Why are so many people in the middle class struggling right now? Author Hedrick Smith discusses the events that hurt the middle class and what can be done to help it.
Disasters leave people vulnerable to more than just damage on their homes. After hurricanes and other crises, fraudsters hit the streets — and the Internet — to try to cheat people out of their money. How can you protect yourself?
October’s jobs numbers are out, the last unemployment report to be released before Election Day. Kai Ryssdal talks to a small business owner from North Carolina who is still undecided about who to vote for on Tuesday. We hear about one pizza parlor in New Jersey that is trying to return to normal after Sandy, and about how the rich may have a quicker, easier recovery. The rapper Eminem has reached a settlement in a years-long lawsuit over royalty payments. And we hear about the political leanings of the music world in Nashville.
Both presidential campaigns have their soundtracks. And on the Republican side, it’s got a twang, with a list of country music artists either endorsing or campaigning with Mitt Romney.
Depending on political spins and eventual revisions, the final Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report before the presidential election, could be good or bad for whoever wins.
Hey, everybody, happy October Jobs Report Day! We'll see just how happy it is. Also, why Sandy could be a boon to telecommuting, and what happens when you put a hobbit on an airplane.
The economy added 171,000 jobs last month and unemployment rate in October ticked up to 7.9 percent as more people entered the workforce to look for jobs. Obama and Romney economic advisers tell us what they see in the numbers.
During this campaign, we’ve been inundated with numbers and percentages from both the media and the candidates alike. 99 percent, 5 trillion, 1 percent ,7 trillion, 47 percent, and it has left Nick Kroll 100 percent confused.
There is no normal in New Jersey this week: Evacuation orders prevent some from returning home and Atlantic City’s bright lights shine, while stop lights are dark.
The government's October jobs report is out this morning and the Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting that the economy added 171,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9 percent.
One of the most common images of this week's hurricane, power-sharing: People huddling with their phones and laptops plugged into power strips set up in bank foyers, coffee shops, or dangled helpfully out windows.
One of the most common images of this week’s hurricane is power-sharing: People huddling with their phones and laptops plugged into power strips set up in bank foyers, coffee shops, or dangled helpfully out windows. But the storm hasn’t just shaken up the East. We got a note from a listener a thousand miles from the flooding in New York and New Jersey. Katryn Conlin designs websites in Minnesota, but she and her clients were using Squarespace — a web company with its bank of computers in power-starved Lower Manhattan. Squarespace employees have kept a blog of their valiant efforts to stay online, including a bucket brigade to get diesel fuel up 17 flights of stairs to a generator.
The New York City Marathon will go off as scheduled Sunday morning as the city still deals with clean up, massive power outages, and limited transit services.
With the government's latest jobs report due out this morning, talk of jobs and the economy will likely rule the day. But there are a host of other issues at stake in this election, including education.
Increasingly, retirement funds are being used for anything but retirement. But there are huge risks involved with raiding your retirement to start a business or for private equity investments.
The basement vault of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation holds 1.3 million shares of stock, bonds and foreign securities. And it was flooded by Superstorm Sandy.
The Labor Department releases its last employment report before the election today. The U.S. has added jobs for 24 consecutive months, but at a slow rate. Superstorm Sandy has many companies rethinking flexible scheduling plans. The New York City Marathon will go off as scheduled Sunday morning as the city still deals with clean up, massive power outages, and limited transit services.
More than 20 percent of the U.S. national budget is spent on Social Security, so of course politicians like to promise to reform it. Commentator Chris Farrell says unfortunately both candidates' plans are way too complicated.
The Labor Department releases its last employment report before the election today. The U.S. has added jobs for 24 consecutive months, but at a slow rate.
With Election Day fast approaching, we’re looking at the financial issues that might impact who you’re going to vote for — from Social Security to retirement, Medicare to food stamps. Plus, in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy, we take a look at how disasters can pull communities together and offer some advice on how you can protect yourself from scams.
Professor Dan Ariely discusses why there's an altruistic feeling following a crisis and what happens when everyone is going after a few limited resources.
Indie rockers The National take a break from a recording session in upstate New York to talk politics and election issues, and perform a version of their economically inspired "Bloodbuzz Ohio"
When Marketplace went looking for music that had something to say about this election year and the issues that affect regular Americans, The National volunteered its song, “Bloodbuzz Ohio.”
The Wealth & Poverty Desk interviews indie rock band The National about their involvement in the election, and their popular song “Bloodbuzz Ohio.” Meanwhile, telecom rivals AT&T and T-Mobile have decided to share mobile networks so that New York and New Jersey residents can receive better cell phone service. Some experts are blaming Superstorm Sandy on climate change and say that the storm was very predictable. And Gallup editor-in-chief Frank Newport talks about how Sandy has disrupted their polling.
Experts say damage to New York's subway from rising sea levels should not have come as a surprise and other cities could experience similar devastation from Sandy-like storms and hurricanes.
Last year's months-long Pacific Standard Time arts event brought almost two million visitors to the city and pumped $280 million into Southern California.
As Sandy passes, a flood of economic data to talk about: Jobless claims, job cuts, and tomorrow's official jobs report from the Labor Department. An update from the Jersey shore where residents are struggling to dig out, reopen businesses, and rebuild.
