Marketplace for Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Segments From This Episode

• REICH: A tale of two U.S. economies

  by Marketplace Staff

  Commentator Robert Reich gives his predictions about the American economy in the new year.

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• Letters: The Census, Christmas music, pesticides

  by Marketplace Staff

  Bob Moon reads your responses to stories we did on strawberries and pesticides, weird Christmas music and the Census.

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• Building success the old-fashioned way

  by Marketplace Staff

  It's hard to think you can do business without e-mail or hedge funds, but Economy 4.0's David Brancaccio found a businessman who is doing just that — and his business is growing.

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• What went wrong with the euro in 2010?

  Bob Moon talks to Marketplace's European correspondent Stephen Beard about the euro's precipitous slide down in 2010 and what the biggest threat to the 11-year-old currency might be.

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• How will China’s auto changes affect U.S. carmakers?

  by Alisa Roth

  Soon, Chinese buyers of small vehicles will lose a big government tax incentive. On top of that, Beijing's city hall is cutting the number of license plates issued to reduce congestion. What does this mean for American automakers angling for a piece of the action in China? Alisa Roth reports.

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• Finding deals costs money

  by Janet Babin

  More than 35 million people subscribe to Groupon's daily online coupon offers. So why does the company need money? Janet Babin reports.

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• "Snackifying" drinks for convenience and better nutrition

  by Marketplace Staff

  PepsiCo is about to launch a new snack that consists of pureed fruit. It's part of a new food movement to blend beverages and food as a type of convenience and to promote better nutrition. Beverage industry consultant Tom Pirko talks to Bob Moon about why this is happening.

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