Week of July 3rd, 2017

US guidance has been a constant at the economic gathering. That's not the case this year.

We check in on the employer side of the minimum wage debate to see how policies impact businesses.

PhishMe simulates scams as a way to train people what not to click on.

Millions of kids attend camps, which increasingly have to offer more than just color wars and swimming lessons to win customers

If you could have any part of another country's health care system, what would it be?

The 2018 proposed budget calls for cutting the $300 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

Box office takes are dwindling this summer, and minimum wages are rising across the country. We’ll talk about both this week. Plus: the ever-expanding electric vehicle market, a look at global health care and student loan debt. 

It's green, but the infrastructure's not all there yet.

We always enjoy Jobs Friday, and this was an especially good one: About 222,000 people got jobs across all kinds of industries last month, and unemployment ticked up a hair because more people are out looking for work. The one black mark on this month’s report was wages. Average hourly earnings were barely up in June, and it’s the latest in a line of tepid monthly increases. That just isn’t the way things are supposed to be working right now. We’ll talk about why and break down the rest of the jobs report in the Weekly Wrap. With President Trump at the G-20 this weekend, trade’s on the table, too. Plus: the business of summer camp.

But wage growth is still lagging.

With the world’s economic leaders meeting this week, we’ll talk about the future of global trade. The U.S. may impose harsher trade restrictions, which could lead European countries to retaliate. Afterwards, we’ll look at some in-demand jobs in this near full-employment economy, and then discuss Hilton’s decision to launch a new low-cost hotel brand called Tru. 

A prepaid debit card program with a savings plan called the Vault links prizes to savings.

Sarah Kunst, founder and CEO of sports media company Proday, said hiring more women is only the start.

The tech industry has been rocked yet again by revelations about a culture of sexual harassment and unwanted advances. Sarah Kunst, founder and the CEO of the sports media company Proday, joined us to talk about these issues and what companies can do to prevent them. Plus: We play this week’s Silicon Tally with David Gura, the co-host of Bloomberg Surveillance and the anchor for Bloomberg Television.

Truck companies have turned to technology to ensure employees drive safely.

Once a hip indie enclave, the street went upmarket when high-end chains moved in. Then they left.

The ancient clay cuneiform tablets from Iraq have a "muddy" provenance.

John Nese of Galco's Soda Pop Stop in Los Angeles shares the history of his store and the soda it sells.

The G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, and the street protests happening alongside it are the big global political story. But it’s really an economic story, about the winners and losers in global trade. With that in mind, we’re starting with the Commerce Department today and the news that the trade deficit fell last month. It’s President Trump’s favorite, if misguided, economic metrics, but this drop was more about the dollar than anything else. Then: Hobby Lobby is paying a $3 million fine and handing over a bunch of smuggled antiquities today as part of a bizarre story that broke yesterday. We’ll get you caught up on everything. Plus: A merging of two home shopping giants that could create a giant in retail, period.

While the world watches Trump and Putin's body language, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is reportedly preparing to clash with the American president.

By now, you’ve probably seen the video of President Donald Trump beating up a man with the CNN logo superimposed on his face. The whole controversy got us thinking about memes: can someone own a meme? Can it be copyrighted? Corynne McSherry, legal director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, stopped by to break it all down for us. Afterwards, we’ll chat with Enigma CEO Hicham Oudghiri about his company’s service, which promises to be a powerful tool for accessing and understanding publicly available data sets. 

President Trump will soon attend his first G20 Summit, a gathering between representatives from the world’s 20 largest economies. There’s a lot to unpack: it will not only be the first meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin as global leaders, but many are expecting tension between Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel because of their stances on climate change and free trade. After we talk about what’s in store for the summit, we’ll look at two economic indicators that have been performing well lately: consumer confidence and home prices. Then, we’ll discuss how the Disney Channel can survive the new era of cord-cutting.

Paying with bills and coins is "a combination of cost cost, convenience cost and time cost," researcher says.

The U.S. is at close to full employment, but companies are getting pickier and less responsive at the same time.

A young working professional still thinks owning a home is part of the American Dream

We call up an expert to help us make sense of the Senate bill's text.

It’s not exactly beach reading, but it’s not the Fourth of July anymore either. Congress is back from recess next week and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has his sights on reworking and then passing his party’s health care bill. Here’s the thing though: reading the bill’s 142 pages is really tough unless you’re an expert. So we called one. Then: President Trump tweeted Monday that gas prices are the lowest they’ve been in a decade and he’d like to see them go lower. Because facts matter: they’re low, but not that low, and the full picture of what “cheap gas” means is a lot more complicated. Plus, for many people it’s easier than ever to get by in this economy without carrying any currency. So what’s the future of cash look like?

Spam's glorious birthday is July 5th.

Volvo will launch several electric models in the near future.