In Atlantic City on the New Jersey shore, the casinos remain closed and are estimated to be losing $5 million a day. Residents are still coping with the aftermath of the storm — digging out, rebuilding, and waiting to get back online.
With just five days to go until election day, superstorm Sandy will almost certainly have an impact, but the economy is still the number one priority in the minds of voters.
Despite the impending fiscal cliff, slowing global economy, and a weak domestic jobs market, the stock market is still going strong — outperforming U.S treasuries, corporate bonds, and commodities.
All the state governments in the path of Sandy say they’re going to rebuild infrastructure. In this age of budget austerity, where will the money come from?
A Greek magazine editor goes on trial today after being accused of breaking privacy laws when he published a list of prominent Greeks who allegedly evaded their taxes.
AT&T and T-Mobile say they have temporarily jury-rigged their network in parts of the Northeast so that customers who can't reach their normal cellphone connection can use the rival's tower without extra charge.
There is nothing like a superstorm to make two cellphone competitors play nice-nice. AT&T and T-Mobile say they have temporarily jury-rigged their network in parts of the Northeast so that customers who can’t reach their normal cellphone connection can use the rival’s tower without extra charge. It is a response to the hurricane, with the FCC’s latest assessment showing more than one in four cell sites remain offline from Virginia through Massachusetts.
Insurance claims from Sandy will reach an estimated $15 billion. But many people will have to cover damage to their household possessions because they don't have renters insurance.
Insurance claims from Sandy will reach an estimated $15 billion. But many people will have to cover damage to their household possessions because they don’t have renter’s insurance. Well we are just about five days away from election day which means one way or another the economy is going to get a little certainty. So what does that mean for ordinary investors and people with retirement accounts?
With New York City's Mayor Bloomberg warning it could be the days before subway trains are restored, what are the other options for the millions of people that use the transit system on a typical day?
Halloween spending this year is expected to jump 10 percent. Freakonomics’ Stephen Dubner about the best places to get candy on Halloween and how that ties in to charitable giving. Meanwhile, nearly 6,000 people are without power in Manhattan due to Superstorm Sandy, but some businesses are reopening. Many areas hit by Sandy are working hard to make sure voting isn’t disrupted on Election Day. Owners of flooded cars are making calls to their insurance companies. And a look into how some businesses were using the storm to promote their brands.
Promoting the paranormal is turning into big business as reality ghost-hunting shows have consumers hungering for a paranormal experience of their own.
Insurers want to repair flooded cars rather than declare them a total loss. But water damage can show up later — and flooding claims will show up on services like Carfax, taking down what a vehicle can get on the used-car market.
Exports from big states like Texas, California and Michigan have soared since the 1990s when the North American Free Trade Agreement opened U.S. markets to Mexico. But not every state has been as savvy promoting cross-border trade.
Running the U.S. economy is just like running a business, right? Not necessarily. Sr. Producer Paddy Hirsch explains the differences between a president and CEO.
In the wake of Sandy, the markets reopened, but lots of residents along the East Coast are still waiting for the lights to come back on. Why the Dodge Dart is coming back and happy Halloween, boo!
Electricity is coming back for those who lost power because of Sandy. Two days after the storm, about six million people on the East Coast are still in the dark, down from a high of eight and a half million.
Transit authorities say Sandy has caused the worst crisis for the New York Subway system in its 108 year existence. Two days after the storm, the transit system is still at a halt.
The city of Philadelphia is getting back to business this morning. Schools and city government are up and running, as are trains and buses. What are the costs of getting the city up and running again after Sandy?
Sebastiaan Van Houten, who works at a the Halloween Adventure store in Manhattan's East Village neighborhood talks about his job as a self-described "fang-smith" — he crafts custom-made prosthetic fangs.
With the city’s mayor warning it could be days before subway trains are restored, a key question is what are other options for the 5.3 million people that use New York’s system on a typical day? Turns out, the Los Alamos National Laboratory has transportation simulation software that can help cities get the planning down to a science. And, how a shakeup at the top of Apple might affect the electronic device in your pocket. The senior executive deemed responsible for the company’s clumsy mapping software is out. after reportedly refusing to sign a letter of apology for the maps.
The Walt Disney Company has struck a deal to purchase Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion and announced that they will release a new Star Wars movie in 2015. As stricken homeowners dig out from Hurricane Sandy, home-improvement sales should see a boost. On the streets of New York City, things are getting back to normal after the storm though much of the city’s downtown neighborhoods are still without power and subway service remains suspended. And, Sandy aside, we take a Halloween trip to a fang-maker in lower Manhattan.
We conclude our series called Big Money, on Citizens United and election financing, with a feature on the rise of campaign trackers. Meanwhile, the East Coast begins to recover from Superstorm Sandy — the markets are set to open on Wednesday, while some flights are getting back on schedule. Disney announces a plan to buy Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion. And Youth Radio looks into the controversy of racially insensitive Halloween costumes.
The mounting toll from Hurricane Sandy: Subway closures, power outages, and halted financial markets. And, is NAFTA's promise slowed by lack of border infrastructure?
