Ally Financial is trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, under the ticker symbol ALLY. The company, you might remember, had to be bailed out by the government in 2008, as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program or TARP, to the tune of $17.2 billion. The stock sale puts the government a step closer to sloughing off what remains of the financial crisis bailouts.

With Ukraine refusing to pay its gas bills to Russia’s Gazprom and Europe looking for alternative energy sources, Russia — it seems — is on the outs. But now Putin is turning his attention eastward, towards China, and may be finding a friend. Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, joins Marketplace Morning Report host David Brancaccio to discuss Russia’s balancing act and why the country might try to disrupt Ukraine’s upcoming elections.

Teenagers are now spending as much, if not more, on food as on clothing, according to Piper Jaffray’s semi-annual report on teen spending, out this week. And teenager’s new favorite place to spend money? Starbucks.