Week of March 11th, 2013

Defense contractor Lockheed Martin has discovered a way to make desalination 100 times more efficient. And that could have a big impact on bringing clean drinking water to the developing world. The process is called reverse osmosis, and the material used is graphene — a lot like the stuff you smudge across paper with your pencil. The new material could make for smaller, cheaper plants that turn salt water into drinking water, but it could also have uses in warzones. 

A new HBO documentary, “American Winter,” explores how families have suffered in the weakened economy.

President Obama today is unveiling a new energy policy. The White House was loudly criticized during the president’s first term for its management of federal money to help jumpstart alternative energy, including the money that helped back Solyndra, the failed solar company. Now, the surge in oil and natural gas production in the U.S. offers real economic opportunities. One of those opportunities is money the government can collect when it leases land to energy companies. So how much are federal lease receipts growing and what are the opportunity costs of diverting or not diverting them to an alternative-fuel fund? Plus, Angry Birds started as an addictive app game. With the launch of a TV show this weekend, and licensing deals for clothes, the Finnish-created game aims to be a media and marketing juggernaut.

JPMorgan executives testified to the Senate on the company's estimated $6.3 billion loss related to risky trades and a banker known as the London Whale.

A new HBO documentary takes a look at how millions of families have been left out in the cold in the richest country on Earth.

There's a lot Americans can learn from immigrants to the U.S. That includes good personal finance behavior. Plus, test your knowledge about immigration with our quiz.

How much do you know about immigration? For example, many immigrants to the U.S. bring ideas and customs that give them a financial leg up over Americans. Learn about community credit clubs, creative ways to earn money for an education and what some foreign-born folks would pay for a taste of home. Plus, we explore the challenges of throwing a wedding when the bride and groom come from different culutres. Also, after being hit hard by the foreclosure crisis, Atlanta’s real estate market is starting to turn around. Hotlanta indeed! And a new documentary looks at how some American families have been left out in the cold after the Great Recession.

Multi-billionaire Oracle CEO Larry Ellison wants to increase the prize money for his tennis event, the BNP Paribas Open. But other tournament owners worry it'll price them out.

America runs on credit. But undocumented immigrants generally can't access traditional loans, forcing them to think like entrepreneurs to raise cash.

The surge in oil and natural gas production in the U.S. offers real economic opportunities. How much are royalties from offshore drilling growing, and what could be gained by taking some of that money to help fund alternative energies?

Angry Birds started as an addictive app game. With the launch of a TV show this weekend, and licensing deals for clothes, the Finnish-created game aims to be a media and marketing juggernaut.

Foreign-born folks talk about the meals they miss most from their native cuisine.

Washington goes 'Whale' watching. Will President Obama's second term have a greener tint? And a generation of medical school students learn how to huddle.

The weather is hot in Atlanta, but is the housing market?

Senate investigators are holding a hearing today on JPMorgan’s estimated $6.3 billion losses connected to a London trader known as the 'Whale.' New evidence from internal emails and phone calls suggests the blame may lie with even bigger fish in company.

U.S. industrial production rose 0.7 percent last month. The growth, the greatest in three months, was led by strong manufacturing output.

New York's mayor wants to give a facelift to the area of Midtown Manhattan that surrounds the venerable Grand Central Station. The city says it is needed to remain a globally competitive business district.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wants to institute rules for certain non-bank loan servicers. What’s the likely result of the rules for borrowers and the industry?

Wedding planning can be tough under any circumstance. But if you're a couple from two different backgrounds, how does that change financial perspectives and expectations around a wedding?

Samsung unveiled its new smartphone, the Galaxy S4, last night in New York. The phones will start shipping at the end of April and have a slew of new features, including one that is raising some eyebrows, literally.

European finance ministers are meeting in Brussels today, and at the top of their agenda is Cyprus. The small Mediterranean island nation, which has 850,000 people, is in desperate need of a bailout.

President Obama highlights his energy policy at an event in Illinois today. What’s that policy, and will it get more attention in the second term than it did in the first?

Science fiction loves the merger of the human body and machine. In mid-March 2013, what's the status of the merger? Will Oremus, a writer for Slate who has been working on a series about using tech to build better people, joins Marketplace Tech host David Brancaccio to explain how far we've come and where we are headed.

