Public pension funds that invested heavily in real estate are taking a big hit, including the real estate portfolio for California's civil servants, which lost more than a third of its value. Stacey Vanek-Smith reports.
In the first installment of our new interview series "Taking Stock," Kai Ryssdal talks to political economist Ann Pettifor about global debt. She's a fellow at the New Economics Foundation in London and author of "The Coming First World Debt Crisis."
The record high prices for copper and other metals that had thieves stealing statues and electrical wires are no more. Commodities prices have crashed, creating a big problem for scrap dealers. Jeff Tyler reports.
There was a time, says commentator David Frum, when GM was one of the biggest employers in America, but that's no longer true. Besides, even with a bailout, more job cuts are coming.
Earlier this year, T. Boone Pickens announced a grand plan to build the world's biggest wind farm and help wean the country off gasoline. Now that natural gas prices have tanked, he's putting the plan on hold. Sam Eaton reports.
With the debate about bailing out GM reaching a fevered pitch, Ashley Milne-Tyte asks, what a GM rescue plan would look like and what would actually happen if the giant automaker failed.
Why hasn't the government's plan to buy up toxic assets worked? Will recapitalizing the banks and providing mortgage relief ease the crisis? Kai Ryssdal puts those questions and more to financial analyst Karen Shaw Petrou.
The Treasury secretary says the government is backing away from buying toxic assets from banks — the centerpiece of the rescue plan when Congress approved it. Washington Bureau Chief John Dimsdale reports.
Listeners wrote in about creating jobs for out-of-work Americans, student loans and having lobbyist-connected people on Obama's team. Also, Kai Ryssdal learns how to pronounce the name of a South Dakota city.
Dubai's dream of having the biggest and best of everything was believed to be impervious to global economic slowdown, but Kelly McEvers reports there are signs the city is feeling economic malaise too.
