Business

Sprecher Slams High-Speed Electronic Exchanges

5:26am November 06, 2013

by Jim Zarroli

The CEO of the firm that's about to take over the New York Stock Exchange has criticized alternative market trading. Jeffrey Sprecher said equity markets, including the NYSE, allow sophisticated traders to take advantage of small investors. He added such models are destined to fail and that people outside the markets have a sense things aren't fair.

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Maricruz Ladino packs lettuce in a cooler in Salinas, Calif.

National

Silenced By Status, Farm Workers Face Rape, Sexual Abuse

6:36pm November 05, 2013

by Sasha Khokha

Farm workers do backbreaking work to bring fresh produce to our tables. But one secret about life in the fields is a chilling power dynamic that can allow supervisors to sexually assault farm workers in remote orchards and packinghouses.

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Sacramento Kings Look To India To Attract New NBA Fans

5:24am November 05, 2013

by Scott Detrow

Last year, Sacramento Kings fans were saying goodbye, expecting the NBA team to move to Seattle. But new ownership came together just in time, and the Kings stayed put. The new management plans to build the Kings into a contender, and a big part of that blueprint involves building up a fan base in — believe it or not — India.

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Insurance Firms Forced To Cancel Many Individual Policies

5:08am November 05, 2013

by Richard Knox

More than 12 million Americans buy health insurance on their own, and many are getting cancellation notices because their individual coverage does not meet the standards of the Affordable Care Act. This is causing anxiety and anger — especially since most of these people can't get onto the healthcare.gov website to figure out their options for 2014.

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Politics & Government

Senate Advances Employment Non-Discrimination Act

5:08am November 05, 2013

by David Welna

With a vote of 61-30, the Senate voted to move forward on legislation that would prohibit workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Monday's vote opens the floor to debate on the bill and the Senate is expected to schedule a full vote by week's end.

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Economy

iPhone Users Face Dilemma Of When To Upgrade

5:28pm November 04, 2013

David Greene talks to Bloomberg technology columnist Rich Jaroslovsky about when to update an Apple smartphone. Jaroslovsky explains why if you own an older model iPhone and upgrade to the new operating system, your experience can be much slower than if you have the newest iPhone.

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BlackBerry Abandons Plans To Sell Itself, Replaces CEO

5:28pm November 04, 2013

by David Greene

A few weeks ago, the smartphone maker announced it had signed a letter of intent to sell the company valued at $4.7 billion to Fairfax Financial Holdings. Instead, in a statement released Monday, BlackBerry announced it will receive a $1 billion investment from Fairfax Financial and others. BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins will step down and be replaced by interim CEO John Chen.

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National

SAC Capital Agrees To Plead Guilty To Insider Trading

5:28pm November 04, 2013

The hedge fund giant also agreed to pay a $1.8 billion fine to settle charges. Prosecutors say that insider trading at the company was substantial, pervasive and on a scale without known precedent in the hedge fund industry.

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New York University's Langone Medical Center in New York City is considered in-network for relatively few of the health plans offered in the state marketplace.

So You Found An Exchange Plan. But Can You Find A Provider?

6:51am November 03, 2013

by Fred Mogul

Many health plans being offered on the New York state insurance marketplace do not include some of New York City's biggest hospitals in their networks. And across the state, many doctors say they are not yet participating in exchange plans at all.

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Is that Subway? Middle East analyst Holly Dagres is on a hunt for fast-food lookalikes in Tehran.

World News

Mash Donalds? Iranians Copy American Fast-Food Brands

2:37pm November 02, 2013

by NPR Staff

If you wander through the streets of Tehran, you might find that faux McDonald's, or maybe a Pizza Hat. The rise of the "fake franchise" caught the attention of Iranian-American Holly Dagres, a Middle East analyst and commentator, who says some of these eateries "look like the real deal."

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