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Station Retailers Calibrate Gas Price Hikes

Gas prices have been soaring, but consumers may not realize the last few pennies are tacked on at the filling station itself. Independent and affiliated station operators, left to eke out their profits from retail sales, use differing strategies to appeal to customers. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

Station Retailers Calibrate Gas Price Hikes

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TV Networks Weigh Ad Fees

The major television networks are deciding how much they'll charge for commercial time during the upcoming fall season. The networks last year raised ad rates sharply, but their audience share is shrinking. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

TV Networks Weigh Ad Fees

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Probing the Costs of Refining Oil

High prices at the pump have consumers wondering how much the refining process adds to the cost of a gallon of gasoline. Refiners attribute the vast majority of their costs to meeting environmental regulations. Environmentalists say that's very misleading. NPR's John Burnett tours an oil refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, to learn more about the process of "cracking" crude oil and separating it into gasoline and other distillates.

Probing the Costs of Refining Oil

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U.S. to Sign Central American Free Trade Deal

The United States signs a new trade agreement Friday with five Central American nations. Known as CAFTA, the deal will make it easier for U.S. textile firms to send products to clothing factories in the region, and for Central American firms to sell the finished products here. But its potential threat to U.S. jobs complicates the deal's prospects in Congress. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick.

U.S. to Sign Central American Free Trade Deal

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Critics: New Nielsen Meters Undercount Minority Viewers

Next week, Nielsen Media Research will roll out a new system for calculating local television ratings in and around New York City -- data used to help set advertising rates. Nielsen says the new method will improve the representation of cable TV viewers and TiVo users. But some activists say the new system undercounts minority viewers. NPR's Rick Karr reports.

Critics: New Nielsen Meters Undercount Minority Viewers

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The Marketplace Report: Bush Plan to Lower Gas Prices

NPR's Madeleine Brand talks to Bob Moon of Marketplace about the Bush administration's proposal to ease environmental requirements on a variety of gasoline blends in an effort to increase supply and help lower gas prices.

The Marketplace Report: Bush Plan to Lower Gas Prices

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Experts: Global Instability Helping Push Up Oil Prices

Experts say the current high prices for crude oil and gas are more than just a result of growing demand. The costs involved in shipping oil from politically shaky places like the Middle East and Angola -- increased insurance premiums, higher salaries for workers -- are also playing a significant role in pushing up prices, experts say. Hear NPR's Scott Horsley.

Experts: Global Instability Helping Push Up Oil Prices

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Entrepreneur Revives Moribund Factories in Western N.Y.

Western New York has been particularly hard hit by the decline of the U.S. manufacturing sector and in recent years has lost thousands of jobs. But one local entrepreneur is finding success in resuscitating factories in the depressed region that others had written off. NPR's Jack Speer reports.

Entrepreneur Revives Moribund Factories in Western N.Y.

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Wells Fargo Buys Most of Strong Financial

Wells Fargo will buy all but a small part of the Strong Financial Corporation. Analysts say the purchase might not have occurred except for the admitted misdeeds of Strong co-founder Richard Strong. Last week, federal and state regulators reached a $175 million settlement with Strong and his company over trading abuses at the firm. Chuck Quirmbach of Wisconsin Public Radio reports.

Wells Fargo Buys Most of Strong Financial

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Armstrong Retires from Comcast Chair Post

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Wall Street Journal technology editor Rebecca Blumenstein about C. Michael Armstrong, who stepped down as chairman of Comcast. He had been blamed by some for mismanaging AT&T when he was CEO there.

Armstrong Retires from Comcast Chair Post

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Minnesota Iron Mine Benefits from China's Boom

An idled Minnesota mine has been re-opened under a new partnership with a Chinese steel company and is now exporting iron ore to China. The new business has been a boon for the residents of the small mining town of Eveleth, Minnesota, which has suffered economically for decades. Minnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher reports.

Minnesota Iron Mine Benefits from China's Boom

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Slate's Press Box: 'NYT' Admits Flawed Iraq Reporting

NPR's Madeleine Brand talks with Slate media critic Jack Shafer about Wednesday's admission by editors of The New York Times that some of the paper's reporting in the run-up to the Iraq war may have been flawed, in part because of "insider" information provided by disgraced Iraqi exile Ahmed Chalabi. Shafer has been calling on the Times to review its coverage of the past year.

Slate's Press Box: 'NYT' Admits Flawed Iraq Reporting

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