Economy

Latest Economic Forecast: A Whole Lot Of 'Meh'

9:23pm May 31, 2013

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released monthly data on the personal finances of Americans Friday. It shows Americans' income, spending and savings pretty much unchanged from last month. Planet Money's Adam Davidson explains to Melissa Block what this tells us about the state of the economy.

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President Obama, with Education Secretary Arne Duncan at his side, calls on Congress on June 21, 2012, to stop interest rates on student loans from doubling. He is going to make that appeal again Friday.

Obama Presses Congress On Student Loan Rates

11:25am May 31, 2013

by Scott Horsley

Interest rates on government-backed college loans are set to double July 1 — unless Congress agrees on a fix before then. The president is expected to urge Congress on Friday to block that increase.

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Economy

Furniture Makers Regaining Lost Ground in High Point

6:32pm May 30, 2013

Many business sectors are beginning to bounce back afte

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White House Economic Adviser To Leave

10:19am May 30, 2013

by Scott Horsley

Alan Krueger, the chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, says he will step down to return to Princeton to resume his post as a professor of economics. Krueger, who has served as CEA chairman for the past two years, will return to Princeton in time for the beginning of the fall term.

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By leasing land for drilling, city leaders in Youngstown, Ohio, hope to generate funds to demolish vacant buildings.

What's Under Youngstown May Help What's On Top

7:18pm May 29, 2013

City leaders in Youngstown, Ohio, are hoping that by leasing land to drilling companies, they might generate funds to demolish vacant homes and buildings. Some refer to this as "frackmolishing," and opponents worry the drilling will cause environmental damage.

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The Business And Science Of Storm Shelters

2:09pm May 28, 2013

There are no definitive numbers on how many people were saved by storm shelters in the deadly tornado in Moore, Okla. There's little doubt that those who sought cover in previously-installed underground shelters and safe rooms were protected. Still, most people in high-risk areas don't have them.

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Garment Industry Follows Threads Of Immigration Overhaul

9:31am May 28, 2013

by Sonari Glinton

One industry official says a path to citizenship would improve conditions in the industry, which relies heavily on immigrant labor.

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Economy

How Code For America's Apps Benefit Kansas City

7:58am May 28, 2013

by Laura Ziegler

Code for America, a new nonprofit out of San Francisco, is building apps to make cities work better for citizens. One of its apps often cuts down the normal time it would take to find something — for example, property research in the treasurer's office.

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Hostess Twinkies are offered for sale in Chicago, part of the last shipment of Hostess products the company made in 2012.

Twinkies' Return Is Mostly Sweet News For Kansas Town

5:17am May 27, 2013

by Frank Morris

Emporia, Kan., was hit pretty hard when the Hostess snack cake plant shut down last year. The company that bought Hostess' business is going to fire its ovens back up, but there will be half as many jobs and they will be nonunion. Still, the news sparked an ecstatic response in this beleaguered town.

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A man interviews for a job in Detroit. The unemployment rate for black Americans in Michigan was 18.7 percent in 2012, more that twice the rate for whites in the state.

Economy

Job Searching While Black: What's Behind The Unemployment Gap?

6:04pm May 25, 2013

by NPR Staff

Income and wealth inequality is just about as American as baseball and apple pie. And although the economy has improved in the last few years, the unemployment rate for black Americans is about double that for whites.

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