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This story has been updated based on the release of final Q4 GDP data on Friday by the Commerce Department.

In its third and final estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) in Q4 2015, the Commerce Department reports that GDP grew by 1.4 percent. That is a 0.4 percent upward revision from the previous (second) estimate released in February. The final upward revision in GDP was due primarily to higher final figures for consumer spending.

The final reading for Q4 GDP growth of 1.4 percent compares to 2.0 percent GDP growth in the third quarter. The full-year annual growth rate for real GDP in 2015 was 2.4 percent, the same as in 2014.

There were multiple drags on the U.S. economy in the final months of 2015, including extreme winter weather, plunging global oil and other commodity prices, a rising U.S. dollar (which hurts U.S. exports and manufacturers), and economic troubles in China, Europe, Brazil and Russia.

“GDP slowed in the final quarter of last year,” said analyst Steve Murphy at Capital Economics in Toronto. But he said that looking forward at U.S. economic prospects in 2016, “there’s nothing that points to a sustained downturn or anything too concerning.”

Economist Joe Brusuelas at consulting firm RSM said that following the sharp market downturn and extreme volatility of January and early February, economic conditions have stabilized.

“Right now, if you look at fundamentals in the United States, we’re seeing decent growth—somewhere around 2.5 percent,” Brusuelas said. “There’s very strong job growth, a decent recovery in housing and auto sales, and even consumer retail sales in luxury, entertainment and accommodation.”

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pretty good click through video too.

During my reporting trip to Venezuela, I didn’t have to venture far to experience firsthand the shortages and mega-inflation in the struggling petrostate. By some measures it’s the most miserable economy in the world.



Courtesy of Bloomberg Surveys
It’s a challenging crisis to understand. But it turns out a trip to the local hot dog stand provided a ready gastro-economic primer. This is no ordinary dog. There’s the simple chili cheese dog, and then there is the Venezuelan monstrosity known as the pepito.


Pepitos at a street cart in Venezuela.

Jorge Galindo/Marketplace
Like the country’s economic crisis itself, the Pepito’s issues come in layers. It begins with a big sub roll and a small hot dog.

"We add beef, chicken, chorizo and bacon and corn and cheese and onions," said Francisco Peña, a Pepito street-seller three blocks from my hotel in Caracas. "It’s very distinctive."

Peña actually left out a few toppings that turned up on my standard-order pepito: mustard, mayo, guacamole, ketchup and crushed potato chips.


Jorge Galino/Marketplace
For the record, I ate two (on separate days). On the first trip, it cost 900 local bolivars. Three days later, a new pricelist was taped over the earlier one. And one pepito went up to 1,050.

Peña blamed cost inflation.

"If you go buy a pack of sausages, it’s 9,000," he said. "And then tomorrow it’s 15,000. It’s crazy. Some ingredients we can find. But sometimes we can’t, not even bread."



Bloomberg Survey


Why? Let’s explore the economic layers. A fundamental underlying problem — think of it metaphorically as the hot dog itself — is Venezuela runs almost entirely on producing and selling oil.

Historian Miguel Tinker Salas at Pomona College said before the petroleum era, Venezuela exported coffee and cacao beans for chocolate. There remains potential “in agriculture, in mining, tourism etc.," he said. "But those were all sacrificed, because oil was the most expedient, the most quick and easiest to provide revenue."

Layered on top of that, the government overspent its oil revenue. To provide for subsidized gasoline (the world’s cheapest) and a host of other services in healthcare, housing and education, the country borrowed. And it printed money, bringing inflation. The official estimate is around 180 percent; other estimates range from 400-700 percent. Local bolivars become increasingly worthless by the day.



On top of that, oil prices have fallen by two-third in two years, so there’s not enough petroleum revenue to buy imports (remember, the country hardly produces anything else). That includes the most mundane ingredients: cornflour, rice, milk, infant formula, Tylenol, toilet paper, condoms.

Even tomato paste for ketchup is hard to find, so Venezuela’s two ketchup producers have gone dark.

"For one of them, they cannot find the tomato paste," said pollster and analyst Luis Vicente Leon. "For the second one, they are not obtaining the cap for the bottle, because it’s imported."


Jorge Galino/Marketplace
Still, our pepito is loaded up with ketchup. Our seller may have purchased his from a black market seller. For many, the only way to obtain basic goods is find a bootleg source, through friends or closed chat groups on Facebook or WhatsApp. But for Pena, the black market has backfired on him personally.

His family lives in Maracaibo, far to the west of Caracas. Once he purchased food to bring to them personally. But along the way, soldiers stopped him and assumed he was a smuggler. So they took his food, and likely resold it themselves.

That would represent one more layer in Venezuela’s misery: corruption.

