Marketplace Morning Report for Thursday, December 8, 2011

Segments From This Episode

• Do the ratings agencies need a downgrade?

  by Gregory Warner

  Europe and the U.S. are both exploring new options for judging the value of debt after increasing threats of downgrade from agencies like S&P and Moody's.

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• Former MF Global CEO testifies before Congress

  by Heidi Moore

  Jon Corzine will have to explain how the bank lost $1 billion of customer money.

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• Mid-day Extra: Streamlining holiday shopping

  by Stacey Vanek Smith

  

  With increased competition from online retailers, stores across the country are taking steps to make the holiday shopping experience a bit faster.

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• ECB drops interest rates to 1 %

  by Stacey Vanek Smith

  Economist Adolfo Laurenti discusses the rate cut and the role of the European Central Bank in Europe's future.

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• Germany’s tough role in euro debt crisis

  Critics have been complaining that Germany has grown too dominant in the EU, a sharp turn from previous complaints that the country wasn't doing enough to solve the problem.

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• PODCAST: Bigger stockpiles, butter shortage

  by Mary Dooe

  

  Jon Corzine heads to Congress today to answer for the collapse of brokerage firm MF Global. The European Union is looking to the International Monetary Fund for bailout help, and that could have ripple effects in the U.S. Reporter Sally Herships looks at what other businesses can gain from big-box storse like Costco and Walmart. And the countdown to a big European summit is nearing its end.

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• The danger of relying on ratings agencies

  by Gregory Warner

  As economic turmoil continues in Europe, leaders there — and here in the U.S. — are weary of the blind reliance on ratings agencies to value debt.

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• Smaller euro countries fear pressure from France, Germany

  by Stacey Vanek Smith

  

  Representatives from countries like Finland fear that tomorrow's summit could force their hand on some issues, and create a new culture in the eurozone where powerful countries trump the rest.

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• Europe looks to the IMF

  by John Dimsdale

  The Europeans are starting to turn to the IMF for help with bailouts. Some in Congress are resisting. But withdrawing our help could have consequences.

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• Big-box superstores as bellwether indicators

  by Sally Herships

  Major retailers like Costco and Walmart often act as indicators of the overall economy, because they can reveal trends for what — and if — people are buying.

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• Is the American Dream really disappearing?

  by Steve Chiotakis

  We asked Gallup's editor-in-chief Frank Newport about whether Americans are pessimistic about the future, and how that compares to Americans of decades past.

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• Coffee consumption on the rise around the world

  by Matthew Davies

  Coffee consumption continues to grow globally, and some predict that the price of raw coffee will continue to dip in the coming years.

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