Marketplace for Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Segments From This Episode

• How much responsibility should oil companies take in an oil spill?

  by John Dimsdale

  A sticking point in Congress's energy bill is how much responsibility a company that causes an oil spill should take. John Dimsdale reports.

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• Demand for durable goods down, but don’t get scared yet

  by Nancy Marshall-Genzer

  Demand for durable goods — anything that lasts for more than three months — went down last month. While some think this is an indication of the economy slowing, a closer look suggests otherwise.

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• Rise in profits, more hiring? Not exactly

  by Marketplace Staff

  Commentator Robert Reich talks about how the rise in corporate profits no longer equates to increased hiring.

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• Take a free book, but pay it forward

  by Marketplace Staff

  The publishing industry is suffering from growing pains, especially in the advent of e-books. One Masschussetts publisher is trying something new: Giving away books for free.

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• Cities struggling to spend federal money for foreclosed homes

  by Jeff Tyler

  Two years ago, cities across the nation received money from Congress to buy and take care of foreclosed homes to prevent neighborhoods from becoming blighted. The September deadline to spend all that money is looming, and cities are struggling to spend the money, before it gets taken away.

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• The state of the African-American community in the recession

  by Marketplace Staff

  Kai Ryssdal talks to Marc Morial, president of the Urban League about the state of the African-American community during the economic crisis and what he thinks will help more African-Americans bridge economic gaps.

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• Measuring the success of the stimulus package

  by Kai Ryssdal

  Two Princeton economists used economic modeling programs to see the effect of the federal stimulus package on the economy.

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• An addiction to oil or a way of life?

  by Marketplace Staff

  Oil spills around the world may be the fault of individual companies, but Americans — with their bus-less suburbs, saran wraps and highways — are also perpetuating the country's reliance on oil.

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