Chris Arnold

Saving For Retirement? Here's A Tip

Chris Arnold — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 10:12:00 +0000

Anyone with a 401(k) retirement plan has been painfully aware of the gyrations in the stock market in recent years. The market has come back up lately, but the economy is still in low gear, so many analysts aren't too bullish in the short term. Also, treasuries and CDs are offering tiny returns.

So what's the average American trying to save for retirement to do? Answers are percolating at an annual economics retreat in Maine.

Every year in August, some of the nation's top economists, money managers and some Federal Reserve officials gather in the woods up near the Canadian border.

Fishing For Lobsters Not Just A Man's Game

Chris Arnold — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 10:21:00 +0000

In New England, more women are breaking through the glass gangway. That's the ramp you use to walk down onto a dock to hop onboard your own fishing boat. For generations lobstermen in Maine have been predominantly, well, men — but that's starting to change.

At a small gas dock in a rock-lined cove on Deer Isle, Maine, there's a new captain fueling up. Genevieve Kurilec, 29, wears a tank-top, orange fishing overalls and lobster buoy earrings.

Kurilec's vessel, Hello Darling, is a small lobster boat. It has a standup center console with a steering wheel — no roof or cabin for shade.

Persuading Banks To Give Homeowners A Break

Chris Arnold — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 07:28:00 +0000

Over the past four years, Bruce Marks has been on a traveling road show to help people avoid foreclosure. His nonprofit, the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, has held more than 80 events in cities around the country.

Maine Lobstermen Give Farming Sea Scallops A Try

Chris Arnold — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 09:51:00 +0000

If you don't love scallops, you probably just haven't had one that's cooked properly. That is, pan fried with some garlic and butter and herbs. They are very tasty.

In Maine, scientists and fishermen are learning how to farm, instead of catching, these tasty sea critters. That could be good for business and the environment.

Out on the water off Stonington, Maine, Marsden Brewer is motoring his lobster boat through the crowded fishing harbor. Today, just about all the boats here are lobster boats. But 30 years ago, he says, it was a different story.

"You see all the boats and stuff?

Economists Cautiously Applaud Jobs Report

Chris Arnold — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 11:32:00 +0000

Transcript

SUSAN STAMBERG, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Susan Stamberg in for Scott Simon. In an encouraging sign for the U.S. economy, the Labor Department told us yesterday that the country gained 163,000 jobs in July. That was better than expected but not all signs are pointing up. In a separate government survey, the unemployment rate increased slightly to 8.3 percent. NPR's Chris Arnold is at a gathering of economists in northern Maine.