Week of January 3rd, 2011

Estonia converted from its beloved Kroon to the Euro on Jan. 1, and the switch has become confusing and emotional for some. Christopher Werth reports on the difficulties behind changing currencies.

The Detroit Auto Show begins on Monday, and while there'll be some exciting models, most auto manufacturers are keeping it simple, with new but practical technology rolled in. Alisa Roth reports.

Why do consumers carry a credit card balance when they know they shouldn't? Commentator Ira Rheingold says when it comes to money, knowledge won't guarantee you'll make smart financial moves.

Although the GOP-controlled House is expected to try to repeal the health care reform, some state governors are already moving forward in implementing the law — even the Republican ones. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.

A new law in California went into effect this month that requires chain restaurants to post calorie count information on menus. But does that change customers' minds about the kinds of food they eat?

Marketplace Money host Tess Vigeland and economics editor Chris Farrell answer listener e-mails and questions. This week, a retired Air Force officer really, REALLY likes being retired and a woman with 20 credit cards asks how she can pare down the plastic.

Many have fears that new technologies like Facebook and Twitter will have a negative effect on society. But author Nick Bilton says we shouldn't be so scared — in fact, we've been here before. He spoke with Tess Vigeland in front of a live audience about the future and technology.

What are your plans to stay in good money shape this year? We asked our favorite blogger-tweeters for their best tips.

Posted by Chau Tu…

Commodities prices have been rising, and the upwards costs of cotton have forced some clothes designers to return to a trend of the '70s and '80s: rayon. The fabric does have other benefits, though. Jennifer Collins reports.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is expected to meet with executives to discuss the current business tax rate — right now, a high 35 percent. It'll be an important discussion, reports David Gura.

Although the jobs report today showed the unemployment rate dropping from 9.8 to 9.4 percent, it's estimated that half of that drop is from people who have given up the job hunt altogether. Mitchell Hartman reports.

Posted by Chau Tu…

Kai Ryssdal talks to Jon Temin, head of the Sudan program for the United States Institute of Peace, about the upcoming referendum in Sudan and how it'll affect potential North and South Sudans and the world economy.

Kai Ryssdal talks to Heidi Moore from The Dealbook at The New York Times and Sudeep Reddy of the Wall Street Journal about how today's jobs numbers might affect the stock market.

This final note today, an update on the mortgage paperwork mess that was much in the news before Thanksgiving, the stories about robosigners…

Marissa Mayer, vice president of consumer products at Google, is an unapologetic geek and thinks that the Internet will encourage others, male or female, to be geeks just like her.

You'd think the sheer size and weight of construction equipment would make it thief-proof. But heavy duty bulldozers and back hoes are commonly stolen in the U.S. and Canada. Marketplace's Sean Cole takes a look at why.

The stock market is up a fraction over 1% for the week. But what does that mean? Dshort.com is one of the best websites for putting the stock…

The New York Times' Tara Siegel Bernard talks with Tess Vigeland about a recent article she wrote, which explains why a budget is like a diet — ineffective. She discusses why you shouldn't set up a budget and offers some advice.

Ted Beck, president and CEO of the National Endowment for Financial Education, talks with Tess Vigeland about why teachers aren't so comfortable with teaching kids financial education, and how to get youth interested in money and knowledgeable about it.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke offered his insight on the mixed bag from the Labor Department this morning.

The U.S. economy created far fewer jobs than expected in December, even though the unemployment rate dropped to 9.4 percent from 9.8 percent, the U.S. Labor Department said Friday.

Question: I respect the questions/answers related to finding out about any debt your future spouse has prior to marriage, doing a credit report,…

Posted by Katharine Crnko…

The Labor Department said this morning that the U.S. economy added 103,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate dropped from 9.8 percent down to 9.4 percent. Hugh Johnson explains.

Andre Nestor from Pennsylvania is facing 650 felony counts of theft, criminal conspiracy, computer trespassing and other charges. Federal agents…

The move is due in large part to AT&T just wanting to be a friendly company that saves people money. OR – another thought- and this sounds…

We all scoffed when it was announced that pop entity Lady Gaga had been named as a creative director at Minnesota-based Polaroid. Personally, while…

Steve Chiotakis speaks with Jill Schlesinger about the Labor Department's report saying unemployment dropped almost a half-percent, while the government only added 103,000 jobs for the month.

