Author: Marketplace

The number of new hires in August was about equal to the number of Americans who lost or quit their jobs in the same month. That means they sorta just .... cancel each other out. In this episode, what’s causing this strange stagnation? Plus: Bank of America and Amazon are raising their minimum pay, the U.S.-China trade war has soy and sorghum farmers worried, and a Seattle mall caters to and celebrates plus-size shoppers.

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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.

This week, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates and made it clear that its attention is turning to the labor market. It’s showing cracks, particularly for Black workers. On the show today, Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley joins Kimberly to discuss rising Black women’s unemployment in the United States and why she’s calling on the Fed to do something about it. Plus, Kimberly digs through your anime recs. Which ones have you seen?

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "Pressley urges Fed chair to address Black women's unemployment as the figure rises" from NBC News
• "There are worrying signs buried in the August jobs report" from Marketplace 
• "Rising Unemployment Among Black Women Is a Bad Economic Sign" from Time

• "Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle slays the U.S. box office with record-breaking debut" from Polygon

  
  

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

This week, J.D. Power reported that nearly half of all homeowners saw home insurance premiums go up in the last year. It's just one of the pressures squeezing prospective buyers. A major culprit behind the price increases? Climate change. Also on the show: Nvidia is buying a $5 billion stake in Intel, and we look at what the end of “de minimis" tax exemption means for air cargo companies.

There's a long list of actions the Trump administration has taken in this economy: calling for the removal of Intel's CEO, then purchasing a nearly 10% stake in that company; special exemptions to tariffs; calls on Walmart not to raise prices; and even telling Coca-Cola to use cane sugar and Cracker Barrel to keep its old logo. What can we make of all this? And what should we call it? Plus, economic predictions by Fed members are all over the map.

From the BBC World Service: In France, 800,000 people are expected to participate in a day of protests and strikes across the country to rally against planned budget cuts. Plus, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva warns that steep U.S. tariffs on goods like coffee from his country will hit American consumers. And, the families of four passengers who died on the Air India jet crash in June are suing two companies they say are responsible.

During the 2024 election, the cryptocurrency industry, including political action committees, accounted for nearly half of all of the corporate money going into the election, according to the watchdog group Public Citizen. That spending helped make Congress and the Trump administration more friendly to the crypto industry.

Now, in the run-up to the midterms, the AI industry wants to replicate the crypto sector’s success. AI companies are amassing millions of dollars to help candidates that favor light regulation over AI. Marketplace’s Nova Safo spoke with Amrith Ramkumar, a reporter at the Wall Street Journal who recently wrote about this new pro-AI PAC network.

The top 10% of earners in the U.S. accounted for nearly 50% of spending in the second quarter — the highest share since Moody's Analytics began collecting the data in 1989. That's important context, as consumer spending keeps climbing despite tariffs and a grim labor market. In this episode, what it all says about our economy. Plus: Homeowners rush to refinance as rates fall, hydropower escapes GOP cuts to clean energy, and Etsy sellers struggle as tariffs raise costs.

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.

Lawmakers have until the end of the month to agree on legislation to fund federal agencies for the coming year. If they can’t do that, the government closes its doors. Just how likely is a shutdown? We'll discuss. Also on the program: Hollywood was hopeful coming into this summer that the sequels and blockbusters would draw people back to the theaters in droves. That hasn't happened.

Later today, we’ll get a sense of where mortgage interest rates are right now from the Mortgage Bankers Association. And we’ll learn whether Federal Reserve policymakers cut interest rates and by how much. Thing is, the Fed's rate-cut decision might not reduce mortgage rates, because they’ve already come down in anticipation. Plus, Microsoft invests billions in the U.K.'s AI industry. And later, we'll hear why U.S. per capita emissions fell 30% in the last two decades.

From the BBC World Service: Microsoft has announced a $30 billion investment in the U.K.'s artificial intelligence sector, its largest outside of the U.S. The announcement was timed to coincide with President Donald Trump's second state visit to Britain. Plus, Taliban officials have banned internet via cable in three Afghan provinces. And, a South Korean worker who was detained during an immigration raid at a car battery factory says the experience was traumatizing.