We all know people who love to return things. The shopping and taking it back can be a time-consuming habit, but it's mostly harmless. Until you cross the line into addiction. Tess Vigeland talks to psychiatry professor Dr. Timothy Fong about returnaholism.
With the big holiday shopping season upon us, it'll be soon that retailers will have to start dealing with customer returns. And while consumers will be getting back their money, many retailers won't. Janet Babin reports on how return policies might be changing.
The foreclosure crisis has created a huge mess for mortgage lenders and the government. But even more frustrated are the homeowners caught in the middle. Stacey Vanek Smith follows the tale of one family in the fight to keep their home.
While it seems to have become more difficult in recent times to save for retirement, some people are still able to retire early. Commentator Sydney Lagier retired when she was 44. Her best tip? Don't have kids.
This week we heard about a story involving Level 3 Communications complaining that Comcast was charging Level 3 fees because of Netflix traffic. Soon, the story had morphed into fears that Comcast would block Netflix. We wanted to unpack this situation, find out what's really going on, and what it all means to you.
Tess Vigeland and MSN columnist Liz Pulliam Weston answer your questions about balancing your checkbook in the age of the Internet, finding debt relief and lending clubs.
The jobs report released today was a huge — and surprising — disappointment: the economy only added 39,000 jobs and unemployment rose to 9.8 percent. Economists had predicted better results. But as Mitchell Hartman reports, we may have to get used to these numbers for a while.
The deficit plan failed by just three votes, but members of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform said they want to keep working towards a plan.
The pledge was made to help poorer nations to cope with the effects of climate change. But one fundraising idea — taxing air travel and shipping — may be challenging to implement.
Several Juarez businessmen have moved their businesses across the border to El Paso, Texas, to escape the drug violence. Reporter Monica Ortiz Uribe takes a look at a what benefits and challenges the business owners have.
The Labor Department's November jobs report jobless rate defied analysts' predictions and revealed other economic problems. Mitchell Hartman offers an analysis.
Kai Ryssdal talks to John Carney from CNBC and Lee Gallagher of Fortune magazine about the politics over the jobs number, the Federal Reserve's data dump and the deficit commission this week.
National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform proposed a deficit-reduction plan that failed to get the 14 votes needed to be sent to Congress for debate. But the plan created interesting debate among lobbyists and advocacy organizations.
Jeremy Hobson speaks to Chris Low, Chief economist at FTN Financial and Marketplace's Gregory Warner about New York and Washington D.C.'s reaction to the unemployment announcement from the Labor Department.
Today Yahoo.com released its Top Search List. Yahoo has been creating the list since 2001, and believes it is an excellent barometer for the what Americans are most interested in. Check out Marketplace's slideshow of the list, as well as a list of our top stories on each topic.
Jeremy Hobson speaks to John Silvia. He's chief economist at Wells Fargo Bank and he joins Marketplace to talk about today's job report from the Labor Department.
Verizon is going to roll out its new, faster wireless network. It's called 4G. Only thing is, it's not technically 4G according to the United Nations agency that sets the global standards for these things. Nancy Marshall Genzer explains.
Some home prices in Shanghai and Beijing are on-par with lofts in Manhattan. We've already seen what a U.S. housing bubble does to the global economy. But what about a Chinese bubble? Rob Schmitz explains.
The Labor Department's November employment report is expected today. It looks at how many U.S. jobs were added or lost and the nation's unemployment rate. And while the U.S. is waiting for the report, Europeans are also keeping a close eye. Christopher Werth explains.
Norfolk was once a penal island for Australia, but now it is home to the first experimental personal cap and trade program. Citizens will be allotted carbon points which they will trade for commodities. Professor Gary Egger explains.
The House passes the Commercial Advertising Loudness Mitigation Act, setting rules on how loud television commercials can be. Is this the one thing lawmakers can all agree on? Gregory Warner explains.
The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility will vote on a proposal to slash the federal deficit, but lobbyists and special interest groups have been slamming the proposal ever since it was released. David Gura has more.
Brendan Newnam, Rico Gagliano and the Marketplace staff updates you on the latest interesting stories to bring up at your next dinner party. This weekend: electric eels power up Christmas, the Corleone mansion goes on sale, and the Kardashians opt out of debit.
It's holiday season in a down economy. If you wanted to get an indication of how America is doing right now, the world's biggest toy store might be the best place. Toys"R"Us CEO Jerry Storch talks about the role of toys in today's economy.
With the rumors that Google is looking to buy two-year-old online company Groupon for $6 billion, it's time to take a look at other e-companies being valued in the billion dollar range. Tech bubble, anyone?
Although the U.K. doesn't use the Euro, it has taken in action in trying to help Ireland's current financial crisis. Kai Ryssdal talks to British Ambassador Sir Nigel Sheinwald about the U.K.'s role in Europe and the world right now.
Is it the manufacturers or retailers? The SEC is tackling that question as they draft "conflict minerals" law. Another challenge is that it's hard to verify if minerals in your laptop are truly conflict-free.
The Federal Reserve released a load of documents that revealed the names and numbers involved in the emergency bailout. Janet Babin reports on what all these new details mean.
The Federal Trade Commission issued a massive report on consumer privacy on Wednesday, including a list of recommendations on how websites could do more to help people protect themselves. But given how much data people are sharing online, how realistic is the expectation that we can keep our lives hidden from the Internet?
With plastic cards and e-banking, paper checks are going the way of the dinosaurs. Reporter Sally Herships takes a look at the rise and fall of checks.
Deals are easy to find online, but you miss out on actually seeing the item and having your questions answered quickly by sales people. So customers are increasingly using both: Go to the store to check the item out and find the deal online.
From individuals to cities, people are trying to "green" themselves on their own, instead of waiting for legislation. Marketplace's Adriene Hill reports.
