This week, economics editor Chris Farrell offers his advice on grading a financial planner, retiring overseas and using retirement money for a house payment.
Insurance companies and certain states are allowing customers to shop around for better costs on operations – from a gallbladder replacement to a nose job.
The Labor Department says unemployment in April ticked up a tenth to 4.5 percent. At the same time the number of new jobs created last month grew at the slowest rate in more than two years. Jeff Tyler reports.
In its third report, the U.N.'s International Panel on Climate Change says the cost of doing something about global warming might not be as much as we thought. Nancy Marshall Genzer discusses the findings with Kai Ryssdal.
Nuclear plants make enormous amounts of power on very little fuel — with no carbon dioxide emissions. But there is that little issue about storing its radioactive waste. Geoff Brumfiel reports.
The World Health Organization said today it will provide information online about clinical drug trials. Commentator Michael Millenson says today's news is just a start at addressing the broad issue of health care quality.
Thomson Corp. makes an offer to buy the London-based news service, in the same week that News Corp approached the Wall Street Journal's owner. Lisa Napoli explains why news is so hot.
Brazil's President Lula da Silva today authorized breaking the patent on Merck's AIDS drug Efavirenz, citing the drug's price. The country will import a generic version from India instead. Helen Palmer reports.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has already taken control of his country's oil production. Now he's threatening to nationalize the banking industry. It's not the first time, reports Alisa Roth, but this time he may be serious.
The big-rigs that haul goods across the country every day belch clouds of exhaust and get gas mileage that makes SUVs look good. So one environmentalist started selling anti-pollution devices at an Oregon truck stop. Chris Lehman has the story.
The already complex scramble to buy the ailing Dutch bank just got more complicated. A judge has blocked the sale of a key ABN asset after shareholders sued. Stephen Beard reports.
A new report says it'll cost less to address global warming than expected. More good news: Thanks to technology, China and India are actually in a better position to limit future greenhouse gases than already-industrialized nations.
Spider-Man 3 is all but guaranteed to swing in and open the summer blockbuster season with a huge box office take. Comic books continue to deliver for Hollywood, and it has a lot to do with the geek factor says Daily Variety's Mike Speier.
Reuters is a top provider of financial data and news, but last year reported a 30 percent profit drop. Now news of an anonymous takeover bid is causing the stock price to shoot up — Stephen Beard has the story.
Once a household name in the photographic film industry, Eastman Kodak has so far missed out on the digital camera boom and is shedding thousands more jobs. Alisa Roth reports.
Doomsayers have been prognosticating the end for movie theaters for years now. But even in an age of DVDs and Internet video, they're selling more tickets than ever — and now some are taking the business public. Lisa Napoli looks behind the curtain.
Fewer than eight percent of professors teaching physics at American colleges are women. One of those rare teachers is hoping to find out what makes the profession so lopsided towards men. Jill Barshay reports.
Virginia is racking up a king-sized bill to welcome Queen Elizabeth, but tourism experts say it's buying priceless exposure that'll make it all worthwhile in the long run. Jeremy Hobson takes a look at the balance sheet.
Think that no one else shares your appreciation for a certain stock? Alisa Roth takes us into the world of online stock communities, where investors share their favorite picks.
A major investment bank has released a study on the widening gap between rich and poor in the U.S. It suggests the growing recession that's mired lower-income groups now threatens the middle class, says Chris Farrell.
Leading unions and employers across Europe have agreed to crackdown on harassment and bullying in the workplace. And the move should help the bottom line as well as morale, Stephen Beard reports.
Prosthetics isn't a big enough market to spur innovation for profit, so one amputee Iraq veteran is adapting the open source concept by reverse-engineering expired patents and posting them online. Hillary Wicai reports.
Tensions in Washington remain high as Democratic leaders return to the drawing board to come up with a veto-proof appropriations bill that will move toward bringing U.S. troops home. Steve Henn reports.
General Motors has made money for the second straight quarter, though the $62 million profit reported today is down sharply from last year's thanks to fallout from the subprime housing market. Ashley Milne-Tyte explains.
