Week of March 6th, 2017

We got the jobs numbers for the first full month of the Trump administration today: 235,000 jobs, and 4.7 percent unemployment. We’ll talk about what that means in the Weekly Wrap, and then look at the folks who still cant’ find work as we near “full employment.” Plus, oil’s public image problems and one very expensive field trip.

Trump cast doubt on government data repeatedly and without evidence during the campaign.

Under a new administration, this extraction-industry town feels revitalized.

Every four years, the North Carolina school sends undergraduates to on an art-acquisition trip.

The U.S. buys more from China, Mexico and Russia than it sells. Here's a closer look at those relationships.

David Gura of Bloomberg and Leigh Gallagher of Fortune join us to discuss the week’s business and economic news. This week, they talk about opposition to the new GOP health care plan and details of President Donald Trump’s budget proposal.  

Blockchain's 'disruptive' potential excites the health care industry.

Almost 40 percent of U.S. coal is mined in Gillette, Wyoming. We’re reporting from Gillette this week, talking to the people who live there and what the economy feels like post-election. Plus, we go long and short on topics from the week’s news, talk health care and explore the market for California raisins. 

Expect a rate increase.

What we're reading right now: Poets and path dependence.

They cover the night Trump won the election…to the importance of the extraction industry for Wyoming.

It is all but certain that the Fed will raise short-term interest rates at its next meeting.

About 30 protesters and police officers were injured in the violent clashes near the court, according to officials.

Earlier this week, we looked at Wikileaks’ decision to release documents about the CIA’s alleged hacking practices. As experts still comb through the details, we’ll discuss what U.S. consumers should be thinking about their devices right now. Then to cap off today’s show, we’ll play this week’s Silicon Tally with Lemu Coker, a member of the open innovation team at Verizon. 

We’ll look at what to expect from this morning’s release of one of the most anticipated jobs reports in a long time. Next, we’ll discuss the ouster of South Korea’s president, and then explore what environmental policy might look like under the Trump administration.

1980s' push to deregulate the agency resembles the Trump administration's plans.

And why the message of the 'elites' vs. 'the common man' might be dangerous.

Journalist Douglas Starr says 'regulations are lagging behind the technology that we need.'

It's an economic disruption, sure, but not a negative one.

Trump's America-first rhetoric is behind the fall, experts say.

If you’re listening to our show in your car, or on the train, or while looking at a dam, we probably don’t need to tell you: American infrastructure is not great. In fact, thanks to the American Society of Civil Engineers’ annual report card, we know it’s just this side of failing: D+ this year. President Donald Trump has promised to fix the country’s infrastructure in part with tax incentives and public-private partnerships. We’ll look at how that works. Then: We’ve learned more about how Trump plans to fund his big defense boost: by cutting about $6 billion from Housing and Urban Development. Plus, a commercial drone industry begets an anti-drone industry.

The grade: D+. But there were a few categories improved upon.

Businesses and employees are stressed about the hate crime and Trump's travel ban.

Several power players in the health care industry disagree with the House GOP plan to replace Obamacare. We’ll look at some of the issues they have with the proposal. Afterwards, the Economist’s Paris bureau chief, Sophie Pedder, will join us to discuss where France’s leading presidential candidates stand on various economic issues. And finally, we’ll explore the return of house flipping and what the practice says about America’s housing market.

The U.K. voted to leave the EU last June in a turbulent move. Will we see similar changes in France?

Exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, allow investors to put money into a lot of companies at once. Now the Securities and Exchange Commission is deciding whether to approve a new Bitcoin-back ETF, which could help legitimize the digital currency. Georgetown University’s James Angel dropped by to discuss whether he thinks investing in the fund would be a worthwhile investment. Afterwards, we’ll talk about the connection between smart devices and first amendment rights, and then look at a chatbot that can help asylum seekers in the U.S. 

Many say they’re feeling public scrutiny now more than ever.

Companies are betting that Trump will follow through with promised tax cuts and deregulation.

Ed Fryar says he's 'watchful' but not worried about the recent avian flu outbreak in Tennessee.

S0me Republicans want major changes to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The National Confectioners Association is meeting in a Trump hotel to craft their plan for lobbying Trump.

Yesterday we talked about how important but difficult it is for the government to figure out what the Republican’s health care reform bill will cost. Now the bill is getting amendments and rewrites, and the GOP is trying to fast-track that process. Plus, the future of a consumer watchdog under President Donald Trump, and the money his resort is getting from Big Candy.

