Jan 6th, 2009 · Germany is the biggest customer of Russia's state natural gas monopoly, Gazprom. It supplies more than 40 percent of Germany's gas. Some worry that Russia is using its natural resources as a political weapon, but others say the influence goes both ways.
Jan 1st, 2009 · Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom has begun shutting off natural gas supplies to Ukraine after a deadline passed for talks over a price dispute. There are fears that the cutoff could affect gas deliveries to parts of Europe at the height of the winter season. In 2006, Moscow cut off supplies to Ukraine and caused a brief disruption in gas supplies to Europe. NPR's Gregory Feifer talks with Steve Inskeep about Gazprom's decision.
Dec 19th, 2008 · A former hospital chaplain says that before she retired, she often met with the staff. "One of the things we do is go around and bless the hands of all the people who work in the hospital," Janet Lutz says. One day, she found out there was much more prayer going on.
Nov 18th, 2008 · Fifty years ago, unless the family was playing Monopoly, parents didn't talk about finances with their children. Parents didn't even talk about money with each other. Now it's all people talk about. What happened?
Aug 26th, 2008 · As production of crude oil falls in Mexico, debate continues on the issue of privatization of the oil monopoly. Without radical reform, Mexico could run out of oil in less than a decade.
Jul 26th, 2008 · The FCC has approved the merger of XM and Sirius satellite radio after 17 months of behind-the-scenes negotiations. While some critics have said the merger represents a monopoly, it appears that the two weak companies may be combining to form one weak company.
Jun 21st, 2008 · It has been a year since the idea was proposed to merge satellite radio giants Sirius and XM, but no deal is in sight. Both are suffering from sagging stock prices and competition from technologies like MP3 players and iPods. Analysts say this is proof the merger, if it happens, would not lead to a monopoly.
Apr 8th, 2008 · Tribune Co. owner Sam Zell is like a bull in a china shop. Meeting with staffers at the company's Washington bureau, Zell refers to journalists as "overhead" and suggests the days of the newspaper as "a holy monopoly" are over.