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David Brancaccio

"Future Effects" Senior Correspondent

David Brancaccio is Marketplace’s “future effects” senior correspondent. In this role, David aims to explore how short-term thinking can impact our personal finances, innovation, government policy, and more.

David worked as the host and senior editor of “Marketplace Morning Report” from 2013 to 2026, where he focused on the regulation of financial markets, the role of technology in labor markets, the history of innovation, digital privacy, sustainability, social enterprises, and financial vulnerability in older adults. David freelanced for Marketplace in 1989 before becoming the program’s European correspondent based in London in 1990.

David hosted the evening program from 1993-2003, then anchored the award-winning public television news program “Now” on PBS after a period co-hosting with journalist Bill Moyers. David has co-produced and appeared in several documentaries, including “Fixing the Future,” about alternative approaches to the economy, and “On Thin Ice,” about climate change and water security, with mountaineer Conrad Anker. David is the author of “Squandering Aimlessly,” a book about personal values and money. He enjoys moderating public policy discussions, including at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Chicago Ideas Week, and the Camden Conference in Maine.

David is from Waterville, Maine, and has degrees from Wesleyan and Stanford universities. Honors include the Peabody, Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University, Emmy, and Walter Cronkite awards. He is married to Mary Brancaccio, a poet and educator. They have three offspring, all adults. He likes making beer and building (and launching) pretty big rockets. Among his heroes are Edward R. Murrow and Wolfman Jack.

Latest from David Brancaccio

  • Buckle up, the debt ceiling fight is just beginning
    Justin Tallis - WPA Pool via Getty Images

    It’s estimated that the U.S. government will hit the Congressionally-mandated debt ceiling today, meaning it will have to find ways to shuffle funds around until Congress raises the limit. Lawmakers are gearing up for a protracted fight on Capitol Hill. Recent data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York show that inflation is hitting low-income households, especially those that are Black and Latino, the hardest. And, amid unease following the collapse of FTX, crypto miners are being squeezed by high energy costs and lower prices for cryptocurrencies. 

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  • Firemen pose with flares during a rally in Lyon, south-eastern France as workers go on strike over the French President's plan to raise the legal retirement age.
    Photo by OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP

    From the BBC World Service: France faces a day of national strikes as President Macron’s retirement reforms divide the country. The plans, which include pushing the country’s retirement age up to 64, are facing major pushback from unions. Also, how carbon can be captured from the atmosphere. And, Pakistan’s former president thinks he can solve the country’s economic crisis.

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  • Rising prices and interest rates have pushed buyers into the used vehicle market or out of the  automotive market entirely.
    Mario Tama/Getty Images

    Consumers seemingly couldn’t buy enough cars during the peak of the pandemic, but recent data shows that the auto industry saw widespread declines in vehicle sales last year. We delve into what drove the decline and what car sellers are doing to adjust. Lower vehicle sales also contributed to an overall decline in retail sales in December — a good sign for investors, says Susan Schmidt. But that may not be the case for others — we checked in with a number of small businesses to see how they’re faring. And, the BBC’s Ruth Alexander reports on the global rise in egg prices. 

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  • Millennials are buying more and more homes
    Tim Boyle via Getty Images

    A big change in the housing market is happening — young people aged 25 to 34 are making up a bigger and bigger proportion of homeowners. A new analysis from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies says millennials, a group that has traditionally faced difficulties with high home prices, are making inroads as they age and start families. Global demand for oil will reach a new record this year, according to the International Energy Agency. And, the Bank of Japan again declined to raise interest rates, bucking expectations and continuing the country’s policy of ultra-loose monetary policy that has kept rates near zero for years. 

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  • Has global inflation peaked?
    Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images

    From the BBC World Service: Global inflation seems to be easing – but there’s still no quick fix. The latest data from Europe suggests the worst of the inflation pain might be over for now. We hear from consumers and businesses in the UK where prices are still high, and we take a look at Japan’s unique approach to rising prices. Plus, Elon Musk changed Twitter’s blue tick system and now an unlikely party has been taking advantage – Afghanistan’s Taliban.

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  • The latest data on China’s economy isn’t good at all
    Noel Celis/AFP via Getty Images

    Fresh economic data from the Chinese government paints a picture of a rapidly slowing — and aging — economy. The world’s second-largest economy reported just 3 percent GDP growth in the fourth quarter, a number that’s the lowest in decades besides the first year of the pandemic. And, this week’s World Economic Forum summit in Davos, Switzerland is underway and tackling global issues in an age of increasing fractiousness among world powers. 

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  • The logo of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. On the agenda is climate change, the war in Ukraine and other issues of global concern.
    Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

    Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor of The Economist, says the World Economic Forum’s elite attendees will talk far-ranging issues like climate and inflation.

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  • Davos kicks off amid a wave of global crises
    BENOIT DOPPAGNE/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images

    The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum kicked off this week in Davos, Switzerland, bringing together a collection of the world’s most powerful people to discuss a range of global issues. On the agenda for participants will be problems like climate change, geopolitical fragmentation, and even a question of the summit’s own relevance. Zanny Minton Beddoes, the Editor-in-chief of The Economist, gives her view on the ground in Davos. Electric vehicle sales accounted for 10 percent of all new global car sales in 2022, another indication of the EV industry’s meteoric rise. And, Walmart and Salesforce announced a partnership to improve deliveries and other logistical aspects of the retail giant’s business. 

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  • A nurse takes care of a newborn baby at a hospital in Fuyang, in China's eastern Anhui province on January 17, 2023. - China OUT (Photo by AFP) / China OUT (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

    From the BBC World Service: Chinese officials say the country has entered an “era of negative population growth”. We examine what a decreasing workforce and a growing elderly population means for China’s economic future. Meanwhile India is guzzling Russian oil at a record rate.  Plus, we ask why is the cost of a box of eggs soaring around the world?

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  • What do bank and Netflix earnings say about the economy?
    Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

    It’s that time of the year again: earnings season. Publicly traded companies across the economy are reporting their fourth-quarter results, and they so far portray a mixed picture of the economy. Michael Hewson, Chief Market Analyst at the London-based CMC Markets, tells us what he’s looking at, including reports from banks and Netflix. Bank earnings that have come out so far have shown increased caution at those financial institutions, which boosted their rainy day reserves in anticipation of increased financial malaise. And, what the CEO of energy giant Equinor has to say about the future of household energy. 

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