Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Food prices have come down from the record highs of a year ago. Does this mean the worldwide food crisis over? In part II of our Global Economy podcast, visits to Zimbabwe, Italy, and Japan. And an overview of economic forces driving the costs of food.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
A year ago, there were protests in the streets – throughout many places in the developing world – people clamoring over the high cost of food. A year later, prices in commodity markets are down by nearly a third. But is the worldwide food crisis over?
Spending during times of recession: gambling, dining out, and partying with the kiddies. Should we cut back on luxuries? Or are luxuries, little distractions, more important than ever?
Housing prices have gone up-and-down – mostly down – around the world over the past year or so. Many people have found themselves either out of their homes, or struggling to afford to keep them. What does the housing landscape look like worldwide?
>>>Listen to the Global Economy Podcast
Global leaders from the eight industrialized nations met in Italy today. Their goal: Fix the global economy.
OK, maybe the agenda isn’t quite that ambitious, but they’ve got a lot on their plate.

The new U.S. unemployment figures came out this week. The good news: The rate of job losses is slowing. The bad news: Unemployment is at a 26-year high.
It’s not just Americans who are feeling the pain. In parts of Europe, unemployment is well above 10 percent. This is forcing some people to look for jobs thought unimaginable just a few months ago.

“The biggest threat to the system (today): suppose everybody now tries to turn inward… then I think the degree of integration of the global economy, this time, is so large, that it would be extremely difficult, it would just collapse in on itself.” These were the words of economist Barry Bosworth at the Brookings Institution, spoken in January. Are we starting to see protectionism today? Will countries repeat the mistakes of the 1930’s? Listen to the Global Economy Podcast
President Obama announced a plan for the most sweeping changes to the rules of finance since FDR’s changes during the Great Depression. It’s hard to argue that President Roosevelt’s actions in the 1930′s didn’t help bring stability and order to Wall Street. But it’s a much different world today. Listen to the Global Economy Podcast
This week, a day that seemed unthinkable just a few months ago came to pass: General Motors filed for bankruptcy. This, of course, brings up lots of questions. Bankruptcy is an orderly process with some predictability. But what happens when a huge multinational like GM declares bankruptcy? That’s unchartered territory. Listen to the Global Economy Podcast
This week: a four-part series on how the economic downturn is affecting immigrants in California. So, take a quick economic tour of life in the Golden State these days. We talk to Mexican farm workers in the San Joaquin Valley, Asian health care workers in Los Angeles, and nannies in Hollywood. Listen to the Global Economy Podcast
Jason Margolis assumes command of the podcast this week. We take you north to Canada to hear about an effort to “green” a million wartime-era homes. Then, we offer a global assessment of the new fuel efficiency standards announced by the Obama Administration. Listen
On this week’s Global Economy Podcast, we go digging for precious gems in Afghanistan. Could emeralds and rubies spell sustainability and success for Afghanistan’s economy? Also, we hear how one Mexican restaurateur dealt with the swine flu outbreak, and how many Mexicans are dealing with a credit card crunch. Finally, we compare US health care costs with those in other countries. Listen
This week, the impact of swine flu on the Mexican and Egyptian economies. Also, one Chinese county toys with the idea of paying workers to smoke, and then quickly abandons it when there is international outrage. Fiat’s CEO Sergio Marchionne, and Ireland’s struggling horse-breeding industry. Listen
In this week’s Global Economy Podcast, it’s all about swine flu. We look at how a swine flu pandemic might affect the global economy, and how the global recession might affect our flu preparedness. Listen