Dan Bobkoff

For freelancers and artists living in expensive cities like New York, the home-sharing site Airbnb has become a way to subsidize their rents. It's also often illegal. With the site's users in the crosshairs of New York's attorney general, and questions elsewhere, some now wonder if the good times are going to end.

JP Morgan Chase reported something unusual today: a loss. The bank has been forced to set aside a huge cash reserve to cover expected fines and related legal costs. In the most recent quarter, the set-aside was so large — $9.1 billion — that it produced a net loss for the bank.

Multiple companies — from Time Warner Cable to Yahoo — are said to be interested in acquiring Hulu. The site streams TV shows and movies online. Some shows on Hulu are free, but paid subscribers get access to more programming.

For the first time, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has referred a criminal case to the Department of Justice. The bureau accuses a debt relief company called Mission Settlement Agency of bilking consumers out of millions. The suit alleges the company lied about fees and its results.

The Bangladesh garment factory collapse that killed hundreds made supercheap clothing destined for American stores. Research shows customers will pay more for safely made clothes, but only to a point.

Television networks are up in arms. The new company Aereo is charging a monthly fee to provide a high-definition feed of the basic over-the-air channels, and the stations aren't seeing a penny of it. But CEO Chet Kanojia thinks he's figured out a legal loophole.

Brooklyn-based Vice Media has gone from a small Canadian magazine to figuring out the holy grail of media: how to capture an international audience of aloof 18- to 24-year-olds. From magazines to the Web to film, Vice's CEO says, "We do it weirder, and we do it younger, and we do it in a different way and in a different voice."

A government sugar subsidy program is often criticized for keeping sugar prices too high. But now prices are falling and the government may buy 400,000 tons of sugar to help struggling sugar processors. Critics say the government's involvement in the sugar business should end.

What if a gun could only be fired by its rightful owner? What if it recognized a grip or fingerprint, or communicated with a special ring? It's been a fantasy for years, and in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy, so-called smart gun technology is back in the spotlight.

Class-action lawsuits accuse Anheuser-Busch of watering down Budweiser and other beers and then misleading consumers about their alcohol content. The company denies the claims; in tests commissioned by NPR, samples of Budweiser were found to be in line with their advertised alcohol content.