Week of November 12th, 2018

It’s been a year of transition for Wells Fargo after a series of scandals in its consumer banking business. The company’s paid billions of dollars in penalties and just announced it’s cutting 900 jobs in its mortgage division. The job cuts are part of a big restructuring plan the bank announced back in September, with […]

This week had a bit of it all — tumultuous Brexit negotiations, a swing in oil prices and conversations about shifts in currency — so we break it down in the Weekly Wrap. We also talk about Apple’s new partnership with A24 (of “Moonlight” and “Lady Bird” fame) alongside the news of mortgage lenders like Wells Fargo laying off employees. Then, in our latest segment of How We Changed, we talk to a woman with a master’s degree in puppet arts from the University of Connecticut. Lastly, how empty storefronts are helping form the new “retail desert.”

(Markets edition) It’s that time of year again — no, not the holidays. Soon, lawmakers will once more contemplate the country’s debt ceiling and decide whether or not we have an ever-impending government shutdown. Hemp farmers hope the new farm bill will decriminalize the crop, which is now lumped in with marijuana under federal law. And Japan Airlines will start giving its pilots breathalyzer tests at international airports after one of their own was found to be nine times over the legal limit at Heathrow. Plus, scientists have found a more precise measurement for the kilogram that’s not based on a hunk of metal under glass in France, but what does the change mean for everyone else? Today’s show is sponsored by the Alliance for Lifetime Income, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Paypal and American Express.

As trade tensions continue to brew between the U.S. and China, southeast Asian countries who attended the ASEAN conference in Singapore this week might be forced to pick a side. The FDA has proposed a ban on menthol cigarettes, but what does that mean for the Black community, whom tobacco companies for years targeted with the mint-flavored smokes? And how “peace engineering” is marrying technology and ethics. Today’s show is sponsored by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

(Global Edition) From the BBC World Service… As big businesses brace for Brexit, Rolls Royce’s chief executive says contingency plans are in place in case no final agreement is reached before the divorce deadline in March. Japan Airlines announced all of its pilots will be subject to breath tests for alcohol in international airports after one of its pilots was found to have nine times the local maximum limit at London’s Heathrow airport. Black and white TV still has a market, and it’s about more than just nostalgia. And how the way a kilogram is officially measured might soon change.

The data analytics company Palantir is reportedly considering going public. Palantir is the company co-founded by controversial Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel, formerly of PayPal. It’s named after an all-seeing artifact in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The company promises police departments, governments, even the IRS, that it can take in huge amounts of data and make artificial intelligence-informed guesses to help track down criminals and cheats, among other things. In a secret pilot program in New Orleans, Palantir tech even tried to predict when crime would happen or who might be a victim. But lately its huge $20 billion valuation is in doubt and privacy activists are concerned about its tactics. Molly Wood talks about it with Mark Harris, a reporter who’s covered Palantir for Wired magazine. Today’s show is sponsored by Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.  

Nahhhh. With the holidays right around the corner, and ads inundating our collective consciousness, we try to figure out why deals are everywhere. But first, the British pound has fallen nearly 2 percent against the dollar amid shaky Brexit negotiations. What exactly are the markets trying to tell us? Then: a story about the state of temporary work in the years before and after the Great Recession. Also, one journalist (and mother) on how history, the economy and race have shaped American motherhood.

Whether you credit the president or the Fed for the country’s booming economy, there is one indicator that things are going well: clothing sales. The digital age deals another blow to the U.S. Postal Service. And we talk to the author of “The Global Economy as You’ve Never Seen It” about visualizing the way supply chains and money work. Today’s show is sponsored by Forex  and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

Two members of British PM Theresa May’s cabinet have resigned following a tentative Brexit agreement with the European Union. What does the potential of leaving the E.U. without a deal mean for their respective economies? How brick and mortar stores are competing with giant online retailers. And why all those dollar stores might not be selling things for just a dollar for much longer. Today’s show is sponsored by Forex  and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

