Business

We've been talking a lot lately about what's been dubbed the "LIBOR rate fixing scandal," where some of the biggest banks in the world have been accused of manipulating a key global interest rate.

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

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

And I'm Robert Siegel. After more than three decades at CNN, the company's president is stepping down. His resignation is an admission of the challenges facing the profitable but poorly rated network. NPR's David Folkenflik has that story.

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In San Francisco today, a federal judge gave preliminary approval to a multimillion dollar settlement. It comes in response to a class action lawsuit over the cost of LCD computer and television screens. The deal, once it's finalized, will be the largest settlement ever in a class action case about price-fixing.

From member station KQED, Aarti Shahani explains.

We told you before about the Google Street View vehicles that illegally collected data from unprotected Wi-Fi devices while they took pictures of the streets in Europe, Australia and the United States.

No surprise: The economy grew only sluggishly in April, May and June. The U.S. Commerce Department says gross domestic product — the sum of all goods and services produced in the country — grew by just 1.5 percent in the second quarter.

Here in the U.S., McDonald's food is not usually considered all that healthy. But in China, it is.

That's because Chinese consumers trust American brands more than their own, says Shaun Rein, founder of China Market Research, who studies Chinese consumer behavior. Rein says that in China, McDonald's is seen as providing safe and wholesome food.

The economy grew at a sluggish 1.5 percent annual rate in the second quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported this morning, down from a 2 percent pace in the first quarter.

This is the bureau's first estimate of GDP growth in the spring months. It will revise the figure twice in coming months. It's now 8:33 a.m. ET. We'll have more about the report shortly.

Update at 10 a.m. ET. The White House Points To String Of Positive Quarters:

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Russell Wasendorf had hoped he'd be released on bail today, but the bail hearing has been postponed. So the former head of Peregrine Financial Group remains in jail, and the business empire he built continues to crumble.

Iowa Public Radio's Pat Blank reports Wasendorf's once fairy tale lifestyle came to an abrupt end earlier this month. He was arrested following an unsuccessful suicide attempt.

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NPR's business news starts with earnings at Facebook.

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MONTAGNE: For the first time as a public company, Facebook has reported it's earnings. After its botched IPO, investors were hoping for a big, positive surprise to put the shine back on the social network. That didn't happen.

As NPR's Steve Henn reports, Facebook recorded a loss.

An occasional series, Fiscal Cliff Notes breaks down the looming "fiscal cliff" of expiring tax cuts and deep automatic spending cuts set to hit around the first of year.

About 80 percent of Americans would see their taxes go up if all the tax cuts signed into law by President George W. Bush were to expire as scheduled at the end of this year. And nearly 100 percent of the highest income earners would have to pay more — including both the Obamas and the Romneys.

Facebook reported a net loss for the second quarter in its first earnings report since a bumpy initial public offering. The company's share price has fallen sharply since the first day of trading. Audie Cornish speaks with Steve Henn.