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President Barack Obama’s historical convoy to Cuba resurfaced tensions around the country’s human rights record, casting a shadow of doubt over the countries’ path forward as friendly business partners. But, the president’s message is clear on how the U.S. and Cuba will find middle ground: Look to entrepreneurs.

“In a global economy, powered by ideas and information, a country’s greatest asset is its people,” he said in a speech Tuesday. “In the United States, we have a clear monument to what the Cuban people can build: it’s called Miami."

He pointed to all the initiatives already in place, including agreements to restore direct flights and mail service, and loosening restrictions to allow Americans to travel and do business in Cuba. He also called out to Cuban small business owners by name to illustrate his focus on entrepreneurship.

What’s more, Obama's administration invited a group of business leaders to join him in Cuba to talk about the obstacles a U.S.-Cuban business relations faces: dramatically different approaches to labor policy, Internet access and currency.

So who are these leaders the White House asked to represent the U.S. in Cuba? Some are expected: members of the Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship, executives in the tourism business and tech leaders who are focused on bringing investing and international payments for businesses to Cuba. Others are a bit more surprising, including executives looking to expand their companies’ manufacturing footprint or workforce to Cuba. These individuals, and their businesses, provide a glimpse of the U.S. government’s vision for Cuba’s future:

Jose Andres, Chef/Entrepreneur, Think Food Group


Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images for SOBEWFF
A chef, restaurateur and culinary expert, Andres joined the President’s entourage as the State Department’s Culinary Ambassador. He is the owner of Think Food Group, which has opened restaurants all over the United States. Andres formerly competed on “Iron Chef America” in 2007 — beating Bobby Flay, he has also been a judge on “Top Chef” and appeared on Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations.” While in Cuba, the restaurateur spoke at a panel of business leaders and lead a discussion about entrepreneurship in the food industry.

Saul Berenthal, Partner, CleBer




BBC
Born and raised in Cuba, Berenthal came to the U.S. in 1960 and has been a frequent traveler to the country since 2007. The retired software engineer co-founded CleBer to manufacture small tractors for family farmers, and the company aims to become the first U.S factory in Cuba since the revolution.

“I understood the needs of the Cuban economy,” Berenthal told Forbes. “Cuba has to import more than 70 percent of what people eat. They’re still using oxen to farm the land. Our motivation really is to help the Cuban farmer be more productive.”

Ursula Burns, CEO, Xerox




Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Time Inc.
Burns is interested in better understanding the business and economic pressures Cuba faces, so that the company can establish a presence. She told CNBC that the company wants to be in any country where it can legally do business. The company currently operates in 180 countries. Her mission fits into the U.S.’s focus on increasing export and trade, but that means Cuba and the U.S. will need to figure out how the countries work through infrastructure issues, and differing currency and employee management regulations.

“We’re on a fact-finding mission. It’s early days, obviously, for the potential opening up of a market,” she said. “We need to understand more as early as possible so we can be ready, more ready, to partner up with the Cubans as they open up their markets.”

Brian Chesky, President and Founder, Airbnb




Kimberly White/Getty Images for Fortune
Airbnb was one of the first companies to take advantage of loosened travel restrictions to Cuba. The country is now the company’s fastest growing market, making it an important focus for CEO Brian Chesky. Airbnb has 4,000 listings in Cuba, with 2,700 in Havana, Chesky told CBS News. More than 3.5 million people have visited the country since the U.S.’s regulatory actions. It’s a major boon for short-term rental companies like Airbnb, given Cuba only has 63,000 hotel rooms. Chesky’s interest in Cuba lies in this growing opportunity. Airbnb was already able to capitalize on the country’s already existing casas particulares network, an informal practice of homeowners who rent their houses to travelers.

"It was viewed as a new idea and here it was something that was already familiar to the culture. There were tens of thousands of people that were already sharing their homes and so we felt like it wasn't that big of a risk. And all we had to do was make sure the community embraced Airbnb," Chesky said.

With the U.S.’s recent decision to also allowing non-US travelers to visit Cuba, he expects even more business to follow. Chesky has taken up Airbnb’s foray into Cuba as a platform as a member of the White House’s PAGE group. In a statement about his position, Chesky said he will personally focuses on working with business leaders in Cuba to “increase Internet literacy, while also providing practical education in areas like photography and marketing, and facilitating new payments solutions that will not just help Airbnb, but allow other platforms to come online as well.”

Julie Hanna, CEO, Kiva




Kampanje
The chairman of microlender Kiva, Hanna is an ambassador from the White House’s global entrepreneur initiative. The company lends to business domestically as well as internationally, with loans averaging no more than $500, according. She’s likely interested in how Kiva can solidify its work in Cuba. The entrepreneur and angel investor has is also an advisor to companies like Lyft, Bonobos, MightyText, Idealab and Lending Club.