Well, that was quick. Within a day of Apple's launching the app store for Mac, software pirates have found a way to hack in….

The U.S. Labor Department's jobs report threw us for a loop today. The nation's unemployment rate fell from 9.8 to 9.4 percent today — the lowest…

Offered here more as a sign of the huge and growing power of one social networking platform and not so much as a business story, this Facebook…

Starbucks unveiled a new logo this week that features its trademark Siren front and center, and sheds the words "coffee" and "Starbucks." The new…

The French are the 'champions of the world' — according to a magazine headline in France this week ranking the most pessimistic countries. Stephen Beard explains.

Like most of Europe, Romania faces major budget cuts and a tough economic environment and to help, the government plans to increase and create new taxes. The Romanian president has even proposed including the profession of witchcraft in the country's new tax code.

According to a new report, China's annual death toll from smoking could triple over the next two decades. Rob Schmitz reports.

Just when the U.S. job outlook looked a little brighter, the Labor Department's unemployment report threw us yet another curve ball….

Jeremy Hobson speaks with Steve Henn about his favorite gadgets at this year's Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas.

With Gene Sperling rumored to replace Larry Summers as head of the National Economic Council, analysts say this is a strategic move on the part of the Obama administration to reach out to the business community. Scott Tong reports.

Marketplace Tech Report for January 07, 2011

Marketplace for Friday, January 7, 2011

Marketplace Money for January 7, 2011

Marketplace Morning Report for Friday, January 7, 2011

The annual Consumer Electronics Show is in full swing in Las Vegas. Electronics companies are showing off the stuff they think you'll want to buy in the coming year. This year there's a big push for tablet computers and some companies still insisting 3D is going to be huge. We'll tell you what you need to know.

'Toning shoes' — athletic shoes with rounded soles that make it harder to maintain balance — are often promoted as a way to help slim down. But one maker, New Balance, is facing claims that they don't work as advertised. Mitchell Hartman reports.

A report released today reveals that although health care spending rose in 2009, the recession still caused many people to put off medical care, mostly because of lost health insurance. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.

Having recently been announced as the future home country for both the World Cup and the Summer Olympics, Brazil is gaining momentum in the world arena. Steve Chiotakis talks with Wieden + Kennedy's Andre Gustavo about why the ad agency has taken the leap to move there.

The Great Recession has affected people of all ages and classes, but for Generation R — the 20-somethings who have just graduated college to find a poor job industry — it's their day-to-day lives. Jeremy Hobson talks to researcher Maria Kefalas about this important group.

These days, young people are getting more involved in higher-end decisions that have traditionally been reserved for adults. They're sitting on foundation boards and allocating grant money to nonprofits. April Dembosky reports.

We're kicking off our new series, What's in Your Wallet? We're approaching folks on the street and getting them to reveal the contents of their wallets.

In our new weekly feature on Marketplace Money, we're take a look at what's In your wallet. We started in Los Angeles by interviewing three pedes…

Standard & Poors recently announced that it was going to lower the ratings of nearly 1,200 mortgage-backed securities. The problem here, says journalist Jesse Eisinger, is that these were rated in the past two years, meaning the rating agencies don't seem to know what they're doing. He talks to Kai Ryssdal about the details.

The commission appointed by the president to investigate the BP oil spill released a key chapter of its report today. It put the blame on BP, Halliburton and Transocean. But it also pointed a finger at the entire oil industry.

Posted by Chau Tu…

This final note today, by way of setting up some news from tomorrow. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's going to be making his first appearances before…

One of the topics to be discussed at the American Economics Association is whether economists should have a code of ethics. Annie Lowrey of Slate talks with Kai Ryssdal about what the research says on the ethics of economists.

Areas where defense spending is high — specifically defense contract work — were less affected by the recession. Report Tanya Ott visits one Alabama city that has several defense-related businesses and looks at why it's prospering.

Commentator David Frum ponders the symbiotic relationship between the United States and China and its future.

More Turkish Germans are heading back to their home country — motivated by factors like better job opportunities in Turkey and not wanting to feel like a foreigner.

