SHORT BIO
Erika Beras is a former reporter at Marketplace. She has covered wealth & poverty, aging and other beats for Marketplace's programs.
Latest Stories (345)
U.S. automakers could be headed down a rocky road
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Erika Beras
Apr 25, 2018
For years, low gas prices fueled sales of SUVs and pickup trucks, and low interest rates made it easier for car buyers to trade up every time some shiny new technology came along. But with gas prices and interest rates rising, and tariffs on imported aluminum and steel driving up costs, automakers are facing an […]
Steel may be on the menu at the state dinner
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Erika Beras
Apr 24, 2018
French President Emmanuel Macron is pushing for a permanent exemption from tariffs for the European Union. Today will be the second day of Macron’s three-day state visit, and the biggest event will be the first state dinner since President Donald Trump took office 15 months ago. But it won’t be all glitz and glam. Macron […]
Looking for a luxury apartment? Try Pittsburgh
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Erika Beras
Apr 20, 2018
Developers have put up new rental units to attract tech workers. But many are sitting empty.
Tight labor market, tight … jeans?
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Erika Beras
Apr 19, 2018
It’s a tight labor market out there – so in a quest to attract workers, Walmart is trying out something new – allowing workers on the stores’ floors to wear jeans and solid shirts in any color. The new policy is being tested in less than two dozen stores. Click the audio player above […]
Google watches as Mr. Zuckerberg goes to Washington
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Erika Beras
Apr 9, 2018
Google has had its own troubles as a tech giant in a brave new world, but this time, Facebook takes the heat. Click the audio player above to hear the full story.
Retailers worried about cuts to federal food stamp program
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Erika Beras
Apr 9, 2018
The Trump Administration is proposing to cut billions of dollars from the federal assistance program. People who need the food help will get less to spend, and stores will miss the revenue. Click the above audio player to hear the full story.
Higher steel costs are expected to become the new normal for manufacturers
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Erika Beras
Apr 6, 2018
Manufacturers will be clamoring for domestic steel to avoid paying the tariff, so sellers have the upper hand now, explained Emily Blanchard, a business professor at Dartmouth University.
What we don’t know about social media may hurt us
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Erika Beras
Apr 2, 2018
Lots of Facebook users have no real idea what happens to the data they share online.
In the drugstore business, “location, location, location” is all about convenience
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Erika Beras
Mar 28, 2018
Walgreens may shutter hundreds of Rite Aid stores this spring. The drugstore giant bought more than 1,900 stores from its rival last fall. And Walgreen says it still plans to close about a third of them. So what benefits will the company get from that plan? Click the audio player above to hear the full […]
Apple unveils a cheaper iPad aimed at conquering the classroom
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Erika Beras
Mar 27, 2018
It wasn’t that many years ago that Apple’s devices dominated classrooms, but now they are third behind Google’s Chromebook and Microsoft’s Surface. And the $7 billion education market isn’t the only thing at stake. Click the audio player above to hear the full story.