Week of April 20th, 2015

Kai's weekly chat about the week in business news.

Now we know the size and scope of Amazon’s growth engine: its cloud services. They’re pretty powerful. But Marketplace reporter Sabri Ben-Achour reports, the competition is coming on strong, and it’s going to take some big investment for Amazon to hold its own, even with its big lead.   Next, the match-up between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao has finally been confirmed, with the event set to take in millions of dollars. Kenneth Shropshire from the Wharton Sports Business Initiative joins us to talk about the much-anticipated fight.   

U.K. college students calculated how much paper it would take to print the Internet.

Amazon dominates the cloud sector — a market it created.

What's the best way to pay a CEO?

The star-studded, news-breaking film industry convention is for insiders only.

Next week’s show is about ceilings. And we want to know: what are the ceilings you’ve bumped up against in your career? Tell us what happened. You can write to us here.  Or on Marketplace’s Facebook page. Or on twitter … We’re at @MarketplaceWKND. 

Years in the making, the match is set to bring in some serious cash.

On this week’s show, host Lizzie O’Leary returns to discuss invisibility in the economy and personal finance. Republican media strategist Rick Wilson speaks about the invisible primary and Marketplace’s Molly Wood talks about hidden bluetooth beacons and how they’re changing advertising. UC Irvine’s Alon Gorodetsky explains how squid could change military camouflage. Later, we hear from scientist Max Ortiz Catalán about the latest treatments for phantom limb pain, and from a survivor of trafficking about the journey from invisible to visible. 

A Republican media strategist explains the money-gathering time before a campaign.

A snapshot of what the black market says about us.

Life inside the Monastery of the Angels in Hollywood.

One woman describes her journey from invisible to visible.

Taking inspiration from animals to design the camouflage of the future.

A program sends doctors into nursing homes, instead of patients into hospitals.

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

Cable giants Comcast Corporation and Time Warner Cable won't pursue a merger.

The merger that never was, and revisiting the terrible collapse of a clothing factory in Bangladesh.

The economy crashed when corporations moved out, but the government kept spending.

Airing on Friday, April 24, 2015: A merger of cable giants Comcast and Time Warner Cable appears to be off the table. Several media reports cite sources in position to know, suggesting the union will be abandoned mainly because U.S. regulators think it would be—in the end—anti-competitive. Next, Democrat Sen. Patty Murray plans to introduce a bill to Congress in the next few days that would increase the minimum wage to $12 by 2020. Democrats are rallying around this plan. We look at the broad details of this proposal and ask why $12 as opposed to $15, which labor groups have been fighting for, or $10.10, which the White House has backed. We’ll also talk to Dan Nardello, CEO of Nardello & Co, about labor violations at NYU’s Abu Dhabi campus.    

A proposal is expected next week to increase the federal minimum wage to $12.

Airing on Friday, April 24, 2015: First up, we’ll talk with Marketplace’s Molly Wood about the issues surrounding the Comcast merger. And how well have you kept up with the week in tech news? It’s time for Silicon Tally! This week, host Ben Johnson takes on Fred Benenson, data lead at Kickstarter and the creator of an all-emoji translation of Moby Dick, for an emoji-themed challenge.

Apple steps into the world of high fashion.

Here are the numbers we are watching on Friday.

If the Comcast merger collapses, Robert Marcus will lose a huge exit package.

Airing on Thursday, April 23, 2015: The opposition to giving the president expanded authority to work on a trade deal with Pacific nations is coming together around the issue of currency manipulation. So what does that mean, exactly, in the context of international trade? We explore. Next, after initially looking like a straightforward deal, it appears the Time Warner-Comcast merger may be on its deathbed.  If the deal doesn’t go through, what’s the fallout for consumers – good, bad, a little bit of both? Or will there be no effect at all? 

It appears the Time-Warner Comcast merger may be on its deathbed.

The President faces opposition to having more authority on Pacific nation trade.

Pre-recession, the housing boom in Rhode Island helped mask manufacturing woes.

Candidates release books around election season to frame coverage, not make money.

The beetle has eaten almost all the host trees, leaving less dead wood to harvest.

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

Rent goes up, Brazilian oil goes down, and Target caters to Hispanic millennials.

Legal experts say 80-year-old labor laws don't work in today's economy.

