Friday, August 24, 2007
In this show. . .
Looking good, America! . . . Er, wait
Today's reports say new-home sales are up 2.8% and U.S. factory orders nearly 6%. But, wait. Those are the numbers from July -- before the subprime debacle and the credit squeeze. Jill Barshay has more.
No recalls on bad investments
Thanks to the subprime mess, China now has its own problems with tainted imports. Its been buying products of the financial variety from American banks and brokers -- including big slices of mortgage-backed securities. Bob Moon reports on whether that could be a problem.
Retailers try return policy on their stock
Things seem to be falling apart at the seams for some of this country's biggest clothing retailers. Ann Taylor posted a 27% decline in profits, and the Gap is cutting 2,200 jobs with sales down 5%. But both announced big stock buybacks. Why? Stacey Vanek-Smith found out.
'I partied and I unlocked the iPhone!'
George Hotz, 17, has posted on his blog the instructions for how to fiddle with an iPhone so it can be used with a wireless carrier other than AT&T. Kai Ryssdal figured that was worth a conversation and called him up.
Putting new interest in payday loans
Check-cashing outlets pull in pretty good profits by offering short-term loans at what can be triple-digit interest rates. The FDIC wants the nations' 22,000 payday lenders to lower those rates -- and competition's the best way to do that. Mhari Saito reports.
Week on Wall Street
Stockbroker and business analyst David Johnson talks with host Kai Ryssdal about how the markets are adjusting to the credit crunch and what may lie ahead.
It's time for a sit-down strike
Commentator Moira Manion works at a shop where she's on her feet eight hours a day. A few customers have told her she should sit down. She has a radical idea to make that point to her employer.
No, my lord, you may not rule the village
The days of the feudal system and its hierarchy of serfs and vassals collapsed in the 1600s. But one self-proclaimed lord of the manor in England is trying to bring those days back -- for a price. Stephen Beard reports.
Kai Ryssdal's final note...
Second Life, the virtual world, is said to have 8 million participants, some of whom plan to gather for a convention in Chicago this weekend. Businesses have been generating some real cash with their endeavors in Second Life. Car companies and banks to name just a few. On the agenda this weekend: virtual marketing campaigns and brands that have done well in Second Life.
Marketplace datebook for Monday, August 27, 2007
- In Washington the National Association of Realtors releases the July report on existing home sales.
- Democratic presidential candidates discuss health policy at the Presidential Cancer Forum in Iowa.
- And in Nevada's Black Rock Desert thousands of so-called "burners" will gather for the opening of the annual Burning Man Festival.
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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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