NPR: Business Story of the Day Podcast: Episodes
When tens of thousands of newly laid off workers rushed to file for benefits in New York, the state's system crashed. State labor department officials say the problem started Monday when phone banks at the state's toll-free claims center shut down. Then, the online filing system crashed.
Mail volume suffers when the economy suffers, but this economic downturn is hitting the Postal Service particularly hard. The ailing housing and financial sectors, once heavy users of direct mail marketing, are cutting back. In the last fiscal year, mail carriers delivered 9.5 billion fewer letters ...
The health care industry has been one of the strongest engines of the economy recently, adding jobs as other industries cut them. But there's growing evidence hospitals are not so immune to the recession.
Chateau Montelena winery is famous for besting French competitors at a 1976 competition in Paris. The Napa Valley winery is also a family business, one that has passed through two generations and could make it to a third. But working together wasn't always smooth.
Most of the billions in bailout money that the government has handed out so far has gone to the nation's banks. The idea was that with more money on their balance sheets, banks would make more loans and that would help jump-start the economy. But it hasn't quite worked out that way.
Even with the financial meltdown, technology companies have continued churning out gadgets or new advances of the devices we carry in our pockets, purses, or clip on our ears. Morning Edition tech guru Mario Armstrong selected one innovation as our technology pick of the year. He explains his decision ...
As 2008 comes to a close, many people are scratching their heads and thinking, "What in the world just happened to our economy?" Some remarkable financial and economic events have plunged the world into what appears to be the worst recession since World War II. But just a year ago, the huge breakdown ...
There has been an explosion of new software programs for mobile phones, and technology guru Mario Armstrong has a favorite: Compare Everywhere, which lets shoppers find and compare prices for a particular item at stores in a given area.
Investors who have endured a year of negative returns — and lost their faith in the markets, thanks to an alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme — can be forgiven for wanting to stuff their mattresses with cash. Still, Knight Kiplinger, editor in chief of <em>Kiplinger's Personal Finance,</em> ...
It's been a big year for numbers in 2008. Take the $700 billion bailout for example. Economist Andrew Dilnot and journalist Michael Blastland try to make sense of numbers in their new book, <em>The Numbers Game: The Commonsense Guide to Understanding Numbers in the News, in Politics, and in Life.</em> ...
Bowl & Board, a family-owned chain of housewares stores in New England, is trying to boost its sales — and morale — with creative promotions. Despite drastic cost-cutting measures, sales are sinking. With the economy in recession, it's possible the chain may have to close at least two locations.
In 2001, reporter Erin Arvedlund wrote an article for the financial weekly <em>Barrons</em> that was skeptical of Bernard Madoff's strategy and performance on Wall Street. She questioned how Madoff was able to offer good returns. She talks with Steve Inskeep about the impetus for her story and what she ...
A program created in the 1930s to help pull the country out of the Great Depression has come back in fashion. The Federal Housing Administration is now insuring nearly a third of the nation's home loans. But some people are calling FHA loans the "new subprime."
The German engineering company agreed Monday to pay a record fine of $1.6 billion to settle bribery allegations made by U.S. and European authorities. The company was charged with paying out more than a billion dollars in bribes to win contracts around the world.
The election of Barack Obama has inspired one French entrepreneur to create a new soft drink. The maker of Obama Soda says he hopes his beverage, and its namesake, will inspire young people living in some of France's grimmest housing projects by giving them a little taste of the American dream.
Dealers across the country are offering some of the best prices in more than a decade. The tight market for consumer credit and the year-end rush to shed inventory have dealers eager to sell.
A lack of oversight, transparency and accountability in financial markets led to the worst crisis in decades. Economists weigh in with advice for President-elect Barack Obama on revamping regulations for Wall Street.
Consumers are still having a hard time obtaining loans for cars and appliances. To add insult to injury, many are seeing their credit limits slashed. That's largely because investors are backing away from the secondary market for consumer credit. American consumers used to be considered a safe investment, ...
In normal times, Eric Hansen supplies clothing to major retailers. But these days, orders at Moda America, where he serves as senior vice president, have dropped precipitously. Now Hansen is selling directly to consumers at sample sales and trying to hang on.
Newspapers that so often tell people what's happening are now facing the question of what will happen to them. Even a paper the size of <em>The New York Times</em> isn't immune. But Editor Bill Keller says his paper is still making a profit, though Wall Street has hammered the company's stock price.