Week of March 23rd, 2015

If you see a vacant building for lease in the neighborhood, chances are there was a bank there at one point. We’re seeing it at financial institutions big and small — from Citigroup, now operating in fewer cities, to FirstMerit, which is closing 16 branches in four states.  Between direct deposits and ATMs, walking into […]

How presiding over victim funds changed his planning.

There are programs to train more women for those jobs, but progress is slow.

In this next installment of ConJan versations from the Corner Office, American Apparel CEO Dov Charney talks about his plans for the future.

The dolls she bought her daughters also fulfilled her own childhood desires.

Next week, we’re talking about recycling. How does reuse factor into your financial life? Maybe you’re in the market for a used car, or passed along your old baby clothes to a friend. Tell us your story of economic recycling. Write to us, or tweet us — we’re at @MarketplaceWKND.

MIT engineering professor Richard Larson aka "Dr. Queue" on why lines make us tick

Author Rory Vaden discusses how waiting could help you be more productive.

Airing on Friday, March 27, 2015: Amazon is reportedly in talks to buy the London-based luxury online fashion retailer Net-A-Porter. This would be a significant acquisition for Amazon both in terms of the size of the deal and its nature — the E-commerce giant is so far not known for its presence in the high-end fashion market. Plus, word came this week that Facebook has been testing drones in the U.K. that can beam Internet access to the ground via laser. The drone industry is growing fast, even as U.S. regulations on unmanned aircraft continue to be worked out. We look at what the U.S. risks losing if it lags on rulemaking.  

On this week’s episode, we explore the economics of waiting. Guest host David Lazarus speaks with Richard Larson, aka “Dr. Queue,” about how businesses can optimize their line experience. Author Rory Vaden discusses some of the financial advantages of procrastination, and Marketplace’s own Paddy Hirsch talks about the wait for the Greek economy to collapse. We hear stories from a process server about waiting on the job, and from listeners about waiting in their personal economies. 

Prices often remain a mystery in the $3 trillion a year healthcare sector.

Earlier this week, the now former CEO of American Apparel, Dov Charney, decided to move forward with a $40 million wrongful termination lawsuit against the company he founded.

Facebook and Amazon are testing while American agencies finalize the rules.

Most public elementary school teachers have some kind of post-secondary degree.

A look at the week that was…

Whoever has the highest salary pays the restaurant bill. For several reasons.

Questions over liability, the European Union looks at e-commerce, and garbage fine dining.

The menu at Dan Barber's restaurant features dishes made only from food waste.

Airing on Friday, March 27, 2015:  We take a look at the European Union’s upcoming investigation into how e-commerce sites like Amazon operate in its twenty-eight countries. There’s a concern that these companies are violating the EU’s antitrust laws by blocking cross border trade. Next, we talk with Pai-Ling Yin, a Social Science Research Scholar at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, about the proliferation of livestreaming services. And Ben Richmond, contributing editor to Vice’s Motherboard, joins us for this week’s Silicon Tally!     

Airing on Friday, March 27, 2015: Prices are not budging in Japan at a time that policymakers really wanted to see prices rise some. There’s news today inflation in Japan is zero. Sinking oil is one reason, but consumers are still tentative about buying things. That’s despite extensive efforts by the Japanese goverment to stimulate things, a set of policies called “Abenomics”. More on that. Plus, 3G Capital plans to put into place “zero based budgeting” at Kraft. We explain what this means and how it works. And for people who have too much to do, don’t want to think much about food or are tired of microwaving plastic from the freezer, there is something called Soylent. It’s a powder that turns into a bland, beige shake. Soylent is produced by a start up company that’s been attracting some serious venture capital from big Silicon Valley names. We talk about, and taste, the product.

No, it's not people.

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

The European Commission says there may be evidence of anti-competitive behavior.

Think of it as a diet for your company's budget.

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

Plant nurseries strive to stand out in a post-recession landscape.

Periscope, Meerkat, YouNow and others have ushered in a new "wild west."

His grandfather taught him how to save, spend, give and think about money

Airing on Thursday, March 26, 2015: With the Saudi-led coalition bombing targets in Yemen to stop advances by Houthi rebels, the price of oil right now is up 4 percent. That’s a dramatic spike, given that Yemen accounts for a tiny percentage of the world’s oil. More on that. Plus, did you know that nearsightedness causes people to make bad decisions about money? I’m talking about a kind of myopia that can’t be fixed by the optometrist. It’s the human tendency to see the future as hazy and the present sharply in focus. Behavioral economists have a fancy name for it: “hyperbolic discounting”. Joseph Kable, a neuroscientist in the Department of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, joins us to talk about it.  

