Marketplace Money for October 8, 2010

Segments From This Episode

• Where would we be if we hadn’t had a housing bubble?

  by Tess Vigeland

  

  It's no question that the housing bubble has created a huge effect on the housing economy today. But what would have happened to home prices if that bubble never happened? Robert Shiller of the S&P Case-Shiller index offers some insight.

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• The changing attitude about prepaid debit cards

  by Stacey Vanek Smith

  

  As trust in banks falters and Americans try to budget their costs, many are turning to prepaid debit cards, where they can put up the money upfront and watch what they spend. But are they really a better alternative to credit cards?

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• Don’t give in to those hidden fees

  by Chris Farrell

  Fees — many of them hidden — are everywhere these days. But that doesn't mean we have to give in to them. It pays to be a fee hawk, says commentator Chris Farrell, and it's time the government helps us out too.

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• Troubled homeowners head to convention for help

  by Adriene Hill

  Although some banks have just announced they're temporarily halting foreclosures, many homeowners are still in trouble and in need of answers. A non-profit group in L.A. tries to help.

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• The housing crisis: Looking at the big picture

  by Tess Vigeland

  

  The housing crisis just hit another obstacle with the halt of foreclosures in nearly of the nation. Tess Vigeland talks to Nic Retsinas, director of Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, about details of what's happened in the housing economy and what's to come.

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• Letters: Defending the lottery, concert etiquette

  by Marketplace Staff

  Tess Vigeland and Marketplace Money's senior producer Deborah Clark go through the mailbox, inbox, voicemail and Facebook page for listener responses to recent stories.

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• Freakonomics: A thirsty economist walks into an A&W Root Beer joint…

  by Marketplace Staff

  What would you do if you walked into an A&W Root Beer — and they said they were out of root beer? Or, if you stopped by a KFC that was out of chicken? Well, we know one economist who recently experienced both. Host Tess Vigeland talks to Freakonomics correspondent Stephen Dubner about the economic theory behind bad customer service.

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• Getting Personal: Married finances, your parents and their finances

  by Marketplace Staff

  Marketplace Money host Tess Vigeland and MSN's Kathy Kristof answer listener questions. On tap this week: An unmarried couple splitting the finances, renting a condo to your children and helping a parent deal with his spotty finances.

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