Week of March 31st, 2014

David Gura sits down with Felix Salmon, from Reuters, and Catherine Rampell, from The Washington Post, to wrap up the week.

A raise in minimum wage could help low-income workers, but hurt small-business owners.

Even the most high-tech companies rely on humans when everything fails.

The goal is always the same – so-called "full employment." But what is it?

The goal is always the same – so-called ‘full employment. But what would that actually look like? And what sort of jobs would predominate? Also,  Nest’s software failure shows that even the most high tech companies still rely on humans when everything fails, and for many wireless product firms, the human back end of their operations is considerable. We report on the manpower costs of providing a non-human product. Plus: When late night hosts change, everyone wants to know who the new guy (or gal – one day) will be. But what about the band? Mark Garrison reports on the way the late night bands are chosen, and what elevation to that esteemed slot can mean.   

Bond buyers hoped their purchase might lead to good seats at this weekend's games.

Marketplace Datebook for the week of April 7, 2014

This week on Marketplace Money, guest host Lizzie O’Leary and personal finance expert Jill Schlesinger tackle questions from our listeners. We’re all trying to save money, but there are some times when being cheap costs you more in the long run. Personal finance writer Daryl Paranada tells us about times when spending can actually help you save. The latest monthly jobs report is released, more people are quitting their jobs but the unemployment rate continues to drop from the height of the recession. Good news or bad news? Tim Wu tells us about how the rise of convenience means we’re spending more time than ever under the “tyranny of tiny tasks.” And even if you write for one of the most successful shows in TV history, your parents are still gonna give you advice. “The Simpsons” writer Michael Price tells us about what he learned from being raised by parents who weren’t exactly thrilled with the idea of a career in theater.

How late night bands are chosen, and what elevation to that esteemed slot can mean.

We all try to save a few bucks, but sometimes it's worth spending the extra money.

Unlike other themed restaurants, Hard Rock Cafe found a new recipe for success.

More autoworkers are Chinese – assembling cars in China for sale to Chinese consumers.

Some good, some bad, some sad

The online food-delivery service expects strong interest in their IPO

Around the country, hospitals and doctors are forming Accountable Care Organizations, where providers team up to better manage patients. This year, we’re watching Camden, N.J., as the new health law takes hold, part of a series we call Diagnosis: Camden. Also, the online food delivery service – GrubHub – begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The company could raise around $176 million. In fact, the pre-IPO price has moved higher over the past few months, even before it started trading on Wall Street. Why is it so attractive to investors?

Will Oremus, tech blogger at Slate joins us to play this week’s Silicon Tally. Plus, the online food delivery service – GrubHub — begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The company could raise around $176 million. In fact, the pre-IPO price has moved higher over the past few months, even before it started trading on Wall Street. Why is it so attractive to investors?

Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich publicly opposed same-sex marriage.

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

Economists have been riled up over differences between job numbers from the payroll processor ADP and federal figures.

Wal-mart, food stamps, and listener responses.

Overdraft fees used to be a huge source of revenue for banks, then came the crackdown that required consumers to opt in to overdraft protection, and banks took a hit. But fees are climbing back up, and banks pulled in $32 billion in overdraft charges in 2012. We examine what has changed. Plus: ADP said this week that employers added 191,000 jobs in March. The report is a precursor to the federal figure out tomorrow, but critics have been hitting the ADP figure as something of a lagging indicator, ever since the company tweaked its formula back in 2012. We explain what sort of number this is, why people pay attention to it, and why it has some economists so riled up. Also, the owner of a Va. carpet cleaning company has sued Yelp to reveal the true identities of 7 anonymous reviewers who slammed his biz.  Will Yelp disclose these names? What would it mean for online reviews going forward, and what’s at stake for a service like Yelp? Then, professional track and field athletes are preparing for collective action against the sport’s governing body that could lead some athletes to boycott the U.S. national track and field championships in June. The athletes’ demands are entangling sponsors such as Nike and Brooks Running, which use the affiliations to drive sales of shoes and other running gear.

A study says banks pulled in $32 billion in overdraft charges in 2013 and fees are climbing.

