Business

As Americans increasingly rely on cards, not cash, to pay for small items like coffee and snacks, it's not always easy to tip the baristas and counter folks who make those transactions run smoothly. A new device called the "Dip Jar" might fix that, by allowing customers to dip a card to give $1 to the staff.

That might come as welcome news to workers behind the counter, who've seen debit and credit cards take over from cash. As a result, there's less change from which to pull a tip for the traditional jar that's often seen on counters where coffee, beer, or sandwiches are sold.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Coming up, last year the Occupy Wall Street movement dominated headlines for weeks and added terms like the 99 percent to our political vocabularies. But a year after the protests started we wanted to know where the movement stands now. We're going to call writer and activist Debra Dickerson about this. She's at the heart of the anniversary protest. That's later in the program.

"The White House Monday will demand through a world trade panel that China stop subsidizing auto parts made for export," reports Cleveland's Plain Dealer.

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A trade dispute between the U.S. and China is at the top of NPR's business news.

The United States has filed a complaint against China with the World Trade Organization. Washington charges that China subsidizes its cars and auto parts, giving it an unfair trade advantage over U.S. automakers.

This move comes as President Obama campaigns in Ohio today. Ohio is a political swing state and a place where many jobs rely on the auto industry.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And our last word in business today is: kicking the crack berry habit. That's what BlackBerry users at Yahoo are being encouraged to do.

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And take up other addictions instead. Over the weekend, Yahoo announced it will buy employees the smartphone of their choice so long as it is not a BlackBerry. The company will however, pick up the tab with a data plan for the brand new iPhone 5 and the yet-to-be-released Windows Phone 8.

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Another massive financial fraud case is going to federal court on this Monday. In Iowa, the founder and CEO of Peregrine Financial Group, or PFG, is expected to plead guilty to charges that he swindled customers out of at least $100 million. NPR's David Schaper reports.

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And gas prices are on the rise again - speaking of autos. Since the beginning of July, the average price for regular gasoline in the U.S. has gone up more than 50 cents, which makes the national average just under $3.90 a gallon.

Though NPR's Jeff Brady has some good news, prices are likely to go down soon.

Harvest season is upon us, but in the U.S.'s northern lakes, it's not just the last tomatoes and first pumpkins. Through the end of this month, canoes will glide into lakes and rivers for the annual gathering of wild rice, kick started with the popular Wild Rice Festival in Roseville, Minn., on Saturday.

East Africa is a tough place to do business. Want to open shop in Kenya? Prepare for a month of paper work, surly officials and bribes. To the west, in Rwanda, it's a different story.

"Registering a business takes just a matter of hours. It no longer takes months, weeks, as it used to be," says Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

As if Penn State didn't have enough problems these days, it looks like someone may be spiking its famous ice cream.