the FCC's antitrust rules don't apply to their proposed merger. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.
Nissan, Renault and Mahindra & Mahindra have announced a joint project to build a new factory and get into the race in India's booming auto industry. Miranda Kennedy reports.
