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Staples and Office Depot are calling off their $6.3 billion merger. The decision follows a ruling from a federal judge who said the deal would hurt competition in the office supplies industry.

NPR’s Jim Zarroli reports that Judge Emmet Sullivan issued a temporary injunction against the merger, saying that federal regulators had presented a strong case that the deal would substantially impair competition in the office supplies market.

“The Federal Trade Commission, which had asked for the injunction called the ruling great news,” Jim reports. “And it said the merger would have led to higher prices and lower quality service for large companies.”

In a statement, Staples CEO Ron Sargent expressed his disappointment. He also said: “We believe that it is in the best interest of our shareholders, customers, and associates to forego appealing this decision, terminate the merger agreement, and move on with our strategic plan to drive shareholder value.”

The FTC initially filed an administrative complaint in December. As the Two-Way reported at the time, it charged that “the merger between Massachusetts-based Staples, the world’s largest seller of office supplies, and Florida-based Office Depot would violate antitrust laws.”

Staples announced its plan to buy office Depot in February last year.

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There’s not a lot of running in baseball. Mostly the players just stand around. But up in the stands, there is a very different game being played—one that demands hours of nonstop effort. The players in this game are vendors, the ballpark workers who run up and down stairs, carrying cases of water and bins of hot dogs above their heads. They are competing to sell as much overpriced junk food, in as little time as possible.

In Boston’s Fenway Park the top seller is Jose Magrass. He is a legend. On opening day this year, he sold 500 hot dogs—$2750 worth. But slinging that many dogs in one night takes skill, shrewdness, and strategy.

On today’s show: The secret world of ballpark vendors. It’s a game of weather forecasting, ruthless efficiency, sore thighs, and swollen vocal chords.

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By my count I have helped some 58 friends (including many colleagues in public radio) buy a car. That’s sort of funny, considering I didn’t buy a car until I was 37 years old and began reporting on the auto industry for NPR.

On Saturdays over the last few years, I have gotten phone calls from friends at car dealerships asking for advice. It’s no small financial matter, when the average cost of a new car is roughly $33,000.

So if you are reading this while in a car dealership, do what I tell all my friends: Stand up! Leave the dealership! Do not buy a car today!

JOIN NPR’S ‘YOUR MONEY AND YOUR LIFE’ FACEBOOK GROUP

And before you return, take a look at these tips I’ve gathered from industry experts and public radio friends.

Do Your Homework

“I knew exactly what I wanted,” Muthoni Muturi, NPR editor

Your father may have always loved Hondas, and your grandmother may have always bought Crown Victorias.

But it’s my job to keep up with the car companies, and I have a hard time keeping track of what’s good or bad. (And it’s not your father’s Oldsmobile, because they don’t make Oldsmobiles anymore.)

“Information is king,” says Jonathan Collegio of the National Automobile Dealers Association, or NADA.

“Consumers should do as much homework as possible,” he says, and “have a sense of the market.”

They shouldn’t be afraid to go to a dealership, he says, but they should come prepared.

Start with data: Consumer Reports has a list of the best and worst cars. Car company rankings change all the time, and you might be surprised at what you learn — for instance, that Audi, Subaru, Mazda and Buick all rate higher than Honda for reliability.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, or IIHS, compiles safety data by car and make.

Both sites promise unbiased data-driven information about car reliability and safety.

In addition, there are for-profit sites that help with reviews and pricing of cars. Here are just a few: Cars.com, Truecar.com, Kelley Blue Book, CARFAX.com, Autotrader.com, Costco Auto and NADA Guides.

Michelle Singletary, a personal finance columnist with The Washington Post, warns that consumers should not “set one toe in the dealership” before doing their homework.

Do A Thorough Test Drive

“Don’t be satisfied with going around the block,” Karen Grigsby Bates, NPR correspondent

Five or 10 years ago when you bought your last car you were that much younger. Your body, your needs and your eyesight have changed. That’s why a test drive is so important.

Drive the car in the conditions you would use it in — at night on a dark road, for instance, so you can test the lights and brightness of interior lamps.

Rebecca Lindland, a senior analyst with Kelley Blue Book, points out that a test drive can help with dealing with family members who have disabilities.

She also recommends bringing car seats and pet carriers with you. And she reminds shorter drivers to pay attention to sightlines and especially the A-pillar (which is the beam on the windshield to the left of the driver); it can obscure vision around curves.

She also advises would-be buyers to pay attention to something known as the H-point.

“When you stand next to the car with the door open, look at how high the top of the seat is. That’s called the H-point — where the top of the seat is,” she says.

Where the H-point falls will give you a sense of ease of entry. If the top of a seat hits below your knees, for instance, you’ll have to stoop lower to get into the car. If the H-point hits around mid-thigh, it will be was easier to get in and out.

The key is to feel comfortable in the vehicle.

Keep Your Emotions In Check

“A car is not an impulse purchase,” Sonari Glinton, NPR business correspondent

At its most basic, purchasing a car is a financial decision that’s tied with emotion, and dealers will use tactics that play on your emotions.

