Marketplace®

Daily business news and economic stories

Olie D'Albertanson

Latest from Olie D'Albertanson

  • Boeing and Airbus might have a new rival: China
    Mike Clarke/AFP via Getty Images

    China’s nascent civilian plane-making industry notched a recent win when the Comac C919, the country’s first domestically-produced passenger jet, carried a cabin full of passengers for the first time. We look at what that could mean for the established aviation duopoly of Boeing and Airbus. Plus, this week should be no short of economic news, according to Julia Coronado, president of MacroPolicy Perspectives. And, a look at how initiatives to address homelessness are being slowed by a lack of government funding. 

    Read MoreDownload
  • Finding Your Place: How unaffordable housing drives homelessness
    Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    If there’s been a defining trend in American cities thus far in the 21st century, it’s been the rise of housing prices to astronomical levels. That’s also meant a huge increase in the number of people who aren’t able to afford a place to live, according to Gregg Colburn, a professor at the University of Washington who co-authored the book “Homelessness Is a Housing Problem: How Structural Factors Explain U.S. Patterns.” We spoke with him as part of our new “Finding Your Place” series exploring the reality of homelessness in America. And finally, the debt ceiling deal struck over the weekend faces a legislative test in Congress.

    Read MoreDownload
  • iPhone manufacturer hikes pay ahead of new model launch
    Getty Images

    From the BBC World Service: Ahead of the launch of a new iPhone model, Apple supplier Foxconn is ramping up efforts to recruit more workers for the world’s largest iPhone factory. Delegates from 175 countries are meeting in Paris for a major conference on ending plastic pollution. In Portugal, the housing crisis is getting worse, despite new government measures to try to control it; in Lisbon, the average rent is now three times the minimum wage.

    Read MoreDownload
  • Now that there’s a debt deal, what does it need to pass?
    Drew Angerer/Getty Images

    President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced this weekend that they had struck an agreement on raising the nation’s debt ceiling in exchange for spending cuts over the next two years. We look at what’s in the joint proposal, and why its passage in Congress may involve wrangling the votes of holdout legislators. Plus, one factor that’s contributing to rising rents and house prices are demographic trends, including more people living alone. And, a look at how Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” film is boosting businesses that make “real” mermaid tails. 

    Read MoreDownload
  • Memorial Day travel is up, but RV sales aren’t
    Scott Olson/Getty Images

    It’s Memorial Day, which means lots and lots of people across the country are on the move in their cars and campers. But even as the holiday travel season is expected to break records, sales of new RVs are not following suit. Plus, Turkish President Erdogan has won a second term in office following a runoff election on Sunday. And finally, we talk with the BBC’s Will Bain about what the CEO of Binance, one of the major crypto trading firms, had to say about the future of regulation in the digital currency space. 

    Read MoreDownload
  • President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won another term in office
    getty images

    From the BBC World Service: Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan has secured another five years in power. We look at what went on during Sunday’s election. It’s the 70th anniversary of the first successful ascent of Mount Everest, but you’ll need a lot of cash to follow in the footsteps of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. Despite Lebanon’s economy being in disarray, the club scene in its capital, Beirut is still going strong.

    Read MoreDownload
  • Inflation rose again. Will that sway the Fed on rates?
    Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    The Fed’s interest rate fight just got more complicated — the central bank’s preferred gauge of inflation indicated that prices rose 0.4% last month, a speed-up from the previous month that saw a 0.1% increase. We talk to Christopher Low, chief economist at FHN Financial, about what that could mean for interest rates. And finally, a look at how drag show businesses in Nashville are doing amid the state’s attempted crackdown.  

    Read MoreDownload
  • Hopes rising in Washington for a done debt deal
    Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

    The deadline for Congress to raise the debt ceiling is fast approaching, but if signals from top Congressional Republicans and the Biden administration are to be believed, a deal may be imminent. We look at the latest developments in the saga. Plus, schools are on the frontline of what the Surgeon General called social media’s harmful effects on young people. And finally, there’s a whole industry around mock-up mermaid tails that’s getting a boost from Disney’s The Little Mermaid film releasing today. 

    Read MoreDownload
  • President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
    Getty Images

    From the BBC World Service: Voters in Turkey head to the polls on Sunday for a runoff second-round presidential election. We look at the likelihood of a win for incumbent President Erdogan. Plus, pasta prices in Italy have soared over the past year due to high energy costs, bad weather and supply chain disruption; but there may be some good news on the horizon.

    Read MoreDownload
  • In most cities, you’re better off renting than buying a place
    Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

    The conventional wisdom of old said that more often than not, buying a place to live is cheaper than renting. That’s no longer the case except for four major U.S. cities — Detroit, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Houston. We look at how housing prices have gotten so high and why they’re likely to stay elevated. Plus, the AI boom is driving up demand for microchips, but there are still barriers the industry faces like geopolitical tensions and supply chains. And finally, the BBC reports on a proposal in Spain to subsidize bars in rural towns, which often serve as a community social hubs in the countryside.

    Read MoreDownload
Olie D'Albertanson