Marketplace
Episodes
Home sales grow less competitive
19 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This spring, just 28% of U.S. homes sold above asking price, according to Redfin. That’s the lowest spring rate since 2020. The trend toward selling...
Break glass in case of oil price shock
18 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Fed kept interest rates as-is today, and Chair Powell said policymakers are “well-positioned to wait” before making another move. But what if ...
Food banks tackle summer break hunger
17 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This is a busy time for food banks — without school breakfast and lunch programs, more families lean on them. But between millions of dollars slashe...
The Fed's got an interest rate decision to make
16 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Federal Open Market Committee meets later this week, and it’s pretty likely they’ll examine why tariffs didn’t drive inflation up in May. Th...
Shipping costs are up. Thank Trump's seesawing trade policy.
13 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When President Trump slapped sky-high tariffs on goods from China, exporters rerouted ships elsewhere. Now that those tariffs are on pause, shipping c...
No, the Fed should not stop paying interest on reserves
12 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You might’ve missed it amid all the Congressional budget hoopla, but Senator Ted Cruz recently floated ending Federal Reserve interest payments, cla...
Tariff-driven price bloat hasn't arrived just yet
11 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Prices rose 0.1% in May, according to the latest consumer price index — that’s less than some analysts anticipated. It seems tariffs haven’t qui...
What do U.S. Treasury auctions have to do with me?
10 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Later this week, the U.S. Treasury will auction off billions of dollars worth of 30-year bonds. While that may seem yawn-worthy to most of us, the out...
What's the consumer debt tipping point?
09 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Consumer credit rose $17.9 billion in April — $6 billion more than projected, the Fed says. Americans may be anxious about tariffs, but low unemploy...
Labor force participation dropped last month
06 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The latest jobs report is out Friday, and overall it’s pretty middling — some details are good news; others not so much. One data point sounding e...
Churn goes the labor market
05 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Unemployment filings and layoffs are rising, and private sector hiring hit a two-year low, recent reports show. Is it just healthy turnover or should ...
Why employers are flocking to Utah County
04 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Provo, Utah, which sits in one of the youngest counties of the U.S., has attracted some major employers in recent years. This week, “Marketplace” ...
What if government data becomes untrustworthy?
03 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The GOP’s budget bill, now at the Senate, includes proposed cuts to federal statistical agencies. That could make government data narrower and less ...
How many trade wars are we in right now?
02 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It depends on who you ask. But we can all agree that this round of tariffs is not the same as the ones President Trump enacted during his first term. ...
Where's the job market headed?
30 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The economic reports out this week gave a fuzzy view of the economy, but next week will be all about jobs: job openings, labor productivity, and the l...
This GOP bill will affect borrowing costs for everyone
29 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The GOP spending and tax bill making its way through Congress would pile significantly onto the national debt. In turn, bond investors will demand hig...
Can anyone compete with Nvidia?
28 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nvidia, as you probably know, makes chips — more specifically, GPUs, which are needed to power artificial intelligence systems. But as AI adoption r...
Consumer sentiment rebounds
27 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Conference Board’s latest consumer confidence index notched its highest monthly increase in four years. To be clear, it was coming off a five-ye...
Pessimistic about the economy? You're not alone.
26 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When “vibecession” became a word in 2022, it referred to consumers grappling with higher prices despite a strong economy. This year, consumers are...
WNBA franchises are a slam dunk in this iffy economy
23 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The WNBA’s first expansion team in 18 years, the Golden State Valkyries, played its first game last week to a crowd of 18,000 fans. Though this unce...
Who can afford a house in this economy?
22 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The supply of homes for sale hit a nearly five-year high in April, but prospective buyers aren’t exactly taking the bait. Some may feel they’re sw...
The bond market is panicky over that GOP bill
21 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The latest GOP spending and tax bill would add an estimated $3.8 trillion to the national deficit over the next decade. More debt means the government...
Which companies can "eat" Trump's tariffs?
20 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Over the weekend, President Trump told retailers to “eat the tariffs” after Walmart warned of price hikes spurred by the trade war. Across the cou...
"Buy Canadian" boycott takes off
19 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
These days, Canadian consumers aren’t just interested in supporting their own homegrown businesses — they’re also actively avoiding American on...
Redefining the "college senior"
16 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
University retirement communities — where a college partners with a senior living community to provide residents access to classes, concerts, sport...
When stressed consumers and higher prices collide
15 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Retail sales were practically flat from March to April, and consumers are feeling more glum, two recent reports show. Already, one big box retailer ha...
That "big, beautiful" tax bill could shock the bond market
14 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Early estimates say the GOP’s tax bill will add $3.8 trillion in deficits over the next 10 years. (This, despite President Trump’s insistence on s...
So, when will we see those tariff price hikes?
13 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
New data shows us that despite President Trump’s new tariffs, the inflation rate for some categories of goods stayed the same or even fell in April....
U.S. and China hit pause on tariff war
12 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For the next 90 days, the two countries will temporarily ease tariffs on each other’s goods as trade talks continue. But what does this deal mean fo...
