Week of October 12th, 2020

… was all the votes we cast along the way.

Retail sales jumped nearly 2% in September, but it’s hard to exactly say why.

Plus: the latest consumer spending numbers, the racial wealth gap and what stockpiling does to the supply chain.

A new Marketplace-Edison Research Poll found the flexibility to work anywhere as a factor.

The federal deficit for 2020 was three times the size of last year’s deficit. It was the government’s largest annual shortfall in dollar terms.

Globally, grain and meat prices continue to rise, just as more and more people can’t afford them because of widespread job losses.

With a reboot of the show launching this weekend, we talked to the producers and writers of the hit ’90s version about that inflatable Jolly Green Giant and jumbo Pillsbury Doughboy.

More than 80% of Black Americans and nearly 70% of women say the economy is rigged in favor of certain groups. Experts say they’re right.

Christopher Low, chief economist at FHN Financial, says low-wage workers are suffering the bulk of job losses — the opposite of what happened in 2008.

Plus, how the presidential candidates talked about the pandemic and economy in simultaneous town halls Thursday night. And, property owners around the country are suing the CDC over its ban on evictions.

Women make up more than 90% of people who have lost their jobs during COVID-19 restrictions in New Zealand.

Oil and gas companies are trying to protect their interests if Biden wins.

That could be because many community college students need jobs to pay tuition.

The Marketplace-Edison Research Poll shows they’re more confident they’ll find new jobs within six months than older workers.

Corporate money is moving based on what might happen if there’s a Biden presidency. Plus, an uneven distribution when it comes to declines in college enrollment. And, why younger workers are not as worried about finding new jobs.

The CDC says the moratorium is needed to help curb the spread of COVID-19. Some landlords say they may not be able to survive.

Who would actually suffer if lawmakers in Beijing vote for new limits on sensitive technology exports? A post-COVID economy is weighing on voters’ minds in New Zealand. A new partnership aims to further reduce Britain’s food waste.

A survey out this month says nearly half of iPhone users in America believe their devices already connect to 5G — but they don’t.

It’s our 300th episode! Sorry the cake got messed up.

It’s the latest example of how the pandemic is exacerbating inequality.

The latest Marketplace-Edison Research Poll shows the precarity of Americans’ finances during the pandemic.

Some supplemental plans offer benefits that are related to health care, like access to meal delivery services or transportation to medical appointments.

Today, we’re going to dive into more of our polling data. Plus, changes to Medicare and the problem with “optimism bias.”

For most Americans, losing work means losing health insurance. And the uninsured are 75% less likely to see a doctor if they need to, one expert says.

According to the latest Marketplace-Edison Research Poll, Biden supporters are less likely than Trump supporters to believe economic data from the federal government.

Behavioral economics helps explains why we’re prone to letting our guard down.

“I guess, thanks in large part to COVID, we had a lot of people looking for outdoor picking and being outside at farms,” says Red Apple Farm owner Al Rose.

The “Call Your Girlfriend” co-hosts talk about couples therapy and their new book “Big Friendship.” Plus, they take your questions in “The Group Chat.”

Plus, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says he will keep negotiating with Democrats to reach a deal on more pandemic relief. And, is the economy rigged to the benefit of others? We asked people nationwide and the poll results are in.

It’s another week of evidence that layoffs remain a hindrance to the economy’s recovery.

The federal government is funding 13 additional weeks of unemployment benefits after state payments run out, but getting them can take extra effort.

The most recent Marketplace-Edison Research Poll results are out. The Economic Anxiety Index® is down only a sliver from its all-time high in the spring. And, what you need to know about a federally funded extension of jobless benefits.

The company behind boy band BTS launches on the stock market in South Korea days after the K-pop group topped the Billboard chart. A second major airline CEO quits. Disagreement over fishing is holding up post-Brexit talks.

Larry Rosin of Edison Research gives context on some of the surprising results in the latest Marketplace-Edison Research Poll.

The latest results of the Marketplace-Edison poll don’t indicate much optimism among Americans after months of protests and pandemic shutdowns.

Ayanna Howard argues no robot will be able to embody the nuances of belonging to a specific ethnicity.

Plus, we’re answering your questions about airline bailouts, conference swag and interest rates.

Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, explained. Plus, a deep dive into two important indicators: bank reserves and the Producer Price Index.

And what happens when the PEUC program expires at the end of the year?

But if we’re in for a double-dip recession, they’ll need to set aside billions more than they currently have on hand.

United Airlines will be the first to do so starting Wednesday.

The modest increase in Producer Price Index numbers could be good inflation, considering.

Keba Konte, CEO of Red Bay Coffee based in Oakland, California, recounts the challenges his business has faced due to the pandemic.

Quarterly results show most big banks beating expectations. Plus, what would be the consequences of an undercount on the 2020 census? And, how Black-owned restaurants in North Texas are faring given the pandemic and social justice movement.

