King Juan Carlos of Spain has responded to more name-calling from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez by telling the South American leader to shut up. Chavez has fired back by threatening Spanish businesses. Dan Grech reports on this escalating and heated exchange.
Beleaguered British oil giant BP announced it's selling off its convenience stores and gas stations and laying off about 10,000 people in the process. Stacey Vanek-Smith reports others in the oil business are doing the same thing.
Three members of the Federal Reserve committee that sets interest rates have said another rate cut isn't necessary. That news was a bit of a surprise for Wall Streeters. And, as John Dimsdale reports, some economists are still expecting rate reductions in the near future.
Our economics editor Chris Farrell answers your burning money questions. This week — college loans, value investing, cleaning up credit snafus and index fund vocabulary.
Unpredictable weather and overbooked flights could make this holiday travel season a nightmare. Tess asks Scott McCartney for tips to get through the gridlock.
Are debt collectors harassing you? Their actions might be criminal. Tess asks Lauren Saunders about what creditors can and can't do and how you can fight back.
Reverend Billy has a message for you: the end is near for our consumer culture. Marketplace's Lisa Napoli enters the fold of the Church of Stop Shopping to bring us the gospel.
On this week's "A Day in the Work Life," our regular look at how folks trade time for money, we learn how trends make their way to the kitchen from Del Monte nutritionist Laura Molseed.
Nobody can predict the future, but if anyone can come close, it's Marketplace's economics editor Chris Farrell. Chris walks us through key economic indicators and sets the story straight on the prospect of a recession.
Investors are predicting dark times ahead for the economy. Marketplace's Jill Barshay tells you what you can do to prepare your portfolio for the worst.
Japan currently limits imports of U.S. beef to young cattle, up to 20 months old, due to concerns about mad cow disease. President Bush is likely to ask for imports of older cattle. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.
All Wal-Mart has to do to have an impact on green products is place an order. Reporter Sarah Gardner caught up with some of its 60,000 suppliers at a conference that the retail giant held to talk about sustainability.
The price of the annual turkey feast is a reliable indicator of overall consumer prices. And this year, it's jumped 11 percent from last year. But it's still a bargain. Stacey Vanek-Smith reports.
British Petroleum announces a two-year plan to sell off all 700 of its AM/PM stores to franchisees. Nearly 10,000 eployees will lose their BP jobs. Stephen Beard reports from London.
The ripple effects of the American subprime crisis is the big topic at the G-20 economic summit in South Africa, but no one's sure just yet how it might affect global markets. Gretchen Wilson reports.
Ray Anderson made his fortune manufacturing carpet. Now he's trying to convince fellow entrepreneurs to join him on a second industrial revolution and a march to "Mount Sustainability" — this time, with a deeper shade of green.
Retail powerhouse Wal-Mart has been taking great pains to improve its image by adopting environmental standards across all of its stores. Kai Ryssdal talks to Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott.
With landfill space at a premium, a group of scientists think they have a solution: a machine that turns trash into small pellets and fuel. But is it practical? Janet Babin explores the debate over plasma gasification.
The Afghan-American Chamber of Commerce is trying to increase foreign investment in Afghanistan. They're not having much luck while the shooting's still going on, but they've got some ideas they're working on. Paul Brandus reports.
The generals who run Burma's military junta also control a company known as Myanmar Gem Enterprise, whose sales of precious stones bring nearly $300 million into the Burmese economy every year. But the haul might be a little lower this time around. Alisa Roth reports.
In an effort to make sure the subprime mortgage meltdown doesn't happen again, the House was set to vote today on a bill that would lay down rules for lending. Stacey Vanek-Smith reports.
Finance leaders from industrialized and major emerging economies are converging on Cape Town, South Africa for meetings of the Group of Twenty, or G-20. Gretchen Wilson reports that Africa is getting more notice thanks to a strain on global resources.
