Week of June 30th, 2014

This is a Marketplace.org Reader

Beer sales have been flagging for the big breweries, although craft beers are soaring.

There's a new challenge to teacher tenure laws in New York.

Ordering McDonald's ahead of time? There's now an app for that, too.

The Chinese government has detained GSK's China chief over corruption charges.

Robots do most of the trading. So what's up with the folks in blue jackets?

Bitcoin in the EU. Gas prices and mass transit. And, food waste in India.

More athletes are making their money off the court than on it.

Illegal firework trafficking is low priority for police, but not for firefighters.

Ready to watch some fireworks this Independence Day? Even if they’re banned in your neighborhood, you’ll probably still see and hear a few. According to the American Pyrotechnics Association, most states have restrictions on large types of firework. So how come there are still so many things that go bang in the night? Youth Radio takes us into the black market of fireworks. And, July 4th is one of the top weekends for American beer brands. But as Marketplace’s Mitchell Hartman reports shifting habits among beer drinkers may mean that won’t be true for too much longer. Also, in the next installment of the series “I’ve always wondered”, Golda Arthur looks into what it’s like to be a day trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Movie and TV studios save money by renting dead animals.

We look at where transit fare increases are and why operating costs are rising.

Transit fares are going up this summer in a few different cities. We look at where the fare increases are, why operating costs are rising and why fares alone aren’t enough to keep transit systems economically viable. Plus, data from credit service Experian shows Americans are paying down their credit card debt slowly, but some states are finding it more difficult than others. People who live in Alaska, New Jersey, and Connecticut hold the highest balances. We find out what factors contribute to people in certain states holding more credit card debt. And after, a defining sight in the booming oil fields of North Dakota is flames flaring from the top of wells — burning off natural gas that escapes during pumping. It’s a big waste of energy, and money. 

Fracking oil wells burn off as much a third of the natural gas they release.

First up, we play Silicon Tally with Julia Angwin, author of Dragnet Nation: A Quest for Privacy, Security, and Freedom in a World of Relentless Surveillance. Plus, Marketplace reporter Adriene Hill stops by to talk about online testing and how schools are getting ready (or not) for new Common Core standards.

What factors contribute to people in certain states holding more credit card debt?

How well have you kept up on this week's tech news?

How to protect yourself from the fine print.

Colorado pot dispensaries are making money, but banks won't accept their cash.

Now and then we like explore some of the big ideas changing our world. Like the so-called “internet of everything.” In 2014, it’s fair to say that most of us think of capitalism as one of the planet’s default economic systems. Markets around the world are interconnected, and even communist countries like China buy and sell […]

The economy is still not fully recovered in terms of jobs and wealth.

Job growth. Growing the economy from the middle out. Bank regulations.

The latest jobs figures from the Department of Labor show the unemployment rate fell to 6.1 percent last month. That’s the lowest since 2008, when the Great Recession kicked in. We explore how the jobs landscape has changed since then and what people are saying about having – or not having – a job. Plus, President Obama says immigration reform, if passed, could lead to $1.4 trillion in additional growth – we unpack, fact-check and explain this figure.

President Obama says immigration reform could lead to $1.4 trillion in growth.

Learning looked a lot different in 1776

On Marketplace Weekend, host Lizzie O’Leary and Marketplace’s Kai Ryssdal discuss his conversation with President Obama. What can we expect in the last 2 years of his presidency? How do transgendered women fare in the workforce? Mostly like their female colleagues, Ashley Milne-Tyte finds. The little words in the fine print can add up to big bills down the line. Personal finance expert Ilyce Glink shares her tips to not get caught. Musician Alex White shares what she learned about money growing up. NBA free agency season is upon us, but how’s the game changing beyond the court? And Marketplace Tech host Ben Johnson tells us what he learned about Facebook’s emotion study for Tech IRL.   

Six facts about education (or the lack thereof) in early America.

How research ethics rules came to be. Dramatically.

A wide-ranging interview about the economy with President Barack Obama.

Workers over 55 are finding difficulty returning to the work force.

Can you answer the question that stumped CEOs, corporate heads and the President?

The jobs report for June, the older generation of unemployed workers, and President Obama on Marketplace.

The New England Journal of Medicine is out with a new analysis of people with health insurance because of the Affordable Care Act. The number: 20 million. We dig into it and look at the folks who bought health coverage directly from insurers. Who are these 5 million people? Also, one in five people in their 20s and 30s is living with their parents, up from one in 10 a generation ago. We talk to Chris Farrell about the pluses and minuses of multigenerational households. And after, we talk to Mitchell Hartman about older workers, 55 and up, who are working for much longer before retiring than their parents did. What does this mean to the workforce as a whole?

