Week of February 25th, 2013

These arguments we're having about eating horse meat, they sound kind of familiar.

Marketplace teamed up with The Chronicle of Higher Education to ask employers what they look for in job candidates

Sequester, sequester, sequester. How much doom and gloom should everyday Americans be ready for?

The sequester will mean cuts to the unemployment checks people depend on to pay bills.

Some retailers run special promotions to lure customers in during tax refund season.

President Obama said Friday that budget cuts beginning to go into effect this month would not be apocalyptic — but how could things look a year from now? Krissy Clark and David Weinberg do some time-traveling. An unemployed steel worker talks about the challenges he’ll face if his unemployment benefits decrease in the coming weeks because of budget cuts. We hear about those who spend their tax refunds before even receiving the money. The Centers for Disease Control has an app aimed at educating people. And Smithsonian Magazine’s Colin Schultz discusses why America objects to the slaughtering of horses for meat.

You can identify the source of an outbreak, based on actual cases investigated by the Centers for Disease Control.

The now-infamous sequestration — $85 billion in automatic federal spending cuts — kicks in today.

Relocating to a safer neighborhood with better schools can help families move up the economic ladder. But the change can be stressful, and complicated.

Sequester. Sequester. Sequester. We have everything you want to know about government spending cuts and some sound advice for planning your sequester survival strategy. Plus, the zip code you live in can have a big impact on your economic destiny. That notion is at the heart of a number of local and federal anti-poverty initiatives called “residential mobility” programs. Also, why Houston has the healthiest housing market, the French art of seduction, and why it’s important to achieve financial intimacy.

A look at the best and worst case from the sequester.

The good and the bad of the sequester. Groupon's founder and CEO is not the first to get ousted from his own company. And India looks to set up a women only bank.

The now-infamous sequestration — the $85 billion in automatic federal spending cuts — kicks in today. We take a look at the bad and the good that might come out of the process.

The sequester may have immediate impacts on federal workers, the unemployed, and federal aviation personnel — but what will be its long-term effects?

From books and plays like "Dangerous Liaisons" and Molière's "Don Juan" to the recent movie "Heartbreaker," seduction has always loomed large in French culture. But is it still true today?

Money may not buy you love, but it can buy you heartache. Learn about which money type you are and how you can be more financially intimate.

A lab at Duke University has taken us one step closer to mind-melding, using rats.

People from Baltimore finish the sentence, "You know you're wealthy when…"

What happens when you reach 'strike six' of the new Copyright Alert System, a program launched by several Internet service providers to curb online piracy?

India's finance minister has announced plans to set up the country's first ever women only bank. P Chidambaram says he hopes that it will be granted a license by October.

Groupon's board of directors fired company's founder and CEO, Andrew Mason, yesterday. But Mason is not the first founder and CEO to get the axe.

It’s not the first time Washington has cut budgets across the board. But even when sequesters were much smaller, they were a nightmare to carry out.

The dreaded sequester is finally here, and the Pentagon is facing a $50 billion budget cut. What does that mean for places that depend on defense spending? It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first sequester in U.S. history. If you ask people who were involved in sequesters-past, you’ll find the bureaucratic challenges involved in carving up the budget can be tricky to deal with. And chef Tom Colicchio joins us to discuss his new documentary about hunger in America, A Place at the Table.

Buffett releases his annual letter to shareholders. He adds up the total percentage change the value of Berkshire Hathaway stock since he started running the company in 1964. You won't believe the number.

'Top Chef' judge Tom Colicchio has a new title this week. He is one of the executive producers of a new film on hunger in America called 'A Place at the Table'.

Why was Houston, Texas, just named the "healthiest housing market for 2013?" Realtor Thai Klam helps explain.

What should you do when your refinance request was approved, but then delayed? What are the risks of refinancing with a smaller banking institution? L.A. Times consumer columnist David Lazarus and Redfin's Glenn Kelman tackle your housing questions.

We’ve been covering the new Copyright Alert System that a group of major Internet companies launched this week to patrol for customers doing illegal downloads. The system will generate an escalating series of warnings. In theory, six strikes and a movie, music or software pirate is out. But what exactly happens on strike six? Harvard Law professor Jonathan Zittrain talks about how you might actually need to go to pirating re-education camp.

"If you're wondering why," Mason wrote in his farewell email, "You haven't been paying attention."

Recent veterans not only have higher unemployment than the rest of the population, they also have higher unemployment rates relative to other veterans. If sequestration happens, America’s meat inspectors may be furloughed. Gun-maker Sturm, Ruger and Co.’s sales were up 50 percent last year. The CEO of The Veggie Grill talks about the business of making vegetarian fast food that tastes good. Jack Lew was sworn in today as the new Treasury Secretary, and with massive federal spending cuts possibly on the horizon for tomorrow, he probably didn’t have an easy first day. We explore how you can avoid pitfalls on the first day of a new job.

