Week of February 3rd, 2025

Phone companies have the technology to block unwanted calls, but some haven’t prioritized doing so.

Policies to encourage fairness are a double-edged sword.

Trump: You’re fired. Employees: We’ll see you in court.

“Growth, as they say, eats cash,” said Christine Herron, co-founder of Achieve Sports in Aurora, Colorado.

The wealth gap in this country has resulted in the demise of medium-priced items. Plus, wage gains and parlay betting.

Average hourly earnings rose 0.5% from December and 4.1% year over year, outpacing forecasts as well as inflation. Was it just a blip?

It’s called bifurcation — the split in stores and brands catering a budget-conscious consumer on one end and luxury-focused one on the other.

Same-game parlays are growing in popularity among casual sports bettors. The payouts are bigger, but odds are longer, so sports books are happy to take the bet.

Fans are choosing to entertain at home rather than going out to watch the game.

President Donald Trump is ending a program that’s allowed hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants to live and work in the U.S.

President Trump’s firings of dozens of government officials have raised questions about whether those moves are legal.

Waleed Delawari of Delawari Investment Group shares some of the lessons he’s learned on what rebuilding a home might look like after the LA fires.

Because of backlogs at Boeing and Airbus — and the older fleets airlines are flying as a result — the sky could be the limit for the new company.

Trump has fired EEOC and NLRB officials. Some believe it’s firmly within the president’s power. Others say that’s not the case.

84% of adults spend money on alcohol, tobacco, drugs or gambling, according to a new Bankrate study.

Alcohol? Drugs? Gambling? Turns out, age plays a big role in which habit you turn to as a guilty pleasure.

From the BBC World Service: The Reserve Bank of India has made its first rate cut since May 2020.

Natasha Mascarenhas, reporter at The Information, joins Marketplace’s Stephanie Hughes for “Tech Bytes: Week in Review.”

Would “energy dominance” and deregulation do it? Plus, a theater critic gains a new perspective.

And it’s no way to run the government.

These smaller, cheaper streaming packages often focus on sports or news, and are meant to appeal to consumers tired of bloated, expensive cable subscriptions.

The new administration hopes that energy dominance and government efficiency can bring down borrowing rates.

A back injury made Washington Post theater critic Naveen Kumar see the stage, and his work, from a new angle.

Kai Ryssdal spoke with the co-owners of the Ruby Fruit about seeking outside financial investment and how they hope to grow the business.

Labor productivity has been increasing for more than two years, according to the Labor Department.

Nonprofit projects have been impacted by Trump’s attempted federal grants and funding freeze.

It’s the game that lets you build your dream home, control virtual lives (and remove the pool ladder and see what happens). Twenty-five years and 200 million copies on, what’s made The Sims such a success?

Courts have blocked the order, but some nonprofits have still had to furlough workers and put projects on hold.

Former employees worry that infectious diseases will go unchecked as a result of the agency’s closing.

Premiums and claims for ski resorts and outdoor ice rinks — places that depend on cold weather to operate safely — have both gotten higher. Some insurers will no longer take chances on them.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says he’s more concerned about rates on the 10-year treasury yield than the ones the Fed controls.

From the BBC World Service: China’s complaints about President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs have been filed unusually quickly.

Matt Perault, head of AI policy at Andreessen Horowitz, argues that the current state-by-state legal framework hinders innovation and burdens startups. He also wants regulators to stay far away from AI model development.

Elon Musk, the wealthiest man alive, has unprecedented power under the Trump administration.

DeepSeek has launched a chatbot that rivals ChatGPT.

In 2021, Sarah and Brandon Jones moved to a floating cabin on Lake Fontana in western North Carolina. Even after renovations, living on the water was cheaper than land.

Some of President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts are set to expire this year. We take a look at their economic impact. Plus, the legal outlook on Elon Musk gaining access to the Treasury’s payment system.

ADP estimates that the services sector gained 190,000 jobs in January and the production sector lost 6,000.

Kai Ryssdal speaks with an expert in constitutional and administrative law about how the Trump administration is running the economy.

A UCLA report estimates $75 billion in insured losses alone, far more than the next four most destructive California wildfires combined.

