Week of March 9th, 2015

Super fans are driving music purchases.

Cities are looking at variable rates as a way to raise money and control traffic

Alex Gibney and Lawrence Wright talk about their new HBO film

In two years, Pope Francis has radically reformed the Church's governance and bank

The federal government begins its almost-annual dance with default on Sunday.

What does growing up in New York's Chinatown teach you about money?

Media Guru Arianna Huffington touts the importance of sleep in her latest book

Some bars around the country are training staff in preventing rape and harassment.

Hundreds of tons of shredded money are burned each year to generate electricity.

Plus some of the other great stuff we learned listening to Marketplace this week

MIT's admissions notifications are going out at a thoroughly appropriate hour.

A new report suggests the legal age to buy cigarettes should jump from 18 to 21.

Fewer applicants for teaching reflects more competition in the job market

Here are the stories we're reading and numbers we're watching Friday afternoon.

Airing on Friday, March 13, 2015: Teach for America received nearly 44,000 applications by last week’s deadline — 12 percent fewer than last year. Is this a correction given the improving labor market or are potential applicants finding better public service opportunities elsewhere. Plus, this week the FDA released a report suggesting the legal age to buy cigarettes should jump from 18 to 21. The savings to public health costs would be significant, but on the other side of that economic equation is the U.S. tobacco industry. It’s worth $100 billion a year, but for how much longer?

First up: After a rally Thursday, the stocks were trending down in the first hours of trading Friday. We check in with Christopher Lowe from FTN Financial to talk falling wholesale prices, raising oil production and reading the Fed’s tea leaves. Then, the federal government will begin its almost-annual dance with default on Sunday: the […]

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

Chicago paid more than half a billion dollars over 10 years, and it's not alone.

Airing on Friday, March 13, 2015: China is leading the charge to build a global lender that could someday rival the World Bank, now Britain is joining in, rankling the White House. We get an update from the Financial Times’ George Parker. Then: The White House has been looking at problems with local law enforcement. Not only did the Justice Department issue its report on Ferguson, Missouri, but a presidential task force on 21st Century Policing issued a report in March. In addition to the social costs, police misconduct costs money.  One watchdog group found that Chicago paid out more than half a billion dollars over a 10-year period. How does the tab get so high?

Airing on Friday, March 13, 2015: Today, we’re coming to you from an Austin bar, where we will take a look at the impact of SXSW visitors on the city.  First, Ben speaks with Marketplace’s Adriene Hill about the shift from SXSWedu to SXSW Interactive. Next up is Silicon Tally with Will Hurley, a longtime member of Austin’s tech community and the CEO of Honest Dollar, a company launching at SXSW Interactive this week. And finally, we talk with Matt Wright, co-founder of Wright Bros. Brew and Brew, about “the badge” as a symbol of SXSW, and what impact the event has for a new business like his. 

A survey found 34 percent of taxpayers will pay down debt with their refund.

There’s a new set of companies getting into the mattress game, and they’re disrupting the traditional model of lying on bed after bed to compare. Kyle Stock explores the mattress industry and the newcomers that are changing things up in his piece, “New Startups Aren’t Keeping Big Mattresses Up At Night,” for Bloomberg Business. In […]

While small ski areas struggle, larger ones are finding new ways to make a profit.

“Nearline” offers faster retrieval for older data.

Airing on Thursday, March 12, 2015: The Federal Reserve just released the results of its second round of stress tests, and two European banks have failed. We chat with the BBC’s Andrew Walker about what went wrong. Next up: Bankrate.com issues its survey on how Americans intend to use their tax refunds. Are Americans really as frugal and responsible as they claim to be? Finally, we get the latest dispatch the LearningCurve team at the SXSWedu conference in Austin.

On this week’s episode, Marketplace and our partners at the BBC head to China for the next segment of our Six Routes series. We’ve got stories that try to push through through the opaque, and pull back the curtain. The road to comfort and prosperity is rarely an easy one, for people, for nations, and for technology. We go from the Chinese economy to the mysteries of Scientology. Plus, a former FBI agent reveals the secrets behind a great first impression. Turns out it’s all about body language. 

Can fine wine be far behind?

The Federal Communications Center releases its open internet order

Here are the stories we're reading and numbers we're watching Thursday.

What should be a simple question doesn't always have a simple answer.

The DOH does snap inspections, whereas banks have plenty of time to prepare.

Survival rates for some surgeries vary widely, depending on the hospital.

Airing on Thursday, March 12, 2015: How’s this for a terrifying number: Your chance of surviving any of four high-risk surgeries varies by 23 percent, depending on which hospital you choose. We unpack why that is and what consumers ought to make of it. Plus, do all these stress tests mean our banks are safe now — safe as in, is it “safe” to eat that piece of sushi in your local Japanese restaurant safe? How do the fed tests compare to how the Department of Health checks on the safety of restaurants? We explain. Also, the FTC is taking DirecTV to court, claiming that its advertising for a popular $20 package was deceptive to customers and that the terms were not properly disclosed. But complicated terms and extra fees buried in the fine print are part of an advertising model that’s used across the industry. We take a broader look at this model and ask why it’s in place.  

