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Free, fast shipping during the holidays can pressure small businesses

Nov 29, 2018
How some stores have been dealing with buyer expectations.
A worker sorts packages at a UPS facility in 2010 in Hodgkins, Illinois.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Microsoft claws its way back to the top. How did it do that?

Nov 28, 2018
We don’t really talk about Microsoft in the same breath as Apple, Amazon or Facebook these days. Maybe we should. Over the last couple of days, Microsoft has been taking turns with Apple as the world’s most valuable public company. The last time Microsoft held that position was 2003. Microsoft once dominated the tech world […]

What business investment says about our economy's future

Nov 28, 2018
After the tax law passed last year, Republicans argued that companies would take their tax savings and make big investments in themselves — plants, equipment, trucks, that sort of thing. But over the last year, there are signs that business investment is slowing. GM’s plans to shut down five plants are just the latest example. Economists […]
Pictures of Money/Flickr

How New York's court system turned into a debt-collection machine

Nov 27, 2018
A series from Bloomberg this week sheds light on a predatory lending practice that’s turning New York’s court system into a debt-collection machine. Some lenders that offer cash advances to small businesses require their customers to sign what’s called a “confession of judgment.” That means before borrowers get a loan, they sign away their right […]

That dog you love so much on Instagram? His owner is probably making thousands of dollars a post

Nov 22, 2018
Pet owners flocked to the second annual PetCon to learn how to turn their pets into social media stars.
A dog poses for a portrait at the 2018 PetCon held at the Javits Center in New York City. 

 
Jana Kasperkevic for Marketplace

Here are some reasons why China's currency is sinking

Oct 10, 2018
One U.S. dollar today is worth about 9.92 Chinese yuan. That’s down nearly 10 percent from where it was last spring. That drop has the attention of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who said Wednesday he wants to make sure China is not doing “competitive devaluations.” That’s when a country seeks an advantage by making its […]
An employee counts 100-yuan notes at a bank in Nantong in China's eastern Jiangsu province on July 23, 2018.
AFP/Getty Images

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NerdWallet is changing how we shop for financial products

Sep 19, 2018
"Money is complicated. ... We try to make it easier," CEO Tim Chen says.
Tim Chen, the CEO and co-founder of NerdWallet, said the company started as a spreadsheet after his sister asked for help finding a credit card.
Courtesy of NerdWallet

Is the Fed causing turmoil in emerging markets?

Aug 31, 2018
How U.S. interest rates cause trouble in Turkey, Argentina, and beyond
Chris McGrath/Getty Images

For U.S. travelers to the U.K. and the eurozone, currency conversion conundrum

Aug 22, 2018
U.S. travelers to the U.K. and the eurozone face two currency hurdles: calculating pound and euro prices in dollars, and dealing with the higher cost of goods and services over there. How do they cope? With a little magical thinking.  Click the audio player above to hear the full story.