Marketplace for Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Segments From This Episode

• Health-care deal just a start for GM

  by Alisa Roth

  One of the key agreements in the new GM-UAW contract is a trust fund for employee and retiree health care benefits. It allows GM to erase tens of billions of dollars of liability from its books. But it still might not be enough. Alisa Roth reports.

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• Ratings agencies score low in D.C.

  by Amy Scott

  At a hearing today, U.S. senators tore into the three major credit rating agencies — Fitch, Moody's and Standard & Poors — over their roles in the subprime meltdown. At the same time, the SEC said it's investigating conflicts of interest. Amy Scott reports.

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• Little warming on emissions accords

  by Sam Eaton

  Making sure rising economic powers such as China, India and Brazil do their part to curb greenhouse gases has become a major sticking point for the White House. But, as Sam Eaton reports, the solutions might be even stickier.

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• Europe’s bank not reading the tea leaves

  by Marketplace Staff

  While the Federal Reserve may be moving soon toward another interest-rate cut, the European Central Bank appears on course to once again raise rates. Commentator David Frum says that would be bad for Europe — and us.

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• Hispanic or Latino? Fill in the blank

  by Dan Grech

  An Equal Employment Opportunity Commission survey for workers that has had a box marked "Hispanic" has been changed to "Hispanic or Latino." Dan Grech takes a look at what's in a name.

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• Major events, major policies

  by Kai Ryssdal

  Author and social critic Naomi Klein's new book argues that disasters or major events provide an opening for governments to make changes in economic policy that they otherwise wouldn't have been able to do. She talked with Kai Ryssdal.

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• Putting lesbian parents on the radar

  by Alex Schmidt

  The new fall TV season is upon us, but one group you won't be seeing more of — on network shows, anyway — is gay and lesbian characters. But one entrepreneur is betting market economics can change that. Alex Schmidt reports.

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