Airing on Thursday, April 23, 2015: The internet was first called DARPA net; the D for defense. The association between the U.S. military and digital communications has a rich history. Now, the Pentagon is poised to launch a cybersecuritiy strategy that will include a new outpost in California’s Silicon Valley. More on that. And Coke reported improved earnings this week despite long-term fall-offs in soda sales. Pepsi will share its earnings Thursday. In addition to cutting costs, Coke’s seemingly successful strategy has included promoting smaller – more expensive – containers for its soda beverages. We’ll take a closer look. Plus, it’s going to be up to a jury to decide a case that may have huge implications for the summon-a-ride-by-smartphone industry in California. A key question in some state courts: whether people who drive for ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft are contractors or employees.       

Airing on Thursday, April 23, 2015: First up, Erna Alfred Liousas, analyst at Forrester, joins us to talk Facebook earnings. Plus, Jill Bronfman, Adjunct Professor of Law at the UC Hastings Institute for Innovation law, talks about national cybersecurity legislation. We’ll also speak with Sydney Padua about her graphic novel, “The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Computer.”

Coke reports improved earnings, despite long-term soda sale fall-offs.

SinTraduccion is Target’s first ad campaign designed solely with Latinos in mind.

Rents have increased by almost 4 percent and are likely to keep going.

Content companies say Verizon can't legally offer a package with fewer channels.

Airing on Wednesday, April 22, 2015: After years of trying, Congress is getting close to passing a big cybersecurity bill. Business interests and privacy advocates finally have the common ground to get behind a single piece of legislation. The reason? Hacks are becoming much, much bigger and much, much more common. We look at how they managed to find common ground. Next, Verizon has unveiled a new basic TV package for $54.99 a month, prompting objections from major content providers like ESPN. The cable industry has been disrupted as pay-TV distributors, such as Verizon, respond to pressure from “cord-cutter” consumers, who are demanding these “skinny programming packages”. But media companies like Disney are fighting to protect their most lucrative source of revenue – programming fees.  We consider whether the content providers or the distributors have the upper hand in this battle and how it’s it likely to shake out. 

Plastic proved more convenient than glass. Now it's easier to recycle, too.

After years of trying, Congress is close to passing a cybersecurity bill.

…if you drive an Audi, have Prime and live in Munich.

In the NFL, having a team in a big city is not necessarily better.

Despite three years of falling revenue, IBM has a plan.

At the RSA Conference, security pros are looking for answers to stop breaches.

More on the alleged culprit behind the "Flash Crash," Google's wireless service, and California's drought.

A breakdown of well-being by congressional district.

Implementing the cameras costs means more than just new equipment.

Efforts to raise water rates across the country are being met with resistance.

A survey says more than half of American parents lack a will or a living trust.

Airing on Wednesday, April 22, 2015: May 6th 2010 at 2:42 pm Wall Street Time, the Dow began a sickening slide of more than 1000 points in just a matter of minutes. By shortly after 3 PM, prices had largely recovered. What came to be known as the “Flash Crash” freaked everybody out and led to new circuitbreakers built into markets. A post mortem later showed that a single big trade by a financial firm may have precipatated this, but that high frequency traders made things worse. With that background, here’s the news: authorities in London have now arrested a high frequency trader, 36 year old Navinder Singh Sarao, for allegedly trying to manipulate the market during the flash crash—perhaps single-handedly, using commercially available software. More on that. Plus, we’ll talk to Kristen Lewis, co-director of Measure of America, about well-being in the U.S. and variations between congressional districts. 

Airing on Wednesday, April 22, 2015: First up on today’s show, Marketplace’s Senior Tech Correspondent, Molly Wood, talks about how — after a year of big breaches — companies at the RSA security conference are on high alert. Plus, the police have been in the news a lot of late—As well as on Twitter, youtube and Facebook. So over the next few weeks we’ll be taking a look at how our nation’s police force work in our series “Behind the blue line: the costs of a changing police force.” Today: a look at the growing call for body cameras. President Barack Obama this past December proposed spending hundreds of millions to equip police departments. This proposal is currently on hold but would it be money well-spent? And will it be enough to cover costs after the cameras start rolling?  

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

The avian flu has infected millions of hens in Iowa.

Higher water rates for conservation can violate a constitutional limit on fees.

Department of Energy proposes billions in investment in power grid infrastructure.

Airing on Tuesday, April 21, 2015:  Committee votes in Congress are expected in coming days on whether to give the president special authority to finish negotiating a major trade deal with China and others. The deep skepticism that exists among Democrats is summed up well in a line New York Sen. Chuck Schumer said last week : “I don’t believe in these agreements anymore. I’ve changed.” We look at what else has changed since the North American Free Trade Agreement era when it comes to the U.S. economy and its place in the world economy. Next, California’s long history of anti-tax, anti-government propositions, starting with Proposition 13, now stands in the way of the state responding to a devastating drought. How’d that happen? Plus, the Department of Energy is proposing billions in investment in power grid infrastructure to make it more reliable and secure. The U.S. suffers far more outages than other developed countries. And the entire system is vulnerable if extreme weather or human attacks take out transformers–devices which are essential to moving electricity long distances.

