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2 weeks ago | 
marketplace.org | Amy Scott
Spring is typically a busy time for home sales as the weather warms up and families prepare to move before a new school year. But the season has started out sluggish, as would-be buyers face higher mortgage interest rates and elevated prices. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that sales of existing homes fell 2% in April compared to a year ago. Meanwhile, the supply of homes for sale rose more than 20%, to the highest level in nearly five years.
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3 weeks ago | 
marketplace.org | Amy Scott |Sophia Paliza-Carre
One of the most powerful tools in the fight against climate change is the money sitting in investment portfolios. The trillions of dollars of investor capital in these portfolios could fund climate solutions or keep fueling the crisis. But it’s not just companies that can have an impact — individual investors can create change, too. More than half of U.S. households have a dedicated retirement account, like a 401(k) or IRA, and those accounts hold a lot of invisible power.
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4 weeks ago | 
marketplace.org | Amy Scott |Nancy Farghalli |Maria Hollenhorst |Andie Corban
Median property taxes in the U.S. rose by an average of more than 10% between 2021 and 2023, according to an analysis by LendingTree. More than half of homeowners with a mortgage are paying more than $3,000 a year.
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4 weeks ago | 
marketplace.org | Amy Scott
One of the most powerful tools in the fight against climate change is the money sitting in investment portfolios - including the trillionsof dollars invested on behalf of public retirees. That’s money that could continue to fund fossil fuel development, or help pay for climate solutions instead. In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy in 2012, New York City took a hard look at its investments.
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4 weeks ago | 
marketplace.org | Amy Scott |Sarah Leeson
May 8, 2025“It’s more of a convenient moral gymnastics to say that people who cheat the federal government should be given a lighter touch than people who borrowed from it,” said economist Kathryn Anne Edwards. As of this week, after a five-year pause instituted during the pandemic, the federal government is back to collecting on student loans that are in default.
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1 month ago | 
marketplace.org | Kimberly Adams |Amy Scott |Marissa Cabrera |Courtney Bergsieker
Episode 1386May 6, 2025As the world races towards decarbonization, the U.S. risks falling behind. So far, President Trump’s “drill, baby, drill,” agenda has proven to be a sharp turn from Biden-era climate initiatives, including the landmark spending bill the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
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1 month ago | 
marketplace.org | Kai Ryssdal |Amy Scott |Courtney Bergsieker |Marissa Cabrera
The Commerce Department reported the U.S. economy contracted by 0.3% in the first quarter of this year. We’ll break down the GDP math formula and dig into what the latest report says about where the U.S. economy may be headed. And, should businesses be transparent about the impact of tariffs on prices? A nixed plan from Amazon serves as a cautionary tale of the political risks. Plus, feeling stressed these days? Cow cuddling and bee therapy might help.
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1 month ago | 
marketplace.org | Amy Scott
One of the most powerful tools in the fight against climate change is the money sitting in investment portfolios - especially the trillionsof dollars invested on behalf of public retirees. That’s money that could continue to fund fossil fuel development, or help pay for climate solutions instead. New York City has implemented an ambitious Net Zero plan for its public pensions. That plan includes divesting from some fossil fuel companies and investing billions of dollars in climate solutions.
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1 month ago | 
marketplace.org | Amy Scott |Caitlin Esch |Hayley Hershman |Sophia Paliza-Carre
Can we invest our way out of the climate crisis? That’s the question we started this series with, and in this episode, we try to answer that question. So far, we’ve been talking about the trillions of dollars of investor capital that could fund climate solutions or keep fueling the crisis. But what about our own money? What can we as individuals do to protect our savings from climate risk and not contribute to the problem?
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1 month ago | 
marketplace.org | Amy Scott |Caitlin Esch |Hayley Hershman |Sophia Paliza-Carre
Over the past few years, ESG investing has moved from a mainstream strategy promoted by the biggest asset managers in the world to a polarizing topic. Financial firms have scrubbed the acronym from their websites, dropped out of net-zero initiatives, and stopped advertising their climate efforts. Some have proclaimed ESG dead and buried. But if so, who killed it and why? The pushback to ESG gained steam in 2021, when Texas passed Senate Bill 13, an anti-ESG law.
