Week of March 4th, 2019

… because Marketplace already did.

It's more straightforward than it seems.

It's a time-consuming endeavor.

Norway’s $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund is planning to shed some of its oil investments. While the move has been celebrated as a big win by environmentalists, its motivations have more to do with economics than climate change. The Norwegian government, which gets 20 percent of its revenue from the petroleum sector, said Friday it […]

The pace of hiring all but ground to a halt in February. Then: What happens to the 1,500 laid-off workers at GM’s Lordstown, Ohio plant? Plus, how experts track and predict box office numbers.

For 1,500 workers, the road ahead is an uncertain one.

Netflix has distribution power indie filmmakers may not have access to.

You can make a meal out of free snacks at work, just don't tell the IRS.

Strikingly low job growth weighs strongly on the side of the Fed not raising rates in the coming months.

The Federal Reserve reports the net worth of U.S. households dropped 3.4 percent in the fourth quarter of last year and is now at the lowest level since the financial crisis. A look at what that drop could mean for economic optimism.  Click the audio player above to hear the full story.

In Texas, energy companies are scrambling to find a home for the record amount of oil they’re producing.

The future of net neutrality may hinge on how internet service is defined.

The future of net neutrality may hinge on how internet service is defined.

Catt Small's newest game puts the player in very familiar shoes — her own.

The Nancy podcast from WNYC examines why.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg has laid out a new vision for the company.

Uncertainty. It’s a word you hear a lot these days. Brexit, trade policy, relations with North Korea — all up in the air and all casting a cloud over the global economy. But is this moment of uncertainty any different than times past? Click the audio player above to hear the full story.

What is the bank reacting to?

400 stores will close.

It’s not about keeping you safe from Facebook’s data-hoovering efforts. It’s about competing with other messaging platforms.

Americans imported a record number of goods last year, according to new data from the Commerce Department released Wednesday. U.S. service exports also hit a record high. The net effect was the largest trade deficit since 2008 — $621 billion, up nearly 13 percent from the prior year. However, many economists say the U.S. trade deficit […]

Thirty years ago, President George H.W. Bush held up a baggie of crack on live TV, and said it had been seized right in front of the White House. The Uncertain Hour’s third season looks at how the policies launched that day continue to reverberate – even as the crack epidemic has faded into history. New episodes start March 21.

Between the trade war, Brexit, North Korea, oil and more, the word “uncertainty” has appeared a lot in recent news. Today we talk about what it means and when to be concerned. Plus, what to make of Facebook’s “pivot to privacy.” 

Some can actually benefit from the chaos.

In the last two years, one demographic has been gravitating towards the trucking industry by the thousands: Indian-American Sikhs.

In February, U.S.-based employers announced the highest number of monthly job cuts in more than three and a half years. Online shopping made a dent in terms of retail jobs.

Expectant parents pay them tens of thousands of dollars to arrange every aspect of their trip.

Mark Zuckerberg announced the company is in the process of creating a "digital living room," where communications will be private and encrypted.

Hundreds of companies you've probably never heard of are making billions by selling your data.

Hundreds of companies you’ve probably never heard of are making billions by selling your data.

Children born on U.S. soil are granted citizenship under the 14th Amendment.

Every year, thousands travel to ensure U.S. citizenship for their babies, experts say. Here are two of their stories.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first new kind of drug to treat depression since Prozac hit the scene in the late 1980s. Spravato is a nasal spray from Johnson & Johnson that’s a close cousin of ketamine, an anesthetic that’s sometimes used recreationally and often known as “Special K.” Because ketamine can cause […]

If we let AI keep developing on its current course,  author Amy Webb says we probably won’t like where it takes us. Plus: Why “birth tourism” is booming, and a look inside the Fed’s latest Beige Book.

The collection of anecdotes lets us in on interesting economic realities.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reports more than 76,000 people came over the southern border last month without documents. That’s more than double from the same time last year. A look at how the budget for border security isn’t meeting the realities on the ground. Click the audio player above to hear the full story.

Millions of people lost their homes, their jobs, and their savings. The Great Recession collectively destroyed more than $30 trillion of the world’s wealth. Yet no Wall Street executive went to jail for it. So, what happened? 

Contaminated supply chains, natural disasters, and the bottom line are just some of the reasons why basic drugs are in constant shortage.

And sooner than you think, futurist Amy Webb says.

The OECD predicts lower growth than last year, from China to North America.

Let’s do the numbers on his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

But that doesn’t mean people are leaving social media altogether.

But that doesn’t mean people are leaving social media altogether.

The trade talks will be held in Washington on Wednesday. Last year, a dispute between the two parties erupted over cars  — the Trump administration demanded that the Europeans cut their 10 percent import tariff on American vehicles. In July, a trans-Atlantic truce was reached. But the dispute has since widened beyond cars, and that […]

The politics of trade deals are increasingly complex.

The Permian Basin is now far from the preserve of the independent producer.

The former social worker wants to use his platform to help people live better lives.

What’s the size of a refrigerator, prefers -460 degrees Farenheit and has nations racing to master it? Starts with Q …

Grazing fees on public lands were dropped to the lowest amount allowed under federal law.

There have been over 150 measles cases detected nationwide, including dozens of young children in the Pacific Northwest.

On foot of concerns that numbers from Puerto Rico itself could be flawed, the U.S. government is preparing to release gross domestic product data on the U.S. territory for the first time. We took a look at what the adjusted financial data could mean for the island as it continues to recover from Hurricane Maria […]

Some tenants prefer to keep their apartments dumb.

Some tenants prefer to keep their apartments dumb.

One Venezuelan economist uses bitcoin to defend his family against financial instability.

Lawmakers have been critical of big pharma's pricing structures.

The first changes are being made to media operations.

A combinations of dense traffic and time-pressed truckers has led to a spike in fatal crashes.

Members want to rely on recurring small-dollar online donations to avoid spending time “dialing for dollars.”

Lego fans and investors maintain a robust, independent online market for rare and valuable pieces.

Thirty years ago Monday, Time Inc. announced it would acquire Warner Communications Inc.

Do screening tools work?

Do screening tools work?

Lucrative revenue streams still bring in millions of dollars, but renewed sexual abuse allegations could threaten sponsorships, experts say.