Week of March 10th, 2014

Nela Richardson and Sudeep Reddy talk about what happened this week, economy-wise, and why.

A look at the numbers behind the Gainful Employment Rule and its potential impact on the industry.

In which science completely validates conventional wisdom.

Marketplace Datebook for the week of March 17, 2014

After two years in the making, the proposed Gainful Employment Rule is out. Career colleges (mainly for-profits), whose students graduate with dim job prospects and too much debt, will find their revenue streams cut off . Also: Ghanain oil, Baton Rouge, and a weekly wrap of this week’s news.

Industrial output, fixed asset investment, retail sales, you name it: all slipped the first two months of the year, defying expectations. But we've seen this before.

Does calling girls “bossy” discourage them from being leaders?

SXSW attendees weigh in on how much data sharing is appropriate, or safe.

Rachel Boynton follows a Texan oil company and Ghanaian government officials as they scramble to profit from newly discovered oil wells off the coast in her new documentary, "Big Men."

By signing a new deal with the EPA, BP agrees to more oversight

Can we trust the rich to fund our nation's cultural assets?

NASA is increasingly reliant on contractors to get goods to and from space.

Beginning next week, BP will be allowed to bid on leases to drill for oil on government land.

Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter and author of Things a Little Bird Told Me: Confessions of the Creative Mind, about his new app, Jelly, and how to fake it ‘till you make it. Plus, hear from attendees of SXSW Interactive about what they’ll share on social media.

We take stock of the privatization of U.S. space ambitions, and the business opportunity this presents entrepreneurs. Plus, as states that have adopted the Common Core curriculum have chosen one of two new assessments to test the skills students will be required to learn, we examine how important is it that testing goes well. Also, last month’s farm bill promised to cut 8.6 billion dollars out of SNAP – formerly known as food stamps — over the next decade by restricting a practice known as “heat and eat.” Now at least six states are getting around SNAP cuts by tweaking their “heat and eat” programs. Last of all, a look at the takeover of The Corcoran Gallery of Art, DC’s oldest private art museum, and its art college by the National Gallery of Art and George Washington University.  

Our regular quiz looking back at the week's tech news.

The innovator talks new projects and business advice for the fledgling start up.

Millions of students will take tests aligned with the new Common Core education standards.

Actor and contortionist Doug Jones hangs on to what he has.

There are 105 historically black colleges and universities in the U.S. One of the smallest — Morris Brown College — struggles to stay afloat.

A successful paparazzi photographer describes his job, his life, and why everyone hates him.

Whether it’s your Netflix streaming or something more important like transferring medical records from one place to another, chances are you’ve heard the promise of gigabit internet. It’s supposedly way faster than the broadband access in most cities around the country. Google is starting lay the infrastructure for gigabit internet in a growing number of […]

The fast-food giant is sued with its franchises for alleged wage and hour violations.

When being the biggest seller of stuff online just isn't enough.

The Farm Bill tried to cut about $8 billion from the food stamps program.

Herbalife has been targeted by the FTC. That's good news for one investor, who thinks the company is a pyramid scheme.

The failure of just nine utility substations, and the closing of one factory, could blackout the entire U.S. for 18 months.

Security experts say what happened at Target is no surprise, given how poorly prepared big companies are to deal with data security issues.

Turns out Target knew a lot more about its data leak a lot earlier than anyone thought. So why didn’t it say anything back then? And why did it take so long to get the word out? Finally: The announcement by the FTC that it will investigate Herbalife  throws a spotlight on one investor, Bill Ackman, who has made a huge bet against the company’s stock.

Marketplace Datebook for Friday, March 14, 2014

How claims data fit into a bigger picture of unemployment benefits

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It isn’t easy to get a job after serving time in prison.

Despite the cold weather, American consumers still went to the stores.

Many want the quasi-governmental outfits snuffed out for good

An assemblyman in California wants citizens to use the wiki model to draft legislation.

Extremely wealthy men wielding influence in Russian politics.

Troubling signs indicate the world’s second largest economy isn’t recovering

Find out more about “zombie properties”: houses vacated by the homeowner, lingering for years without being repossessed or resold while attracting vandals and blight. We explain why they matter in the post-recession housing recovery. Plus, with Amazon reportedly poised to release its new TV set-top box which will allow viewers to stream video over the Internet, we take a closer look at the set-top box wars. Hear about how the California legislature is crowdsourcing a bill regarding probate tax code.  Will it work? Also, the potential winding down of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and what it means for homeowners and buyers.

A check in from the South by Southwest tech conference. Neil Young on why music is like an addictive drug and actress Rosario Dawson on emerging tech markets abroad.

Vacant homes in foreclosure can drag down neighborhoods and home prices

Set-top boxes give direct access to sell you other goods too.

You can almost imagine vinyl lovers of all ages picking it up.

Journalist Murray Carpenter goes inside the big business of caffeine in his new book, "Caffeinated: How our daily habit helps, hurts, and hooks us."

Internal candidates often have an advantage, but being an insider can sometimes prove a double-edged sword.

If you want to buy health insurance on one of the exchanges this year, you have to do it by March 31.

Twitter’s Fiction Festival is less about fiction and more about publishing.

The CEO of SolarCity talks about putting solar panels on more residential homes.

An intern gets tased as part of a product demonstration.

President Obama asks the Labor department to toughen up rules on overtime pay, especially for jobs like store managers and supervisors. We look at why wages haven’t really increased in the last 20 years, and what tools employers use to keep wages where they are. Also: Starbucks has now, in effect, put a tip jar in your smartphone by adding a tipping feature to its app. So many people and businesses are now soliciting tips that know when to tip is more confusing than ever. And we continue to learn new things about the business of fracking. The latest: fracking in North Dakota produces 27 tons a day of radioactive dirty socks – cloth devices used to filter fracking liquids coming out of the ground. And North Dakota doesn’t want them.

