Marketplace: Tuesday, June 15, 2004

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A look at today's markets (closing numbers)
DOW 45.70 (.44%) ; NASDAQ 25.61 (1.30%) ; S&P 500 6.72 (.60%)

Newscast The place was Capitol Hill. The person fielding questions from members of the Senate Banking Committee on this June 15th - Alan Greenspan. He's served four terms as head of the Federal Reserve and at age 78, he's going for number five. The era of low interest rates has made it easy for U.S. banks, hedge funds and other big investors to borrow money. And they`ve poured billions into Asia. But with a rate hike on the horizon, investors are poised to yank those billions out of the region. Listen to all newscast items

Features Will Oil Prices Rise Yet Again With just two weeks to go before the handover of power in Iraq - a blow today to one of the country's most critical revenue streams. Saboteurs hit an oil pipeline feeding storage tanks at the Gulf. The damage shuts down exports from Basra. Repairs could take from seven to ten days. Another explosion ripped through a pipeline linking Northern Iraqi fields. All this, as oil prices were on the way down, and as officials in Washington predicted the cost of gasoline would continue to drop, too. Reporter: Bob Moon Related Story: Attacks cripple Iraq oil exports Space Girls - Soundscape UK Support Marketplace: Purchase this music from Public Radio MusicSource Do Not Spam! Do Not Spam! Google wasn't workling today. Did you have any trouble? The explanation, according to CNET, was a blackout suffered by Akamai Technologies domain name server. Not sure of the cause, but some suspect a hacker attack. Finally got to Yahoo - and hit another problem. Dozens of spam messages. This is more than a nuisance. A survey of Fortune 500 companies claims the price of lost productivity due to spam is, on average, two thousand dollars, per worker, per year. Let's be optimistic and assume that for every problem there's a solution. Take the government's Do Not Call list. How about something similar for unwanted e-mails? Reporter: Rachel Dornhelm Related Story: 'Do Not Spam' List Will Not Work - FTC Cucumber Slumber - Material Support Marketplace: Purchase this music from Public Radio MusicSource Making Drug Trials... Public Knowledge Should there be a public registry of all clinical drug trials, whatever the result? Yes indeed, say members of the American Medical Association. Today the AMA adopted a policy statement to address concerns that drug companies publish positive results - but bury those studies that show some products don't help. Reporter: Helen Palmer Related Story: Plan seeks registration of clinical drug trials Aladdin's Story - Death in Vegas John Kerry - Live and on Tour! Today, John Kerry starts a two-week tour highlighting his economic policies. Marketplace explores the challenges of running on an economic platform when the economy is a recovery. Q + A: Host David Brown speaks with David Mark Related Story: Kerry: 'I'm Running for President Because ....' She Loves Me Not - Creeper Lagoon Afghanistan and Aid Moving Forward Afghan President Hamid Karzai visited the White House today. He told President Bush the phenomenal growth rate of Afghanistan's economy -- 25% last year -- would not have been possible without U.S. aid. Washington has committed just over $2 billion to help put Afghanistan on a path to a prosperous democracy. Skeptics of foreign aid often point to past disappointments. It seems reasonable to wonder if the money ever reaches the people. If you count yourself among the skeptics, you may be surprised by what was found in a remote corner of Afghanistan. Reporter: Irris Makler Related Story: Afghan Successes, and Shortfall, on Display One April Day - Stephin Merritt Support Marketplace: Purchase this music from Public Radio MusicSource

Coming up on Marketplace... Is Russia trying to re-nationalize some of its largest companies?