Marketplace for January 10, 2011

Segments From This Episode

• Growing coffee in China’s tea country

  by Rob Schmitz

  Tea has been an intrinsic part of Chinese culture for thousands of years, but with more urban Chinese demanding coffee, more tea farmers in China's tea-growing regions are also growing coffee.

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• The price behind the choices we make

  by Marketplace Staff

  Kai Ryssdal talks to author Eduardo Porter about why we spend the way we do, the subject of Porter's new book "The Price of Everything."

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• Cupcakes go to Wall Street

  by Alisa Roth

  Crumbs Bake Shop, a national cupcake chain, announced that it will be going public. The company plans on putting the money generated from listing shares on an exchange towards a major expansion. But is this just a fad? Alisa Roth reports.

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• Can Verizon’s network handle all the new iPhone users?

  by Marketplace Staff

  In anticipation of Verizon unveiling its own iPhone, Kai Ryssdal talks with Marketplace Tech Report host John Moe about how prepared the company's network is to potentially handle a flood of iPhone users, and what this means for AT&T and other cell carriers.

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• Should GDP measure happiness?

  by Sarah Gardner

  Some world governments are considering a more holistic reflection of a country's well-being beyond GDP. But it may be a challenge to define what happiness and success is for a whole population.

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• Governor announces California’s tight budget plan

  by Jeff Tyler

  Governor Jerry Brown announced his budget plan this morning: a proposed $12 billion in spending cuts. There will be cuts in services like welfare and health care, and it's also expected that Brown may ask voters to raise taxes. Jeff Tyler reports.

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• New bank fees are aimed at lower income customers

  by Stacey Vanek Smith

  

  Now that there are new rules for credit cards and overdraft fees, banks are trying to find money in other places. And as Stacey Vanek Smith reports, this means going after lower income customers, which in turn could move these customers out of the banking system altogether.

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