Amazon's new product Home Services has a goat grazing service.

Congress is turning its attention to trade this week.

Saddleback Leather addresses copycats in a step-by-step YouTube video

Google's tidying up, the Time Warner Cable-Comcast merger, and the business of reruns.

Up to about 5 million hens will have be euthanized due to the outbreak.

Airing on Tuesday, April 21, 2015: Gazprom of Russia could face formal antitrust charges in the European Union. Several published reports say confirmation could come as early as tomorrow. Gazprom is a major supplier of natural gas to Western Europe and charges could further curdle already soured relations between the EU and Russia following the crisis in Ukraine. Plus step by step, we’re getting closer to the driverless car. Technology to prevent front-end crashes is now available on some new cars, which include certain models by Mercedes, Volvo and Cadillac. Subaru‘s  version is called EyeSight, and the automaker offers it on five of this year’s models. We explore how this sort of thing works. Then, we’ll talk about the man who spotted what he believed was persistent fraud by his employer, and chose to report it to the SEC. The man’s name is Tony Menendez, and his employer was Halliburton. We have more on his decision to do what he considered to be the right thing, which has plunged his life into legal purgatory for almost a decade.

A look at the concessions that could keep the Time Warner Cable-Comcast merger aloft.

How new homes for old television are remaking the TV landscape.

Airing on Tuesday, April 21, 2015: First up, we’ll talk with Lindsey Turrentine, Editor-in-Chief of cnet.com, about Mobilegeddon. Then, David Chao, Co-Founder and General Partner at DCM Ventures, join us to talk about investing in the marijuana market. And Keith McCarty, CEO and founder of Eaze (“Uber for pot”), on building technology for the marijuana market.

Tony Menendez blew the whistle on Halliburton’s accounting practices. The fight cost him nine years of his life.

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

The government will save $25 million a year by going all-digital.

As oil prices fall, so do profits and headcounts at Halliburton.

More people are insured, and biotechs are doing well, too.

In the digital age, the key to a music playlist's success? Human beings.

Airing on Monday, April 20, 2015:  At least 700 migrants are believed to have died in a shipwreck in the Mediterranean on Sunday.  We talk with BBC’s European correspondent Chris Morris about why hundreds of thousands of migrants from places such as Libya and Egypt have been attempting to leave their home countries for Europe. Next, Google revs up a revised mobile algorithm on Tuesday that gives preference to sites that are easy to read on mobile devices. You know, not desktop websites crammed onto little screens, but redesigned, reprogrammed sites. This is most likely going to affect small local businesses, whose sites will be pushed down the search list if they haven’t managed to keep up with digital change. Plus, health and biotech firm stocks are performing well. We explore why.

The change takes effect Tuesday, reordering search results.

A $1.5 billion sale is far from the group's humble origins.

Many are trying to enter Europe to escape violence and find job opportunities.

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

China's economy, the NBA in Cuba, and a developing story about a ship carrying hundreds of migrant workers.

Hasbro has long been known for brands like Nerf and G.I. Joe.

Lucky Mart barely sells anything else.

Airing on Monday, April 20, 2015: The stimulus in China today takes this form—banks will need to have less money in reserve when they lend. This will have the effect of letting banks lend perhaps hundreds of billions of dollars worth of new loans. More on that. Next, the NBA plans a basketball clinic in Cuba later this month. The league isn’t looking for Cubans who can play professional basketball—it’s looking for fans. Plus, years ago, under another name, the shop at 2900 West 87th Street, on Chicago’s South Side, was a convenience store, which happened to sell lottery tickets. Then, Mr. Chan Park took over and turned it into Lucky Mart- a kind of Lottery Tickets ‘R’ Us. Park sold more than $5 million worth of tickets last year. 

Airing on Monday, April 20, 2015:  First up, we speak with Chester Wisniewski, Senior Security Advisor at Sophos, about the RSA security conference, which starts today. Next, Jenna Wortham, staff writer for the New York Times Magazine, joins us to talk about The Shade Room, Instagram’s TMZ.   

Considered in decline, now investment banking is enjoying growing profits.

Drones from your insurance company could be coming to a neighborhood near you.

The NBA plans a basketball clinic in Cuba for later this month.