Friends of Money — Liz Pulliam Weston, Jason Zweig, Knight Kiplinger — join Tess Vigeland in recapping the biggest financial news of 2009, as well as the money lessons learned and ignored throughout the year.
Cash-free transactions may slowly be replacing physical money, but many collectors are still passionate about coins. Cash Peters went to a money show and analyzed characteristics of the common collector.
There used to be a time when Americans frowned upon going into debt. But historians say that changed nearly 100 years ago. Stephen Smith looks back on how our debt-driven society hit the gas with General Motors.
If you're going to be returning Christmas gifts, you might want to beware. With this holiday season having been tough for retailers, the post-holiday returns season may be a challenge. Alica Roth reports.
Now that the Senate has approved its health care reform bill, the real work begins on compromise legislation with the House. Meanwhile, small-business owners are anxiously waiting to see how they'll be affected. Mitchell Hartman reports.
Cleveland Plain Dealer consumer columnist Sheryl Harris and Tess Vigeland answer listener questions, including whether there's any downside to signing up for credit cards to get rewards, then canceling them.
The ladies of Formerly Baroque, an investment club in Northern Virginia, speak with Tess Vigeland about how they've attempted to recover from the financial losses recently endured.
On a lark, the general manager of the Rancho Bernardo Inn near San Diego thought he'd try to attract more business to the four-star resort by tweeting an offer for a $19 room. Reporter Cash Peters checked in to check it out.
The city of St. Louis is putting $1 billion into an effort to make its airport a hub for goods coming from China. If the plan works, it could give the city something it hasn't had in decades — a stake in the global economy. Adam Allington reports.
Harvard business professor Nancy Koehn has a unique perspective on the past year's financial crisis. She's compiled a book, "The Story of American Business," containing New York Times stories and editorials from the last 150 years. She talks with Bill Radke.
Today, the NBA champion L.A. Lakers play the Cleveland Cavaliers, which means a showdown between Kobe Bryant and Lebron James. That's given one company a chance to revive marketing that didn't work the first time. Nancy Farghalli reports.
If you celebrate Christmas, this is a day for opening presents, not buying them. But for America's retailers there's always tomorrow. Jill Barshay reports.
Hip-hop artist The RZA of Wu-Tang Clan talks with Kai Ryssdal about balancing hip-hop and the message of money, and his thoughts on the economy. We also offer an excerpt from his book, "The Tao of Wu."
Each week on Marketplace Money, host Tess Vigeland looks at the week's major national and international stories that will impact the average listener's wallet.
Contingency Operating Base Speicher is a U.S. Army base in Northern Iraq. Correspondent Jake Warga went there to see what some of the soldiers want for Christmas.
New York City's construction boom went bust so fast some of the condominium buildings are standing unfinished. But proposals to turn them into affordable housing units have been a tough sell. Alisa Roth reports.
Commentator Betsey Stevenson says that, despite all the bad news this year, something positive is going on — the U.S. divorce rate is now the lowest it's been in 30 years.
One of Germany's wealthiest families wants to cash in and build a giant solar park on its land. But residents of a nearby town are saying nicht in my backyard. Kyle James reports.
Cash-strapped state and local governments this year have sold more than $60 billion worth of Build America Bonds, subsidized by the U.S. Treasury. To drum up interest in their debt, states are taking their marketing message overseas. Amy Scott reports.
Many major provisions in the House and Senate health care reform bills wouldn't take effect for a long time after passage. But one part that would start right away could help unstick the economy — if it works. Gregory Warner reports.
Reporter Mitchell Hartman talks with Bill Radke about GM's pay packages and how much controversy is being caused by pay czar Kenneth Feinberg's restrictions.
Not only is this a make-or-break time of year for retailers, local governments depend on the tax revenue they collect from holiday sales, too. Amy Scott reports.
Consumer protections and subsidies from the Senate and House health-overhaul bills won't kick in for several years. But consumers may want help right away. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.
AIG executives are slated for more big bonuses in the new year. But some execs still haven't paid back all they promised to return from their 2009 bonuses. Jill Barshay reports.
What do you do with all the extra weight you've been packing on from holiday indulging? You could go to the gym, or bring the gym to you… even to your office. Caitlan Carroll explains.
The Senate has passed its landmark health-care bill. As lawmakers prepare to reconcile the bill with the House's version, reporter Mitchell Hartman talks with Bill Radke about what's critical for business and labor.
Want some nice wine to go with your holiday dinner? Wine can get expensive, even though it doesn't have to. Author Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl has some suggestions for the casual wine consumer in her new book, "Drink This." She gives Kai Ryssdal a taste.
With the economy still struggling and unemployment holding at double digits a lot of new college graduates can't find jobs, let alone jobs with health insurance. So some students are getting smart about staying insured. Sarah Varney reports.
Commentator Dan Drezner says one of the biggest changes that has gone unnoticed is the way the economy is now being studied — with a healthy dose of political science.
