Business

Retailers are under pressure after a building collapse killed more than 1,100 garment workers in Bangladesh. But global demand for inexpensive clothing shows no sign of abating. The New York Times' Steven Greenhouse and Elizabeth Cline, author of Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, unravel the prospects for improved safety in the garment industry.

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NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan.

Millions of Americans rely on food stamps to keep from going hungry. They can also use them to buy sugary drinks. Some groups, including the National Center for Public Policy Research, say that's not right. Host Michel Martin discusses this with the Center's Justin Danhof, and University of Illinois Professor Craig Gundersen.

Experts say the housing market is recovering, but the percentage of Americans who own homes is lower than it was a decade ago. Host Michel Martin speaks to Time's Rana Foroohar who looks at this and other paradoxes in the housing market, and asks if the recovery is really just a mirage.

House Republicans just passed a bill they say will help people juggle work and family. Supporters say the bill gives workers more flexibility by letting them trade for time off. But critics, including Senate Democrats, say it's just a ploy to pay workers less money. Host Michel Martin learns more from NPR's Senior Business Editor, Marilyn Geewax.

We asked a bunch of economists what they would say if they were giving a commencement address this spring. Here are some excerpts from their responses.

Justin Wolfers:

Overtime or comp time? Which one suits you best?

Both you and your boss may agree it would be best for you to work a sixth day when a big project is due in March, and then take off for a long weekend in June. No big deal.

But under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, private employers must pay time and a half to workers who put in more than 40 hours on the job in any one week.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And let's turn now to the topic of political intelligence. This is the business of collecting highly detailed information from Congress and the regulatory agencies and then using it to make it money on Wall Street. The Securities and Exchange Commission is now investigating this practice. The probe comes a year after Congress passed legislation that barred lawmakers and staffers from the leaking insider information as a violation of their official duties

Here's NPR's Peter Overby.

Giant financial data company Bloomberg is acknowledging that some of its subscribers were tracked by the company's reporters. The reporters were allowed to see what kind of information the subscribers were looking at and how long it had been since they logged on. The tracking came to light after Goldman Sachs Raised questions about the practice. Over the weekend, the Federal Reserve said it is looking into whether its employees were tracked as well.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

NPR's business news starts with a big recall for jeeps.

Chrysler is recalling about 470,000 Jeep SUVs worldwide. Certain Jeep Grand Cherokees and Commanders are being recalled because the transmission could shift by itself - from park into neutral - with no warning to the driver. The source of the problem: cracks in the circuit board that can cause a faulty signal on start-up.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Today's last word in business is: The Cat's meow.

Last summer, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis hosted the first-ever Internet Cat Video Festival. Yes, that happened. The festival featured 70 minutes of Internet cat videos.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Google Glass isn't even for sale yet, but it's already facing backlash.

Drivers will find this summer's gas prices are lower than last year's, the result of a spike in crude oil production. Government forecasters say a gallon of regular gasoline will cost about $3.50 this summer — a slide of more than 10 cents from last year.