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, "Cockroach Theory." You hear it, you see it, but do you really know it?
Our economics editor Chris Farrell answers your burning money questions. This week, advice on helping a family member with mortgage payments, using wage insurance, and dealing with identity theft.
China has a new corporate tax law for foreigners who want to do business there. Scott Tong went to Hunan Province, where business people say it's about time.
The Airbus A380 jumbo jet is at least two years behind schedule. Yet, airports have already invested millions in getting ready for its arrival. Lisa Napoli reports.
If there were any lingering hopes of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve board next week, they were probably dashed by today's Consumer Price Index report. Hillary Wicai reports.
About 60 miles north of Los Angeles is one of the last big open spaces left in this country that's near a major urban area. But it might not stay wild much longer. Kai Ryssdal talks about Tejon Ranch with writer Jon Gertner.
Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights today because of ugly weather forecasts in the Northeast. Alisa Roth reports that it might not have been the wisest economic decision.
The cost of President Bush's emergency war funding plan is going up. Congress has some things it would like to add. Marketplace's John Dimsdale talks with Kai Ryssdal about the funding bill's inflation.
Some consumers use check-cashing and cash-transfer firms for money transactions. But those financial firms, including those in immigrant-heavy areas, are scrambling to meet new regulations. Ashley Milne-Tyte reports.
You can use a lot of "S" words to describe the housing market: slumping, slowing, and surviving. So how do you sell in a buyers market? Tess Vigeland interviews Elizabeth Razzi, the author of "The Fearless Home Seller."
Another week has brought another worry about risky mortgages. Host Tess Vigeland talks about Alt-A loans with Chris Mayer, the Director of the Milstein Center for Real Estate at Columbia Business School.
Timing is a precious commodity in the public relations industry — and also a strategic tool. Smart companies, not to mention politicians, use a few time-tested formulas in an attempt to maximize the good news and hide the bad.
U.S. officials decide a month from now whether Los Angeles or Chicago gets to move forward with America's bid to host the 2016 Olympics. Both cities insist they'll make money on the deal, but one may face much less financial risk.
Afghanistan's poppies already supply over 90 of the world's heroin, and this year's crop is huge. The U.S. wants to destroy the poppy fields, but some folks think they have a better idea.
Markets in developing nations are growing fast and as they do, they often skip a generation of technology. The latest example: Internet phone provider Skype now has more customers in China than the U.S.
New York's Attorney General says public and private colleges across the country are getting kickbacks from college loan companies to push their loans, even if they may not be the best choice for students.
An entrepreneur in Kabul says claims by the U.S. and Afghan governments that the country is ready for business investment are laughable — that crime and corruption there are still on par with the Wild West.
Consumer prices exceeded the Fed's expectations for inflation in February — doubling the January increase — but policymakers may well leave interest rates unchanged when they meet next week to avoid risking recession.
Commentator and Web entrepreneur wannabe Rob Long wants you to hear the "elevator pitch" for his new website. He knows you're busy. He'll keep it simple. . . . Go!
When the Producer Price Index came out this morning, it accelerated speculation about what the Fed might do when it meets next week. Alisa Roth takes a look at what today's report might really mean.
Kai Ryssdal combs through some of the letters you've sent recently, with comments on stories about working late and working in pollution, and on Ben Stein's commentary about oil companies.
March Madness kicked off today, and distractions abound in the workplace. There's the office pool, the live games streaming on the computer . . . It does some damage to the bottom line.
Wal-Mart says it wants a limited banking license so it can save on credit card payments. But a congressman thinks he's found evidence that the retail giant has something bigger in mind. Hillary Wicai reports.
When you do a Google search, Google keeps a log of it — which has been a sticking point with privacy advocates. Today Google promised to make searches anonymous . . . eventually. Janet Babin reports.
Wal-Mart is trying to improve employee scheduling by using something called labor optimization software. But, as Ashley Milne-Tyte reports, it's not always optimized for labor.
For the last few years, an increasing number of Americans have been taking up knitting. We sent Cash Peters to try his hand at an old-fashioned fashion craze made new again.
