Week of October 20th, 2014

What is that one thing you refuse to give up?

It's the weekend, so let's have brunch.

Author Chris Black's new book puts you in your place.

The small community could set a precedent for the future of drilling in Texas.

Lisa Kudrow still makes money off "Smelly Cat," and more about how actors get paid.

Tracking the human contacts of an Ebola patient using his digital contacts.

P&G announces plans to spin off Duracell.

As the Ebola story unfolds, authorities in New York have Dr. Spencer’s own account as a starting point, but are helped by the multiple electronic checkpoints of life in Gotham. Plus, P&G spins off Duracell, and we take a look at the business and the history. 

Email is terrible. We send a lot of it.

Lots of kids won't go to college, and need career training in high school

Amazon is taking a $170 million hit on the Fire phone. Let's do the numbers.

The first patient with Ebola in NYC, the EU vows to cut emissions, and UPS hires for Christmas.

National survey tracks high school-to-college transition rates.

A Columbia University physician who traveled to Guinea to care for Ebola patients is now in isolation at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. He fell ill and later tested positive for Ebola. More on New York’s preparedness for such a situation. Plus, UPS will hire 95,000 temporary workers this holiday season, and is experimenting with new ways for customers to pick up packages. The hiring spree aims to avoid last year’s catastrophe when Christmas presents were delivered late due to a lack of staff. And on Friday, presidential elections take place in Botswana in southern Africa. The country is the world’s largest diamond producer, but has managed to avoid the “resources curse” that troubles many such nations. But whomever is elected will have to address the economic disparity that still exists within the country. And lastly, the midterm election is just eleven days away, and we learned this week that when all’s said and done, Democrats, Republicans and outside groups will have spent close to $4 billion campaigning. That’ll make this “the most expensive midterm ever,” according to the Center for Responsive Politics. We speak with Rob Collins, who heads up the Republican Party’s efforts to win a senate majority.  

First up, Queena Kim joins us to talk about Luxe Valet, an app that promises to valet park your car anywhere in San Francisco. And how well have you kept up with the week in tech news? Host Ben Johnson takes on Kevin Roose, writer at New York Magazine, for this week’s Silicon Tally.

How well have you kept up with the week in tech news?

The victor must diversify the diamond-rich economy to ensure continued growth.

In the "instant gratification" economy, even parking has an app.

As e-commerce grows, so do holiday shipping demands.

Yes, they actually counted how many toilets exist in your city.

The everything store with everything but profits.

Thousands of UNC students took fake classes for good grades. Let's do the numbers.

Catfish farmer Townsend Kyser on how the economy feels. Plus, a catfish recipe.

Sam Weiner and Daniel Kibblesmith on a future with screens all around us.

Welding meets AP calculus at Minuteman High School in Lexington, Massachusetts

Google tries to reinvent email with its new invitation-only Inbox.

With news of dismal earnings, are blue chips losing their sheen?

With a trend of dismal earnings for the likes of IBM, Coke and McDonald’s, blue chip companies appear to have lost their sheen. We trace the evolution of the blue chip company since its beginnings, and ask what does it mean today – and who are the new generation of blue chip companies. Plus, we’re going there: Email.  It’s a giant time waster, expensive productivity suck, and all over pain in the…

This weekend, Lizzie O’Leary talks with Marketplace’s Tracey Samuelson about how Liberian communities in the U.S. are coping with Ebola back home. Then, here in the US, big media companies are struggling to adapt to the internet as more people rely on smartphones to get the news. The BBC’s Will Ross explains that it’s even more pronounced in Africa, where internet use on mobile phones is set to increase twenty times over the next five years. Ben Walsh from the Huffington Post and NY Mag’s Jessica Pressler join us for brunch. Chris Black discusses tips from his book, “I Know You Think You Know it All: Advice to Help you stop Looking like a Jerk in Public and Online.” 

Bethany McLean charts Microsoft, and where it needs to head next.

A good week for markets, Amazon vs Google, and asking questions about water.

Just how much does Facebook’s founder “like” China? Yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg delivered a 30 minute speech, in Mandarin, at Tsinghua University. It’s part of a larger effort to court the Chinese market. More on that. Plus: Southwest used to be a small regional airline, and has kept customers on board throughout its growth with a rare lack of fees. Fuel prices should be down, but the company is looking to charge for baggage for the first time, even as it tries to expand overseas. And Microsoft has had three CEOs since it was founded in 1975: Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, and Satya Nadella, who’s been on the job eight months now. As Bethany McLean writes in this month’s Vanity Fair magazine, this is a pivotal moment for Microsoft and its leadership as the company shifts focus to cloud computing and mobile devices.  