I would suggest separating the different decisions.

Test-drive on one day. Figure out financing on another. Determine the best dealer on yet another.

“Remember, their job is to sell you a car today,” says Jack Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst with Kelley Blue Book and author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Buying or Leasing a Car.

“If you don’t like the experience of how they are treating you, leave,” Nerad advises. “You have all the power. Use it. Walk out the door.”

Dealers often will make you feel like the deal you’re getting is scarce, says Camelia Kuhnen, a neuroeconomist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. That will make you feel like you need to buy a car even if it’s against your best judgment.

“You can easily survive without that particular car, at this particular dealership,” she says.

Bringing a friend who will be dispassionate about the whole process and help advocate on your behalf is a good idea, Kuhnen adds.

Shop Around For Financing, Too

“I was prepared to walk out and did. It was only a couple hundred dollars difference but I got the deal I wanted,” Greg Dixon, NPR producer for All Things Considered

“If you can’t pay cash for it, you need to be asking yourself why [you’re] buying this car,” says Singletary, the personal finance columnist. She suggests checking with your local bank or credit union before you go the dealership.

“Negotiate purchase price not the monthly payment,” says Lindland of Kelley Blue Book. “You can easily spend hundreds, even thousands of extra dollars by not paying attention to terms.”

One final tip from Lindland: Avoid car terms that are over 60 months.

“Longer term loans help keep monthly payments low,” says Melinda Zabritski with Experian, the credit agency.

But consumers should be very careful, she says, because “it’s easy to find yourself upside down … dealing with negative equity should they choose to trade it in after only a few years.”

Collegio of NADA says “it’s good to shop around.” He advises that you get a rate from your local bank — the dealer will be able to match or meet it.

His organization has a guide for auto financing at autofinancing101.org.

A Few More Things To Consider

Ask for incentives. Dealers and carmakers often offer cash incentives, preferable loan or lease terms, gifts and even coupons to encourage consumers to buy cars. Check the manufacturer’s website for incentives, and be sure to ask your salesperson.

The last weekend of the month is when dealers have the biggest incentive to sell.

If you’re interested in leasing, negotiate the purchase price of the car first.

Deal with the trade-in separately, advises Singletary.

Buy less car than you need, and think used (often referred to as pre-owned) to get the best deal.

Once you decide on the car, stick with the decision.

“Don’t settle on color,” warns Bates, who’s a member of NPR’s Code Switch team. “Every time I go outside and see that red car, it makes me happy.”

When you walk to your car, it should make you happy. And don’t forget: You don’t have to buy a car today.

JOIN NPR’S ‘YOUR MONEY AND YOUR LIFE’ FACEBOOK GROUP, an online community featuring stories from some of the best investors and financial experts on the planet along with crowdsourced wisdom curated and overseen by NPR reporters and editors.

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The Department of Transportation on Wednesday announced the recall of an additional 35 million to 40 million faulty air bag inflators made by Japan’s Takata Corp., an auto-parts supplier.

Already, 28.8 million Takata inflators have been recalled. In all, this massive action will add up to the largest safety recall in U.S. history.

DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the problem comes down to this: “the inflators’ propensity to rupture.” Those ruptures have been tied to 10 deaths and more than 100 injuries in this country.

“The acceleration of this recall is based on scientific evidence and will protect all Americans from air bag inflators that may become unsafe,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said.

The government says “time, environmental moisture and fluctuating high temperatures contribute to the degradation of the ammonium nitrate propellant in the inflators. Such degradation can cause the propellant to burn too quickly.”

That rapid burn can rupture the inflator and spray shrapnel into drivers and passengers.

“People who receive notification that there is a remedy available for their vehicle should act immediately to have their inflator fixed,” NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said.

He urged vehicle owners to check SaferCar.gov for information about any open recalls. On that website, owners also can find out what to do to have safety problems fixed free of charge. The specific car and truck models included in the latest Takata recall were not immediately released.

Last year, NHTSA imposed the largest civil penalty in its history on Takata for violations of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act. NHTSA has appointed an independent monitor to assess, track and report the company’s compliance with the recall program.

Takata makes air bags, seat belts and other parts for the auto industry. Now it faces huge losses. Takata said earlier this week that it would book one-time charges totaling 20.1 billion yen, or $189 million, to cover cost of the recalls and settlements with victims.

The company has been hit with widespread criticism for moving too slowly to recognize the problem and provide authorities with complete and accurate information. Now, it will take years to replace all of the defective parts.

Many consumers have expressed frustration through social media. Rick DeGaetano, a computer consultant in Hayward, Calif., spoke by phone with NPR after he took to Facebook to vent about the potential danger — and financial harm — done by Takata.

DeGaetano said his friend’s car was affected. Even aside from worrying “that you’re going to get shrapnel in your face if you get in an accident,” his friend also has to worry about losing money, DeGaetano said. “It hurts the resale value of your car,” he said.

