Week of April 23rd, 2012

Billionaire businessman Sir Richard Branson, the chairman of Virgin Group, was in Washington yesterday for a forum hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on how businesses can help solve the world’s problems. But why has he been able to succeed on a platform of “screw business and usual.” Samsung reported record quarterly profits today, driven in big part by sales of is smartphones. So should global smartphone leader Apple be worried? And later today, Marketplace’s Kai Ryssdal sits down with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to talk recession and recovery.

Host Kai Ryssdal talks to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner about the country’s economic recovery, the European debt crisis, the legacy of his tenure in the White House and more. Meanwhile, the Obama administration is targeting for-profit schools that falsely market to veterans. Commentator Rex Huppke offers up a few solutions to drive down gas prices. And we meet a rickshaw driver in India and hear how globalization has changed his work.

In China, conversations about money are the norm. Our China Correspondent Rob Schmitz tells us what it’s like to know what everybody makes. And think clothes make the man? Try again. Comedian Michael Ian Black defends his financial indulgence and inspiration from those who’ve landed their dream job. A South L.A. resident gauges how much his neighborhood has changed economically since the 1992 L.A. Riots. And we go backstage at “Employee of the Month.”

Walmart has just launched a new way to pay for your online purchases, with cash. Yup, non-futuristic, non-shiny, regular-old dollar bills. It works like this. You go online to order something, say some towels. Then you drive to a Walmart store and pay for your towels in cash. Once you’ve paid, Walmart will ship the towels, right to your door. Or someone else’s door if they’re a gift.

The U.S. Treasury Secretary talks to Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal about the slow but improved growth in the economy, pressures from Europe, and how he views his own legacy in office.

Twenty years after the riots, a reporter returns.

Some middle-class blacks have left the area, but Bernadette Moore still lives and works there.

Author/comedian Michael Ian Black on the highs and lows of luxury car ownership.

They are already in North Dakota and Chicago. Now there's a move to get more state and local governments to use them instead of big private banks.

Commentator Tim Bedore's 14-year-old daughter is lobbying ferociously for an iPhone.

Why does the high-tech start-up culture from Palo Alto to San Francisco so embrace the concept of failure? It's all in the lexicon.

Safe stocks? Risky bonds? Chris Farrell looks at a new investing paradigm.

The news that didn't quite make the headlines. This week: Paying for cash at Walmart.com, when you accidentally fire your entire company, and an Apple knock-off TV has Ciri in it.

Meg Favreau of Wisebread.com shares a recipe to help you use up the produce in your new garden.

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Samsung reports profits today, and while many people don’t know it, Samsung is Apple’s No. 1 competitor when it comes to the cell phone and tablet space. But the company approaches the business in a very different way than Apple.

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The fashion designer Betsey Johnson has filed for bankruptcy protection. Dozens of the fashion designers' stores will close, and hundred of employees will be laid off.

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An underemployed comedian and writer hosts a speaking series to encourage other underemployed and unemployed people to keep chasing their dreams.

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Kai Ryssdal sits down with the Treasury Secretary to talk about the U.S. and European economies, and why his signature looks so different

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Hi. I'm 53 years old and have had to go through the little bit of my retirement savings. Now, I have $5,000 to start something, as far as retirement goes. What should I do? I do not have anything through work. Actually, my workplace is on brink of closing right now. Lisa, Louisville, KY

Marketplace's China correspondent Rob Schmitz discusses how Americans and Chinese differ when talking about personal finance.

South L.A. resident Everett Courtney reflects on his city's rebirth.

Meet an entrepreneurial rickshaw driver in India who really knows how to talk to tourists.

Jeremy Hobson talks with Sir Richard Branson about the airline industry, trains in the U.K and the U.S., and how business leaders can help to solve many of the world's problems.

It's part of an administration effort to crack down on deceptive marketing practices by educational institutions that target veterans for their federal education benefits.

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In excerpts from Kai Ryssdal's interview with Timothy Geithner, the Treasury Secretary says the U.S. will withstand pressures from Europe's financial crisis, and that our economic relationship with China is "getting better."

