Wednesday, July 11, 2007
In this show. . .
Private equity's looking a little dicey
Market speculators are sending warning signals that private equity firms may not be able to pay back all the money they've borrowed for some of their huge deals lately. Marketplace's Bob Moon explains.
Dollar is losing some of its muscle
The U.S. dollar is at a record low compared to the euro, and the lowest it's been in 25 years against the British pound. Why? Ashley Milne Tyte reports.
There's good news on housing front?
Economists at the National Association of Realtors are predicting home prices and new-home sales will rebound next year. But that's after the nation's first home-price decline in 40 years plays itself out. Steve Tripoli reports.
Levi's may be dressed up to go public
After almost a decade of saggy performance, Levi Strauss is looking a lot more fit these days. And that's sparking speculation that the jeans maker could be in a position to go public again. Elizabeth Wynne Johnson goes behind the seams.
Cadbury finds itself in a sticky mess
Cadbury Schweppes is set to be sentenced by a British court for hygiene offenses, after it knowingly sold chocolate contaminated with salmonella. Stephen Beard takes a look at the case's impact on Cadbury's squeaky clean image.
'No Child Left Behind' needs fixing
The White House is pushing Congress to reauthorize the president's signature education plan before it automatically expires in September. Commentator Robert Reich has some changes he'd like to see included.
Turning the fleet green
One of the biggest fleet managers in the nation is turning away from gas guzzlers toward a "greener" company car. Sarah Gardner reports.
Kai Ryssdal's final note . . .
Long the runner-up in the world of social networking, Facebook's turning out to be more than just your average college networking site. Traffic's soared 89 percent over the past year or so. Which, of course, means investors are seeing profits in its future.
Never one to miss an opportunity, Silicon Valley venture capitalists are deciding now is a good time to invest -- $25,000 to $250,000 for developers to create applications that work specifically with Facebook. Not necessarily good news for Rupert Murdoch, who owns the competition, MySpace.
Marketplace datebook for Thursday, July 12, 2007
- In Washington, the Commerce Department reports on international trade for May.
- In New York, the nation's largest retailers announce their sales figures for June.
- And heavy metal fans converge on Seattle for Ozzfest. Ozzy Osbourne kicks off a 24-city tour in which all the tickets are free. Headbangers got tickets through sponsor giveaways. Parking, however, is probably gonna cost ya.
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Music From This Show
Marketplace Confessional
"I disagree with Diana Nyad, who told Bob Moon today that Americans are not interested in Wimbledon because there are so few Americans playing. I love watching tennis, no matter who is playing. I have watched tennis for years, but the networks toy with us, creating drama rather than showing the match. Oftentimes, televised matches end precisely when the allotted time expires, even if they have to cut and splice. When they don't, as happened in a Nadal match last weekend, we were left hanging at the end of two sets, as NBC switched to women's golf. I don't have cable TV, so I couldn't switch to MSNBC as was suggested. It's enough to make me turn off the TV and read about the matches online."
Your Host
Kai Ryssdal took the reins as host of Marketplace in August 2005 after hosting the Marketplace Morning Report for more than four years. Before joining Marketplace, Kai was … Full bio
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