Business

A decal advertising E85 ethanol is displayed on a pump at a gas station in Johnston, Iowa.

EPA's Push For More Ethanol Could Be Too Little, Too Late

8:50am April 05, 2013

by Tracy Samilton

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could soon issue a final ruling that aims to force oil companies to replace E10, gasoline mixed with 10 percent ethanol, with E15. This move could come just as widespread support for ethanol, which is made from corn, appears to be eroding.

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YouTube Announcement Scares Some

8:50am April 05, 2013

The video-sharing website announced on Sunday that it was shutting down. Executives said the site was actually designed as an 8-year contest to find the best video on the web. Just a reminder, the announcement was made early — on the day before April Fools Day.

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Novartis Loses Patent Battle In India

8:50am April 05, 2013

India's Supreme Court on Monday rejected drug maker Novartis AG's attempt to patent a new version of a cancer drug. It's a landmark decision that health activists say ensures poor patients around the world will get continued access to cheap versions of lifesaving medicines.

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Hewlett-Packard's Chairman Lane Steps Down

7:30am April 05, 2013

The computer maker's chairman Ray Lane has stepped down as executive chairman. He's been on thin ice with shareholders after his role in acquiring a business software company ended up hurting HP's bottom line.

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The Ups And Downs Of Cyber Currency Bitcoin

7:30am April 05, 2013

by Steve Henn

Bitcoin is a virtual currency that's traded online. It's been on a wild ride lately, soaring in value during the Cyprus banking crisis. And this week, the price plummeted after a Bitcoin trading exchange was hacked.

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Sriv Keng (right) and her husband, Vet Vong, dish up bowls of rice for customers at her roadside food stall, which is situated in a garment manufacturing district.

World News

New Mortgage Program Helps Cambodia's Poor Find Better Homes

8:20pm April 04, 2013

by Daniel Zwerdling

An innovative new loan program in Cambodia targeting low-income residents is a throwback to the days when bankers got to know their customers — and trusted them.

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Demonstrators from the Fast Food Forward rally protest Thursday outside a Wendy's restaurant in New York City.

National

NYC's Fast-Food Workers Strike, Demand 'Living Wages'

8:20pm April 04, 2013

by Joel Rose

Fast-food workers in New York City are on strike for the second time in six months, demanding higher wages that they can live on. Workers complain that $7.25 an hour, New York's current minimum wage, is not enough to live in the city.

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For Right Price, You Could Own Buzz Aldrin's Toothbrush

7:00am April 04, 2013

Heritage Auctions is selling items that have gone to the moon. The bidding for Buzz Aldrin's light blue,Lactona toothbrush starts at $9,000. You can also bid on Apollo astronaut Richard Gordon's comb.

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The Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town apartment complex is seen from Waterside Plaza in 2006, the same year it was sold in a record-breaking real estate deal.

Books
Arts

The Botched NY Real Estate Deal That Lost 'Other People' Billions

8:50pm April 03, 2013

by NPR Staff

In 2006, two Manhattan housing projects were at the center of a real estate fiasco that would come to epitomize the housing crisis. Charles Bagli's Other People's Money explains how the government of Singapore was among those who paid for the mistakes of New York's real estate giants.

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Economy

H-1B Visa Applications As An Economic Indicator

8:19am April 03, 2013

by Zoe Chace

The demand from American companies for highly skilled immigrants seems to be up this year. And that could mean something is about to change for the overall economy.

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