Week of August 9th, 2010

Marketplace's Brendan Newnam and Rico Gagliano chat with fellow staffers Dalasie Michaelis, Krissy Clark, and Stacey Vanek-Smith about stories involving Gmail, young men punching their co-workers in the face, and soap operas.

CNBC's John Carney from Reuters blogger Felix Salmon talk with Kai Ryssdal about whether they were surprised by the Federal Reserve's announcement that the economy is still stalling and the bond market.

Media magnate Rupert Murdoch says he plans to launch a digital newspaper made just for distribution on tablet computers like the iPad. Janet Babin reports.

President Obama signed a $600 million border security bill that will put more agents and equipment on the job along the Mexican border. But with the U.S. bank balance deeply in the red, where's that money coming from? According to the White House, from taxes on H-1B visas for skilled workers. Alisa Roth reports.

Germany reported its best set of economic figures in more than 20 years. It achieved this feat by doing what many countries can only dream of: exporting its way out of trouble. And how did the world respond to Germany's good fortune? With a hail of criticism. Stephen Beard explains.

Tess Vigeland follows up with Beverly Davis, who is trying to save her Georgia home that went into foreclosure through selling cornbread mix and now t-shirts.

Tess Vigeland talks to Marketplace's Krissy Clark about whether weeks of watching oil gush into the Gulf had any effect on Americans' oil habit.

Sean McNeely is currently a cube drone and hating every minute of it. But he found his exit when someone asked him to edit an erotic story…

Drug wars, worker strikes — The stuff you see on the TV news is not exactly what you want to see on your vacation. But even still, people were taking vacations to Mexico and Greece — at a significant discount.

Tess Vigeland and Kathy Kristof from CBS Moneywatch.com answer listener questions on how to invest to supplement retirement in the future, how much to help a child out with college costs and how to dig yourself out of college debt.

Marketplace's Economics Editor Chris Farrell argues that retirement age can be lowered — without ruining the Social Security system.

Tess Vigeland talks to Dr. Christian Weller, a Social Security expert, on how raising the retirement age would affect how people plan and save for retirement.

Nearly 15 percent of retirees depend on a Social Security check as their sole source of income. Reporter Peter O'Dowd talks to seniors in Arizona about getting by with just Social Security.

it claims to carry 90% of "core textbooks". So instead of sinking hundreds of dollars on textbooks that you have to lug around, you just zap them…

Question: Hi there, I'm a college student about to graduate soon and head off to graduate school. I haven't ever thought about investing because I…

Net Neutrality is a complicated issue.  The recent Google/Verizon policy proposal has raised new questions about the open internet – the idea that…

They hope so. The airline is integrating itself into Facebook so you can buy a ticket directly through the social media giant. Makes sense, I guess…

If you can't be bothered to push a button (or, let's be honest, if you're driving a car), Android phones can now work on Voice Action. Use a set…

Academics, consumer groups and banks will be present when the Obama administration holds a conference next week to determine the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

… Great news if you like higher gas prices. Consumer prices rose, too. Did we mention higher gas prices? Severe school cutbacks will take not…

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch finds the iPad such a promising business he's launching a newspaper that will only be accessible through the device.

Between April and June, Germany's GDP grew at its fastest quarterly rate in over 20 years. But that doesn't necessarily mean it can help global economic recovery.

So many JetBlue punchlines to choose from in this week's Minute. Which one's your favorite?

Even though Congress just approved $26 billion to help save teachers' jobs, it's not enough to fill in a lot of the gaps in severely cut school budgets.

General Motors CEO Ed Whitacre is leaving the company as it prepares for what might be the biggest public stock offering in U.S. history so that the company can prep for the long-term.

Marketplace Morning Report for Friday, August 13, 2010

Marketplace Tech Report for August 13, 2010

Marketplace Money for Friday, August 13, 2010

Marketplace for Friday, August 13, 2010

The debate on net neutrality get some big supporters and critics.

Apple TV has been this grand idea of a set top box on your TV that connects online and lets you watch shows that way. But the box is expensive and…

Unlike many coffee shops, Starbucks has long been stubborn about giving away free Wi-Fi access to customers, choosing instead to build membership…

In 2008, federal agents walked into a kosher meatpacking plant in Iowa and walked out with almost 400 people. At the time it was the biggest immigration raid in U.S. history. For the tiny town of Postville and its main employer, it was devastating. Now, the plant is trying to get back on its feet. Jeff Horwich reports.