Today, we take a look at Amazon’s earnings through the lens of their competition with Google over search tools. Then, Chester Wisneiwski, Senior Security Advisor at Sophos, talks to us about medical device security. Finally, Amar Toor, Reporter at the Verge, joins us to chat about the chatabot “Sweetie” that was used to catch and convict an online sex offender in Australia.

The Facebook founder wowed his audience with a 30 minute speech in Mandarin.

An attempt to squeeze out extra profits created turbulence.

Amazon is Google's chief rival in the search business.

Young adults with degrees are increasingly moving to inner cities.

Salmon are returning to the Columbia River at levels not seen in nearly a century.

Online retailers raise average cost of qualifying for service.

Nelson Bunker Hunt bought silver as a hedge against the time's raging inflation

Four in 10 people say they've been harassed online. Let's do the numbers.

Oligarchs were once at risk if they stepped out of line. Now, there's danger even if they don't.

How homeowners historically reached the average number.

There are some good economic reasons no one created an Ebola vaccine – yet. Now multiple companies, including Johnson & Johnson, are racing to produce a cure. The business rationale changed in part due to the size of the outbreak itself, but also an increasingly interested market and potential payday. Plus: New regulations aimed at preventing another housing crisis have been finalized, only they don’t include a down payment requirement. Financial experts think homeowners should put down 20 percent to be safe, but where did that number come from in the first place? Also: Seemingly out of nowhere in 1979, the Hunt brothers attempted to corner the silver market, pushing up prices almost 1,000 percent as they bought rights to nearly half of the silver in the open market. But when the commodities markets responded by changing the rules for margin trading, they went bust. Following the death of Nelson Bunker Hunt on Tuesday, Oct. 21, we look at why this strange bubble can’t really happen again.

Believe it or not, experts say the profit motive is secondary.

Lizzie O'Leary talks to the Washington Post's federal reporter Lisa Rein.

It’s no longer enough to just place a brand into a storyline.

The CPI increases slightly, and banks struggle to comply with the Volcker Rule.

Investors in Europe seem happier today after several big American companies reported stronger than expected earnings. We’ve talked about last week’s market turmoil. When there’s that kind of stock market volatility, there’s this impulse to attribute it to something. More on that. And a new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office says that lifting restrictions on exporting crude oil restrictions that have been in place for 40 years could drive down gasoline prices. Well, that report was written more than a month ago, and oh, how things have changed since then. That was before world oil prices and U.S. gasoline prices slid significantly. We look at whether or not that changes the equation.  

First up, Shar VanBoskirk, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, joins us to reflect on Yahoo earnings. Then, Marketplace reporter Sabri Ben-Achour jumps on the show to talk about how digital tools are helping banks keep track of changing rules and regulations. Finally, Gabriel Sama, Managing Editor of CNET en Español, discusses why there aren’t more Latinos in the tech industry.

It's hard to know where prices will be a year from now

Spending on gubernatorial races is higher than on Senate contests.

Dodd-Frank goes digital.

Women with bachelor's degrees in the humanities earn less than men in other majors.

Where is McDonald's place in the low-cost, fast food market?

Federal safety officials urge drivers to heed airbag recall notices.

China's growth is declining. Europe is struggling. Which pains the U.S. most?

And the documentary filmmaker is trying to change that.

The Chinese economy grew at its slowest pace in five years during the third quarter. A cloudy forecast across the pond raises the question of if economic stalling in Europe or China is the greater threat to the U.S. economy. Next: In today’s cheap fast-food market, where does McDonald’s fit in? The company’s third-quarter sales were worse than expected, with any number of reasons to blame, including food supplier controversies, service and lower pricing from competitors. Plus: Airbag manufacturer Takata does business with  Toyota, Honda, Nissan and BMW, just to name a few. The recent recall of airbags in several makes of cars is complicated by the widespread supply to so many different manufacturers.

Making cement and concrete produces a ton of CO2, but there might be a better way.

Having protective gear is part of the solution, but so is an educated workforce.

