World Economy >>

In Vermont and San Francisco, the right of employees to ask for flexible work schedules is now enshrined in law. That doesn't mean, however, that employers are compelled to grant them....

On Monday, President Obama announced the latest measures aimed at punishing Russia for its links to violence in eastern Ukraine. Russia accuses the U.S. of "Cold War tactics."...

David Greene talks to David Wessel of the Brookings Institution about how Federal Reserve economists consider various measurements of employment in their policymaking. Fed officials meet this week....

After seven years, Greensburg is stuck at half its pre-tornado population, and has few prospects for growth. Some blame trends decimating many farm towns — others point to the new green initiative....

People often have money waiting for them that they don't know about, like those coins beneath the sofa cushions, only better. Consumer columnist Sheryl Harris explains how to find and claim your cash....

Diverse industries, from pharmaceuticals to film, are lobbying for strict patent protections in the Trans-Pacific trade deal....

Host Michel Martin speaks with business ethicist Jack Marshall about an appropriate response from the NBA, the players and the public after allegedly racist comments made by the L.A. Clippers' owner....

The crisis in Ukraine and Russia's struggling economy have led many investors to pull their money out of Russia. So Standard & Poor's moved Friday to downgrade the nation's rating....

Prices are higher in large part because Gulf Coast refineries are exporting more gasoline to Latin America, analysts say. The average is about 18 cents a gallon more than it was a year ago....

The official cheap liquor of spring breakers is becoming something much more sophisticated. And South Florida has become ground zero for the rum revolution....

Rising deductibles and copayments have driven some patients to put off paying their bills. So doctors, who have payrolls to meet, too, are getting much more aggressive about collecting their fees....

Americans don't eat much barbecued goat, but the meat is a mainstay in many African, Asian and Caribbean diets. In Vermont, farmers raise it for refugees and immigrants, and hope to mainstream it....

UK Only Article:  standard article Issue:  A billion shades of grey Fly Title:  Arrears and foreclosures When the global housing boom turned to bust, mortgage arrears spiked. In America, the proportion of troubled loans rose from 0.2% before the financial crisis to a peak of 11% in 2012. In Ireland 18% of all mortgages are now in arrears; by value, they account for 23% of the market....

UK Only Article:  standard article Issue:  A billion shades of grey Fly Title:  Buttonwood Rubric:  Profits in America may have peaked for this cycle ARE corporate profits at last running out of steam? The lead-up to the first-quarter results season on Wall Street was marked by an unusually large number of profit warnings, such as that from Chevron, an oil group. According to Morgan...

Some of the factors keeping low-income students from getting into college aren't always obvious to the public, higher education insiders tell Morning Edition's David Greene....

As online and mega stores take up more of the retail landscape, small mom-and-pop shops are getting more specific. We examine one of the ways small stores are looking to survive and possibly thrive....

The 329,000 applications filed last week for unemployment insurance were more than economists expected. One theory: Easter's relatively late date may have skewed the numbers....

Florida Gov. Rick Scott's plan to drug test state workers and welfare recipients ran into trouble in the courts. Law professor Pauline Kim and reporter Curt Anderson discuss the drug testing battle....

Realtors are seeing reasons for optimism in the housing market. As Kaomi Goetz of WSHU reports, one historic home sale suggests the high end of the market is booming again — in Connecticut, at least....

One Tulsa, Okla., nonprofit believes that improving poor kids' prospects also requires preparing their parents for well-paying jobs. The program's director says managing both is a tough nut to crack....