Economy

Our Planet Money team examines the financial life within ISIS territory. When members of the Islamic State take control of a town, they also take control of its businesses and its economy.

It sounds like a dance move — the reverse spin. But it's actually a financial engineering maneuver Yahoo is using to make the company more attractive to investors.

As lawmakers work to negotiate a government spending bill, the financial industry is lobbying against a rule being crafted by the Labor Department aimed at protecting workers with retirement accounts.

Osage oranges, also known as hedge balls or monkey brains, fall from hedge shrubs that line many Iowa farms. They've been a problem because cattle can easily choke on them. But they've become valuable since Todd Johnson, a southern Iowa chemist, started paying $180 per ton — more than what many farmers are getting for their corn this fall. He promises it's not a prank.

Drug prices are a hot topic in politics. One company raised the price of a $1.50 drug to $750. Drugs to cure hepatitis C routinely cost more than $10,000 — and more for a full course of treatment.