Economy

Pew Research Report Finds Most Americans Are No Longer Middle Class

4:31pm December 10, 2015

According to a Pew Research Center report released Wednesday, the middle class is losing ground. The report finds the middle class has shifted into lower and upper-income households. NPR's Audie Cornish talks with Rakesh Kochhar, the lead author of the report and associate director of research at the Pew Research Center, about what it now means to be part of the middle class. Then, Audie Cornish turns to NPR's Mara Liasson about what a shrinking middle class means for the presidential race.

The parent company of Chrysler acknowledges that it failed to turn over safety data as required. Above, a 2014 photo of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Economy

Fiat Chrysler Fined $70 Million For Failing To Report Safety Data

4:19pm December 10, 2015

by Jim Zarroli

Automakers are required by law to turn over data about accidents, warranties and safety issues.

Radwan Mahmoud, a Syrian refugee, works as a laborer on a construction site in Lebanon. He's supporting 12 family members and earning about $16 a day. With a population of just over 4 million, Lebanon is host to more than 1 million Syrian refugees.

As War Drags On, Syrian Refugees In Lebanon Sink Into Debt Trap

3:27pm December 10, 2015

by Alice Fordham

Barred from legal work in Lebanon, Syrian refugees are accumulating huge debts as they struggle to pay for rent and other necessities.

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When ISIS Comes To Town, Everything Changes

9:06am December 10, 2015

by Stacey Vanek Smith

Our Planet Money team examines the financial life within ISIS territory. When members of the Islamic State take control of a town, they also take control of its businesses and its economy.

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Economy

Honda Aircraft Gets FAA Green Light For HondaJet Delivery

12:31am December 10, 2015

by Keri Brown

Greensboro-based Honda Aircraft is about to start delivering its first aircraft to customers: a HondaJet.

Yahoo Takes Reverse Spin To Boost Investment Image

9:59pm December 09, 2015

by Aarti Shahani

It sounds like a dance move — the reverse spin. But it's actually a financial engineering maneuver Yahoo is using to make the company more attractive to investors.

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Lobbyists Eye Spending Bill As A Way To Thwart Retirement Regs, Advocates Warn

9:57pm December 09, 2015

by Chris Arnold

As lawmakers work to negotiate a government spending bill, the financial industry is lobbying against a rule being crafted by the Labor Department aimed at protecting workers with retirement accounts.

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Iowa Chemist Turns Inedible Hedge Balls Into Valuable Cash Crop

8:18pm December 09, 2015

by Lindsey Moon

Osage oranges, also known as hedge balls or monkey brains, fall from hedge shrubs that line many Iowa farms. They've been a problem because cattle can easily choke on them. But they've become valuable since Todd Johnson, a southern Iowa chemist, started paying $180 per ton — more than what many farmers are getting for their corn this fall. He promises it's not a prank.

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Less Than Half Of Adults Now Middle Class

The Tipping Point: Most Americans No Longer Are Middle Class

5:03pm December 09, 2015

by Marilyn Geewax

In the post-World War II economy, most Americans lived in middle-income homes. But that has been shifting for decades. Today, middle-income families make up less than 50 percent of all households.

AIDS activists poured cat litter on an image of Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli during an October protest in New York.

Senate Questions 'Egregious' Price Hikes For Specialty Medicines

4:27pm December 09, 2015

by Alison Kodjak

Some companies have bought the patents for old drugs, then abruptly upped the prices — from $13 per pill to $750 in one case. Irate senators call it price gouging.