Author: Marketplace

From the BBC World Service: Up to now, bosses and employees in China have frequently bypassed pension regulations in return for higher wages; from this week, however, the rules are being enforced. We'll hear more. Plus, Jaguar Land Rover's embattled management has told staff to stay at home until Tuesday following a cyberattack. And, with fuel prices in Nigeria quadrupling over the last two years, many farmers are now tapping into the sun’s energy to keep water flowing.

The Trump family took their digital token public this week. Plus, artificial intelligence is generating angst in Silicon Valley.

But first, Google’s antitrust case over its search business ended this week with a punishment far short of what the government sought. Google could have been forced to sell off its Chrome browser or stop paying Apple and others to make it the default search engine. Instead, a federal judge said all the company has to do is share some of its search data with rivals.

Marketplace’s Nova Safo spoke with Natasha Mascarenhas, a reporter at The Information, to discuss all of this and more.

The Federal Reserve Board of Governors has gotten a lot of attention lately — President Trump is attempting to remove one member and has nominated another. But there’s more under the central bank umbrella than president-appointed officials. In this episode, we break down why regional Fed banks and Fed presidents matter. Plus: The latest Beige book shows an uptick in lending, shipping costs are down and an economist walks us through her process for reading a CPI report.

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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.

Economic data rolling out this week has helped paint a snapshot of the economy. We found out yesterday that 5.3 million people were hired and 5.3 million quit or were laid off in July. Fresh data out this morning revealed that the private sector added only 54,000 jobs last month. Today, we'll discuss this slowing job growth. Plus, an illegal sports streaming site is shut down, and Texas is restricting the ability of certain foreign nationals to own property.

There's a black market trade for everything — including ants. (Yes, even ants.) And President Donald Trump has slashed the number of federal government employees, which included entomologists focused on pest control. Today, we'll look at what the illicit ant trade looks like and the sort of environmental and financial costs that can result from invasive species. But first, Trump has his first chance at reshaping the Federal Reserve through the nomination of Stephan Miran.

From the BBC World Service: India's Finance Minister has announced massive tax cuts on hundreds of everyday consumer items. The move is aimed at boosting domestic demand amid 50% American tariffs on Indian exports. Then, a group of English-speaking hackers claims to be behind a massive cyberattack that's halted global production lines at Jaguar Land Rover. And Texas has become the latest U.S. state to impose restrictions on some foreign-born people and businesses buying or renting property.

Axon, a company that makes policing equipment, developed new software called Draft One that takes recordings from police cameras and uses artificial intelligence to summarize them into incident reports.

Many police departments trying out the tool are not disclosing that they're using AI to write reports, according to a Mother Jones investigation. That potentially leaves both prosecutors and defense attorneys in the blind — despite safeguards Axon built into its software to prevent this very scenario, and to remove errors or AI hallucinations.

Marketplace’s Nova Safo spoke with investigative journalist Takendra Parmar who reported the story for Mother Jones.

Job growth has slowed this summer as employers ride out President Trump's economic shakeups. Thanks to uncertain tariffs, funding cuts, and the immigration crackdown, most companies aren’t eager to hire right now. Even the health care sector is showing some cracks. Also in this episode: The number of American homeowners fell for the first time in a decade, economists explain how the U.S. became the economic data gold standard, and revenue from website ads grow more popular among retailers.

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.

Hey Smarties! Today we’re sharing an episode from the latest season of “How We Survive,” Marketplace’s climate solutions podcast. Host Amy Scott and the team have been digging into the rise and fall of environmental, social and governance-based investing, or ESG. In this episode, ESG comes back to life in new forms of climate-conscious investing.

The big budget bill that President Donald Trump signed into law in July allowed tax credits under the Affordable Care Act to expire. That means health insurance costs will increase significantly for millions, disproportionately hitting small business owners and self-employed people. We’ll learn about the impacts. Also this morning: Retailers have already shifted focus from back-to-school shopping to holiday sales. Thing is, the outlook doesn't look too rosy this year.