Author: Marketplace

Google announced it will integrate Gemini, its AI assistant, into the Chrome web browser. That will transform Chrome — the most used search engine — into an “agentic” browser. More on what that means for your data privacy and the race to advance AI tech, in this episode. Plus: Independent craft stores aim to fill the void left by Jo-Ann Fabrics, and how feeding the 82% of Alaskan communities that don’t have road access is a feat of public infrastructure.

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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.

If you have, you're not alone. American consumers lost more than $1 billion to fraud on social media in the first six months of this year, according to the Federal Trade Commission. That’s almost ten times what it was five years ago. Today, we'll hear how consumers can protect themselves. But first, we know what the Federal Reserve did with short-term interest rates this week. What's driving long-term interest rates right now?

Zillow reports that new listings fell to a record low in August, with sellers putting about 7% fewer homes up for sale than in July. Meanwhile, homes are staying on the market longer than a year ago, and home prices are barely growing in most markets. What's going on? Plus, Harvard economist Jason Furman cautions that we could get stuck in slow monthly job growth as a result of immigration policy.

From the BBC World Service: We'll start today in Mexico, where trade talks have taken place between Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who agreed to deepen ties as both countries face new tariffs from their neighbor, the U.S. – 50% on Canadian steel and 25% on Mexican pharmaceuticals, for example. We’ll also learn about the unauthorized resale of soccer tickets in England. And later, could hydrogen be used to help reduce emissions from the steel industry?

Anita Ramaswamy, columnist at The Information, joins Marketplace’s Nova Safo to break down all of these headlines. This episode was produced by Jesús Alvarado.

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.

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.

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.