The choke point is home building — which is in turn constrained by limited availability of land, building loans and skilled construction workers.

By 2019, all of Volvo’s new cars will have electric motors. We’ll take a look at some of the reasons behind the company’s big move, which include a commitment to lower carbon emissions. Afterwards, we’ll explain why President Trump’s first stop will be Poland on his multi-country trip to Europe, and then talk about the imbalance between housing demand and housing supply.

You’ve probably heard of the Amazon Echo and Google Home, but what about the DingDong? Or the Little Fish? Turns out there are a series of smart speakers that are specifically designed for Chinese buyers. And Alibaba, the e-commerce behemoth based in China, wants in on that market. On today’s show, we’ll discuss how much of a threat the company’s new device could pose to Google and Amazon, and then examine some of the challenges associated with Chinese-language voice assistants. Plus: A look at the world of video-game modding.

As a toddler, Cheri Irwin modeled for her mother. It made her rear-end famous.

A Pew Research survey shows that positive attitudes toward the U.S. have declined from 64 percent approval during Barack Obama’s presidency to 49 percent in 2017. President Trump as individual scored lower with the international community, 22 percent of people have confidence in him to do the right thing in international affairs. We’ll talk about the USA brand and the upcoming G-20 summit as the President is faced with the news of a longer-range missile tests out of North Korea. Also on today’s show: The business of making Spider-Man. Marketplace’s Adriene Hill talks to the writers of the upcoming movie “Spider-Man: Homecoming.”

Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley say it’s more about teen angst than a grown-up Spidey.

Heinz brand manager helps us understand how Heinz got where it is — and settles once and for all whether hot dogs are sandwiches.

Why do we love hot dogs so much?

The state has a new law to boost the music business, but it might have trouble finding artists.

Natural gas is billed as a cleaner-burning energy than coal, but leaks during production erode that advantage.

Just in case there was any doubt.

Though it’s not quite the no. 1 player in wind energy, the U.S. has invested pretty heavily in this sector. On today’s show, we’ll discuss how the U.S. is faring in this business on a global scale. Afterwards, we’ll talk about how methane leaks could undermine the cleanliness of natural gas, and then look at how tight budgets across the U.S. are affecting fireworks shows. 

Microsoft has increased its focus on cloud computing, and there are rumors that thousands could be laid off in its plans to reorganize. What direction is Microsoft trying to go, and can it compete with the likes of Amazon? Rob Enderle, principal analyst at Enderle Group, stopped by chat with us about the tech giant’s future. Afterwards, we’ll look at IBM Watson’s latest appearance: the Wimbledon courts as part of the All England Lawn Tennis Club tournament. Watson’s tech will measure different data to create highlight reels — which IBM says will take half the time of human video-highlight editors. 

The program has been at the center of the fight over health care, and one little-noticed target would be schools.

When deciding on which school to go to, safety from detainment or deportation is likely to tip the balance.

'This is an avenue for even some folks with college degrees.'

In Georgia, the name of a child eligible for the weighted school lottery can be entered up to five times.

Weber's 'brand godfather' spent his career building 'barbecue culture around the world.'

We know, we know: It’s the height of summer vacation, but sadly policy waits for no one. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has made school choice a priority, and charter schools are one pillar of that choice. But as charters become more popular, it’s becoming apparent that the choice isn’t being applied equally, and that’s re-segregating some school districts. Plus, millions of students will head to college this fall, including an unknown number of undocumented students. Being a first-generation college student is tough, but undocumented status complicates things on another level. We’ll talk with a few students about what they’re going through. Plus, the latest news from Tesla, and just in time for the holiday weekend, a conversation with a professional grill master.

Illinois isn't the only state with budget woes.

Pent-up demand from the Great Recession has been mostly fulfilled.

More people are traveling to Native American land for vacations. Tribal tourism is a $8.6 billion industry and growing.

One person's disappointment is another's success.

A baseball pulls up trips to Chicago, home of the Cubs.

The start of this month was supposed to mark a new budget year in most states, but about 10 still have yet to pass their budgets. We’ll discuss why they missed their deadlines, and what the delay means for state services. Afterwards, we’ll take a look at how potential Medicaid cuts could affect one little-noticed target: schools. Plus: A brief tour of Sweden’s Museum of Failure. For $10 you can marvel at Colgate TV dinners or some Harley-Davidson perfume. 

An estimated 44.2 million Americans are expected to travel around this Fourth of July, which is causing traffic on travel websites to soar. One of ’em: KAYAK, a service that allows customers to search for the best travel deals out there. Co-founder Steve Hafner stopped by to talk to us about the company’s relationship with Google and how it tries to help users make smarter traveling choices. Afterwards, we’ll chat with inventor Kevin Wu about his new app, FireFly, which enables you to shoot off fireworks.