Author: Marketplace

The value of the U.S. dollar has been on the rise after months of decline. Political turmoil abroad has hurt other currencies, while easing rates and resilience at home have helped stabilize the dollar. However, investors are still cautious. Also in this episode: the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ “birth-death” model suggests the economy may be weakening, silver prices surpass a 45-year record, and Delta posts solid Q3 results by catering to the upper class.

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Marketplace is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future.

Today we’re all getting smarter about some of the economic and political terms dominating the headlines these days. Terms like “authoritarianism” and “state capitalism” that have been hotly debated during the second Trump administration. Plus, “stagflation” and other vocabulary words our listeners have been curious about. With some help from experts, Kimberly breaks them all down.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "Why journalists are reluctant to call Trump an authoritarian – and why that matters for democracy" from The Conversation
• "What do we call the Trump administration's economic interventions?" from Marketplace
• "The U.S. Marches Toward State Capitalism With American Characteristics" from The Wall Street Journal
• "Trump's Latest Trade Deals Raise More Questions Than Answers and Harm America’s Future" from the Center for American Progress
• "Supreme Court Agrees to Review Trump’s Sprawling Tariffs" from The New York Times
• "What Is Stagflation, What Causes It, and Why Is It Bad?" from Investopedia
• "Are Donald Trump's tariffs the new sanctions?" from Stanford University

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

Starting Friday, federal workers will be getting their first paychecks for smaller-than-usual amounts as a result of the government shutdown. That’s likely to especially sting federal employees who still have to show up to work, including TSA agents and air traffic controllers. They've helped up the pressure to end shutdowns before. Could they do it again? Plus, we'll unpack how C-suite execs are currently feeling about tariffs and artificial intelligence.

Las Vegas is arguably the discretionary spending capital of the country, if not the entire world. This makes it a good barometer for understanding the current economy — not just of one city or state, but the entire nation. And right now, Vegas is grappling with declining tourism and a high unemployment rate. We'll visit Sin City to learn more about the slump. Plus, why is China stepping up controls on rare earth metal exports?

From the BBC World Service: Jamie Dimon, the chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, told the BBC that a serious market correction could come in the next six months to two years. He also hinted that there could be an imminent deal between India and the U.S. on tariffs; India is currently suffering under 50% duties. Also, China has tightened export controls on rare earth metals, which are vital to a range of electronic devices, including military hardware.

A recent study of nearly 20,000 University of California, San Diego Health workers found cybersecurity training reduced the likelihood of successful phising attacks by just 2%.

Marketplace’s Nova Safo spoke with Ariana Mirian, senior researcher at the cybersecurity firm Censys and co-author of the study, who explained that many workers are just not taking those training programs seriously enough.

Know how the government shutdown put the kibosh on federal data distribution, like last week’s cancelled September jobs report? Well experts haven’t just had a tough week of interpreting this economy — they’ve had a tough year. In this episode, the Trump administration’s policies have uniquely muddied traditional economic forecasting. Plus: Adjustable-rate mortgages grow in popularity, the food and beverage industry adapts to GLP-1 proliferation, and an American furniture manufacturer discusses Trump’s tariffs.

Every story has an economic angle. Want some in your inbox? Subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter.

Marketplace is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future.

Just two months ago, the World Trade Organization predicted global trade would grow by nearly 2% next year. Now, it’s revised that forecast down to just 0.5% as the impact of the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs sinks in. We'll hear what's been propping up trade so far and what's on the road ahead. Then, "Marketplace Tech" shares tips for spotting job scams. And later, we'll hear how other countries' "gold card" visa programs fared.

When President Donald Trump slapped tariffs on Chinese goods earlier this year, China ceased crop purchases from U.S. farmers. That hurt American agriculture, so the government hopes to help those farmers out with aid using tariff revenue. Trump did this during his last trade war. Today, we'll outline how it all played out. Plus, the price of gold keeps climbing, and we check in with a tea shop owner about how tariffs are affecting business.

From the BBC World Service: Gold has breached $4,000 an ounce for the first time, following one of its strongest monthly performances and its biggest sustained rally since the 1970s. What's driving the surge? Then, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is attending a two-day summit in India focused on trade, but he's insisting the U.K. won't issue more visas to Indian workers. Also on the show: Trump's "gold card" visas and newly minted billionaire soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo.