Week of July 20th, 2015

Fanpics looks to capitalize on our love of sports and pictures of ourselves.

The bricks-and-mortar chain makes more money, but investors like the online store.

Catherine Rampell and Cardiff Garcia join us to recap the week in business and finance.

Airing on Friday, July 24, 2015:  Amazon reported earnings yesterday, and its stock price soared. Today it has a market value very similar to that of Wal-Mart. Yet Amazon’s quarterly profit was only a fraction of Wal-Mart’s. How can that be? Marketplace explores. Plus, lots of people on the parched West Coast are hoping that predictions of a strong El Niño this winter will prove correct, because a season of hard rain is needed. Others remember El Niño as just that — a season of hard rain — and are concerned about a winter of floods and mudslides.  

Even a strong rain storms won't end a deep drought, but they could cause havoc.

'Bureaucratic hiccup' threatens the intersection's iconic flash.

Chief financial officers used to just do the books. Now they're key strategists.

Super Smash Bros. is way more serious than we thought.

South Los Angeles resident Elvis Summers explains how and why he builds his shelters.

This week, a look behind the business of shelters: How one homeless shelter in downtown Los Angeles copes with rising demand, how “sanctuary city” policies can impact local economies and why gold is no longer the safe financial shelter it once was.

Drones, artificial intelligence and robotic vacuums. Tell us what you think.

In the past 2 years, homelessness has jumped 12 percent.

In the past few years, Russia has instituted new anti-gay laws.

The wind-down of the housing crisis is opening the way for more first-time homebuyers.

Home sales, Chinese stock, and President Obama's visit to Kenya.

Some cities are building lower-cost homes for educators and hospital workers.

Businesses are banking on diplomats staying around after global summit ends.

Airing on Friday, July 24, 2015: With President Obama arriving in Kenya on Friday, we’ll cover how the visit is bringing a mini-economic boost for some Kenyans. Next, a check-in on the burgeoning refugee crisis in Syria. We’ll talk about how the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees deals with a recurring problem: donors who don’t pay what they promise. We’ll also talk about how a lack of affordable housing is making it difficult for schools to recruit and retain quality teachers.

Airing on Friday, July 24, 2015: First up, we’ll talk with Marketplace’s Adriene Hill about Hollywood’s many failed video game tie-ins. And how well have you kept up with the week in tech news? It’s time for another installment of Silicon Tally. Marketplace’s Molly Wood will try to stump Tom Merritt, host of the Daily Tech News Show, with numbers from the week’s tech news.

Hollywood's many failed video game tie-ins are more about marketing than gaming.

The country's civil war is 4 years old, and there is no end in sight.

Each has its own requirements.

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

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

Arcade owner doesn't see business slowing any time soon.

Content creators have a whole new world in front of them.

Airing on Thursday, July 23, 2015: Health insurance giants Anthem and Cigna are closing in on a $48 billion merger, just days after Aetna announced plans to acquire Humana for $37 billion. These deals could help insurers navigate the changes brought about by healthcare reform, but how will they affect consumers? Next, it’s not easy doing business in China these days, with the stock market and property values falling. U.S. companies are having to adapt to a more mature Chinese economy.  

Some Wall Street investors are leaving as China's growth slows.

The labor market is looking much tighter, and that could mean pay raises.

They are nothing but efficient.

Industry giants Anthem and Cigna are closing in on a $48 billion deal.

It's so much more complicated than Taylor Swift vs. Apple, a new report says.

An unemployment low, a healthcare merger, and a bike app that improves infrastructure.

Obamacare is behind the wave of proposed health insurer mergers.

Airing on Thursday, July 23, 2015: On today’s show, we’ll talk about a merger between two of the largest health insurers in the U.S. — Anthem is reportedly nearing a deal to buy Cigna for $48 billion. Plus, we’ll talk about a monthly number that gauges overall economic activity and inflationary pressure: the Chicago Fed National Activity Index. But if you find yourself thinking that inflation has been flat-lining of late, resident Marketplace explainer Paddy Hirsch is here to plumb the depths of the inflation mystery.

Airing on Thursday, July 23, 2015: First up, we’ll talk to Sucharita Mulpuru, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester, about Amazon ahead of its earnings call. We’ll also pay a visit to Minnie Ingersoll, Co-founder and COO of the secondhand car company Shift, at the company’s used-car warehouse. And Portland Oregon’s two defining cultures — tech and bikes — have come together to improve transportation infrastructure, in the face of the city’s exceeding growth. A new app will anonymously track behaviors, preferred routes of cyclists along with 200 underground sensors placed throughout Portland to count all the cyclists who roll over them – with or without the app. 

Data will help plan for safer riding infrastructure, like signals and routes.

Jet.com pledges to beat the online retailer's prices using a membership model.

Standardized testing may have something to do with the decision.

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

Gerrick Kennedy says soundtracks are gaining significance after the movie is over.

Airing on Wednesday, July 22, 2015: Global oil prices are half what they were a year ago, but you’d never know it in California, where regular gas is $4.50 a gallon. We explain California’s broken market, where special requirements for anti-smog gas blends limits the state to gas refined locally, and environmental  pressure has limited the number of refineries.  Next: “I am Cait,” premieres this Sunday. The docu-series that chronicles former Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner’s transformation into the female Caitlyn promises to be a ratings blockbuster for the E! Network. Where would E! be without the Kardashians? Marketplace explores. 

Bill de Blasio's administration has blinked.

Shortages of the state's special blend causes prices to spike, but this feels different.

Tech engineers are testing new ideas with the disabled community in mind.

Apple is down sharply following the release of its numbers Tuesday.

"I am Cait" premieres this Sunday, and promises to be a ratings blockbuster.

