Week of July 2nd, 2007

They may put on an alluring show, but these strippers can tease you out of a home.

The traditional model for retirement is changing, and a lot of baby boomers find themselves continuing to work into their later years. Tess Vigeland talks about the "young old" with author Marc Freedman.

If you think debit is automatically safer than credit, you may want to think twice the next time you swipe your card. Tess Vigeland explores how debit can be a drag with Dow Jones columnist Jilian Mincer.

The bottom line in a capitalist system is how much you make. And even the slightest loss can be catastrophic for your company's stocks. Economist Chris Low schools us on earnings.

If you're work for a small business, you're familiar with the pains associated with affordable health insurance. Steve Tripoli looked into the issue to find out what you're up against.

There are 600,000 bikes in Amsterdam, and they're fairly robust. But occasionally, you're gonna need something tweaked.

The average person receives between five and a dozen credit card offers in the mail per week. Tempting, no? Lisa Napoli resisted opening up her offers for about two months — then opened them all at once.

The Labor Department released job numbers today that were better than expected. If companies are creating jobs when the economy's supposed to be stalling, are we better off than we thought? John Dimsdale reports.

We've all gotten used to "spin" as a political art. But commentator Robert Lyle observes that spin is present in everyday economic life, too.

For years, New York City has been demanding more money for its schools. The money's finally come through, and the chancellor says he's planning to spend a big chunk to reduce class sizes. Alisa Roth reports.

China has been struggling to address growing concerns about the safety of its products. And this week U.S. officials recalled three more toys made in China for potential health hazards. Amy Scott reports.

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

The seemingly unlimited supply of low-cost labor that has allowed China to undercut American manufacturers may not be unlimited after all. There are signs that labor costs are creeping up. Scott Tong reports.

Samuel Langhorn Clemens, otherwise known as famed author Mark Twain, was also a tireless businessman. He made and lost a pile of money inventing and investing. In a new book, Peter Krass says it's clear where Twain's heart really was.

Rockers around the world will go on stage tomorrow to raise awareness of global warming as part of Live Earth. But Rico Gagliano found some clubs in Rotterdam that are already putting the message in motion, from recycled everything to dance-generated power.

Trendsetters in Old Europe are spending more of their style dollars on MP3 players and cell phones and less on the clothes they wear, but clothing sales are up in the E.U.'s newest member states. Janet Babin reports.

Researchers are turning to the flying mammals for inspiration, looking to create flexible wings that can allow planes to be more agile and fit into tight spots. Dan Grech reports on the challenge of re-engineering a bat wing.

A new law taking effect in Virginia this week raises speeding ticket fines as high as $3,500. It only applies to residents, so lead-footed passers-through can breathe easier, but the old fines are pretty high too. Jeremy Hobson has details.

Qatar-based TV network Al Jazeera has had a difficult time getting U.S. cable companies to pick up its English-language version since it launched late last year. But it has found a healthy niche of paid subscribers online. Jeremy Hobson has more.

There's no question that huge numbers of impoverished people around the world are in desperate need of aid. But the debate over how to help them rages on: Education or welfare? Jill Barshay reports.

Just as business leaders from around the world gather at a UN-sponsored conference to push for greater corporate social responsibility, a new report has come out linking ethical business practices to higher profits. Sam Eaton has more.

Marketplace Money for Friday, July 6, 2007

Entrepreneurs are moving into the effort to reduce greenhouse gases by selling pollution credits that help companies balance out their ecological footprints. One company is taking the concept out to sea. Alex Schmidt reports.

The Tour de France begins Saturday, still reeling from charges of illegal doping by big-name riders. Diana Nyad discusses with Kai Ryssdal what those charges might mean for fans and broadcasters.

Much as the U.S. dot-com boom brought forth new companies and their IPOs with frightening regularity, that's what China's stock market is like right now. Alisa Roth reports.

