A Way for Investors to Weather Storm Damage June 30, 2006 • Wall Street offers a financial tool that allows traders to hedge the risk of weather-related business problems. Marianne Lavelle of U.S. News and World Report tells Madeleine Brand how weather derivatives work.
Business Independence Valued in Billionaire Buffett Family June 30, 2006 • Billionaire Warren Buffett made big news this week by pledging most of his fortune to charity. Jennifer Ludden talks to his granddaughter, Nicole Buffett, an artist in San Francisco, about his decision not to pass the bulk of his wealth on to his children.
Business Values Harder to Pass Down than Money June 30, 2006 • Ellen Perry, an expert who helps families deal with issues of wealth and values, talks to Jennifer Ludden about the challenges faced by wealthy families who pass their money from one generation to the next.
Business BP Accused of Cornering Propane Market in 2004 June 29, 2006 • Federal regulators have accused the energy company BP of cornering the U.S. market for propane in 2004. The alleged market manipulation drove up heating and cooking costs for millions of customers.
Business Doggy Day Care Unleashed June 28, 2006 • Day care isn't just for kids anymore. In recent years, more than 1,500 day-care centers for dogs have opened around the country. Some dog lovers confess to spending $6,000 to $7,000 a year on the service. How's that for puppy love?
Deadline Approaches for Low-Rate Student Loans June 28, 2006 • Michele Norris talks with Steven Burd of The Chronicle of Higher Education about locking in and consolidating student loans. July 1, 2006 is the last day for college students and recent graduates to lock in their current loan rate before what is expected to be a sharp interest-rate increase. Burd explains the impact on students and loan companies.
Opinion Confronting Black America's Debt Problem June 28, 2006 • Commentator Lester Spence says black Americans are shouldering increasing debt burdens to make ends meet -- and the government isn't helping address the issue. Spence is an assistant professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University.
University Studies Identity Theft June 28, 2006 • There is a now a university program to study identity theft. Utica College once pioneered classes on white-collar crime. Now it's home to the Center for Identity Management and Information Protection. It will study identity theft with support from major corporations and the FBI. And you can join the investigation. Just call us up. Give us your name. And your mother's maiden name. And your social security number. And some DNA.
The Color of Money Minimizing the Expense of a Called-Off Wedding June 27, 2006 • Canceling a wedding at the last minute can be both heartbreaking and expensive. Alex Chadwick speaks with Day to Day personal finance contributor Michelle Singletary about how to minimize the expense of calling off the big day.
Economy Blacks Optimistic About Retirement Future June 26, 2006 • Investment management expert Melody Hobson talks with Ed Gordon about this year's annual Ariel/Schwab Black Investor Survey, which compares how black and white Americans are preparing for retirement. The survey finds that blacks are generally optimistic about their retirement future, despite fewer stock-market investments than whites.
Health Rebuilding Iraqi Science June 23, 2006 • In recent weeks, President Bush has talked about the reconstruction of Iraq, now that a new government is in place. How does science fit in with those efforts? Beriwan M. Khailany, deputy minister in the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Baghdad Elizabeth C. Stone, professor in the Department of Anthropology, State University of New York
Business U.S. Tracks International Financial Transactions June 23, 2006 • Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the Treasury Department has been secretly tracking suspicious international financial transactions. The program is known as the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program. Linda Wertheimer talks to Glenn Simpson, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, about the program.
Health Care Primary Care Doctors Suffer Income Slide June 23, 2006 • A new survey shows a significant decline in the incomes of primary care doctors between 1995 and 2003. During that same period, the U.S. was trying to get more medical students to go into primary care. The drop was largely the result of reduced payments by insurance companies. One Washington, D.C., family doctor is trying to reverse the trend.
Law Supreme Court Sides with Worker in Retaliation Suit June 23, 2006 • The Supreme Court rules that a company must pay damages to a female employee it punished after she filed a discrimination complaint. The original ruling upheld by the court ordered the company to pay $43,000 to the woman.
Politics House Reaches Compromise on Estate Tax Changes June 23, 2006 • House Republicans who want to abolish the Estate Tax are one step closer after reaching a compromise with Democrats. The deal would eliminate all but about the top 5,000 largest estates from the tax.