Business

Global Stocks Plunge After China Halts Trading

7:23pm January 07, 2016

by Yuki Noguchi

China's attempts to shore up its stock market have failed. And with the markets affecting global stocks, NPR reports on whether, and how much of a factor it might be in affecting markets longer term.

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Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's superPAC is a juggernaut, raising well over $100 million. But he has sputtered in the GOP primary.

SuperPACs Are Not So Super In 2016

6:31pm January 07, 2016

by Peter Overby

Outside groups were expected to propel candidates this year. But in the 2016 Republican primary, they are having little impact on who's up and who's down.

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A sign promotes a real estate project last month in Kunming, China. Construction of residential and commercial properties has outpaced demand in China, a factor that some analysts cite in forecasting another global economic downturn.

China's Woes Are Growing, Along With A Debate: Is It 2008 Again?

6:10pm January 07, 2016

by Marilyn Geewax

China's economy and stock market are taking hits. Billionaire George Soros says it's setting the stage for another global meltdown. But others argue China's troubles will not trigger a crisis.

Stock Trading In China Halted After Stocks Plunge For A Second Day

5:03pm January 07, 2016

For a second day this week, stock trading in China was suspended. David Greene talks to Fraser Howie, co-author of Red Capitalism, about the turmoil in the Chinese stock markets.

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An investor rests in front of a dark electronic board at a Beijing brokerage house after China suspended trading Thursday for the second time this week.

U.S. Markets Slump After Chinese Stocks Plunge; China Suspends 'Circuit Breaker'

4:51pm January 07, 2016

by Bill Chappell

With U.S. stock prices already seeing their worst three-day opening for a year since 2008, China's trading day lasted less than 30 minutes Thursday.

National

Despite Hybrid Losses, Car Companies Invest In Tech

4:13pm January 07, 2016

by Sonari Glinton

The car industry just had it's best year ever. Trucks were clearly the stars, and hybrids took a hit. That's not all bad news for hybrids. Even as the companies are making a boatload on trucks, they're investing tens of billions in new technology. NPR reports on how tomorrow's hybrid is brought to you by today's pick-up truck.

Foreign Investors Fear Global Consequences Of Chinese Economic Uncertainty

4:13pm January 07, 2016

NPR's Kelly McEvers speaks with Jamie Metzl, senior fellow with the Atlantic Council, about what is going on with China's economy. Chinese and foreign investors feel uncertain about it, so many are trying to get their assets out of the country.

Boom Town Presses Pause Amid Dramatic Drop In Oil Prices

4:13pm January 07, 2016

by David Kestenbaum

Two years ago, in January 2013, oil was about $100 dollars a barrel. At that time, towns near new oil fields expanded rapidly, filling up with workers and overflowing revenue. But how are those towns doing now that oil is worth about half what it was then? The Planet Money team checks in with oil workers and residents in Williston, N.D.

Pepper the robot at CES, the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas.

Economy

At CES, New Robots Deliver More Coos Than Utility

2:46pm January 07, 2016

by Laura Sydell

Robots may be in our future, but the future isn't quite here.

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Jared Treadway, 26, a sales associate at Northwest Armory in Portland, shows a customer an AR-15 rifle Tuesday in the store's showroom.

At Portland, Ore., Gun Store, Strong Opinions And Stronger Sales

12:28pm January 07, 2016

by Rob Manning

Owner Karl Durkheimer says President Obama's gun policies, including this week's executive orders, motivate many of his customers' purchases.