Some unusual stock-market activity reportedly occured before the announcement of Blackstone's purchase of Hilton Hotels. Kai Ryssdal talks with business professor Jim Angel about how some people snap up shares at a bargain, despite insider-trading laws.

Cable TV companies are now required to give customers a new kind of set-top box. It will come with a little card that lets customers go out and buy or lease their own box. What happens then depends on who you ask. John Dimsdale reports.

Ccube is putting a new twist on social networking websites like MySpace. It's bringing the concept of connecting strangers with similar interests direct to your phone, with so many bells and whistles it made Cash Peters' head spin.

That's right, so much wine that European taxpayers are pouring close to a billion dollars a year into getting rid of all the excess grapes. So yesterday the E.U. proposed an overhaul of the wine sector. Jill Barshay has details.

A new Price Waterhouse Coopers report predicts the Chinese stock market will lead the world in IPOs this year, but Shanghai dropped 5 percent today. Financial Times' Robin Kwong says government worries about an economic bubble have investors worried too.

For better or worse, the legendary UFO incident of 1947 forever changed the town of Roswell, New Mexico, but somewhere along the line its residents learned to embrace the folklore. And cash in on it. Janet Babin explains.

Recording giant Sony BMG is trying to renegotiate a contract with Michael Jackson to allow the company to get into the publishing side of the music industry. Times of London's Dan Sabbagh says it all depends how big a check they're ready to write.

There's been a surge in citizenship applications across the country in the past six months. Patriotic fervor? More likely, immigrants are hoping to avoid the 69 percent increase in the application fee. Dan Grech reports.

Hundreds of thousands of disabled Veterans are waiting months, sometimes years, to receive disability benefits from the Veterans Administration. Congress is trying to add to the VA's budget, but not everyone is happy with the price tag. Steve Henn reports.

Private equity firm KKR is seeking to raise $1.25 billion in an initial public offering. Why go public now? Jeremy Hobson reports.

A survey of rich moms and dads found that they tend to avoid discussing their wealth with their children — possibly to the kids' detriment. Sean Cole reports on this problem many of us wish we had.

People create financial independence under various definitions. Amy Scott takes a look at a new way to borrow and lend that doesn't slap on usurious interest charges.

Here's a sure way to gain financial independence: Win the lottery! One lucky lotto player took his winnings to the bank and to his hometown of Battagram, Pakistan. Miranda Kennedy reports.

After bomb scares in London and Glasgow, Britain has announced it will increase security checks on highly skilled immigrant workers. Dan Grech reports on how this move will affect a British economy that's dependent on foreigners.

Fireworks are as American as apple pie and the Fourth of July, except that almost all of them are made in China. So how do we know if they're safe? The industry acted to defuse that issue nearly 20 years ago, but it's not failsafe, John Dimsdale reports.

Keg thieves are tapping into the beer industry's collective bottom line, siphoning off over $40 million a year, into scrap metal mostly. The Beer Institute's Jeff Becker tells us how they're making off with so many empty kegs, and what's being done about it.

The Freedom of Information Act requires the federal government to release unclassified documents. That'd be great if people were always getting them. A new study has found a mounting backlog of unanswered requests, John Dimsdale reports.

Airfares have been sky-high this summer travel season. Luckily some new websites have cropped up recently to help you figure out when to buy for the best bargain. Amy Scott checks them out.

Back in the late '90s, tequila made such a big splash in U.S. pop culture that it drove up the price of agave, the spiky plant used to make Mexico's national liquor. The events that followed tell an age-old story in agriculture. Dan Grech explains.

The Blackstone Group is planning an extended stay in the hotel biz. It announced last night that it's buying Hilton Hotels for $26 billion, the latest and certainly greatest evidence of private equity's rising interest in hospitality.

Can't find new smokers in the West? Why not try kids in Africa! The Nigerian state of Kano says that's what tobacco companies have done, and now they're suing. Times of London's Tosin Sulaiman fills us in.

