Accessibility links
Business and Financial News Find the latest business news with reports on Wall Street, interest rates, banking, companies, and U.S. and world financial markets. Subscribe to the Business Story of the Day podcast.

Business

Fed Lifts Interest Rate, Ending Four Years of Drops

Federal Reserve policymakers lift a key short-term interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, to 1.25 percent. It's the first time in four years the Fed has raised its target for short-term interest rates. Members of the Fed's Open Market Committee issued a statement saying it believes future rate increases can be made "at a pace that is likely to be measured." NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

Fed Lifts Interest Rate, Ending Four Years of Drops

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/3057024/3057025" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Media

Neo-Radio Succeeds by Cutting the Noise

A new style of commercial FM radio station -- based on eclectic music and informed commentary -- represents a backlash against the rest of the industry's consolidation, narrow playlists, and copycat sounds. Stations that have tried the new format have shot up the charts. NPR's Wade Goodwyn reports.

Neo-Radio Succeeds by Cutting the Noise

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/3057018/3057019" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Health Care

Study: Companies Hiked Drug Prices Before Reform

A new study finds that pharmaceutical companies boosted prices significantly in the months before the new Medicare drug benefit became law. The study, from the American Association of Retired Persons, used data provided by drug companies. Drug makers say that other studies, based on government data, are more accurate. NPR's Joanne Silberner reports.

Study: Companies Hiked Drug Prices Before Reform

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/3057014/3057015" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Economy

U.S. Economy Forecast

The economic playing field is changing. The Federal Reserve is expected to start raising interest rates, putting an end to cheap money. The pressure to raise rates, and what that means to the money you borrow, and what you already owe.

Guests:

Mike Santoli
*Senior editor at Barron's Magazine

Bill Cheney
*Chief economist for John Hancock Financial Services in Boston

Lynn Franco
*Director of The Conference Board's Consumer Research Center

U.S. Economy Forecast

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/3054001/3054002" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Slate's Ad Report Card

Slate's Ad Report Card: Ball Park Franks, Frankly

Ball Park Franks have a new television ad campaign -- one that Slate ad critic Seth Stevenson finds downright indecent. (Warning: This report contains the word "penis" and has other sexual references.)

Slate's Ad Report Card: Ball Park Franks, Frankly

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/3050075/3050076" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Health

The Marketplace Report: 20 Million Can't Pay Med Bills

NPR's Alex Chadwick talks to Tess Vigeland of Marketplace about a new study that says one in seven American families can't pay their medical bills -- that's about 20 million families.

The Marketplace Report: 20 Million Can't Pay Med Bills

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/3050073/3050074" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Religion

When Faith Clashes with Corporate Policy

For years, courts have refereed disputes over accommodating religion in the workplace. But what happens when an employee's religious beliefs collide with the company's secular vision? NPR's Barbara Bradley Hagerty reports in the conclusion to a three-part series on religion in the workplace.

When Faith Clashes with Corporate Policy

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/3046047/3046048" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Economy

Handover in Iraq Fueling Slide in Oil Prices

The early transfer of power in Iraq this week has accelerated a downward trend in oil prices. Crude oil prices fell below $36 a barrel Tuesday. That's more than 15 percent off the peak price early this month. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

Handover in Iraq Fueling Slide in Oil Prices

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/3046041/3046042" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Economy

Looming Interest Rate Hike Spurs Higher House Prices

With the Federal Reserve expected to start the first of several interest-rate hikes Wednesday, the housing market is already preparing for the impact. As the era of historically cheap mortgages closes, the prospect of higher interest rates is creating a sense of urgency among would-be buyers. Hear NPR's Jack Speer.

Looming Interest Rate Hike Spurs Higher House Prices

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/3046039/3046040" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Court Protects Web Pornography

The Supreme Court rules against a law intended to keep pornography away from children using the Internet. The court ruled 5-4 that the 1998 Child Online Protection Act likely violates the First Amendment, citing less restrictive alternatives such as filtering software. The case now returns to an appeals court for further review. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports.

Court Protects Web Porn, Sends Case Back for Review

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/3041030/3041031" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Economy

The Marketplace Report: Fed Eyes Rise in Interest

NPR's Alex Chadwick talks to Tess Vigeland of Marketplace about the U.S. Federal Reserve's expected decision to raise interest rates, and how that could affect consumers who've racked up a lot of debt.

The Marketplace Report: Fed Eyes Rise in Interest

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/3025440/3025441" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">