As the subprime mortgage sector approaches a full-scale meltdown, investment bank Goldman Sachs is talking about getting deeper into subprime lending. Is it a fire sale or a fool's market?
The NCAA Tournament jumps into full swing today and big-time revenues are a slam dunk for partners like CBS — not to mention peripheral players like beer sellers.
The FDA has ordered drugmakers to issue strong new warnings about sleeping pills, citing risks of odd behaviors like sleep-eating and sleep-driving. That could cause complications for Big Pharma's bottom line.
The subprime mortgage crisis has rippled across the pond and now British banking giant Barclays is demanding the immediate repayment of $900 million from U.S. subprime lender New Century.
Microsoft has agreed to purchase voice recognition leader Tellme for something in the $800 million neighborhood. A pricey purchase, but one that gives it an instant edge in voice command search technology.
Europe had wanted to launch its own satellite navigation system — one that would rival America's GPS — by 2010, but that timeline is drifting further out of orbit by the day.
Wal-Mart has a pending application to establish an industrial loan company, but the retail giant insists it's not interested in opening retail bank branches. Now there may be evidence that suggests otherwise. . .
Alternative fuel cars and trucks accounted for 9 percent of U.S. auto sales last year. That's way more than automakers expected — and you might be surprised which state led the pack.
U.S. and foreign auto execs and the UAW are lobbying hard in Washington against proposals requiring higher gas mileage. Sam Eaton reports on the high stakes of climate-change legislation.
In Britain, official reports have a history of being less than objective. So, Parliament created an independent statistics office. But for many the numbers still don't add up. Stephen Beard reports.
Abbott Labs, which makes the AIDS tablet Kaletra, announced today it won't sell any new drugs in Thailand, because the Thai government has been breaking patents on its AIDS medicines. Sarah Gardner reports.
Nervousness over the subprime mortgage market is causing some wild swings in the stock market. Kai Ryssdal talks with the Wall Street Journal's Kate Kelly about the big names who are entering the fray.
The Episcopal Church has been divided over issues such as gay rights, with some congregants leaving in protest. In Falls Church, Va., that split has come down to a property fight. Eric Niiler reports.
Canadian media mogul Conrad Black went on trial for fraud in Chicago today. Kai Ryssdal talks about the case against Black with reporter James Langton of The Daily Telegraph in London.
For many illegal immigrants, the journey to the U.S. begins south of Mexico. But traffic across its Guatemalan border isn't one-way. There's a $10 billion contraband economy based on the loosely-patrolled perimeter.
Move over Sunkist. News that billionaire Nelson Peltz bought a 3 percent stake in Cadbury Schweppes has popped the lid on speculation that it may sell its American soft drink business and concentrate on chocolate. Investors seem to approve.
GlaxoSmithKline's new drug Tykerb has won FDA approval to treat aggressive late-stage breast cancer. It could be a blockbuster — for investors and patients.
Environmentalists have been pushing people to switch to energy-saving lighting for years. Now even the world's biggest light bulb maker is saying it's a bright idea.
Prime Minister Tony Blair wants to spend nearly $40 billion to renew his country's fleet of Trident nuclear submarines — a plan that's outraged members of the ruling Labour Party as well as activists.
Commentator Robert Reich says as presidential candidates spend less time at coffee klatches and more time talking to investment bankers, the American people are getting short-changed.
The Big Three U.S. automakers, Toyota and UAW will be sitting on the same side of the table today. They're all on Capitol Hill to argue against government proposals for raising fuel efficiency standards.
Former newspaper tycoon Conrad Black goes on trial for fraud in Chicago today. He and his co-defendants are accused of siphoning about $84 million from media giant Hollinger International.
Mexican insurance companies are getting into the microfinance market. And Jordana Gustafson reports from Puebla, Mexico, that micro-insurance could be coming soon.
Several factors came together today, sending the Dow down 242.66. Kai Ryssdal checks in with economist Diane Swonk to get her view on the market's drop.
Media conglomerate Viacom has sued Google and YouTube for a cool billion dollars, complaining about what it calls YouTube's brazen disregard for intellectual property law. Lisa Napoli reports.
