Economy

Thousands Of Verizon Workers Go On Strike As Contract Talks Stall

4:54pm April 13, 2016

by Ilya Marritz

About 40,000 Verizon workers went on strike Wednesday demanding an extension on talks for a new labor contract. The workers are represented by two unions, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Communications Workers of America.

Remittances are a worldwide business. Above, an agent in Hong Kong specializes in transferring cash to the Philippines.

Who Gives More To The Developing World: Aid Donors Or Migrant Workers?

4:51pm April 13, 2016

by NPR Staff

Remittances — money sent home by migrants working abroad — add up to more than triple the amount of official foreign aid to developing countries. And that makes some people unhappy.

Coal Giant Peabody Energy Declares Bankruptcy

4:51pm April 13, 2016

Peabody Energy, the largest private sector coal company in the nation, declared bankruptcy Wednesday morning. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Taylor Kuykendall, a reporter with S&P Global Market Intelligence, about why the coal powerhouse needs to reorganize.

In 2006, a bulldozer sits ready for work at Peabody Energy's Gateway Coal Mine near Coulterville, Ill. Peabody is the latest coal company to declare bankruptcy.

U.S. Coal Giant Peabody Energy Files For Bankruptcy

10:20am April 13, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

As the coal industry struggles with falling prices, weak Chinese demand, regulatory changes and competition from fracking, St. Louis-based Peabody has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Queue Listen Now

A driver holds up his change from a transaction in Beijing in February. The latest World Economic Outlook offers some good news for China's economy this year.

5 Reasons The IMF Says Global Economic Growth Is Slowing

8:17pm April 12, 2016

by John Ydstie

In January, International Monetary Fund economists thought the global economy would grow 3.4 percent this year, but now they've ratcheted back that forecast.

On Equal Pay Day, President Obama marks the designation of a women's equality national monument.

As Hollywood Stars Can Attest, It's Good To Be A Man On Payday

7:37pm April 12, 2016

by Marilyn Geewax

Economic data show that men still make a dollar for every 79 cents a woman earns. A half-century ago, that figure was just 59 cents. So, much progress has been made, but a large wage gap persists.

Beyond The Panama Papers: How Else Do Wealthy People Avoid Paying Taxes?

6:20pm April 12, 2016

The offshore revelations from the Panama Papers come in the midst of U.S. tax filing season. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with author and tax journalist David Cay Johnston about how else wealthy people avoid paying taxes.

Queue Listen Now

On Equal Pay Day, Why The Gender Gap Still Exists

6:07pm April 12, 2016

President Obama issued a proclamation making April 12 "Equal Pay Day." NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Harvard economics professor Claudia Goldin about what's behind the pay gap between men and women.

Queue Listen Now

IRS Head Says Cybersecurity Problems Leave Taxpayers Vulnerable

5:01pm April 12, 2016

by Brian Naylor

With taxes on the minds of many Americans this week, a Senate committee looks at how vulnerable taxpayers' information is to cyber theft. The head of the IRS testifies on Capitol Hill.

Queue Listen Now

A Real-Life Tax Scam: This Is What IRS Phone Fraud Sounds Like

7:31am April 12, 2016

by Aarti Shahani

It's tax season, which also means it's tax scam season. People around the country are getting phone calls from criminals pretending to be tax collectors. Here is one of them.

Queue Listen Now