(Global Edition) From the BBC World Service… Several members of the U.K.’s government have resigned the day after a long-awaited draft outlining Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union was agreed upon by Prime Minister Theresa May and Brussels. The news dampened British business and the value of the pound. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks exclusively to us at the ASEAN summit in Singapore about the importance of free trade between countries as a trade spat continues between two of the world’s biggest economies: the U.S. and China. And we could see growing instability in how much we pay for our food, according to a new report. Today’s show is sponsored by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

Only about 1 percent of venture capital-backed startup founders are black, according to CB Insights data. Even fewer are black women or Latino. There’s not a lot of age diversity and geographic diversity, and underrepresented founders don’t always have access to the networks or training programs that can help them get startup funding. Mandela Dixon is a former public school teacher and startup founder, and she was a mentor for entrepreneurs at the VC firm Kapor Capital. About a year ago, she created Founder Gym, which is an online-only training program for underrepresented, would-be startup founders. Host Molly Wood talked with her at the AfroTech conference last week in San Francisco.

There’s a Brexit deal … we think. What happens next? What sticking points have held up the process? We talk to Marketplace’s Stephen Beard about whether or not the May administration will be able to close the deal with the European Union. Then, a follow up to our reporting yesterday looking at the auto bailout 10 years later. This time, we look at how the financial crisis transformed the economy of Kenosha,Wisconsin. Plus, we’ll talk to AEG CEO Dan Beckerman for this installment of Corner Office. 

(Markets edition) There’s no cause for alarm just yet as inflation remains stable ahead the Federal Reserve’s anticipated interest rate hike. Germany’s economy shrank for the first time in years thanks to new auto emissions standards, but don’t worry. They’re doing fine. Plus, the U.S. is capitalizing as at least one European country starts to wean itself off Russia’s natural gas. Today’s show is sponsored by Gobble, LinkedIn Sales Navigator and Forex.

In 2016, Britain voted to exit the European Union but had no actual plans on how to do it. Now, Prime Minister Theresa seems to have reached an agreement with Brussels on Brexit, and she faces a showdown with her cabinet on the deal. Plus, why the plight of temporary workers in the auto industry has echoes of the American civil rights movement. Today’s show is sponsored by Gobble and LinkedIn Sales Navigator. 

(Global Edition) From the BBC World Service… It’s crunch time for Britain’s Prime Minister as she seeks support for a draft deal on Brexit. After months of negotiating, Theresa May has finally secured agreement from Brussels on a plan for how the UK will leave the European Union. Also, Germany’s economy shrank for the first time since 2015. We’ll be in Frankfurt to hear what the car industry has to do with it. And why are women awarded just a quarter of the prize money men receive at the very top of world chess? A former child master tells us the sport needs to change. Today’s show is sponsored by Gobble  and LinkedIn Sales Navigator. (11/14/2018)

Black millennials are tech savvy, influential and spending about a $162 billion a year, according to a 2016 Nielsen study. And yet, black people are incredibly underrepresented in tech and media. Enter Blavity, a digital lifestyle brand for millennials of color. It started in 2014 and raised $6.5 million in venture funding earlier this year. Blavity’s founders say its advantage is its community members. They’ll pay to come to events, and companies will pay to interact with them. Jeff Nelson is a co-founder and chief technical officer at Blavity. Marketplace Tech’s Molly Wood met him last week at one of those events, the AfroTech conference in San Francisco, which was born out of Blavity’s tech news site. (11/14/18)

The wait is over — Amazon finally announced its new headquarter locations. They are near two major metropolitan areas: Crystal City, Virginia, just across the Potomac from Washington, D.C., and Long Island City in Queens, just across the East River from Manhattan. We’ll be taking a look at what happens to housing and rent prices when Amazon moves in. Then, later in the show, we’ll talk about what’s next for the places that weren’t chosen. Plus: Ten years ago, the government bailed out the auto industry partially on behalf of the workers. A decade on, how have those auto jobs fared? We check in on the bailouts that were meant to save the economy of Toledo, Ohio.

(Markets edition) What’s causing the latest, wild swings in the financial markets? China has a lot to do with it. Plus, Facebook and France work together to crack down on hate speech. A hipster favorite might be in jeopardy as Coors threatens to put the kibosh on PBR. And, how digital billboards can do targeted advertising on the road. Today’s show is sponsored by Forex and the Alliance for Lifetime Income.

