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Marketplace

Marketplace Business News Podcast
Kai Ryssdal
Latest Episode

02/05/2018: Take a deep breath

Feb 5, 2018

Episodes 2311 - 2320 of 5795

  • A board displays the chart of German share index DAX at the stock exchange in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on Dec. 29, 2017, the final day of trading before the New Year break.
    DANIEL ROLAND/AFP/Getty Images

    You hear us say it all the time: The stock market is not the economy. That’s especially true today, as the Dow took a steep dive just after a really great jobs report. We’ll talk about it on the Weekly Wrap. Then: We’re gonna dig into wages, because the 2.9 percent growth we saw last month was a big deal after years of stagnation. Plus: When you watch the Super Bowl this weekend, take a look at the owners boxes: full of white guys, like nearly every team in the NFL. But why?

  • Birds fly in front of the dome of the U.S. Capitol as the deadline for the government shutdown loomed in Washington, D.C., on Friday.
    MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

    With all the drama in Washington these days, you may have missed another deadline looming soon: the federal debt limit. While the government shutdown a couple of weeks ago was about Congress failing to approve new money to pay for government services, the debt ceiling limits how much the Treasury can borrow to pay what we already owe. Thanks to the new tax law, we might hit that ceiling a little sooner than expected. Plus, we’ll bring you the latest from Facebook and an excerpt from our podcast The Uncertain Hour. 

  • Despite the slowing growth rate, Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen voiced optimism about the economy at the central bank's annual Jackson Hole summit.
    Win McNamee/Getty Images

    Janet Yellen presided over the Federal Open Market Committee meeting for the last time as chair today. As expected, the committee left interest rates alone for now, but signaled that hikes could come later this year if inflation picks up. That depends on wages, which we learned today are up 2.8 percent year over year. That’s not great, but it’s the best number we’ve seen since early 2015. We’ll talk about that, plus the latest homeownership figures. Then: After tragedies like the shooting at a Kentucky high school last week, people and companies open their wallets to provide aid. After the mass shooting at a country music festival in Las Vegas last October, people donated more than $22 million. There are government programs, too, but deciding how to divvy up the money is becoming an unfortunately common challenge for communities. Plus, we’ll recap last night’s State of the Union address.

  • Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
    MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

    … and walk out running a health care company. Together they employ about a million people, and it appears health care was driving them nuts. They’re starting their own company that will give coverage “free from profit-making incentives and constraints.” We’ll start today by trying to make sense of it all. Then: Janet Yellen is presiding over her last Federal Open Market Committee meeting this week, so we’ll take a look at her economic legacy. Plus: inside the black market for Twitter followers.

  • There comes a time in the life of every presidential administration when, economically speaking, they own it. We’re not talking here about taking credit for the economy, Trump’s been doing that since the early days, but when they’ve earned it. With President Trump’s first State of the Union tomorrow night, and the economy virtually certain to be very high up in that speech, it seemed like a good time for a reality check. That’s where we’re starting today, plus a big merger in beverages and more from our series “Divided Decade.”

  • A small group of protestors supporting net neutrality protest against a plan by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) head Ajit Pai, during a protest outside a Verizon store on December 7, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. 
    Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

    The stage is getting set for a fight over net neutrality. The Federal Communications Commission rolled back the federal rule last month, clearing the way for internet service providers to throttle or favor content. But states have other ideas. The governors of Montana and New York have signed executive orders to mandate net neutrality under their jurisdictions, and 21 states and the District of Columbia have sued to overturn the decision by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. Plus, we’ll talk about the GDP numbers, the latest on California’s mudslides and Trump’s speech in Davos, Switzerland.

  • U.S. President Donald Trump leaves the White House for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 24, 2018 in Washington, DC. 
    Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    Ahead of his big speech in Davos, Switzerland, tomorrow, President Donald Trump told CNBC that while he prefers bilateral trade deals, he’d be open to a bigger agreement like the Trans-Pacific Partnership if the U.S. gets a “substantially better deal.” Catch is, the 11 Asia Pacific countries still in the TPP came to an agreement this week without the U.S. Then: Ten years ago this week, the American housing market posted its biggest year over year drop since 1973. The housing crisis was in full effect, the spillover into the financial system was coming and we were already a month into the Great Recession, even though we didn’t know it at the time. We’ll take a look back. Plus: The economics of beer.

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  • George Washington on the front of the one dollar USD note in Washington, DC. 
    Karen BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images

    We’re gonna spend some time today with the dollar. The greenback. The world’s reserve currency. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said something truly extraordinary today: “Obviously, a weaker dollar is good for us, as it relates to trade and opportunities.” It’s been the stated policy of the American government for decades that we want a strong dollar that inspires confidence in the American economy. So we’ll start today’s show looking at all the different angles of the value of the dollar. Plus, why the Do Not Call list won’t save you from robocalls, and an interview with Fannie Mae CEO Tim Mayopoulos. 

  • Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies during a hearing before the House Budget Committee Jan. 17, 2008 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Bernanke was on the Hill to give his views on the outlook of U.S. economy and he said the economy has been growing slow.
    TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty Images

    Ten years ago this week, the Fed unexpectedly slashed interest rates at an unscheduled meeting. This was early in the slow-motion collapse of the American economy, and it was in some ways a warning of how bad the recession was gonna get, and a giveaway as to how little we actually knew about what was coming. We’re looking back at that decision today as we kick off Divided Decade, our yearlong project on the financial crisis and its aftermath. We’re also bringing you a story about how the crisis changed one Dreamer, and we’re hoping you’ll share yours. Plus, what you need to know as the World Economic Forum kicks off in Davos, Switzerland. 

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About the show

Hosted by Kai Ryssdal, our leading business news radio program and podcast is about providing context on the economic news of the day. Through stories, conversations and newsworthy developments, we help listeners understand the economic world around them. Marketplace makes sense of the economy for everyone, no econ degree or finance background required. Marketplace doesn’t just report on the numbers, we take it deeper, adding context to what’s happening in the stock market and how macroeconomic policy can affect you and your business. Monday through Friday, our team speaks with a wide range of industry professionals — from small business owners to Fortune 500 CEOs, Marketplace breaks down complex topics related to business and the economy without industry jargon and over-complicated explanations.

Kai Ryssdal has led the program since 2005 and has hosted the program from China, the Middle East and dozens of cities across the United States. As a leading public media voice, Kai has been a trusted broadcaster for two decades and received an Emmy for investigative journalism on a PBS FRONTLINE documentary about money in politics called “Big Sky, Big Money.” He has appeared often on CNN, CNBC and CBS news. His written work has been featured in The New York Times and The Atlantic.

Produced and distributed by American Public Media (APM) our popular business news podcasts are available worldwide on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and RSS Feeds and any place else where you get your podcasts.

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