Republican Mitt Romney is running on the strength of his business background. He says he knows how to fix the economy in part because of his success at Bain Capital. But history is not necessarily on Romney's side. Very few businesspeople have made it to the White House.

We celebrate the deeply embedded ideal of the American dream every day, and yet the phrase has always been fraught. For many, there is no dream, so here, we give you "A Brief Diary of the American Nightmare."

In a nation as diverse as the United States, the idea of "the American dream" means different things to different people. Many associate the dream with intangible ideals like freedom of expression, freedom of religion, optimism and family ties. But the American dream has also long been associated with attaining a higher standard of living, particularly one that surpasses that of the previous generation.

Auto sales are on the rise in Detroit, and not just for people with perfect credit. Chrysler and other companies are targeting customers with subprime credit, and giving them interest rates well above what you might imagine. Host Michel Martin speaks with NPR's Sonari Glinton about who's doing it, and what it might mean for the economic recovery.

As Spain's borrowing costs continue to go through the roof, the European Commission proposes a "banking union" for the 17-country eurozone. The plan would include a fund to protect individual governments from being overwhelmed by the cost of bank rescues.

Only 8 percent of U.S. employers surveyed have plans to drop health coverage altogether. But half of the companies questioned by consulting firm Oliver Wyman do plan on make big changes to the coverage they offer.

The people of Ireland vote Thursday on a European treaty that imposes strict budgetary rules on eurozone nations. It's triggered a heated debate in Ireland about whether austerity measures are working. The Irish government says rejecting the treaty would cut Ireland off from future EU bailout funds, and isolate the nation.

In Spain, retail sales for April plunged to a seasonally adjusted 9.8 percent from a year ago. It's the fastest decline on record. The drop in sales is being blamed on Spain's severe austerity program.

The Japanese government has launched a campaign aimed at selling bonds to help fund reconstruction of areas hit by last year's earthquake and tsunami. It recruited the popular girl band AKB48, known for hits like "Baby Baby Bay," to help promote the bonds.

One of the world's most treasured foods comes from an unlikely source — a sturgeon farm on a kibbutz in northern Israel. The prized sturgeon eggs — or osetra caviar, if you must — fetches a hefty price and has a top-chef following.

Using recycled materials is increasingly common in building construction. But some architects are taking the green movement a step further, creating entire homes and businesses from discarded shipping containers. They call it cargotecture.

Many Americans have long believed that the United States is a land of opportunity, where anyone who works hard can climb the economic ladder. But evidence from recent decades indicates that, for many Americans, that dream of economic mobility falls short.

Robert Siegel talks with New York Times editor and business columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin about Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee working to recover funds for the victims of Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme. So far, Picard's firm has generated $554 million in legal and other fees.

Ashley Dias needs lungs. So do lots of other patients. Scarcity is a problem with organ transplants, and, unlike other scarce resources, organs can't be bought or sold. Here's how doctors decide who gets to be at the top of the waiting list.

While one group's measure hit its highest level since 2007, another's declined in May.