Maybe Jay Leno's interested?

Social services are not always in step with medical care.

A business owner in Virginia sues Yelp to reveal the identity of negative reviewers.

The private security company is big, expensive, and perhaps unwieldy.

Employers added 192,000 to payrolls in March; unemployment at 6.7%

Tensions in Ukraine impact American-Russian space partnership.

According to a new study, GDP doesn't tell the whole story about a country's economy.

A new economic indicator seeks to give the GDP some competition in measuring economic health.

Watch this animation from Slate's video team to find out.

Coinstar expands the market for vending machines

Julie Angwin, ProPublica reporter and author of Dragnet Nation: A Quest for Privacy, Security, and Freedom in a World of Relentless Surveillance, talks about why privacy is a luxury. Plus: Molly Wood, tech columnist for the New York Times on Amazon’s new video streaming device, Fire TV. We take a look at what separates this gadget from an already crowded market. And later, Americans spent 70 billion dollars on gift cards last year, but nearly $8 billion worth of those purchased gift cards go unused. The parent company of coin-counting kiosk Coinstar and DVD rental service Redbox launched a new service to turn those old gift cards in your wallet to cash.   

Hospitals and doctors are teaming up to make healthcare more efficient

Walmart donates billions to anti-hunger initiatives. Some of those efforts benefit its own employees.

The high cost of keeping your data private.

You should watch this video.

Christine Lagarde on Congress' IMF vote: "Not exercising that leadership is a mistake."

Many expect Wednesday's ruling to mean an overall increase in how much money goes into politics.

Remembering Charles Keating, a well-known face of the 80s-90s S&L crisis.

New York drops out of inBloom, a Gates Foundation-backed effort to store data.

GM's CEO Mary Barra spent another day on Capitol Hill.

In the case widely regarded as the sequel to the Citizens United campaign finance case, the Supreme Court has struck down the aggregate limit on what an individual can give in donations in a given an election cycle. Also, New York drops out of InBloom, the Gates Foundation’s $100 million effort at collecting student data, leaving it with no known customers. Since launching, seven states have dropped out.  Apparently, parents aren’t as eager as gates assumed  to have their kids data-mined at schools. Plus: We remember – briefly – Charles Keating, because he was one of the best-known faces of the S&L crisis of the late 80’s and early 90’s, in which 1,000 banks collapsed.

Marketplace Datebook for Thursday, April 3, 2014

Why businesses are interested in 'neurogastronomy'

There's no Goldman at the end of this rainbow.

Microsoft is expected to announce a digital personal assistant akin to Apple's Siri. And Alan Sloan from Fortune Magazine talks tax code.

A tax-avoidance deal may save companies hundreds of millions of dollars

Coverage for hazards like mudslide can cost an extra $1,000 per year.

FTC chairwoman Edith Ramirez and a conversation about data security.

Coinstar introduces vending machines that let you exchange your unwanted/unused gift cards for cash. Mitchell explores how the secondary gift card market works. Also, Latin America is one of the few places in the world where the gap between the rich and poor is narrowing. Pegged to the World Economic Forum meeting on Latin America this week, we examine why there are more Latin Americans in the middle class than living in poverty.

Among the biggest donors to food banks and other social-service agencies are corporations including Walmart and Kroger’s- a sometimes awkward partnership, since of the people served by these agencies are employees of these stores. Later, we talk to Allan Sloan about a tax-avoidance deal that is making it possible for some companies to save hundreds of millions of dollars, legally.

As real wages continue to decline, the food stamp economy keeps booming.

Microsoft unveils its version of a Siri device.

In Latin America, the gap between the rich and poor is narrowing.

Microsoft is feeling pretty good at the moment — new CEO, its stock is up, and there’s even Office for iPad. Microsoft will now unveil its version of a Siri device. Why has it taken so long?  And what does this signal about how Microsoft is positioning itself? Plus: April Rinne, Chief Strategy Officer, Collaborative Lab, talks about Airbnb’s decision to collect hotel taxes for rentals in San Francisco. After, FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez joins Ben for a conversation about data security and consumer protection ahead of a Homeland Security hearing on the topic Wednesday morning.