“The red thread in all of my work and certainly Kiva’s is that talent is universal but opportunity is not,” Hanna told Bloomberg. “We all have that entrepreneur’s instinct. It’s just been nurtured more in some of us.”

Daymond John, CEO, Fubu




Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Thurgood Marshall College Fund
John is best known as the founder of the clothing brand FUBU and a judge on the ABC show “Shark Tank.” In May of 2015, John was named a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE), an initiative between the White House, Department of Commerce and American business leaders. So for this trip to Cuba, he was acting as a PAGE Ambassador and a discussion leader on entrepreneurship.

John said he wants to “spread the word” about entrepreneurship to the people of Cuba.

Soledad O'Brien, Starfish Media


Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for INGENUITY
Journalist and CEO of Starfish Media, O’Brien isn’t reporting from Cuba, instead, she moderated two discussions — one with Michelle Obama and teen girls in Cuba and another with the President and Cuban business people. O’Brien is Cuban American, her mother immigrated to the United States from Cuba and has extended family on the island. The panel she moderated with Michelle Obama was a part of the First Lady’s #LetGirlsLearn campaign, aimed at improving education for girls on a global level.

“I started a foundation that helps young ladies about your age — for young girls who might need some guidance and help and support.” O’brien told students at the panel. “It’s called Starfish Foundation, and we help pay for girls to go to school. Because in America, school, college is pretty expensive.”

Daniel Schulman, CEO, PayPal




Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Schulman wants to connect with Cuban entrepreneurs to find out what opportunities payment service PayPal may have to fit into their businesses.

“We are excited to see how PayPal’s global payment platform can help small businesses in Cuba thrive and grow by making it easier to connect to international markets,” he wrote in a blog post before the trip. PayPal is all about extending its reach to all the corners of the globe, so expanding Xoom, a global money transfer service, to Cuba is a natural part of that mission. U.S. residents send $2 billion to Cuba annually, and these remittances serve as 3 percent of Cuban GDP. PayPal expects Xoom to be available in Cuba by the end of this year.

Ken Siegel, General Counsel, Starwood



Stamford Advocate
Siegel oversees the hotel chain’s legal and governmental affairs globally. The company made deals with three hotels this month, making it the first U.S. hotel company to enter Cuba in nearly 60 years, according to a press release. Like other hoteliers, Starwood sees a majority tourism opportunity in the warming relations between the U.S. and Cuba. Siegel is likely to pay attention to how Cuba’s employee policies will play into Starwood’s operations, as one of his responsibilities at the company is labor relations.

Arne Sorenson, President & CEO, Marriott


Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Time Inc
Marriott is planning for a merger with Starwood, so Sorenson’s object will probably mirror that of Starwood’s Siegel. Navigating Cuba’s foreign investment laws, which limits foreign ownership stake and requires companies to hire workers approved by the government, can be difficult, Sorenson told USA Today.

"This is one of the riddles. How do you attract foreign capital to Cuba in the context of a socialist economy which has very different rules than typically work for industry?" he said. "That's the path [the Cuban government has] to navigate. It's obvious that that new capital won't come in unless the rules are set up in a way that allows that capital to get a return. If those things can be done, the capital will come in."

Sheel Tyle, New Enterprise Associates


Donna Tam/Marketplace
Tyle is an investor based in the heart of Silicon Valley. As the co-head of seed funding for NEA, he focuses on consumer technology and emerging markets. He is also the founder of S2 Capital, a micro-fund focused on entrepreneurs in the developing world. For the Cuba trip, he was tasked with leading a round-table for Cuban entrepreneurs, “all of whom are hungry to access investments from a country that has blocked them off since the embargo signed by JFK,” he wrote in his blog. “They have asked me to speak on accessing capital and the importance of entrepreneurship for Cuba, but I’m pretty sure they already know that the companies they create will have an impact not just on the future of their families, but on the future of their country.”

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The oil-rich kingdom of Saudi Arabia, home to a monarchy so wealthy that one prince is worth $20 billion, is looking for a loan, according to reports by the Wall Street Journal and Reuters.

The Saudis have been running deficits, borrowing from their country's banks and tapping into savings. But now, they may be looking to international lenders for $6 billion to $8 billion in loans.

David Andrew Weinberg, a Middle East expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the country is trying to make up for falling oil prices. "The Saudi economy is overwhelmingly dependent on oil income for paying basic budgetary needs," he said.

The Saudi government spends money on creating government jobs to keep people working and uninterested in the types of reforms that have caused instability in other Arab countries. The government even subsidizes the cost of gas and water, and does not collect income tax.

