Week of September 3rd, 2007

American activist-investor Eric Knight has launched a campaign against one of the world's biggest banks, calling for major changes. No word yet what exactly he's after, but he's got a good track record of getting what he wants. Stephen Beard reports.

Drug-related violence has claimed the lives of 50 politicians, activists and their relatives in the months leading up to Sunday's general elections in Guatemala. Dan Grech has the story.

Congress is set to pass legislation that would increase student Pell grants and cut loan rates by about half, and President Bush says he'll sign it. Just about everyone's in favor, everyone except lenders. Jeremy Hobson explains.

The rugby World Cup kicks off in Paris today but a dispute over media rights threatens its coverage. If you want to see it you'd better find it on TV or hop on a plane and buy a ticket, Dan Grech reports.

Some say one sign the economy's on a downward turn might be walking the runways not far from Wall Street: Hemlines at NYC's Fashion Week are falling. But others say that just means lots of shopping and high prices this season. Jill Barshay reports.

They usually travel in the same general direction, but recently there've been signs that the economy's going south, while oil flirts with record highs. Oh and gas prices are probably headed back up too. Stephen Beard tells us what's going on.

The news keeps getting worse for many American homeowners. New data shows that the rate of home loans in foreclosure has hit a record high for the third quarter in a row. And there's no end in sight, Bob Moon reports.

Sure you can download movies online, but right now no one's making it easy enough says Variety's Mark Speier. There just aren't enough people who think it's worth the effort, especially with the theater or DVD rental right around the corner.

Some early morning commuters have to find creative ways to fill their time on the ride. Mark Goldschmidt started watching movies on his hour-plus ride into New York City, and soon he wasn't alone…

Great news for Airbus: Rival plane maker Boeing has delayed the test flight of its 787 Dreamliner and that could potentially throw wide open a window of opportunity for Airbus. Stephen Beard explains.

VW is moving its American headquarters to Virginia. The move by Europe's biggest carmaker is a further blow to Detroit, which has suffered big job losses in the auto industry which once fueled it. Stephen Beard reports.

Researchers have a tough time getting enough embryonic stem cells from human eggs to advance their research in fighting disease. But a U.K. decision on human-animal hybrid cells might clear the way for more breakthroughs. Janet Babin reports.

The land of the safe and dependable Volvo is experiencing a growing craze for a not-so-practical U.S. automotive export. We sent Rico Gagliano there to check it out.

Cerberus, the private equity group that bought Chrysler, has hired some big-name talent to lead the automotive company. Kai Ryssdal talks with the New York Times' Micheline Maynard about the automaker's high-level changes.

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

Next week, lawmakers will be voting on a wide array of budget bills. Odds are President Bush will veto anything he thinks spends too much or that hints of a tax increase. But to succeed, says commentator Jeff Birnbaum, he'll need a little help from his friends.

In the lead-up to the APEC summit, President Bush has had to fend off accusations he's been ignoring the Asian Pacific region. China, on the other hand, has been very attentive — as our Shanghai correspondent Scott Tong reports.

Lawmakers will hold hearings later this month into why so many tainted Chinese imports have been showing up on store shelves. Mattel CEO Bob Eckert and a government agency will be on the hot seat. Janet Babin reports.

Communities of retirees have sprung up as a desirable alternative to giving up homeownership for senior living. Wren Elhai visits with one new village member in Washington, D.C.

This week, the Fed issued new guidance for lenders to help homeowners re-finance their mortgages. But you can't re-fi if you barely know what it means. On this installment Educating Rico, Rico Gagliano learns how a re-fi works — and why sometimes, it doesn't.

This week, the LIBOR rose to a six-year high. And if you have an adjustable-rate mortgage, you know that's not a good thing.

Will we get a meaningful tax reform discussion? Will Congress get rid of the terrible tax law known as the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). Hope…

With all the attention David Beckham has gotten lately, some may have forgotten there are 10 other players on the field. This week, we turn a much-deserved spotlight on the L.A. Galaxy's goalie.

With September's arrival comes our last summer school class. Dust off that syllabus you got the first day and let's see if you paid attention.

With so much information available on your investments, finding reliable data can be a bewildering task. And now, many major brokerages are making some research less available to the public. Amy Scott reports.

The headlines note that the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.6%….

On yesterday's Marketplace Morning Report host Scott Jagow and I talked about one of the best ideas I've come across in dealing with families…

So far, I am in the camp that thinks much of the Wall Street whining and criticsim of Ben Bernanke this past month is misplaced. The Fed has been…

Marketplace Money for Friday, Sept. 7, 2007

High school soccer champion Reyes Ventura badly wants to attend college, but government paperwork and a lack of money are holding him back. Paul Cuadros reports.