Even Michael Jordan gets a check.

Airing on Thursday, March 26, 2015: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has a bunch of new rules for payday lenders. But why do payday lenders even exist? The fact is, people need them, and the reason they need them is because there is no alternative. The U.S. has a large gap in its financial infrastructure that other countries have plugged with reputable, often government-sponsored institutions. Why don’t’ we have something similar here? Plus, Congress is close to finally coming up with a long-term solution to how doctors who see Medicare patients are paid. It’s been almost 20 years of patchwork fixes. But in fixing a problem that dates to 1997, the government would force doctors to make some much needed upgrades they haven’t yet had to make, like being able to provide patient outcome data. Also, the airline industry isn’t like other industries. It’s nearly unique in that when a plane goes down — no matter which carrier it’s with — the entire industry is affected. And everyone who’s flying, thinking about flying, working for an airline, etc., feels more vulnerable. We look at how that phenomenon plays out, and the types of plans/approaches the industry puts into motion after a crash.  

Doctors will need new IT infrastructure to deal with proposed changes.

Everyone who’s flying, or working for an airline, feels more vulnerable.

The percentage of 12-17 year olds in gifted classes rose 6 points in a decade.

Airstrikes in Yemen, "regulatory capture," and money lessons from playing in a rock band.

Swatting, the act of calling a SWAT team as a prank, isn't just victimizing men.

Airing on Thursday, March 26, 2015: First up, we talk with William McGeveran, Associate Professor, University of Minnesota Law School, about selling customer data in the RadioShack auction. Next, we take a look at Microsoft new policy that all (U.S.) vendors with 50 employees or more must offer their employees 10 days paid vacation and 5 days sick leave, or some combination thereof.  What impact might this have, and beyond publicity, what’s in it for Microsoft? And we’ll also speak with Sarah Jeong, a tech policy journalist, about doxxing and swatting. 

A new report finds that the health insurance business model has adapted to the ACA.

The tech giant says all its contractors must offer employees at least 15 days off.

Why one Wall Street lawyer thinks "regulatory capture" is a myth.

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

Kai Ryssdal doesn't like to think about money. So his wife handles it.

In personal finance, it's easy to focus too much on the present.

Profligate spending became an easy outlet for her insecurities.

A Missouri rancher learned his financial lesson the hard way.

The rap artist learned an expensive lesson about mixing business with pleasure.

A Chinese taxi driver asked a blunt question about personal wealth

Children can benefit from honest talk about money and debt.

Olalah Njenga went against her instincts, at a cost in time, training and talent.

Mountain climbing changed how Carl Richards views economic risk.

The singer's Depression-era mother taught her the value of thrift.

Hobson, president of Ariel Investments, learns money can't come first in career.

A.T. Cross supplies all of the official White House pens.

Nielsen plans to release audience data for streaming television.

Airing on Wednesday March 25, 2015: The Republican budget proposal — more a political document than a financial one, to be sure — is up for votes in Congress today and tomorrow. Like the president’s budget before it, this one is expected to find away around some of the spending cuts laid out under sequestration. The wiggling around and out of those across-the-board cuts started pretty much as soon as they were enacted, and is a good lesson in how federal spending works these days. We explore. Plus, the BBC today announced it is not renewing the contract of Jeremy Clarkson, host of the car show “Top Gear,” who is said to have assaulted his producer. The show is massively popular globally and brings in sales worth an estimated $50 million a year. The gruff Clarkson is a big part of its success despite complaints about his past comments on the show, which many viewers see as racist. We take a look at the business calculation of firing a controversial host.  

ICANN’s new internet domain names include several academic extensions.

Is firing a volatile but popular host good business?

The Budget Control Act of 2011 is supposed to cap government spending.

What happens when you combine two companies to make the world's fifth largest food and beverage company?

A train whistle can evoke far-away places and adventure. Also, lawsuits.

A giant food merger, RadioShack's batteries die, and a look at the liberal arts education.

The economic recovery means smaller liabilities for public pension funds.