Netflix is waving around $100,000 dollars in prize money for people with the best ideas to tune up and improve Netflix's data cloud. Netflix cloud systems director of architecture Alex Cockcroft joins Marketplace Tech host David Brancaccio to talk through the challenges of managing the company's remote data.

Is Google Reader's death sentence a sign that Google isn't that interested in what we call the World Wide Web? Instead, does Google, like Facebook, want to be the web.

At medical schools across the country, more than 30,000 aspiring doctors are meeting their matches and finding out where they will spend the next several years as residents.

Canadian telecommunications regulators say the Oprah Winfrey Network is neglecting educational programming.

Google says it’s doing what it calls ‘spring cleaning’ and sending Google Reader out to the landfill on July 1. Netflix has a new system that lets customers connect to Facebook, so their friends can see what they’re watching. And where is the economic center of the earth?

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has just announced that it wants to supervise some of the largest players in the $1 trillion student loan industry. European finance ministers are meeting in Brussels today, and at the top of their agenda is the small Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus. And New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has tried to re-make a lot of the city over the last 11 years. But as he wraps up his third term, he’s got his eye on an extreme makeover of one of Manhattan’s most important business districts.

Certified financial planner Louis Barajas talks taxes and immigration with callers who have questions about filing their returns this year.

Bankruptcy lawyer Kevyn Orr was installed today as Detroit's emergency financial manager. It's a move that's not without controversy, and maybe a little hope, as well.

Five years after the financial crisis and banks are still "too big to fail."

After the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Conn., the head of the National Rifle Association, called on Congress “to put armed police officers in every school.” But many schools already have “good guys with guns.” They’re called School Resources Officers. Also, in the immigration debate we often focus on low-skilled workers, but there is a whole other group of scientists and other highly skilled professionals that we want to hire too. A couple of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have an idea to house them just far enough off shore that they aren’t technically living in the U.S. Kai Ryssdal talks to Max Marty, the CEO of Blueseed, the company at the helm of this venture.

A new tech venture wants to reel entrepreneurs in as close to Silicon Valley as possible without the need for a visa. The lure is a crusie ship 12 nautical miles off the shore of Half Moon Bay, Calif.

One popular response to the school massacre in Connecticut was a call to put armed guards in all schools. Thousands of schools already have them.

The Google Reader is going away. Why? Because it was losing users, didn’t make money and what’s good for some of us isn’t necessarily good for Google. That’s the way of the tech world.

Working moms want to work more — at least in part because they need to in this economy. At the same time, the number of Americans who think moms shouldn’t work full-time (or at all) is still surprisingly high. The Pew Research Center just released its report on modern parenthood.

Young go-getters can get funding to pursue their dream careers through a startup called Pave. The catch? Prospects agree to fork over about five percent of their income for the following 10 years.

Samsung looks to challenge Apple's cool-factor. Prices are up, should we be worried about inflation? And, new restrictions on shark fishing.

The producer price index — prices received by U.S. companies — rose 0.7 percent last month, its largest uptick in five months. Diane Swonk, chief economist with Mesirow Financial, explains what's behind the rise and whether the U.S. should be worried about inflation.

Differences aside, there is one thing Republicans and Democrats have in common when it comes to their budget proposals: They are both are friendly to baby boomers.

Japan and China have failed to block new restrictions on shark fishing at an international conference in Thailand.

Priority number one for the new pope has been fighting poverty in the slums of Buenos Aires. What effect might he have on the global scene in his new position?

One of life's little mysteries has been solved: How to fold a fitted sheet. Watch the video and learn for yourself.

J.C. Penney seriously needs to catch a break right now. Shoppers were scared off when the chain eliminated big sales in favor of everyday low prices. Now, Penney's will open 681 'Joe Fresh' shops inside their main stores.

The people’s carmaker has said it wants to be the biggest auto company in the world, but to do that, Volkswagen must first figure out the U.S. market.

Samsung’s revealing its new Galaxy S4 phone today in New York. The smartphone is getting a lot of buzz because it’s the first phone set to challenge Apple’s 'cool.'

