Economy

A customer shops for groceries with her son at the Wal-Mart on H Street in Washington, D.C.

Why Wal-Mart Is Betting Big On Being Your Local Urban Grocer

6:16pm April 08, 2015

by Uri Berliner

Wal-Mart conquered the suburbs, but its future may lie in smaller stores in dense city neighborhoods. And in our grab-and-go times, freshly prepared meals are a big part of its urban strategy.

You don't need to run a marathon â or wear a gorilla suit â to get a discount on John Hancock's new life insurance program. But at least one of them may help.

John Hancock Hopes You'll Trade Activity Data For Insurance Discounts

12:44pm April 08, 2015

by Krishnadev Calamur

Life insurance customers will receive discounts each year based on their activity levels. The practice is used in Australia, Europe, Singapore and South Africa. But privacy experts are concerned.

Apps like Venmo promise easy, carefree money transfers between friends.

The Risky Boom In Carefree Social Payment Apps

7:54pm April 07, 2015

by Noah Nelson

Lots of young adults are using apps like Venmo to settle all kinds of debts. As the apps get more popular, they've become targets for scammers and hackers. But that hasn't seemed to scare away users.

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Depending on the amount taken in subsidies, or changes in reported income and family status, some Obamacare policyholders this year will get a bigger refund than expected and others will owe more in taxes.

Many Obamacare Policyholders Face Tax Surprises This Year

7:54pm April 07, 2015

by John Ydstie

Depending on the size of the subsidy they got, some will get a bigger refund than expected and others will owe taxes.

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More Americans are ditching traditional cash and plastic, opting instead for new mobile payment applications. But new research indicates cash isn't completely dead.

Is Cash-Free Really The Way To Be? Maybe Not For Millennials

6:20pm April 07, 2015

by NPR Staff

Financial advisers advocate using cash whenever possible. New technologies make it easier to do just the opposite. Still, a recent study shows more millennials are turning away from plastic.

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Economy

A New Internet Domain: Extortion Or Free Speech?

3:48pm April 07, 2015

by Yuki Noguchi

New Web suffixes have popped up in recent years to supplement .com and .net. One of the newest — .sucks — has companies worried their reputations will take a hit, so they're buying up the addresses.

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Pirates' McCutchen: Baseball Is Dying In Economically Challenged Communities

3:35pm April 07, 2015

David Greene talks to Andrew McCutchen, centerfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, about the future of baseball in America's inner cities.

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Multiple lawsuits accuse the New York City Police Department of pressuring officers into fulfilling monthly quotes for tickets and arrests, resulting in warrantless stops. The NYPD denies the allegations.

Despite Laws And Lawsuits, Quota-Based Policing Lingers

2:39pm April 06, 2015

by Joel Rose

The NYPD is denying allegations that officers were forced to make a certain number of warrantless stops, and faced retaliation from superiors when they didn't.

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McDonald's announced this week that it will pay workers in its company-owned stores $1 more per hour than the local minimum wage. Wal-Mart, Target and the parent company of Marshalls and TJ Maxx have also promised to boost wages for their lowest-paid work

While Pay Holds Steady For Most, Low-Wage Workers Get A Boost

12:03pm April 06, 2015

by Chris Arnold

Some big U.S. employers are giving their lowest-paid employees a raise. That's helped make low-wage workers one of the few segments of the workforce seeing an increase in pay.

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Economy

Two-year Degrees Provide Ample Career Paths For Advanced Manufacturing Jobs

10:46pm April 04, 2015

by Keri Brown

Society has long pushed students to pursue the traditional four-year college degree, citing it as the ultimate path to success.

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