The Trump administration said the tax cuts would pay for themselves, but according to a study “that’s just not true at all.”

A report from Bankrate found that lenders rejected nearly half of all loan applications in 2024, and auto loan and mortgage refinance rejections hit record highs.

Millions of federal workers have until Thursday to decide whether to accept a buyout promising pay through September if they quit now.

Preston Lauterbach’s new book, “Before Elvis: The African American Musicians Who Made the King,” looks at the Black artists who inspired Elvis, but who often were unable to profit as much off of their work.

The tech giant’s flagship search engine, along with YouTube, have been largely unavailable in China for years.

Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog” was a hit when released in 1956. But the original was recorded several years earlier by Big Mama Thornton.

From the BBC World Service: The U.S. Postal Service has blocked parcels from China as President Donald Trump’s tariffs hit.

Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert Latiff explains why the executive order to create a space-based defense shield would consume more time and money than envisioned. He sees some value in the plan, but the desired goal, he says, “probably just couldn’t happen.”

Migrant workers drive key industries but face the growing threat of deportation.

Part of our national debt is money the U.S. government owes the U.S. government. Plus, the cleanup after the LA wildfires will take at least a year.

Thanks to abundant supply and fairly flat demand, oil prices are forecast to fall — unless tariffs and geopolitics get in the way.

Expect to see spots about things like AI agents and eyewear.

Homeowners can speed up the process by paying for private debris removal, but that can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

The low hiring rate reveals weakness despite low unemployment, says Kathryn Anne Edwards. Per the JOLTS report, openings declined in December.

The US government is $36 trillion in debt. But who is owed all that money?

A Federal Reserve survey of bankers shows clients are finding opportunities to borrow and invest, though demand for mortgages is muted.

Measures of worker compensation and satisfaction were positive, and fewer workers say they are planning to jump ship this year.

After unemployment rose in the first half of last year, the start of the new year appears to be a job-seekers’ market.

According to both the Constitution and the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, the president does not have the authority to spend or hold back funding Congress has appropriated.

A new report by the First Street Foundation finds rising insurance costs and homeowners factoring in climate risk into purchase decisions could lower property values.

Several actions by President Donald Trump freeze federal funds that Congress has already approved. Can he do that?

From the BBC World Service: After President Donald Trump slapped a fresh 10% levy on exports to the U.S., China brought in extra tariffs.

Food giant Mondelez is deploying the proliferating technology to speed up the creation of cookies, candies and crackers. Isabelle Bousquette of The Wall Street Journal shares what she learned.

Importers? Not sure. Manufacturers? Dunno what’s next. The Fed? Just taking it day by day.

Inspired by her Korean heritage and young daughters, Marissa Ferola plans to open a brick-and-mortar bakery in Massachusetts.

President Trump pushes a laundry list of executive actions forward despite dicey legal implications.

Nobody knows how tariffs will hit.

Wendy Edelberg of Brookings says “political malpractice” might be a bigger risk to economic stability than the government’s massive borrowing.

Over the weekend, President Trump announced he’d be moving forward with tariffs starting tomorrow. Then, Mexico and the U.S. struck a deal to delay those tariffs for one month as the two negotiate border security.

Austan Goolsbee says the central bank is keenly monitoring how changing economic policy is influencing inflation and employment.

2025 marks the start of Generation Beta. But how much do we actually know about them?

We’re looking to talk to all kinds of people with different income levels and life experiences for a series on financial choices and habits.

Prices could rise for certain goods, and the economy could tip into recession.

We’ll unpack how tariffs are likely to affect everyday consumers, the oil market and manufacturers in China.

Companies’ efforts to get ahead of possible U.S. tariffs on metals is causing a shortage of the valuable element in the United Kingdom.

Experts say tariffs will have a significant impact on the U.S. economy — and on consumers’ wallets.

From the BBC World Service: U.S. President Donald Trump is following through with his promise to place tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.

Craig Mundie, coauthor of the recent book “Genesis: Artificial Intelligence, Hope, and the Human Spirit,” says industry and global government leaders should come to a consensus on a treaty-like agreement for the use of AI.