Economy

How Buying Choices Define American Middle Class Living

4:40pm October 10, 2016

NPR's Ari Shapiro meets with Peter Liebhold, curator for work and industry at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, to discuss the "stuff" — consumer goods, home and car ownership, debt or a college education — that defines what it means to be middle class as part of "The New Middle" series.

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South African Students Clash With Police At Education Protests

11:55am October 10, 2016

by Peter Granitz

Violent protests have shut down most South African universities in recent weeks as students nationwide protest high tuition fees. They pledge to continue the violence until tuition fees are scrapped.

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Race, School Ratings And Real Estate: A 'Legal Gray Area'

10:19am October 10, 2016

When school test scores are published on real estate web sites, is that an objective data point, or a subtle form of racial steering? Experts say it's complicated.

Winners of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, economists Oliver Hart (left) and Bengt Holmström, are displayed on a screen at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm on Monday. They won the prize for their work on contract theory.

Economy

It's Agreed: Nobel Prize In Economics Awarded For Contract Theory

10:11am October 10, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

Oliver Hart and Bengt Holmström — professors at Harvard and MIT, respectively — were awarded the prize for their work on understanding and improving contract agreements.

Goldman Sachs Chairman & CEO Lloyd Blankfein stands with Hillary Clinton during the 2014 Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York on Sept. 24, 2014.

Emails Reveal Clinton's Mixed Relationship With Wall Street

5:57pm October 08, 2016

by Jim Zarroli

In hacked emails published by WikiLeaks, Hillary Clinton presents a more nuanced view of the financial system than her campaign speeches would suggest.

Researchers Find Racial Wage Gap Has Grown

5:04pm October 08, 2016

Valerie Wilson of the Economic Policy Institute and Adia Harvey Wingfield of Washington University in St. Louis discuss a new study finding a greater racial wage gap in 2015 than in 1979.

The late Grammy winning Tejano star Selena Quintanilla in 1994. More than 20 years after her death, Quintanilla looks are inspiring fans.

Tejano Star Selena Still Draws Sellout Crowd 20 Years After Death

9:42am October 08, 2016

by Sonari Glinton

Makeup inspired by the late Tejano music star Selena Quintanilla has drawn lines at stores around the country.

As South Africa's Gold Mining Companies Decline In Production, Illegal Miners Thrive

8:29am October 08, 2016

by Peter Granitz

A recent accident in a gold mine in South Africa has brought attention to the growing practice of illegal mining. The legal mining operations have been on a decades-long decline but illegal miners are thriving.

A cable car passes by a Wells Fargo bank in San Francisco, California.

Episode 728: The Wells Fargo Hustle

9:55pm October 07, 2016

We take you inside the headquarters of Wells Fargo bank. It's a place where a bunch of young, stressed-out workers were rewarded for doing some very bad things.

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Volkswagen is recalling nearly 281,500 vehicles in the U.S. because of problems with fuel lines. The company says it knows of no leaks that have resulted in fires.

Volkswagen Is Recalling More Vehicles, But It's Not About The Diesel Scandal

8:21pm October 07, 2016

by Sonari Glinton

The company says nearly 281,500 Volkswagen and Audi vehicles from as far back as 2007 may leak fuel. Different defects are involved, but one is improperly assembled suction pumps in the fuel tanks.