Meta released its quarterly earnings yesterday, posting dismal results that showed the company took in only half the profits earned last year. But investors are bullish for a number of reasons, including cost-cutting measures and good signs that Facebook is doing well. A new report shows that undergraduate college enrollment is stabilizing after prolonged declines, but not for majors that lead to careers in health care. And, a new agreement between the U.S., Netherlands, and Japan will further restrict the flow of advanced microchips to China. 

Any student studying introductory economics could tell you about traditional concepts like efficiency, production functions, and others. But there’s one essential concept that’s often glossed over: economic inequality. As part of our Marketplace Crash Course series, we spoke with Homa Zarghamee, professor of economics at Barnard College, about inequality and why it’s important to learn about. And, a look into why the Fed chose to raise rates by a quarter-point yesterday.

The Federal Reserve has been one of the largest single sources of revenue in recent years for the federal government. But now, thanks to low returns on assets and high borrowing costs, the central bank is set to be much less profitable. We check in on markets ahead of today’s Fed rate decision with Susan Schmidt, Head of Public Equities at the State of Wisconsin Investment Fund. And, Western states sharing water resources from the Colorado River have again blown past a federal deadline to cut water usage after California held out on a deal.

No longer facing the blistering demand for microchips seeing during the peak of the pandemic, chip-making giants like AMD and Intel are seeing their profits decrease. We look into what that says about the wider malaise seen in the tech sector. The BBC reports on one 22-year-old Princeton student’s tool to detect AI-generated text. And, an early farewell to the iconic Boeing 747, which formally stopped being produced this week. 

From the BBC World Service: We look at India’s finances as it tries to supercharge its manufacturing sector in a final budget before key elections. Plus, with the value of gold heading to new highs we hear from a mine in Scotland. And, why spending on players in England’s top soccer league continues to break records.

Young people have done it again — “it” being reviving an old piece of technology from the dead. This time, it’s old digital cameras that their parents likely used. We talked to David Little, head of the International Center of Photography, about the latest trend. Johnson & Johnson is seemingly deeper in legal trouble after a court rejected its bankruptcy filing amid lawsuits over its baby powder. And, on the third anniversary of Brexit, the BBC reports on the increasing pressure over the UK’s land border with Ireland, an EU member.

The global economy is projected to be low in the coming year but beat previous expectations, a fresh report from the International Monetary Fund says. Optimism about inflation, loosening supply chain backlogs, and the re-opening of China are all contributing to rosier predictions. A check-in with the so-called “resolution economy,” which revolves primarily around people wanting to improve themselves in the new year. And, the French tech company Thales has launched a credit card that talks as an aid for people with visual impairments. 

From the BBC World Service: Three years on what has Brexit meant for businesses in the U.K. and the European Union? Britain’s official exit from the E.U. and its single market on January the 31st, 2019 marked the biggest shake-up of the economy for decades. How have businesses responded and what impact has it had? Plus, negotiations continue over the U.K.’s one land border with the E.U., between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. We hear about the complexities involved and the dual status enjoyed by businesses in Northern Ireland that can still operate within the E.U. single market.