Marketplace

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

Employers pay up for health care too

31 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The economy that could be

30 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Cents and sensitivity

29 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Business opportunity and a tricky balance

28 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As America’s population ages, so does its workforce. That’s why this week, Kai and ADP’s Nela Richardson are visiting Cumberland County, Tenness...

Demographics are destiny

27 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s a demographic reality: The U.S. has an aging workforce. That’s gonna affect our economy, big time. In this episode, Kai takes a trip to Cumbe...

House brands

24 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Private label sales hit an all-time high in 2024, a new report shows. We’re talking about retail stores’ in-house brands, like Costco’s Kirkland...

Still looking

24 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Though first-time unemployment filings barely ticked up last week, continuing claims hit a high not seen since 2021 and nearly 1.9 million Americans a...

Buy in bulk and on credit

23 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How is the consumer-spending sausage made? Not impulsively — today’s shoppers are value- and credit-savvy. Procter & Gamble attributed its sal...

That’s a headscratcher

22 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

President Donald Trump’s first day back in office came with dozens of executive orders and announcements. In this episode, we dig into why some of t...

Sorry, we can’t hear you through all the economic noise

20 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The economic data of the last few months has reflected more than the typical turbulence. Labor strikes, natural disasters and political uncertainty ha...

Credit keeps consumers consuming

17 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Retail sales ended last year strong, despite a somewhat uneasy economic mood. Today, we dig into a tool many spenders used to keep up: credit. Non-hou...

All hail the U.S. consumer!

17 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: During a tumultuous few years, consumer spending has kept the U.S. economy afloat. December retail da...