Business

West Coast Port Closures Are Hitting Several Industries Hard

12:53pm February 14, 2015

by Kirk Siegler

No cargo will go in or out of 29 West Coast ports this weekend because of a labor dispute that has been dragging on for months. And now the economic impacts of the shutdown are starting to be felt.

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How Sunk Cost Fallacy Applies To Love

6:34pm February 13, 2015

by Jacob Goldstein

Megan McArdle spent years in a doomed relationship. The reason, she says: She fell victim to a common economic fallacy. Our Planet Money team has a love story with an economic idea at its heart.

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For Florists, Roses A Nerve-Racking Business Around Valentines Day

6:33pm February 13, 2015

by Stacey Vanek Smith

Valentines Day is this one day when one product — a red rose — is worth two or three times more than it is at any other time of the year. If a florist catches that window, he's golden. But the process of getting the roses to is fraught with risk, middlemen, crazy expense and bad weather.

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Hoping to prevent or limit data breaches like the one that recently hit health insurer Anthem, President Obama is urging companies to work together to protect their data.

National

Obama: Cyberspace Is The New 'Wild West'

4:43pm February 13, 2015

by Bill Chappell

The president says that companies are looking to the government to be the sheriff but that the private sector also to work together to prevent cyber attacks.

Keystone XL Pipeline Would Transport 'Dirty Energy'

1:54pm February 13, 2015

Despite veto threats, the House sent the Keystone XL pipeline bill to President Obama. David Greene talks to Susan Casey-Lefkowitz of the Natural Resources Defense Council about environmental issues.

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In 2013, the U.S. imported about 2 million tons of Coronas and Modelos, making beer Mexico's largest agricultural export to the U.S., according to a USDA report.

How NAFTA Changed American (And Mexican) Food Forever

11:19am February 13, 2015

by Tracie McMillan

The trade agreement has helped the U.S., Mexico and Canada sell a lot more food to one another. That's meant more seasonal produce for the U.S., and more processed food and supermarkets for Mexico.

Medical record display on tablet for e-health technology.

The Black Market For Stolen Health Care Data

9:40am February 13, 2015

by Aarti Shahani

The U.S. is moving to digitize health care with electronic medical records, Web portals and mobile apps. But as medical data goes online, it is becoming a hot commodity for hackers.

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Political Necessity Forces GOP Into Middle-Class Income Debate

8:12am February 13, 2015

by Mara Liasson

As the economy improves, political debates change. President Obama says it's time to focus on stagnant middle-class incomes. Republicans are trying to come up with their agenda for the middle class.

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Stealing Oil Is Easy, Selling It On The International Market Isn't

6:54pm February 12, 2015

by Julia Simon

To steal oil, lots of people need to be in on it: small time crooks and criminal bosses, the owners of oil tankers, corrupt officials and even traders in the United States looking the other way.

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Low Oil Prices Great For Consumers, Less So For Investors

6:26pm February 12, 2015

by John Ydstie

Much of the oil industry is gathered in Houston this week for an annual conference that serves as a deal-making forum for producers large and small. Deals may be harder to reach this year because there is so much uncertainty about the price of oil.

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