Business

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

NPR's business news starts with J.C. Penney's revolving door.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

GREENE: J.C. Penney has ousted its high-profile CEO, Ron Johnson. The retailer recruited Johnson from Apple, to revitalize the company. But since his arrival less than 18 months ago, things at J.C. Penney have only gotten worse.

Here's NPR's Wendy Kaufman.

In New York and Washington, government regulators are cracking down on insider trading, the illegal practice in which people with internal information about important company events make stock market trades before ordinary investors find out what's happening.

Buckle up — climate change could make this a bumpy flight.

That's according to a newly published study by two British scientists who say increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere will make "clear air turbulence" — which can't be easily spotted by pilots or satellites — more common over the North Atlantic. That means the potential for gut-wrenching flights between the U.S., Europe and points east.

In what would seem to be a contradiction, a respected study says that the quality of service provided by U.S. airlines remained near an all-time high last year even as passengers' complaints soared 22 percent.

Chef John Besh wanted to help minorities in the New Orleans restaurant industry move up the ladder in the city's top kitchens. So he co-founded Chefs Move, which provides scholarships to students for culinary school and career opportunities.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Good morning, I'm David Greene.

Target has apologized for a poor choice of words. Susan Clemens was looking at a grey dress on the company's Web site, when she noticed how the color described. Regular sizes were Dark Heather Gray. Plus sizes, in the exact color, became Manatee Gray. Manatees are walrus-like animals. They're also known as sea cows. Clemens tweeted her disgust and it went viral. The company says from now on they're just going to go with gray.

It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

After a 15-month hiatus, the world's newest nation is pumping oil again. It's a key step toward mending relations with Sudan, its former civil war foe. And it's a crucial step if South Sudan is to avoid economic collapse.

Earlier this year, all 787 Dreamliners were grounded after overheating issues caused by its batteries led to electrical failures in two separate incidents. Boeing is analyzing flight data and submitting materials to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Lilly Pulitzer married into the famous Pulitzer media family but her own fame came from her line of screaming pink, lime and fluorescent yellow shift dresses.

As car sharing continues to gain traction among American drivers, Car2Go is one company benefiting from the changing way we use cars.

Seattleite David Stewart doesn't own a car. Instead, the managing partner of a small social media company relies on Car2Go for getting around.

Broadcasters will convene this week in Las Vegas to discuss how to win back the "Zero TV Crowd": a rapidly growing demographic of people who don't subscribe to cable or satellite TV services.

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SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Late last week, Amazon, which features reader reviews on its sales website, announced that it's buying Goodreads, a hugely popular reader review site. Now, the announcement jarred a lot of Goodreads fans and upset lots of reader-reviewers and authors too. Greg Bensinger has been covering the story for the Wall Street Journal. He joins us from KQED in San Francisco. Thanks so much for being with us.

GREG BENSINGER: My pleasure, hello.

SIMON: Why did Amazon want to inhale Goodreads so much?

Almost 5 million Americans are considered long-term unemployed, meaning they have been searching for work for at least six months.

This week, their plight is getting a bit tougher as the government cuts their unemployment benefits — part of the automatic reductions in federal spending that took effect recently.

On a recent day, about 40 people turned out at a Manhattan jobs center run by the New York Labor Department to get advice on looking for work. These are all people who have been out of work for at least 27 weeks.

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It's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Audie Cornish.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

And I'm Robert Siegel.

At first blush, it might seem like good news from the Labor Department this morning: The unemployment rate that has been dropping in recent months fell again. It fell to 7.6 percent in March. But job growth was much weaker than expected. And the main reason that the rate went down is that a large number of people decided to leave the workforce. NPR's Yuki Noguchi joins us now. Hi, Yuki.

The forced budget cuts known as the "sequester" have not yet started to trickle down to the local level. But that hasn't stopped politicians from talking about what those cuts will mean. But business leaders in a city with strong aviation ties aren't looking at only the conversations in Washington as they plan their futures.

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AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

And I'm Robert Siegel.

California's economy is a study in contrasts. The state's unemployment rate — 9.8 percent — is tied with Rhode Island for the highest in the country. Parts of the state are still suffering mightily from the housing collapse. But there are also large pockets of job growth and revival.

Lots of people are surely looking at today's jobs headlines somewhat puzzled, asking one significant question: How can it be that hiring was much worse than expected in March and the unemployment rate still fell — to 7.6 percent?

The answer isn't a happy one. There are a couple of ways the unemployment rate can fall.

Millions of Americans are still out of work, and they're getting hit even harder as unemployment benefits continue to dry up. Host Michel Martin speaks with NPR Senior Business Editor Marilyn Geewax about why benefits are being reduced. Mike Rivas has exhausted his unemployment benefits, and joins the conversation to talk about how he's getting by.

There were just 88,000 jobs added to private and public payrolls in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates.

But the nation's jobless rate still edged down to 7.6 percent from 7.7 percent. That dip wasn't for a good reason, though: Nearly half a million fewer people were participating in the labor force. That smaller pool meant the jobless rate could tick down even as job growth was weak.

Update at 8:41 a.m. ET.: Job Growth Slows Sharply, But Unemployment Rate Dips

Although economists had been expecting to hear that the U.S. economy added 200,000 jobs in March, the news is out and the number is far less. Just 88,000 jobs were added to private and public payrolls, the Labor Department reports. The jobless rate still edged down to 7.6 percent — but only because nearly half a million fewer people were in the labor force.

Bitcoin is a virtual currency that's traded online. It's been on a wild ride lately, soaring in value during the Cyprus banking crisis. And this week, the price plummeted after a Bitcoin trading exchange was hacked.

The computer maker's chairman Ray Lane has stepped down as executive chairman. He's been on thin ice with shareholders after his role in acquiring a business software company ended up hurting HP's bottom line.

The late rapper's songs often talked about growing up in a rough neighborhood. But it's not rough anymore.The neighborhood has changed quite a bit. Plus the apartment has been remodeled.