Author: Marketplace

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.

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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.

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.

There’s a new class action lawsuit against Amazon Prime Video that’s once again elevating the question of ownership in the digital age: Who actually owns a movie, a song, a video game?Buy a physical copy, like a CD or DVD, and the answer is obvious. But buy a digital copy, and the answer gets very complicated.

Marketplace’s Nova Safo spoke with Aaron Perzanowski, a law professor at the University of Michigan and author of the book “The End of Ownership: Personal Property in the Digital Economy,” to learn about the current state of digital ownership.

Wyoming made billions from coal mining over the last 50 years, funding the government, schools, roads, parks. But President Trump’s major spending bill, passed in July, gives mining companies a break on royalty fees — leaving state budgets lean. In this episode, easing coal fees comes at a price. Plus: Non-store retail spending saw double-digit year-over-year growth, small businesses suffer as they wait for tariff clarity, and stock investors basically ignore all the bad economic headlines.

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.

The latest retail sales data shows U.S. consumers are still spending it up, even in the face of higher tariff costs and a shaky labor market. Wealthier Americans are driving the trend, but a “culture of treats” might also play a role. Marketplace’s Kristin Schwab joins Kimberly to explain her theory. Plus, brands like Gap are pitching themselves to Gen Z by riffing on Y2K fashion. Are you onboard?

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "Retail sales up 0.6% in August from July even as tariffs hurt jobs and lead to price hikes" from AP News
• "Top 10% of Earners Drive a Growing Share of US Consumer Spending" from Bloomberg 
• "For some consumers, luxury is not a treat — it's a lifestyle" from Marketplace 
• "Why are millennial brands trying to ride the Y2K trend?" from Marketplace

• "Why Gap’s ‘Better In Denim’ Ad Struck The Right Chord" from Forbes

  
  

  We love hearing from you. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email makemesmart@marketplace.org.

Public companies report their earnings every three months, giving investors and the public regular snapshots of how business is going. But President Trump wants to see fewer of those reports. In a social media post on Monday, he said companies should report just twice a year instead of quarterly. Susan Schmidt, a portfolio manager at Exchange Capital Resources — and one of the folks who is often looking at those reports — joins us to weigh in.

Plus, the Federal Reserve kicks off a two-day meeting on interest rates, and we take a closer look at efforts in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria to develop more AI products in African languages.

On Monday, President Trump said public companies should no longer report quarterly earnings. Instead, he suggested corporations report just twice a year. Trump isn't the first to suggest a pared-down reporting schedule, but the idea raises questions about the balance between corporate transparency and long-term growth. Also on the show, the South Korean government has launched an investigation into potential human rights violations during a U.S. immigration raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia, where 300 South Korean workers were detained and deported. So what does this episode tell us about the U.S. immigration system? Stuart Anderson, executive director of the National Foundation of American Policy, joins us to discuss.