Founder and CEO of Buzzfeed, Jonah Peretti, shares his take on finding the right balance of silliness and seriousness on the social web.

Sure, Google Glass acts mostly as a wearable display screen, but it also works as a video and audio recorder. Harvard Law professor Jonathan Zittrain explains Google's privacy problem when it comes to the high-tech spectacles.

The Groupon deal is worth $900, but you'll get it for $39.

Volkswagen, a company on a quest to become the world’s largest automaker, reports earnings today. What do the proposed federal budgets of House Republicans and Senate Democrats have in common? And J.C. Penney seriously needs to catch a break right now. Shoppers were scared off when the chain eliminated big sales in favor of everyday low prices. Now, Penney’s will open 681 ‘Joe Fresh’ shops inside of their main stores. 

Samsung is set to release its latest iPhone challenger tonight — the Galaxy S4. Is the Korean company starting to challenge Apple’s coolness? And, as the Interactive session of South by Southwest in Austin now gives way to the film and music folks, a lesson from the festival on shifting digital media to silliness, and to silliness plus real journalism. Jonah Peretti is founder and CEO of the popular online media website Buzzfeed. He says the change is part of the website’s natural evolution, along with the social web itself. 

President Obama today is meeting,  in the Situation Room, with a group of CEOs. The issue: cybersecurity. And now the public and private sector might work together to protect key infrastructure – analog and digital – from attack. But how much will it cost for the U.S. to prep for a cyber war. And would we go to war for GE or GM? Also on the show, what do you do when the wage you make doesn’t even cover your rent?

Commentator Robert Reich says the housing recovery is mostly benefiting investors, not home buyers.

On Thursday, Samsung will unveil its new Galaxy smartphone. What does it mean for Samsung, and of course, what does it say about Apple? Are people finally willing to defect?

It’s becoming harder, especially in certain cities, for low-income people to find affordable rental housing.

President Obama sat down for a meal with Republican leaders to talk about the budget. So what do you eat, when you're working while eating?

Corporations and the U.S. government team up to go on the offense against hackers.

China's southeastern province of Fujian enjoys some of China's cleanest air. Provincial officials have launched a 'clean air tourism' campaign to court Chinese who live in cities like Beijing, where pollution levels have been at record highs this year.

Legislation introduced in the California Senate today could require the state’s public colleges and universities to award credit for faculty-approved online courses taken by students unable to register for oversubscribed classes on campus. This could be a boon for businesses offering the classes and ultimately change the business model of higher education.

The Obama administration has identified its own global war on terrorism: cyber attacks. What are the spending implications of raising this alarm?

Retail sales sprout a surprise bump. Zara-owner Inditex turns fast-fashion into big profits. And President Obama enlists corporate CEO's to help protect against hacking.

President Obama is meeting at the White House this morning with corporate CEO's to talk about cybersecurity. Obama told ABC News that computer attacks are ramping up, including some that are state sponsored.

Retail sales ticked up by 1.1 percent last month according to the Commerce Department. The growth was better than expected, despite higher gas prices and the payroll tax increase that went into effect at the beginning of the year.

The Federal Aviation Administration has approved Boeing's plans for new safety tests that could get its troubled 787 Dreamliner back in the air as early as this spring.

The AP got its hands on an application for benefits under the health care reform law. It's 15 pages long, and could take anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes to fill out.

The Dow broke another record yesterday and is now on its longest record-breaking streak — six days — since 1998. And while that sounds great, one man is not happy.

The government of the Yunnan province in Western China is going after Coca-Cola. Officials say the company has been illegally mapping the province with GPS devices.

The Spanish company Inditex, which owns Zara among other chain stores, has just unveiled an impressive set of figures: a 22 percent jump in profits.

Since his marital indiscretions more than three years ago, it's been a long road back to the top. But the buzz around the golf course says there's no question — Tiger has returned.

Smartphone use by teens is skyrocketing. The Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project has new stats on how young people are using technology these days.

Tonight, President Obama speaks to the non-profit group, Organizing, for America, which some have described as the president's never-ending campaign. Where is the money behind the organization coming from?

Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker talks to Marketplace Tech about his new social media start-up and why he tweets so much.