FIrst up, Ben Popper, business editor for The Verge, talks about about why Google would want to fold in Songza’s features to Google Play. Then, Matthew George, founder of Bridj, a pop-up bus service, joins us to talk about using data and social media activity to predict transportation needs. Finally, Cyrus Farivar, Senior Business Editor for Ars Technica, on fans’ use of laser pointers to distract players during World Cup matches.    

The New England Journal is out with a new analysis of those with health insurance.

A Massachusetts start-up uses data to create faster bus routes.

Sometimes technology aids our ability to be adventurous.

Elizabeth Pisani talks about the modern changes in Indonesia's economy.

When interest groups lose interest in their own agendas.

The president says work remains to "re-balance the economy sensibly".

Why everyone wants to be in the music streaming business.

L.A.'s largest school district opens its doors to more than the iPad.

Janet Yellen is concerned about the lack of jobs for un-and-underemployed workers.

Target is following other national chains in asking gun owners not to bring their guns shopping, including states where open-carry is legal. Target has been a target of both open-carry demonstrators in Texas, and anti-gun groups protesting people carrying rifles into Target stores, where 80 percent of the shoppers are women and children. We look at the cost to retailers following in Wyatt Earp’s footsteps. Plus, LAUSD is backing away from its iPad for every kid policy and is opening up its classrooms to several other devices made by Google, Microsoft, etc. With hundreds of millions of education-tech dollars being spent by school districts, what does LA’s move  mean for the competition to own the classroom, here and elsewhere. Also, Apple bought Beats, then Amazon added music to its Prime service, and now Google is buying the music streaming site Songza, which selects songs for users based on their activities and the time of day. It’s been a busy few weeks for music streaming— already a crowded space. Why does everyone want to be in the music business? Or is it less about being in the music business and more about being in the everything business? We investigate.

Alex White, one half of rock band White Mystery, tells us about life on the road running a business with her brother.

30-40 percent of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. entered the country legally.

Interest rates cut in the housing crisis will start to rise again this year.

The White House called Tuesday with an offer.

Check your bill. "Cramming" goes back decades — and costs billions.

A father-son duo recount how technology changed clandestine freight train travel.

The private sector aims to chart a healthier course.

Alleged gender discrimination at Goldman Sachs, a bitcoin auction, and companies trying to be healthier.

The US Marshall Service auctioned off 30,000 bitcoin since Friday – the auction seems to have created a new class of bitcoin buyers – but there’s still mystery around who they are and how much  have they bought. Plus, Hyatt is building a new 5-star hotel on Central Park South in Manhattan, the city’s first in several years. We review the checklist that determines that a hotel deserves five stars, not just four. Also, can companies like Unilever and PepsiCo make us healthier? Corporate insiders have been reflecting on their role in creating a healthy society at the Aspen Ideas Festival in, Colorado. And after, Hangzhou in eastern China is regarded as one of China’s most beautiful cities. Over the past decade China has gained high speed rail lines, underground metro systems, huge airports, five-lane motorways, an incredible number of high rise apartment blocks. All to meet the demand of millions of people who moved from the countryside to the cities to seek their fortune in modern, fast-growing China. But property prices soared, meaning many young Chinese can’t afford a home — in a country which promises better living standards in return for political silence. The BBC’s Rob Young reports.

The US Marshall Service has auctioned off 30,000 bitcoin since Friday – the auction seems to have created a new class of bitcoin buyers – but there’s still mystery around who the buyers are and how much they bought. Marketplace’s Nancy Marshall-Genzer sorts it out. Plus, Malini Mithal, an attorney with the FTC, talks about the agency’s filing against T-Mobile, alleging that the company over-charged customers for SMS services. And author Ted Conover and his son Asa join us to talk about train hopping, and how technology is changing the experience of riding the rails.

The auction of seized bitcoins raises both awareness and value of the currency.

A look at how hotels like Hyatt's newest in Manhattan earn a top tier rating.

What task do young children do better than young adults?

The volume is down 11 percent.

Mark Ely of Simple.TV talks about his company's game plan.

How 'Community' fits in to Yahoo's plans to be a content provider.

Supercomputer Watson is now programmed to create recipes. Weird, maybe tasty ones.

HELOCs are coming due in the next two years – and the economy should take heed.

They're public schools, funded by taxpayers, but they don't go by the usual book

Several government agencies are making worried noises about the number of HELOCs that will come due in the next two years. These balloon payments that result from “end of the draw”, when a line of credit matures, could put a great deal of stress on the economy. We explain what end of the draw is, and why it could be a problem for the US. Also, Yahoo is saving the cult sitcom “Community”, by announcing it will pay for the show’s sixth season. We look at how “Community” fits in to Yahoo’s plans to be a content provider and its ability to compete in this area.