Uncertainty is the name of the game
09 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, the Federal Reserve opted to leave short-term interest rates alone, despite concerns about the rising risks of a weakening U.S. economy. In...
What we're expecting
08 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The latest consumer expectations report is out and Americans are feeling much worse about their own personal financial situations than they were in Ma...
U.S. to talk trade with China
07 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As tariff pressures mount, China’s vice president and other leaders have agreed to meet with top U.S. officials. If history is any guide, substantia...
What comes after the trade deficit surge
06 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. trade deficit hit a record high in March, as businesses rushed to bring in goods ahead of new import taxes. Now that President Trump’s tari...
How cheap is too cheap?
05 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Oil companies are barely breaking even on crude oil right now — a barrel of West Texas Intermediate started Monday at a paltry $58. If prices stay l...
Supply chain strain, redux
02 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s been one month since President Trump raised tariffs on goods from China. Already, the global supply chain is struggling. In this episode, we’...
What will Trump's trade war do to labor productivity?
01 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
An upward climb in labor productivity has been a promising economic trend over the past few years. That’s important because productivity drives over...
"March is ancient history"
30 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The latest GDP calculations and PCE index tell us the U.S. economy is doing … OK. Importantly, the data doesn’t point to stagflation. But the data...
Tariff fears likely shrunk the GDP
29 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When new gross domestic product data comes out tomorrow, economists expect we'll see the first GDP contraction in three years. But the report is backw...
Taxes due today on goods sold tomorrow
28 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Though it’s hard to say how much tariff-driven sticker shock consumers can stomach, some retailers have begun raising their prices. Other companies ...
In this uncertain economy, gold shines
25 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The stock and bond markets may tumultuous right now, but gold prices have been on a tear. This week, they hit an all time high of $3,500 an ounce. In ...
Trump aims axe at community lender fund
24 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund supports lenders in far-flung and underserved areas. It also made a laundry list of...
Say goodbye to affordable clothing
23 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Trump’s tariffs will touch the vast majority of industries, but apparel — clothes, shoes, accessories — will be particularly impacted. Around 98...
No job? No office phone? Thanks DOGE.
22 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Verizon lost nearly 300,000 monthly phone subscribers in the first quarter. The telecom giant put partial blame on ongoing government layoffs. Verizon...
Boeing aircraft, duty-free no more
21 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The scale and volatility of the trade war may be surprising, but tariffs aren’t new — unless you’re an aircraft manufacturer. (A trade agreement...
Special Coverage from Marketplace: Selling America
20 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Stop us if you’ve heard this before: We’re in an unprecedented economic moment. But this time really is different. America’s place in the glob...
A housing market dilemma
18 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Some relief seems to have arrived on the housing shortage front — listings are up 9% compared to last year. But buyers who’ve been waiting for mor...
Amid turmoil, firms cling to their employees
17 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
First-time jobless claims have been pretty stable since the start of March — unlike many other parts of the economy. President Donald Trump’s tari...
Tariff anxiety turns fun splurges into stress purchases
16 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve heard about people rushing to replace big-ticket essentials ahead of trade war-related price hikes, but what about stuff that’s more of a wa...
Counting the ways tariffs disrupt our economy
15 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For the first few years of the pandemic, businesses navigated a backed-up global supply chain that left some with excess inventory and others with no ...
Office uncertainty — inside and out
14 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fear of unemployment jumped 4.6 percentage points to 44% in March, according to a New York Fed survey. That’s the highest it’s been since April 20...
Expect tariff evasion
11 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Just like some people fudge the numbers to lower their taxes, some companies do the same when paying tariffs on foreign goods. The federal government ...
Eyeing the bond market
10 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Stocks aren’t the only assets in the financial markets that were beat up this week by President Trump’s tariffs. Bonds suffered too. After 3-year ...
Acting on uncertainty
09 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve said it more than once lately: This economy is defined by uncertainty. And as President Trump makes aggressive, if erratic, moves on trade and...
A cold snap in corporate bonds
08 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The issuance of corporate bonds has slowed to a crawl, thanks to all that uncertainty in the economy. And without raising money in the bond market, fi...
Footwear will likely still be “Made in China”
07 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Import levies on Chinese goods amount to 54% right now. But some things that China excels at producing will likely remain in China. In this episode, w...
Who will tariffs hurt the most?
04 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Tariff-driven inflation will hit Americans with the lowest incomes the hardest, slashing their disposable income by at least $1,700 a year, the Yale ...
Reminder: Tariffs are taxes.
03 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Uncertainty about tariffs and trade policy has been top of mind since President Donald Trump’s election in November. We finally know how high those ...
Q1 dealmaking takes a dive
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Corporate dealmakers hoped merger and acquisition ventures would heat up this year. But the first quarter of 2025 saw the slowest M&A activity in ...
The negative wealth effect
01 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
People feel richer — and spend accordingly — when their assets rise in value. That’s called the wealth effect. But when folks get their retireme...
Will owning a home ever be affordable again?