Katja Busch says efficient vaccine distribution is most dependent on coordinated efforts between the involved parties.

Those most in need of federal funding could be left out of the census count.

For some, the surges in business helped weather challenges during the pandemic. But there are many Black-owned businesses that could close because of COVID-19.

The fastest of the new 5G networks are still being built, meaning the infrastructure for these new iPhones is not completely there yet.

Quarterly earnings for big banks like Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase are beating expectations thanks to a soaring stock market.

On the CDC list of high-risk activities during the fall holidays? Shopping in crowded stores on Thanksgiving or the day after. Plus, quarterly results from the big banks. And, the potential for disappointment when it comes to the iPhone 12.

President Xi Jinping wants the Shenzhen special economic zone to be a powerhouse for technology. Europe’s “traffic light” system to ease COVID-19 travel. The need for more cold storage for vaccine distribution.

Shopping in crowded stores on Thanksgiving or the day after, Black Friday, is on the CDC’s list of high-risk activities for the fall holidays.

Half of the city’s public school students come from low-income families, and about 15% have disabilities.

Politico reports that Google may be forced to sell its web browser as part of an antitrust investigation.

On today’s show: an informative, if depressing, look at the depth and breadth of the online disinformation problem.

For the world’s poorest, the pandemic has exacerbated their situation.

Plus: Google without Chrome, voting rights lawsuits and Disney’s big restructuring.

How will the shift away from movie theaters and broadcast TV change what and how we watch?

Some Chinese couples aren’t interested in having more than one child, while unmarried woman aren’t allowed to have children at all.

Campaigns and outside groups are spending tens of millions of dollars on legal challenges leading up to the election, trying to avoid even more damaging — and expensive — fights after polls close.

The Federal Reserve is holding a series of events aimed at understanding structural racism in the U.S. economy and actions to address it.

A Big Pharma company has fine results from last quarter even as it runs into a coronavirus vaccine setback. Plus, Disney is reorganizing to boost streaming platforms. And, a tool to make it easier for humans to communicate with dogs.

There are small- and medium-sized businesses who use Amazon’s platform and logistics to reach wider audiences.

The IEA said, under current conditions, renewables are expected to overtake coal as the primary means of producing electricity by 2025.

A survey from the NFIB finds optimism at pre-pandemic levels, but not necessarily for businesses in the service sector like restaurants and retail shops.

The International Energy Agency’s plan for countries to move toward more renewable energy. Plus, optimism among small businesses is up, sharply, but not for all. And, even during pandemic, Halloween haunted houses survive.

Professor Robert Wilson says auction theory affects our everyday lives, from house prices to phone networks. Australia investigates if China has stopped importing its coal. Who benefits from Prime Day?

One company turned a speech pathologist’s tool into a product for pet owners.

The attraction operators are finding ways to open with modifications. For instance, screaming in peoples’ faces is off limits.

Many Black workers are turning to the professional social network to talk about racism in the workplace.

Many products are now sold using “package auctions” for a more efficient allocation of goods.

We’ll talk about it, and get Kai Ryssdal’s capsule review of “Mulan.” Plus, Facebook’s new content policies, the economics Nobel and a real-life lightsaber.

Holiday shopping is early and mostly online this year, experts say. Avoiding supply-chain delays is part of the reason.

Plus: airline cash burn rates, pay adjustments for our new work-from-anywhere normal and one community battling a 30% unemployment rate.

Expenses don’t go away just because people aren’t flying.

As employees stay remote and can move anywhere to work, some companies are reconsidering the math that goes into compensation packages.

In this book excerpt, Deborah Stone examines the way we calculate unemployment numbers.

Celene Navarrete had to close her shop doors in March and is now growing her online store and attending virtual book fairs.

In parts of the South Bronx, the unemployment rate was estimated to be nearly 30% in August. Nationwide, it’s a little less than 8%.

The official unemployment rate only tells part of the story.

Plus, why markets are doing well despite a coronavirus relief package impasse. The U.S. economists who won the Nobel Prize for their work with auctions. And, how a popular pilgrimage site for Catholics has struggled in the pandemic.

The explosion in Democratic donations has been connected to concern about the fate of the Supreme Court.

The winning economists designed auctions that allow for multiple bids over a period of time.

The pilgrims are only returning in small numbers compared with the 6 million a year who usually come.

Both sides of the aisle are unhappy with the White House’s recent $1.8 trillion proposal. Plus, natural gas from U.S. producers has practically nowhere to go with energy demand down. And, how California’s wildfires are making homeowners insurance unaffordable.

As plans for LNG export facilities come to a halt, so do job opportunities in places like the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana.

China’s approach to avoiding further lockdowns includes mass testing. Why is the British Airways CEO stepping down? A price premium for cocoa farmers could lead to more expensive chocolate.

Americans Paul R. Milgrom and Robert B. Wilson won the Nobel Prize in economics on Monday for “improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats.”

But human teachers should still double-check discrepancies.