Week of November 7th, 2022

A recap of Week 1 of the COP27 climate summit.

Banks loaned billions for Elon Musk’s Twitter purchase. Now, they’re trying to offload that debt. Plus, graduating into a recession has silver linings.

Investments in Alexa and brick-and-mortar outlets may be affected as tech giant voices concern about “the current macro-environment.”

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has released a new bulletin of consumer complaints about crypto.

Consumers like the fruit at all stages of ripeness.

It’s common for banks to sell of loans to other investors. What’s unusual are the sharply lower prices those potential buyers are offering.

Some research suggests the “scarring” experienced by young workers during a recession has a silver lining: happiness later in life.

Christopher Low of FHN Financial helps us look beyond the good feelings behind recent market activity. The BBC reports on how China will start to loosen some strict zero-COVID regulations. Also, we check in on the COP27 climate summit. Art critic Blake Gopnik discusses the billion-dollar auction of the collection of Paul Allen.

Art critic Blake Gopnik comments on the record-setting auction, as well as his own interactions with the late Microsoft co-founder.

News this week that inflation may be moderating a bit is unlikely to register much with consumers right now.

That surge is expected to continue into today. Arizona voters took a big step toward transparency in election financing. Also, we discuss what a U.S. government with divided power could economically mean for Democrats. 

From the BBC World Service: Hong Kong’s tech-heavy Hang Seng surged nearly 8% on Friday, with market rallies in Shanghai and Tokyo. Plus, Singles Day in China – the biggest shopping day of the year – saw estimated sales nearly 5% lower than last year. Also, U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen is in India to try to bolster trade ties. And, a film 90 years in the making is finally hitting the silver screen.

Roosevelt Forward CEO Felicia Wong says the party isn’t necessarily out of options even if Republicans take Congress.

The technology has potential for both chaos and progress, and could one day break the encryption that protects your privacy on the internet.

We’re diving into the drama over FTX’s fall.

“The average days on market has gone from less than a week up to about 89 days,” says broker Amanda Pohlman of Keller Williams Living.

Memory chips that end up in your PC or smartphone are in surplus amid soft demand, experts say.

That’s one of the standout numbers from the latest consumer price index, and it will mean an expensive winter for many Americans.

Inflation cooled down in October, but how excited should we get about one month’s data? Plus, rapid resettlement of Afghans left many refugee agencies scrambling this past year.

Trump Administration-era cuts scaled back refugee programs, but the resettlement of 88,000 Afghans prompted them to ramp up and expand.

There’s still a long way to go in easing prices, but some economists think inflation has peaked.

Generosity never looks just one way. This week, we’ll share three stories centered around new perspectives on an age-old virtue.

Retailers seem to be holding off on hiring compared to previous years, but when they do offer jobs, they want people in the door fast.

Is this a sign that the higher interest rates are working? We discuss with Diane Swonk of KPMG. Then, we have more on the aftermath of the fallen Binance-FTX deal. Seasonal hiring has appeared to slow down this year. Also, slavery as a form of criminal punishment was a thing in several states until voters closed a legal loophole.

From a possible recession to big tech regulation, here’s how the election may influence our economy.

But that might not change the way prisons use inmates as labor.

We take a peek into the fallout from the failed bailout pact between crypto exchanges Binance and FTX. Also, we delve more into the developing election results and their possible impact on economic policy.

From the BBC World Service: One of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, FTX, is on the brink of collapse. A bailout deal it struck with archrival Binance on Wednesday has fallen through. Plus, a new survey says the influence of fossil-fuel lobbyists at climate talks has risen significantly in recent years. And, the costs of supporting migrants who are rescued at sea.

Tech downturns “create space for new companies,” says Margaret O’Mara of the University of Washington. This time around, the bust is happening to a massive industry whose products are everywhere.

The saga of the blue check continues.

Meta announced that it’s slashing its workforce after overestimating its growth. Plus, critics blame Brexit for the U.K.’s recent turmoil.

Binance cited a due-diligence check, saying the issues at FTX were “beyond our control or ability to help.”

From Meta to Twitter to Twilio, companies are realizing they might have grown too quickly.

But ACA coverage is more affordable to many, thanks to extended government subsidies.

Some critics of the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union say the country’s recent turmoil should drive it back into the bloc.

“I said, what can I do to stop this? And the customer service rep. goes, ‘Well, if we could stop all instances of fraud, we would but we can’t,'” says Jessica Roy, assistant editor of Utility Journalism at The Los Angeles Times.

Inflation is driving up the cost of things like fertilizer, which drives up the cost of growing hay and feeding horses.

Where the votes go could determine how investors — and their portfolios — could look at the U.S.

