PODCAST: Nobel for matchmaking and Sprint Nextel for the taking

Monday, October 15, 2012 - 09:26 Scott Olson/Getty Images Brick and mortar retailers have an idea to compete online rivals like Amazon. They are going to match their prices during the holiday shopping season. This year's Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics goes to Americans Alvin Roth and Lloyd Shapley . The Nobel committee honored them today for their work in quote,"the theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design." Sounds obscure, but  it actually turns out to be pretty practical. U.S. retail sales rose 1.1 percent last month . We were spending more on cars, gas and iPhones. Sales of the iPhone 5 helped to juice spending in the electronics category, which grew 4.5%. Citigroup shares are way up in early trading after the bank reported much smaller third-quarter profits but still beat Wall Street expectations. Pardoxically, perhaps, investors may be celebrating the reason for those smaller profits: Citi took a big fat write-down this quarter for selling off its share of ...

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