Week of January 14th, 2019

You’ve probably heard of H-1B visas. Those are the ones lots of tech firms use to bring in highly skilled workers from countries like India. Lesser-known but still vital to the economy are visas like the H-2A. Those are temporary, seasonal visas handed out to the people who help grow and harvest our food. Then there […]

Some financial institutions are offering interest-free loans and waiving late fees on mortgages and credit card payments for government workers who aren’t getting paid during the shutdown. That’s smart business because many of those workers will get their paychecks as soon as the government gets back to business. Click the audio player above to hear […]

Markets finally have something to trade on following fourth quarter earnings news. Is the new alliance between Ford and Volkswagen a sign of things to come for the greater automotive industry? And as the government shutdown creeps into different sectors of the economy, we look at its potential effect on the upcoming Super Bowl. Today’s show is sponsored by Indeed, SignNow and Wasabi Hot cloud Storage.

For some government workers, the shutdown might mean skipping bill payments and subsequent bad credit, and that could have implications on their security clearances. A fuel price hike has triggered deadly protests in Zimbabwe, prompting the government to cut off internet access. Plus, for all this talk about a trade war, the share of traded goods around the world looks like it’s shrinking. Today’s show is sponsored by Indeed, SignNow and Wasabi Hot cloud Storage.

During periods of economic uncertainty, many people look to what central bankers say as a forecast of what’s to come. In that spirit, we have Federal Reserve Gov. Lael Brainard on the show today to talk about the longest government shutdown in history. Then, why AT&T is pulling its ads from YouTube. Plus, as always, your recap of the week’s news from our analysts.

From the BBC World Service… German business leaders and politicians published an emotional letter in one of the U.K.’s biggest daily newspapers, making an emotional plea for Britain to stay in the E.U. We’ll hear from the organizer about what she hopes the letter will actually accomplish. Then, Bentley blows out the candles on its 100th birthday cake today, but as ultra-luxury goods go out of style, is there a place for tricked-out cars anymore? Plus, members’ clubs are becoming increasingly popular, but what do these venues offer business people looking to network?

It’s been a big story that tech companies are staying private longer. And there are fewer and fewer tech IPOs. It seemed like the drought was lifting: Uber and Lyft have filed for initial public offerings, and there were rumors that Airbnb, Pinterest and Slack might finally pull the trigger. But three weeks into 2019 and the Securities and Exchange Commission isn’t picking up the phone. The SEC lawyers and accountants who work on IPOs are shut down along with the government. And if this shutdown goes on much longer, the big names might be fine, but it could chill the whole tech IPO resurgence. Molly Wood talks about it with Corrie Driebusch, a reporter who covers markets for The Wall Street Journal. Today’s show is sponsored by Triple Byte_JD and Amazon Web Services.

Signet Jewelers, the company behind Kay Jewelers, Jared and Zales, is reporting weak holiday sales figures. Click the audio player above to hear the full story.

Microsoft is the latest tech giant to fund affordable housing projects in the white-hot real estate market where they are based. As part of a community building initiative in Seattle, Microsoft is pledging $475 million in low-interest loans to support housing construction projects over three years, with another $25 million marked for homelessness. There has […]

The rap superstar took to Instagram yesterday to make sure her followers were paying attention to the government shutdown: “this s**t is really f**king serious, bro.” She’s right! We’ll start the show by looking at the newly “essential” employees President Donald Trump sent back to work, and whether other federal workers might file for unemployment. Then: The USDA is trying to bring Big Dairy back to school lunches. Plus, about that 10-Year Challenge.

The government shutdown triggers a dearth of data. Congress aims to ban the sale of components to Chinese tech firms Huawei and ZTE amid spying concerns, and the move could hurt Americans’ buying power. Netflix has maintained its streaming supremacy, but competitors are trying to dethrone it. We take a brief look at the legacy of late investment giant Jack Bogle. Plus, what happens when AI technology teaches machines to learn our biases? Today’s show is sponsored by SignNow, Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage and Indeed.

Congress takes aim at some high-profile, Chinese tech companies over national security concerns. Financial institutions are catering to federal workers affected by the government shutdown. Plus, how the shutdown is affecting already backlogged immigration courts. Today’s show is sponsored by SignNow, Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage and Indeed.

