Kai talked to Nela Richardson of Redfin and John Carney of the Wall Street Journal today to discuss the week that was. But what else happened this week at Marketplace?

Fun Fact: Without bees, it would be tough to produce almonds.

On Monday, we visited a farm in California’s Central Valley and uncovered the buzzy business behind growing almonds. The answer? Traveling bees.

Fun Fact: 75 percent of the $30 billion in military aid awarded to Israel by the Bush administration in 2007 will ultimately come back to the United States.

Political tensions were high when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed congress on Tuesday. Not to worry, more than half of what the U.S. gives in military aid to Israel is returned to the U.S. in the form of armaments purchased from American defense contractors.

Fun Fact:There will be around half a billion middle-class consumers in China five years from now. 

The private-equity industry is coming of age in China, and has been doing so for the past 20 years. Chinese investors are banking on the country’s growing middle class and their sky-rocketing purchasing power.

Fun Fact: You can buy an antique brass clock from The New York Times store for $6,500.

The New York Times’s retail shop had a recent makeover, further differentiating it from the online stores of other media outlets. Here’s a comparison between its gift shop and NPR’s wares.

Fun Fact: The world’s second largest economy announced a new growth target of 7 percent on Thursday.

Despite a growing middle class, China’s progress is slowing a bit — though the U.S. and other established countries would be pleased to have China’s growth rate.