NPR business intern Naomi LaChance contributed to this report.

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Chinese health and Internet authorities have launched an investigation into Baidu, the country’s largest search engine, following the death of a college student who accused Baidu of misleading him to a fraudulent cancer treatment.

Experts believe the scandal will damage the credibility of Baidu’s search results, and its long-term economic prospects.

On Monday, news of the government investigation caused Baidu’s stock to tumble by nearly 8% on the NASDAQ.

The scandal began with a college student from northwest China’s Shaanxi Province. Two years ago, then sophomore Wei Zexi found out he had a rare form of cancer called synovial sarcoma. After other treatments failed, he turned to Baidu.

His search on Baidu suggested a treatment at the Beijing People’s Armed Police Corps Hospital No. 2. It claimed to have a highly effective experimental treatment developed in collaboration with Stanford medical school.

In fact, state media later reported, there was no collaboration. The treatment failed, and Wei accused the Baidu of cheating him.

“I did not know how sinister Baidu could be,” he wrote.

Wei also uploaded a plea for help to the Internet.

“I don’t want to die,” he said. “My 21 years of effort have not yet born fruit. I still have dreams. I still want to see this wide world.”

Wei died on April 12.

The search result Wei turned up was promoted, in other words paid for, and it was labeled as such, but it’s not clear if Wei understood this. What is clear is that many Chinese are furious at Baidu and at the government for what they consider lax regulation.

“The lack of forces protecting the public interest is one of the biggest challenges facing the development of China’s Internet,” comments Fang Xingdong, one of China’s earliest bloggers, and the founder of Chinalabs.com, an Internet-related think tank.

Baidu dominates China’s Internet search market with a 70% share, a market capitalization of around $67 billion and more than 600 million monthly mobile search users. Like Google, it provides maps and music, and is working on developing driverless cars.

But it doesn’t have to compete with Google, which is blocked in China. Baidu, meanwhile, complies with Chinese laws by filtering out information – especially political information – which the government considers “harmful” or “illegal.”

Internet “regulatory agencies, policies and rules focus on managing ideological issues,” Fang Xingdong points out, “while neglecting people’s livelihoods.”

Beijing-based tech blogger Hong Bo notes that China’s advertising law does not cover search engine results.

And he says, consumers tend to forget that search engines put certain results at the top of the page not because they’re the best, but because they’re paid for.

“Baidu’s promoted links have deceived users,” he says, “and triggered one crisis after another. This is not the first time, and this issue has got to be resolved sooner or later.”

In January, Baidu hosted an online forum on hemophilia. But it sold the right to moderate that forum to an unlicensed private hospital. A public outcry ensued, and Baidu promised to “reflect deeply” on its actions.

Baidu has promised to cooperate with the current government investigation. It has also offered condolences to the family of Wei Zexi.

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One of the economic legacies President Obama hopes to leave behind is an expansion of U.S. exports.

To do that, he wants to complete one trade deal with European countries, and another with Pacific Rim nations.

But well into his final year in office, Obama is facing stiff headwinds on trade.

The European deal, called the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, made news on Monday…but probably not the way the White House would have preferred.

Greenpeace Netherlands, an environmental group, leaked 248 pages of classified documents involving TTIP, the far-reaching deal involving the U.S. and European Union. The documents date from before trade negotiators met again last week in New York.

Consumer and environmental groups on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean have expressed concerns that U.S. corporations may be pushing Europeans to lower their various protections. They say the leaked papers support that view.

“We’ve done this to ignite a debate,” Greenpeace trade expert Juergen Knirsch said at a news conference in Berlin. TTIP opponents want negotiations to end.

But the European Commission said the documents merely reflect negotiating positions in talks that have been going on for three years.

The EU’s top negotiator, Ignacio Garcia-Bercero, said at a press conference that “some points that Greenpeace is making in these documents are flatly wrong.”

White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters the leaks will not have a “material impact” on the talks. “Our focus is on trying to complete these negotiations by the end of the year,” he said.

Typically, trade negotiators work behind closed doors as they sort out positions. Even though details have not been officially released, it’s known that TTIP would deal with many contentious issues such as genetically modified foods, poultry safety, auto exports and more.

In April, a survey by the Bertelsmann Foundation showed support for TTIP was declining in both Germany and the United States.

Obama’s other deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, has been negotiated, but not yet approved by Congress and the approval process appears stalled for now. No vote is scheduled for the deal, and many congressional observers predict any action will have to wait until after the November election. Trade has become a hot-button issue with many voters this election cycle.

To drum up support for TPP, Obama released an essay Monday afternoon in The Washington Post, saying the partnership would strength the U.S. economy:

“TPP brings together 12 countries representing nearly 40 percent of the global economy to make sure that private firms have a fair shot at competing against state-owned enterprises. My administration is working closely with leaders in Congress to secure bipartisan approval for our trade agreement.”

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