Posted by Chau Tu

For Marketplace, Monday, May 16, 2011

The U.S. hit its debt limit today, meaning government can’t legally borrow anymore, so it is staving off default by tapping into federal pension funds. The arrest and arraignment of IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn isn’t expect to derail the debt talks in Europe and Greece. Portugal’s own economic outlook is looking dark. Turmoil in the Middle East is giving the Pentagon second thoughts about some deals there worth billions. Kai spoke with Emma Farge of Reuters about a shipment of Libyan oil that is stuck in transit. He also talked with Nigerian novelist Helon Habila about his new novel Oil on Water, about the difficult relationship between Nigeria and oil. And in health news, the giant insurer WellPoint will boost annual payments to only those hospitals that deliver “quality care.” These are the songs we played:

• Be First – KabooseBuy

• We Are – AnwarriorBuy

• Indecision – Yo-Yo MaBuy

• This is Just a Modern Rock Song – Belle & SebastianBuy