Former Baja Fresh CEO Greg Dollarhyde is slowly expanding his newest healthy fast-food chain Veggie Grill.

The European Union sparked a bankers’ revolt when it moved to curb their bonuses. Despite Americans’ dismay with Wall Street, caps won’t happen here.

On Jack Lew's first day at Treasury, with the sequester looming, we look at those who've had worse first days, and what lessons they can take from it.

Businesses issue ultimatums all the time. Politics requires negotiations, whether before — or after — a crisis.

Sturm, Ruger said a 50 percent increase in sales was driven by President Obama's re-election campaign, when gun owners feared some guns would be harder, or impossible, to buy.

There's a whole lot of opinion and information out there about fracking and the future of the energy industry. We look to separate fact from fiction with our BS Dectector.

A new book explores how smuggling and piracy were a financial foundation of colonial American society.

Across-the-board furloughs would reduce the number of food inspectors, possibly affecting prices and supplies of meat.

Thousands scheduled to return from Afghanistan face job competition from earlier veterans.

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA_ talks sequester standoff, J.C. Penney's sales plunge, and Japan's Prime Minister calls for idled nuclear plants to come back online.

What online activity actually leads to sales? An digital data cruncher breaks down the value of Facebook 'likes', Instragram photos, and online posts.

The government has revised its latest GDP figures, saying the economy grew at a rate of 0.1 percent during the last three months of 2012. The increase was the weakest GDP performance in two years.

Japan's prime minister Shinzo Abe has called for some nuclear plants to reopen in order to ensure energy security for the country.

J.C. Penney had another tough quarter. Sales were down 28 percent — more than half a billion dollars.

EU officials have announced an agreement that would restrict the amount bankers can receive as as bonus.

U.S. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) joins Marketplace Morning Report host Jeremy Hobson to discuss the sequester and its likely impact on the economy.

A new study by the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project finds that 8 out of 10 teachers think technology is leading to wider disparities between the haves and have-nots.

You've heard of a bullseye. What about a ball's-eye? A Carnegie Mellon post-doc student and Japanese researchers have come up with a way to get smooth video from inside a spinning football.

When state unemployment benefits run out, federal long-term unemployment payments kick in. But sequester budget cuts could reduce those payments, putting the squeeze on those who can least afford it.

Technology firms like Facebook and eBay are heavily represented among corporations and cities filing briefs supporting same-sex marriage in cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Some federal employees stand to lose as much as 20 percent of their wages because of the sequester.

We are just a day away from the sequester, which is Washington-speak for $85 billion worth of  federal spending cuts. The people who will feel the pinch first will likely be federal workers, some of whom could lose 20 percent of their pay. After the closing bell on Wall Street yesterday, J.C. Penny reported plunging sales and a half a billion dollars in losses for the last quarter. What’s got the retailer down? And bankers in Europe are facing a cap on their bonuses as early as next year.

What online activity is worth the effort and actually leads to sales? Banner ads, Facebook likes, links to the time you were on public radio? Diamond Candle turned to a New York startup called SumAll, which has come up with a way to let clients see the stats on what online action caused what online reaction. SumAll’s founder Dane Atkinson says big Internet companies have a mountain of data on this, but making sense of it is the trick. And, a Carnegie Mellon post-doc student and Japanese researchers have just come up with a way to get smooth video from a thrown, spinning football. 

What makes the food we crave so delicious? The simple and yet so complex combination of salt, sugar and fat, says a new book by Michael Moss.

The racial wealth gap in the United States has tripled in the past 25 years.

The College Board announced today that it’s redesigning the SAT again to better meet the needs of today’s students. Several Budweiser drinkers have filed a class action suit because they feel the company’s watered down its product so much that the labels are misleading. Apple agreed to settle a lawsuit today brought by angry parents whose kids racked up big bills on iTunes. Mark Garrison examines what taxpayers awaiting their refund from the IRS will face this year, after the fiscal cliff delays and with the impending sequester cuts. a double whammy. And we hear about the racial wealth gap in the United States, and why it’s tripled in the past 25 years.

Taxpayers face a double whammy thanks to the sequester. The budget cuts could delay IRS refunds. That's after the fiscal cliff debate delayed the start of filing season.

The growth of Kenya's increasingly-affluent middle class has brought a consumer explosion. Now there's mounting international interest in mining that data to improve businesses' profitability.

Consumer lawsuits say Budweiser and other beers bought by the Belgian brewer InBev don't contain the full 5 percent alcohol claimed on their bottles.

Samsung's new phone operating system is called Tizen, and there are other rivals coming soon, including one from the browser maker, Firefox.

The country's best-known standardized test is remaking itself once again as it comes under pressure from colleges and competitors.

