Category: News

In business, the million-dollar question is how to get people to buy stuff. But in wildlife conservation, the challenge is: how do we get people to not buy stuff? How do we bring down demand for fur, ivory and rhino horns? Today on the show, the story of a business trying to make lab-grown rhino horns and the backlash that followed.

Check out more of Juliana Kim's reporting for NPR here.

Related:
Supply, demand, extinction (Apple / Spotify)
Rhino Bonds
Shooting Bambi to Save Mother Nature

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It's Indicators of the Week — our weekly look under the hood of our global economy. Today we look at why cocoa prices are soaring, whether India's electoral bonds are bad for democracy and how a typo sent Lyft shares (briefly) soaring.

Related:
Cocoa prices hit a 47-year high before Valentine's Day
Can India become the next high-tech hub? (Apple / Spotify)
Lyft going public: The dual-class share dilemma
Big donors and pay-to-play politics

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In 2023, The Federal Reserve and other banking regulators announced they were making changes to how they grade banks on servicing local communities. This all stems from a 1977 law called the Community Reinvestment Act, which was designed to encourage banks to better meet the needs of moderate and low-income borrowers. However, major banking trade groups weren't too excited about the new rules and filed a lawsuit against the banking regulators last week.

Today on the show, we explain the history of racist housing policies in the United States and how that history informs the banks' fight with the government today.

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Egypt's economy is facing its worst crisis in decades. The situation could further destabilize the Middle East if it goes unresolved. Now, the International Monetary Fund is working with Egyptian leadership to figure out another deal for a multi-billion dollar loan ... but will it be enough? Today, we look at how Egypt has fallen into economic crisis and whether its economy is too big to fail.

Related episodes:
What could convince Egypt to take in Gaza's refugees? (Apple / Spotify)

Red Sea tensions spell trouble for global supply chains (Apple / Spotify)

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Roses are red. Violets are blue. We have another Indicator Quiz for you! Today's episode tests one loyal listener on their econ knowledge about our recent defense series, and they give us their best Valentine's Day cocktail recommendation. Play along with us and see how you do!

Are you interested in being a contestant on our next Indicator Quiz? Email us your name, city and phone number to indicator@npr.org and put "Indicator Quiz" in the subject line.

Related episodes:
Can Just-In-Time handle a new era of war? (Apple / Spotify)
Are we overpaying for military equipment? (Apple / Spotify)
How to transform a war economy from peacetime (Apple / Spotify)
How to transform a war economy from peacetime (Apple / Spotify)
How the world economy could react to escalation in the Middle East (Apple / Spotify)
How niche brands got into your grocery store (Apple / Spotify)
WTF is a bitcoin ETF (Apple / Spotify)

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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China is in the economic doldrums in part due to its slumping real estate market. And one of the largest property developers in mainland China is a huge part of the story. Evergrande is drowning in about $300 billion of debt. And after months of attempting to restructure, one of its entities is now being forced to liquidate. We look at what that means and how the Chinese economy will be affected.

Related episodes:
China's weakening economy in two Indicators (Apple / Spotify)

Tumbling Chinese stocks and rapid Chipotle hiring (Apple / Spotify)

The mess at the heart of China's economy (Apple / Spotify)

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It is Friday, and Indicators of the Week is back — SUPER Edition. Today, what one New York bank's shakiness means for the wider economy, why Mexican imports in the US are super surging, and the T. Swift effect on the Super Bowl.

Related Episodes:
Economics, boosternomics and Swiftnomics (Apple/Spotify)
Does the U.S. have too many banks? (Apple/Spotify)

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For decades, Saudi Arabia's economy has been defined by its abundant oil reserves. Its ability to influence global oil supply propelled Saudi Arabia to one of the richest countries in the world. The Saudi royal family became important players on the world stage. However, waning dominance in the oil market is forcing the Saudi government to think differently about its reliance on the commodity.

Today on the show, we explain Saudi Arabia's fantastical vision for its future and how the government is using its present influence in the oil market to fund it.

Related episodes:
Why oil in Guyana could be a curse

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WeWork, DraftKings, Lucid Motors. These are a few companies that have taken an untraditional route to go public through something called SPACs or special purpose acquisition companies. The obscure investment vehicle took off during the pandemic, but has since fallen back to earth. Today, we consider the rise and fall of SPACs and how recent rule changes will affect these deals.

Related episodes:
The SPAC is back

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The U.S. launched the Paycheck Protection Program in April 2020 to save jobs and businesses from the worst effects of the pandemic. Today on the show, a post-mortem on the controversial program and whether it fulfilled its objective. Also, we hear from one company that voluntarily paid back its PPP loan — with interest — even though it could have qualified for forgiveness.

Related episodes:
Could cash payments ease recessions? (Apple / Spotify)
Small banks' corona crunch
The big small business rescue

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