Economy

What Peabody's Bankruptcy Means To St. Louis

8:11am April 14, 2016

by Maria Altman

Peabody Energy, the largest coal company in the United States, filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday. The company is the second major coal company based in St. Louis to file for Chapter 11 protection.

Queue Listen Now

Want To Set Up A Shell Corporation To Hide Your Millions? No Problem

8:39pm April 13, 2016

by Jim Zarroli

The Panama Papers showed just how easy it is to stash your money in a place where regulators can't find it. It's not illegal to set up these corporations, and the business of creating them is booming.

Queue Listen Now

Not all financial education classes help us make better financial decisions. But some do.

Not All Financial Education Is Effective. Here Are 4 Ideas That Work

5:48pm April 13, 2016

by Gabrielle Emanuel

Credit scores. Car loans. Mortgages. It's stuff we all need to know. Yet not all financial education classes help us make better financial decisions. But some do.

Thousands Of Verizon Workers Go On Strike As Contract Talks Stall

4:54pm April 13, 2016

by Ilya Marritz

About 40,000 Verizon workers went on strike Wednesday demanding an extension on talks for a new labor contract. The workers are represented by two unions, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Communications Workers of America.

Remittances are a worldwide business. Above, an agent in Hong Kong specializes in transferring cash to the Philippines.

Who Gives More To The Developing World: Aid Donors Or Migrant Workers?

4:51pm April 13, 2016

by NPR Staff

Remittances — money sent home by migrants working abroad — add up to more than triple the amount of official foreign aid to developing countries. And that makes some people unhappy.

Coal Giant Peabody Energy Declares Bankruptcy

4:51pm April 13, 2016

Peabody Energy, the largest private sector coal company in the nation, declared bankruptcy Wednesday morning. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Taylor Kuykendall, a reporter with S&P Global Market Intelligence, about why the coal powerhouse needs to reorganize.

In 2006, a bulldozer sits ready for work at Peabody Energy's Gateway Coal Mine near Coulterville, Ill. Peabody is the latest coal company to declare bankruptcy.

U.S. Coal Giant Peabody Energy Files For Bankruptcy

10:20am April 13, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

As the coal industry struggles with falling prices, weak Chinese demand, regulatory changes and competition from fracking, St. Louis-based Peabody has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Queue Listen Now

A driver holds up his change from a transaction in Beijing in February. The latest World Economic Outlook offers some good news for China's economy this year.

5 Reasons The IMF Says Global Economic Growth Is Slowing

8:17pm April 12, 2016

by John Ydstie

In January, International Monetary Fund economists thought the global economy would grow 3.4 percent this year, but now they've ratcheted back that forecast.

On Equal Pay Day, President Obama marks the designation of a women's equality national monument.

As Hollywood Stars Can Attest, It's Good To Be A Man On Payday

7:37pm April 12, 2016

by Marilyn Geewax

Economic data show that men still make a dollar for every 79 cents a woman earns. A half-century ago, that figure was just 59 cents. So, much progress has been made, but a large wage gap persists.

Beyond The Panama Papers: How Else Do Wealthy People Avoid Paying Taxes?

6:20pm April 12, 2016

The offshore revelations from the Panama Papers come in the midst of U.S. tax filing season. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with author and tax journalist David Cay Johnston about how else wealthy people avoid paying taxes.

Queue Listen Now