Robert Smith

Why (Almost) No One In Myanmar Wanted My Money

Robert Smith — Fri, 10 May 2013 07:12:00 +0000

When you arrive in Myanmar, you can see how eager the people are to do business. At the airport in Yangon, new signs in English welcome tourists. A guy in a booth offers to rent me a local cellphone — and he's glad to take U.S. dollars. But when I pull out my money, he shakes his head.

"I'm sorry," he says.

He points to the crease mark in the middle of the $20 bill.

The Trick To Selling Fancy Wine From New Jersey: Don't Say It's From New Jersey

Robert Smith — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 07:07:00 +0000

Halfway between the New Jersey Turnpike and the Atlantic City casinos is a little slice of France: Amalthea Cellars. There's an old farmhouse, and a field full of grapevines.

Lou Caracciolo, who founded Amalthea, is walking through the field. "Here's something I put in the ground in 1976," he says. "You have to have a feel for it, and after 30 years I have a pretty good feel for it."

Caracciolo calls himself a hopeless romantic.

Inside An Amish Trade Show

Robert Smith — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 08:46:00 +0000

The Buckeye Tool Expo in Dalton, Ohio, is held in a massive hall filled with bearded men in black hats and women in white bonnets. A few horses and buggies are tied up outside.

The Amish have chosen to forgo many of the delights of the modern world, but they still need to drill, sand and cut wood. This trade expo shows off all the loopholes that let the Amish get their hands on power tools.

Should The U.S. Import More Doctors?

Robert Smith — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 20:18:00 +0000

People around the world want the same thing from their doctors. First, do no harm. Second, take a look at this weird bump and tell me if I should get worried.

The job is basically the same in many countries around the world. But the pay is wildly different. The median salary for U.S. doctors is about $250,000 a year. In Western Europe, it's less than half that.

A Union Vote For Chinese Workers Who Assemble iPhones

Robert Smith — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 17:12:00 +0000

The Chinese workers who assemble iPhones, iPads and tons of other electronic devices may soon be able to elect their own union representatives, the FT reports.

Labor unions technically do exist in Chinese factories, but they're typically controlled by management and the government. So a union run by democratic vote of the workers would be a huge shift.

The workers in question are employed by Foxconn, a giant company with over 1 million employees in China.

Shooter's Family Connections Begin To Emerge

Robert Smith — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 02:42:00 +0000

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

And I'm Audie Cornish.

We begin this hour with the tragedy in Connecticut. This morning, around nine o'clock, a young man walked into the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut and began shooting.

Will A $1.9 Billion Settlement Be Enough To Change Banks' Behavior?

Robert Smith — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 08:28:00 +0000

If a kid does something bad and you want to discipline him — give him a timeout, say, or take away a toy — there are some basic principles that seem to work.

New Yorkers Struggle With Limited Transit Options

Robert Smith — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 21:15:00 +0000

New Yorkers were ready to get back to work on Thursday, but the region's transportation system wasn't ready to handle all of them. At bus and subway stops there were long lines and frustration, while drivers had their own long waits for the city's bridges and tunnels.

Watch Our Fake Presidential Candidate's First Real Ad

Robert Smith — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 16:30:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VtnjRdfo1Y

The Candidate Is Fake; The Consultants Are Real

Robert Smith — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 06:53:00 +0000

When our series began yesterday, we brought together five economists from across the political spectrum and had them create a platform for their dream presidential candidate. It's a platform — Get rid of a tax deduction for homeowners!

A Tax Plan That Economists Love (And Politicians Hate)

Robert Smith — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 07:32:00 +0000

Watching a presidential campaign, it's easy to think that the nation is deeply divided over how to fix the economy. But when you talk to economists, it turns out they agree on an enormous number of issues.

So we brought together five economists from across the political spectrum and had them create their dream presidential candidate. Over the next few days, we'll have a series of stories on our economists' dream candidate.

Why New York Is A Hub In The Global Trinket Trade

Robert Smith — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 10:14:00 +0000
For more on the junk economy, see this slideshow.
There's a neighborhood in New York City that has always been a mystery to us. Smack dab in the middle of Manhattan, around 29th street, is the wholesale district. There you can find rows of narrow storefronts packed to the ceiling with trinkets. Racks and racks of fake gold chains. Acres of souvenir lighters and walls of belt buckles.

