Marketplace: News Archives

Monday, August 4, 2003 Listen to the entire show in RealAudio

Newscast Today: Dow dribbles 32.07 (+.35%); NASDAQ skids out 1.56 (-0.09%); S&P 500 trickles 2.67 (+0.27%) Mass. wants to publicize Canadian drug prices and allow re-imports -- but the idea has to clear some major hurdles first Companies accepting SEC injunctions now seen as admitting to the charges -- Will this mean fewer settlements? Union Pacific to use an IPO to spin off its profitable trucking business -- and it’s banking on Wall Street optimism Violence in Iraq has obscured good news coming out of the country: hospitals, universities are open, banking services are everywhere, and job-creation programs have been launched Listen to all newscast items

Features Music Bridge: Midnight - Brian Culbertson Purchase this music from Public Radio MusicSource Your purchase helps support Marketplace. RIAA trudges forward with subpoenas The RIAA is seeking to identify hundreds of individuals who download and then share music through the Internet. This tactic will keep a lot of lawyers busy and it will make a lot of people nervous. Since Verizon lost a challenge in federal court in early June, it has had to cooperate -- but some other service providers can still fight. And those providers are hoping one court will disagree with the RIAA. If that happens, there would be a conflict that might ultimately have to be settled by the Supreme Court. Until that time comes, the recording industry will continue to try to make people understand that “stealing” music off the Net is a crime. Reporter: Kim Masters

The goldmine of customer info. from file-sharing The record industry has been very busy working itself into a red-hot fury over online file-sharing services. But they also realize what a goldmine of consumer information these same services are. Host Kai Ryssdal talks with futurist Andrew Zolli about what’s more valuable here: the lost revenue to the recording industry as a result of file-sharing, or the increased customer insight companies get about what people really like and how to best market to them? Reporter: Host Kai Ryssdal talks with Andrew Zolli Music Bridge: Ain't Misbehavin' - Louis Armstrong Purchase this music from Public Radio MusicSource Your purchase helps support Marketplace.

Argentines in search of cash resort to pawnshops While Argentina’s government has reported increased tax revenues and falling unemployment, over half the population is poor -- and people have had to find their own way to make ends meet. In the midst of tough economic times in Argentina, everyone, from every economic situation, has become a frequent visitor of the local pawnshop. Many are selling family heirlooms and jewels. Argentina's economic crash in December 2001 left nearly 1 in 5 Argentines without a job. So, thousand are paying essentials bills, like food, rent and utilities, by pawning what they don't need. And, the City Bank of Buenos Aires chain is the only place to pawn legally in the city. Reporter: Patricia Nazario Related media   View a slideshow of images from this story Music Bridge: Precious Things - Tori Amos Purchase this music from Public Radio MusicSource Your purchase helps support Marketplace.

Commentary - Learning economics via belly dancing A summer job is a great way to teach kids the value of a dollar. And, when belly dancing is a family art, as commentator Melinda Heywood remembers, dollars take on a special significance. “I knew exactly where money came from: mom’s coin girdle after a show,” says Heywood. As the years went by, she came to understand that the money from mom’s shimmies paid for items they wanted. Later, Heywood turned to belly dancing as well, which ended up financing her doctorate. She’s still dancing -- and now, her 2-year-old daughter has an interest in it too. Commentator: Melinda Heywood Music Bridge: Les Ke Kratages Maheria - Eleni Vitali Purchase this music from Public Radio MusicSource Your purchase helps support Marketplace.

Monday On Marketplace... Coming up on Marketplace: Hit by an economic recession, Germany is hoping that a little image adjustment will help propel its battered economy out of the doldrums.