"They've been used to using the oil money to provide a welfare state," said Robert Manning, an international security fellow at the Atlantic Council. "They don't want to cut expenses, because they're afraid it'll jeopardize political stability in the kingdom."

Saudi Arabia also needs to keep spending money on security, because it is increasingly worried about Iran's influence. Those worries carried the Saudis into Yemen, where they are leading the fight against rebels they believe are backed by the Iranians. The Saudis have also pledged to send ground troops into the Syrian conflict.

With all of these expenses, and the uncertainty over when oil prices may rebound, David Andrew Weinberg said there are now questions among some in the Middle East as to whether the Saudis, or other Gulf states, can get back to the boom times fueled by oil prices that were in the $100 range.

"There is a fear... that the economic model in Saudi Arabia and many other Gulf monarchies may not be sustainable for the long term," Weinberg said.

The Saudi government still has hundreds of billions of dollars in reserves, so there is no panic over low oil prices just yet, said Vali Nasr, the dean of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.

But, Nasr said if oil prices are still low in five years, Gulf countries might be in trouble, "There's going to be a big structural gap... and that can no longer be glossed over with short-term borrowing," he said.

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Hulk Hogan won big Friday in his lawsuit against Gawker Media.

The TV star and former wrestler was awarded $115 million in damages over a sex tape posted by the site in 2012. Gawker founder Nick Denton said in a statement that the company would appeal. The New York Times notes that Gawker, which now employs about 250 people accross seven different sites, had built up its finances to prepare for the trial. The jury found Gawker, Denton and then-editor AJ Daulerio liable.

Hogan — real name: Terry Bollea — began crying when the verdict was read, according to local news station WTSP.

Gawker had argued that the sex tape was newsworthy, and publishing it was within its First Amendment rights since Hogan is a public figure.

But, "Hogan's lawyer Kenneth Turkel said during the trial that Gawker typified the often anything-goes world of internet publishing," The BBC reported. "The verdict could lead to more caution among Internet news websites, which frequently have less editorial oversight than traditional media outlets.

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yoga

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shared for mmmmmm

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those legs...

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Alaska’s high profile sled-dog race is underway. Iditarod mushers are driving their teams to Nome. But a controversial rule-change is casting a shadow over the event. Some are accusing race organizers of siding with corporate sponsors by placing a so-called gag-order on mushers competing in the event. But even critics say that without those sponsor dollars, there might be no race at all.

Wearing a bright neon snow-suit, Iditarod veteran Monica Zappa has a huge campaign poster in front of her string of sled-dogs. For years, she’s been outspoken on issues like an anti-mining campaign near a large fishery. Zappa describes herself as a, “strong proponent of the environment and social issues.”

It makes her a bit of an exception in a sport marked by solitude and stoicism. But according to Zappa, people have liked that she brings politics into an event that has a lot of social and historical resonance for Alaskans.

“I’ve gotten a lot of positive support for that,” she said as her dogs barked behind her. “A lot of people are really happy that I am outspoken on my political issues.”

Not everyone, though. A change in the Iditarod’s official rules within the last year says mushers aren’t allowed to make personal statements that are “injurious…to the best interests of the race” until 45 days after they cross the finish line.

And that includes statements disparaging the race’s sponsors—among them mining and energy companies.

The question crackling across dog lots and social media is whether the race’s governing body put the rule on the books to legitimize mushing as a sport, or to keep key sponsors happy by protecting them from criticism. “I think in some ways they’re not dissimilar,” said Iditarod Trail Committee CEO Stan Hooley, who’s been in charge of the organization for 23 years.



Dogs get ready to run through three miles of downtown Anchorage during the ceremonial start to the Iditarod.

Zachariah Hughes, Alaska Public Media
Hooley said the role of sponsors as essential. They foot the bill for 50 percent of all expenses. They cover everything from internet in remote checkpoints, to a race purse that this year will pay out between $750,000-800,000 depending on how many mushers finish. Hooley believes that cash is necessary incentive to keep top-tier competitors coming back, and that the personal conduct proposal came from mushers themselves. “This is something we’ve talked about for at least 10 years,” he added.

But four-time winner of the race Lance Mackey thinks the rule is a way to keep mushers from trash-talking one-another and organizers, asking for a level of professionalism that feels out of line with the sport’s character.

“I’ve been known to, so to speak, put my foot in my mouth,” Mackey said ahead of the race. “But I never apologize for what I say ‘cause I meant what I say when I said it.”

Others think the rule is about a controversy connected to a goldmine in Southwest Alaska. A proposal to bring energy to the mine involves a gasline that some allege will encroach on the Iditarod’s historic route. That mine is run by one of the Iditarod’s main sponsors: Donlin Gold. In dueling op-eds in February of this year, critics and officials disagreed about the scale of that impact.

