Business

Starting next week, any health insurer licensed in Georgia can sell policies it offers in other states to Georgians. That includes policies that don't meet minimum standards for coverage in Georgia.

They'll be OK for sale under a new state law that aims to increase competition and lower prices for health insurance in the state.

A year and a half after Aaron Bell lost his contract to sell milk to H.P. Hood LLC from his 45 cow dairy operation in Edmunds, Maine, he found himself leaving a voicemail with his lease agent.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

You know, if you're weighed down by worry, you find a distraction. That at least is what Europeans are doing amid their economic trouble. They've been turning to their favorite sport - soccer. This weekend saw the last two Euro 2012 quarterfinals. This is a huge competition viewed in Europe, as second only to the World Cup. NPR's Philip Reeves of course has been following the action. He's on the line from London.

Hi, Phil.

PHILIP REEVES, BYLINE: Hi.

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Google will host thousands of Android app developers this week at its annual conference. And there are rumors Google will also unveil its own tablet computer to compete with Apple's iPad.

NPR's Steve Henn has more.

STEVE HENN, BYLINE: Last week, Microsoft announced it was getting into the hardware business and unveiled the Surface - its new tablet computer.

Carolina Milanesi, who covers consumer devices at Gartner, says we are seeing a trend.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

We're expecting soon to learn Supreme Court decisions on two gigantic cases. One case involves the Arizona immigration law. The federal government has challenged that law as an intrusion into federal authority.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Justices are also deciding the constitutionality of President Obama's health care law. The main challenge is to the individual mandate, which after 2014 would require most people to get health insurance or pay a fine.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. And I want to let you know that reporters at the Supreme Court are reading and listening to a decision this morning, on Arizona's immigration law. The Court has thrown our parts of the law, but retained the show your papers provision that allows police to stop and frisk suspected illegal immigrants. We'll bring you more as we learn it.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Transcript

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

NPR's business news starts with good times for bank chiefs.

While the financial world keeps grappling with losses, the industry's leaders have raked in annual pay raises averaging nearly 12 percent. The Financial Times found JPMorgan Chase's CEO Jamie Dimon was among the top earners, with a pay package of more than $23 million last year, an 11 percent increase over the previous year. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And today's last word in business takes a look at what happens when devices make a big hit in the water.

A couple of years ago, I jumped in a pool with my daughter, and we were in that pool quite some time before I realized that my phone had come with me - my late phone.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

A lot of taxpayer money is at stake in this next story. The number of public charter schools is growing. When they attract students, they also attract public funding - and that is also true when the charter school is an online school.

One dominant force in creating online charter schools is a company called K-12. Now, traditional school districts are fighting the company's efforts to set up a virtual academy.

Here's Dave DeWitt of North Carolina Public Radio.

When Moody's downgraded the credit ratings of most major U.S. banks on Thursday, you'd have thought Friday would be a tough day for bank stocks.

But bank stocks ticked up — largely because investors were relieved. They had feared the downgrades would be worse. The Dow Jones industrial average was recovering from Thursday's 250-point drop, the second-worst of the year.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

NPR's business news starts with a budget deal in California.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

INSKEEP: This deal comes just days before the start of the new fiscal year. It cuts social programs and it would knock three weeks off of Californian's school year unless voters approve a proposal for new taxes.

Capital Public Radio's Ben Adler reports from Sacramento.

BEN ADLER, BYLINE: The Democrats running this year's California budget process say they have one overarching goal: to bring years of festering shortfalls to an end.

Product safety regulators announced the recall Thursday after hundreds of people reported explosions in their toilet tanks. The faulty flushing system is made by the brand Flushmate — specifically the Flushmate Three Pressure-Assist Flushing System. It's used by several toilet manufacturers including American Standard and Crane.

Fifteen major banks were downgraded Thursday in a reflection of the slowing global economy and volatility in financial markets. In a sweeping move, Moody's cut the credit ratings of some of the world's largest financial institutions, including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.