Thursday, August 16, 2007
In this show. . .
The official line: You're on your own
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and the head of the Federal Reserve bank in St. Louis had basically the same message today -- despite the market unease, there's no plan for government intervention. Bob Moon has more.
Even a safe bet is harder to find
Worries about the usually safe investment in "commercial paper" -- short-term bonds companies float to run their operations -- are trickling through the markets. Moody's chief economist John Lonski explains.
It doesn't care for strings on U.S. aid
The charitable organization CARE is turning down $45 million in U.S. government aid because, it says, the strings attached to the food aid package are hurting developing countries. John Dimsdale reports.
FDA: Careful with the kid meds
The Food and Drug Administration is warning parents not to give cough or cold medicines to children under 2 unless a doctor says so. The recommendation comes after a campaign by pediatricians who've treated overdoses of cold remedies. Helen Palmer reports.
Beach reads: Good, bad capitalism
In our continuing series on the best business beach books, economist Marcellus Andrews picked one that really is all business: "Good Capitalism, Bad Capitalism."
Hip-hop's cash kings
You probably won't find Shawn Carter or Curtis Jackson on any list of Who's Who in American Business. But they're on top of the new Forbes magazine list of hip-hop's cash kings. Forbes' Lea Goldman is on the beat.
'I am sunlight, not moonlight'
Meet a woman who's trying to get Cambodia a piece of the action in the international silk trade. The silk empire she's stitched together is the biggest employer in her province. Rachel Louise Snyder reports.
Kai Ryssdal's final note . . .
One finds economic indicators in unusual places. Today's comes to us from the Middle East. Egypt's third-largest source of revenue, the Suez Canal, announced a nifty 22.5 percent increase in monthly profits topday.
Why the bump? Skyrocketing fuel costs have shippers willing to pay the fees to cut through the canal rather than use expensive oil to sail all the way around Africa. Among the heaviest users of the canal last month? Tankers carrying natural gas.
Marketplace datebook for Friday, August 17, 2007
- In Washington, humanitarian organization CARE discusses strategies to fight child labor.
- The University of Michigan reports results of its preliminary consumer sentiment survey for August.
- And "Too much of a good thing is wonderful." We have writer and stage and screen star Mae West to thank for that phrase and so many others. She was born on this date in 1893.
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Music From This Show
Marketplace Confessional
"Will makes a great argument. The hostile reception, as indicated by the comments, should be unsurprising. If people actually understood how much immigration has historically benefited us then we wouldn't have the type of protectionist immigration laws we have. If the borders were opened one might see a drop in wages, but considering there would be a correlative drop in prices, it's doubtful there would be an overall harm and most likely considerable benefit..."
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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