Many mushers remain confused about the new rule, though. There isn’t much clarity about whether personal statements include, for example, buttons and banners or social media posts. Or comments to reporters.

As she ran down a checklist ahead of harnessing her dogs to race, musher Lisbet Norris explained she’s uncertain about what she can or can’t talk about. “I think that I should be able to respectfully disagree with the mission or the actions of a particular sponsor without my position in the race being threatened,” Norris said.

The rule change passed last April, but didn’t get attention until about a month ago. One local newspaper editorial called it a bad rule, one that goes against the “plainspoken, authentic nature of the sport.”

But Hooley counters that it’s similar to personal conduct rules in major sport leagues like NASCAR, that addresses critical comments by competitors. It’s also nearly identical to the rule on the books for the Yukon Quest, a competition jokingly referred to as Alaska’s other sled-dog race.

But mushing is a tight knit community, and Zappa explained that while she understands the sponsorship pressures faced by race officials, everyone still has to deal with one another amicably. “I also think it’s important for Alaskans to be able to have civil conversations about public issues,” she said.

The Iditarod race, after all, was revived in the 1970s as a way to remind Alaskans about the legacy of dog-mushing and the historic connection to a trail through the wilderness.

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homeless guy with really nice shoes

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that's a serious coat

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This is going to be like the 1997 asian financial crisis ... if i am recalling my crisis history correctly. the influx of new cash from tourists is going to be a big boom for some but a bigger bust for others ... let me see if i can find the article i am thinking about.

This week, the Obama Administration announced a further ease of long-standing United States sanctions against Cuba. New measures announced Tuesday will encourage more person-to-person educational travel, and allow more Cuban national to get jobs or open bank accounts in the U.S.

We spoke with Cardiff Garcia, a reporter for FT Alphaville fresh from a trip to the island on how reduced sanctions will effect businesses who want to set up shop in Cuba.

On how prepared Cuba is for the arrival of the business from the United States:

It's clear right now that Cuba wants the investment, they want the tourism they need the revenues but at the same time the infrastructure upgrade is coming along very slowly, the business environment is still very soft. I'm quite certain that they welcomed this opening but at the same time they're going trough it with quite a bit of wariness. I think the Cuban population is excited about, possibly more so than the Cuban government.

On the capabilities of Cuba's tourism sector:

The tourism boom there has been quite impressive in the last few years, and there isn't the hotel capacity to deal with it. Some of them are allowed internet access because they are businesses, but remember internet is not allowed in the homes, and it's only very gradually being allowed to be accessed in other places. Most places in Cuba don't accept credit cards. One of the inconveniences of traveling to Cuba, for Americans in particular, is you have to have enough cash on hand to last the entire trip or you're going to run into some serious problems.

Carda on the readiness of Cuban and American businesses to conduct trade with each other:

Some American businesses have been exempt from the embargo all along, agriculture, telecommunications. I think other businesses are gonna be surprised to find that regulations on the Cuban side are still really quite stringent. Right now for instance when you invest in Cuba, it has to be in a joint partnership with with the government in a minority stake. You have very limited access in terms of dealing with your own employees, and even paying them. Cuba is very slowly rewriting its investment laws, and its established this economic zone that's trying to attract new investment and where the rules are a little more favorable for foreign companies. It is still a very profoundly bureaucratic place, especially for business.

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i would say we should do this but i think the bus route would prevent it

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"NY Waterway will cross-honor tickets for NJ Transit #126 bus route passengers at all ferry terminals" ... nice! a $8 ride just became a $3 ride!

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"Each percent of alcohol by volume (ABV) is roughly 30 calories in a pint (half liter) of beer" / 18oz of beer

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looks like cargo pants are making a comeback

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click through for trump faces gif

Former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney delivered a speech skewering Donald Trump on Thursday. It was part of a larger effort by some Republicans to prevent Trump from gaining the nomination, which they fear would greatly damage the party's image. But if they're looking for a viable candidate to take him on, popular Google searches don't seem to offer any hope. As the New York Times recently reported, Donald Trump takes the lead as the most Googled candidate. Perhaps just as notable, his competitors don't come in second. That honor belongs to the John Oliver-coined nickname "Donald Drumpf," which has been Googled 25.8 times for every 100 times his actual name has been searched. With the recent Super Tuesday results signaling it may be hard to stop Trump's campaign, Romney spoke harshly, saying, “Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud."

Speaking of phonies and frauds, students in the UK are apparently purchasing watches designed to help cheaters. Teachers in Bath have been calling attention to the devices, which are advertised for their ability to aid students on exams. As the BBC writes, they even come with an emergency button that quickly hides the watch's contents when a teacher approaches. Not that you'd ever consider actually getting one, but just for your reference, they retail for about $61 on Amazon.

