Author: Marketplace

From the BBC World Service: U.S. President Donald Trump says he will hit movies made in foreign countries with 100% tariffs, as he ramps up trade disputes with nations across the globe. Plus, Skype will officially stop operating today, although Skype for Business will continue. And the Maldives has signed a deal with a Dubai-based company to establish an $8.8 billion investment zone aimed at diversifying the tourism hotspot into a "financial freezone."

People are using chatbots in all kinds of ways — to search the web, get help with an online purchase, sometimes even for counseling. But there's a lot about this human-AI interaction we don't fully understand. Do these chatbots effectively combat loneliness or worsen social isolation? The answer — so far — is complicated, according to Cathy Fang, a second-year PhD student at MIT Media Lab who, along with researchers from OpenAI, studied how chatbot use affects human social and emotional wellbeing.

It’s been one month since President Trump raised tariffs on goods from China. Already, the global supply chain is struggling. In this episode, we’ll hear about plummeting container ship traffic to the U.S. and how small retailers are dealing with limited stock. Plus, how the drayage sector is faring and what all these tariff negotiations will mean for the global economy going forward.

 

On today’s episode, Kimberly joins "Economics on Tap" from the Toronto airport. We’ll unpack President Trump’s elimination of a tariff loophole known as the de minimus exemption that went into effect today, meaning low-cost shipments will no longer enter the United States tariff-free. Without it, Americans could start to feel some serious tariff pain. And, President Trump is renewing threats to revoke Harvard University’s tax-exempt status. Plus, we’ll play a round of Half Full/Half Empty.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

-"Trump's tariffs come for fast fashion, and the blowback could be fierce."  from Politico 

-"Harvard President Says Any Move to Revoke Tax-Exempt Status Would Be ‘Highly Illegal’" from The Wall Street Journal 

-"Trump aims to cut $6 billion from NASA budget, shifting $1 billion to Mars-focused missions" from CNBC

-"Visit this store for a free iris scan to ‘prove’ you’re human, not AI" from The Washington Post

-"MoviePass’ Next Big Bet: A Fantasy Box Office App" from The Hollywood Reporter

-"A little retirement, as a treat" from Marketplace

Got a question for the hosts? Email makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

The U.S. Department of Education will begin taking action against federal student loan borrowers who are in default starting on Monday. The Treasury Department could soon start withholding money from government payments like tax refunds and Social Security payments or even garnish wages. Plus, we'll digest this morning's jobs report. And later: Ryan Coogler's "Sinners" is a masterpiece in filmmaking — and in dealmaking. We'll unpack Coogler's deal with studios.

We'll get the big hiring and unemployment reports for April later this morning. Companies have been tightening their belts as they've been grappling with tariffs and economic uncertainty. We'll discuss. We'll also hear how two small businesses that rely on imports are navigating a tricky tariff landscape. Also, the Trump administration wants to make it easier to fire federal workers. What could that mean for the Bureau of Labor Statistics?

From the BBC World Service: Australians go to the polls this weekend to vote in what’s being called a “cost of living” election. Home prices and rents there have skyrocketed over recent years. Then, Japan's top negotiator says talks in Washington have been constructive as Tokyo tries to avoid steep new tariffs. And the luxury department store Harrods is the latest U.K. retailer to be targeted in a cyberattack.

Meta launches its own, dedicated AI app that could go head to head with the likes of ChatGPT. Plus, a massive data leak put California Blue Shield members' most sensitive medical details at risk. And how is the health tech investment sector navigating all the recent economic uncertainty from the Trump Administration’s latest trade war? Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino and Christina Farr, managing director at Manatt Health, explore all these topics on this week’s Marketplace Tech Bytes: Week in Review.

An upward climb in labor productivity has been a promising economic trend over the past few years. That’s important because productivity drives overall economic growth. But President Trump’s trade war, which is causing many businesses big and small to hold off on major investments, could cause that productivity to stagnate. Also in this episode: Coca-Cola reports stronger-than-expected earnings, the GOP wants EV owners to pay for road maintenance costs usually covered by a gas tax and the Sunbelt housing market turns lukewarm.

 

This week, President Trump acknowledged his tariffs were resulting in costlier items in the U.S., but maintained his position that China was taking the majority of the heat. If people can’t afford to buy as much, might that be a recipe for recession? We’ll discuss, and answer a listener’s question on what exactly is a recession. Plus, how uncertain economic conditions might make someone reconsider a luxury cheese purchase.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

- Recession defined by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)

- “Trump says US kids may get '2 dolls instead of 30,' but China will suffer more in a trade war” from the Associated Press

- WATCH: “Trump says kids may get '2 dolls instead of 30' because of trade war with China” from the Associated Press

- “Trump, on Tariffs, Says ‘Maybe the Children Will Have 2 Dolls Instead of 30’” from The New York Times

- “Spending by American companies on computers in Q1 grew at the fastest pace since 1983” by Marketplace

- Check out the Canadian cheese shop Kimberly mentions in this episode

Join us tomorrow for “Economics on Tap.” The YouTube livestream starts at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time, 6:30 p.m. Eastern.