Refusing to pay your taxes can cost you more than ever. Trey Kay talks to a woman who ignored her debt to Uncle Sam and finally came clean – for a price.
From consulting to carpentry, the market is fast growing for jobs that help the environment. And the money's not bad either. Sam Eaton looks into what it takes to go "green collar."
Operators in India's call centers are becoming a hot topic in India. They've even become fodder for popular entertainment among the country's fast-growing middle class. Miranda Kennedy reports.
Despite long hours and low wages, about 1.2 million people are home health workers. And their numbers are rising. Issues over how they're paid will be argued before the Supreme Court on Monday. Ashley Milne-Tyte reports.
Private equity firms reportedly are interested in buying up the biggest student loan company in the country, Sallie Mae, despite its recent troubles. Alisa Roth looks at what the appeal might be.
Wall Street let loose a sigh of relief today as the government reported core wholesale prices held steady last month. So, inflation might not be a concern — unless you really like your veggies. Steve Henn reports.
Saturday is the deadline for North Korea to shut down its nuclear reactor if it wants to get foreign oil. But there may be a hitch, tied to $25 million frozen in a Macau bank account. Ramy Inocencio reports.
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman thinks environmentalism needs a makeover — and it can be good for American business. He talks with Kai Ryssdal.
Take a sluggish economy, add rising prices and you've got what economists in the 1970s called "stagflation." And the word is making a comeback. Tess Vigeland talks to Zanny Minton-Beddoes from The Economist magazine.
Spring has arrived and it's time to clean out the closet. But look over your options before you donate that old pair of jeans to charity. We do some house cleaning with Sally Herships.
A private equity fund is reportedly considering buying the student loan firm for more than $20 billion, even as Sallie Mae battles allegations of improper connections between lenders and college financial aid departments.
Presidential campaigns are in full record-breaking money-raising swing. Tomorrow candidates will have to report on how they're using their cash, and one detail that can be a telling indicator of spending style is where they're eating.
Europe's biggest low-cost airline is hoping to fly through the newly Open Skies to the U.S. with flights starting as low as $28 round trip. Yes $28 — but it may not be the most comfortable 16 hours of your life.
It's been 100 days since the Democrats took back control of Congress. They have yet to get a bill to the President's desk, but they've well-surpassed the past three Congresses in terms of executive oversight.
Rafael Correa has spurned free trade with the U.S. and threatens to default on his country's debt. Now he's taking on Ecuador's political system, which he says is dominated by the country's elite.
Year after year, three generations of tax accountants work side-by-side for a devoted clinetele in Queens, New York. Their advice: "You do right by the people and they come back to you."
One of the things on the Democrats' 100-day agenda was finding a way to lower prescription drug prices for seniors. They want to let Medicare negotiate prices, but that plan's not going anywhere fast.
People in Nigeria are ready for a change of leadership. This weekend's election may bring that, but it isn't clear how a power shift might impact life and business in the violence-plagued, oil-rich Niger Delta.
While some retailers aren't expecting to report great numbers, Gap had none of that negativity — which is a pretty big change. Amy Scott reports the company may be recovering some of its lost luster.
Here are the latest economic indicators from our office vending machine: corn chips, up 10%; soda, up a dime; tiny donuts, up 30 cents! So we called economist Dan Basse to find out what's going on.
The affluent Fairfax County, Va., school district has a big meeting in Washington tomorrow. It's a last-ditch effort to avoid millions of dollars in fines for not complying with the No Child Left Behind Act. Steve Henn reports.
CBS fired radio host Don Imus today over his racial slur against Rutgers' women's basketball team. As always, money talked. Advertisers were bailing out. Commentator Marcellus Andrews points out that in this case, it's black money.
French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy is promising to cut taxes. You might think that would be a winning platform in one of the most highly taxed countries in the world. Au contraire, as John Laurenson reports.
Another big merger in the media business: Cable provider Comcast is buying popular movie ticket website Fandango in its quest to create a one-stop entertainment destination site coming this summer.