The Fed's Other Big Power

Robert Smith — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 06:16:00 +0000
We think of the power of the Federal Reserve as the power of money. After all, the Fed is the one institution that can create U.S. dollars out of thin air.
But recently, Ben Bernanke has argued that the Fed has another, critical power: the power of words.

How A Pasta Factory Got People To Show Up For Work

Robert Smith — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 18:05:00 +0000
Zoe Chace and Robert Smith are reporting from European borders this week. This story is about the unofficial border within one country — the border that divides northern and southern Italy. This is the fourth story in a four-part series.
A decade ago, the Barilla pasta factory in Foggia, Italy, had a big problem with people skipping work.

Why Don't More Unemployed Spaniards Get Jobs In Germany?

Robert Smith — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 06:59:00 +0000
Zoe Chace and Robert Smith are reporting from European borders this week. This is the third story in a four-part series.
The eurozone was supposed to create one big labor market by making it easy to cross borders for work.
But Gerhard Wiegelmann, a CEO in Stuttgart, Germany, can't find enough workers to staff his company — even with unemployment in Spain over 20 percent.

The Marijuana Trade In The Euro's Birthplace

Robert Smith — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 16:45:00 +0000
Zoe Chace and Robert Smith are reporting from European borders this week.

The Building That's In Two Countries At Once

Robert Smith and Zoe Chace — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 07:22:00 +0000
Zoe Chace and Robert Smith are reporting from European borders this week. This is the first story in a four-part series.
A metal strip on the floor of Eurode Business Center marks the border between Germany and the Netherlands.
On one side of the building, there's a German mailbox and a German policeman. On the other side, a Dutch mailbox and a Dutch policeman.
The building was supposed to make it easy to work in both countries. But it's also a reminder of how the European dream isn't yet a reality.
The border is open enough that a single building can span it.

Just How Blind Are Blind Trusts, Anyway?

Robert Smith — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 20:11:00 +0000
As Mitt Romney has faced questions about his investments and tax returns, the likely Republican presidential nominee has responded with two words of explanation: blind trust.
Romney keeps most of his wealth in a blind trust designed to prevent him from knowing exactly where his money is and what it's doing. It's a long tradition for presidents and candidates, though anyone can set one up if he wants to.
But it turns out that not all blind trusts are equally blind. Some are cast into complete and utter darkness.

Rigging LIBOR: Banking Scandal Hits Home (Literally)

Robert Smith — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 16:10:00 +0000
The biggest scandal in the world right now has nothing to do with sex or celebrities. It's about an interest rate called LIBOR, or the London Interbank Offered Rate.
Most Americans probably never heard of LIBOR. When I first moved to New York, I hadn't. Back then, I could barely afford my apartment and got an adjustable rate mortgage. And so I wondered: When my rate adjusts, how will I know how much I'll be paying?
I searched through all the documents and it was right there — LIBOR.

Going Public Is A Hassle

Robert Smith — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 07:16:00 +0000
Here's a classic story of how a multimillion-dollar company gets started.
A young guy named Seung Bak is on a trip to China.

Food Trucks Seek 'That Mystical Spot'

Robert Smith — Fri, 04 May 2012 07:04:00 +0000
The Rickshaw Dumpling Truck is a retired postal van, painted red and filled with Chinese dumplings. I'm riding shotgun with Kenny Lao, the van's co-owner. It's a weekday morning, and we're driving into Manhattan looking for a killer spot to set up shop for the day.
"I think there is that mystical spot in midtown that every truck owner dreams of," Lao says. "Easy parking. It's a wide sidewalk. There's no restaurant but there's lots of offices."
There are 3,000 year-round food trucks and carts competing for that mystical spot.

On The Million-Dollar Trail Of A Mystery SuperPAC Donor

Robert Smith — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCrQFn9FddE

What The IRS Could Learn From Mormons

Robert Smith — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 05:01:00 +0000
Many religious traditions stress the importance of charity. But Mormons are remarkable for the amount and the precision with which they give to their church.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that each Mormon in good standing should tithe 10 percent of his or her income.

Who Killed Lard?

Robert Smith — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:33:00 +0000
Ron Silver, the owner of Bubby's restaurant in Brooklyn, recently put a word on his menu you don't often see anymore: lard. The white, creamy, processed fat from a pig. And he didn't use the word just once.
For a one-night-only "Lard Exoneration Dinner", Silver served up lard fried potatoes. And root vegetables, baked in lard. Fried chicken, fried in lard. Roasted fennel glazed with lard sugar and sea salt. Pies, with lard inside and out.