The House Ways and Means Committee is looking into whether the U.S. government should raise taxes on rich private-equity firms that go public to get richer. Commentator Glenn Hubbard says that would be a bad idea.

The National Football League season begins tonight, which means millions of fans playing fantasy football leagues are back in action as well. Business-of-sports expert Diana Nyad talks with Kai Ryssdal about the reality involved.

The European Central Bank's decision to keep its benchmark interest rate at 4% is making bankers and investors anxious that this fall might be worse than this summer. Stephen Beard reports.

Luciano Pavarotti helped change the business of classical music. Fred Child of public radio's Performance Today talked with Kai Ryssdal about the legacy left by the tenor, who died today.

Scientists have fingered a virus that may be a cause of the country's disappearing bees — what's called colony collapse disorder. Marketplace's Helen Palmer, a beekeeper herself, reports.

A report out today looks at what the United States and China can learn from each other about how to clean up air pollution. Janet Babin reports.

Word from Congress yesterday: Senior citizens are being scammed into dodgy investments by people with official sounding titles. And lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want to do something to stop it. Jeremy Hobson reports.

The nation's three top popcorn makers are pledging to remove the chemical that gives their microwave popcorn that artificial buttery flavor, though even the FDA agrees it isn't dangerous for consumers. Dan Grech reports.

A recent report called the Smithsonian gift shops underperforming and poorly run, so the museum is considering outsourcing them. But the folks doing the job now say they're being unfairly compared to commercial retailers. Jeremy Hobson reports.

Three key indicators popped onto economic radar screens yesterday and none of them brought good news. The credit and housing crises are starting to impact the larger economy, but are we on the steep road to recession? Steve Tripoli reads the signs.

Congress wants to help homeowners who are struggling to keep up with skyrocketing subprime mortgages. Forget a traditional bailout, Chris Farrell explains the beauty of the own-to-rent plan.

Marketplace Morning Report for Thursday, September 6, 2007

In North Carolina, some supporters of traditional affirmative action now see a different way of creating diverse student bodies. Dave DeWitt reports.

In 1996, pollster Mark Penn highlighted what he thought was an important Democratic constituency: soccer moms. Now, he's got a new book out. He tells Kai Ryssdal of a new trend — young people minding their knitting.

Beyond St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican owns a lot of pricey real estate in Rome. Many of its tenants had come to believe they were protected from rising rents. But, as Megan Williams reports, their faith was misplaced.

The subprime mortgage crisis is exposing the fact that American consumers have very little money in their pockets. And commentator Robert Reich says that realization could lead the nation right into recession.

Wheat prices have hit a record high. The immediate reason is bad weather in western Europe, Australia and parts of the U.S. But John Dimsdale reports there are long-term trends that will keep wheat expensive for a while.

When we heard about the latest Mattel recall of 800,000 imported Chinese toys, we asked some consumers to tell us their reactions. Their responses could be Mattel CEO Bob Eckert's worst nighmare.

Investors clearly have a ways to go before they'll be feeling better, based on the latest economic reports. Today, a Bush administration official warned they could be waiting a long time. Bob Moon reports.

President Bush and Australia's prime minister took a break from the APEC summit today to reconfirm their position on Iraq. And perhaps not by coincidence, Bush is expected to announce a big defense deal with Australia. Alisa Roth reports.

Mattel has announced yet another recall of toys made in its factories in China. That's the third time in five weeks, but some in the industry are saying don't be too quick to put the blame on Chinese factories.

The housing market meltdown is hitting the job market. Layoffs in the financial sector reached record levels in August as brokers and bankers were sacked by the thousands. And this may just be the beginning of the hurt, Dan Grech reports.

It's not Asia, says commentator David Frum. He suggests we take another look at Central Europe, where markets aren't developing at Asia's exciting breakneck pace, but they are growing steadily… with bonuses like law and accountability.

Yesterday the Fed urged lenders to work out new loan terms for borrowers who risk defaulting on their mortgages, but that's only a request, not a requirement. Now it's Congress's turn. Will taxpayers pay to fix the subprime mess? John Dimsdale reports.

Banks are fresh out of billions to lend, and thus goes the buyout boom. Data company Thompson Financial says the number of private equity deals around the world has fallen sharply. No surprise, the subprime crisis is to blame. Stephen Beard reports.

Marketplace Morning Report for Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Panama Canal expansion started with a bang yesterday as 15 tons of explosives brought down Paradise Hill to begin a seven-year, $5.25 billion project that will reshape global trade routes. Dan Grech has details.