Charter schools are still just a small fraction of schools

Professional musicians in the Los Angeles aren't happy.

What does it mean to be "actively" looking for work?

Businesses have added back jobs since the recession, but not office space.

The sharing economy maintains some of the same problems as traditional businesses.

A look at the S&P 500, shrinking office space, and the "share" in sharing.

US Secretary of State John Kerry is in Panama tomorrow for the inauguration of new President Juan Carlos Varela. We look at the economic challenges facing Mr. Varela as he tries to continue the country’s healthy economic growth while also tackling corruption and an inefficient bureaucracy. Plus, in regards to Hilary Clinton’s book “Hard Choices,” we look at the tough decisions publishers make when they go big on a book like this, digging into how the economics of “tent pole” books work. Also, today a new hotel opens in downtown Los Angeles. Most of the money to pay for it came from outside the country. 320 immigrant investors from 14 countries put up 95 percent of the financing. It’s part of an investor visa program. And after, we talk to freelance writer Susan Cagle about the downside of the share economy.

Ian Burkhart, an Ohio man who was paralyzed four years ago during a driving accident, talks about a new technology that bypasses his injured spinal cord and translates his brain signals into movement. Plus, Dr. Ali Rezai, director of the neuroscience program at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center, join us to discuss the technology that makes it possible. Then, in light of the controversy over Facebook’s user emotion experiment, we talk to Karen North, professor of social media and psychology at USC, about how social networks affect psychological conditions of people who use them. Last up, Tony Romm, a reporter at Politico, on how Google is lobbying at the state level to pave the way for its newest technologies.  

Was the social network's manipulation of news-feeds for data-gathering ethical?

320 immigrant investors from 14 countries finance a new hotel in Los Angeles.

What age groups are visiting their local libraries?

Most Veterans Affairs' Chiefs had lots of experience in the military, government.

The Supreme Court rules the ACA’s contraception provisions violate a federal law protecting religious freedom in the case of two challenging corporations. The court restricts the idea of religious liberty to corporations of a certain kind: closely held corporations, the vast majority of which are individuals or small family businesses. Some, though, are large: Hobby Lobby, one of today’s plaintiffs, is family owned and employs nearly 20,000 people. Also, the revelation that Facebook has been manipulating the feelings of its users revealed the existence of its data science division. We look at what the division does, why it’s so important to Facebook, and why knowing so much about your feelings is key to Facebook’s success. Plus, President Obama today nominates Bob McDonald, the former chief executive of Procter and Gamble, as the new chief of Veterans Affairs. McDonald will inherit a department riddled with deep-rooted problems. So what does the appointment of an outsider from the private sector say about the future of the VA? 

Hobby Lobby does not have to comply with the ACA's contraception requirement.

Most workers save their sick days for when they're most needed.

Author Paul Greenberg says we could fix our aquaculture infrastructure.

The long tail of the recession still wreaks havoc on renters' real estate market.

We talk with Jen Banbury about her article on modern changes to Amish culture.

And it'll cost the automaker another $1.2 billion.

Why knowing so much about your feelings is key to Facebook’s success.

We're looking for stories when the fine print tripped you up.

The French bank lost big time.

Robert McDonald's P&G past, trouble in Atlantic City, and financial planners for political giving.

A research study produces an Internet backlash

The Showboat Hotel Casino in Atlantic City will shut down, as its owner seeks to shore up its other casinos in the area. There’s been a boom in the number of East Coast casinos in recent years, saturating the market and driving down revenues. Also, with so much money flooding into politics, it raises the question: How do the wealthy figure out who to contribute to? Turns out, there’s a person out there who can help, almost a financial planner, but for political giving. And after, if you happen to be transgender, work isn’t always an easy place to be. Transgender people often face discrimination, and are twice as likely to be unemployed as the rest of the population. But as Ashley Milne-Tyte reports, transgender experiences at the office can tell us a lot about the status of men and women at work.     

First up, April Glaser, an activist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, talks about what’s next in the ongoing discussion about Net Neutrality. Plus, Marketplace Tech reporter Tracey Samuelson has more on the banking technologies coming out of Fintech – an innovation lab in New York that helps financial service startups develop new products. Finally, we speak to Dayo Olopade, author of The Bright Continent: Breaking Rules and Making Change in Modern Africa.

A boom in East Coast casinos has washed out tax revenue in old gambling hubs.

Sales of “Hard Choices” slipped significantly after its first week on sale.

How many degrees does it take to pull off a prank?

A "donor-side consultant" helps the wealthy figure out which candidates to back.

What can we learn from a gathering of financial technology start-ups?

Robert McDonald led Procter & Gamble during a rocky four years.

Transgender experiences show a lot about how men and women fare in the workplace.