Author: Marketplace

First, we'll take a closer look at Senate Republicans' version of the mega tax and spending bill, which differs from the House-passed version on some flash-point issues. Then, we’ll discuss a new study examining the impact of traveling to music events from Reverb, a nonprofit working to create a more environmentally friendly music industry. It finds a lot of interest among music lovers in more sustainable transportation options. But is the infrastructure there?

From the BBC World Service: Chinese carmaker BYD has been slashing prices at home to dominate the market. BYD only relatively recently expanded into international markets and, last year, sold more electric cars worldwide than Tesla. This all has existing established manufacturers in Europe and elsewhere very worried. Plus, we'll head to Spain to hear how the country's olive oil and Iberian ham producers are thinking about American tariffs.

Data analytics company Palantir has many contracts with federal government, just as the Trump administration is reportedly trying to construct a centralized database combining information from various agencies. That's brought Palantir renewed scrutiny. Joseph Cox has been following all of this at the tech news site 404 Media.

The Federal Open Market Committee meets later this week, and it’s pretty likely they’ll examine why tariffs didn’t drive inflation up in May. The good news? A slew of economic data coming out this week could clear things up, and help them make an interest rate decision. Also in this episode: Other central banks have June meetings on the books, domestic steel production ramps up under tariffs — but steel jobs don’t — and Halloween came early this year. Like, really early.

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Every day this week, we’re going to take a closer look at the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which aims to enact President Donald Trump’s agenda. It proposes a tax cut and increased spending for border security and the military. It also includes cuts to health, nutrition, education and clean energy programs. Today, we explain the rules around what provisions can go into reconciliation bills, and where the bill currently stands in the legislation process now. Plus, we answer questions from listeners on how the bill could affect their student loans and access to higher education.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• “Senate sidesteps parliamentarian, widens reach of CRA” from Roll Call
• “Republicans face critical week on Trump megabill” from The Hill
• “The Senate is assessing the "Big Beautiful Bill" line by line to eliminate non-budgetary measures” from Marketplace
• “Senate Republican education plan may trigger ‘avalanche of student loan defaults,’ expert says” from CNBC

Got a question for the hosts? Email makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

Despite continued protests over immigration policy, President Donald Trump in an online post yesterday directed immigration enforcement to deport more people in the country illegally, specifically those in major cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. Today, we're continuing to track what more restrictive immigration policy could cost the U.S. economy. But first: What's the biggest risk to the economy right now? The Federal Reserve has to decide.

Nippon Steel’s deal to buy U.S. Steel finally crossed the finish line. But there's an unusual aspect to the arrangement: a so-called "golden share," which gives presidents a stake in the merged companies and considerable power. Plus, a website is now live for President Donald Trump's “gold card" visa, intended to attract wealthy individuals. And later, we look at what's behind the bipartisan push to revive American shipbuilding.

From the BBC World Service: The price of oil is in flux as fears ease over a wider war in the Middle East. There have been days of missile strikes between Israel and Iran, and crude jumped by as much as 13% on Friday after Israel hit Iranian military and nuclear sites. Prices have since fallen back. We'll hear more about the market movements. Plus, the inaugural direct flight from the U.S. to Greenland touched down this weekend.

On today’s episode of Marketplace Tech, Nova Safo speaks with Ari Redbord, global head of policy with the blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, about the recent wave of cryptocurrency “wrench attacks” and why more bad actors are going after high-profile crypto investors with threats of physical violence.

The economic position of the baby boomer generation has long been the envy of younger ones in the United States. But the tides may be turning as the Trump administration seeks deep cuts to social benefits that older Americans rely on. We’ll get into it. And, Kimberly joins the show from the National Press Club in Washington D.C., to make us smarter about how the GOP’s reconciliation bill could impact the richest and poorest Americans. Plus, we’ll play a round of Half Full/Half Empty!

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "GOP tax bill would cost poor Americans, boost highest earners, CBO says" from AP News 
• "Megabill would cost poorest households $1,600 a year, boost richest by $12K, CBO predicts" from Politico 
• "Baby Boomers’ Luck Is Running Out" from The Atlantic
• "Why is everyone so crazy for Labubu toys?" from Marketplace
• "Booming sales of the latest Nintendo Switch bode well for the gaming industry" from Marketplace
• "You’ve Heard of Fine Wine. Now Meet Fine Water" from The New York Times

• "A federal judge ruled AI chatbots don't have free speech protections — for now" from Marketplace 

  
  

  Got a question for the hosts? Email makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.