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For an American, it probably would be a really hard Jeopardy question, but in Argentina, pretty much anyone you stop can answer this: Who is the judge in New York at the center of Argentina's default crisis?

Pablo de Luca, a systems engineer walking along a downtown Buenos Aires street recently responded easily: Judge Thomas P. Griesa.

"Griesa is an enemy for us," he says.

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Georgina Segui, an office secretary stopped while she was doing errands, also knew the answer.

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"We are constantly bombarded on TV with the name Griesa, Griesa, Griesa," she said.

One of the main people doing the "bombarding" is Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez.

"No financial vulture nor judicial raptor is going to extort money from this president," she said in her most recent speech.

In Argentina, posters with his image, with a vulture on his back, have been pasted up along the streets. There also have been endless articles about the judge, whose office declined to speak with NPR.

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Graffiti in Buenos Aires depicts Griesa and vultures behind bars. Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty Images

Graffiti in Buenos Aires depicts Griesa and vultures behind bars.

Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty Images

The Argentine media constantly cite a little-known U.S. website called The Robing Room, where lawyers give anonymous reviews of the judges they appear before. Griesa's weren't exactly complimentary to begin with, and since the Argentina case exploded into the headlines, others have written in, excoriating him for his rulings. In Argentina, the comments have been taken as evidence that he is unfit for the job.

"These things happen, and all of a sudden these people become household names," says Alan Cibils, the chair of the political economy department at the National University of General Sarmiento in Buenos Aires.

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In many ways, rightly or wrongly, Cibils says, Griesa has become a symbol in Argentina of all the problems of the international financial system. He notes that whatever you think of Griesa's position, his rulings were supported by the U.S. appeals court, and the Supreme Court refused to hear Argentina's case.

So this is the backstory to the unlikely infamy of a federal judge in his 80s who reportedly plays the harpsichord: Argentina defaulted on its debt in 2001, essentially declaring bankruptcy and saying it couldn't pay its creditors. At the time, Ciblis says, so-called vulture hedge funds swooped in and bought Argentina's bonds — some of which were issued in New York — for pennies on the dollar.

"These guys really are bottom feeders: They go out there, they buy bonds of countries as they are about to default or after they've defaulted, and then cash in — or litigate to cash in — on the full amount," says Ciblis.

Griesa's ruling supporting their claims has had far-reaching effects: Some countries, including Mexico, have changed the language in new bond contracts to make it harder for vulture funds to target them — and according to Ciblis, developing nations are less likely to issue their bonds in New York, where they might be vulnerable to one judge's opinions.

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SPECTRE, as James Bond fans will know, stands for Special Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion. It's the organization 007 has battled since his first screen outing in Dr. No in 1962.

It's also the name of the new Bond movie, the 24th installation in the franchise, director Sam Mendes announced today.

Daniel Craig will return as Bond for the fourth time. Mendes also directed the 23rd Bond film, the hugely successful Skyfall.

"A cryptic message from Bond's past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization," a statement from Sony Pictures said. "While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE."

The movie will take Bond from his base in London to Mexico City, Rome and Tangier and Erfoud, both in Morocco, as well as locations in Austria.

Spectre's cast includes Austrian actor Christoph Waltz, best known for Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained; actresses Monica Bellucci and Lea Seydoux will play the "Bond girls." Returning cast members include Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw and Rory Kinnear. Also part of the movie — a new Aston Martin DB10.

The film is set for release Nov. 6, 2015.

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Imagine you're sitting back one evening, planning your holiday shopping list, knowing that every day you wait to get to the shops, the value of your money will be losing ground.

That's what's happening in places like Russia, Venezuela, Nigeria and other nations that rely heavily on oil exports.

Oil was more than 100 dollars a barrel at the start of the summer. Now it's around 70 dollars a barrel and many forecasts say it could go lower still.

Falling oil prices have been good news for consumers and businesses here in the U.S. and in the many countries around the world that import oil. But it's having a domino effect in oil exporting nations. Government budgets are strained. Economies are struggling. The currency is crashing.

The Russian ruble was trading at around 35 to the U.S. dollar this summer. But the ruble has been heading south ever since oil prices started tanking. Now it takes more than 50 rubles for a dollar.

The swift drop in oil prices caught many producers off guard, says Caroline Freund, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

"Over the last few years, oil producers had gotten used a situation where oil was above 100 dollars a barrel," she says. "So what had happened in these countries is they just had money to burn so they're spending money on handouts to the public, keeping people happy, exploiting their resources even more ... and that's now on the decline."

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People walk past a display with currency exchange rates in Moscow on Wednesday. Falling oil prices have contributed to a number of economic problems, including a currency that has fallen from 35 rubles to the dollar this summer to more than 50 rubles to the dollar now. Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP

People walk past a display with currency exchange rates in Moscow on Wednesday. Falling oil prices have contributed to a number of economic problems, including a currency that has fallen from 35 rubles to the dollar this summer to more than 50 rubles to the dollar now.

Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP

Freund says oil producers with large populations used to government subsidies are being hard hit. So too are those countries without the financial cushion to ride out the price crash.

"It's hardest for these countries that don't have reserves, really high reserves, like a Venezuela or an Iraq or an Iran, as compared with a Saudi Arabia or a [United Arab Emirates] or Kuwait where they've really piled up the reserves and can hold out for quite some time," she adds.

