Personal finance expert and author Beth Kobliner and her 13-year-old daughter, Rebecca, tell Tess Vigeland some of the lessons they've learned in their talks about about managing money.
In many immigrant families, kids are the only ones with a strong enough grasp of English to interact with the teller at the bank. They act as translators and family budgeters. Mayra Jimenez shares her story.
Enough of the real news. It's time for the tidbits that didn't make the headlines, courtesy of Rico Gagliano, Brendan Newnam and members of the Marketplace staff.
In Jess Walter's new novel, the protagonist is upside down on his house, out of a job, and a failure at starting a business. But he's got a comeback plan.
One of the ways to find out if the economy is bouncing back is to check how much is being shipped by trains, trucks and ships. Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman did just that and reports on what he found.
Newscorp and the Associated Press say they will be putting a price on their news content and stepping up efforts to go after people who use it without paying. Senior Business Correspondent Bob Moon reports.
If General Electric's rumored sale of NBC Universal to Comcast goes through, consumers would see some noticeable differences in what they watch. Jeremy Hobson reports.
Despite the gains in the housing market, programs to help at-risk homeowners aren't doing enough to save millions of American from foreclosure, according to a new report. Steve Henn has the story.
Products marketed to men are generally portrayed as things only a real man would want. Deodorant that withstands the elements! Cars that eat up the road! Food that slays your hunger! Candles? Caitlan Carroll reports.
W. Hodding Carter and his family decided to try a little experiment: Go a whole month without spending — anything. He talks with Tess Vigeland about the experience.
Tess Vigeland and Los Angeles Times consumer columnist David Lazarus answer listeners' questions, from how to prove you didn't receive income that the IRS says you did, to fighting back against debt-relief scams.
Noah Glass was just about to start Harvard Business School when he threw that opportunity out the window to pursue his dream of starting a business that makes the buying of fast-food go faster. Jeremy Hobson reports.
If there's one complaint common to people lucky enough to have health insurance, it's the explanation of benefits form that you get after visits to the doctor. As Tamara Keith reports, it needs a whole lot of explaining itself.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has declared the recession over. Stock prices have climbed. Yet, many investors are still cautious. Tess Vigeland talks to Bob Frick of Kiplinger's Personal Finance about whether this is a stock market rally we can trust.
President Obama is campaigning for the creation of a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. But the banking industry doesn't think it's necessary. John Dimsdale reports.
Demand for syrup continues to grow, but there are only so many mature maple trees to tap. So one researcher has developed a better way to get it. Ross Sneyd reports.
A Congressional Oversight Panel is warning that the government program to help homeowners avoid foreclosure is falling short. Elizabeth Warren, the panel's chair, talks with Steve Chiotakis about why the program isn't working.
Washington bureau chief John Dimsdale talks with Steve Chiotakis about why a Congressional panel wants Congress to beef up rescue efforts to stem foreclosures.
When Congress passed credit-card reform earlier this year, banks said they needed time to prepare for the changes. But some think they should start following the rules sooner. Tamara Keith reports.
John Buntin, who writes about the 20th-century relationship between organized crime and the Los Angeles Police Department in "L.A. Noir," takes Kai Ryssdal on a tour of the city's downtown and points out things that haven't changed much.
Prices are coming down on home sales, according to a report from the real estate company Trulia. Does this mean reality is finally sinking in for homeowners? Alisa Roth reports.
For years, foreign countries and other U.S. cities and states have offered tax breaks and other incentives to lure filmmakers away from Los Angeles. Now, the L.A. City Council wants to put forth some incentives of its own. Stacey Vanek-Smith reports.
Insurance regulators are looking to some of the nation's most sophisticated bond investors to act as rating agencies. Some experts think they'd probably do a better job. Jill Barshay reports.
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has logged in a lot of phone time with executives from big Wall Street banks. Who else could he be calling? Kai Ryssdal gets some insight from Anil Kashyap at the University of Chicago.
A collaborative movement between a Michigan farmer and a Detroit environmentalist is taking gardening to another level in the Motor City. Phillip Martin reports.
The final health care reform bill will have a big impact on the doctors of tomorrow. What does the next generation of medical practitioners think about the proposed new rules? Joel Rose reports in the next installment of our series, "The Cure."
Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial, talks with Steve Chiotakis about what the latest retail numbers mean for holidays sales, and the latest jobless numbers.