A bond fund managed by General Electric has had its value fall below 100 cents on the investor's dollar, setting off some alarm bells. Amy Scott reports.
President Bush today announced plans intended to make Thanksgiving air travel go more smoothly. He also proposed longer-term regulatory changes to make sure passengers are treated more fairly by the airlines. John Dimsdale reports.
A group of governors frustrated with Washington's slow movement on global warming is pushing for climate-change legislation in the Senate. Paul Brandus reports on the proposed cap-and-trade system.
Today is National Philanthropy Day, and Americans are giving in record amounts, thanks to the ease of online donating. Stacey Vanek-Smith looks into how a lot of small contributions count.
European bank Barclays announced it's written off another $1.64 billion, bringing its new write-down total to around $2.64 billion. But Stephen Beard tells Scott Jagow why, compared to other banks, that's not that much.
British cosmetics manufacturer Mark Constantine is very critical of his own industry, and he's started a revolution in the world of marketing — products with minimal packaging, aimed at a green market.
The northern Washington town of Bellingham may be the epicenter of a new economic model for a post-consumerist economy: Locally produced goods and services focused on what surrounding communities need and can sustain.
It wasn't that long ago that being thrifty was America's number-one virtue. But beginning with FDR, a string of presidents has extolled the virtues of Keynesian economics and spending our way to wealth. Sarah Gardner reports.
Commentator David Frum says that buying local is laudible, but globalization of the consumer economy has brought unprecedented wealth to more people than ever before. So, do we really want to repeat ancient history?
Massachusetts residents are required to sign up for the state's health insurance program by tomorrow. Steve Tripoli has an early report card on the Bay State's attempt at universal coverage.
With home prices dropping, the dollar sliding and consumer confidence way down, commentator Robert Reich says it isn't just banks that are feeling the pinch.
Rumors of a merger between Delta and United were reported today, but Delta CEO Richard Anderson issued a statement denying the whole thing. Before that hit the wires, Kai Ryssdal talked with Julius Maldutis of the consulting firm Aviation Dynamics.
Doctors, hospitals and nursing homes that haven't bothered to pay federal taxes are still getting Medicaid checks. Congress is trying to solve the problem. But as Nancy Marshall-Genzer reports, the government's hands may be tied.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says the central bank is going to start being more open with its economic prognostications. Marketplace's Bob Moon takes a look at what's behind the announcement with Kai Ryssdal.
The LA Auto Show previews to the media today with an emphasis on big, green vehicles. Renita Jablonski tells us how GM is trying to sell a Cadillac Escalade without the guilt, and what Chrysler is using as competition.
A new World Bank report says Africa is doing a lot better economically than in the past. Alisa Roth explores which countries within the continent aren't doing as well and whether the region is really back on its financial feet.
Despite billions in write-offs and problems with U.S. subprime loans, HSBC, Europe's largest bank, is still managing to make money. Stephen Beard explores why the bank's profits are up in the third quarter.
Premiums for three of the most popular Medicare prescription drug plans will go up substantially next year. John Dimsdale explores the dramatic cost change from the plans' inception three years ago.
Speaking of Faith host Krista Tippett says the globe should welcome the challenge of sustainability as an invitation — a way to strengthen moral resources such as delight, dignity, elegance and hope.
Majora Carter is a community activist from The Bronx, a part of New York that's home to more than its fair share of waste and power plants that serve the whole city. She wants investment in a greener, more equitable future.
There's a thriving global industry recovering the precious metals in the millions of electronic devices we throw away each year. But the toxic by-products are showing up in cheap imported goods. Scott Tong reports from China.
Once-isolated Bhutan glimpsed the rest of the world seven years ago with the arrival of TV and the Internet. Now happiness is an increasingly rare commodity, and young people dance in blue jeans.
Negotiations between the Writers Guild and the studios are going nowhere, with the strike in its second week. But walking the picket lines might just turn out to be a good career move for some. Stacey Vanek-Smith reports.
