Financial writer Philip Coggan traces the current global financial crisis to the 1970s, when the U.S. went off the gold standard. In his book Paper Promises, Coggan says governments will have to choose whether to keep their promises to their creditors or to their citizens.

China's Vice President Xi Jinping is coming to America. Next week, he'll meet with President Obama at the White House. He'll lead a trade delegation to California. And he'll also make a stop in Muscatine, Iowa. Xi visited the town (population 22,886) in the 1980s, as part of an agricultural mission.

New research indicates excessive consumption of sugar leads to an increase in all kinds of chronic diseases. But how much sugar is too much? Would making sugary foods more expensive help to get consumers to cut back?

So-called helicopter parents have hit the workplace, phoning employers to advocate on behalf of their adult children. Human resource managers say more parents are trying to negotiate salary and benefits and are even sitting in on job interviews.

Citi, which expects to issue its first card this year, will become the first U.S.-based bank to issue its own credit cards in the country.

An investigation by ProPublica and NPR sheds light on questionable practices by the government-owned mortgage giant Freddie Mac. Guest host Jacki Lyden speaks with NPR's Chris Arnold and Arturo de los Santos, who is trying to save his house.

States have until close of business Monday to sign on to a settlement that would help underwater homeowners. If states agree to the deal, it could mean a settlement of up to $25 billion. It would be used for aid to people who have dealt with foreclosure or are at risk of it.