Marketplace for Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Segments From This Episode

• Fed’s delicate economic balancing act

  by Kai Ryssdal

  Between bailing out investment banks and making loans to securities dealers, Fed Chief Ben Bernanke and company have been busy lately. The big cut in short-term interest rates boosted the markets, but inflation still looms. Kai Ryssdal has the story.

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• Will Fed solve crisis, or make it worse?

  by Ashley Milne-Tyte

  Though the stock market has been deeply troubled by the subprime mortgage crisis, it has yet to crash. Many attribute the relative health of the markets to actions made by the Fed to keep the cash flowing. Ashley Milne-Tyte reports on what the Fed may do next.

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• Troubled times for individual investors

  by Kai Ryssdal

  From mom and pop investors to day traders, everyone is affected by the chaotic market. Kai Ryssdal speaks to Daniel Scotto's of Whitehall Investment Advisors about what an individual investor can do while the market normalizes.

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• High Court weighs anti-union fund fight

  by John Dimsdale

  The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether California employers can spend state money on anti-union activities. It's a battle between free speech and taxpayer rights, but with a twist. John Dimsdale reports.

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• A penny hoarded is two earned

  by Marketplace Staff

  As the price of copper is goes up, so does the value of old pennies — those coins minted before 1982 that still have actual copper in them. Now some people are banking on pennies to pay off big. Mary Rose Abraham reports on the new craze of penny hoarding.

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• Letters

  by Kai Ryssdal

  The mailbox is bursting with your comments. This week: your thoughts on our special series "The Middle East at Work," including your personal observations from living and working in Dubai.

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• Call it a recession if you feel like it

  by Marketplace Staff

  Nearly three-quarters of Americans believe the economy is in recession, according to a new USA Today-Gallup poll. Commentator and economist Tyler Cowen says it might make us feel better, but it's best to leave the real definitions to the economists.

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• Germany mulls CO2 cuts or going dark

  by Marketplace Staff

  Between phasing out nuclear power and a pledge to cut carbon dioxide by 40 percent, Europe's industrial leader could be headed towards an energy crisis. Brett Neely reports how Germany is hoping new technology could clean up its dirty coal plants.

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