Political scientist Ian Bremmer helps us figure out economic takeaways from the aftermath of Election Day. David Kelly of J.P. Morgan talks about the impact of possible Republican control of the House. A drought has sapped the water levels of the Mississippi River, and farmers are struggling as a result.

Since the river isn’t as deep as it normally is, some barges have had to lighten their loads.

Mass layoffs in the tech industry could hit H1B visa workers especially hard.

We discuss some potential election outcomes and how they could affect the economy. Big spending on state ballot measures led to some mixed results. The waves of tech layoffs have actually endangered the ability of many people to stay in the U.S.

From the BBC World Service: Only two European Union countries tie mandatory pay raises for the public and private sector to consumer price inflation: Belgium and Luxembourg. But workers in Belgium say those increases aren’t enough, so they’re walking out and demanding more. Plus, Twitter has laid off most workers at its Africa office in Ghana. And, India says it will continue to buy Russian crude oil.

What will it take to stay in the places we love?

Online discourse can amplify authoritative information about elections. But some online spaces can foster an echo chamber of misinformation and conspiracy theories.

School board races: no longer low-key affairs.

For millennials, the time lost to the pandemic is usually marked by big life events. Today, we tally the costs. Plus, we look at this year’s corn and soybean harvest and a net-zero power plant.

College enrollment dropped significantly during the pandemic. One exception: skilled trade programs, which saw growth this year.

April Hemmes was in the “Goldilocks spot” when it came to weather.

The plant will generate almost no greenhouse gas emissions, Net Power says. But critics say there are better alternatives.

Businesses with 500 employees or fewer — often far fewer — account for about 40% of private payroll in this country. A couple of recent surveys show they’re cautious about the future.

The movie theater chain AMC and meeting technology company Zoom plan to offer ginormous teleconferences for remote workforces.

Everyone lost time, but for millennials, they were years often marked by dating, marriage and family formation.

The Federal Reserve recently hiked rates by three-quarters of a percentage point on top of a series of rate hikes this year.

First, it’s Election Day, and we discuss the possible impact of a recession with Jeffery Cleveland of Payden & Rygel. More people are taking on second jobs for a variety of reasons, according to government data. The European Union is turning up the economic heat on Hungary.

The EU is withholding billions of euros in grants over concerns surrounding corruption and discrimination.

At the COP27 climate change summit in Egypt, the White House has an idea to help developing countries with financing. There’s also debate about the role of natural gas. Elsewhere, the Indian Child Welfare Act faces a massive legal test before the Supreme Court.

From the BBC World Service: Poorer nations need more than $2 trillion dollars each year for the next eight years to tackle the impact of a changing climate, according to a U.N.-backed report. Plus, Britain is in the midst of its worst ever outbreak of bird flu, creating a nightmare before Christmas for poultry farmers and their customers.

Some social media users are staying on Twitter, but also joining smaller platforms, like Mastodon or Truth Social, based on their content moderation rules.

Sawmill Timberdoodle Farm has been investing in new equipment and looking into providing services along with its products, its co-owner says.

Plus, please don’t lick the psychedelic toads.

Layoffs at Twitter, Lyft and Stripe may be an indicator for other industries. Plus, a look at Chinese exports and school board race spending.

Traditionally, school board candidates spend $1,000 or less. But one political action committee is spending about 20 times that per race.

The Indian Child Welfare Act sought to address a history of cultural dispossession. Now, it’s being threatened by a Supreme Court case.

Damage along Florida’s southwest coast includes museums and theaters that plan to rebuild.

Jobs losses at Meta and others could be an indicator of wider cuts in other industries.

The export sector has been propping up its economy through COVID and a housing crisis.

Getting laid off is demoralizing, with many companies doing a terrible job of communicating the decision to their employees.

With midterm elections approaching, Julia Coronado discusses how economic viewpoints could have an effect. Elsewhere, credit card debt appears to have returned to pre-pandemic levels. Then we talk about what could be in store for the people left behind after mass layoffs.

Here’s why it’s rising, and what it says about consumers’ finances.

Another union has voted to ratify a new labor agreement with rail companies, but there are still sticking points for others. The BBC reports on the agenda for the COP27 climate change summit, which has started in Egypt. We discuss the economics behind grassroots ballot initiatives.

From the BBC World Service: As the COP27 world summit on climate change opens in Egypt, potential compensation for countries with developing economies from their developed neighbors is on the agenda. Plus, Apple says China’s zero COVID strategy will significantly impact iPhone production and shipping this holiday season. And, bus passengers in the U.K. face longer wait times due to a national worker shortage.

To get a measure on the ballot, you need a campaign to collect signatures. That’s gotten more expensive this election cycle.

A study from Rutgers University and the Election Assistance Commission found that nearly 17.7 million disabled people voted in the 2020 election, compared to 16 million in the previous presidential election.