Dan Bobkoff

If you think that government and the financial industry are a bit too friendly in the U.S., try England. London's version of Wall Street is called the City. And in the City, the line between government and corporate interests gets even blurrier. Critics say it's time for change.

The recession hit Puerto Rico's already struggling economy hard. So the island, a U.S. territory that can make its own tax laws, is pitching an attractive offer to the wealthy: Move to this warm, tropical isle and live virtually tax-free.

For the first time, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has referred a criminal case to the Department of Justice. The bureau accuses a debt relief company called Mission Settlement Agency of bilking consumers out of millions. The suit alleges the company lied about fees and its results.

The Bangladesh garment factory collapse that killed hundreds made supercheap clothing destined for American stores. Research shows customers will pay more for safely made clothes, but only to a point.

Television networks are up in arms. The new company Aereo is charging a monthly fee to provide a high-definition feed of the basic over-the-air channels, and the stations aren't seeing a penny of it. But CEO Chet Kanojia thinks he's figured out a legal loophole.

Brooklyn-based Vice Media has gone from a small Canadian magazine to figuring out the holy grail of media: how to capture an international audience of aloof 18- to 24-year-olds. From magazines to the Web to film, Vice's CEO says, "We do it weirder, and we do it younger, and we do it in a different way and in a different voice."

A government sugar subsidy program is often criticized for keeping sugar prices too high. But now prices are falling and the government may buy 400,000 tons of sugar to help struggling sugar processors. Critics say the government's involvement in the sugar business should end.

Class-action lawsuits accuse Anheuser-Busch of watering down Budweiser and other beers and then misleading consumers about their alcohol content. The company denies the claims; in tests commissioned by NPR, samples of Budweiser were found to be in line with their advertised alcohol content.

Most Americans are earning more money than their parents, according to a new study from Pew's Economic Mobility Project. But that doesn't tell the whole picture: It often takes two incomes to surpass the one salary that was enough for the younger generation's parents.

Several big retailers say the return of the full payroll tax is causing consumers to curtail spending, but so far the evidence is mostly anecdotal. Some analysts argue a variety of factors, and not any specific policy, contributed to slower growth in consumer spending in January.