Business

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Millions of Americans stand in line today to vote. Last night, thousands of Americans lined up to buy one of the most anticipated new video games of the year. "Halo 4" is the latest installment of the popular franchise for the Microsoft Xbox 360. Some younger gamers refer to "Halo" as their "Star Wars," a cultural touchstone. Now, after a five-year hiatus, the game's hero - the Master Chief - returns.

Noah Nelson reports.

(SOUNDBITE OF "HALO" CHORAL MUSIC)

If you bought a Hyundai or Kia over the past three years, you could soon be getting some money back from the two automakers.

The Environmental Protection Agency says the South Korean carmakers, owned by the same parent company, overstated the gas mileage on 900,000 vehicles over the past three years. The EPA discovered the bloated figures during an audit of gas mileage tests undertaken by the companies. The agency said last week it was investigating how the carmakers arrived at the numbers.

Robert Siegel talks with Geoffrey Fowler, a reporter with the Wall Street Journal, about popular ride-sharing and taxi apps like Uber and SideCar. They've begun to run afoul of state and local regulators as they've grown into a convenient alternative to hailing a cab the old-fashioned way.

In New York, it takes an average of about three years for a bank to foreclose on a house.

In Texas, it takes about three months.

That's a huge, huge difference, and it's largely by design. About half the states in the country, including New York, require foreclosures to go through the courts. This slows down the process, and is intended to reduce the risk of someone being wrongly foreclosed on. In the other half of the country, including Texas, a third-party trustee can foreclose without going through the courts.

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NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. Over the past few years, the definition of work has changed in parts of the American economy. More and more restaurants and retailers have half as many full-time workers as they used to and twice as many part-time. They save money on pay and benefits, and they use new technology to schedule part-timers based on the season, the time of day or even on the temperature.

A law degree used to pretty much guarantee a stable job. But journalist Elizabeth Lesly Stevens reports that thousands of law students are going into an industry that no longer has room for them. Stevens discusses her article with host Michel Martin, and they hear from NPR Facebook fans about whether a law degree is still worth it.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

The U.S. economy has been slowly recovering, but economists warn it could plunge back into recession if Congress does not take action to avoid what's become known as the fiscal cliff.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

That is the name that some clever communications specialist gave to the combination of expiring tax cuts - in other words, tax increases - and broad, mandatory spending cuts aimed at reducing the deficit. The two are set to go into effect at the end of the year.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And today's last word in business is: Hurricane Ralph.

The movie "Wreck-It Ralph," opened to the largest weekend ever for an animated Disney film, bringing in almost $50 million.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

NPR business news begins with television the day after tomorrow.

All those political ads on TV and radio, billions of dollars worth, are about to come to an end. Which, if you're a TV station, raises the question of what will take their place?

NPR's Wendy Kaufman reports.

WENDY KAUFMAN, BYLINE: This year, Political spending will reach an all-time high. The Center for Responsive Politics puts the figure at about six billion dollars. More than half of that has gone into TV ads for president and everything else.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Estimates of the economic cost of the storm damage caused by Hurricane Sandy along the East Coast, are as high as $50 billion. A lot of that is physical damage. Just under half of those losses, though, are from things people didn't, or couldn't, do during the storm; like eat in restaurants, go to the theater, or just work. Reporter Tracey Samuelson brings us this look at the blows Sandy has dealt a pair of small-business owners in New York City.