Part of the reason oil prices are so low right now is oversupply, which is linked to slowing demand in countries such as China. It's also due to a strong dollar, says Donald Dony, an energy analyst in Victoria, British Columbia.

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"At this point right now, the U.S. dollar, the U.S. economy is definitely hands and feet over top of just about anybody else out there, certainly better than Europe and is stronger than most of the Asian economies," he says. "So as the U.S. dollar goes up, other currencies start to go down."

And commodities like oil are linked to the U.S. dollar. So countries with a weakened currency are likely to buy less oil, which in turn affects the exporting nations.

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While the current price of oil is at its lowest level since 2010, it's been much lower in the past three decades, says Brenda Shaffer, an energy expert and visiting professor at Georgetown University. Even when compared to today's prices, oil-dependent nations have always managed to get by.

"These countries, they've seen it when it's been up, when it's been down. Even President [Vladimir] Putin himself has been president of Russia in every type of oil price - the low, the high, the crisis," Shaffer says. "I think it's nothing new for these governments."

Still, Shaffer says countries that depend on a certain oil price to balance their budgets could be vulnerable to instability. But Shaffer says it's premature to think that nations will fundamentally change their foreign policy behavior.

"Things like Russia pulling out of Crimea, or Iran changing its stance on the nuclear program, things that these countries see as national interest, they're not going to give up because of the oil price," Shaffer adds.

Shaffer says there's an intricate relationship between oil prices and geopolitics. She compares it to a kaleidoscope, where one change can set off unintended consequences. She says Washington may take satisfaction that Russia is feeling a financial pinch, but low oil prices could also signal a slowing in the global economy.

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Fast-food workers rallied around the country Thursday, calling for a minimum wage of $15 an hour. But in suburban Detroit, a small but growing fast-casual burger and chicken chain has figured out how to pay higher wages and still be profitable.

When Moo Cluck Moo opened its first location almost two years, the starting pay for all workers was $12.00 an hour. The idea, according to co-founder Brian Parker, was to train everyone to multitask.

No one is just flipping burgers. All of the workers are expected to be jacks-of-all-trades: They bake buns from scratch daily, they house-make aioli and prepare made-to-order grass-fed burgers and free-range chicken sandwiches.

And, now, says Parker, the investment is paying off. Revenue is up at the chain's two locations. And workers are sticking around. And their pay now? It's up to $15 an hour. By comparison, a typical fast-food worker in the U.S. makes about $8 or $9 an hour.

"Because of our low turnover, and the fact that people are really into their jobs, $15 an hour wasn't a big stretch," Parker says.

Parker says there's savings in not having to constantly train new hires, and his workers are empowered because they're given so much responsibility.

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When we stopped in for a visit this week, manager Dan Chavez was standing at the grill preparing a made-to-order Moo Burger. He's been cooking in restaurants for 15 years, so he knows how to move quickly from the grill to the fryer. He also overseas baking and talks to customers.

"It's more fun than I've had at other jobs, because we get to do everything ourselves," he says.

And Chavez says the higher-than-average wages are a big part of his job satisfaction.

"It feels good just to be able to pay my bills and enjoy a little of life," Chavez says.

In the beginning, Parker wasn't sure the higher wages would be sustainable. But now the restaurants are thriving. "We're ... going to show a profit in the last quarter," Parker says. And he and his partner are planning to add new locations.

Now in order to make this model work, customers have to pay a little more.

Grass-fed Moo Burgers on a homeade buns start at about $6. This compares to a Big Mac, which retails in the U.S. for about $4.80. That's a price differential of just over a dollar.

In starting the company, the founders says they were motivated by the lack of options. "We couldn't fine an affordable place to take our kids and grandkids that didn't have hormones, preservatives," they write on the company's website.

They now vet their suppliers to make sure all the food they buy meets their specifications, and they source their beef from Joseph Decuis Wagyu Farm in Indiana.

"We're building a brand," Parker says. And part of getting Moo Cluck Moo out there is telling people about its sourcing of beef and chicken, and talking about its commitment to paying people a living wage.

"I'm not driving around in a six-figure sports car," Parker says. But he does have his eye on the future.

So are small burger chains like Moo Cluck Moo — which are willing to pay workers more and serve more upscale menus — going to put pressure on the giants such as McDonald's and Burger King to raise wages?

"No, I don't think so," says Michael Strain, an economist at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute.

Strain says there are two different models here, and two different kinds of customers. These new chains appeal to people who are willing to pay more for food prepared from scratch. But, he says, traditional fast-food chains are not going to go away.

"McDonald's appeals to people who like the Dollar Menu, and to people for whom that price point is appealing," he says.

And McDonald's will likely continue to offer its Dollar Menu, and other value pricing, as long as it can find people who are willing to work for the kind of wages it currently offers.

But if workers become too expensive, Strain argues we'll start to see more automation — and fewer fast-food jobs.

"Imagine if some machine gets invented that can operate the french fry machine at McDonald's, " Strain says. That's one less worker needed at the fryer.

This automation has been happening for a while. Strain says. When he was a kid, it was a person — not a soda machine — that filled your cup.

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