Marketplace: Thursday, September 30, 2004

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A look at today's markets (closing numbers)
DOW 55.97 (0.55%) ; NASDAQ 2.90 (0.15%) ; S&P 500 0.22 (0.02%)

Newscast As many as 2 million people in 80 countries take a pill called Vioxx. On a list of best selling drugs, it comes in at number 20. Two and a half billion dollars in sales last year. Today it's maker, Merck and Company pulled Vioxx off the market saying evidence shows the drug could increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Merck stock tumbled hard...so did many other drug companies...because the concern about Vioxx centers on an entire class of so-called "super-aspirins"... This morning the trading desk that handles Merck started getting what they call block trades - only this time institutional investors weren't dumping blocks of 10,000 shares at a time, but 70,000 shares. This big retreat may reflect more than just a fear about Merck losing Vioxx sales... Listen to all newscast items

Features Ok, just what is a hedge fund? We completely sympathize if you hear the phrase 'hedge funds' and glaze over. It didn't exactly rock the nightly news on Monday when JP Morgan said it's buying a majority stake in a hedge fund firm called Highbridge. But then today: Lehman Brothers said it's buying a majority stake in GLG Partners, a London based hedge fund outfit. What's so hot about hedge funds? Jim Angel's here to help us. He's a professor of finance at Georgetown. Just to make sure we're all on the same page: What's a hedge fund? Q + A: David Brown with Jim Angel Related Story: Oil Drawing Hedge Funds It's Not the End of the World - Super Furry Animals Support Marketplace: Purchase this music from Public Radio MusicSource Debate topics: More than foreign policy The first presidential debate is tonight and the subject is supposed to be limited to foreign policy. But commentator and economist James Galbraith argues that this year, it's going to be hard to wall-off foreign policy from the economy. Commentator: James Galbraith Related Story: When Intangibles Count More Than the Score My Frozen Hedgehog - Cordelia's Dad Support Marketplace: Purchase this music from Public Radio MusicSource Banking for a younger crowd One of the most lucrative areas in the U.S. economy this year has been mergers. Bank mergers to be specific. When you add up the value of the deals that have already been announced this year, it comes to $1.3 trillion. That's up 18 percent. The consolidation begets bigger and bigger banks. But there is another banking movement taking place in South Asia. As Judith Ritter reports from Delhi, this banking movement is small. Very small. Reporter: Judith Ritter Poem of Chinese Drum - Yim Hok-Man Support Marketplace: Purchase this music from Public Radio MusicSource Letters, letters, letters Another appointment with the mailbox, as we pull out some Marketplace letters ... Reporter: David Brown Letter to the Editor - Wade Linkert Support Marketplace: Purchase this music from Public Radio MusicSource Ford and an automobile history It's been tough year for American car makers -- and we'll find out tomorrow just how tough September was. Many expect Ford to post its fourth straight month of sagging sales. As Ford tries to invent a way to regain its market share, a group in Detroit is trying to preserve a part of the company's heritage. And perhaps, the nation's heritage - considering one could make the case that it's where America's car culture began. Oh, Ford is not affiliated with the museum. But Ford is an underwriter of our technology coverage. So we debated over whether we needed a disclaimer just to be upfront. The decision was basically this: "David, why don't you just say something like what you just said?" Reporter: Bill Poorman Related Story: Bill Ford: Time to sell more cars Explorer - The Merkin Dream Support Marketplace: Purchase this music from Public Radio MusicSource

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