Marketplace for Thursday, February 3, 2011

Segments From This Episode

• New Year highlights a shift in China’s workforce

  by Rob Schmitz

  Today marks the Lunar New Year in China. Millions of workers in China return home for New Year and many employers fear they may not come back.

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• Temp workers play larger role in economy

  by Mitchell Hartman

  Employers rely so much on manpower and other agencies that temporary work seems a large part of the recovery.

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• Fed chair says time to cut trillion-dollar budget deficit

  by John Dimsdale

  Ben Bernanke said today the deficit threatens the economy. If it isn't slashed, investors in government debt could demand higher interest rates. That could spike the recovery.

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• Israel and Egypt’s economic futures intertwined

  by David Gura

  For more than three decades, Egypt and Israel have had stable relations and a secure border, but not much else between them. That could change depending on what happens next.

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• Consumer spending rings up credit card profits

  by Stacey Vanek Smith

  

  MasterCard and Visa reported higher profits as U.S. consumers returned to stores and swiped their plastic more often.

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• It’s a great winter for the snow removal industry

  by Marketplace Staff

  Bob Moon talks to Mike Zawacki, the editor of Snow Magazine, about how the snow removal industry is faring during this winter of record snow fall.

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• The man behind some of the Super Bowl’s most memorable commercials

  by Marketplace Staff

  Joe Pytka, the man behind some of the most famous Super Bowl commercials of all time, talks with Bob Moon about makes a good commercial, what kind of money is involved, and whether controversy can help boost an ad.

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• Feds pull plug on pirated sports content

  by Steve Henn

  Just days before the Super Bowl, government agents shut down several websites accused of stealing and streaming live sporting events. The content, available through links, includes games from the NFL, NBA, MLB and WWF.

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