A branch of one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds — the Abu Dhabi fund — plans to spend $1 billion over five years to produce and distribute feature films in Hollywood. Ali Jaafar of Variety discusses the details with Kai Ryssdal.
Prices for commodities have been dropping, so it's a tricky time for companies that run those kinds of investments. One of the larger hedge-fund managers says it's closing down a flagship commodities fund that's gone very bad. Amy Scott reports.
The government's implicit backing of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae has apparently convinced investors that the two mortgage giants are a safe bet. John Dimsdale finds out why.
In his final appearance on our regular Friday segment, stockbroker and business analyst David Johnson reflects with host Kai Ryssdal on his 19 years of watching the markets.
After Enron, the federal government cracked down on corporate misbehavior like tax fraud. But after much complaining by businesses — and some unintended consequences — the government is changing its ways. Janet Babin reports.
Cities and states need an estimated $1.5 trillion to fix crumbling bridges, roads and utility plants. Taxpayers traditionally have paid for those kinds of projects. But governments are heading for Wall Street to get the job done. John Dimsdale reports.
Despite speculation that some sort of federal intervention was likely, nothing happened with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac today. But the pair aren't out of the woods just yet. John Dimsdale reports.
Host Kai Ryssdal goes over the week's big financial stories with stockbroker and business analyst David Johnson in Dallas, Texas. Fannie and Freddie, the Russians and gyrations on the stock market come up.
The Federal Reserve chairman says the financial storm isn't over, but inflation should ease. He also speaks of ways to discourage the risk-taking that started the credit crunch. Amy Scott reports.
The CME Group's acquisition of NYMEX is expected to close today. The deal will give CME Group control of 98 percent of all contracts traded on U.S. futures exchanges. Adriene Hill reports why this deal is so big.