If you buy something on eBay and it turns out to be a fake, whose fault is it? Tiffany & Co. is suing the online auction site for not doing enough to stop the sale of knockoffs. The case could change the rules for online commerce. Amy Scott reports.
The head of the Federal Communications Commission wants to relax existing restrictions on media cross-ownership in the country's 20 biggest media markets. The proposal is drawing skepticism from different sides of the issue. Bob Moon reports.
Can the profit motive solve our energy problems? Management professor Stuart Hart of Cornell University, and physics professor emeritus Marty Hoffert of New York University consider that question with host Kai Ryssdal.
A class of middle-skill jobs has been ignored by the education system, according to a new report. Alisa Roth reports on work that requires more than a high-school diploma, but less than a four-year degree.
A report out says most people are making more money than their parents did. But it also says despite making more money, a lot of them still go from being poor children to poor adults. Nancy Marshall Genzer has more.
Rupert Murdoch's plans for the Wall Street Journal include spreading the publication to the far corners of the world. Stephen Beard reports he's working towards that goal by making subscriptions to the WSJ website free.
The Federal Communications Commission is trying to decide if the XM-Sirius satellite radio merger would be harmful to consumers. But Lisa Napoli explains why the FCC will probably approve the deal.
Some economists believe we can innovate our way out of the global problem of carbon emissions. But Boston College professor Juliet Schor says what we really need to do is go on a consumer diet.
The farming town of Reynolds is a potential Saudi Arabia of bio-fuel and it's looking to become energy independent. So far, it's still a big gamble, but town leaders think it will work — if they can lure investors.
Americans are increasingly tied down by debt — that's nothing new. But Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren says the rising costs of bare necessities, not luxuries, might change the very nature of America.
Will our consumer economy eventually bury us as we deplete the Earth's resources, or will we innovate our way out of trouble? Stanford researcher Larry Goulder says it could go either way.
Europe has its own Ben Bernanke. Jean-Claude Trichet oversees the European Central Bank. Kai Ryssdal talks to Marketplace's Stephen Beard in London about the pressures facing the ECB's president.
The number of Americans studying abroad is rising, according to a new study. But parents footing the bill might want to start paying attention to exchange rates. Jeff Tyler reports.
Airlines from Persian Gulf states have announced $82 billion in new plane purchases, a bonanza for plane makers Boeing and Airbus. One purchase in particular caught the world's imagination, by an airline you probably haven't heard of — at least not yet. Dan Grech reports.
Representatives of the 12 OPEC nations hold a rare summit meeting this week. One of the issues they'll discuss is a plan to spend $130 billion by 2012 to boost oil output. But before they do they want some guarantees from their big customers. John Dimsdale reports.
Remember that special, $75 billion fund some big banks were planning to prop up the credit markets? Details came out today about how the fund will work — or how it won't, as some see it. Amy Scott reports.
America's consumer economy may be a symptom of a bigger illness — and it could be killing us all. As a species, we simply don't know what to do with all this excess, says prominent UCLA researcher Dr. Peter Whybrow.
Commentator Robert Frank says we don't need to transform human nature to do something about global warming, we just need to change people's incentives. A global carbon tax will hit folks in the wallet, and money is always a powerful incentive.
Crisco is a staple in many American kitchens and a must-have for homemade pies. But it's also an invented food made by chemists, and the story of how the white stuff became a must-have has become a marketing legend. Sarah Gardner reports.
Consumption has nearly doubled in the U.S., and fashion leads the way. One growing retail fashion chain, H&M, specializes in budget knockoffs of high-end clothing, with inventory coming in daily. Amy Scott reports from the shopping frenzy.
Global consumer spending has skyrocketed in the past two decades. But is advertising to blame? Do we all simply want more stuff, or do we need it for our high-speed modern lifestyles? It's a little of both, says marketing expert Kit Yarrow.
