Marketplace

When President Trump slapped sky-high tariffs on goods from China, exporters rerouted ships elsewhere. Now that those tariffs are on pause, shipping costs aren’t magically coming down — the cargo is spread all over the world. In this episode, we explain this unintended effect of Trump’s inconsistent trade policy. Plus: One woman makes it her mission to provide free student loan advice, Georgia shrimpers struggle to compete with foreign suppliers, and a florist navigates price changes.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.

You might’ve missed it amid all the Congressional budget hoopla, but Senator Ted Cruz recently floated ending Federal Reserve interest payments, claiming it would save a trillion dollars over ten years. The problem? Not only would that plan save zero taxpayer dollars, it also goes against the Fed’s mandate to keep prices stable. Also in this episode: Amazon announces AI -generated video ads, Save the Children U.S. shifts gears amid USAID cuts, and FEMA puts pressure on local relief organizations.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.

Prices rose 0.1% in May, according to the latest consumer price index — that’s less than some analysts anticipated. It seems tariffs haven’t quite hit consumers’ wallets yet. We’ll explain what might be going on. Later in the episode: Retailers have cut close to 76,000 jobs so far this year, a 274% increase from the same period in 2025, and Kai and Nela visit a truss manufacturer juggling H2-B visas, automation and tariffs.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.

Later this week, the U.S. Treasury will auction off billions of dollars worth of 30-year bonds. While that may seem yawn-worthy to most of us, the outcome of that sale has big ramifications for consumer borrowing costs down the road. We’ll explain. Also in this episode: Targeting of international students hurts public and private universities, “core goods” is where tariff-driven inflation might show up first, and students at a fast-growing high school in Utah run their own soda shop.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.

Consumer credit is on the rise, surpassing projections, sparking concerns about household debt. Despite a solid job market, low-income families face mounting challenges. Warner Bros. has announced a significant split, shifting the media landscape's dynamics. The bicycle industry is also adapting to changing trends, with some companies struggling to keep up. Meanwhile, unique entrepreneurial stories from Eagle Mountain reveal how local businesses are thriving amid suburban growth, showcasing resilience in challenging economic times.

The latest jobs report is out Friday, and overall it’s pretty middling — some details are good news; others not so much. One data point sounding economic alarms? The labor force participation rate, which fell to 62.4% in May after several years of general growth since the height of the pandemic. In this episode, we explain what’s going on. Plus: E-commerce exporters in China describe the “rollercoaster” of keeping up with tariffs, and California’s Central Valley experiments with agricultural innovation.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.

Unemployment filings and layoffs are rising, and private sector hiring hit a two-year low, recent reports show. Is it just healthy turnover or should we be worried about the direction the labor market is headed? For now, analysts are split. Also in this episode: Reddit sues an AI firm for scraping its user data and Kai spends more time in Utah County with ADP’s Nela Richardson exploring the obstacles and opportunities that come with a young population.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.

Provo, Utah, which sits in one of the youngest counties of the U.S., has attracted some major employers in recent years. This week, “Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal and ADP chief economist Nela Richardson visit and meet with some employers to find out why Provo’s young population and LDS community make a strong labor pool. Plus, a brief history of “tax the rich” and China curbs rare earth exports.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 GOP’s budget bill, now at the Senate, includes proposed cuts to federal statistical agencies. That could make government data narrower and less reliable. And when governments fail to put out dependable data? “It ends up being a real drag on the economy,” said economist Laura Veldkamp. Also in this episode: We visit an entrepreneurship hub in Provo, Utah, experts weight the merits of hard and soft data, and warehouses see a usage boom amid tariff uncertainty.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.

It depends on who you ask. But we can all agree that this round of tariffs is not the same as the ones President Trump enacted during his first term. In this episode, we compare the tariffs of 2018 to the chaotic rollouts and rollbacks of 2025. Plus: We visit Utah County, one of the youngest areas in the U.S., with ADP chief economist Nela Richardson. 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.