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.
Governments in the U.S. and elsewhere are considering phasing out incandescent lights in favor of flourescents to save energy. Commentator Tom McNichol says, in the process, the emphasis should be on consumer priorities.
Subprime lenders are in trouble. Foreclosures are up. Marketplace's Tess Vigeland talks with Kai Ryssdal about why that matters for the larger housing market and the whole economy.
A bill unveiled in Britain today would commit the government to cutting carbon emissions by 60 percent by the middle of the century. Stephen Beard reports.
Google and Microsoft want the federal government to approve a device that would make the Internet available over your TV. Broadcasters aren't pleased about that. Janet Babin reports.
Treasury Secy. Henry Paulson's worried that too many rules are costing American businesses too much money. He asked a gathering of top business leaders today what they thought. Pat Loeb reports.
President Bush is in Mexico, meeting with President Felipe Calderon. Their conversation's turned to immigration reform and trying to keep Mexican workers at home. Dan Grech reports.
A senior British official says he was told national security was at stake — and that influenced his decision to stop a fraud investigation which implicated the Saudi royal family, an important ally in the "war on terror."
British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have put aside their rivalry for the day. They're trying to convince Britain's Parliament not to sign off on the proposed open skies agreement with the U.S.
The annual International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago isn't open to the public, but a few design students do get a chance to go — and to try to come up with the next must-have for beds, baths or beyond.
Hybrid autos have found a loyal and growing niche, but the price of the technology isn't coming down fast enough to penetrate the mass market. So what does that mean for automakers preparing to push out a whole new crop of hybrids?
President Bush wraps up his Latin American tour in Mexico, where he hopes President Felipe Calderon will serve as the region's free market counterweight to socialist Hugo Chavez — but the scales may be tipping in the other direction.
The U.S. is the only economic powerhouse that doesn't guarantee its workers paid sick days. A bill to be introduced in Congress today would change that, but business groups are likely to lobby against it.
More consumers than ever are getting their news online, which means more consumers than ever have stopped contributing to the cost of news gathering. One possible solution to save the media: Follow the cable model.
Some experts are pointing to a securitization equation: No consequences for loan originators + investors bundling risky loans = a menu ripe for subprime abuse.
A U.S. Chamber of Commerce commission today took aim at Sarbanes-Oxley, the corporate-governance law that businesses have learned to hate. They say it leaves auditors unfairly open to risk. Alisa Roth reports.
The FDA issued new guidelines today for fresh-cut produce. But the agency's director says the new guidelines aren't exactly the scientific solution to food-borne illness. Helen Palmer reports.
Subprime lender New Century moved a step closer to bankruptcy as its lenders called in their loans. Track the falling dominos and it might push the whole economy lower, too. Hillary Wicai reports.
The nation's largest independent sub-prime lender may be the latest victim of the housing slowdown. New Century Financial says the banks that keep its money flowing are cutting the lifelines.
Latest emergency spending bill: The White House wants another $100 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Democrats have attached additional dollars for domestic items. But somebody's gotta lose. . .
Halliburton announced yesterday that it's moving its headquarters from Houston to Dubai. Better oil exploration and production opportunities, they say. That Dubai has some of the world's most liberal tax and investment laws probably doesn't hurt either.
The E.U. is poised to slash sugar subsidies — a move that could ruin producers in Africa and the Caribbean. So Barbados is hoping to find a high-end market for its ultra-sweet, ultra-expensive sugar.
The dark cloud of insider trading was cast over a $19 billion bid for Britain's largest pharmacy chain, Boots, last week. Inconvenient timing for regulators who'd just announced that 25% of London deals are preceded by suspicious trading activity.
Hurricane futures begin trading on the Merc today. It's a new way for businesses to hedge against hurricane losses, and building it required a new way of classifying the storms.
How did McClatchy get that $160 million tax break when it sold the Minneapolis Star-Tribune last week? Turns out it's thanks to a little-used type of merger that's pretty smart.
In an effort to make American business more competitive, the Chamber of Commerce is urging public companies to stop wasting time on earnings forecasts.
