Economy

Oil rigs extract petroleum in Culver City, Calif., on May 16, 2008.

Before Hollywood, The Oil Industry Made LA

7:09pm April 05, 2016

Los Angeles can seem like a company town, dominated by the movie business. But the area is dotted with oil wells — landmarks of a key industry in the region. Now plunging prices are taking their toll.

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Panama Papers Leak Is The Result Of Unprecedented Media Collaboration

5:53pm April 05, 2016

NPR's Ari Shaprio interviews Gerard Ryle, director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Ryle coordinated with over one hundred media organizations around the world to read and analyze the 11.5 million files from the Panama Papers leak.

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In Exposing Offshore Accounts, Panama Papers Could Catch Money Launderers

5:00pm April 05, 2016

NPR's Audie Cornish interviews Robert Mazur, a former U.S. drug agent who investigated the money laundering practices of drug lords, about how the Panama Papers could help catch money launderers.

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New Rules On Inversions Could Kill The Allergan-Pfizer Merger

2:15pm April 05, 2016

by Jim Zarroli

President Obama calls the controversial practice "one of the most insidious tax loopholes out there." Now the Treasury Department has introduced rules aimed at reducing the incentives for inversions.

The guy with empty pockets might also be missing health insurance.

IRS Could Help Find Many Uninsured People, But Doesn't

10:49am April 05, 2016

by Phil Galewitz

Many low-income households that claim the earned income tax credit lack health insurance. That status on tax returns could provide a clue about people who would benefit from outreach.

SolarReserve's Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Plant, located near Tonopah, Nev., features an array of 10,347 mirrors arranged in a circle 1.75 miles across. A 640-foot-tall tower glows when the sun's energy is concentrated and directed to the top.

Solar And Wind Energy May Be Nice, But How Can We Store It?

9:19am April 05, 2016

Renewable energy is taking off across the nation, but storing the energy is still a problem that is challenging companies to innovate, with solutions ranging from molten salt to ice.

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Panama Papers Expose Hundreds Of Offshore Accounts

5:05pm April 04, 2016

Fallout continues Monday after a massive leak of documents from the law firm Mossack Fonseca revealed hundreds of offshore financial accounts. Investigative journalists with access to the documents say they expose companies held by 140 politicians and public officials, including the prime ministers of Iceland and Pakistan.

Panama Papers Shed Light On Global Business Of Tax Avoidance

4:28pm April 04, 2016

by Jim Zarroli

A huge trove of documents leaked from a large Panamanian law firm is shedding light on the global business of tax avoidance. The papers reveal that large numbers of world leaders, athletes and movie stars hired the firm to set up shell corporations and offshore accounts with the aim of hiding their money. Regulators around the world say they will use the document dump to pursue illegal activity.

'The Hidden Wealth Of Nations' Author Explores World Of Offshore Tax Havens

4:28pm April 04, 2016

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Gabriel Zucman, author of The Hidden Wealth of Nations, about the leaked Panama papers and what they say about the practice of hiding money offshore worldwide. He's estimated that up to 8 percent of the world's financial wealth is hidden away.

California Gov. Jerry Brown Signs State's $15 Minimum Wage Law

4:28pm April 04, 2016

by Kirk Siegler

California becomes the first state in the nation to raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour Monday, when Gov. Jerry Brown signs a bill in Los Angeles that phases in the increase over the next six years.