China's ZX Auto is teaming up with an American company to assemble vehicles in Mexico and then import them here. The result: An SUV selling for $13,000. Dan Grech reports.

An upcoming World Bank report has found that pollution in China causes about 750,000 deaths a year. But don't look for that figure in the final report. The Chinese government has pressured the World Bank to leave it out. Sam Eaton reports.

Detroit automakers have once again jacked up car-buying incentives for the summer. Meanwhile, Japanese car manufacturers are using their own version to entice consumers. Alisa Roth reports.

Congress is expected to significantly increase a fee assessed to drug companies that helps the FDA run its drug approval process. But not everyone thinks the extra money will make drugs safer. Snigdha Prakash reports.

An alliance of software companies is offering up to a cool seven figures to whistleblowers who report their companies' use of pirated or illegally copied computer programs. Helen Palmer reports.

Opera soprano Beverly Sills, died Monday at 78. In a 2002 Marketplace commentary, she argued for corporate America to invest its money — and time — in the arts. In remembrance, we offer it again.

After months of discussions, parts maker Delphi came to an agreement with the United Auto Workers last week. But the UAW will be looking for better deal when it sits down to renegotiate with the Big Three automakers later this month, Alisa Roth reports.

The painkiller was pulled from shelves after studies found greater risk of heart attacks and strokes. A new study finds that even short-term use was dangerous, potentially opening Merck to more lawsuits. Dan Grech reports.

It's been a robust year so far for initial public offerings. Taking a company public raises money for the corporation, and a new report says firms have already raised billions in 2007. Janet Babin reports.

Our business-owning listeners tell us they're not always eager to jump into hiring. Becoming a boss can dilute the attractions that lead people to self-employment in the first place, but it can also enhance the experience. Steve Tripoli reports.

The immigration bill defeated in the Senate last week may not be dead after all, at least not if business interests get their way. They're pushing to bring back parts of the legislation that would allow far more foreign workers. Sam Eaton reports.

News that 750,000 people are killed by pollution in China each year is made more disturbing still by allegations that the nation pressured the World Bank to omit that statistic from a recent report. Scott Tong has details.

Because people are unpredictable and people drive markets, physicists and economists are getting together this week in Lisbon. They're talking econophysics, a field that tries to understand markets through the laws of physics. Geoff Brumfiel explains.

Starting this fall, the nation's public schools will have less money to spend on abstinence-only sex ed. The Democrats who now control Congress have different priorities for the $50 million grant that used to fund it. Stuart Cohen reports.

Now's the time of year when many people who heat their homes with oil get a chance to lock in prices for next winter. But there's no guarantee prices won't fall. Steve Tripoli looks at whether it's worth the gamble.

In fact, just make it a week. Lots of folks are taking advantage of the Wednesday holiday and plunking down a couple vacation days to enjoy an extended July 4 break. But will consumer spending stretch along with it? Alisa Roth reports.

Some of life's little mysteries have simple economic explanations behind them. Econ professor Robert Frank shares a few, and the philosophy behind his book and the assignment that gets everyone thinking about everyday life in cost-benefit terms.

Universal Music is refusing to renew its annual contract with Apple to make its music available on iTunes. The at-will arrangement means Universal could yank its big name artists at a moment's notice. But that seems unlikely, Dan Grech reports.

McDonald's plans to recycle its used cooking oil to run its delivery trucks in the U.K. by year's end. The move may not save the company money, but it says it'll reduce its carbon emissions by 78 percent and it could boost sales along with its green image.

New evidence suggests 2007 is on track to become the planet's second warmest year on record and climate experts predict that droughts, floods and heat waves will only get worse. That doesn't bode well for the nation's aging power grid, Sam Eaton reports.

Today China is the No. 1 destination for foreign direct investment among developing nations, but with taxes and labor costs are rising, some are worried about companies leaving for countries like India and Vietnam.