Latest from Alisa Roth

• Aug 21, 2010

  Companies unloading cash on mergers

  Cautious companies have been hoarding cash, but they're now unloading that stash for acquisitions and mergers. Marketplace's Alisa Roth looks into the benefits and pitfalls of these business moves.

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• Aug 20, 2010

  What GM’s IPO means

  Marketplace's Alisa Roth looks into what GM's IPO means for the company — from the government's involvement with GM to its future as a company.

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• Aug 19, 2010

  Fannie and Freddie trying to return bad mortgages

  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are trying to recoup $150 billion, so they can pay back the government. They're employing something called "buy-backs" to do just that. Marketplace's Alisa Roth explains.

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• Aug 17, 2010

  Commercial paper market rates at record lows

  Short-term loans for corporations from the commercial paper market are back and corporations are taking out loans, even if they don't necessarily need them. Marketplace's Alisa Roth explains why.

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• Aug 14, 2010

  Taxes on H-1B visas pay for border bill

  President Obama signed a $600 million border security bill that will put more agents and equipment on the job along the Mexican border. But with the U.S. bank balance deeply in the red, where's that money coming from? According to the White House, from taxes on H-1B visas for skilled workers. Alisa Roth reports.

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• Aug 13, 2010

  Is GM’s progress a sign Big 3 are back?

  General Motors reported second-quarter profits of $1.3 billion and may soon file papers for an IPO. CEO Ed Whitacre, appointed by the Obama administration to turn GM around, has also announced he will step down and be succeeded by a board member. Reporter Alisa Roth talks with Tess Vigeland about what all this means for GM and the Big Three.

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• Aug 12, 2010

  Banks find themselves in a tough spot

  The Federal Reserve said it wouldn't add more money into the economy. But that it would continue to reinvest the money it put in during the financial crisis. That money is meant to help banks shore up their balance sheets and encourage them to lend more. Alisa Roth reports that's putting banks in a bind.

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• Aug 11, 2010

  What another recession would feel like

  The San Francisco Fed released a report saying the odds are about 50-50 that we'll get a recovery or a double dip within the next two years. We're all too familiar with what a recession feels like. What would a second hit mean? Alisa Roth reports.

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• Aug 10, 2010

  Will SEC exercise new reform powers?

  Provisions in the financial regulatory reforms could encourage huge numbers of new cases against companies. The provisions let the SEC give big financial payouts to whistle blowers whose info leads to successful enforcement action. Alisa Roth reports the agency's also making more use of the tools it already had.

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• Aug 2, 2010

  Geithner to ‘lay out the path forward’ in financial reform

  In one of his first public appearances since reform passed, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will be touting the good the administration says the new financial reforms can do.

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