Week of July 31st, 2023

Plus, submit your answer to the Make Me Smart question.

Also, labor shortages in at-home health care, a dip in domestic travel and the cultural and economic impact of hip-hop.

The pandemic almost sunk Manu Powers’ company. Though it’s mounted a recovery, the summer rush still isn’t what it used to be.

Rising interest rates and high crop prices costs are making it more expensive to store grain — a critical step for many farmers.

International airfare is up 10% from last year, while domestic airfare is down more than 10%, according to the travel site Hopper.

The genre is celebrated across the world and has permeated many facets of American society, creating wealth in the process.

A “Marketplace Morning Report” special on how economic forces are shaping immigration.

Some regions provide a form of tax relief, but under special circumstances, while others actually tax cities for commercial vacancies.

People are scanning today’s jobs report for signs of slower job creation and greater wage gains — as unemployment claims hover near pre-pandemic lows, and companies announce fewer layoffs.

As rent in trendy New York City neighborhoods get more expensive, art gallerists are making tough decisions about their next move. Plus, an update on the markets from FHN Financial’s chief economist Chris Low.

Once their leases are up, New York gallery owners sometimes find that the community they’ve called home for years has transformed, and migrate to a new area en masse. Their latest stop? Tribeca.

That’s Apple, Airbnb and Amazon. They reported a mixed bag of earnings yesterday. Plus, untapped home equity and Turkey taxi wars.

Drivers often choose customers who give them bigger fares. The transportation problem may be linked to national politics. 

From the BBC World Service: Niger’s elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, has warned that following the coup in his country, the entire Sahel region in Africa could fall under Russian influence — with devastating consequences. Following Fitch’s downgrade of US government debt, the picture for investors is becoming clearer. The World Bank has given nearly $5 billion of funding for projects to boost economies across Latin America and the Caribbean. So just how much difference has that made?

Stacey Higginbotham, editor of the Internet of Things newsletter, calls the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark program a good start in securing smart devices against cyberattack. But privacy issues remain largely unaddressed.

Manufacturing slowed in July, but consumer demand and a strong service sector are shoring up the U.S. economy.

Plus, a little Journey on a Thursday.

A look at why bitcoin investors are lining up for citizenship by investment programs. Plus, rethinking the Federal Reserve’s inflation target.

The Cato Institute found that the United States denied 35% of international student visas in 2022 — the highest denial percentage in decades.

Closing the two brick-and-mortar locations of Uli’s Gelato was not an easy call, but networking helped Uli Nasibova create her next chapter.

The investor and college president calls the Fed’s stance backward-looking and worries that more rate hikes may lead to a recession.

Instead of buying a new Porsche or a private jet rental, the mega-rich can drop $100,000 on a new citizenship — and the benefits that go with it.

The Labor Department says worker output is up while average hours worked is down. That could help bring down inflation going forward.

Hot weather is forcing oil refineries to dial back production. Add on facility damage from hurricanes (which are more likely after a hot summer) and gas prices could balloon. Plus, inflation is driving people out of Argentina.

Those waiting on an asylum request often can’t move forward with a job, housing or education.

The process of getting back stolen wages is complicated, time-intensive and often unsuccessful. Now, a new online platform is empowering immigrant advocates by making it easier to file wage theft claims.

An online tool is helping immigrant workers file complaints against employers who owe them wages. Then, a look at the economic cost of “protracted displacement” while waiting for asylum.

From the BBC World Service: Tom Brady is the latest American star to invest in U.K. soccer. The NFL legend has taken a minority stake in Birmingham City, a club which plays in the second tier of English soccer. What’s the attraction? And, can his star power take them to the top? Meanwhile, in Argentina inflation is running at over 100% — we look at how economic pressures are forcing some people to consider new lives in the United States. And, do you still watch live television? The U.K.’s broadcasting watchdog, Ofcom, says older viewers are increasingly switching off in favor of streaming services.

Leaders of the biggest artificial intelligence companies are forming advisory groups and making public commitments to develop the technology safely and securely. Harvard’s Rumman Chowdhury says the industry should look outside itself for meaningful regulation.

The rise of therapy for climate stress.

We asked content creator and independent economics educator Kyla Scanlon if consumer sentiment is finally matching up with economic data.

Is it time to stop all this recession talk? Then, looking at how banks are thinking about the Federal Reserve’s new payment service.

Claims of a room-temperature superconductor have gone viral, but others’ earlier claims to have achieved this have been debunked.

As supply chains normalize and labor demand slackens, prices and wages are cooling off.

Sometimes schools will take private scholarship money and subtract that from its institutional grant. It’s known as scholarship displacement, and a handful of states are passing laws to end it.

Google aims to “supercharge” Google Assistant with the same tech that underlies ChatGPT, which could boost communication.

Many small banks have been hesitant to offer instant payments, even though they’ve been available for years. But the central bank’s FedNow service could cause more banks to give instant payments a try.

Ankle monitors and other electronic tracking tech have found a market in immigrant surveillance — a lucrative market. We’ll also visit Chile, where migrating might get more difficult.

Under the Biden administration, there’s been a rapid expansion of the electronic monitoring of immigrant families and individuals waiting for their immigration cases to move through the courts over several years. This investment in surveillance and case management tech is throwing private prison companies a lifeline.