From the BBC World Service… An update on the U.S.-China trade relations. Changing climate is threatening extinction for 60 percent of the world’s coffee species, new research shows. It’s not only a problem for your morning buzz, but also for nations like Ethiopia, whose economies depend on the multibillion-dollar coffee trade. Then, after three days of clashes between police and protesters in Zimbabwe, businesses have partially reopened, though public transport is thin, and a blackout is ongoing on social media. We’ll explain why the government doubled gas prices and how residents are dealing with the skyrocketing cost of living. Today’s show is sponsored by SignNow, Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage and Indeed.

Internet-connected doorbells with cameras built in are becoming very popular. Amazon-owned Ring is the best-known product. Google also has the Nest Hello. But the phenomenon of doorbell video has privacy experts worried. There’s the potential for misuse and abuse of these home surveillance devices by people who are shaming each other or labeling people as suspicious. And the companies that make them may have access to video at a level customers don’t understand. Molly Wood talks with Laura Norén, director of research at Obsidian Security. She says part of the problem is that owners of video doorbells are filming a lot more territory than the terms of service say they should. Today’s show is sponsored by the University of Florida Warrington College of Business and Indeed.

Most of the bankrupt retailer's creditors want it liquidated, but not former CEO Eddie Lampert.

With the partial government shutdown hurtling toward the one-month mark, companies are starting to long for a little old-fashioned government bureaucracy. Because while it may slow things down, without it, it’s pretty hard to get anything done. Click the audio player above to hear the full story.

With no end in sight to the partial government shutdown, some businesses are starting to miss the regulation that shielded them from risk. Then: The fallout from yesterday’s failed Brexit vote may not be isolated to Britain. We’ll look at how uncertainty could ripple through the global economy. Plus: partially autonomous car features have the potential to save lives, but using them improperly could cause more accidents.

British P.M. Theresa May’s Brexit plan went down in flames Tuesday, but the markets didn’t really seem to care. Ukrainian hackers made millions after breaking into the Securities Exchange Commission’s database. Plus, ahead of the World Economic Forum next week, a look at one of the world’s most pressing problems: trade tensions. And we take a quick look at Apple’s broken battery boon.

Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit plan gets rejected, so how does Britain move forward? Plus, we take a peek inside the world of lifestyle concierges, who cater to every whim of the wealthy and, every once in a while, the not-so-rich. Today’s show is sponsored by SignNow, Pitney Bowes and Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage.

From the BBC World Service… Britain’s prime minister suffered a much bigger-than-expected defeat on her Brexit proposal last night, a plan that took two years to negotiate with the E.U. So, now what? We hit the streets to talk to workers in the U.K.’s financial hub about what it all means for investors and the future of the economy. Then, how do you plan for an event that’s been dubbed the world’s biggest gathering of people in one of the most impoverished cities? We’ll take you to the Kumbh Mela festival in India to chat about the potential economic boost and how the organizers are preparing. Today’s show is sponsored by SignNow, Pitney Bowes and Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage.

In yesterday’s show we talked about how advertisers are not leaving Facebook. But lots of them are migrating from Facebook proper to another platform it owns: Instagram. One analyst estimates that ads on Instagram will account for 70 percent of Facebook’s new revenue by 2020. And the most exciting thing for the company is Stories, the little posts that expire after 24 hours. Instagram may have stolen the idea from Snapchat, but it’s working. There are even Stories on Facebook now. Mark Rabkin is vice president of ads and business platform at Facebook. In the second part of his conversation  with host Molly Wood, he says people are posting over a billion Stories a day, and advertisers better get on board. Today’s show is sponsored by Pitney Bowes and Indeed.

Netflix is raising its prices on all streaming plans in the United States for new and existing customers. The most popular streaming option will be about $13, up from $11. The last time we saw a price hike, CEO Reed Hastings said incremental increases are needed to cover massive investment in creating original content. “Price […]

A fund has offered $1.3 billion for Gannett, publisher of USA Today. Critics say beware.

JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup are reporting weaker than expected earnings this week. Market volatility may have contributed to this as clients shy away from trading, which is a big part of banks’ business these days. Click the audio player above to hear the full story.

British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal was shot down today. We’ll kick off our show with the latest and what’s next. Then, speaking of “no deal”: Under the partial government shutdown, some Trump advisers are seeing what a smaller government really looks like. Plus, why your Netflix is getting more expensive.