The insurance industry warns Congress today that climate change could cause eye-popping losses as warming leads to unusual weather patterns that make it impossible to project future damage payouts. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.
The Dow is on a record-breaking winning streak not matched in over 50 years. And according to some analysts, the market is still pretty well-priced — so it could very well keep on rising.
Pharmaceutical firms lose billions to companies that make generic versions of their drugs once patents expire. But the big problem is that they're running out of new meds to replace top sellers as that happens, Janet Babin reports.
A study has found that white NBA referees call more fouls on black players, and black refs call more on white players. Allan Schwarz of The New York Times wrote a story about it. He talks with Kai Ryssdal.
China's government is cracking down on one of the nation's most successful television programs, an "American Idol"-style talent show. But the new formula may still spell profits for the sponsors. Donna Renae reports.
Internships have become so important for college students that many are willing to pay to get one. So maybe it was inevitable that entrepreneurs would see opportunity. Pat Loeb reports.
The U.S. government announced it no longer needs the three-year Treasury note, because the budget deficit has improved. But some market watchers are already talking about the note's resurrection. Jeff Tyler reports.
MasterCard says its quarterly profits jumped 70% over this time last year. Cardholders used the plastic 16% more, spending $509 billion. What about that predicted slide in consumer spending? Lisa Napoli reports.
The Dow, NASDAQ and the S&P 500 have been on quite a run recently. But commentator Robert Reich would like to point out that raw stock market numbers have little to do with the economy most of us live in.
Having just emerged from bankruptcy, the new Delta Airlines begins life as a publicly traded company tomorrow. Our business correspondent Bob Moon sorts through the mechanics of a company getting out from under Chapter 11.
Department of Education officials are in the hot seat for allegedly favoring some lenders in the $85 billion student loan industry. Democrats are expanding their probe and will question the department head.
Both nations want to put pressure on China to end widespread piracy, but Chinese officials say the move could damage trade relations if they decide to impose tariffs. Jeff Tyler reports.
The Bush administration and China are pointing fingers of blame at each other, hoping to sway the final draft of a report outlining the costs and timetable for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
A survey this morning reported that April job growth was the weakest in four years. Downturns in the housing and sub-prime lending industries could be spreading, and the impact is being felt on the GDP.
Lord John Browne, who resigned yesterday, may face time behind bars for perjury after lying about the details of a relationship with a gay lover. The scandal has already cost him a $30-million severance deal.
The FDA is considering regulating the use of cloned animals in the nation's food supply. But for an elite group of animal breeders, cloning is already a reality — and it's making big bucks.
Shareholders vow to block Rupert Murdoch's billion-dollar bid to buy the publisher of the venerable Wall Street Journal. The media mogul's plan to launch a financial news network might be behind the move.
When is $5 billion not nearly enough? Rupert Murdoch's bid to buy the publisher of the Wall Street Journal is well above market value, but it may be just the starting point if the owners invite more offers.
America's investor class celebrates another record-high Dow average while grunts and jarheads bleed in Iraq. Commentator Ben Stein suggests that a universal draft might make us all more careful about future wars.
If you think city sidewalks feel more hectic than a decade ago, you're right. A study says people are walking faster than ever before, and the pace is really picking up in up-and-coming world economies.
An earlier investigation into corruption charges against the U.K.-based defense contractor were quietly dropped after pressure on Tony Blair's government by Saudi Arabia.
News Corp, which already controls some big English and Australian papers, made a play today for Dow Jones, the parent company of the Wall Street Journal. Alisa Roth reports.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke says tariffs and quotas to protect American industry are a bad idea that will only hurt the U.S. economy. Commentator Stephen Moore says Bernanke is right on the mark.
Reporter Matthew Algeo moved to the West African nation of Mali, where most citizens live on less than a dollar a day. He learned that wealth can be a relative thing.
Something's been lost in the debate over emergency Iraq war funding and troop withdrawal deadlines. The price tag for the war is approaching $500 billion — about 10 times the advertised price. Steve Henn reports.
