Economy

Treasury Nominee's Citigroup Experience Raises Questions For Some

9:02am February 12, 2013

by Ailsa Chang

Jack Lew is known as a smart, unassuming budget wonk who has spent most of his career in government policy-making jobs. Lew, President Obama's nominee to be Treasury secretary, is expected to face questions about his management years at Citigroup before the government bailed out the banking giant.

Queue Listen Now

Economy

Greensboro Church Flips for Habitat Humanity

4:00pm February 11, 2013

Raising money for one Triad charity is as easy as a flip.

Gas, Oil Booms Bring Complications To Small Towns

3:39pm February 11, 2013

The discovery of oil and natural gas in Wyoming, Colorado and North Dakota has created a new generation of boomtowns. The explosive growth generated by the oil and gas drilling is often accompanied by an influx of new labor. The small towns near the fields wrestle to balance the economic advantages of the boom with the dramatic changes it brings to these tight-knit communities.

Queue Listen Now

Economy

Old, Old Bricks for Sale

12:07pm February 11, 2013

If you want to hold on to a piece of Salisbury's past, then you might want to plan a trip to the city's historic foundation.

The China Twist by Wen-Szu Lin chronicles the author's (ultimately unsuccessful) attempt to bring Auntie Anne's pretzels to China.

Auntie Anne's Pretzels In Beijing: Why The Chinese Didn't Bite

11:41am February 11, 2013

by Frank Langfitt

It's the entrepreneurs' dream: tapping into China's market of 1.3 billion people. That dream fueled the efforts of two Chinese-American MBAs to take the soft-pretzel franchise — a staple of U.S. shopping malls — to China. Cultural and financial barriers, however, led to a far more challenging reality.

Queue Listen Now

Brookfield, Vt., residents fear that Postal Service changes will eventually lead to the closing of their small town post office. About 1,300 people live in Brookfield, according to 2010 U.S. Census figures.

For Rural Towns, Postal Service Cuts Could Mean A Loss Of Identity

12:11pm February 09, 2013

by Steve Zind

The U.S. Postal Service's decision to end Saturday delivery comes on the heels of a plan to reduce hours at many rural post offices. In Vermont, residents of small towns are worried the change is another step toward the eventual demise of their local post offices.

Queue Listen Now

Economy

Effects Of Postal Service Cuts Could Ripple Through Middle Class

12:11pm February 09, 2013

Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon talks with Philip Rubio, assistant professor of history at North Carolina A&T State University, about how the series of cuts in Saturday delivery, office closures and other budget-saving measures will affect groups that have historically relied on jobs with the Postal Service. Rubio is the author of There's Always Work at the Post Office. Before he became a history professor, Rubio carried mail for the Postal Service for 20 years.

Queue Listen Now

Economy

Healthcare Reform Again Debated in Raleigh

1:24pm February 08, 2013

The Affordable Health Care Act is sparking some heated debate between state legislators in Raleigh.

Queue Listen Now

The Garment District's factories and wholesale and retail shops, including Spandex World on West 38th Street, employ about 7,100 people.

New York's Grimy Garment District Hatches Designers' Dreams

8:07pm February 07, 2013

by Padmananda Rama

As Fashion Week opens in New York on Thursday, all eyes will be on the Lincoln Center catwalk. But the real business of fashion will be happening a short distance away in the city's Garment District, the resource-rich laboratory that has launched the careers of countless designers.

Queue Listen Now

Employees of Hellenic Postbank protest during a strike against the bank's privatization in Athens, in December.

Privatization Of Greek Assets Runs Behind Schedule

3:07pm February 07, 2013

by Sylvia Poggioli

The sweeping fire sale is a requirement for multibillion-euro bailouts. And the Chinese, Russian and Arab companies lining up to take advantage of the steep discounts are making Greeks and other Europeans nervous.

Queue Listen Now