Week of July 22nd, 2013

The 94-year-old oil pioneer who changed the face of the energy industry with his fracking procedure died today. He gave his final interview to Marketplace's Scott Tong.

One Michigan mother describes the year she went "from broke to badass" on her northern Michigan farm.

The mobile home industry had its heyday 15 years ago. Since then, sales have fallen by about 90 percent.

Socially responsible investing, or SRI, is the practice of investing in companies that share moral and political philosophies that align with your own. It makes sense to a lot of people, but does it also make money?

Halliburton and BP may be seeking to shift blame the Deep Horizon accident on each other and save billions. In court, and in the newspapers, they seem at each others’ throats. But as leading companies in their industry, they — and Transocean — will have to figure out how to get along. Plus, most businesses get hammered by the markets when they fail to meet profit expectations — even if they’re earning billions. The expectations seem not to hold true of Amazon: Investors seem happy enough to watch it grow and invest with no profits.

403bs, mutual funds, active investing and answering other questions on investing.

What's a bond? What's a stock? How do you choose a retirement plan? We're here to help.

The battle for the next head of the Federal Reserve has heated up amid charges of sexism.

This month, we’re devoting Marketplace Money to the basics — concepts like banking, savings and debt. Bonds, stocks, diversification, index funds, active vs. passive. Investing is one of those financial topics that requires understanding a whole lot of terms. Then, you have to understand yourself. How much risk do you want to take? How much confidence do you have? What’s your time horizon? This week, a guide to investing.

Here's an investing recap of tips and strategies from this week's show.

Many investor prefer actively picking stocks and bonds or hiring a money manager to select stocks. So what should you know?

Most businesses get hammered by the markets when they fail to meet profit expectations; not Amazon.

Move aside Lexus, and make way for the first American car to top "Consumer Reports" list in decades.

Halliburton and BP work together in the oil fields, despite disagreements over fault in the BP oil spill.

Should you research individual companies or take the 'set-it and forget it' approach to investing?

Halliburton admits to destroying oil spill evidence. Second Avenue subway construction undermines NYC small businesses. And what's up with the sell-off of municipal bonds?

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Halliburton will pay a $200,000 penalty, but says it will not face any criminal prosecution for the act.

Even though Samsung is still growing , its profits likely won’t ease concerns the company is in a bit of trouble.

Facebook wants to be the Internet portal for mobile users. Those users won't likely have smartphones — instead flip phones and text messages will connect them to the web.

The inventor has been cast as Thomas Edison's more magical nemesis and contemporary — and he's currently being celebrated at the New York Hall of Science.

After a hundred years of production in the U.K., the U.S. auto giant is closing its last vehicle assembly operation in Britain.

As France is weighed down with economic trouble, a new group of employees from two large hardware store chains is demanding to work more.

New York has waited nearly a hundred years for a second subway line on the east side of Manhattan. But protracted construction is hard on small businesses along the route.

The compromise approved by the Senate puts a ceiling on the interest rates for undergraduate student loans.

Today it’s Samsung’s turn to tell the world just how it did last quarter. The South Korean tech giant has become a successful competitor to Apple, selling tons of tablets, phones and more. But like Apple, its recent success means an ever higher bar of expectation, from profits to innovation. And yesterday Facebook’s stock was up on good earnings news, but another Facebook story from this week caught our eye. It’s about the developing world, where Facebook wants to be the portal for mobile users connecting to the Internet without a smartphone.

It’s the end of an era at Ford today. After 100 years of production in the U.K., the U.S. auto giant is closing its last vehicle assembly operation in Britain. Smartphone sales disappoint today at Samsung. And French workers strike for the right to work on Sundays.

Checking in with trucker Don Holzschuh about how he is feeling about the economic recovery.

The Offspring's lead singer, Dexter Holland, studies molecular biology and sells hot sauce.

Marketplace Money's Facebook followers send in tips of their own

Hasbro's new Monopoly Empire game removes jail from the board, and is designed to fit into busy schedules of today's youth.