As the Food & Drug Administration tries to deal with the fallout from the contaminated pet food scandal, Congress has started looking at whether the agency is doing its job. Ashley Milne-Tyte reports.
While immigration is a problem for the U.S., Mexico has an emigration problem. Latin America expert Pamela Starr talks with Kai Ryssdal about the Mexican President Calderon's efforts to deal with it.
No question, Hugo Chavez's social revolution is in motion. Venezuela's state oil today takes over operations currently run by foreign companies — a move that's infuriated Big Oil and could cost a lot of little guys their jobs. Dan Grech explains.
It's the latest online social phenomenon. Thousands of people are answering the simple question — What are you doing? — all day long. Chana Joffe-Walt recruited a few friends to try it out.
Democrats say they're close to an agreement to roll the AMT off the middle class and back to its original intent: to tax the very wealthy. Republicans have promised to fight such a move, but that could push swing voters away these days, Bob Moon reports.
The search engine giant, which owns YouTube, says the billion-dollar lawsuit by the media conglomerate over copyright issues for its programming could threaten innovation. Ashley Milne-Tyte reports.
China's voracious appetite for commodities is gobbling up timber supplies in the U.K. and prices are rising fast. That's got some normally well-mannered blokes breaking into fist fights over garden fencing, Stephen Beard reports.
Protestors will rally in cities across the country today. But whether they match last year's massive marches or not, with so many lawmakers already in '08 campaign mode, it may be too late for meaningful reform, Alisa Roth reports.
The FDA is trying to protect the food supply of a nation that imports more than ever with a budget that hasn't kept pace with inflation. Today lawmakers take a critical look at the situation, Jeremy Hobson reports.
Reuters is rolling out a new service that tracks news about companies and makes automatic trades based on what's in a story. Ashley Milne-Tyte reports.
A report today from the Commerce Department showed prices rose 2.4% in March over last year, and that consumer spending was down in terms of what we got for our money. How will the Fed react? Bob Moon reports.
A new set of TV ratings coming out this year could affect not only which shows you watch, but also what you see during the commercial breaks. Andrea Gardner explains.
Larry Flax and Rick Rosenfield turned California Pizza Kitchen into a $500 million operation with more than 14,000 employees. The co-CEOs talked with Kai Ryssdal in our latest.
Managers in the San Francisco Bay Area were wondering this morning how to keep their businesses going if workers couldn't get to work. Some companies are changing the way they look at work from home. Steve Henn reports.
Commentator Amity Shlaes says examinations of how the World Bank conducts business should go beyond its beleaguered President Paul Wolfowitz and his girlfriend.
In the West African country of Mali, per capita income was $470 last year, with 64% of the population living in poverty. Matthew Algeo went there to see how people can exist on so little.
Co-founders Larry Flax and Rick Rosenfield are still leading California Pizza Kitchen side-by-side. Kai Ryssdal split a pizza with them recently and asked about their unusual working relationship.
When investors hear good news about a company, they generally buy the stock. Bad news? Sell. Reuters is rolling out a new service that tracks news about companies and can make automatic trades. Ashley Milne-Tyte has more.
Sam Zell has found quite a tax haven for his Tribune Company purchase. He's taking advantage of an unintentional loophole in an 11-year-old minimum wage bill that will allow the post-buyout Tribune to pay zero income tax. Zilch. Nada. Allan Sloan explains.
Paul Wolfowitz defends his job before a special committee today. Thing is, he was already cleared for the deal with his girlfriend once. Some say he's being targeted for doing too good a job of cleaning up corruption, John Dimsdale reports.
Last week in the ongoing ABN Amro saga, shareholders rebelled over the board's sale of La Salle to Bank of America without their approval. Now BofA is threatening an eye-popping $220 billion lawsuit. Stephen Beard walks us through it.
The airline says it's learned from its mistakes. Delta's post-bankruptcy money-making plan is to stay out of the low-cost fray and go after customers who are willing to pay for a better experience, Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.
E.U. leaders are in Washington today to talk about global warming, but White House opposition has been so staunch that they're holding their breath — for now. They may be more vocal in front of a G8 forum, Sam Eaton reports.