A new study from the Pew Hispanic Center says in 2008, 340,000 babies were born in the U.S. to at least one parent who was in this country illegally. That's nearly 1 in 12 newborns. A section of the constitution grants automatic citizenship to those babies. Amy Scott reports on what that means for the economy.

Police departments across the country are finding themselves supplemented, and in some cases supplanted, by private security firms. Simon Hakim of Temple University has studied the issue and talks with Tess Vigeland about why it's happening.

Research in Motion, the company that makes Blackberry smartphones, is under attack from governments that say the device's encryptions are so good it represents a security threat. Steve Henn reports on how one of the Blackberry's key selling points has become the company's Achilles' heel.

Airlines trimmed their fleets as the recession hit and stored their planes in the desert. But cargo and passenger volume are up, so a few major airlines are pulling mothballed 747s out of storage and back into service. Janet Babin reports on what that means for the industry.

General Motors reported second-quarter profits of $1.3 billion and may soon file papers for an IPO. CEO Ed Whitacre, appointed by the Obama administration to turn GM around, has also announced he will step down and be succeeded by a board member. Reporter Alisa Roth talks with Tess Vigeland about what all this means for GM and the Big Three.

A federal judge upheld his decision to only temporarily stay his decision overturning Prop. 8, the proposition that was for banning gay marriage….

By the end of the year, 20 German cities will have photos of their neighborhoods posted on Google, in the face of vocal protests. The search giant is offering a solution, but critics are questioning the timing.

A company in Virginia has devised an affordable, high-tech housing addition that could help families care for aging parents.

Easy Answer: Yup. Especially if you're willing to make nice with worms….

It's back-to-school season. And for those college kids who think they can get an A on that biology course or maintain a 3.7 GPA throughout their…

… the company reports $1.3 billion in profits– IPO to come Car dealers face higher demand with short supply New jobless claims rise again For…

Auto sales have been improving over the course of the year, and car dealers are challenged with providing new cars after a long slump.

Or is that a vague and somewhat biased question? On today's show, Brian X. Chen from Wired talked about how the impending boom in tablet computers…

U.S. taxpayers gave $300 billion to bail out U.S. banks, which ultimately helped rescue foreign banks in a globalized system.

The story of how a newly elected state senator in an oil-loving Louisiana district set his state up with the strongest solar tax rebates in the nation.

The latest indicators say China's economy is slowing down, from production to manufacturing, and some economists say the country may need a decade to adjust.

Bank of England governor Mervyn King told the public the U.K. faces a long, hard road back to full recovery. Critics also say King is being over-optimistic.

Banks took back 93,000 American homes in July, the eighth straight month of more U.S. home foreclosures. But there are signs the crisis may start to ease in the months ahead.

When Dr. Seuss took on a bet from his editor to conjure up a book using only 50 words, he probably couldn't have imagined he'd match the success of…

Marketplace Morning Report for Thursday, August 12, 2010

Marketplace for Thursday, August 12, 2010

Marketplace Tech Report for August 12, 2010

With the release of the iPad and the new Dell Streak, tablet computers see a rise in popularity.

Here's some online lionization of the disgruntled flight attendant.

University of Pennsylvania researchers say they can take a picture of the screen of a touch screen phone, enhance the contrast on the smudge marks,…

Posted by Millie Jefferson…

California gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown served two terms as governor in the '70s, and is now the state's attorney general. His campaign offers are meager compared to Whitman's. She's already spent $100 million so far. He, less than a million. And he seems to relish the spending gap. April Dembosky reports.

Question: Is it possible to refinance an auto loan (I believe it is currently about 9.5%) if we were "upside down" going in to the purchase? Terri,…

Six U.S. states have approved of a new, low-carbon way to dispose of human remains called resmomation. It involves reducing the body to a mixture of liquid and minerals. A group of funeral directors in a northern Belgian province wants Belgium to take the lead and adopt the new approach. Stephen Beard reports.

Zimbabwe is selling diamonds after getting the go-ahead from a group designed to prevent trafficking of so-called "conflict diamonds." But human rights groups say the diamonds sold were mined from an area where government soldiers killed people, raped women and forced children into hard labor. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.