One company is trying to eliminate summer learning loss for low-income kids.

Dashcam footage released Tuesday shows the arrest of the 28-year-old woman who was found dead three days later in her jail cell.

U.S. and Cuban finances, and a database that helps transgender people find understanding care.

Airing on Wednesday, July 22, 2015: We’re bouncing off a big day in tech stocks. Apple reported profits yesterday after the market close — Even though earnings were up, the company’s stock went down. We’ll talk more on how the company failed to meet investors’ expectations. And an emerging debate in the Trans Pacific talks … cheese. Who owns the intellectual and property rights to make certain cheeses and foods? Washington wants to allow Asian countries to reject European trademarks for certain foods, which would open the doors for American producers of those products. Plus, bidding wars have resumed in many real-estate markets, but not because of easy mortgage money. So few houses are on the market that buyers are pitted against each other.  

Airing on Wednesday, July 22, 2015: First up, we’ll talk with Van Baker, Research VP at Gartner, about Apple earnings. We’ll also hear from Christopher Koopman, research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, about the shutdown of the Uber-like cleaning company Homejoy. We’ll also talk about an advocacy group in Chicago creating a Yelp-like service for transgender people. 

Apple's earnings surged, but its performance didn't meet analysts' expectations.

Eli Lilly reports the results of a trial for Alzheimer's medication.

RAD Remedy is focused on helping transgender people find what they need.

And what it could mean for the future of the sharing economy.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership talks have renewed a fight between the U.S. and EU.

Some homebuyers try to win favor with sellers by writing a personal appeal.

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

Some Egyptian business owners shift to exporting to make up for lost tourists.

Airing on Tuesday, July 21, 2015: Rural states have a lot of jobs, but don’t have the skilled or professional workers to fill them. That’s why states like Wyoming, South Dakota and Idaho have recently started their own Tinder of sorts —job-matchmaking programs to try and convince their expats to come back home. Next: Gold prices have hit a five-year low. What’s been causing the drop? Marketplace explores.     

Airing on Tuesday, July 21, 2015: The senior leadership of Toshiba, one of Japan’s biggest corporations, resigned today after an investigation showing the company had dramatically fudged its profits. More on that. And it’s the fifth anniversary of Dodd-Frank. We look at the biggest accomplishment of the law so far, and the biggest issue it’s not yet gotten to. And as you know we’ve been talking to people about the tools that they can’t live without while doing their job — their “Pro Tools.” Well, our sibling program Marketplace Tech is doing a series called Noise Makers. All this month they’re talking to musicians about a piece of must-have technology or gear that helps the performer or the composer make their art. We’ll talk about some of the Pro Tools he’s discovered while talking to professional noise makers.

Who knew?

Tonia Korka does not believe that the new measures will improve the Greek economy.

Gold is in the tank. Why? Because people simply aren't afraid anymore.

Running for president can be rewarding even if you finish at the back of the pack.

Rural states are hurting for skilled young workers and they're trying to lure ex-residents back home.

The bridge is on a remote stretch far from any city. The truck detour can take three hours.

New bank regulations, Apple earnings, and a new hotel boom.

Airing on Tuesday, July 21, 2015: First up, we’ll ask what will people be watching for Apples reports quarter earnings, and where the Watch figures in. We’ll also talk to Ryan Calo, Assistant Law Professor at the University of Washington and an affiliate scholar at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society, about why it’s so difficult to enforce drone regulations. And Kyle Wiens, CEO of the computer repair site iFixit, joins us to talk about why PC users won’t need to upgrade their hardware when they make the switch to Windows 10.

From Houston to Miami, cranes are busy erecting new hotels.

Regulators are still writing rules for the financial reform law.

Apples reports third-quarter earnings Tuesday.

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

On the surface, they are in similar situations. But the grocer has a way out.

It's complicated. The screening process, that is.

The payment company goes public, but how will it compete going forward?

The queue is forming on McDonald's website for Tehran restaurants.

Airing on Monday, July 20, 2015: The good news for Greece is that it got a bridge loan from its European partners last week. The bad news: Athens is sending that money right back out the door to pay off debts owed to the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Almost none of it will go into jump-starting its economy. It’s a lot like a patient that gets a blood transfusion, only to have the blood leak out of a gaping wound. Next: PayPal goes public today. We take a look at the mobile payment business, how PayPal plans to compete going forward and who’s circling: Hint: Apple and Amazon.

Cookies let retailers compile a dossier on shoppers — and resend the same ads.

Athens is using a loan to pay its bills instead of boosting its economy.

Gold prices tumble, and doctors get out of school early.

The world’s largest defense contractor could gain more influence with the Pentagon.

Airing on Monday, July 20, 2015: First up, we’ll talk with Richard Fichera, VP and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, about IBM’s plan shit to strategic partnerships and away running costly businesses in-house. Next: by the end of the year, some 106 million Blue Cross Blue Shield consumers will have identity protection services that include credit monitoring, fraud detection and fraud resolution. We look at the costs, and whether this amounts to an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure. Plus, we’ll take a tour of the visible internet infrastructure in Lower Manhattan with Ingrid Burrington, a fellow at the Data & Society Institute.

Millions of customers will be able to opt in.

A new trend aims to get students through medical school in 3 years instead 4.

Airing on Monday, July 20, 2015: Banks reopen in Greece today, but withdrawal limits remain. More on that. Plus, if you need a car service, there’s an app. But what about massages? We talk to Samer Hamadeh, the founder and CEO of Zeel — a kind of Uber for massage therapists — about running a business in the sharing economy, and what it means to protect Zeel therapists by asking for a bit of personal information from customers.

Withdrawal limits remain, but restrictions are eased.

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