STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Now, when people need extra money, one way to get it is by taking something of value to the pawn shop. Those shops are all over this country, all over the world, for that matter. And as the head of the Beverly Loan Company in Beverly Hills told Reuters, you'd be amazed by how many wealthy individuals have terrible credit ratings - which brings us to today's last word in business: liquid assets.
Beverly Loan is among several pawnbrokers that accepts fine wine as collateral. In Britain, somebody brought a case of 1989 Chateau Petrus and handed the decades-old wine to secure a loan of $24,000. A spokeswoman at a similar firm in Paris says people there offer a lot of Bordeaux as collateral. Don't know what would happen if you tried to trade in a six-pack of Piels.
That's the business news on MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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