But think of what you could buy instead of a watch with that $61. That'd probably get you at least a half a bag of organic food at a high-end grocery store. We kid. That would get you a quarter bag of organic food at a high-end grocery store. Enter: Kroger. It's a grocery chain that's experimenting with fresh foods, healthy eating and premade meals. Case in point, the company recently opened Main & Vine, a store targeted at a younger, more health-conscious demographic. While the store numbers just one (for now), Kroger is hoping that the company's large size — it owns 2,625 stores, to be exact — will help tackle issues like high prices that often plague fancier stores.

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This year marks the 150th birthday of the nickel — a coin that played a surprising role in the transition away from precious metals.

As it turns out, that's a transition you can actually hear. “We can tell instantly if there's something that's not silver,” said Lou Chorney, who runs a Boston coin shop called the Colonial Trading Company. Tap two silver coins together and they'll produce a high-pitched ringing. Do the same with two nickels and you won't hear much. “It's kind of a clunk,” said Chorney.

The word “nickel” didn't always mean five cents. It originally referred to the metal used to make the coin. “The first nickel is actually a three-cent nickel,” Chorney said.

America's first five-cent nickel was minted in 1866. According to Douglas Mudd, who studies coins at the American Numismatic Association, the story of the nickel is actually a Civil War story. “At that time, money in people's eyes was considered to be silver and gold,” said Mudd.

The problem was that people tended to hoard precious metals. “Any time you have a war, money becomes scarce,” Mudd said. But people wouldn't hoard coins that weren't intrinsically valuable, like the nickel.

As a result, the humble nickel helped unclog the postwar economy. It was also one step in the shift toward the money system we know today. “The coinage value is not based on the amount of metal it has, but upon what it symbolizes in value,” said Mudd.

Nickel coins rose in popularity in the late-19th century. Five cents could buy you a loaf of bread or a bottle of Coca-Cola. It could also buy you a ticket to the “Nickelodeon,” which was the name of a cheap theater in Boston.


A Nickelodeon program from 1888

Courtesy, Boston Athenaeum


“The word nickel in the title, of course, means that it would have cost five cents to get in,” said Elizabeth Barker director of the Boston Athenaeum. “I think the word has such a nice melody to it."

Within a few years, the “Nickelodeon” became a part of popular culture — and so did the five cent coin we know today.

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click through for pics and video

There's jello for lunch at the Keijuen nursing home in Tokyo. The care home, as it’s known in Japan, looks a lot like one of its American counterparts. There are tissue paper flowers on the walls and residents in wheelchairs are gathered around tables in the cafeteria watching TV. But there’s also a waiting list to get in. If you’re on it, you could be waiting for years. The list is eight pages long.

Special bathtubs for the disabled
Special bathtubs to accommodate the disabled at the Keijuen nursing home in Tokyo, cost about seven million yen, or about $60,000 each. But a larger problem is finding workers to help staff such nursing homes.

Sally Herships/Marketplace
Every month local governments send out updated lists like these to to nursing homes around the country, said the home’s manager, Hirofumi Yamada.

“So the people who can stay at this facility, they are the lucky ones. In Setagaya City, there are almost 1,000 people who have to stay at home, although they need care,” he said.

Japan is growing old – fast. According to the World Bank, about a quarter of the country’s population is over the age of 65. But at the same time, Japan’s birthrate is plummeting. Traditionally, seniors were cared for by their children, but now the elderly are living longer, the young have to work and Japan is running out of caretakers for its aging population. It’s a growing issue around the world, but in Japan the problem has become acute.

A care worker at the Keijuen nursing home in Tokyo
Fumihisa Tobashi, a care worker at the Keijuen nursing home in Tokyo, helped care for his own grandparents so he knows how difficult the work is. 'At the time I had to take care of their toilet. I had to change diapers,' he said. 'Here there are 40 people on this floor, and we have limited number of staff. So sometimes I feel very nervous because there are things that have to be done but because of the shortage of people we can’t help them.'

Sally Herships/Marketplace
Origami hangs in a resident's room at the Keijuen nursing home in Tokyo
A resident's room at the Keijuen nursing home in Tokyo. According to the Japanese government, by 2060 almost 40 percent of the country will be 65 or older.

Sally Herships/Marketplace
As for plans for his own future, when he's elderly and may need care, Yamada said he hasn't thought about it yet.

If the guy who runs the nursing home isn’t thinking about it, then who is? In Japan it used to be common for families to live together across generations – mom, dad, kids and grandparents. But now the traditional family structure is changing, and more and more Japanese are living alone. That leads to another problem. There’s even a word in Japanese for it. Kodokushi means “lonely death” -- when you die alone and no one finds your body for days or even weeks.

