Week of July 29th, 2019

The president has said again that China, not the U.S. consumer, pays the cost of tariffs. Economists say that’s false.

A look at 120 years of a sweet business on National Ice Cream Sandwich Day.

Plus: the ice cream sandwich turns 120 and what the pyramids of central Mexico tell us about ancient economies.

Present societies can learn from Teotihuacán’s narrow wealth gap, says one archaeologist.

Annual growth in average hourly earnings has fallen back after hitting 3.4% in Feburary, a post-recession peak.

Some argue Congressional recess is when the real work gets done, when lobbying groups pull out all the stops to get policies passed.

The U.S. adds 164,000 new jobs. Will China heed Trump’s new warning? Lobbying for (and against) the “New NAFTA” ramps up.

U.S. employers slowed their hiring in July but still added a solid 164,000 jobs to an economy that appears poised to extend its decade-long expansion.

While it hasn’t been long since the CPTPP was ratified, member countries are starting to see the benefits of reduced trade barriers.

China’s government accused Trump of violating his June agreement with President Xi Jinping to revive negotiations aimed at ending a costly fight over Beijing’s trade surplus and technology ambitions.

China responds to Trump’s additional tariff threats. Chinese companies strategize. Layoffs are the big concern with July’s jobs numbers.

What do higher tariffs on Chinese goods from the U.S. mean for global manufacturing? Japan removes South Korea from a preferential-trading list. Why cognac has boomed among American hip-hop fans. 

Our apps and phones are designed to keep us hooked with endless scrolling and autoplay.

The unemployment rate is hovering around a 50-year low, but some companies are still shedding jobs.

Plus: What low construction spending tells us about the economy and a conversation with REI’s CEO.

Kai Ryssdal checked in with Austin Golding, a small business owner in Mississippi.

A growing number of homeowners have been refinancing and pocketing the increase in their homes’ values.

Construction spending fell more than a percentage point in June, the second drop in two months.

Market turmoil trade tensions … there’s a lot that’s been worrying businesses so far this year.

The question can perpetuate long-standing pay disparities among women and racial and ethnic groups.

Consumers today are “less interested in buying stuff and accumulating more things,” said REI CEO Eric Artz.

The increase comes on the heels of the 12th round of trade negotiations between the two countries.

Female voice assistants could be encouraging us to issue orders to women.

We’ll ask about it in another round of Financial Face-Off. Plus: We need your help with a new story.

Exploring this “insurance cut.” Layoff announcements are up. AI is replicating real-world gender bias into the digital realm.

Why Jerome Powell cut interest rates, in his own words. Making sure every child gets counted in the census.

President Trump’s former chief economic adviser says the U.S.-China trade spat is only hurting America. The Bank of England isn’t likely to follow global central banks on the rate-cut trajectory. The British Library has more than just historical artifacts. 

SoftBank announced its new Vision Fund 2. How will this massive pool of a hundred billion dollars impact tech?

It involves “sneaker heads,” venture capital and a lot of online sales.

Plus: We get a former Fed economist to answer your questions, and we dig into what “Medicare for All” really means.

A global economic meltdown caused the last rate cuts. Today, the economy is far from that point.

Kai Ryssdal spoke with a former Fed governor about what it’s like to be in the room when the FOMC makes a major decision.

The Federal Reserve just announced it’s cutting interest rates. But in many parts of the world, interest rates are in negative territory. Given the right circumstances, U.S. rates could go negative, too.

Tom Hanley keeps his out-of-office email short and sweet.

The Federal Reserve announced today that it has cut interest rates, causing stocks to fall slightly.

How exactly do interest rates affect us? And just why is the Fed expected to cut them? We’ve got you covered.

Research finds employees with unlimited vacation actually take less time off.

Google’s taking an “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” approach to leaks.

The sector has to balance a spike in investor interest with the cost of labor and infrastructure.

The Fed’s interest rate comes Wednesday, though not everyone is on board. Can Apple survive on phone sales alone? Vertical farming tries to meet the needs of the future.

In most states, a felony conviction can result in the loss of voting rights for some period of time.

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson is stepping down on July 31.

A judge rules against nonprofits’ “dark money” donors. Audi’s ex-CEO gets caught up in the VW diesel scandal. How states still block people who can’t afford to pay court fines from voting.

From the BBC World Service… Global smartphones sales slow, so how can tech giants cope? A boom in the bond market could be evened out by a U.S. rate cut. The co-living industry swells in India.

From state to state, “high-speed broadband” means different things.

The Federal Reserve used to be an economic black box. Now Chair Powell holds press conferences throughout the year. How’d it get to this point?

“I got the horses in the back …”

Let’s do the numbers.

A statistician breaks down what’s behind the big, scary numbers.

Nina Olson’s job is to serve as the voice for taxpayers inside the IRS. Here are her top five tax tips.

Demand for homes is strong in this economy. The problem is there just aren’t enough of them to go around.

Airlines are looking for ways to hold on to their most valuable customers.

The so-called stay interview is an increasingly popular means of trying to retain staff.

Two months of massive demonstrations could be hampering tourism and international investment.

We’re one day away from the Fed’s much-anticipated interest rate cut. Airlines are paying to speed up customer boarding. What’s “unlimited vacation” if no one takes time off?

A security breach at Capital One Financial compromised the personal information of about 106 million people, and in some cases the hacker obtained Social Security and bank account numbers.

Capital One suffers a massive data breach. Google and Facebook are tracking porn site visits. How is Hong Kong’s economy holding up?

Huawei’s revenue grows despite making it on a U.S. trading blacklist. What’s going on with the plunge in the British pound? Plus, a look at mobile data in Africa. 

Therapist Kati Morton often uploads videos on sensitive topics that risk demonetization from YouTube.

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut interest rates for the first time since 2008. Does that mean a recession’s on the horizon? Plus: the fight over who gets to sell cancer drugs and the uncomfortable feelings that can happen when your parents control your money.

In setting U.S. monetary policy, the Fed is eyeing the global impact of trade wars and other economic troubles.

The “R” word means different things to different people, depending on their experiences.

Total gaming revenue at Atlantic City’s casinos is up about 20% on last year, but the city is now starting competition from neighboring states.

Doctors are challenging pharmacy middlemen over who can fill prescriptions.

Doing the numbers ahead of a likely rate hike. How we label “developing countries.” And Atlantic City’s bet on sports gambling is paying off.

When Steve Heyl goes on vacation, his email software gets a voice.

A 16-year-old boy just won more money at a video game championship than Tiger Woods did at the 2019 Masters.

Unemployment is low. Consumer spending is high. But we’re also in a trade war with China, and growth is slowing around the world.

The U.S. is expected to resume trade negotiations with Chinese officials in Shanghai tomorrow.

Communities benefit greatly from experience that retirees offer.

The answer: it’s profitable.

The Sprint-T-Mobile merger goes through. U.S.-China trade talks resume. A retired chef finds of a new sense of purpose.

A rare warning from Beijing on Hong Kong’s growing unrest. Artificial intelligence is deployed in Portugal to identify, track, and stop wildfires. 

Access to encrypted communication may help law enforcement, but it would negate the ethos of private messaging.