Marketplace: Friday, August 20, 2004

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A look at today's markets (closing numbers)
DOW 69.32 (0.69%) ; NASDAQ 18.13 (1.00%) ; S&P 500 7.12 (0.65%)

Newscast $46 million. That's what President Bush's re-election campaign says it spent in the month of July. That's according to filings with the Federal Election Commission on this Friday, August 20th. Most of the money went for advertising... and a single ad firm, Maverick Media, got most of the ad business... 38 million dollars worth. Part of the reason the President's campaign is spending so much NOW is because it has to. Once he accepts the Republican nomination early next month, he'll only be able to spend $75 million provided by the federal government. But the July spending may have another purpose... If you live in one of the key battleground or swing states -- say, Ohio - you've probably heard and seen a lot of attack ads. But most of the ads don't come from either President Bush's or Senator Kerry's campaigns. They're produced and sold by so-called 5-2-7 groups. Both parties have been screaming for the Federal Election Commission to do something about this flow of soft money designed to get around McCain-Feingold reform laws. Well the FEC finally did do something but folks are still screaming..... Listen to all newscast items

Features Sweet shopping mall dreams ... It's been a busy week at the mall -- but we're not talking foot traffic. Today two of the country's biggest shopping mall developers announced plans to join their shopping bags. And, it's the second mall merger of the week. Reporter: Matthew Algeo Related Story: General Motors subsidiary selling nine shopping malls Shopper's Paradise - Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine Support Marketplace: Purchase this music from Public Radio MusicSource ... as Online shopping thrives Remember all those claims during the dot-com boom about the coming explosion of online shopping? It took a while but it's beginning to look like the brave new world of e-commerce may finally be here. The Commerce Department reported today that Internet retail sales jumped 23 percent in the second quarter of the year, compared to the same period last year. Americans spent more than $15.6 billion online in just those three months. Reporter: Bob Moon Related Story: Vogue offers online shopping Float On - Modest Mouse Support Marketplace: Purchase this music from Public Radio MusicSource Converging technology and entertainment Yesterday a federal appeals court ruled that peer-to-peer file-sharing companies like Grokster and Streamcast aren't liable for any illegal downloading their customers might engage in. Peer-to-peer networks are how computer users swap music and movies and other copyrighted material over the Internet. Meanwhile new figures show more and more households are wired to be able to do those downloads. For the first time broadband outnumbers dial-up connection in U.S. homes. Q + A: Tess Vigeland with Jim Banister Related Story: P2P War Takes Bad Turn for Hollywood The week that was on Wall Street Time to check the week on Wall Street with stockbroker and business analyst David Johnson in Dallas. Q + A: Tess Vigeland with David Johnson Related Story: The Five Dumbest Things on Wall Street This Week Waiting in Vain - Annie Lennox Support Marketplace: Purchase this music from Public Radio MusicSource The Olympic hangover ... So who's been watching all those great swimming and gymnastics competitions this week? Not a lot of people in Athens as you see all those empty blue seats on television. In part because of that less-than-medal-worthy spectator performance, some economists are now arguing over whether the Games' price tag of at least $7 billion will be a net gain or loss for the Greek government. The international spotlight of course means a lot to the host city, but economic impacts can be surprising. Take the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City. Nearby Park City, Utah, hosted several events. But like many great parties, the Games left a heck of a hangover. And realtors there are just starting to recover... Reporter: Robin Sussingham Related Story: Greeks party knowing hangover will follow Leave Them All Behind - Ride Support Marketplace: Purchase this music from Public Radio MusicSource Cell sleuthing Cellphones, they're ubiquitous, for most of us they're necessary and they're easy to steal. But their illegal use is a puzzling crime. If somebody steals your bike, there's basically nothing that the police can do. But a cell-phone thief leaves an electronic trail that could make it pretty easy for the phone company or the police to track down. Commentator: Ian Ayres Related Story: Cell Phones Used In Criminal Activities

Coming up on Marketplace... Office politics...or theatrics?