Macy's announced that second-quarter profits went through the roof. Adriene Hill went to find why, and what retailers are doing to get customers in the door

Someday the recession will end. There won't be any more talk of double dips and extending unemployment benefits. And then everything's gonna be OK. Isn't it? Commentator Robert Reich worries that it won't.

Sometimes the editors here at Marketplace can be long-winded, and all-together confusing. So we asked them to explain the news, and keep it short.

The Federal Reserve said it wouldn't add more money into the economy. But that it would continue to reinvest the money it put in during the financial crisis. That money is meant to help banks shore up their balance sheets and encourage them to lend more. Alisa Roth reports that's putting banks in a bind.

In the month of June, the U.S. imported a whole lot more stuff than we sent overseas. By "whole lot," we mean $49.9 billion worth. That's the worst number in almost two years. But here's the thing, if our economy's so weak, why are we importing all this stuff? Scott Tong reports.

It's the dang Street View issue again. Latest is that Google has announced that people in Germany have a month to opt out of the Street View…

Easy Answer: The city of Seattle might try to find out….

It's an add-on for Firefox that alerts you every time your computer sends information about you to Google. Due to Google's omnipresence online…

Have you ever been on a job interview and ordered an alcoholic beverage because your potential boss has? You think, maybe I should follow my boss'…

Investigators say they have no evidence that Toyota's electronics are the culprit for those bouts of sudden acceleration.

Posted by Melissa Kaplan For Marketplace Morning Report, Wednesday, August 11, 2010 Our headlines today were teeming with surprises. U.S. consu…

Rwanda's incumbent president Paul Kagame has worked hard to change his country's reputation, but his success in this week's general election has not been without controversy.

Motorola rolls out the Droid 2.

Butt, meet couch. Couch, this is butt.

The trade deficit went up 19 percent in June, and the U.S. set a new record for imports of consumer goods.

… We're in debt and out of work — why are we still gobbling imports? Economists underwhelmed by Fed's new plan What caused the flash crash? …

Indian spice merchants are concerned that U.S. and European companies are muscling in on their market.

Environmentalists say China's rapid urban development helped fuel the massive death toll caused by the recent disaster floods.

A federal judge in New Orleans will hear arguments over whether the six-month ban on oil drilling is legal. The moratorium has idled many of BP's Gulf drilling plans.

Nolan Hart got a lot of photos of drilling rig explosions and pumpjacks at sunset from working 25 years in the oil industry. Krissy Clark perused his site and explored how oil and gas-based energy is fueling renewable resources.

Federal officials are meeting today to ask whether exchange-traded funds are to blame in last May's flash crash.

The Federal Reserve plans to spend up to $30 billion a month on U.S. Treasury bonds in an effort to motivate the banks to lend. But this doesn't provide a huge incentive in an economy of $14 trillion.

Marketplace Morning Report for Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Marketplace Tech Report for August 11, 2010

Marketplace for Wednesday, August 11, 2010

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has inspired a string of t-shirt designs. We gathered a few stand-outs.

As a mass market publisher leaves print behind to focus on e-books and print on demand, many wonder who else will follow.

Posted by Millie Jefferson For Marketplace, Tuesday, August 10, 2010 Today on Marketplace: For the first time ever in the U.S. student loan deb…

Question: I understand there is a thing called 72t that allows a person who quit work after 55 to avoid the 10% penalty for taking a draw from a…

California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman is on track to spend the most money on a state election campaign in U.S. history. She's already shelled out $100 million. Her Democratic opponent has spent less than a million. What exactly is she getting with all that money? April Dembosy reports.

Since the Gulf oil leak, one of the things playing into how some people invest is the notion of social responsibility. Reporter Adriene Hill talks with Kai Ryssdal about how socially responsible investing has changed since the spill.

Australia's choice of languages has been rooted in its colonial past. But that's all changing. The country is moving ahead on an ambitious plan to teach future generations how to talk to their neighbors. Stuart Cohen reports.

The Wall Street Journal's Jessica Vascellaro talks with Kai Ryssdal about an article she wrote that says Google is trying to figure out how to use its vast store of data on users to turn a profit — something they've resisted since the company began.