Part of the reason there’s a backlash against Big Tech these days is because some of these companies are so big. They’re big in terms of users (see: Facebook’s 2 billion plus), big in valuation (Amazon and Apple have both topped a trillion dollars) and big in market share (more than 90 percent of all web searches happen on Google). The United States is taking baby steps toward possible regulation. Europe is taking more like Paul Bunyan-sized steps. But critics like Tim Wu argue these companies should have been slowed down long ago. Marketplace Tech’s Molly Wood talks with Wu, author of the new book, “The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age.” (11/13/18)

Ten years ago the U.S. auto industry, from parts makers all the way to dealers, was on the brink of collapse. The government spent $80 billion to bail out GM and Chrysler, which has since been repaid with interest. The deal saved plants and jobs across the upper midwest, but not all of them. Today we’ll head to Dayton, Ohio, where thousands of jobs were lost and a Chinese glass supplier set up shop. But first: Nobody said a lame-duck Congress has to be all that lame — returning lawmakers have a lot to do, including avoiding a partial government shutdown. Today’s show is sponsored by Forex, Alliance For Lifetime Income and Paypal.

(Global Edition) From the BBC World Service… Banking giant Goldman Sachs’ involvement in Malaysia’s long-running 1MDB corruption scandal has bought up old questions about banking culture. Italy’s controversial new government is adamant that it will make no changes to its rejected budget on the eve of another budget deadline. The world’s largest recruitment drive is underway in India, as the Indian Railway network seeks 100,000 new staff from millions of applicants. Today’s show is sponsored by Forex and the Alliance For Lifetime Income.

By now we don’t have to remind you that the stock market is not the economy, but we’ll give you some more context for today’s decline. Also on today’s show: One of the most influential companies you probably never heard of is going public. The mobile division of Japanese conglomerate Softbank is vying for an IPO. That’s a big deal for American companies, including Uber, Slack and WeWork. Then: About 70 percent of online shopping carts are abandoned before purchase. Now e-commerce retailers are trying to figure out how to get shoppers to that last click. And we remember comic book genius Stan Lee. We talk to Gizmodo’s Evan Narcisse about Lee’s impact on pop culture. 

After years of negotiations, AmEx is finally primed to expand to China. But what’s a credit card company to do when everyone pays with stuff on their phones? But first, we’re still unpacking oil prices this morning — we’ll bring you the latest. Plus, a look at Floridas homeless senior citizens. They make up 10 percent of the state’s homeless population, and many of them are living out of their cars. Today’s show is sponsored by Forex, Alliance For Lifetime Income and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

Justin Miller served for 11 years in the U.S. Army and deployed twice to Iraq. After being medically retired, he suffered from severe PTSD. He almost became one of the 20 military veterans and active service members who die by suicide every day. But he was saved, in part, by a serendipitous phone call from his friend Chris Mercado, a fellow vet, who helped talk him back. Now Miller and Mercado have collaborated with a team to build the app, Objective Zero, using social networking technology to make those kinds of vital connections between veterans immediate and easily accessible. We talk about it with Miller. And we hear from the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Jason Owen about how the agency is developing its own apps to help veterans with their mental health. (11/09/18)

Why OPEC might cut the production of crude oil after a month of low prices. How Disney could pose a threat to Netflix with its foray into the streaming world. And as the Fed eyes raising interest rates for the fourth time this year, what it can learn from the Soviet Union’s nails….yes, nails. Today’s show is sponsored by Forex and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

(Global Edition) From the BBC World Service… Saudi Arabia has warned there will be an oversupply of oil next year if global production isn’t reduced by one million barrels a day. The Kingdom has promised to cut its own output next month.  We’ll hear what it means for consumers. Also, the biggest online sale in the world has taken place in China: $1 billion was spent in the first 85 seconds of Singles Day. And, as Brazil prepares for a new government to be inaugurated on January 1st, we hear from the country’s outgoing finance minister Eduardo Guardia. Today’s show is brought to you by Forex, and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.