We keep taking on robots in physical and mental challenges

Marketplace Datebook for Thursday, March 13th

And they're full of NORMs. A glossary of oilfield vocabulary.

Knowing when to tip is more confusing than ever. Starbucks' app has a solution.

If current trends hold, the number of people living in Chinese cities is expected to hit one billion within the next 15 years.

How stolen passports get from owner to impostor owner

The actress draws a parallel between Twitter and the Farmworkers Movement.

The White House wants to make more Americans eligible for overtime pay.

The president seeks to change overtime pay rules via executive powers.

Along with all the people there are tons of brands here at South By Southwest, and the marketing strategies for the companies behind those brands are evolving. As the conference transitions from tech to music, we met up with Quartz senior editor Zach Seward to discuss this marketing evolution. Plus, we were lucky enough run into the actress Rosario Dawson at the convention center. She’s been in movies like Quentin Tarantino’s “Death Proof” and the upcoming biopic about civil rights leader Cesar Chavez. But she was in Austin to talk about supporting makers in Africa and social organizing for Latinos on Social Media. 

The Urban Institute releases a study for the Justice Department on the monetary size of the underground commercial sex, drug, and weapons economies in U.S. cities. The recruitment and business tactics of pimps and traffickers include traveling in circuits to increase profits and evade law enforcement detection. Plus, indications of a developing El Nino have now come from not just the U.S., but also Japan and Australia. The warnings are being taken seriously by farmers and by investors; the last big El Nino caused a lot of crop damage, and agricultural markets are already tight. And at the SXSW conference, wearable technology is getting a lot of buzz.

It probably won't have a huge impact on your grocery bills.

A new study reveals how the underground sex business is changing.

A look at the next trend in managing connections

Men's Warehouse will pay $1.8 billion for Jos. A Bank

Just about every major fashion house has a short indie film, and they're hiring top directors like Wes Anderson and Sofia Coppola.

What was your experience buying or renting your home?

Guest host Lizzie O’Leary talks with Marketplace reporter Dan Gorenstein about the rollout of the Affordable Care Act. With the March 31st deadline, what should you remember about coverage options and possible penalties? Also, Marketplace Tech host Ben Johnson checks in from the SXSW Festival in Austin, TX to talk about protecting your personal information in the age of data breaches. Actor Doug Jones reflects on how his family influenced his financial habits, personal finance expert Liz Weston answers callers’ questions, and we explore the implications of having an aggressive personality at work.  

The element that brought us beyond the Stone Age.

Senate leaders have a bipartisan blueprint for getting government (somewhat) out of the housing market.

It's pilot season in Hollywood, and the best deals are put-pilot commitments.

Author Haroon Ullah talks about his new book 'The Bargain from the Bazaar'

And the web is turning 25.

We figure out what comprises the stolen passport business, from point of theft to point of sale, by  looking at the players, the costs and the business of dealing in stolen passport papers. Also: Senate Banking Committee leaders came out with plans to wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The bipartisan plan calls for a private reinsurer to step in, and be on the hook for at least 10 percent of any losses on mortgate debt. And since it’s TV pilot season, we look at the practice of the “pilot pre-nup” — agreements between stars and studios. They do one episode, and if it’s not picked up, the developer and the star are paid off.

Marketplace Datebook for Wednesday, March 12, 2014

A conversation with the host of the re-booted "Cosmos" show on Fox

What happens when companies change their names?

Women make about 85 percent of men in industrialized countries

On the third anniversary of Fukushima, a look at how U.S. energy providers calculate the viability of nuclear power versus its risk. Also, we examine the successful business model of Cars.com, which could be sold by the group of newspaper owners which created it in answer to a drop off in car ads. Also on tap, Walgreens is outfitting stores with a new type of software to help guide healthcare providers through checkups, using vast stores of data to tailor questions to a patient’s health history. We ask what predictive software can do to improve our health. Plus, a conversation with Globalist Stephan Richter about the pay disparity between men and women.  

It’s been three years since the Fukushima disaster prompted Japan to try weaning itself from nuclear power.

We’re only a couple days into the 2014 SXSW Interactive Festival, but Marketplace Tech has already been hard at work covering the most important panels and interviewing the biggest names in the tech industry. One of the other themes of this year’s conference is surveillance. But some of the biggest speakers on that topic – Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and NSA leaker Edward Snowden – didn’t show up in person. That’s because if they came into the country, they’d almost certainly be arrested. Plus, a conversation with Neil deGrasse Tyson about the cosmos, conversations with aliens, and what will happen to this radio broadcast when it reaches the edge of the universe.

Many industry leaders think healthcare should be more like Burger King.

The economics of nuclear power are a tough sell.

What is this "donate" you speak of?

Classified Ventures is trying to sell Cars.com for $3 billion.

U.S.-based banana purveyor Chiquita Brands is merging with Ireland's Fyffes plc.

Malaysian Airlines flight 370 could complicate tourism to Southeast Asia.

A look through Marketplace.org's popular online stories.

The producer of "The Samaritans" talks about the "crazier side of NGO culture."

Ukraine needs billions in aid to meet its debt obligations.

ESPN's Rece Davis didn't start out interviewing athletes on air.

Burkey Belser has his own solution for the redesign.

Answer a series of questions including: Who would you most like to interview?

Companies are selling shares at the fastest pace since 2007.