What’s the difference between an advisor and a broker?  

What’s the difference between an advisor and a broker?  

Coming from different financial situations can affect everything about picking up the pieces after a natural disaster — even getting, and holding on to a job.

The Justice Department has charged big hedge fund SAC for insider trading. High-profile actions like this are rare: Think Enron and Arthur Andersen. And remember, both those companies ceased to exist in any real way after their criminal charges. Also, Facebook stock is booming as mobile advertising at the company showed real promise. Will users be turned off as even more ads show up in their mobile news feed?

Welfare payments account for a third of Britain's public spending. Now, radical cuts in welfare spending are drawing impassioned reactions among both critics and supporters.

Need a book that can help your finances too?

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Facebook's latest business results have the company and investors in high spirits today. Sales rose significantly and the mobile advertising efforts seem to be working.

Facebook says it's got a handle on mobile ads. CBS and Time Warner duke it out. And Ford is back in style.

The House narrowly defeated an amendment that would have ended funding for mass collection of phone records and other data by the NSA.

Ford's latest business results are in and the numbers are good. The company made $1.2 billion in profit from April through June. Robust pick up trucks sales and a strengthening U.S. economy get the credit.

A new amusement park with a 'Take Your Child to Work Day' theme opens in London.

Recommendations from senators to the Finance Committee as to which tax breaks they favor and which they oppose will be kept secret.

Machines are becoming alarmingly intelligent, smart enough to root out crime.

Following the blast of a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, the push for new regulations appears to have stalled out.

Cable companies and the channels they distribute seem to enjoy a symbiotic relationship. But it's not that simple.

The House of Representatives blocks  — barely — a move to cut funding for the National Security Agency’s electronic surveillance. Why the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas hasn’t changed Washington. A new amusement park with a ‘Take Your Child to Work Day’ theme opens in London. And Jane Austen gets a spot on Britain’s 10 pound note.

A group of Google engineers inadvertently takes down a ring of car thieves in China. And any kid who loves playing with remote controlled drones now has a vocation to shoot for: deep sea explorer. The company Odyssey Marine Exploration has pulled 61 tons of silver bars off a cargo ship sunk by Nazis in 1941. Drones helped haul the silver up from the SS Gairsoppa which was three miles underwater off the coast of Ireland.

After downsizing during the recession, one manufacturer sees signs of the recovery.

Google released its Chromecast TV device today, which will allow consumers to get content from the cloud to their TV.

The president made a big speech about his economic growth plans. He used the phrase ‘middle class’ more than 20 times. As the low-paid service sector grows and the old middle class shrinks — can the “middle out” approach help service workers? And American companies have helped employ more U.S. military veterans in the past few years.

From Greg on the Marketplace Money Facebook page: "I'd like to hear more on how the US economy is global, and therefore how can an average American know they are 'safely' invested to participate in the global economy."

Bootstrap entrepreneurs sell their goods wherever they can, including hair salons and barber shops.

New programs from American employers to hire recent veterans has done something remarkable: eliminated the vet job gap.

Profits at the big CAT are way down. Mining seems to have hit a wall.

As the low-paid service sector grows and the old middle-class shrinks — can the 'middle out' approach help service workers?

Though explicitly mentioned only once, the philosophy of "middle-out" economics informed his entire speech, where he promised to “reverse the forces that have conspired against the middle class for decades.”

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Boeing's other businesses, besides commercial airliners. And online courses fail the mid-term at San Jose State, but what about the final?

The NBA instituted some strict and professional guidelines after the news media spotlighted misdeeds by basketball players. Will the NFL do the same?

We're not too good at saving these days. Americans have a savings rate of about 3 percent. How can local governments work to grow that number?

India has a strict rules for big international retailers: 30 percent of the merchandise sold at big box stores has to be purchased in India.

As fall clothing lines roll out, advertising in fashion magazines ramps up, too.

