New York, NY —

Commercial brokers chase leases. Story by WNYC’s Lisa Chow.

New York, NY —

How bad bets are sinking life insurers. Guest: Aaron Elstein, Crain’s New York Business.

New York, NY —

Why H&R; Block’s share price rose 25 percent last year. Guest: Anya Kamenetz. Does H&R; Block Do Well By Doing Badly?

New York, NY —

How Tim Geithner brought derivatives trading into the computer age. Guest: Jeff Gerth, ProPublica

New York, NY —

New York Stock Exchange shareholders are angry. Guest: Greg David, Crain’s New York Business.

New York, NY —

Topshop and the G20 Summit. NPR’s Laura Conaway interviews Adam Posen of the Peterson Institute.

New York, NY —

How Chrysler could be saved by a resilient Italian automaker. Guest: Josh Whitford, Columbia University.

New York, NY —

Law firms defer job offers. Guest: Kris Fischer, New York Law Journal.

New York, NY —

The IRS seeks hidden treasure in offshore tax havens. Guest: Tom Herman, Wall Street Journal reporter.

New York, NY —

REPORTER: About a year ago, some 62,000 people in the city were collecting benefits. Five months ago, the number was 70,000. It's really been in the last few months that the number's grown the most.

Now, latest figures show, 120,000 people are collecting unemployment benefits. State labor officials say large numbers come from the construction and retail sectors, and there's been a steady rise in applications from people in law and finance.

Usually February's a time when retailers and construction companies start staffing up to prepare for more traffic and work in the spring months. This year, that hiring activity was missing.

The city's unemployment rate stands at 8.1 percent, up from 4.4 last year. For WNYC, I'm Lisa Chow.