Kids in a study wasted less cafeteria food after USDA lunch rules were implemented.

First up: The ride services Uber and Lyft failed to convince a pair of U.S. judges on Wednesday that their drivers are “independent contractors” rather than regular employees. Class-action lawsuits – brought by drivers of both companies – will now go to jury trial, the results for which could have important consequences for the sharing economy. […]

Hundreds of people live in a Ho Chi Minh City graveyard taken 0ver by the city

What's actually fun, and what's just "chocolate covered broccoli?"

Airing on Thursday, March 12, 2015: This is a special SXSWedu edition from our coverage in Austin this week. Marketplace’s Adriene Hill, and the Learning Curve team, have taken over today – they have the latest from SXSWedu on what new research and technology have to tell us about the way kids learn.        

Smaller hedge funds are hoping to beat out their larger counterparts.

We made a quiz to help you decide.

Issues of inspiration and copyright get even more complicated over decades.

LearningCurve's Adriene Hill talks to Kai Ryssdal about new tech from SXSWedu.

Here are the stories we're reading and numbers we're watching Wednesday.

GM's $10 billion shareholder payout could have autoworkers pushing for a raise.

Apple files a patent for "metal matrix composite."

Experts say local governments have been relying on police ticketing and fees

The dollar remains strong against other currencies. What's the effect on consumers?

The expansion of solar power to replace nuclear has hit a wall: The capacity of Japan's grid.

Airing on Wednesday, March 11, 2015: Four years after Japan turned off its nuclear generators because of the Fukushima disaster, the country is struggling to build a new electricity network. The country has invested heavily in solar, but its experience reveals the challenges involved in integrating this intermittent source of power into a grid maintained by traditional utilities. We explore. Plus, as the dollar remains strong against other major currencies such as the Euro and the Yen, we ask what is the effect on the average consumer? And after, one of the things the Department of Justice criticized the Ferguson Police Department for was its aggressive ticketing policies — and Ferguson is not the first or the only department to be censured for this. To what extent do police departments around the country use fines — from speeding, to parking, to running red lights — to keep them in the black. And how ethical is this as a business model for a public service. This and more.

Packaged food companies' big brands are suffering as consumers opt for fresh food.

TFA received a $50 million federal grant in 2010 to put more teachers in classrooms.

The dollar is on a 12-year high driven by the potential for high interest rates, but what does that mean for the markets? We check in with Payden & Rygel chief economist Jeffrey Cleveland. Next, GM announced this week it’ll give shareholders $5 billion in dividends and a $5 billion stock buyback. That’s good news for investors, […]

Taxpayers are on the hook after changes in the Farm Bill

A Swiss company is looking to the air to cut transportation costs in Africa.

Results are due Wednesday and not all banks might pass this time.

First up: bankers scanning the results of the first round of the Federal Reserve’s stress breathed a small sigh of relief last week. Thirty-one of the biggest U.S. banks were under the microscope, and all 31 passed. But it’s not over yet. Today the Fed announces part two of the annual stress test designed to see whether banks have enough capital to withstand another financial meltdown. Why is this such an important issue for banks and to what extent is it changing how the banking industry works? Then: The UK isn’t hitting NATO’s targets for defense spending, and now the government is reportedly looking into some “creative accounting” to meet targets. We look into it. Finally: We chat with Keith Ferrazzi over at Ferrazzi Greenlight about business relationships.  

LearningCurve's Adriene Hill explains a growing trend at this year's conference.

Hilary Clinton finally spoke to reporters on Tuesday, defending her use of a private email account as a matter of “convenience.” We spoke with Politico’s Kyle Cheney and technology reporter Glenn Fleishman to find out more. Next up is Matthew Wall, business and technology reporter from the BBC, who chats with us about delivery drones in Africa. Finally, Marketplace’s Adriene Hill to talk about emotional learning technologies at SXSWedu, the education conference that’s underway in Austin.  

Airing on Tuesday, March 10, 2015: The rarified world of international banking is getting some new talent with news the longtime CEO of Credit Suisse is out. Although the management change was sudden it hardly comes out of nowhere, given the Swiss bank’s struggles in recent years with new regulations that followed the 2008 financial collapse. More on that. Plus, when the housing market exploded, the fall out rained particularly hard on a handful of U.S. cities: Las Vegas, Phoenix, Atlanta. Yet in the last year, home prices across the country continued to edge up, leading to some optimism that even hard-hit cities were recovering. But if you visit the suburbs of Atlanta, you might find a tale of two recoveries.  

