Yuki Noguchi

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Business
4:34 pm
Tue April 9, 2013

After Missteps, Does J.C. Penney Stand Another Chance?

Credit Mary Altaffer / AP
After an unsuccessful face-lift attempt by Ron Johnson, J.C. Penney will be led by former CEO Myron Ullman. Some analysts say this might be it for the retailer; others say it must "embrace" its customers to recuperate.

Originally published on Tue April 9, 2013 6:34 pm

A year and a half ago, J.C. Penney's then-brand new CEO Ron Johnson undertook what was supposed to be a transformation of the 110-year-old department store. Yesterday, the retailer cut his tenure short.

J.C. Penney lost nearly $1 billion last year as customer traffic dropped off.

Now, it's bringing back former Chief Executive Officer Myron Ullman to try to stanch the bleeding.

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Business
5:26 am
Wed April 3, 2013

Fannie Mae Posts Record Profit

Originally published on Wed April 3, 2013 8:44 am

For all of last year, Fannie Mae posted net income of $17.2 billion. Just a year earlier, it had lost nearly the same amount. The company that finances home mortgages is still under government conservatorship.

Economy
3:46 pm
Fri March 29, 2013

As Housing Industry Builds Up, Other Sectors Follow

Credit Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images
Home Depot is hiring 80,000 employees for its spring season. As the housing market picks up, other industry sectors — like gardening, construction and furniture — move upward, too.

Originally published on Fri March 29, 2013 10:31 pm

When fortunes rise in the housing industry — as they currently are — it tends to lift sales for other businesses, too. Home construction, sales and prices are all improving. And according to many analysts, the market is gaining steam.

For nearly two decades, Scott Gillis has owned his own moving company, Great Scott Moving in Hyattsville, Md. Moving high season is just around the corner, which means Gillis is hiring.

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Economy
5:00 pm
Thu March 21, 2013

Increase In Sales And Low Inventory Indicate Housing Recovery Is In Full Swing

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

Spring has arrived and with it, the usual pick-up in the pace of the housing market, but good luck finding a home to buy. Housing inventory, the number of houses actually for sale, is low in many parts of the country and very low in the West. Generally speaking, that's good news for the economy because it's pushing prices up. Here's NPR's Yuki Noguchi.

YUKI NOGUCHI, BYLINE: Errol Samuelson spends a lot of time staring at housing numbers.

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Economy
2:07 am
Wed March 20, 2013

For Some Ready To Buy, A Good Home Is Hard To Find

Originally published on Wed March 27, 2013 8:30 am

The first day of spring typically signals the high season for open houses and home sales.

The season seems to have arrived early in some places where homebuying is already frenzied, and in many markets, the pendulum has swung from an excess of homes on the market a few years ago to a shortage.

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Credit Emily Bogle / NPR

Yuki Noguchi joined NPR News in May 2008 as a correspondent. She is a general assignment reporter covering business for NPR's National Desk. She began reporting for NPR in Washington during hectic times, with the 2008 presidential race underway and as the economy started to experience severe turmoil. Her stories have ranged from declines in SUV sales at Carmax to profiles of important figures involved in the Wall Street bailout. Noguchi's pieces can be heard on Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Weekend Edition Sunday.

Before joining NPR, Noguchi worked at The Washington Post, first as a reporter and later as an editor. Starting in 1999, she covered economic development. Starting in 2000, she covered telecommunications and wrote stories about the major industry mergers, the Federal Communications Commission and the rise of some of the Internet giants. On the side, she also wrote about her love of swing dancing. Later, she covered consumer technology, writing features about people and their relationships with their gadgets. This was her favorite beat. Most recently, Noguchi directed the paper's coverage of national technology news. Prior to joining the Post, Noguchi reported on business and politics for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle and The Orlando Sentinel.

Noguchi's parents left Japan to study in the U.S. in the early 1970s. Noguchi and her younger brother grew up in St. Louis. She received her B.A. in history from Yale University. During a year off, she studied in Yokohama, Japan, and worked for Kyodo News Service in Tokyo. She is fluent in Japanese and speaks conversational German. She has forgotten the bulk of a class in Arabic.

Noguchi lives with her husband, Christopher Libertelli, in Bethesda, Maryland. Outside of NPR she practices yoga and still loves swing dancing.