Erika Soderstrom

Associate Producer

Erika works with a group of extraordinary producers to chase business and economic stories heard on “Marketplace Morning Report.”

Latest from Erika Soderstrom

Apr 26, 2023
Google sends mixed signals amid ad revenue slump
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Google’s parent company, Alphabet, reported higher-than-expected profits yesterday, leading to a big stock buyback being authorized by CEO Sundar Pichai. However, that’s a seemingly contradictory move to the extreme cost-cutting measures the company announced this year in response to a slowdown in ad revenue, including layoffs of over 12,000 employees. Plus, a look at how the airline industry is doing amid widespread delays and flight cancellations. And, why fire insurance is increasingly hard to come by for companies that conduct controlled burns to prevent wildfires.
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Apr 26, 2023
Could the United States dollar be dethroned?
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Why some countries are moving away from U.S. bucks.
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Apr 26, 2023
Turmoil at Fox News could — somehow — bring advertisers back
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The chaos at Fox News in recent weeks amid the sacking of Tucker Carlson and the Dominion legal settlement has cast a spotlight on the network, which would normally be unwanted. But the chaos may actually end up bringing advertisers who had previously fled when Tucker took over primetime. And, we talk about the musings of the U.S. dollar’s decline with Council on Foreign Relations expert Zongyuan Zoe Liu.
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Apr 26, 2023
Volvo CEO: Europe needs to hit the gas on green subsidies
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From the BBC World Service: The head of carmaker Volvo joins the Marketplace Morning Report and tells us Europe needs to work harder to implement green subsidies to counter the impact of the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. Plus, British American Tobacco has been handed a $635 million fine for selling cigarette materials to North Korea. And, we finish by heading to Portugal, which has become the unlikely European capital for bicycle manufacturing.
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Apr 25, 2023
First Republic reveals the severity of last month’s banking crisis
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The embattled First Republic Bank, which was nearly a casualty of the banking crisis that saw the collapse of three banks in early March, released earnings yesterday that showed the institution lost $100 billion in deposits due to panic among consumers. We look at what that says about First Republic and the wider banking sector. Plus, how the housing market is looking as home price increases continue to slow. And, we talked to Jean Twenge, professor of psychology at San Diego State University, about her new book “Generations,” which explores the differences between people of different age groups.
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Apr 25, 2023
Airlines are looking to reclaim their groove
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Airlines aren’t doing the hottest at the moment — just look at the headlines about Southwest’s latest spate of flight cancelations. According to Samuel Engel, senior vice president at the consultancy ICF, that’s been due to higher labor costs and a slowdown in highly-profitable business travel. Plus, tech sector results from some of the industry’s biggest companies are out soon, which will shed light on how the AI race is playing out. And, what a weakening U.S. dollar means for companies at home and abroad.
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Apr 25, 2023
Squid Game effect? Netflix doubles down on South Korean content
From the BBC World Service: Hoping to capitalize on the huge success of Squid Game, streaming service Netflix has announced that it is doubling its investment in Korean films and TV shows to $2.5 billion. Plus, is a fresh privatization drive coming to Russia as the head of a state-owned bank calls for extra investment? Russian economic analyst Alexandra Prokopenko gives us the details. And, the BBC’s Bernadette Kehoe looks at China’s plans to use 3D printing technology to construct buildings on the moon.
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Apr 24, 2023
How employer-sponsored health insurance can widen economic inequality
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Marketplace’s senior economics contributor breaks down the impact of employer-sponsored health insurance on college educated and non-college educated workers.
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Apr 24, 2023
A collective shrug from economists on recession odds
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A new survey out from the National Association for Business Economics that polled over 50 economists shows a collective “maybe” on whether respondents thought a recession will appear later this year. We chat with NABE president Julia Coronado about what the survey can tell us about the wider economy. Plus, we look at new power plant emissions guidelines to be proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency. And, senior economics contributor Chris Farrell talks about the health insurance inequality trends between people with and without college degrees.
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Apr 24, 2023
Car prices are falling, but there’s a catch for buyers
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Prices for new and used cars are finally falling, but prospective buyers may have another hurdle to overcome: rising rates on loans. We look at what that could mean for people who are looking to make their next big auto purchase. Plus, this year looks to be a hot one with the prospect of an “El Niño” weather event, which could affect the economy. And, how some people are using cryptocurrency to track criminals through the blockchain.
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