Black women get paid 65 cents for every dollar non-Hispanic white men get paid, while Hispanic women earn 59 cents.

30 years ago, Fresno County was famous for its dried fruit. Today, growers are pulling up their vineyards.

The heavy-equipment company says it has the “highest integrity.”

New documents from Wikileaks appear to reveal the number of ways that the CIA may be using previously unknown tech vulnerabilities to do things like spy on citizens. Security expert Tiffany Rad, founder and CEO of Anatrope, discusses how the security industry is reacting to this news. Next, we’ll look at why a German court sided with Facebook in a defamation case brought forth by a Syrian refugee. 

The Chinese telecom firm ZTE has been hit with a $1.2 billion fine from the U.S. for selling technology to Iran and North Korea. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams reports on how tricky things can get for businesses in with our increasingly global economy. We’ll also explore why the restaurant industry has been hit with challenging times, and then look at a potential crisis at Caterpillar. The manufacturer is reeling after investigators raided the company’s headquarters last week.

For our Spring 2020 survey: The Marketplace-Edison Research Survey is a national survey of Americans 18 and older. A total of 1,018 respondents were interviewed, with 500 interviews conducted by telephone and 518 interviews conducted online. The interviews were conducted from April 23-28, 2020. The data was weighted to match the most recent United States […]

Kurt Loudenback of successful Grand Prairie Foods employs a mostly refugee and migrant workforce.

This ABC show is what you might expect for a network comedy. Or it was, until Donald Trump got elected.

The companies that are being screened out include those that are vocal about lesbian, gay and transgender issues.

AEI president argues that the poor need an American culture that values them.

The Congressional Budget Office figures the price of new legislation and tries to predict behavioral changes.

All the punditry flying today about the Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act boils down to a couple essential questions: How many people will it cover, and what will it cost? Figuring that out will fall to the Congressional Budget Office, which uses modeling to try and predict the bill’s effects. But when you’re messing with nearly a fifth of the American economy, that’s complex work. Plus, a look at America’s “dignity gap” and what happens when a family sitcom runs straight into the political moment.

Lyft’s co-founder and president, John Zimmer, won’t mention his company’s main competitor by name. Spoiler alert: It’s Uber. But he is willing to say, “We’ve talked about being profitable next year, we feel very confident in that. We even think there’s the likely scenario that we will be the first U.S. ride-share player to be […]

American exporters have struggled over the past couple of years because of a rising dollar.

Author Daniel Levitin shares tips on how to navigate an environment filled with 'fake news.'

We’ll look at a Samsung scandal involving one of the company’s top executives, who’s about to go on trial as part of a larger corruption investigation involving the South Korean government. Afterwards, we’ll chat with Slate’s Will Oremus about how Twitter’s algorithm affects the way we consume news.

We’ll look at a new proposal from House Republicans to replace Obamacare; a lawsuit that will test whether detained immigrants can be forced to work as so-called “volunteers”; and the debut of biblically responsible exchange-traded funds. 

BBC correspondent Rami Ruhayem says Iraqis are relieved by the new executive order as refugees flood camps near Mosul.

Administrators say the upcoming “A Day Without a Woman" event will cause a staffing shortage.

Why do seemingly identical brands go by different names in other regions?

Big jury verdicts have made Missouri a target for tort reform.

You may have noticed the president of the United States tweeted this weekend. We’re not going to talk about those unsubstantiated claims today, except to note that when Donald Trump tweets, he’s usually trying to distract from less favorable news. News like the 1,100 or so Senate-approved jobs he has to fill, or the new executive order on travel restrictions for six countries (not seven, like the last ban that stalled out in federal court). We’ll cover both stories. Plus, we’ll answer the age-old question: Why are Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s near-identical restaurants with two different names?

Iraqi citizens have been dropped from the ban.

We're spending two hours a day reading or talking about issues on the job, a survey finds.

South by Southwest Edu, a conference where educators will get together to reimagine the future of the classroom, kicks off today. Devorah Heitner, author of “Screenwise,” joined us to discuss the role of tech in education and how parents can teach their children in the digital age. Also in the world of learning: we’ll chat with computing science professor Michael Bowling about why we use games to test artificial intelligence’s abilities. 

General Motors is selling its European car business in a $2.3 billion deal. The BBC’s Jonty Bloom explains how this deal reshape the auto industry in Europe. Afterwards, we’ll look at how President Trump’s immigration ban is affecting the U.S. tourism industry, and then explore the ways some regions are coping with a decline in psychiatric hospitals.