A House committee will look into the health of the Federal Housing Administration. Steve Henn reports the agency's falling cash reserves has some concerned about another potential bailout.
How much do U.S. doctors make compared to docs in other rich countries? Stephan Richter of TheGlobalist.com quizzes Bill Radke, and also lets us know how much U.S. specialists make compared to their patients.
Most analysts expect September retail sales to fall and the holidays to be gloomy, but the industry isn't having a tough time attracting new corporate talent. Ashley Milne-Tyte reports.
Economics correspondent Chris Farrell talks with Steve Chiotakis about why some analysts believe that once an economic recovery takes hold, it will be a strong one.
Democrats and Republicans continue to search for a common ground on the health-care debate. The latest idea: a state-run public health plan. What would that entail? Tamara Keith reports.
Credit-card purchases usually rise in the lead-up to the holidays. But this year, studies show consumers are increasingly steering away from credit and opting for debit. Mitchell Hartman reports.
The U.S. is down more than 8 million jobs since the recession started, and the Obama administration is considering giving companies tax credits if they create new jobs. Harvard University economist Greg Mankiw explains to Kai Ryssdal how it might work.
After East Germany fell, many of its companies were closed and privatized. But some survived. On the 60th anniversary of the communist German Democratic Republic, Brett Neely takes us to a few stores from that era that are still doing business.
New York City's Garment District has been a major hub for clothes production for over 100 years. But proposed zoning law changes would open the area up for development. Kai Ryssdal talks to designer Nanette Lepore, who is fighting the changes.
If business lender CIT Group falls into bankruptcy, taxpayers will end up losing $2.3 billion, which is what the firm got from the bailout last year. But commentator Robert Reich says CIT stands to gain about $1 billion from taxpayers' loss.
Burger King patrons will soon be privy to brick walls and industrial metal counter-tops as the chain revamps its restaurants to make it more globally competitive. But this might be a tough sell for franchisees. Rico Gagliano reports.
Simon Johnson, professor of Global Economics and Management at MIT, talks with Bill Radke about why he thinks President Obama is deliberately letting the dollar wither.
Washington bureau chief John Dimsdale talks with Steve Chiotakis about why commercial real-estate vacancies are up, and why the Federal Reserve is worried about it.
Some U.S. energy players aren't waiting around for a new climate treaty in Copenhagen. They're cooperating with the Chinese to reduce carbon emissions. Ashley Milne-Tyte reports.
The SEC is looking into charges that HCA, the world's largest hospital company, improperly accounted for thousands of nursing shifts at its hospitals. John Dimsdale reports.
Washington bureau chief John Dimsdale talks with Steve Chiotakis about why wireless telephone companies are opening up their networks to Internet-based phone services, and how it might affect the communications industry.
Latinos in the U.S. tend to not participate in the Census Bureau survey, so one telenovela on Telemundo is hoping to help get the message out. Elizabeth Threlkeld reports.
Google has announced a deal to match up its Web-based energy-monitoring system with a smart meter to track electricity usage. Mitchell Hartman reports.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and signed a few trade deals. Scott Tong reports there's money to be made in the relationship.
The Federal Trade Commission this week announced new guidelines that would penalize bloggers for failing to disclose when they receive money for endorsing products.
Universal Pictures and Disney have replaced the movie makers running their film studios with executives adept at marketing. Cynthia Littleton of Daily Variety tells Kai Ryssdal how the changes point to the studios' changing business model.
Behavioral economist Dan Ariely tells Kai Ryssdal about a survey of golfers that exposed how their approach to the game correlated to the way they worked.
Democrats are talking about what else they could do to get the economy moving. One idea: taking more action against unemployment by extending safety net programs and introducing tax incentives. Steve Henn reports.
Listeners chimed in on our coverage of the Obama administration's trade policies, the drought in Kenya and whether we should take liberties with the definition of "combat pay."
Tatler Magazine has had its thumb on the pulse of upper-class society in London for three centuries. And while many iconic print publications are struggling to stay alive, Tatler's doing just fine. Stephen Beard reports.
The new GI Bill gives vets money for tuition, housing and books. But paying for GIs' educations is nothing new. Stephen Smith of American Radioworks explores how the first GI Bill's push to education helped shape the U.S. economy.
The Obama administration is looking at ways to create jobs, including tax incentives for businesses that hire and more infrastructure spending. John Dimsdale reports.
