Meredith Garretson Morbey

Supervisory Senior Producer

Meredith is a supervisory senior producer at Marketplace.

Latest from Meredith Garretson Morbey

Mar 15, 2022
Gas tax suspensions are on the table
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill and in states across the country are considering temporary suspensions of various gas taxes. The idea is to drive prices down at the pump, and it has support from Republicans and some Democrats. Plus, why California gas prices always seem to be the highest in the U.S. Also, what the falling price of crude oil means for the global economy. And, Russia’s reliance on foreign technology is revealed after sanctions cut the country off from parts, repair and know-how sourced from around the world.
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Mar 15, 2022
Russia can’t just shut off its natural gas supplies
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Forty percent of Europe’s natural gas comes from Russia. And last week, Moscow warned it could turn off the gas to Europe in response to sanctions and Germany nixing the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline that circumvents Ukraine. But that threat is easier to make than it is to actually carry out. Natural gas production and delivery just doesn’t quite work that way. Plus, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has signed a law allowing the country’s airlines to hang onto airliners leased from European companies, in violation of international sanctions. Hundreds of leased planes are in limbo.
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Mar 15, 2022
War, COVID and politics send global markets sliding
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
From the BBC World Service: European stocks fell in early trading, following a sharp sell-off across Asian markets. Chinese investors are worried by the impact of further full-city COVID-19 lockdowns, a regulatory crackdown on tech companies and what approach Beijing takes to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Plus, fresh European Union sanctions against Russia target the luxury goods, energy and defense sectors. And, as Poland welcomes Ukrainian refugees, some border towns are calling for more resources.
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Mar 14, 2022
War in Ukraine complicates the world’s wheat situation
Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images
Ukraine and Russia account for nearly a third of all global wheat exports. And as you might expect, wheat prices have been soaring thanks to Russia’s war in Ukraine. So what can be done to increase supplies and tamp down prices? From the BBC, China is dealing with some new threats on the COVID front, and its markets are acting accordingly. We also check in on Maine, where there’s concern that vast fields of solar panels are going to take up too much space for farmland.
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Mar 14, 2022
It’s interest-rate week at the Federal Reserve
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This week, we’ll hear from the Federal Reserve about its plans for interest rates. After a two-day meeting, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will have a press conference Wednesday. The Fed is expected to raise interest rates, and it’s a decision that affects everyone. As financial markets react to the Russia-Ukraine war, they also tell us things about economic and geopolitical risk. From the BBC, we hear about a Ukrainian-born, award-winning chef who has transformed her East London kitchen into an aid center to help family and friends in Ukraine.
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Mar 14, 2022
Stocks in China and Hong Kong fall with fresh COVID-19 lockdown worries
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From the BBC World Service: Statistics suggest that the number of COVID-19 cases so far this year in China exceed the total number reported for 2021. But it’s not just the pandemic that’s worrying markets. Plus, America’s largest natural gas producer believes the US can play a much bigger role in providing global energy security. And, for Ukrainians living abroad, fundraising and sending aid to their loved ones in a war zone isn’t easy.
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Mar 11, 2022
Let’s compare central bank notes about the U.S., Europe
Karen Bleier/AFP via Getty Images
Interest rates are making headlines in Europe, as the European Central Bank announced this week that it’s going to keep rates steady for now – but is prepared to move them higher. In the U.S., the Federal Reserve is set to raise interest rates next week. Marketplace’s Nancy Marshall-Genzer and the BBC’s Victoria Craig team up for a discussion about the approaches of both central banks. The people overseeing fracking operations are running into shortages on all fronts.
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Mar 11, 2022
Into the “social death” of the Russian oligarchy
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
The Western sanctions on Russia’s wealthy elite have raised a variety of questions that range from who these people are to the effectiveness of the sanctions. We spoke to Dartmouth sociologist Brooke Harrington, who argues in a new piece for The Atlantic that the sanctions represent an existential threat for Russia’s elite — and, by proxy, the Kremlin itself. Consumer sentiment has dropped to lows not seen since the 70s and 80s, yet spending remains strong. What gives? The dating app Tinder has added a background check feature that allows users to see if a possible date has a criminal past.
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Mar 11, 2022
Worries emerge for Ukraine’s upcoming planting season
From the BBC World Service: One of Ukraine’s biggest food producers says that Russian advances could prevent Ukrainian farmers from planting this year’s wheat and grain seeds. On the two-year anniversary of COVID-19 being declared a pandemic, China locks down a city of 9 million and a new study suggests that the global death toll could be three times higher than official records indicate.
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Mar 10, 2022
The federal government is officially getting into cryptocurrency
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Earlier this week, President Biden signed an executive order on cryptocurrencies, directing federal agencies to focus regulatory attention on six areas, protecting U.S. consumers and mitigating the risk of illicit activity. It also called for “urgency” around research and development efforts into a possible central bank digital currency (CBDC). For more, we spoke to Ari Redbord, head of legal and government affairs at TRM Labs, a cryptocurrency compliance firm. Congress has overhauled the U.S. Postal Service, but what kind of effects can actual postal workers expect? Diane Swonk wades through market activity with us.
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