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Marketplace

Marketplace Business News Podcast
Kai Ryssdal
Latest Episode

Marketplace for Monday March 2, 2015

Mar 2, 2015

Episodes 3081 - 3090 of 5795

  • Airing on Friday, Feb. 27, 2015: “It can’t be warming. There’s snow outside.” Social media went bananas yesterday after a video surfaced of Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma pitching a snowball to an intern on the Senate floor. Inhofe is selling doubt, which is a powerful force in maintaining the status quo. And the status quo, you may not realize, is a powerful economic force. We explain. Plus, you may not know it, but different countries have different release days for new records. For instance, Britain releases records on Tuesday. Starting this summer, the industry will move to a  universal release date of Friday. The move is intended to cut down on piracy by dropping all new music at the same time. But that has other cost consequences and not everyone in the industry is all TGIF about the new policy. Also, under the FCC’s new net neutrality rules, broadband providers like Comcast and Verizon have to treat all internet users the same. Can’t speed ‘em up, can’t slow ‘em down. So who is a at an advantage or disadvantage when an already huge user like Netflix unloads 13 hours of a popular show, as it just did with the new season of “House of Cards.” This and more.

  • Airing on Thursday Feb. 26, 2015: Oil prices are moving up and down every day as all kinds of traders try to predict where prices will land in the future. In the last two days we’ve seen how different kinds of contradictory data can move prices in what might seem odd directions. The U.S. reported its biggest oil glut in 30 years, yet the global Brent price shot up because of other indications that supplies may fall and demand may rise. The U.S. price, meanwhile, stayed pretty much where it was. We explore. Plus, Facebook wants to do more in suicide prevention and, after consulting with various mental health professionals, has come up with a new tactic. Soon, if you see a post on Facebook that suggests your friend may be suicidal you will be able to report it directly to the company. Facebook will then reach out to the poster offering support. Is there any risk to this corporate strategy and what are the privacy implications here? We investigate. 

  • Airing on Wednesday Feb. 25, 2015: TJX, the parent of TJ Maxx and Marshalls, just announced it will boost its base pay to $9 an hour by this summer, and $10 an hour by 2016.  In light of Wal-Mart’s recent minimum wage hike, is this the first sign of a tightening labor market in low-wage retail? We investigate. Plus, as Google proposes a new headquarters in Mountain View, the small city has mixed feelings about the economic growth within its borders. Mountain View’s not going to become a company town in the old sense, but it is going to have to change, build housing and grow because of Google — all things that Silicon Valley cities have resisted for decades.

  • Airing on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015: In case you haven’t heard, Boston’s been getting pounded with snow every few days, for weeks. Boston’s mass transit system, the oldest in America, broke down under the stress. Trains and buses are running late, if at all. How are employers handling an ongoing situation where employees are late for work on a daily basis? We investigate. Plus, the EPA is asking car makers to follow stricter rules in measuring their vehicles’ gas mileage to insure at least some uniformity, if not produce estimates that drivers might find more accurate. Also, in her testimony before the Senate today, Fed Chair Janet Yellen swatted away the “Audit the Fed” calls. But when Senator Rand Paul and others say “Audit the Fed,” what they really mean is something more political than monetary. We explain.  

  • Airing on Monday, Feb.23, 2015: The president wants to stop unscrupulous brokers from flogging investments to consumers that kick back fees to the brokerage. These kinds of dodgy investments cost consumers one percent a year, on average. That may not sound like much, but one percent a year is worth a lot to a saver, thanks to the miracle of a magical thing called compound interest. We explain. Plus, this week’s political hot potato is funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which is set to expire on Friday. But no matter what happens with DHS spending, there’s a much bigger problem at the sprawling agency: low morale. It consistently ranks worst for morale among large government agencies. This and more.

  • Airing on Friday, Feb. 20, 2015: Okay, we’re gonna take the rumors seriously and ask, “If Apple is getting into the car business, what does that look like?” Plus, the Baker Hughes Rigs Counts are out today. They’re considered an important indicator of the health of the energy and drilling industries. But some question whether they’re as indicative or relevant as they once were. We investigate. Also, we dive into the belly of the nationwide food supplier, Sysco. They are the biggest distributor of foods in the country and are looking to expand, joining yet another company. But the Federal Trade Commission is not having it and filed a lawsuit to stop the merger. We take a look at the surprising reach of Sysco.  

  • Airing on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015: Walmart announced a mass raise today to some 500,000 employees. By April, these workers will make $9 an hour and by next year this time, it will go up to $10. We speak to two workers to find out what difference this will make in their lives. These higher wages also mean rising costs. So how will Walmart shareholders react to this new paradigm in their operating trajectory? This and more!

  • Airing on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015: A year ago, the teen-fad social-media company Snapchat was valued at $10 billion. Its latest investors value it at $19 billion. We look at what’s happened in that time. Is the doubling in valuation due to the discovery of a business model, potential, or momentum among investors? We explore. Plus, we report on a Texas College that is revamping itself as a place where students work their way through four years. This is not just a few hours in the library, rather a significant job at the school— work that will reduce their tuition. Also, the Producer Price Index has released its industrial production and housing starts numbers for January. They’re okay… They’re not great. And in aggregate they paint a picture of a still-struggling economy.   

  • Airing on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015: Word is that the labor dispute is close to a resolution, so what happens now? We’ll look at how we unwind this beast, including what happens to all the perishable stuff. Plus, a recent ruling by a Texas judge stayed President Obama’s executive action to prevent millions of undocumented immigrants from facing deportation. We look at the ruling’s economic impact. Then, hard drives have been compromised by agencies — possibly governmental — that have embedded malware in the systems. How will these hard drive manufacturers respond to this story? And how will the computer manufacturers that buy these hard drives respond? How can you assure security and reassure consumers? We investigate.

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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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