The partial government shutdown left some 800,000 federal employees without a paycheck last week, and a lot of military veterans are among that number. Nearly a third of workers in federal executive branch agencies are veterans, and according to the Office of Personnel Management, they’re heavily concentrated in law enforcement departments, meaning that many of […]

The U.K. parliament votes Tuesday on Prime Minister’s Brexit plan, and her prospects don’t look so good right now. French President Emmanuel Macron’s “grand debate” talks are being held around the country to address citizen concerns. Volkswagen and Ford join forces. Plus, why companies are trying to cash in on Kansas City Chiefs rookie QB Patrick Mahomes. Today’s show is sponsored by the University of Florida Warrington College of Business, Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage and Indeed.

The government shutdown, Brexit and tariffs — they’re all affecting trade. The candidate for new EPA chief will have to answer questions about his past as a coal lobbyist. Plus, how some financial firms are focusing on investing in companies led by women. Today’s show is sponsored by the University of Florida Warrington College of Business, Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage and Indeed.

From the BBC World Service… It’s been two years since British voters decided to leave the European Union, and tonight, the U.K. parliament will vote on whether to accept Theresa May’s plan to exit the bloc. But with defeat a near certainty for the prime minister, what’s likely to happen next and how are businesses preparing? Then, town-hall style conversations are launching today in Paris in an effort by President Macron’s government to address the recent yellow vest protests, which erupted over high fuel taxes, but not everyone believes the government is really listening.

You, or people you know, might have quit Facebook over the last year or so. But you know who hasn’t left? Advertisers. Facebook is still the second-biggest digital ad platform in the world, just behind Google. And in 2018, a lot of us realized just how Facebook uses our posts, our connections, photos, location, the quizzes we take, to help advertisers target us. But there have been changes. The past year brought the Cambridge Analytica scandal, new privacy rules in Europe and days of getting yelled at by Congress. Now Facebook says it’s trying to clean up and streamline what it calls the “data supply chain”: where the data comes from, who gets access to it and how it gets used. Molly Wood talks about it with Mark Rabkin, vice president of ads and business platform at Facebook. Today’s show is sponsored by Indeed.

As the ripple effects of the government shutdown begin, the impact on the economy will not just be the lost productivity of government workers. Click the audio player above to hear the full story.

Amazon has no shortage of Prime Video viewers. But it’s launching a new, free streaming service on its IMDB subsidiary that’s entirely ad supported. Click the audio player above to hear the full story.

As of this weekend, we’re in unprecedented territory. It’s the longest partial government shutdown in history. We’ll spend some time on today’s show looking at how the effects of the shutdown could snowball over the coming days. Then: More than 30,000 are on strike today after negotiations fell out between the teachers union and Los Angeles Unified School District. A look at the economics behind America’s second-largest school district. Plus: Why taxes this year may be an even bigger headache than usual.

Recession fears shellac bank stocks, but good earnings reports could change the sentiment across the economy. Plus, a look at some people’s taxing, non-traditional work schedules. Today’s show is sponsored by SignNow, Pitney Bowes and Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage.

China starts feeling the burn of the trade war with the U.S. How does the government collect data during a shutdown? And some major auto makers have chosen to skip the 30th annual North American International Auto Show in Detroit Monday. Today’s show is sponsored by SignNow and Pitney Bowes.

From the BBC World Service… President Trump has threatened to “devastate” Turkey’s economy if it attacks Kurdish forces after a U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria. So, how seriously should Turkey treat the American president’s comments, and what exactly does it all mean? Then, fresh data show a new bite to the ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and China. Afterwards, look at any major city  around the world and they all have one thing in common: A shortage of affordable housing. Now, disruptors in the north of England are taking charge. Today’s show is sponsored by SignNow and Pitney Bowes.

If you ask the major U.S. telecom companies, they’ll tell you the next generation of mobile wireless technology, 5G, has arrived. But things are a little messy right now. Carriers still might mean different things when they say “5G.” There aren’t any 5G phones that operate on 5G mobile networks. And when there are, how much is the service going to cost? The big carriers are plowing ahead because they’ll make a ton of money with business opportunities far beyond just our talk, text and data plans. Molly Wood talks about the promise of 5G with Nicki Palmer, chief network officer at Verizon. Today’s show is sponsored by Pitney Bowes and Indeed.