"So in Tokyo 4,000 senior citizens die alone each year, so that means about ten people per day," said Takamasa Fujiwara, who works for the Tokyo Council for Social Welfare, a non-profit that matches volunteers with activities, who spoke through a translator.

Seniors do laughter yoga
Volunteers with the senior social network Silver Bell volunteer do laughter yoga with other seniors.

Sally Herships/Marketplace
While volunteers work with seniors, doing activities like laughter yoga, and support groups for busy working families abound, there's still a tremendous shortage of resources for the elderly.

"Senior citizens are used to be taken care of by their families. So this is quite new problem. And Japanese people are quite shocked and don’t know what to do," he said.

If you're thinking this is a problem with an easy solution -- that Japan is desperate for workers and that people around the world need jobs -- it’s not that simple.

In the small city of Kamaishi a group of women sat around a table, eating snacks at a weekly meeting for seniors. While Japan often gets accused of xenophobia, part of the concern over foreign workers is practical. We all hate paperwork. Now imagine trying to fill out insurance forms in Japanese when it’s your second language. One of the women in Kamaishi tried to explain her unease with the help of a translator.

"We’re really concerned. We have nothing against their coming in to help us," she said of the possibility of being cared for by foreigners. "Whether there’s going to be smooth communication with the caretakers. Whether they understand what we want. So it’s really maybe a matter of language and communication."

Whatever you call it, the country has been reluctant to let in outsiders. Only 1.5 percent of Japan's population is made up of immigrants.

"Maybe if you’re used to always being touched by foreign people that’s one thing,” said another attendee of the meeting, "but otherwise it’s going to be very difficult." She continued, describing a Philippine neighbor, "she was fluent in Japanese, but still, she wasn’t Japanese. And for us, I wouldn’t deny that there was a little bit strangeness between her, and there was a slight distance between her and the rest of us, so for us to accept that kind of foreign aid might be a little bit difficult," she said.

A resident of the Keijukai Senior Citizen home in Tokyo
Sakakida, 75, is a resident of the Keijukai Senior Citizen home. 'I am satisfied with living here, but actually I wish to live with my family,' he said.

Sally Herships/Marketplace
Seniors are dying alone. Japan is out of workers and uncomfortable with foreigners. But there is one last option -- robots.

Robear is a shiny white Japanese-made medical robot. Developed in part by Dr. Toshiharu Mukai, a professor of Meijo University's department of information engineering, Robear stands about four feet tall, has long arms and looks like a bear. But a robotic one that just rolled out of a Disney movie. Mukai said the government wants to design robots for nursing care. But, he said, if you’re imagining a Japan where an army of cheerful, shiny robots are taking care of smiling seniors think again. Robear is only three-and-a-half years old. He's just a cub and technology still has a long way to go.

“Actually it is very difficult. We have made many robots, but few of them are really useful. So that is problem,” he said.


It's not not easy to design technology that understands when a fragile elderly person flinches or doesn't want to be picked up out of a hospital bed, Mukai said.

"Humans [are] very special. It’s difficult to get function over humans." Mukai said.

Robear is made of plastic and metal, and like a real bear, he could do damage to a human -- a patient or a caregiver. So attached to a long cable-like tail robear has a big red panic button. It can turn the robot off immediately in case there’s a problem.

A resident at the Keijukai Senior Citizen home in Tokyo
Haru Ohara, 93. She took care of her own mother for 35 years but now lives in a nursing home. She says it was a big job to care for her mother and wishes that at the time, she'd had access to the facility like the one she now lives in.

Sally Herships/Marketplace

93 year old Ms. Haru Ohara, makes origami.
'I really like staying here, because I can spend my time on my hobby, which is origami, folding paper,' Ohara said.

Sally Herships/Marketplace

Ten years ago, the Tokyo Voluntary Action Center took a survey of elderly living alone. One message read "Lonely, so lonely. I can't stand it. Please help me, someone!"
The woman who wrote this entry "had strokes three times, and her children lived far away from her," said Mikiko Yamazaki, president of the Tokyo Voluntary Action Center via a translator. "So she is very worried about herself and lonely."

One day, said Dr. Mukai, perhaps in about ten years, robots should be able to do jobs like lifting, or moving patients. But in the meantime, said Yamazaki, loneliness, and isolation continue to be a problem for seniors left on their own.

"In their diary they write, I’m so lonely today. Everyday. Or they write, nobody visit me today again. That kind of very sad diary they keep.”

The government, said Yamazaki, provides pensions and health insurance – services that cover older Japanese. What the country lacks is people.