The Food and Drug Administration says products marketed as natural or homeopathic treatments for diabetes can be dangerous.

For musicians these days hitting the road is where the real money is at, as long as people actually show up to see you play. That's where tech startup Rabbl hopes to come in.

Yahoo wants blogging site Tumblr to make money, and to do that, Tumblr needs to weed out pornography.

Investors are happy with Apple's latest business performance, but the big question is what happens when the company runs out of buyers for its high-end phones and tablets?

Apple has got a lot of cash — $146 billion. That's enough to buy 10 Mark Zuckerbergs or treat cancer in the U.S. for over a year.

We took at a look at the workers who make the median wage, and it's not who you'd think.

China’s factories are continuing to struggle, but Europe's economic activity is showing signs of life — at least for the last month.

A bold experiment at the San Jose State University could change the thinking about massive open online courses.

The Dreamliner gets all the attention, but Boeing has other lines of business.

The House of Representatives votes on an amendment to take away money from the NSA today. It's part of the $500 billion defense spending bill and it's got the tech industry up in arms.

At $174,000 per share, you can buy a lot of DQ Blizzards.

Who earns median wage and what kind of education, housing, healthcare and retirement savings can they afford?

As President Obama embarks on his middle class road show, we ask what does the average American make? China’s factories continue to struggle while the eurozone starts to see some positive economic signs. A check in on savings. And a button to make all that #royalbaby news go away.

Apple has released its latest business results and they are better than many analysts expected. And, there are two sides to the Internet: the mainstream and the underground. What happens when the underground gets gobbled up by the mainstream? For one thing, it means online pornography gets pushed further to the margins of the web.

After a summer of lackluster box office receipts, could Hollywood begin to find fault in blockbusters?

Surgeon and writer Atul Gawande explains why some life-saving innovations don't always catch on right away.

To attract the interest of more casual viewers, the business of cycling may have to change — specifically the way cycling teams are named and are able to engage with fans.

The Senate Banking Committee is holding a hearing on bank investments in things like warehouses and oil refineries, and commodities such as metals and oil. Banks have jumped head first into the commodities markets. And more interestingly, news of a company divesting in a market. Taco Bell is getting rid of its kid’s meals. The fast food chain says packaged meals for kids don’t make enough money.

Spanish-language media was rocked by news that Univision cancelled its popular radio show "El Piolin por la Manana."

From Julie on the Marketplace Money Facebook page: What are the Pros and Cons when looking at opening a ROTH against an online investment account? Are dividends in a ROTH taxed at a different/better rate than an investment account? Julie

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Apple reports its earnings. How to break away from the consensus when buying stocks. And in Nebraska, some farmers and ranchers fear the Keystone XL Pipeline could damage land and water.

A new study finds that the rising cost of higher education is shifting costs as families spend less freely.

Banks are coming under scrutiny for doing business outside of banking, like owning metal warehouses and power plants. The Senate Banking Committee and federal regulators are looking into whether big banks are profiting at the consumer's expense.

No more kids' meals at Taco Bell, as fast food chain targets a different audience.

The Milwaukee Brewers are losing their star outfielder Ryan Braun for the rest of the season. He's agreed to a suspension without pay for unspecified violations"of baseball's drug program and his contract.

The Senate Banking Committee is holding a hearing today on bank investments in things like warehouses and oil refineries, and commodities such as metals and oil.

Do you buy or sell stocks based on consensus forecasts? Analyst Juli Niemann at Smith, Moore & Company says there is something you should know about that strategy.

Nearly half a billion mobile phone SIM cards might be vunerable to hacking. The vulnerability was revealed by a security researcher in Germany.

According to a new report from student loan servicer Sallie Mae, parents are shelling out less money for their kid's college tuition. Before you break out the champagne, let's explore those numbers.

Nebraska farmers worry the oil pipeline will damage their land or water. Some are putting up obstacles to the route.

Apple faces a business quandary: amaze the markets all over again, or compete on small improvements.