The government of the Yunnan province in Western China is going after Coca-Cola over allegedly mapping the province with GPS devices. Tonight President Obama will speak to big money donors at an event for Organizing for Action. The group is run by former campaign aides with the mission of supporting the President’s agenda. Since Organizing for Action is a 501(c)(4) non-profit, it can raise unlimited money without saying where it comes from. And is Tiger Woods poised for a comeback?

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South By Southwest might be a festival of rock, movie, and technology stars. But Austin, Texas also had a visit from a politician who wants to be a tech star. It’s the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, Cory Booker, who was at a hack-a-thon put together by some of Lady Gaga’s social media people. Why was Booker in Austin? To launch a start-up, of course. 

A list for some tips and tricks to keep some processed foods to a minimum.

Americans are reigniting their love affair with debt. Sure, it spurred a financial crisis. But it's also good for the economy.

Twitter and Facebook were used by millions in the New York area to stay connected during Superstorm Sandy. But online disaster communication and preparedness isn't limited to social networking sites. Many entrepreneurs are trying to build platforms to stay informed during crises — platforms that could be used outside of a disaster to market products.

How the unglamorous social network is quietly evolving into a content provider. LinkedIn is reportedly in talks to buy the news reading app Pulse.

A report from the U.S. Green Buildings Council, supported by former President Bill Clinton and the PTA, details scary estimates of how much it would cost to upgrade public schools in this country.

Republican Rep. Paul Ryan wants to balance the federal budget within 10 years, largely through scrapping Obamacare and remaking Medicaid and Medicare. Like all budgets, the plan is based on assumptions, namely that a balanced budget in such a short time is a good thing and that economic growth will outpace the growth in government spending.

Republican Rep. Paul Ryan wants to balance the federal budget within 10 years, largely through scrapping Obamacare and remaking Medicaid and Medicare. Like all budgets, the plan is based on assumptions, namely that a balanced budget in such a short time is a good thing and that economic growth will outpace the growth in government spending — pegged at 3.4 percent. How can you reality check those numbers? Also, how LinkedIn, once the unglamorous social networking sibling, has taken the buzz away from Facebook.

One Tokyo restaurant is dedicated to Fukushima. It serves food and dishes from the region. Many of its customers are volunteers in the area destroyed by the tsunami two years ago. And it dedicates its profits to relief efforts.

Author Melanie Warner discusses the complexities of the processed foods that line the shelves at the supermarket.

Washington kicks off a big budget week, but will the stalemate break? The cost of recusals at the SEC. And attack of the mega-commuters.

Washington Republicans and Democrats don't seem close to agreeing on a budget, but does the U.S. really need a federal budget in the first place?

It's going to be a big budget week in Washington. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) released his spending plan today, and the Democrats are set to unveil their federal budget sometime in the next few days. But can the two sides come together and agree?

If you are a musician traveling abroad, you may soon need a passport — for your instrument.

How many of the world's 3.1 billion workers live on just $1.25 per day — the global poverty line as defined by the World Bank?

With the Senate Banking Committee taking up the Mary Jo White nomination to head the SEC, at issue are possible conflicts White might have as a former attorney who defended financial institutions and executives against government prosecution.

South Sudan, which seceded from the rest of Sudan in 2011, will begin oil production again, under a new deal negotiated in Ethiopia.

The writers' group PEN is well known for its core mission: Supporting free speech around the world. Its members include Nobel and Pulitzer prize winners. But it needs to expand, as the traditional publishing world shrinks.

Two private equity firms confirmed today they're the winning bidders in the Hostess bankruptcy auction.

This week, a faculty vote of confidence in NYU's President highlights the conflict over the increasingly corporate role of the university president.

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Internet inventor Tim Berners-Lee speaks out about the importance of an open Internet and why Internet service providers should back off from their new Copyright Alert System.

South Sudan, which gained independence just a couple of years ago after a long and bloody civil war, will resume pumping oil to Sudan after a shutdown that has lasted more than a year. The President of New York University is facing a no confidence vote this week — some faculty say he’s acting more like the head of a corporation than a university. And the writers group, PEN, looks to reinvent itself for the digital age.

Mega-commuters spend hours each day getting to and from work — are you one of them?