ECONOMY

Co-workers at Denver's Galvanize, a tech hub in Colorado's capital.

How The Sharing Economy Is Changing The Places We Work

2:43pm December 17, 2013

by Elise Hu

The sharing economy is already changing several sectors: housing, transportation, retail. In some cities, it's changing the way we work. As more people start their own enterprises, they're shunning traditional offices and choosing to share space instead.

Queue Listen Now

On Sunday, Ireland became the first country to formally exit the bailout program funded by the International Monetary Fund and the European Union.

Ireland Exits Bailout Program, But Economy Still On The Mend

8:24am December 16, 2013

by Jim Zarroli

Ireland has big budget deficits, low growth rates and high unemployment. But the country is ready to take a big step toward getting back to normal. On Sunday, it became the first country to exit the bailout program put in place by the International Monetary Fund and the European Union.

Queue Listen Now

Boulevard Brewing's lineup includes seven year-round beers, five seasonal beers and 13 beers in its Smokestack series.

When Craft Beer Goes Global: A Kansas City Brewery's Tale

8:07am December 16, 2013

by Frank Morris

Boulevard Brewing has become a Kansas City staple since its founding in the 1980s. It has many loyal local fans — and soon, a new international owner, Duvel. The deal says a lot about how the world now values a product made with a firm sense of place.

Queue Listen Now

Oranges ripen in a Plant City, Fla., grove on Wednesday. Growers in Florida, Texas and California are worried about citrus greening, a disease that makes the fruit bitter and unmarketable.

USDA Steps Up The Fight To Save Florida's Oranges

7:52am December 13, 2013

by Greg Allen

The agency is launching a new coordinated research effort to stop citrus greening, a disease imported from Asia that turns fruit bitter and unmarketable. It first turned up in Florida eight years. Now, it threatens to destroy the nation's citrus industry.

Queue Listen Now

Economy

North Carolinians Holding the Line on Holiday Spending

11:37am December 12, 2013

According to a High Point University Poll out this week, most North Carolinians plan to spend the same amount of money or less on the holidays this year than last year.

Noel, a remote Ozarks town of 1,832, is thriving thanks to the Tyson Foods poultry plant in town.

In A Small Missouri Town, Immigrants Turn To Schools For Help

12:30pm December 11, 2013

by Abbie Fentress Swanson

The once-sleepy tourist town of Noel, Mo., in the heart of the Ozark Mountains, is now home to hundreds of immigrants and newly arrived refugees, thanks largely to the huge Tyson Food Inc. poultry plant. And since the town lacks the infrastructure to serve these new residents, schools have become the de facto safety net.

Queue Listen Now

Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook, is one of the relatively few women to serve on major corporate boards.

Economy

Women Still Largely Absent From Corporate Boards

12:11pm December 10, 2013

by Wendy Kaufman

Women hold only about 17 percent of the seats on boards of directors of Fortune 500 companies, and they have an even smaller percentage of senior executive positions, according to a new study.

Queue Listen Now

Volcker Rule Aims To Rein In Banks' Risky Trades

12:11pm December 10, 2013

American bank regulators unveiled the final version of the so-called Volcker Rule, which prohibits banks from trading stocks, bonds and derivatives for their own accounts. For more, Steve Inskeep speaks to NPR's Jim Zarroli.

Queue Listen Now

PLANET MONEY MAKES A T-SHIRT: The world behind a simple shirt, in five chapters

The Afterlife Of American Clothes

10:45am December 10, 2013

by Gregory Warner

The U.S. exports a billion pounds of used clothes every year. Much of that winds up in used clothing markets in sub-Saharan Africa.

Queue Listen Now

PLANET MONEY MAKES A T-SHIRT: How to send a shirt around the world for pennies

The Giant Book That Creates And Destroys Entire Industries

10:49am December 06, 2013

by Jacob Goldstein

The book lists the tax that importers have to pay on approximately every single thing in the universe — and raises a key question about the Planet Money T-shirt.

Queue Listen Now