Single-serve coffee makers like the Keurig machine are wasteful.

There's no waste. And if you want to renovate? Recycle.

Is it possible that yachts can serve as an economic indicator?

It's not about screaming on the trading floor anymore.

Housing is lagging: construction spending is down, as are pending home sales. Blame the L’s: labor, lumber, land and loans. Oh, and lousy weather.

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Marketplace Datebook for Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Our most popular social stories from March 2014.

The biggest winners of the SNAP economy are the ones the government won’t tell you about.

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Retail store are looking to get more foot traffic with cell phone charging stations. And Netflix gets Frank Underwood to lobby for them.

'Moneyball' author says HFT traders skim away others' profits

Kevin Spacey helped Netflix lobby Maryland for tax breaks

Kevin Spacey has been lobbying the state congress in Maryland, which is where the Netflix hit House of Cards is filmed. The company wants tax breaks, but Maryland’s saying no. Also, we take a look at the individual investor in the HFT environment. 

If you know about the history of the Internet, you know that — while Al Gore might be most famous for supposedly inventing it — it is the Department of Defense that can probably lay claim in earnest. The Advanced Research Projects Agency began building the networks that would become the Internet in the 1960s. And today the current form of that organization, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), is launching an office that will focus on biological technology — making synthetic tissues, quickly developing vaccines and connecting the brains of wounded soldiers to new prosthesis.

GM CEO will answer tough questions about car safety

The enrollment period for signing up for health insurance via healthcare.gov is over. What you need to know.

In the backwoods of Pennsylvania sits 28,000 file cabinets full of paper and an army of employees.

Brick-and-mortar shops are providing free cellphone charging

An interview on how DARPA is adapting to a changing tech landscape

Many baby boomers were unable to sell during the Great Recession

The U.N. climate group has moved forward, not just warning of climate change — because it’s here. What are the economic barriers to investing in what they call “adaptation? Plus:  Michael Jackson’s estate has done a big turnaround. Before his death it was a mess; now it’s making millions, and there’s even a new Jackson record. And finally: GM boss Mary Barra testifies before Congress later this week about the problems with Chevy Cobalts, linked to deaths. We look at the costs and budgeting behind a recall.

The U.N. climate group has moved forward, not just warning of climate change — because it’s here. What are the barriers to investing in "adaptation"?

How many bags of ice do you buy a year? Enough to make it a $2.5 billion industry, that's how much.

For many better-off young Indians, Western-style fast food is considered cool. And as they down burgers and sugary sodas, obesity is spreading.

Marketplace Datebook for Tuesday, April 1, 2014

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will begin phasing the cameras into 2016 models.

The Senate Finance Committee thinks about bringing back expired tax breaks. And a look at the safety and costs of in vitro births.

Benjamin Jealous is taking his fight for civil rights to the tech sector

A new statement says IVF practice can cause problems

Some mixed reviews of apps for recovering alcoholics.

The Affordable Care Act reaches an important milestone — and deadline — on Monday. The law’s rollout has worked pretty well in some states, and has been a mess in other states. In the case of Oregon, the state promised big and hasn’t delivered. Also, up to $50 billion in tax breaks that expired in 2013 may get a new life as the Senate takes up a proposal to extend them temporarily. Good news for lobbyists and their clients, but the breaks will have to get through the House. And the National Perinatal Association, representing the folks who work in neo-natal ICU units, has released a statement to urge doctors and health insurance cos to reduce health risk and costs by changing in vitro fertilization procedures.

This week Microsoft’s Build conference kicks off in San Francisco. Build is an event designed to get developers excited about making things for its windows operating system, for mobile devices and PCs. And that’s been a challenge, because as app ecosystems go, Microsoft’s hasn’t been particularly vibrant in comparison to those of Apple and Android. There may be some light poking through the clouds though. Plus: Studies have been done on the effectiveness of treating addiction with smartphones, and the reviews are mixed. But there’s a new program at the University of Wisconsin that aims to support addicts after they leave a residential program. And it seems to be helping people stay sober.

A Senate proposal for a temporary extension

Monday is the deadline to sign up for healthcare under the ACA