Many small businesses' growth is on hold because banks aren't lending to them. Banks aren't lending because so many small business owners now have bad credit scores. How to end the stand-off? One lender may have found a way. Rob Schmitz reports.
The second BlackBerry blackout in a week has left users of the usually reliable device with idle thumbs for several hours. Bob Moon reports the company needs to be careful with its reputation, to keep rivals at bay.
In the last week, three Chinese car makers agreed to buy portions of brands owned by American auto manufacturers. The deals show the Chinese companies are looking to compete on a global scale. Alisa Roth reports.
Sales of newly-built houses fell more than 11% last month, surprising analysts who expected an increase of around 5%. After all, sales of previously owned homes were up. So how did the experts get it so wrong? John Dimsdale explains.
The government says personal income rose in November at the fastest pace in six months. And our spending increased as well. So, how pleased should you be? Bill Radke gets the opinion of economist Richard DeKaser.
The number of long-term unemployed in Britain has doubled since last year — 2.5 million people are out of work. It's the only G20 nation still in recesssion. Stephen Beard reports.
Yahoo! has announced it is closing its offices between Christmas and New Year's. The Web site won't shut down, but the media giant's telling most of its workers to stay home next week. Why? Amy Scott reports.
The U.S. Postal Service says it will lose more than $3 billion this year and $8 billion next year. Can anything be done to save it? Bill Radke gets the views of Los Angeles Times business columnist David Lazarus.
How much of a future do paper greeting cards have in the era of Facebook and Twitter? Sabri Ben-Achour reports on how the greeting card business is changing.
We've gotten a lot of good news from the housing market in recent weeks. But today some not-so-great news. New-home sales dropped 11% in November to their lowest level in seven months. Mitchell Hartman reports.
There's a growing backlash, both here and abroad, against banks that got government bailouts and are now making big money again. The U.K. and France are imposing steep one-time taxes on big bonuses. Marketplace's Amy Scott checked out the mood in Germany's financial capital.
Commentator Susan Lee says the indirect costs of government subsidies that encourage people to buy homes hugely outweigh the benefits. That's why she sees the fifth-straight year of declining home ownership a good thing.
A World Trade Organization ruling intended to open the Chinese market to foreign films, music and books is being hailed as a major victory for America's cultural exports. But how the Chinese will respond is still not clear. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.
First Federal Bank of California joined the list of failed banks this past weekend. One of its customers was Marketplace Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch. He tells host Bob Moon how he's gotten a bitter taste of what that failure means.
The White House has announced that Howard Schmidt, formerly of Microsoft and eBay, will be its new cybersecurity coordinator — more than six months after President Obama said he was creating the position. Why so long to name Schmidt? John Dimsdale reports.
President Obama has told the heads of some of the nation's smaller banks that he wants the same thing from them that he wants from large banks — more lending. The smaller banks claim that's easier said than done. Jeremy Hobson reports.
National Gross Domestic Product was revised lower
for the third quarter. The number wasn't quite as robust as originally anticipated. Steve Chiotakis talks with analyst Juli Niemann at Smith, Moore and Company.
Apple is reportedly in talks to offer programming from CBS and the Walt Disney Company, owner of ABC and other networks. Jennifer Collins reports on the latest in the Internet TV race.
British regulators have given the green light to a proposed merger between Ticketmaster and concert producer Live Nation. U.K. fears lifted that such a deal would lessen competition, but the U.S. has yet to decide. Stephen Beard reports.
Environmentalists are fighting those who want to deepen the Delaware River, siting the release of harmful toxins into the water. But Philadelphia port authority officials say the move is necessary to stay competitive. Joel Rose reports.
Beijing said it regrets a decision by the World Trade Organization that sides against China on market restrictions made against certain media providers. Scott Tong reports how these rules restrict Hollywood.
Community bankers are meeting with President Obama today, who is encouraging the group to make more loans. But regulators are telling small bankers to conserve. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.
Many states have exhausted the funds set aside for jobless benefits. Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman explains what they are doing to keep payments flowing to the unemployed.
As the first decade of the 21st century draws to a close, Steve Chiotakis talks with Fortune Magazine's Allan Sloan to try to characterize the last 10 years.
The National Association of Realtors is expected to report better home sales numbers than a year ago. But even though sales might be picking up, there are still plenty of bargains to be found. Sally Herships reports.
Section 8, one of the nation's most ambitious public housing programs, helps people pay their rent. However, to get accepted they need a mailing address — even if they're homeless. Nancy Marshall-Genzer reports.
Commentator K.C. Cole says economic "experts" who say the recession is over must be so blinded by rising stock prices and corporate profits that they don't notice the shuttered stores and unemployed workers all around them.
Cash reserves at the biggest companies in the country are at their highest levels in 40 years. They aren't spending because they're still nervous about the economy and they can't find anything to invest in. Jeremy Hobson reports.
ESPN has launched its fourth local Web site, this time in Los Angeles. And the sports network says it's just getting started. Host Bob Moon talks with the Sports Business Journal's John Ourand about why ESPN is trying to get bigger by going smaller.
