Week of January 5th, 2026

Owner Jessie Dean says sales have been strong this year — even without a new manufacturing and retail space.

Why the long-term unemployed rate is climbing. Plus: AI agriculture, hurricane recovery, and tempered growth expectations.

We’ll unpack Zohran Mamdani’s first days in office.

The percentage of Americans out of work for 27 weeks or longer hit 26% in December. It's more evidence of a low-hire, low-fire economy — and that AI is starting to replace certain jobs.

A cloudy outlook for consumer demand is causing many business owners to limit their growth plans out of caution. But keeping growth in check can have upsides.

 Making a $2 chocolate bar might cost under 30 cents. 

December jobs data is in, and it paints a lackluster picture.

A team of high schoolers interviewed fire survivors in Southern California. Survivors remember what they lost and what they managed to save.

When it comes to rebuilt homes getting insurance, part of the equation is how fire-resilient they are. But there are hurdles to making a home more fire-hardy.

Host David Brancaccio dives into the realities of reconstructing more fire-resistant homes.

From the BBC World Service: Protests in the country began with demonstrations from shopkeepers over the plummeting value of Iranian currency.

Maria Curi, tech policy reporter at Axios, joins Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino for this week’s Tech Bytes: Week in Review.

Alexandra Petri at The Atlantic spent five months attempting to do federal work targeted for cuts — including forecasting the weather and collecting price data.

Employers are hesitant to hire and workers are stretched thin. Plus: Retailers regroup post-holidays, NYC to expand free child care, and river communities “build” whitewater waves.

These “perfect waves” attract kayakers, river surfers, and plenty of visitors.

Employers announced 8% fewer layoffs in December than a year earlier.

Two year-olds in “high-need” areas will be the first to benefit from free child care that older preschoolers already receive.

The Labor Department’s shutdown-delayed report shows third quarter productivity grew at the fastest pace in two years — a 4.9% annualized gain.

U.S. military action in Venezuela signals a broader shift in the Trump administration’s foreign policy focus.

Retailers want to know if you’ll pay more than the next person for the same goods and services. And they’ll use data on everything from your eye movements to your walk to find out.

Plus: In Altadena, one resident says, “2026 is going to be a beautiful year because 2025 was not.”

For many in Altadena with houses still standing after the Eaton fire, it has been a year of headaches trying to clean their homes and make them habitable again.

“I don't want to go home and worry that I'm gonna end up with cancer or a respiratory illness, but I ache in my heart to go home,” said one of David Brancaccio's neighbors in Altadena.

Pauline Gray’s house burned down in the LA fires. She lost everything. But she’s a planner — and determined to stay positive through the rebuilding process.

From the BBC World Service: For bond markets across the globe, another year of uncertainty may be on the horizon.

Cities across the U.S. deployed Flock Safety cameras in the hopes of deterring crime. The footage ended up freely accessible on the internet.

Plus: An update on rebuilding after the Eaton fire, an advancement in semiconductor tech, and a strong year for auto sales.

A new working paper finds that the actual average tariff rate is about half of what the Trump administration has announced — with big implications for U.S. businesses and consumers.

Private sector employers added 41,000 jobs in December, according to payroll processor ADP.

Shelene Hearring, owner of Two Dragons Martial Arts in Altadena, California, talks about her plan to rebuild her building.

Nearly a third of the power that AI data centers use goes to keeping the computing equipment cool.

Sales were buoyed by expectations that prices would rise even more soon, tarrif concerns, and now-ended electric vehicle tax credits.

This morning, David Brancaccio checks in with two families on his block, one who sold and one who’s rebuilding.

Some Altadena residents have already broken ground and laid the foundation for their new homes. Others have had to sell their property and move on.

Honda has postponed the reopening of a plant in China and manufacturers of consumer electronics are warning of price increases due to the shortage of computer chips.

Since few homes have been rebuilt, how are people paying for shelter?

From the BBC World Service: A shortage of anti-freeze for de-icing planes at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam is partly to blame.

Recovery remains slow for many Los Angeles families. Survivors have organized to demand accountability and the resources needed.

Technology is shifting the agricultural industry and farmers are embracing the change. How one farmer is using his computer science degree on his farm.

Lower demand has winemakers turning to Costco to get their bottles in front of customers — at a discount.

Plus: Rebuilding after the LA fires, rising brisket prices, and Costco wine snobs.

Almost a year after the Eaton fire destroyed his business, Jimmy Orlandini of Altadena Hardware is still looking for a temporary location to move into before his building can be rebuilt.

Just two briskets come on each cow and while cattle herd sizes are small, demand for brisket is high.

Corporate bond issuance is a gauge that tells us how the broader economy is doing.

Marketplace’s David Brancaccio joins Kimberly to share his experience.

Today: the arduous journey to find a contractor near LA and the continuing K-shaped economy.

A year after the Eaton Fire destroyed thousands of homes in Los Angeles County, people are still rebuilding — and searching for contractors to do the job.

On a single street in Altadena, 15 houses were total losses after the Eaton Fire.

Today, we check in with David Brancaccio’s Altadena neighbors to learn what life is like during rebuilding efforts.

From the BBC World Service: Delcy Rodríguez vowed to guarantee "the economic and social tranquillity of our people."

Futurist Amy Webb of the Future Today Strategy Group explains how the convergence of AI, energy, robotics, biology and more will define how tech evolves and how it will influence our lives.

“If you're a U.S. energy company looking at investment in Venezuela, you're not looking at this for, you know, a six-month return. You're looking at decadal investments.” said Landon Derentz at the Atlantic Council.

Plus: How intervention in Venezuela could affect the U.S. economy, it’s been a year since the Los Angeles fires, and economists eye upcoming jobs data.

Joey Galloway, a commercial property owner in Altadena, California, discusses two buildings: one that was able to reopen, and the other that’s yet to be rebuilt.

Economists and analysts are looking to new data from late 2025 to help them understand where the economy might be headed in 2026.

Disruptive geopolitical events, like the arrest of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro by the U.S., often see investors jump into bonds or sell off a bunch of stocks temporarily. Neither of those happened.

One question hanging in the air right now: How might the U.S. attack on Venezuela affect the value of the dollar?

Since the pandemic began, grocery prices have gone up about 30%. You can blame a slew of factors, including supply chain disruptions and tariffs.

Venezuela’s current oil production infrastructure “has been held together by string and gum,” said Fernando Valle at Hedgeye Risk Management.

On this morning’s show: discussions of oil company stock prices and context for Venezeula’s oil production.

Oil markets and financial markets seem to be shrugging off the U.S. arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

From the BBC World Service: The U.S. stunned the world with the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro over the weekend. We’ll discuss the fallout.

Tim Harper, a senior policy analyst at the Center for Democracy and Technology, says the technology has thus far been used for speed rather than to persuade voters.