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Reviewing the week's headlines on Wall Street. This week: Analysis of Treasury Secretary Geithner's Marketplace interview, the latest GDP numbers and continued European woes.

Walmart introduces a 'pay with cash' option on its website. You go online to order something, then drive to a Walmart store and pay in cash. Once you've paid, Walmart will ship your items right to your door.

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Commentator Rex Huppke says if we all act like gas is passé, we can concentrate on more important things — like jet packs.

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Great stuff from Sir Richard Branson, Michael Ian Black, and Tim Geithner. Kai Ryssdal explains the art of the big interview. And Marketplace editors talk about clichés.

Billionaire businessman Sir Richard Branson the chairman of Virgin Group was in Washington yesterday for a forum hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on how businesses can help solve the world's problems.

The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, or CISPA, seems headed for a vote on the floor of the House as early as today or tomorrow. The bill, essentially, is about easing the path for the government and private industry to share information in order to head off an online attack or deal with one taking place. The bill easily passed through committee a few weeks ago but its future appears a lot less rosy now, after a great deal of criticism has built up against it. Plus, we saddle up for the Robot Roundup.

The Federal Reserve is not taking any major new steps to help the economy at this time — but it will spring into action if there’s another slowdown. US Airways is trying to buy the bankrupt American Airlines, and it’s making a lot of promises — but can it keep them if the merger goes through? Pepsico is reporting earnings today, and as the cost of ingredients rises, one factory is looking towards sustainability to save dough. And Burger King says that within the next five years, it will buy only cage-free eggs and pork.

Twenty years after the L.A. riots, economic mobility is still hard to come by for low-income black and Latinos. Mitchell Hartman reports on how neighborhoods affected by the unrest have recovered. Chrysler had its best quarter since emerging from bankruptcy, while Nintendo posted its first-ever loss. For the first time under the Affordable Care Act, some health insurers are paying back part of consumer premiums. And we have our latest Attitude Check with Gallup.

Murdoch tells a U.K. government inquiry he didn’t know about phone hacking at one of his British newspapers. U.S. investigators are watching closely.

My wife and I are having a disagreement and I hope you can help settle it. We're looking at houses below $100,000. After having looked at our options, I want to wait a year and build up our savings so we can put enough money down without completely wiping out our savings. My wife is concerned that, due to a recovering housing market, it will be more expensive in the long run if we wait, and that will be worth the short-term risk. Should we wait or go for it now? Andrew, Milwaukee, WI

FIAT's profit report came out today and it shows that the Chrysler group generated its biggest profit since its 2009 bankruptcy. A lot of Chryslers are selling in the U.S. more than compensating for quieter showrooms in Europe, where the financial crisis has been dampening things.

Ancestry.com Inc. will soon take over rival family history website Archives.com for the price tag of around $100 million.

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Kickstarter co-founder Yancey Strickler on the crowdfunding site's spectacular growth as it strives to stay true to its mission.

Ted Williams memorabilia goes on sale at Fenway Park, a chance to consider why we buy collectibles in the first place.

Commentator Ruchir Sharma says just look at how its billionaires made their money.

Pioneer electronic game developer Nintendo loses its edge as Apple products and smart phones become popular for gaming.

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One Frito-Lay factory in Arizona is helping its parent company, Pepsico, figure out how to save resources globally.

Greece is reportedly selling off islands to raise money. The small island of Oxia is being sold to the royal family Qatar and more are on the block.

The Federal Reserve won't be taking any major new steps to help the economy at this time, and the reason is that the Fed expects the U.S. economy to grow at about 3 percent this year.

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The Fed has ended its two-day meeting and the conclusion is the economy isn't bad enough to take new action now.

The job placement company Challenger, Gray, and Christmas is predicting that teens will have an easier time finding jobs this summer. Employment in this age group won't be back to pre-recession levels, but nothing like the summer of 2010 where youth employment had fell to a 60 year low.