How did it come to this?

Airing on Wednesday, March 25, 2015: You may know that many of the beers you drink are produced by a Belgian-Brazilian conglomerate known as Anheuser-Busch InBev. There’s word just now that Heinz of ketchup fame is merging with Kraft of Mac and Cheese, Jello, Oscar Meyer and Philadelphia cream cheese fame. The Brazilian angle? At the center of this estimated $40 billion deal is a Brazilian private equity fund known as 3G Capital that already controls Heinz. Plus, Apollo Group, the parent company of the University of Phoenix, reports earnings this morning. For-profit colleges have seen enrollments decline, thanks to negative publicity and an improving economy. But the biggest threat right now might be from traditional universities competing for students online. And Radioshack is bankrupt and on the auction block. We talk to Heather Landy, global news editor for Quartz, who has been digging deep into the sad demise of the Shack.

Airing on Wednesday, March 25, 2015: First up, we talk with Molly Wood, Tech Columnist for the New York Times, about the expansion of Facebook Messenger. Next, Ben talks with Princess Reema Bint Bandar Al-Saud, a member of the Saudi royal family, about retail training for Saudi women and why social media can be a complicated tool in Saudi Arabia.  

For-profit colleges have seen enrollments decline due to an improving economy.

Princess Reema talks about her efforts to train women to join the workforce.

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

Women make up fewer than 3 percent of construction workers.

Writers and artists are finding financial support from Corporate America.

Banks' efforts to curb money laundering and terror financing may have backfired.

The Pentagon is searching for a new official supplier. Will Beretta keep the job?

Investor Erik Moore has watched two days of pitches a select group of start-ups

The auto-insurance industry could lose billions in the shift to automated cars.

Creating economic stability for India means transforming the informal economy.

With his wife on leave, the family had lost its health care.

Airing on Tuesday, March 24, 2015: Three banks have had their “living wills” turned down by regulators. Living wills are instructions that you draw up for doctors and lawyers and accountants, to facilitate your demise and the arrangement of your estate, should you become incapacitated. Pretty simple, really. So why is it so hard for banks? Plus, Facebook is quietly holding talks with at least half a dozen media companies about hosting their content. Details on how this will actually work are scarce but why does Facebook want to do this and why would media companies agree? We investigate.  

The company wants to cut content deals. Why? And who wins?

Three big banks have had their failure plans rejected by regulators.

Almost two-thirds of school administrators are women.

A group of news organizations may soon be publishing content directly to Facebook.

The effects of oil on industry, warnings about e-cigarettes, and spices become a hot item.

Airing on Tuesday, March 24, 2015: First up is Nidhi Kalra, Information scientist at the RAND Corporation, to talk about autonomous vehicles. Next, we ask why Big tobacco wants us to know that E-cigarettes are bad for us. What’s driving this public health message? Also, Ben speaks with Lindsey Turrentine, Editor-in-Chief of CNET.com, about the Internet of things in your yard.   

Airing on Tuesday, March 24, 2015: After the 2008 financial collapse, the government required banks to prove if they failed some day it wouldn’t drag down the rest of the financial system and require a bailout. The documents to prove this are known informally as “living wills.” Last summer it emerged that a range of U.S.-based bank still posed too much systemic risk if they were to go bankrupt. Today, several published reports say three foreign owned banks also lack persuasive living wills. BNP Paribas, HSBC, and Royal Bank of Scotland. More on that. And there’s news today about factories in China, where an index of manufacturing fell in March. We take a look at the issue. Plus, Shell is expected to get the green light this week to re-start drilling for oil in the Arctic. Critics fear low oil prices may raise pressure on the company to cut corners and compromise safety. Given its poor safety record in the Arctic, why is the US supporting Shell’s application? We explore.

Americans' growing preference for home-cooked meals helps the spice industry.

Shell is expected to get a green light to re-start Arctic oil and gas drilling

The internet of things is coming to your front lawn…literally.

What’s driving this public health message?

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

Existing home sales report shows cautious homeowners and home buyers.

Five years into it, the Greek debt crisis drags on.

Keeping the historic ballpark in good shape can be a tough job

Author Michael Lewis talks about high-frequency trading, a year after "Flash Boys"

Answer: Probably, yes.

With hours cut, work in the Bakken oil fields don't seem worth it to one worker.