Marketplace Morning Report for Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Segments From This Episode

• Swipe fee fight bristling with lobbyists

  by John Dimsdale

  As Congress comes back next week, the issue with the most lobbyists isn't the deficit — it's the battle against debit card swipe fees.

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• Japan’s down payment on reconstruction spending

  by Scott Tong

  Japan's parliament this week approved a $30 billion reconstruction spending package, but the total bill is estimated at $300 billion.

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• Japanese tourism lags

  by Ann Dornfeld

  The earthquake in Japan has caused a drag on the planeloads of tourists the country sends to the U.S. every year.

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• The differences in growth between the stock market and the economy

  by Stacey Vanek Smith

  

  Fortune Magazine's Allan Sloan discusses how a growing stock market doesn't equal a growing economy.

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• Army engineers blast Missouri levee to save town

  by Nancy Marshall-Genzer

  In an effort to divert rising floodwaters, the Army Corps of Engineers created large holes in a levee along the Mississippi River. The move could flood up to 130,000 acres of viable farmland.

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• Sony hacks affect 100 million users

  by Marketplace Staff

  Sony announced last week that the private information of 77 million PlayStation users may have been compromised by hackers. Now, as many as 24.6 million accounts on Sony's Online Entertainment division could be affected as well.

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• China’s largest social network to launch IPO in U.S.

  by Rob Schmitz

  Renren, China's largest social network, is going public today in the U.S. The company has been called "the Facebook of China" but there's stiff competition from a slew of other social networks in the country.

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• Added tax revenues to delay debt crisis

  by Nancy Marshall-Genzer

  U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said unexpected tax revenues and emergency steps to free up funds will allow the government to avoid hitting the debt ceiling until August 2nd.

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• Missouri flood control threatens farmland

  by Marketplace Staff

  The Army Corps of Engineers has created a large hole in a Missouri levee to regulate potential flooding of the Ohio River. Mississippi, Missouri county clerk Hubert Delay explains what this means for his county's economy.

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• Breaking down the ‘Brave New World’ for automakers

  by Marketplace Staff

  For the first time in nearly seven years, Detroit's Big Three carmakers are all reporting a profit, despite supply chain disruptions.

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• U.S. goes to court over Deutsche Bank home loans

  by Marketplace Staff

  The Justice Department has sued Deutsche Bank over allegations that the bank repeatedly committed mortgage fraud. Courtney Comstock with Business Insider explains.

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