Historically, recruitment has been local. Now, social media expands that ability to recruit, said Homeland Security agent Craig Larrabee.

New research finds that job-seekers lowball their salary demands with employers who say they have an altruistic mission and do good in the world. The finding holds for nonprofit and for-profit employers that use “social impact framing” in their identity and messaging.

It actually just got worse. We’ll talk about what the debt ceiling has to do with it, and whether this will raise borrowing costs for the Treasury Department. Plus, young people are being recruited to drive migrants beyond the southern border through social media.

From the BBC World Service: Talks are taking place in the African state of Niger to re-instate democratic rule, but European nations have already suspended financial support to the country and foreign citizens are being evacuated. For years Chile has been a destination for migrants in South America but now the government wants to restrict the numbers coming into the country, pushing more people north, to the US. And, China’s internet watchdog has introduced stricter regulations aimed at controlling how much kids use smartphones and other devices.

AI development is concentrated in just 15 areas, says Mark Muro of Brookings. “It behooves us to find ways for more places to participate.”

Getting a college education is expensive. But are costs finally starting to come down?

Are you a working grandparent who wants time off to spend with the grandkids? That benefit could be coming to a company near you.

Is the labor market all rock ‘n’ roll, or will it soon be rocky? Plus, why “grandternity” leave might be the next big trend in paid leave.

Fewer workers are quitting their jobs and employers are hiring less. So are we in for “Wheel in the Sky” or “Bad Moon Rising”?

Investors stuck with the company even when it was losing money, because they knew it had wormed its way into our everyday lives.

At many companies where workers are fighting for better wages and conditions, CEOs are making hundreds of times their pay.

A new British pressure group is calling for the UK’s central bank to “lose the power to create unlimited amounts of money out of thin air.”

Inflation and rising interest rates are making it harder for some projects to get off the ground.

Rates truckers are paid have plummeted by more than half since 2021, accounting for inflation. Meanwhile, costs have only risen.

Cutting off advertising conversations in your text messages “is a little bit of a game of whack-a-mole,” Vox reporter Emily Stewart says.

William Maloney, chief economist for Latin America and the Caribbean at the World Bank, says inflation is only part of the puzzle.

We’ll get the World Bank perspective first, and then hear from our partners at the BBC on the ground in Colombia. Part of the story? Inflation and immigration are inextricably linked.

Social media has transformed global communication, benefiting those who are in the business of guiding and transporting migrants seeking better lives.

Biden Administration policies are geared toward fixing high-tech supply chains and accelerating the transition to EVs.

WhatsApp is increasingly used to support the business of smuggling people through Latin America and into the U.S. We’ll look at who’s turning a profit. Plus, Biden’s focus on EV manufacturing could be non-residential construction’s saving grace.

From the BBC World Service: One of the primary ways to try and tackle rising inflation is for central banks to raise interest rates, but are savers getting a fair deal? Mohamed El Erian, chief economic advisor at the financial firm Allianz gives us his view after Europe’s biggest lender, HSBC doubled its profits. Plus the BBC’s Catherine Ellis reports on Colombia’s battle with inflation and an influx of immigrants from Venezuela. And finally, we hear from Frank Strang who bought a disused Royal Airforce radar station with his wife 15 years ago and turned it into a spaceport.

In Virginia, 11- to 18-year-olds are preparing to send a 6×6 centimeter cube with dehydrated blood, and another one with an EpiPen, to see how it survives in space.

It takes aim at China, student loans and … TikTok?

Econ Extra Credit newsletter #159

Will a new nuclear reactor convince the country that nuclear energy is worth the cost? Then, high interest rates trap homeowners — and their equity.

While some colleges are dropping their legacy admissions policy, there are less formal benefits for those with family connections.

A new report finds the rate of mortgage borrowers considered “equity rich” increased to 49% in the second quarter.

Advocates call nuclear power essential to a carbon-free future. But the project took much longer, and cost much more, than planned.

A new power line project will transfer Wyoming wind to supply parts of the Southwest with electricity. Wyoming’s focus on renewable energy is a shift from its history with fossil fuels.

Six percent of all global trade passes through the canal’s 50-mile stretch of water. New passage restrictions could particularly harm the U.S. economy — since it’s the nation that uses the trade route most.

The lock system that moves ships through the Panama Canal requires huge amounts of water. Climate change-driven drought will complicate things. Plus, part one of “Barriers to Entry,” our series why people are leaving Latin America.

A new report from the International Energy Agency shows global demand for coal reached a record level in 2022 — and it’s not likely to go down any time soon.

These Republicans have some unusual economic policy ideas. We’ll discuss why discharging student debt during bankruptcy is one of them. Plus, coal is still a big deal globally and Yellow, a trucking company, is shutting down operations.

The proposal bucks the party’s usual laissez-faire approach.

From the BBC World Service: Immigration will be one of the areas the 2024 Presidential election will be fought over, and figures show the number of Latin Americans migrants coming to the U.S. is hitting fresh highs. As of June, there were 1.7 million encounters with migrants on the southwest land border with Mexico. That is up a little on the same period last year, and already at the levels of 2021. Will Grant, the BBC’s Mexico, Central America and Cuba correspondent, has been taking a look at this as part of a week-long series.

Tom Goldstein, computer science professor at the University of Maryland, explains the pros and cons of open-source generative AI models and why open approaches are unlikely to proliferate.