As the sequester nears, stock markets seem not to notice. Can Groupon revive the daily deal? And, Internet service providers try out a new 'six strikes' rule to curb online piracy.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has warned members of Congress that the sequester's spending cuts, which kick in on Friday, will harm the already fragile economic recovery.

Anheuser-Busch InBev is facing a lawsuit over whether or not the company has been watering down its beer.

Two days away from the sequester, the Dow is pretty much right where it was a month ago. Why is Wall Street seemingly unfazed by Washington's latest fiscal deadline?

As the federal minimum wage has become a big topic of debate in the U.S., German politicians are in their own heated dispute over whether to have a minimum wage at all.

China is a rising military power in the Pacific and the U.S. is partly a counterbalance, but U.S. military sequester spending cuts may turn out to be a mixed blessing for China.

Things that kill mere mortals only make JPMorgan Chase stronger.

Internet service providers roll out a 'six strikes' policy to educate rather than punish people for illegal downloads.

Cablevision is suing content provider Viacom. The cable company says it shouldn't have to pay for channels that aren't popular with subscribers.

As the company reports fourth quarter earnings, its new business model will be in the spotlight.

As the we near the sequester deadline, how are other countries around the world such as China viewing the budget cuts? While President Obama made political waves with his call for an increase to the federal minimum wage during the State of the Union address, Germany is having its own debate about whether to have a minimum wage at all. And Cablevision is suing Viacom because the cable company says it shouldn’t have to pay for channels that aren’t popular with subscribers.

Elected officials in Connecticut want Facebook to take Sandy Hook conspiracy theorist pages down; Facebook says no — but points out that it has been dealing with the issue and is in constant contact with families affected by the tragedy.

What do you think? Is working from home a dream, or a daymare?

Facebook is responding to a call from top elected officials to crack down on Newtown school shooting conspiracy theorists. There are people who deny the terrible events in Connecticut in December and have been putting taunts and abuse on social media pages designed to help victims. Senators and a Congresswoman from Connecticut want Facebook to take the pages down; Facebook says no — but points out that it has been dealing with the issue and is in constant contact with families affected by the tragedy. And Yahoo’s new directive telling employees they can’t work from home any more has generated debate…but is it a good idea?

The week has started with a mad dash as the remaining presidential candidates held rally after rally ahead of Super Tuesday. Eleven states will award hundreds of delegates, mostly in the South, and the contests aren’t winner-take-all, so everyone’s trying to get a piece of the action. All this election cycle we’ve brought you stories […]

A new article explores the expansive business of ammunition in the United States, and whether a bullet tax would act as effective regulation.

Yesterday Yahoo’s CEO announced that employees who work from home for the company must start coming to the office instead — will other companies follow suit? Home prices are up more than six percent in most places, pushing some to worry about another housing bubble. Peter G. Peterson, who helped pave (and pay) the way for our national obsession with debt, talks about the state of our country. We hear about the big business of bullets in the U.S. In Britain, many people are alarmed by the prospect of a quarter million Romanian and Bulgarian migrants moving there. And a commentator offers his cover letter for the newly available position of pope.

Pete Peterson is the man who started talking about bringing down the deficit decades ago. But he's not pleased with the current sequestration talks.

Commentator John Ortved offers his bid to be the new pope.

Italians get close to electing a comedian to run their country.

Maybe, but companies must weigh several factors before reversing the trend toward letting some employees work from home.

Sharp price increases in some regions raise concerns about a new housing bubble. But as prices rise, more sellers will appear, steadying the market.

Now that Romanians and Bulgarians will soon enjoy full European Union status and be able to move freely through EU countries, Britain fears a flood of unwelcome immigrants.

In his semi-annual report to Congress, Ben Bernanke reaffirmed the Federal Reserves bond buying policy, but said monetary policy alone cannot prop up the economy.

With no victor in Italy's election, uncertainty wins the day. How does the sequester compare to budget cuts past? And mobile ads struggle to attract marketers.

Poll results in Italy show power is split between a number of parties, including one led by former Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi.

Budget cuts known as sequester aren’t unprecedented, experts say. But their timing and indiscriminate nature are worrying.

The European debt crisis has calmed down a lot in the past few months, but elections in Italy have ended in deadlock and uncertainty is back.

As ads shrink to fit our mobile screens, are they still effective?

Global stock markets are falling this morning after preliminary election results in Italy indicate no political party won a clear majority in parliament.

Experts say China's hacking is motivated by the need to innovate, but many of the U.S. firms that are victims need to reconsider their response to the attacks.

We know Google plans to make its high tech spectacles called Google Glass available this year. The price tag: about $1,500 a pair. But are these lens-less frames really a technological revolution?

General Motors and AT&T have announced that so-called 'LTE' wireless connections will come as an option in many Chevys, Buicks, Cadillacs, and GMC's next year.

Diet or regular? A new poll shows soda choices are just as divisive as politics.