ECONOMY

Private Sector Included In Plan To Finance Infrastructure Repairs

7:37am January 19, 2015

by David Schaper

The White House is looking to the private sector to help finance costly improvements to aging infrastructure. The plan avoids increasing taxes, but eventually, the public will have to pay.

Queue Listen Now

President Obama used the word "crisis" 11 times when he addressed a joint session of Congress in 2009. Since then, he's had a hard time hitting the right note when talking about the economy.

Obama's Trouble Articulating The State Of The Economy

7:05am January 19, 2015

by Tamara Keith

It's easy to give a rousing State of the Union speech when the economy is doing well, but Obama has had a hard time hitting the right note in years when the country was hurting.

Queue Listen Now

Larry Coleman, a salesman with Trudeau's Marine, talks to Bill Floren and Kimberly Abramski at the 55th Annual Portland Boat Show on Jan. 7 in Oregon. Lower fuel costs are projected to boost boat sales this year.

Lower Gas Prices, Faster Economy Float Boating Industry

11:57am January 17, 2015

by Nick Castele

With hiring up and fuel prices down, a sales rebound is in the boating forecast. For power boaters, gas prices make a big difference: They measure fuel consumption in gallons per hour.

Queue Listen Now

Economy

Falling Oil Prices: Good For Drivers, Bad For Banks

11:57am January 17, 2015

Lending money to energy companies can be pretty profitable, but if oil prices drop enough, the threat of bank defaults becomes real, Portales Partners analyst Charles Peabody tells NPR's Scott Simon.

Queue Listen Now

Congressional Budget Watchdogs Change The Way They Keep Score

7:02pm January 16, 2015

by Scott Horsley

House Republicans voted this week to change the way Congress measures the effects of tax and spending bills.

Queue Listen Now

Economy

Consumer Agency Launches Tool To Help You Find A Cheaper Mortgage

2:25pm January 16, 2015

by Chris Arnold

For many Americans, buying a house is the biggest financial transaction of their lives, but a new federal report says half of buyers don't shop around for a better interest rate on their mortgage.

Queue Listen Now

White House Begins Implementing Changes In U.S.-Cuban Relations

7:59am January 16, 2015

The moves to be made on Friday, loosen restrictions on travel and trade. The U.S. travel ban to Cuba is still technically in place, but experts say it's become a lot easier to go there anyway.

Queue Listen Now

A pedestrian passes a currency exchange in London Jan. 5. The value of the U.S. dollar has risen about 15 percent against the euro since last summer.

Dollar's Rise Is Good News For The U.S., For Now

8:17pm January 14, 2015

by John Ydstie

The dollar's value keeps climbing. That's a sign of a healthy economy, especially compared with some of America's biggest trading partners — but it also has the potential to slow U.S. economic growth.

Queue Listen Now

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim wants the international community to step up its response to Ebola.

World Bank Head On Ebola: Put The Fire Out Where It's Raging

11:00am January 14, 2015

by Steve Inskeep

World Bank President Jim Kim believes the world has moved too slow in battling Ebola. And closing off travel from West Africa, he says, is not the answer.

Queue Listen Now

Mercedes-Benz, Ford and Volkswagen workers block the Anchieta highway in Sao Bernardo do Campo. Thousands of metalworkers marched to protest layoffs by carmakers expecting little or no rebound from a sharp 2014 downturn.

In Brazil, A Once-High-Flying Economy Takes A Tumble

9:45am January 14, 2015

by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro

A few years ago, amid a global recession, Brazil was the darling of the financial markets. But last year, the country barely avoided recession. Prices are soaring, and investors are looking elsewhere.

Queue Listen Now