Marketplace®

Daily business news and economic stories
  • There’s a whole lot of love for Howlin’ Ray’s Nashville-style hot chicken in LA
    Photo courtesy of Howlin' Ray's

    Copy cats are popping up, and chef Johnny Zone promotes them. "That means we're doing something right."

  • Reinventing a summer classic, water balloons
    Kim Hansen/Wikimedia Commons

    Josh Malone, inventor of the "Bunch-o-Balloons" water balloon toy, talks about how the idea came to be.

  • Despite all the president’s complaints on the campaign trail about China and the unbalanced trading relationship the U.S. has with them, the Trump administration and China are scheduled to announce the details on bilateral trade talks this week.  The Chinese economy continues to grow; it’s up a fresh 6.9 percent during the second quarter. But […]

  • The Trump Administration released its objectives for renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, our trade deal with Mexico and Canada. President Trump has called NAFTA the worst trade deal ever, citing factory jobs that moved to Mexico. The Trump Administration wants to “maintain existing reciprocal duty-free market access for agricultural goods” and […]

  • Developers of the Table Rock Ridge subdivision outside Golden, Colorado, require all homes be sold with rooftop solar panels already installed.
    Dan Boyce/ for Marketplace

    Solar energy has grown prodigiously over the last eight years. But 2017 has been tough, especially for rooftop solar companies.

  • It’s back-to-school season all year
    Alex Wong/Getty Images

    The shopping ritual, like Christmas in summer for retailers of the past, is now an ongoing affair.

  • Chicago's skyline looking north is visible from a window of the Sears Skydeck. 
    Tim Boyle/ Getty Images

    Factories give way to tech companies.

  • A race car for Formula E.
    Courtesy of Formula E

    The Formula E circuit lets car makers test their electric vehicles and promote their products to buyers.

  • Four big banks (JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, PNC, Wells Fargo) reported earnings today, all beating expectations, especially JPMorgan, which posted its best quarter ever. That wind in the banks’ sails comes in the form of higher interest rate levels after three straight rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. That means banks get to charge you more […]

  • The new head of the railroad CSX has called a timeout on naps. For the past 20 years or so, the railway allowed naps under limited circumstances. Now CSX is implementing an approach meant to reduce train delays. So a few months ago, it told engineers and conductors snoozing is now off limits. The move […]