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3:58 pm
Wed September 12, 2012

When Telemarketers Pocket Money Meant For Charity

Credit Courtesy of InfoCision
Telemarketers at work at an InfoCision call center. The for-profit company solicits millions in charitable donations each year and also provides marketing services to for-profit clients.

Originally published on Thu September 13, 2012 12:55 pm

Americans donate billions of dollars to charity each year, and a portion of that money is raised by telemarketing solicitations.

Some of those charitable contributions are solicited by InfoCision Management Corp., an Ohio-based telemarketing company that, on its website, claims to raise more money for nonprofit organizations over the phone than any other company n the world.

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The Two-Way
11:29 am
Wed September 12, 2012

Apple Unveils New, Thinner, Lighter iPhone 5

Credit Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide product marketing Phil Schiller announces the new iPhone 5 during an Apple special event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, Calif.

Originally published on Wed September 12, 2012 2:02 pm

Moments ago in San Francisco, Apple's Phil Schiller unveiled the latest incarnation of the company's massively popular smartphone.

The iPhone 5, said Schiller, is "the most beautiful product we've ever made."

Of course, you want to know what's different about this model: Essentially it's thinner, lighter, faster and also has a bigger screen than the iPhone 4s.

The device also comes equipped to work with faster wireless networks like LTE, which AT&T, Sprint and Verizon carry.

The AP adds:

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Planet Money
11:01 am
Wed September 12, 2012

More Jobs, Smaller Paychecks

Originally published on Wed September 12, 2012 6:54 pm

After falling during the recession, the number of Americans with full-time jobs increased last year.

But median earnings for full-time workers fell. (Also: The wage gap between men and women did not change.)

And household income was stagnant across the income spectrum.

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Race
10:43 am
Wed September 12, 2012

Is The Black Middle Class Disappearing?

Originally published on Thu September 13, 2012 9:33 am

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. We've been talking a lot about the economy in the past couple of weeks. The issue was at the forefront of the two political conventions that just ended and put a further exclamation point on the debate over whether Barack Obama or Mitt Romney would be the best person to address the issue.

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The Salt
10:29 am
Wed September 12, 2012

McDonald's Adds Calorie Counts And Maybe Grilled McNuggets To Menu

Originally published on Tue September 18, 2012 12:47 pm

If you didn't know that a Big Mac has 550 calories, or the Southwest Chicken Salad has 290, those numbers will be hard to miss the next time you visit McDonald's.

That's because the fast-food giant announced today that it will begin posting calories on its menu boards right above customers heads in the restaurant, and at the drive-thru starting next week.

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All Tech Considered
6:34 am
Wed September 12, 2012

Do iPhone Announcements Get More Attention Than They Deserve?

Business
3:18 am
Wed September 12, 2012

4 Years After Bankruptcy, How Is Lehman Faring?

Originally published on Wed September 12, 2012 7:28 pm

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

It was four years ago this week that the big Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy. Its collapse sent shockwaves around the world and brought on the worst of the financial crisis. But the story didn't end there. Lehman Brothers is still in business - sort of.

Planet Money's Adam Davidson went to its offices in New York, and is here to tell us about it.

Good morning.

ADAM DAVIDSON, BYLINE: Good morning.

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Business
3:18 am
Wed September 12, 2012

Velvet Underground Loses Banana Case

Originally published on Wed September 12, 2012 7:28 pm

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Here in the United States, a court has been considering the fate of an iconic fruit. And that's our last word in business today.

Forty-five years ago, the artist Andy Warhol created an album cover for the rock band The Velvet Underground, an album cover featuring a stylized banana. The Warhol banana has remained a popular image, moving from an album cover to iPhone covers.

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NPR Story
3:13 am
Wed September 12, 2012

IRS Awards $104 Million To Whistle-Blower

Originally published on Wed September 12, 2012 7:28 pm

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

After a scandal, somebody finally gets rich for doing the right thing. It's NPR's business news.

A former banker, Bradley Birkenfeld, has just been awarded $104 million by the IRS. That is believed to be the largest amount ever paid to an individual whistle-blower. Birkenfeld told the IRS how a Swiss bank was helping thousands of Americans evade taxes, and was then thrown in jail.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

NPR's Wendy Kaufman has more.

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All Tech Considered
5:17 pm
Tue September 11, 2012

11 Takeaways From Mark Zuckerberg's First Post-Facebook IPO Interview

Credit Eric Risberg / AP
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasized his company's mobile-centered future Tuesday, in his first public comments since Facebook's troubled IPO.

Originally published on Tue September 11, 2012 6:08 pm

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave his first public interview after his tech company's rocky IPO and the disappointing stock performance that followed. Facebook's share price is now worth about $19 — half as much as it was priced back in May when its stock first went on the market.

Zuckerberg took questions from Michael Arrington at TechCrunch Disrupt, a San Francisco conference for startups. We watched and listened in to the talk in case you missed it:

Building a mission and business go hand-in-hand

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Economy
3:02 pm
Tue September 11, 2012

U.S. Treasury Cuts Stake In AIG With $18 Billion Sale

Originally published on Tue September 11, 2012 7:57 pm

The Treasury Dept has reduced its stake in AIG by selling $18 billion worth of company stock. In doing so, the U.S. government moved from being AIG's majority shareholder to simply having a stake in the company. The sale guarantees that taxpayers will come out ahead on the bailout of the insurer.

Shots - Health Blog
2:02 pm
Tue September 11, 2012

Insurance Costs Rise, But More Slowly

Credit iStockphoto.com
Heath coverage will cost you more than last year, but not as much as it might have.

Originally published on Wed September 12, 2012 5:44 am

If you get health insurance on the job, chances are it cost more again this year.

Annual family health insurance premiums rose about 4 percent to $15,745 in 2012, according to the latest survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust.

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The Salt
1:48 pm
Tue September 11, 2012

How Oregon's Prized Pinot Noir Grapes Will Take The Heat Of Climate Change

Credit Greg Wahl-Stephens / AP
Pinot noir grapes are notoriously finicky about the weather, and climate change has winemakers in Oregon thinking about the future.

Originally published on Wed September 19, 2012 2:08 pm

Some grapes like it hot.

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Money Coach
10:03 am
Tue September 11, 2012

Are You Susceptible To 'Seduction By Contract'?

The new iPhone is expected to be unveiled this week, and customers can probably get a discount if they sign up for a lengthy service agreement. But New York University Law Professor Oren Bar-Gill tells host Michel Martin that consumers should think twice before signing the dotted line for things like phones, credit cards or mortgages.

Planet Money
10:02 am
Tue September 11, 2012

The iPhone 5 And The Economy: Don't Believe The Hype

Credit Kiichiro Sato / AP
Waiting to help the economy grow.

Originally published on Wed September 12, 2012 10:13 am

The iPhone 5 will give a nice boost to U.S. economic growth in the last three months of this year, according to a new note from JPMorgan.

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