This weekend, the U.S. Olympic Committee will choose which city gets to move forward with America's bid to host the 2016 Olympics. And it's going to be a tough decision says USC's David Carter.
The Beatles' music is now just a new royalties deal away from becoming available on iTunes. The band has reportedly settled a $60 million dispute with record company EMI, the final obstacle in the catalogue's journey onto Internet store shelves.
Foreclosures are on the rise as more and more homeowners find themselves unable to refinance, stuck with mortgages they can't afford. But now a nonprofit is teaming up with two major banks to offer thousands a second chance.
MSNBC said today it's dropping its simulcast of "Imus in the Morning." More sponsors have pulled their ads over the host's wisecrack last week, but some are sticking around — and CBS Radio may decide it can't afford to fire Don Imus.
Los Angeles International Airport is raising the rent and United Airlines is passing the increase onto travelers with a $10 per ticket surcharge — effective immediately.
An FDA panel votes today on a new Merck arthritis drug called Arcoxia. It's a super-aspirin like Vioxx, which was pulled off shelves after studies linked use to increased risks of heart attack and stroke. But does this new drug belong on the market?
Confirmation today that Nestlé is buying Gerber and its 80 percent share of the U.S. baby food market for $5.5 billion. Analysts say it's a smart move for a company looking for healthy growth.
Broadcast industry mogul John Kluge has given $400 million to Columbia University — just for student financial aid. Ashley Milne-Tyte reports on what kind of aid that amount will come to.
Electronics and India are forcing economists to rethink some of their assumptions about free trade. One of them, Alan Blinder, talked with Kai Ryssdal about the impact on jobs and the U.S. economy.
Half of China's rivers are deemed too polluted to drink from. And more than 100 of its cities face what authorities call severe water shortages. Scott Tong reports on China's water-supply crisis.
A growing number of inventors are patenting strategies that could save you money on your taxes. And if you use one without permission? Well, that's called patent infringement. Janet Babin reports.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates today extended the deployments of U.s. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Kai Ryssdal talked with national security expert Gordon Adams about the change.
Gas futures jumped 3 cents a gallon today after the government reported a sharp drop in the nation's gasoline inventories. Still, our John Dimsdale found some good news in the report.
The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan is reportedly considering a takeover bid for media giant Bell Canada. The expected offer of $45 billion would make it the biggest leveraged buyout in history.
Deep-pocketed investors who are more interested in finding an audience for their messages than chasing returns at the box office are changing the business model for documentary filmmaking.
Stranded airline passengers made a lot of headlines this winter, and last week a study reported that quality was down across the industry. . . again. Today lawmakers may try to legislate better service, but is that even possible?
States in hurricane alley want a national catastrophe fund, but those inland are asking why they should be burdened. And critics want to know why the insurance companies need bailouts at all when they keep posting record profits.
Greenpeace has accused 20 companies of making illegal deals with African village chiefs to log a huge chunk of the world's second largest rainforest — in some cases in exchange for bags of salt, machetes and bicycles.
Commentator Robert Reich says the federal direct student loan program works well, so we should stop having taxpayers pay more to subsidize loans issued by banks and other private lenders.
The U.S. is trying to make nice in the global trade arena — or at least nicer. Washington is giving India greater access to the American consumer market by lifting the ban on its mangoes. In return, India's allowing Harley sales there.
Just as in the U.S., controversy over politically motivated firings is raging in Venezuela. But the scale of the alleged political discrimination is far wider. Dan Grech reports.
Investigations into the student loan industry continue to widen. Kai Ryssdal talks with education policy expert Stephen Burd about how schools and lenders are trying to sort things out.
Besides the impact to your health, there are costs of carrying too much flesh on your bones. Helen Palmer reports in our occasional series on the economic effects of fat.
A federal trial is underway involving car companies and Vermont over the state's regulation of CO2. Dan Esty, who teaches environmental law at Yale University, lays out the issues with Kai Ryssdal.
