Episodes
The opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics are slated to get underway today in Paris. And while artificial intelligence isn’t competing (yet), it is playing a role in scoring, crowd control and security, and even finding talent. Also on the show: Inflation inches closer toward the Federal Reserve’s target in June, and California’s Supreme Court deals a blow to efforts by gig workers to be classified as employees with certain benefits.
Published 07/26/24
A new study from researchers at Harvard’s Opportunity Insights and the Census Bureau finds that children have a better chance at moving up the economic ladder if most of the adults they interact with are employed — not just in the household but beyond. We’ll delve in. Plus, the Biden White House still has lots on its economic plate before a new president comes to power in six months.
Published 07/26/24
From the BBC World Service: Just as the Olympics are getting underway in Paris, the French train network has been hit by arson attacks, causing major delays and disruption. The incident will put even more focus on security at the games, which is already extremely tight. Then, we’ll look at how AI is being used to help make athletes’ lives easier and scoring more accurate at this year’s Games.
Published 07/26/24
You’ve probably heard of dynamic pricing, like on ride-sharing apps. Now, the Federal Trade Commission is looking into surveillance pricing, which is when companies charge you a different price than someone else for the same product or service based on data they have on where you are and clues about your interests and lifestyle. We’ll unpack. Plus, GDP was higher than anticipated in the second quarter — but it wasn’t driven by consumers.
Published 07/25/24
Wall Street indexes are droopy this morning after a surge downward yesterday. The S&P 500 fell 2.3% and the Nasdaq had its deepest drop in two years. Some are calling it “rebalancing” as investors pull back from some of their tech darlings. And, as a follow-up to yesterday’s episode, we check in with Juan Carlos Cisneros Suarez, who has been waiting for a visa and has skills in computer programming or robotics.
Published 07/25/24
Published 07/25/24
From the BBC World Service: The stock market sell-off is spreading from the U.S. to Asia and Europe. There have been declines across the board, but companies specializing in AI and semiconductor chips have been hit especially hard. Part of it has to do with expectations of additional trade restrictions from the U.S. on chip trade with China. Then, smaller brands are competing against fashion giants to deck out this year’s Olympic athletes.
Published 07/25/24
“We started breaking down crying, because I didn’t think I would get out for my mother’s funeral.” “I’m about $10,000 out of pocket right now for just lodging, food and transportation.” These are just a few of the pained frustrations passengers at Atlanta’s airport, Delta’s primary hub, shared after flight delays and cancellations following the recent CrowdStrike outage. Also: sluggish home sales, the ban on noncompete agreements and politicization of the Federal Reserve.
Published 07/24/24
Working for cash off the books is illegal. But there are routes to work for immigrants who don’t have permission to in the U.S. as an independent contractor or by establishing a Limited Liability Company, or LLC. Today, we’ll hear from one young man who’s seeking a visa that would allow him to work — but he’s looking to start an LLC in the meantime. But first: Tesla is losing ground overseas.
Published 07/24/24
From the BBC World Service: Some of the world’s biggest civilian and defense aviation businesses are gathered at this year’s Farnborough Airshow, a trade expo in the south of England. But with deals on the table, it’s clear that plane makers are struggling to keep up with demand. Also: a look at the the realities of Venezuela’s struggling economy as citizens head to the polls on Sunday.
Published 07/24/24
Despite threats of legal challenges from the right, Vice President Kamala Harris’ camp appears poised to inherit around $100 million from what was the Biden-Harris campaign — and that’s after an additional $100 million was raised in the 24 hours after Sunday’s shake-up. So how will a new name at the top of the Democratic ticket change how campaign dollars are spent? Plus, little stocks are starting to get bigger attention.
Published 07/23/24
The Crowsdstrike software update — which knocked out an estimated 8.5 million Windows computers and impacted airlines, government operations and 9-1-1 emergency calls, is continuing to wreak havoc, and outage costs are estimated to be several billion dollars. We’ll discuss the latest and hear what to do if you’re one of the many, many passengers who’s been affected. And later: Why is everyone talking about “The Magnificent Seven” tech stocks?
