Jan 10, 2019

How’d retailers do this holiday season?

Going into the holidays, consumer confidence was high and retail forecasts were looking rosy. Now, more than a week into the new year, it turns out the results are a bit of a mixed bag. We take a closer look at industry news out today. Then, government employees are feeling a lot of stress after 20 days of the partial government shutdown. How is that affecting their jobs? Also: A group of big finance companies is starting a new stock exchange, Members Exchange.

Segments From this episode

The upside (and downside) of an automatic raise

by Adrian Ma

Jan 10, 2019

Several states automatically increase their minimum wage based on inflation. But is it enough?

Fantasia Pettis, 25, works at a Subway franchise in Cleveland, where she makes Ohio’s minimum wage, $8.55 per hour. “It’s a struggle,” she said when asked if she's getting by.

Adrian Ma/Marketplace

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For big retailers, a mixed bag of holiday results

by Renata Sago

Jan 10, 2019

We heard a lot of rosy retail forecasts heading into the holiday season. Consumer confidence was high, the economy was strong and sales were going to be great. How’d it pan out? A bit of a mixed bag, actually. Some big retailers, like Target and Costco, have posted strong holiday sales results. Others, like Macy’s […]

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Government shutdown 2019

When it was supposed to be payday

by Kai Ryssdal , Bennett Purser , Sean McHenry and Maria Hollenhorst

Jan 10, 2019

Thousands of federal workers with high-stress jobs won’t get their paychecks Friday.

Air traffic controllers are about to miss a payday, adding stress to an already stressful job.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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Ford plans to close plants and slash its workforce in Europe

by Justin Ho

Jan 10, 2019

The Ford Motor Co. announced Thursday morning that it’s going to “transform” its operations in Europe. That means the automaker will close plants, stop producing some models and lay off what a Ford executive called a “significant number” of its 50,000 European employees. Ford’s been in Europe for more than a century. It’s also the […]