Morning Edition on WAMC

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California Governor Jerry Brown wants to convince voters to accept two things they don't like: higher taxes and deep spending cuts. The Democrat proposed a budget yesterday which would only be the start of the pain. The other part would come in November with a ballot measure to raise taxes and spare education. Capital Public Radio's Ben Adler reports from Sacramento.

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It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene.

JP Morgan Chase has long had the reputation of being one of the better managed big banks in the country. So how did it make a $2 billion blunder and what does it tell us about banking today, nearly five years after the onset of the financial crisis? When such questions are looming, we often turn to David Wessel, economics editor of The Wall Street Journal.

And, David, welcome back to the program.

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NPR business news starts with a price hike for Facebook shares.

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INSKEEP: OK, they're not even on sale yet, but investor excitement over Facebook's upcoming initial public offering has prompted the company to raise the price range for its shares. Sources say the new range will be from $34 and $38 per share. That's up from a previous range of $28 to $35.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning, I'm David Greene.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep.

A news item last weekend reminded us that we live in a largely peaceful country right next door to a country at war with itself. In northern Mexico on Sunday, authorities found the bodies of 49 people. They were left on a highway outside Monterrey about 75 miles from Texas. They are described as victims of the Zetas crime syndicate. And the dumping of bodies like this is not unusual in Mexico.

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And let's turn our attention now north of the border to Canada. New austerity programs are creating the kind of unrest we most often associate with Europe these days. In the Province of Quebec, a plan to hike university tuitions by 75 percent over the next five years has led to weeks of violent street rallies, often involving tens of thousands of students and protestors.

North Country Public Radio's Brian Mann reports.

JPMorgan Chase says its chief investment officer is retiring after a $2 billion trading blunder.

The bank says Ina Drew will leave after more than 30 years at the company. She oversaw the trading group responsible for the bad trade.

JPMorgan says Matt Zames, the bank's co-chief of global fixed income in its investment bank, will take Drew's place.

The trading mistake has hammered JPMorgan's stock price and complicated its efforts to fight regulatory changes after the financial crisis.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved. 

The warm March brought an early asparagus crop to farms that are known for it in western Massachusetts.  WAMC’s Tristan O’Neill reports…

Now farmers are wondering if the cool spring will bring an early end to the season.

Sunderland farmer Michael Wisserman tells The Republican of Springfield he wasn't fooled when the temperature hit the 80s in March. He knew cool weather was coming.

So even though he was harvesting in April, a full month earlier than normal, now he wonders if the season can last its usual length, into late June.

When Adam Spiegel rolls down the metal security doors at his Medford, Ore., store, a painting becomes visible. Officials told him to clean the graffiti or be fined. He tells the Mail-Tribune it's not graffiti: it's a mural. Some onlookers think the painting resembles a giant bong.

Worries about health effects, privacy and cost are fueling growing opposition to wireless, digital "smart meters" that utilities around the country are installing on homes and businesses and touting as key energy conservation and grid reliability tools.  WAMC’s Tristan O’Neill reports…

Vermont appears poised to take an unusually aggressive stance. While several states have allowed utilities to charge a fee to customers who want to opt out of smart meters, Vermont's governor is expected soon to sign legislation that would allow customers to say no without paying anything extra.

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NPR's business news starts with a Mother's Day shakeup.

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INSKEEP: Yahoo says its CEO, Scott Thompson, is out, after a shareholder revealed an in accuracy on his resume. Mr. Thompson had claimed that he held two college degrees. In fact, he only had one. Thompson's resignation is a victory for an activist hedge fund that has been pressing for a shakeup in how Yahoo is run.