For less than $10, you can order Ebola online and take it home — not the disease itself but rather, a cuddly, worm-shaped mock up of the virus. “GIANT Microbes” are stuffed animals that resemble tiny microbes, only at one million times their actual size. The website says the characters are designed to be “appealing personalities” […]

McDonald's earnings McSlump and the Notorious R.B.G.: Here's what we're reading.

A look at the designer, businessman, and entrepreneur.

The fast food chain saw a drop in sales around the world.

A check-in with Yahoo, a look at Oscar de la Renta's career, and the economics of the world series.

Investors have been concerned about slow growth in Europe, but now they’re looking at China—The country is going to have a hard time hitting its goal for growth it set for this year. More on that. Plus, we head to Staten Island to talk about how Ebola has had an economic impact one of the largest Liberian communities in America.  

With Yahoo posting its third quarter earnings today, company CEO Marissa Meyer looks set to provide new information on how the company will evaluate possible acquisitions and cost cutting measures. Meyer has come under increasing pressure of late. What does Meyer need to do to keep her investors happy and is her strategy working? Plus, Lindsey Turrentine, Editor-in-Chief of Reviews at CNET, on low-end smartwatches. Finally, Jonathan Zittrain, Professor of Law at Harvard & Co-Founder of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, joins us to talk about domain name speculation and Ebola.com.  

Yahoo posts its earnings today. Is Marissa Mayer's strategy paying off?

Millions will flood into Kansas City and San Francisco. But will they stay?

We look at Ebola's economic impact on the Liberian community in America.

New study ranks states based on enrollment and graduation rates.

The dip in oil prices is looking like a sustained drop. What are the consequences?

IBM is paying someone $1.5 billion to buy its chipmaker division. Sometimes it’s more cost effective to pay someone to take a division off your hands than to wind it down yourself. Plus, The drop in oil prices looks like a sustained drop – which amounts to a 20 percent discount on one of the global economy’s chief drivers. This is a dramatic economic development with many potential consequences.   

So there has been all kinds of volatility on Wall Street lately — triple digit ups and downs. Well, consider this: 27 years ago yesterday, October 19, 1987, was ‘Black Monday.’ The Dow was off 22 percent that day which came out to 508 points. The next day, known as ‘Terrible Tuesday,’ nearly caused the New York Stock Exchange […]

By paying to split off its chipmaking arm, IBM may actually be getting a deal.

The Apple Pay "gold rush" and good news on the Ebola crisis: Let's do the numbers.

Tackling the scariest problems in your finances.

The number of year-round public schools is small, but growing fast.

IBM is paying $1.5 billion to GlobalFoundries Inc. to take over its the division.

Kai Ryssdal talks to Jim Dwyer about his new book "More Awesome than Money."

Consultants create super PACs to raise money and use that money to pay themselves.

IBM sells chips, SolarCity sells bonds, and tech sells "the next billion."

  Today, Apple of Cupertino, California will reveal how much money it’s been making. Take those profits, divide by the number of shares, and the result could be a record. But with the release of the new, thinner iPad, there’s talk that growth for tablets is slowing. But even beyond tablets and the iPhone, Apple has some other money makers. More on that. And the American Indian College Fund celebrates its 25th anniversary. We look at why American Indians and Alaska Natives make up just 1 percent of college students today and why they are much less likely to graduate than other groups of students. Plus, we’re coming up on two years since Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast, wrecking or paralyzing the New Jersey shore, Manhattan, New York’s Long Island and beyond. Scientists predict by the middle of this century, low lying areas from Boston to Baltimore will flood frequently due to climate change. These long-term forecasts are putting increasing pressure on state and local governments to boost their financial resilience.

First up, Will Oremus, Senior Tech Writer for Slate, discusses why Apple’s future isn’t tied to iPad sales. Then, Queena Kim talks about the “The Next Billion,” which is shorthand for the next billion people coming online. Who are they? Finally, Peter Eckersley, Technology Projects Director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, on traditional tech industry practices and why they don’t lend themselves to secure communication apps.

Raising capital isn't SolarCity's number one reason for borrowing.

The fund aims to bolster lagging American Indian graduation rates.

Cheap smartphones in emerging economies could help the tech industry's survival.

The bottom 40 percent of Americans make less now than they did 25 years ago.

Changing climates put pressure on local government to boost financial resilience.