Fallout from the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis has raised doubts about dozens of multi-billion dollar deals struck earlier this summer. Some analysts now say the biggest-ever banking takeover bid could be affected. Stephen Beard reports.

Australia welcomed Chinese President Hu Jintao today. Thanks to a mutually-profitable economic partnership, China has ingratiated itself on both sides of the Aussie political divide. Scott Tong reports.

President Bush is leaving the annual APEC summit a day early this year. That might not sit well with some Asian countries, which has some questioning if we're as engaged as we need to be in that part of the world. Janet Babin reports.

Low-income students still face a big barrier to college — the cost has more than tripled over the past 25 years. And state and federal aid hasn't kept up. So, as Laura Leslie reports, some students may be learning to dream small.

Kai Ryssdal reviews some of the correspondence we've received on Picassos, the Mondavi wine-making family, teaching a man to fish, and Leona Helmsley's dog.

The Elite model agency is responding to the increasing diversity of Paris. It's searching for talent where residents of North African descent make up one of the largest ethnic minorities. John Laurenson reports.

The Federal Reserve has asked mortgage lenders and loan companies to ease up on subprime borrowers who might be facing foreclosure. Marketplace's Steve Tripoli discusses the details with Kai Ryssdal.

It may seem Microsoft has already taken over the world. But the software maker has taken a hit from a computing group in Switzerland. Its members declined to designate a key Microsoft product as an international standard. Stephen Beard reports.

Southwest Airlines has been watching its fuel costs rise. So it's passing along those costs to its customers. Bob Moon reports that Southwest's competition is only too happy to go along for the ride.

Some cab drivers in New York City aren't happy about new regulations that require them to have GPS and credit card systems installed. We speak to one driver about the costs he's facing.

Critics say mining companies are sacrificing safety to get every last lump of coal out of the ground. Jeremy Hobson reports that demand and prices for coal are up, giving companies incentive to mine every inch they can.

August was brutal in the markets. Imagine getting a call from your Mom, "So, you still think this is a correction?" (Put plenty of disbelief into…

Q: My wife and I had our first child a few months ago. After doing some research, we had all but pulled the trigger on one state's 529 college…

India's accident rate is one of the worst: over 80,000 traffic-related deaths a year. In New Delhi, it's so bad the High Court increased fines 50%, but the roots of the problem go much deeper. Miranda Kennedy reports.

Office buildings never seem to get the temperature right. You might think modern climate controls could stabilize such tightly-controlled environments, but the very design of cooling systems is to blame, Janet Babin discovers.

Today is the 50th anniversary of the Edsel, but Ford isn't celebrating. It is one of the most spectacular failures in U.S. automotive history, but the splashy car is probably more popular now than ever. Dan Grech reports.

Standard and Poor's says the tiny emerging markets of Latvia and Iceland are most vulnerable to fallout from the U.S. subprime mortgage meltdown. Stephen Beard explains the link.

A chief executive's life can have its moments of high drama. That's why a training seminar uses Shakespeare to teach management lessons. Sean Cole has the story.

Golf has been a popular way to schmooze with the boss. But the workplace and the games we play are changing. Reporter Jane Lindholm thought it might be worth a shot at a new approach.

Management gurus say the best way to get ahead at work is to just put yourself out there. But commentator Richard Conniff disagrees. He says workers are better off if they stand together, than stand out.

A group claiming to represent thousands of the city's licensed cabdrivers is planning a strike. Drivers are protesting a new high-tech system they say will cost them unnecessary time and money. Amy Scott reports.

Encouraging news for Americans on this Labor Day: You can take it easy. You've earned the rest. A survey concludes you're the most productive workers on the planet. Stephen Beard reports.

How does an impoverished nation boost tourism? Nepal is putting its most famous mountain on seasonal clearance. It works for clothing retailers, but discount-seeking climbers might pay a different kind of price. Jill Barshay explains.

The very first Labor Day wasn't exactly official. A bunch of workers just took the day off and held a massive demonstration, pressuring President Grover Cleveland into declaring it a national holiday. Jeremy Hobson has the history.

Egonomics co-author Steve Smith tells us how to recognize when there's an ego problem at play — and the dangers businesses face when they ignore those warning signs.

Congress returns from recess this week. First up: what to do about the mortgage meltdown and ensuing credit market crisis. Some worry that lawmakers will be too generous with taxpayer money in the fix. Steve Tripoli reports.

Cold Stone Creamery continues to give Baskin-Robbins a run for its money, more likely because of the toppings smooshed into your ice cream on cold stones than their other gimmick. Sean Cole explains.

A new UN report shows that U.S. workers produce more output on average than those in any other country. Don't get too excited though; we also work more hours than almost everyone. Stephen Beard has more details.