Segments From This Episode

• FDA weighing ban on chemical BPA

  by John Dimsdale

  By the end of the month, the Federal Drug Administration needs to decide whether to ban BPA in food and drink containers. Bisphenol A makes plastic more pliable, but some scientists say it may have adverse effects on human health.

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• Massachusetts movie theater offers free admission

  by Karen Brown

  Movies like "Hunger Games" bring in hundreds of millions of dollars at the gate. But one Massachusetts theater survives without admission fees.

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• Why tax reform still hasn’t come to America

  by Chris Farrell

  While you're trying to determine what happens when you subtract line 35 from line 43 on your tax form, you might ask: Why is this so complicated?

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• U.S. picks a nominee for head of the World Bank

  by Andrew Walker

  President Obama has announced his choice for the U.S. nominee to lead the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim. Judging from history, Kim is likely to win the role.

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• Investors turning foreclosed homes into rentals

  by Jeremy Hobson

  According to Bloomberg Markets Magazine, private investors are buying up foreclosed properties by the bushel and renting them out at a profit.

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• Gold speculation on the decline

  Ever since the housing crash, investors have been pouring money into gold, and the price has more than doubled. But now, investors are starting to shy away.

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• Worries about China have markets on alert

  by Jeremy Hobson

  China appears to be on the verge of an economic slowdown, and that has investors around the globe concerned.

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• Farmers may plant corn, soybeans a few weeks early

  by Sarah McCammon

  Some farmers in the Midwest are planting crops earlier than usual because of hot weather. But there's a risk of losing it all if a spring freeze hits.

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• PODCAST: Insider trading bill passes, World Water Day app

  by Mary Dooe

  

  Private investors are buying up foreclosed properties by the bushel and renting them out at a profit. Speaking of bushels, the warm weather is tempting some farmers to start planting — but if you plant too early, you won’t get federal crop insurance if something goes wrong. And tax day is just three weeks away. Why is it that so many people want tax reform, but that it just hasn't happened yet?

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• British government plans for minimum price on alcohol

  by Kate McGough

  The British government has announced today that it wants to set a minimum price on beer, wine, and spirits. It hopes the move will help prevent alcohol-related crimes and deaths in the country.

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• Congress agrees on insider trading ban… for themselves

  by Scott Tong

  Washington leaders have passed a bill that bans members of Congress from trading stocks based on non-public information, and President Obama says he will sign it.

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• BofA launching program for at-risk homeowners

  by Stacey Vanek Smith

  

  Bank of America is launching a pilot program where homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure would hand over the deed to their house and then rent it back from the bank.

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• Labor Dept. releases first ever tally of U.S. green jobs

  by Stacey Vanek Smith

  

  In 2010 there were 3 million green jobs — about 2 percent of total employment. Should we soon expect green jobs to start making up a greater percentage of the total jobs in the U.S.?

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• Who will be the new head of the World Bank?

  by Scott Tong

  The head of the World Bank has always been an American, and typically, a white male, banker, diplomat type — but this time might be different.

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