Twenty years after the L.A. riots, many residents who move up the economic ladder move out of South L.A.

Sales are up about 40 percent over last quarter. Chrysler's CEO may have something to do with it, say analysts.

The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, or CISPA, heads for a vote in Congress amid a flurry of activity. Plus, the Robot Roundup.

The fast-food giant will move away from tightly packed chickens and pigs within five years. Farmers and consumers will feel the impact.

Gallup's latest surveys asked how Americans were feeling about their personal finances, and whether they think they'll be able to retire comfortably.

According to recent Gallup data, Americans feel home prices are still at a pretty low level — but that also means many think it is a great time to buy.

The Federal Reserve has upgraded its forecast for the U.S. economy in 2012 but also downgraded its outlooks for 2013 and 2014. There are worries the U.S. could fall back into recession just like the U.K. did.

Policyholders and employers in several states will get money back from their health care providers. It's all part of a plan to spend a bigger share of health care premiums on actual health care.

Today, President Obama will be in Iowa talking to college students about their student loans. Are the cheaper groceries available wholesale clubs like Costco and Sam’s Club worth the price of membership? Residents in two towns — halfway across the world from one another — are putting together a tourism partnership based around their less-than-scintillating names. And a study from the group Climate Central says America’s energy industry is at risk, because sea levels are rising along the coasts where we produce much of our fuel.

There is yet another option for you if you have more documents, pictures, videos and what-have-yous on your computer that are taking up too much space. Google has announced Google Drive, a service that gives you five gigabytes of storage for free and offers more space for additional costs. Provided, of course, that you have a strong Internet connection. Plus, a new term to learn: liquidmetal.

The Trouble Asset Relief Program, or TARP, is currently running a $60 billion loss, according to a report out today. The USDA has identified one case of Mad Cow disease in a California dairy cow, but the cattle industry is staying relatively calm. A university is offering full scholarships to students who successfully pitch business plans — and are ready to give the school a 10 percent stake. There’s now an SEC inquiry into Hollywood executives paying for movies to play in China. And despite corporate incentives and serving as a setting for HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” Northern Ireland hasn’t escaped the economic stagnation borne out of conflict.

The case of Mad Cow in California put a few South Korean retailers off of buying U.S. beef temporarily. But Canadian and Japanese importers haven't flinched.

Foreign companies have recently invested in Northern Ireland, but its economy needs more help.

Find out who tops the list of top contributors to so-called super PACs through the end of March.

For the first time in six years, a cow in the U.S. has tested for so-called mad cow disease. While officials say the dairy cow identified in California at no time entered the food supply, the price of cattle futures has moved sharply downward.

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In a report to congress, TARP's inspector general says while the program will likely end up making a profit for taxpayers, there's ongoing worry that many small banks are having trouble paying back the feds.

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I'm putting the max allowed in my retirement accounts, and it's invested fairly conservatively in index funds. I lost a bunch of money in the tech stock crash in the early 2000s, which makes me hesitant to dump more money in the stock market. I own an apartment and don't really want more exposure to real estate, either. I'm starting to build up enough cash that I don't want to just leave it in my savings account. The only debt I have is my mortgage, and while I have decreased the balance on it, the interest rate is so low that it seems like there must be something better I can do with the cash. Any suggestions? Kira, Washington DC

There's a report that federal authorities in the U.S. have asked some American movie studios about whether they've had to grease the wheels with cash as they try to break into the Chinese market.

The poverty rate among older Americans is up, with the highest rate among the "oldest old."

A report out today from the special inspector general who oversees the 2008 bank bailout known as TARP has some bad news about small banks. He says more than 300 small banks that borrowed money from the federal government during the financial crisis have yet to pay it back.

With the cost of college climbing, a small private school offers students a way to get smart, and build a business — tuition-free.

Residents in two towns — halfway across the world from one another — are putting together a tourism partnership.

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Walmart named a former U.S. attorney earlier this year to check compliance with a U.S. bribery law. But is the U.S. law behind the times?

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