Published 07/23/24
From the BBC World Service: In India’s recent election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party won a third term but lost its ruling majority. Now, the coalition released its first budget, focusing on stability and boosting the economy. Then, the founder of South Korea’s popular KakaoTalk app has been arrested on allegations of manipulating stock prices. And there are growing calls to add an African country to the highly lucrative Formula One series of races.
Published 07/23/24
Economic markets take a beat to adjust to Biden’s announcement that he won’t seek re-election; what the entire cybersecurity industry can learn from Friday’s CrowdStrike outage; and a new law makes it easier to pull emergency cash from a retirement account.
Published 07/22/24
On the heels of the President’s announcement that he won’t seek re-election, assessing how history will remember the Biden economy. Plus, continued fallout from Friday’s CrowdStrike outage and global tech meltdown
Published 07/22/24
From the BBC World Service: After Joe Biden announced he’s dropping out of the presidential race, Kamala Harris has secured the backing of some of the Democrats’ biggest donors; so what are investors thinking? Students in Bangladesh continue their protests a day after the Supreme Court eliminated most of the government job quotas they were fighting against. In Spain, concerns about tourism’s impact on locals has sparked protests on the island of Mallorca, with hundreds of people taking to the...
Published 07/22/24
New data out this week on retail sales, shipping rates and more offer a snapshot of the economy’s overall health. Plus, the knock-on economic effects of tariffs, and Shanghai becomes a hyper-competitive hub for cafes.
Published 07/19/24
Donald Trump promised sweeping changes to tax policy and interest rates, but would he really have the power to carry those out? Plus, why Silicon Valley billionaires are suddenly flocking to the GOP, and a widespread tech outage has disrupted businesses around the globe, including major airlines.
Published 07/19/24
From the BBC World Service: A raft of businesses and organizations running Microsoft’s Windows apps have been affected by a major global IT outage. Students in Bangladesh are continuing their blockade of roads across the country, in protest of a quota system on government jobs. You may think of Rome or Paris when asked about the café capital of the world – but China’s financial capital is becoming a new contender. At least that’s what Shanghai’s local government claims.
Published 07/19/24
First, semiconductor manufacturer TSMC has seen a surge in sales, yet its stock took a hit yesterday. That followed news the U.S. might further curb exports to China and comments by former President Donald Trump that TSMC’s home base of Taiwan would need to start paying for its own defense. Then, as the U.S.-China economic relationship becomes more contentious, where does that leave Europe? We dig in. And later: why women’s health is so far behind the curve.
Published 07/18/24
At the start of this week’s Republican National Convention, Republicans adopted a new platform that promises to preserve Social Security and Medicare with no cuts, while also pledging to cut taxes for working Americans. Can those two objectives be squared? We’ll also hear more about the economics of J.D. Vance and learn how Gaza’s farmers are faring amid war. Plus, from today’s “Marketplace Tech,” how can we limit the fallout from misinformation after political violence?
Published 07/18/24
From the BBC World Service: Despite big profits for chipmakers, the prospect of further curbs on exports of semiconductor technology to China has prompted a major sell-off by investors. Plus, a court in South Korea has ruled same-sex couples should be eligible for the same health insurance benefits as their heterosexual counterparts. And we hear how conflict in Gaza is affecting those who earn a living from the land.
Published 07/18/24
The GOP wants to be clear that it’s pro-cryptocurrency. The official Republican platform adopted earlier this week says the party will “defend the right to mine bitcoin.” We’ll hear more about the intersection of digital assets and politics. Plus, dinners in Spain tend to start pretty darn late — after 9 p.m. on average. One reason is that the working day runs deep into the evening. But could things be changing?
Published 07/17/24
According to Milwaukee’s visitors bureau, hosting the Republican National Convention this week comes with $200 million in additional economic activity. But that figure doesn’t include business lost when locals try to avoid the crowds. Plus, stock prices wake up with a hangover. And later, it’s day 2 of Amazon Prime Day. Today, we check in on Amazon’s pledge to spend $1.2 billion to provide free job training to about 300,000 employees.
Published 07/17/24
From the BBC World Service: Workers at an Amazon warehouse in the United Kingdom have failed to gain union recognition by the slimmest of margins. A majority of support was needed but just under 50% voted in favor. Then, in Bangladesh, thousands of students have been protesting over a lack of jobs. And in Spain, some are questioning the culture of working well into the evening.
Published 07/17/24