Texas-based utility TXU is keeping a promise, scrapping its plans for coal-fired facilities. It now wants to build some of the biggest nuclear power plants the United States has ever seen. Lisa Napoli reports.
Corporate America has posted 14 quarters of double-digit earnings growth. But in this earnings season analysts predict S&P 500 companies will report only about 3.5% growth. And analysts say that's OK. Amy Scott reports.
The online world is rife with opportunities for free expression, but many foreign nations have laws prohibiting anti-government speech. That's pitting those governments against their critics — and websites like YouTube that allow them to be heard.
Analysts say it could be a perfect fit. French luxury group PPR has made a buyout offer to add German sportswear maker Puma to a retail collection that includes Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent — and Puma is happy to accept.
Earnings season kicks off today on Wall Street and it's looking a little sickly. Some analysts are saying the three-and-a-half-year corporate profit streak may be nearing an end.
Yesterday, the U.S. said it was filing complaints against China over its failure to reduce piracy. Today China's biting back, saying the complaints would seriously damage the trade relationship between the nations.
In the ongoing battle over use of copyrighted materials online, software makers now have a product that actually watches video to check for infringement. But if sites like YouTube use it, they could be headed down a slippery slope.
The Department of Justice is going after companies that sell military equipment to China under the premise that the U.S. maintains jurisdiction over trade of American-made equipment regardless of where the transaction took place.
A few years back, many state coffers were bare. When budgets had to be slashed, arts funding was one of the biggest casualties. Now that money is coming back — and it has everything to do with local economics.
Economist and commentator Susan Lee says dumping the Alternative Minimum Tax is a mistake. She argues we'd be much better off embracing the tax everyone loves to hate and making it universal.
The world's largest natural gas exporters are considering working more closely together to set prices. Vijay Vaitheeswaran, correspondent for The Economist, discusses potential impacts with Kai Ryssdal.
KKR reportedly is interested in buying Dow Chemical for $50 billion, about a month after it announced a deal for Texas utility TXU for a then-record $32 billion. Alisa Roth reports.
Churches throughout England are facing uncertain financial futures, so they've been renting out space to earn some spare change. Some ecclesiastical authorities are not pleased. Stephen Beard reports.
Changing student-loan funding from the private sector to the federal government appears to be an idea gaining momentum. Commentator Jeff Birnbaum says it's one issue that's getting bipartisan backing.
The U.S. trade representative is set to file two new complaints against China's counterfeit market with the World Trade Organization. John Dimsdale reports.
President Bush visited Yuma, Ariz., today, calling attention to his administration's emphasis on controlling illegal immigration at the border and the workplace. Dan Grech reports.
From beard taxes to yachts, history teaches that you never can tell how people will respond when you find a new way to tax them. Except that some of them will find some way to avoid paying it.
Turns out our first president wasn't the teetotaler some revisionists have made him out to be. In fact, Washington was once the nation's largest producer of whiskey. And now a rebuilt version of his distillery is open to the public.
The U.S. is expected to file new complaints with the WTO this week saying China isn't doing enough to fight piracy and counterfeits. Beijing has made it easier to prosecute the crimes, but the problem is built into its restrictive market.
Workplace raids have succeeded in scaring off illegal immigrant workers — but that's left many farms and businesses struggling to maintain production levels and Congress struggling to agree on a solution.
President Bush is asking Congress for comprehensive immigration reform, but a sizable House caucus opposed to any form of amnesty wants to split up immigration issues and pass the less controversial measures.
Rising energy costs and advances in technology have given new life to efforts to form an OPEC-like cartel for natural gas. It's probably a long way off, but if it happens, it won't be good for consumers.
Prevnar is an expensive vaccine but effective in preventing deadly diseases such as meningitis, so doctors have been using it despite the high cost. Now evidence that it also cuts pneumonia cases makes its price tag seem even more reasonable.
