NPR Audio - Business

Frank Saracino, a newspaper carrier spends roughly $300 a week on gas. He now mostly delivers on Sundays and evenings to avoid traffic. Nationwide, more than 40 percent of papers collaborate with a competitor on delivery.

In Miami, Royal Caribbean says it's turning off air conditioners, changing lightbulbs, and taking other common-sense steps to reduce its fuel bill. It's also adjusting arrival and departure times to allow ships to reduce sailing speeds and conserve.

American Airlines is parking its MD 80 jets in the Texas desert and buying new Boeing 737s. The move is an attempt to cut energy costs amid high energy prices.

A college degree can cost as much as a decent single family house and more often than not, it's the parents who foot most of the bill, yet, a new study shows many families don't consider the price tag when choosing a school or whether that degree will help pay it off later. So we ask: How should we pay for college?

Oil prices are moving higher again, giving American businesses — from airlines to cruise lines to newspapers — incentive to invest in long-term energy-saving measures.

Many homeowners — and those looking to buy — are nervous. With transportation, food costs and unemployment on the rise, making a decision about one of the largest purchases of your life is far from simple. Here, experts weigh in with factors to consider before you buy.

The USDA forecasts food prices will go up by as much as 6 percent this year — the largest annual increase since 1990. What's causing the high cost of food?

As inflation hits the highest rate since 1991, parents are finding clever ways to shop for school supplies and fall clothes. Mary Harmon, a mother of four living in Corona, Calif., shares her money-saving tricks.

EBay may soon be giving up the gavel as the world's biggest online auction site. The company is announcing a major overhaul that would make it easier for merchants to sell items for a fixed price. We examine the company's shift to a business model that emphasizes buying over bidding.

America's scooter industry is surging, benefiting from high gas prices and a slumping economy. Two other markers of their rising popularity have emerged: higher rates of theft and injury.

Record numbers of Americans are getting out of their cars and hopping onto scooters, spurred by high gas prices and concern for the environment. But with many options and styles to choose from, picking the right ride can be tricky.

After trading at $60 or $70 a share a year ago, mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in the single-digit range — and slipping further. But there's some hopeful news for struggling homeowners whose mortgages are held by IndyMac Bank, which was taken over by the government.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that one-quarter of workers in the United States get no paid vacation at all. And non-union workers get more time off than union workers during their first years on the job, though the union workers start getting extra vacation after 10 or 20 years on the job.

The latest figures from the Labor Department show a sharp decline in workplace fatalities. They're lower than at any point since the department started keeping track.

Does it still make sense to build homes in the farthest suburbs, as gas prices rise and housing prices fall? Some developers say it does, if they create a different kind of suburb: a township community with stores in walking distance of the houses.

A growing number of companies are laying people off for part of the workweek to weather the economic slowdown. Eighteen states have programs whereby employees collect unemployment for the hours that they don't work at their full-time jobs.

Mark Jurkowitz, associate director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, talks about media coverage of the economy and why the news hasn't always kept up with public interest and concern.

Rural communities in New York and Pennsylvania have seen intense leasing activity as energy companies have turned to natural gas buried deep underground. Extraction has potential to jump-start the flagging local economy, but it has also raised environmental concerns.

Electric hybrid cars are quiet, and all-electric cars are even quieter. While all that's nice for passengers, it can be dangerous for pedestrians. California's legislature has passed a bill to ensure that the vehicles make enough noise that they'll be heard by sight-impaired people crossing the street.

Retail sales are down in the U.S., but it isn't just Target, Home Depot and Staples that are showing lower profits. High-end retailers are having trouble, too. Saks says many of its customers are cutting back. Weak reports from retailers is one of the factors that sent stocks lower this week. Quarterly reports from other retailers are expected Wednesday.

Food prices around the world have hit record highs — and that's starting to take a toll. For example, some experts worry those left hungry in Ethiopia will suffer permanent physical and mental disabilities, such as chronic illness and lower IQ.

What does "producer price index" mean? Adam Davidson, NPR's economics reporter explains.

How are you economizing during the back to school shopping season? We want all your creative ideas.

After a bail-out last month, the government-sponsored companies are still on unsteady ground. The director of macroeconomics at Moody's Economy.com examines what trouble for Fannie and Freddie means for the economy.

Congress just passed the Housing Act, authorizing a tax credit of up to $7,500 for certain first-time home buyers. Our personal finance contributor says consumers need to be careful when signing up.

The number of home sales is finally increasing in Southern California, one of the hardest-hit areas. The bad news is that about half of the homes were sold as part of foreclosure proceedings, and it appears that many homes finally moved because of drastic price reductions.

Oil prices were down again Tuesday — about a dollar a barrel — despite concerns about Tropical Storm Fay in the Gulf of Mexico. But the oil news was overshadowed by the financial markets, where concern about banking and housing were driving stocks lower.

It was a year ago this week that the global credit crunch began. The mortgage business was struggling with steep losses, and the troubles were spreading throughout the credit markets. Since then, the economy has ground almost to a halt. How much has changed in a year and what's been learned?

Stock in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac took a beating Monday on Wall Street. Investors are growing increasingly worried about the need for a government bailout.

Banks are failing as a result of the housing crisis, and a former chief economist with the International Monetary Fund predicted Tuesday that the global financial crisis is far from over. David Wessel, economics editor of The Wall Street Journal, talks about what happens to people with money in a bank that fails.

An index tracking prices that companies pay for goods jumped up sharply in July, which means inflation is a growing threat. Meanwhile, the housing market continues to slump, with home-builders sharply cutting back on construction projects.

Summer vacation season is winding down, but desire to move to the beach or the mountains is running strong. An increasing number of people are translating that urge into a reality.

With the current housing market crisis, it is more difficult for senior citizens to move into assisted living because many rely on the profit from selling their house to pay for this expensive care. From Capital Public Radio, Kelley Weiss reports.

Procter & Gamble and Island Def Jam have joined forces to create a new hip hop label called Tag Records (named after the P&G body spray). More companies are getting into "branded entertainment" and marketing both the product and the artist.

As nearby factories are downsizing, Harman Stoves in Halifax, Pa., is adding more than 100 jobs to try and keep up with skyrocketing demand for its pellet stoves. The spike comes as homeowners want to make the switch from oil to heating with wood pellets.

Sylvester Stallone, who destroyed Soviet rivals in Rocky and Rambo is being paid a reported $1 million to sell Russian vodka. He will advertise "Russian Ice" vodka under the slogan: "There is a bit of Russian in all of us."

Rather than going out in the evenings, Americans appear to be spending time and money on new gadgets. The U.S. government says consumer electronic sales were up 4.8 percent in July.

Geopolitical worries did nothing to arrest the drop in oil prices last week, and the roller coaster hasn't reached the bottom yet. Oil prices have fallen more than twice as far as gasoline prices, suggesting that even if crude oil prices level off, there's room for additional savings at the gas pump.

Oil forecasters are watching the weather — and oil prices rose Monday in Asia — as Tropical Storm Fay headed toward the Florida Keys. The storm, which is expected to turn into a hurricane, could disrupt supply. Tourists were ordered out of the Keys on Sunday, and oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has evacuated about 360 staff members from the Gulf of Mexico.