Week of July 8th, 2019

The Phillips curve, which describes an inverse relationship between unemployment and inflation, just doesn’t seem to be working lately.

More than half of American workers don’t use all their paid vacation days, and when they do, it’s with a fair amount of guilt. Plus: Alexander Acosta’s legacy at the labor department and a woman who found a career in counting cards.

In Europe’s cap-and-trade market to limit emissions of carbon dioxide, the price of an allowance to pollute has increased to an 11-year high.

Analysts say that under the new acting secretary, Patrick Pizella, deregulation is likely to quicken.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the 3-2 vote broke along party lines.

Many vacation days are left untaken or spent tethered to devices.

Why are bond interest rates going up as we await greater cuts? The Fed chair is skeptical about Facebook’s cryptocurrency going to market so soon. Shorter global supply chains are giving way to “slowbalisation.”

Economists will be look at GDP figures, expected Monday, for signs the trade war is having an impact.

The two automakers will become equal owners of Argo AI, a robocar firm that was majority-owned by Ford, with plans to put autonomous vehicles on the roads in the U.S. and Europe.

ICE promises raids this weekend. Will the trade war affect China’s GDP? The U.S. lags way behind Europe when it comes to actually using vacation days.

Singapore’s economy shrinks. Greece’s new prime minister outlines his priorities. We look at the psychology of waiting in line.

TikTok, Instagram influencers and China are also in the main spotlight.

Plus: How Europe’s heat wave is affecting its economy and why Amazon is investing in retraining its employees.

Roads, railway tracks and other parts of Europe’s economic backbone buckle and crack under record temperatures.

The company will prepare 100,000 workers for advances in automation — and for new ventures it’s exploring.

Markets are ready for a cut. And that might be coming — but not just because of the markets.

Natural gas companies are struggling, in large part because the prices they’re selling at are so low.

Can a tax cut pay for itself? We dive into the language used by the president’s chief economic adviser.

Poshmark is an app where you can either buy items from other users or try to sell unwanted items like clothes, handbags, shoes, or home decor. Think of eBay, but with more social engagement.

When you’re a high-stakes gambler laying down tens of thousands of dollars at a blackjack table, the value of money takes on a whole new meaning.

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google are reportedly not invited to the event.

Foreign artists are running into difficulty with visas, resulting in delays and cancellations.

The U.S. balks at France’s new tax on tech companies. There’s a small but fast uptick in inflation. “Extreme vetting” for visas is keeping some foreign musical acts out of the country.

Nearly 100,000 undocumented students graduate from high schools across the U.S. each year. Only a fraction enroll in college.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell says the “hot” job market is showing little heat. A defense contractor cancels plans to shut down a plant at Trump’s urging. A soon-to-be college graduate who is undocumented faces uncertain job prospects.

More trade trouble in Asia as Japan and South Korea argue over computer chips. Anger over France’s digital tax plans. A record fine linked to the opioid crisis.

Immigration reform in 1965 paved the way for more immigrants to work in nascent Silicon Valley firms.

How about “Rate cut coming in July”? Today, we’ll break down what you need to know. Plus: A new player has entered the streaming war, and it brought “Friends.”

Andrew Lim of New American Economy says more than 60% of immigrants 25 or older who were admitted in 2017 had at least a bachelor’s degree.

Labor force participation in the U.S. is said to be lower than that of comparable economies. There are a couple of factors at play.

The African Continental Free Trade Agreement creates a $3.4 trillion economic bloc covering over a billion people.

The professional home cook Andrea Nguyen says she wants to push Vietnamese cuisine into the mainstream.

China’s tech sector is built on the backs of hard working employees who are often expected to work 12-hour days at a minimum. Some workers are starting to push back.

Research finds hostility to apartments contributes to affordability crisis.

It’s a lingering question for Alex White Plume on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

The Fed chair all but confirms an interest rate cut. Boeing’s troubles show in its sales numbers. “Friends” goes from Netflix to AT&T’s new streaming service. The pitfalls of growing hemp on sovereign Native land.

Some people shell out up to $200,000 on luxury panic room doors.

Can changing zoning help with with housing crisis? African nations ready a new, massive trading bloc. Chinese tech workers push back against the grueling 72-hour work week as a matter of life and death.

The U.N. holds an emergency meeting over Tehran’s nuclear program. Brazil votes on pension reforms. Why panic rooms are the ultimate home luxury for today’s billionaires.

Its history involves visionary entrepreneurs, but also engineers, politicians, schools and lawyers.

Do possible wage gains matter more than potential job losses?

WSJ reporter Patience Haggin says this practice is being reviewed for possibly violating the European Union’s recent data privacy regulation.

The answer comes down to one key tactic: negotiation.

IBM has worn many different hats since its foundation. Now it’s acquired one more: Red Hat.

This week, Kai and guest host Reema Khrais talk about the importance of history and what happens when we don’t relate it to the present.

Plus: Ross Perot’s legacy and the big business of posting song lyrics online.

Dr. Sybert saw your email, but just doesn’t have the time. Instead you can look forward to her auto-reply that rhymes.

Once upon a time, lyrics were extras. If you were lucky they were stuffed inside the sleeve of an LP. Now, they’re all over the place.

Some experts doubt that the rule would have been capable of lowering drug prices.

If a person without authorization to be in the U.S. can afford it, they can purchase nongovernment-subsidized insurance. But few jobs pay enough.

The businessman and two-time independent presidential candidate was outspoken on the subject of federal spending.

A judge blocks Trumps drug ad price rule. Will the Fed lower interest rates? How immigrants in the U.S. without authorization get healthcare.

Art, sculpture … economic theory? The Central Bank of France is behind the capital’s latest museum.

Big spending deadlines are approaching in Congress. Bio-hacking is becoming big business. France opens a monument to monetary theory.

Facebook’s privacy headache grows. Why art collectors are borrowing against the value of their Picasso paintings. How the coffee industry is trying to go green.

Industries from tech to manufacturing are bringing biologists on board.

Wall Street Journal fashion editor Jacob Gallagher explains what’s driving the million-dollar smiley face licensing business.

Economist Arthur Laffer said the Fed should be “subjected to democracy.” But what would that look like?

Plus: The race to make french fries stand up to delivery and making money off of carbon.

Deutsche Bank’s planned layoffs come after years of scandals, along with economic headwinds that have made made banking in Europe difficult since the financial crisis.

The secret’s in the fry batter … and the packaging.

British entrepreneurs scramble to make money from carbon emissions without causing further climate change.

“They’ve been limping along for the last few years and I suppose this day had to come,” said a banking expert.

Deutsche Bank announces massive layoffs. Investors aren’t happy with the most recent, actually great jobs numbers. What happens when a “Hawaiian beer” is made somewhere else?

A Jeep takes the number one spot, but Honda takes second, third and fourth place.

Teens haven’t returned to the workforce after being pushed out by the recession a decade ago.

Expanding the production of regionally themed beers has opened some breweries up to accusations they misled consumers about beers’ origins.

Teens are choosing school over work during the summer. Older Americans are staying in their jobs longer. It turns out the “most American-made” cars might not be so American.

Job cuts begin at Germany’s biggest lender. Greece votes for a new government. We look at the future of interest rates in Turkey.

Jed Kim talks to Robert Stone, the filmmaker behind “Chasing the Moon.”