Marketplace: Tuesday, August 3, 2004

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A look at today's markets (closing numbers)
DOW 58.92 (0.58%) ; NASDAQ 32.67 (1.73%) ; S&P 500 6.93 (0.63%)

Newscast The calendar says it's summer - August 3rd to be precise. So what's up with this icy patch? Despite several months of encouraging news about job growth, layoffs jumped 8 percent in July from the previous month. That's according to a new survey by the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas. More than 69,000 job cuts were announced last month. Oil prices traded above $44 today - to the highest price since crude futures were launched on the New York Mercantile Exchange. This, on a day when the head of the OPEC producers' cartel said there's no extra oil to to dampen those red hot markets. When folks are buying, many flock to Wal-Mart except here in California, where the company has had a tough time establishing as much of a presence as it has in the rest of the country. Today, word of a new study sure to play into a noisy debate over the economic impact when a Wal-Mart comes to town. According to a report from the UC Berkeley labor center, Wal-Mart workers in California disproportionately depend on state resources, in effect, shifting labor costs to taxpayers. Listen to all newscast items

Features "But what if the ad is between article paragraphs?" If you ever want to get an argument started, get a bunch of journalists together and suggest that their editorial content should have some advertising in it. Then run as fast as you can - because to many in that group you will have just committed heresy. A tenet of journalism is to maintain a bright line between news and ads - never should sponsors influence what's reported. Now Forbes.com is testing how bright that line really is. Reporter: Hillary Wicai Related Story: Forbes.com Puts Ad Links in News Stories The Final Comedown - Grant Green Support Marketplace: Purchase this music from Public Radio MusicSource The French (SUV) resistance After plummeting to six-year lows in June, the news from U.S. automakers today is mixed. DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler division was alone in gaining market share--sales up 2 percent. But Ford's sales fell 6.8 percent, while GM slipped 3.4 percent. Blame most of that on cars; trucks and sport utility vehicles are doing well both here and abroad. Even in Europe, the all-American SUV has been growing in popularity. But recently, there has been a backlash. Some Parisian officials want to banish SUVs from the city or slap taxes on them and give that money to people who buy small cars. From Paris, John Laurenson reports on the French resistance. Reporter: John Laurenson Related Story: Feeling the Heat Again I Love My Car - Belle & Sebastian Support Marketplace: Purchase this music from Public Radio MusicSource TYCO is alive and kicking Like Worldcom and Enron, Tyco became a posterchild for a season of corporate scandal. Nearly everyone's heard of the excesses under former chief Dennis Koslowski, and how the company looked ready to go under. Now hear this: today, Tyco reported profits up 63 percent due largely to double-digit revenue growth and cost cutting. These are the fruits of a massive restructuring program at a company with more branches than most. Q + A: Host David Brown with Adam Lashinsky Related Story: Another Tyco Victory Lap Amsterdam - Joan Baez Support Marketplace: Purchase this music from Public Radio MusicSource Please Mr. Postman, look and see .... It's time for Marketplace letters. And you don't want to miss them this week... Reporter: David Brown Mr. Writer - Stereophonics Support Marketplace: Purchase this music from Public Radio MusicSource Build us a hurricane and then an earthquake ... Hurricane Alex is churning along the North Carolina coast. The folks who predict the weather say a direct land strike isn't likely. But before hurricane season gets too far into the alphabet, businesses up and down the east coast are once again calculating just how much insurance they need for situations like this. Most insurance companies rely on actuaries who crunch numbers to set premiums. But one of the world's largest and most profitable commercial property insurers doesn't have a single actuary on staff. On the other hand, it does employ 1,500 engineers. Reporter: Allan Coukell Related Story: North Carolina Coast Takes on Hurricane Alex Clubbed to Death - Rob Dougan Support Marketplace: Purchase this music from Public Radio MusicSource

Coming up on Marketplace... Cutting through the low-carb hype