Marketplace listeners are the 14 percent.

Banks, the IRS and others rely on the "death master file."

The Dow and S&P 500 fell markedly on Tuesday, dropping into negative territory for the year. But what was the proximate cause?

Airing on Tuesday, March 10, 2015: An audit from the Inspector General says the Social Security Administration lists more than 6 million people born before 1901 as still alive. The real number is about three dozen, and that’s worldwide. There’s a cost to this inefficient record keeping — not just a loss in trust in government, but also the increased potential for fraud. After all, information from that Social Security master list of deaths gets sold publicly. We investigate. Plus, we explain the market factors contributing to current losses on Wall Street. Also, is the app-based service economy killing the full-time job? We take a look at the down side of what some call the Uber economy.

Mexicans who have lived in the U.S. are finding good-paying jobs in call centers.

Technology puts more services at our fingertips, but at what cost?

Only 47 members of Congress listed student loans in their financial disclosures.

Sharing patient information is a key to improving patient health.

Party for parity, Goldman Sachs' failing grade, and grads in the high-tech industry.

#fakeSXSW strikes again.

Airing on Tuesday, March 10, 2015: Apple just unveiled the price tag for its line of smartwatches. First, we speak with Lindsey Turrentine, Editor-in-Chief of CNET.com, about how much the Apple Watch costs and who’s going to buy it? Next, we take a look at companies responding to a more competitive labor market in general by emphasizing more on campus recruiting and marketing themselves to new workers. At the same time, companies are also recognizing that new workers aren’t staying around very long no matter how much time and effort has gone into recruiting them.

The Federal Reserve might put limits on the bank's buying back of its own stock.

Recruitment of engineers and computer science graduates is up more than 50 percent.

Using smartphones could significantly help our understanding of disease.

Here are the numbers we're reading and watching for Tuesday.

First generation products are about convincing you that the product is cool.

CyPhy Works CEO Helen Greiner has big plans for flying robots.

Girls score higher than boys in reading, but girls are less confident in science.

Trying to fix an error on your credit report? Here's some good news!

The tech industry is especially having difficulty finding qualified people who want to sell

The company's open-plan stores and sales reps must adapt to selling fashion-tech.

There's not much evidence that Daylight Savings Time actually cuts down on electricity use.

Following investor pressure, GM says it will return $10 billion to shareholders

When it comes to a bribery investigation, a number of factors are considered.

Airing on Monday, March 9, 2015: There’s a saying in politics — “The only difference between a campaign contribution and a bribe is timing.” When it comes to filing criminal charges, that sentiment may not be too far off. With Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey likely facing corruption charges, we look at how the law and the courts figure out the line between contributions and bribes. Plus, a group of hedge funds decided they didn’t like the fact that General Motors has a large amount of cash sitting around in the bank doing nothing. The group threatened to try to get a troublemaker on the GM board unless the company agreed to buy back $5 billion of its shares, and return that cash to its shareholders. GM caved, and the buyback begins soon. We look at who benefits when a company buys back shares. And who loses. Also, Apple CEO Tim Cook took the stage today to talk about the Apple watch in a live streaming event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, California. How will the company’s focus on wearable technology affect its retail space and how will the store shopping public respond? We investigate.  

A six year bull market, robots choosing sponsored ads, and today's job market.

Airing on Monday, March 9, 2015: Today, the biggest credit reporting companies will announce changes on how they collect, check and report on the bill paying habits of 200 million Americans. Changes are focused on how they handle errors on the all-important reports and how those reports track unpaid medical bills. We have more on this emerging story. Plus, privacy advocates are concerned about a cyber security bill drafted by the Senate Intelligence Committee. The committee wants to make it easier for companies to share information on potential cyber attacks with the government. Critics counter that ‘sharing’ will make it easier for the government to spy on its own citizens. We explore. Plus, as Marketplace heads South to Austin, TX for SXSW, reporter Adriene Hill joins us to talk about SXSWedu, a festival and conference where education meets innovation.

Airing on Monday, March 9, 2015: First up, we’ll talk to Kelly Jasper, Contributing Editor at the watch Magazine Hodinkee, talks about setting a price range for the Apple Watch. And when a Jennifer Aniston ad for Aveeno appears just before a jihadi training video on You Tube, Proctor and Gamble is not amused. On today’s show, we explain how this could happen. For one, ads are automatically placed before videos, and advertisers can’t exert much control over this. And Ben speaks with Will Oremus, Senior Tech writer for Slate, about the new Googleplex. 

A new bill is dividing U.S. companies and alarming online privacy advocates.

Algorithms created awkward ad placement.

Here's a look ahead to Marketplace's trip down South to SXSW.

The biggest credit reporting companies are changing how they report scores.

But job-seekers still have to deploy all the latest technology to get noticed.

And why Mountain View, CA is not exactly thrilled.