AT&T has come up with a way to move its network from 3G to 4G in a way that is very easy on the engineers: simply rename the existing network…

Apple didn't have to attend the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to make headlines. The company simply took advantage of opportune ti…

It's a three week period where if you work at an Apple store, it's all hands on deck. Either they're preparing for the big Groundhog Day shopping…

Two tablets that are getting a lot of press coming out of CES are Motorola's Xoom and RIM's PlayBook. The Xoom runs on Android and Motorola is…

Jeremy Hobson speaks with Diane Swonk at Mesirow Financial about retail chain store numbers for the holiday season.

Question: I received a $1,200 refund from my mortgage company due to excess funds in my escrow account, which I paid into over the last year. My…

It's kind of obvious, yes, but nice to have some numbers to go with it. …

Posted by Katharine Crnko…

A series of cost cutting tactics and management failures by BP and other companies, including Halliburton, are to blame for the Gulf oil spill…

The Microsoft CEO really focused on what was happening with the Kinect system. What's happening is huge sales. Ballmer says the company has moved 8…

The Australian flood waters have hit the last major city in its path, Rockhampton, but the rains continue. Now, economists are concerned for the global steel market. Stuart Cohen reports.

Kinect, the new controller-free motion gaming system for Xbox 360, lures some of its owners into the Red Ring of Death. And as the name suggests,…

Global food prices hit their highest levels ever last month. Wheat, corn, sugar and cooking oil are causing the most concern.

The Great Recession may be over, but state and local government finances remain troubled….

The Presidential panel's report examining Deepwater warns a disaster is likely to happen again without significant change in industry practice and government policies. Stephen Beard has more.

LinkedIn Corp., a social networking company for professionals, plans to go public….

In a report, the official government commission investigating the Deepwater Horizon disaster says the events occurred because of "a number of outright mistakes" that "combined to overwhelm the safeguards." Scott Tong reports.

Marketplace Morning Report for Thursday, January 6, 2011

Marketplace for Thursday, January 6, 2011

Marketplace Tech Report for January 06, 2011

The southern part of Sudan is holding a referendum on whether to separate from the North. There are concerns that the election could lead to violence and terrorism. Part of the international effort to monitor the election involves leveraging satellite technology and mapping software to let people all over the world — including you — watch what's going on.

Ikea's taken the step that everyone will have to take by 2014 — dropping incandescent light bulbs for more energy-efficient options. So what does that mean for your Ikea lamp? Eve Troeh reports.

California Republican Representative Darrell Issa, the new chairman for the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is calling for sweeping investigations into government regulation. But are his plans overstepping boundaries? David Gura reports.

China added more than 2 million cars last year, a 29 percent increase. So how does that affect the regular U.S. driver? It's all about the price of oil. Alisa Roth explains.

Airlines and online travel agents are battling over who should offer fare information, and in turn, get that money. So where does that leave the deal-loving traveler? The L.A. Times' David Lazarus talks to Jeremy Hobson about the details.

Apple rivals enter tablet market, TVs grow up, and everything connects to the Internet (in theory) at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Marketplace's Steve Henn reports from the show floor.

The 112th Congress began today, and the Republicans have officially taken over the House. Now it's a matter of how well they'll execute their campaign promises. John Dimsdale reports.

The recession in the U.S has forced many Mexican migrants to return back home. In turn, the Mexican economy has gotten stronger, workers are getting paid better and unemployment rates have leveled off. Jeff Tyler reports.

The recession had a big impact on health care spending, according to new statistics from the federal government….

The biggest names in high-tech gear and gadgets converge this week in Las Vegas for the annual Consumer Electronics Show. This year it's all about next-generation TVs and tablet computers. And as usual there's one thing missing: Apple.

If you have a reasonable sized lawn, start using a reel mover. This is what Grandpa would have used and they are quite effective. Needs no gas. No…

Posted by Chau Tu…

Install a solar-powered attic fan. You can read more here.

Participate in Critical Mass events once a month. You can read more here.

Discover something new and local in the produce aisle. You can read more here.

NBC's "Parks and Recreation" begins its third season on NBC tonight–as part of a comedy block that will have the network airing comedies at 10:00pm. It's been two decades since any network has tried showing comedies at that hour. Commentator and "Parks and Recreation" creator Michael Schur says there is a good reason why TV routines are changing.

Kai Ryssdal talks to oil analyst Tom Kloza about his predictions on the future of price of crude, and by extension, the price at the pump.