Week of December 9th, 2019

Today we’re gonna look at a couple ways shopping is changing. Plus, a quick update on Brexit, Europe’s crowded airports and the long view on inflation.

Tchaikovsky’s ballet is a holiday institution and a big cash cow for dance companies. But it wasn’t always that way.

One retiree earns a little extra with a shopping app.

Some are skeptical the chain retailer’s “shrink” is due to opioid addiction.

It’s possible that prices aren’t rising much because we don’t expect prices to rise much.

With the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years, wages — and prices — should be rising faster than they are.

A mall with a twist is celebrating a promising holiday shopping season.

In Cynthia Anderson’s “Home Now,” Somalis and Congolese transform a former mill town. At a flower shop there, wariness turns to warmth.

Women and people of color are dramatically underrepresented in the financial services industry, especially among certified financial planners — just 1.5% of CFPs are black, 2% are Hispanic or Latino and 23% are women.

The Chinese have agreed to purchases of American manufactured products as part of a so-called Phase 1 deal, according to the president’s Twitter account.

President Trump is now saying the “mini-deal” with China on trade is fake news. The Trump Administration is seeking to overhaul banking rules for lower-income borrowers.

With the stunning victory of Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party, will they finally be able to “get Brexit done”?

With the Conservatives’ stunning election victory in the U.K., will Brexit finally “get done”? As a trade deal looms, damage to Chinese industry over tariffs could already be irreversible. Home Depot is blaming losses on the opioid epidemic.

With the largest Conservative majority in over 30 years, a post-Brexit trade deal will be the new government’s first priority. Is political betting more accurate than election polling? 

Consumers have been carrying this economy. That may be harder if they’re behind on their bills.

Tech giants are happy to see Section 230-like language in the USMCA so it can protect their operations abroad.

Buying in bulk and the variety are some of the reasons, said consumers.

The letters, which went out to 3.9 million people, detailed how to sign up for health care coverage.

Today, we’re doing the numbers on where agriculture aid is going amid the trade war, and spend some time with three Iowa farmers to see how they’re coping.

You kept sending in money horror stories. Here are a couple more of our favorites.

Mateo Eaton is barking crazy about out of office messages.

China was the United States’ biggest customer of soybeans, but the trade war changed that.

A government program has given billions in subsidies to farmers affected by the U.S.-China trade war.

The WTO’s ability to settle disputes could be damaged for some time.

Both the Fed and Europe’s central bank keep their hands off interest rates. Money isn’t all candidates need to be part of Democratic presidential debates. Costco diversifies its bulk business with higher-end brands.

The Fed chair explains why wages are stagnant despite low unemployment. The ECB keeps interest rates low at new head Christine Lagarde’s first meeting. The Trump Administration has choked off the World Trade Organization’s top court.

Australia sets stricter social media rules. Christine Lagarde has her first ECB rate setting meeting. An evening with an Amazon delivery driver.

The CEO of Winnie says yes. She thinks male-led companies with a toxic culture should be called out, too.

Some energy companies are questioning whether they can wait out the current dip in prices.

Plus: What you need to know from the last Fed meeting of the year and the big tech regulation that’s a sticking point in the USMCA.

The treaty will extend to Canada and Mexico a provision of U.S. law that protects them from being sued for what their users’ do.

2019 saw a major shift in monetary policy. Does that mean the Fed has been wrong about the economy for years?

Dan Brouillette served under the previous secretary in a deputy role

In his new book, the CEO talks about the valuable lessons he’s learned while leading one of the largest housing nonprofits in the world.

Jonathan Reckford, head of the housing nonprofit, tells how hammers pound and differences fall aside when corporate leaders come together to build homes for low-income families.

Two radically different plans are up for consideration in Thursday’s general election.

New Pew survey: Most Americans say current economy helps the rich, hurts the poor and middle class.

Although it leaves out the majority of workers, the policy change is seen by many as a step in the right direction.

A high rate of unemployment persists in some parts of Chicago, despite a worker shortage in manufacturing.

Environmental and labor rules feature prominently in the “New NAFTA” deal. The unceremonious way one trucker learned his company went out of business right before the holidays.

Saudi Aramco becomes the most valuable publicly traded stock in the world. The new energy secretary gets sworn in today. “The Economist” gives its predictions for 2020.

Aramco shares jump 10% on debut. France braces for pension reform speech. A spotlight on Morocco’s economy.

Tech companies are hiring entertainers to make their chatbots nimble and witty.

But why? We do the numbers every day around here, but are we doing them right? Are we even looking at the right numbers?

Brexit has led to a dearth of seasonal migrant workers in the United Kingdom. Robo pickers could plug the gap.

Criteria Entertainment CEO Diana Rodriguez learned the music business in Colombia before becoming the first woman to head a U.S Latin label.

Everything you need to know about the USMCA. Plus: robotic produce pickers, the fight over irrigation water and a conversation with the first woman to run an American record company.

We take a look at what it will mean for drug prices, automakers and the tech industry.

More firms are celebrating with employees and serving alcohol than last year, according to a Challenger, Gray & Christmas survey.

The U.S. and China might agree to delay tariffs. Britons go to the polls this week… again. Airbnb is facing protests in Athens, Greece as rents go up.

Protesters against the platform in the Greek capital have taken things up a notch.

Pelosi said it was a “victory for America’s workers.”

Would we have more fun shopping if businesses paid more attention to aesthetics?

The “New NAFTA” is closer to Congressional approval. Corporate diversity measures have failed black millennial professionals. Please mind your Ps and Qs during your office holiday party.

One in 10 South Africans are now without power. Nintendo launches Switch in China with Tencent’s help. What the artificial intelligence revolution means for our jobs. 

Thursday’s general election will be the third time in five years that Brits have turned out to vote.

Black millennials are increasingly leaving the corporate world to start their own businesses.

But the move could hurt China the most.

Plus: A new innovation that could make recycling more efficient, how to make kids’ entertainment more diverse, and the “smoker’s track” at work.

The co-founders of Encantos Media want to make diverse kids’ content for multicultural families like theirs.

Male smokers who work for other male smokers get promoted faster, according to new research.

Getting a loan in the early 1980s was a lot more expensive than today. That was the point.

Sprint and T-Mobile head to court to defend their mega-merger. Why mortgage rates remain steady as interest rates go down. How one woman found the better life her parents sought in this country.

Volcker’s victory over inflation in the 1980s is widely credited with more than two decades of mostly steady economic growth that followed.

Here’s why long-term interest rates don’t always move with the Fed.

The Dems’ drug bill for cheaper prescriptions is up for a House vote. Banks and hedge funds are messing with the repo market. A Michigan brewery faces a boycott over racial discrimination.

Can Founders Brewing repair its reputation with some bars and beer drinkers around Michigan?

WTO’s Appellate Body is set to lose two judges. Are meetings just a way to waste the working day? 

The plan would empower the Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower prices.

He also shares insights on the new tech around cybersecurity ahead of the 2020 elections.