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At Whiskeyauction.com, bidding for bottles happens almost year round. Many of the whiskies fetching among the highest prices are also the oldest -- 15, 20 and 30 years. Aged whiskey is a subject that's been on the mind of listener Steven Burton. A big Johnnie Walker fan, he contacted the show with a question for our series, I've Always Wondered:

"The first person that created it – how did they even think to make a profit in their lifetime? I mean, was it for their kid’s kids or something? It just doesn’t make too much sense to me,” he wrote. “How do you invest in something that you don’t plan on selling for like 20 years?”

But believe it or not, when Johnnie Walker founded his company in 1820, his plan was indeed to turn a quick profit.

“John Walker was Scottish, so he was in the business of making money”, said Ewan Morgan, national director of masters of whiskey, an ambassador program for Diageo, the company that now owns the Johnnie Walker brand. “He didn't want to wait and build his own distillery. So he purchased whiskies from distilleries, so he had an immediate revenue stream.”


Whiskey for sale at the Kings County Distillery
Whiskey for sale at the Kings County Distillery

Valery Rizzo/Kings County Distillery
Back then, aged whiskey wasn’t as common as it is now. People used to drink it young or even right out of the still. But that all changed in the middle of the 19th century when a great wine blight struck Europe. Morgan says a tiny aphid, called phylloxera, destroyed vines across the continent -- bad news for vineyard owners but great news for distillers like Johnnie Walker.

“Cognac was out, and brandy was out and wine was out. So the aristocracy and the higher classes had to find an alternative,” he said.

That alternative was whiskey. But, in order to get their beverage to market, distillers had to put it in barrels.

“The longer the journey took, the better the spirit tasted,” Morgan said.

Storing whiskey in wooden barrels can enhance its flavor – kind of like salt. Soon, “aging whiskey became more popular just because whiskey became more popular,” said Kevin R. Kosar, author of Whiskey: A Global History. “Suddenly distilleries see a reason to hold onto spirits,” he said. “They even faked aging - adding flavorings and colorings. Pour [in] a little prune juice to add a sweetness and darkness.”

So while Johnnie Walker didn’t have to worry about delayed profits, today’s distillers do. Aged whiskey can fetch a high price. But in the meantime today’s distillers have to find another way to bring in cash. And that can be a challenge.

“When people call me, the first thing I say out the door is if you get your distillery opened in two years, I’ll fly out and take you out to dinner,” said Bill Owens, founder of the American Distilling Institute, an industry organization.

Estimating the cost of opening a distillery at up to $1 million, Owens does not make turning a quick profit on whisky sound easy.

“All the sudden you’re out $6,000 a month, negative cash flow for two years – you better be prepared for what I call the punishment. Because you’re going to spend a lot money to get those doors open.”

What does he mean by the punishment? “Losing money,” he said.

Just ordering a still, Owens said, can take a year. Then there’s finding a space, getting permits. And, of course, waiting for the whiskey to age. In the meantime, Owens has one piece of advice for those wondering how to stay afloat while starting a distillery of their own.

“It’s easy,” he said. “Keep your day job.”



Copper stills at Kings County
The factory floor of the Kings County Distillery.

Valery Rizzo/Kings County Distillery
Or make gin or vodka. Spirits that don’t need to age and can be bottled up for a, hopefully, quick profit. But that’s not what Colin Spoelman did. A Kentucky native, he moved to New York City as an adult.

“People from NYC would sort of say you’re from Kentucky, you must know about whiskey,” he said.

So Spoelman began experimenting, making what you might call a young whiskey out of his apartment. There was just one problem. “Young whiskey” is just another way saying moonshine.

“It’s illegal to sell it. Obviously, it’s even illegal to make it,” he said. “So that seemed like a bad idea.”

Spoelman got some private backing and soon, with the help of a partner, made his business official. In 2011 he co-founded the Kings County Distillery in New York.

Up the stairs, past the factory floor that holds the copper stills and spirit collection tanks, “it’s very sort of Willy Wonka and sort of steam punk with all the copper,” said Spoelman.

Past what he calls the boozeum is a giant room full of barrels stacked on shelves. In this room, which looks like the hold of a Spanish galleon, but with much better lighting, there are almost 2,000 wooden barrels. Some of the whiskey here will age for years, its flavors mellowing. But Spoelman said the business has to strike a balance between romantic whiskey dreams for the future and sales today.

“We, as a business, are a little bit torn between the practicality of this, which allows us to be in business and the fun of this, which is this kind of hope for the future,” he said.

As for Steven Burton, our listener who wondered about how distilleries find the cash to get started, he said it sounds like a tough go.

“If I started a business and I wasn't going to make a profit for twenty years, it doesn’t seem like a bank would give me a loan for that,” he said.

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dang

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there is a bottle of scotch in my future