31 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Just how expensive has homeownership become? To afford a typical home, households need an income of about $117,000 right now — a 50% increase from $...
Are U.S. consumers finally running out of steam?
28 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Consumers say they’re fed up with inflation, then they keep spending. But their behavior could be catching up with their anxiety, an economist told ...
Uncertainty, thy name is tariff
27 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. economy grew at a 2.4% annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2024, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported today. That number tells us where ...
The law of unintended consequences
26 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
More tariffs are on the way, this time targeting vehicle imports. President Donald Trump favors import taxes, partly because, he argues, they’ll hel...
Consumer confidence continues to dim
25 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The latest reading marks the fourth straight month of declining consumer confidence, and it fell more than expected. How will the souring mood affect ...
Will tariffs boost U.S. manufacturing?
24 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Donald Trump administration wants to strengthen U.S. manufacturing with tariffs on imported goods. We look at the latest purchasing managers repor...
Measuring a tax cut is all about the framing
21 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We’re tackling a “mysterious and important” question in today’s episode: Should Congress use “current policy” or “current law” baselin...
These sectors are bracing for price hikes
20 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
More tariffs are set to take effect April 2, and in most cases, American consumers and businesses will pay the tax. We’ll explain why some sectors e...
Fed takes “wait and see” approach with tariffs
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Federal Reserve policymakers aren’t cutting interest rates right now, though they expect two rate cuts in 2025. When — and if — those cuts come ...
Stress-Googling “recession”? You’re not alone.
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
“Recession” recently peaked on Google Trends — a sure sign Americans are sweating the possibility of an economic downturn. But what do the numbe...
Working 9 to 5 — and 6 to 11. Maybe weekends too.
17 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
About 8.9 million. That’s how many U.S. workers worked more than one job in February — an all-time high, according to the Bureau of Labor Statisti...
Will homebuyers spring at lower rates?
14 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Mortgage rates have fallen recently to 6.6% for a 30-year fixed. But will it be enough to bring prospective homebuyers off the sidelines? Not accordin...
The weakening dollar
13 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. Dollar Index has fallen sharply in the last few weeks, thanks largely to tariff flip-flopping and overall economic uncertainty. Typically, si...
Could economic feelings become fact?
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Just 44% of employees feel confident about the next six months at their company, a Glassdoor survey found — the lowest in nine years. Thank governme...
Remember tariff exclusions?
12 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Back in 2018 — the last time President Donald Trump led a trade war — some businesses got tariff exemptions if they imported goods that couldn’t...
Selling a “completely destroyed” home
10 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Terri Bromberg lost her home of 20 years in the Los Angeles fires. Rather than rebuild, the artist and professor chose to sell and move elsewhere. Pro...
The contrarian jobs report
08 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Overall employment dropped last month, according to the monthly jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. At the same time, employers added job...
This isn’t the 2018 trade war
07 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Federal Reserve may be steering the economy through another trade war. But this time, the inflation of the last few years complicates its task. Al...
Uncertainty is a certainty
06 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ask an economist what’s driving decision-making right now, and the answer may well be “uncertainty.” In this episode, the unpredictable environm...
Tariff pain and retaliation
05 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
They’re here: President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico begin today, as well as an additional 10% tax on goods from Chi...
Bird flu spreads its wings
03 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As bird flu proliferates across U.S. farms, infecting chickens, cows and even humans, some public health experts worry that that funding to deal with ...
Will Hollywood’s behind-the-scenes workers stay?
01 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the past decade, filming outside of Los Angeles has become a cost-effective option for many major studios. And lower housing costs are driving many...
Hope or fear?
27 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Capital goods orders picked up in January — that’s stuff businesses buy that’ll last a while, like tools and equipment. Is it a sign business ow...
The GDP equation
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The second Trump administration has made spending cuts a priority — already, the president has enacted a funding freeze and laid off thousands of ...
A housing reality check
26 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Home Depot, which makes most of its money from renovations, said small projects are driving its sales. That suggests homeowners are staying put — ma...
Who’s in the consumer-spending driver’s seat?
25 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The top 10% of earners account for half of all consumer spending in the U.S., a new study shows. In other words, if the goods and services Americans b...
Tumbling economic sentiment — especially for Dems
21 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
American consumers agree: High prices aren’t going anywhere. All that stress about inflation, and throw in the impact of tariffs, heightens uncertai...
Access to federal data in flux
21 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Last month, key federal data sets were removed from government websites following actions by the Donald Trump administration, and researchers rushed t...
Vote with your wallet
19 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How low can it go?
19 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
All these sellers, but where are the buyers?
17 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Do you buy the retail sales number?
15 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Time to sell!
14 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What’s next for BP?
13 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Making waves
12 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Some things haven’t changed
11 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Where did all the normal-priced stuff go?
08 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Trump’s bid to take down the 10-year yield
07 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
So, about those tax cuts from Trump’s first term…
06 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Yes, the U.S. owes itself money
04 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Theme of the day: Uncertainty
03 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas