Kristin Schwab

Brooklyn

Senior reporter @marketplace, teaching @columbiajourn | produced @nytimes, @nymag, @wsj | former ballet dancer | Drop Dead Gorgeous was filmed in my hometown

Articles

What it's like to join the economy right now

1 week ago | marketplace.org | Kristin Schwab

Stillwater is a small town on the eastern edge of Minnesota, surrounded by fields and farms. Natalie Pilrain is driving on the highway, stuck behind a tractor going 25 miles an hour. “Yeah, in this area specifically, yeah, you definitely get that once in a while,” she said. Pilrain is on her way to do some furniture shopping. The 19-year-old lives with her dad, but is about to move out on her own for the first time, into a two-bedroom apartment that costs around $1,800 a month.
How the trade war could affect this couple's retirement plan

1 week ago | marketplace.org | Kristin Schwab

Gail and David Rhames live just a few steps from a quiet hiking trail in Hooksett, New Hampshire. “Okay, so this is one lookout,” said Gail, pointing down at the New England town along the Merrimack River. “And then all of this is our neighborhood.”The Rhames are an outdoorsy couple who like to camp, fish and ski. Their sense of adventure is partly what sparked their attraction for one another. “Gail’s one of these skiers you see that you say, ‘Wow, wish I could ski like that,’” said David.
Small businesses struggle as tariffs on Chinese goods disrupt supply chains

1 week ago | marketplace.org | Kristin Schwab

It’s been one month since President Trump announced tariffs on goods imported from China. In the days since then, those tariffs have gone up — they now sit at 145%. A month of these tariffs is long enough to disrupt each part of the supply chain, from manufacturing to shipping to retail shelves. On April 8, Danny Muskat at footwear company Deer Stags had $1 million worth of inventory — around 100,000 pairs of men’s boots and dress shoes — sitting in a factory in China.
Some retailers are already raising prices because of the president's tariffs

2 weeks ago | marketplace.org | Kristin Schwab

We’ll be getting lots of data this week that will help give us a sense of how the trade war is affecting this economy. We’ll get snapshots of how it was doing before the president’s so-called “liberation day” tariff rollout: March’s balance of trade, gross domestic product numbers, and Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index. We’ll also get more recent glimpses from April’s jobs report and the Conference Board’s consumer confidence survey for the month that’s just ending.
PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, and American Airlines are all worried about consumers being worried

2 weeks ago | marketplace.org | Kristin Schwab

This morning we learned how the first quarter of the year went for three big consumer-focused brands: PepsiCo, Procter and Gamble, and American Airlines. All three companies cut their forecasts for the year. All three say trade policy is creating uncertainty for them. It’s also creating uncertainty for their consumers when it comes to spending on flights, soda, and even staples like laundry detergent.
Tariffs will have an outsized impact on the apparel industry

3 weeks ago | marketplace.org | Kristin Schwab

The signature product at the menswear brand 3sixteen is specialty jeans, the kinds made for denim nerds. And one thing that makes them unique is that they’re put together in the U.S. “Early on in the brand, when we were still learning how to make jeans, there was a lot of value with being able to visit the factory to understand and really get acquainted with that process,” said co-owner Andrew Chen.
In this economy, six figures ain’t what it used to be

1 month ago | marketplace.org | Kristin Schwab

The first thing I noticed when I stepped inside Hanan Tamari and Kareem Addassi’s home is how good it smelled, like honeysuckle or gardenia. In the corner of the living room sat one of those trendy olive trees I’m always seeing on Instagram. There was a selection of fruit juices on the kitchen counter, decanted into carafes. “And then whenever you want, please, help yourself to the cheese board,” said Addassi, gesturing at the spread, while their 20-month-old daughter, Talia, looked on.
Eyeing the bond market

1 month ago | marketplace.org | Kai Ryssdal |Sean McHenry |Justin Ho |Kristin Schwab

The president’s executive orders calling for an end to DEI across the federal government is set to change the way tens of billions of dollars in federal contracts are awarded.
Do you own or do you rent? It probably affects your economic mood

1 month ago | marketplace.org | Kristin Schwab

Everyone has that thing they splurge on. For Ashley Ayala, it’s Le Creuset, the cast iron pots and pans that come in a rainbow of colors. Ayala’s standing in the kitchen of the apartment she owns in Kyle, Texas, boxes littered on the floor around her. The cookware itself appears mostly untouched. “I mean, one car payment, two car payments,” said the 36-year-old, who’s spent around $3,500 on the brand.
Documenting the consumer-driven economy in a different way

1 month ago | marketplace.org | Kristin Schwab

I’ve been at Marketplace for over five years now. When I think about the reporting I’ve done on how people feel about the economy, I often return to a piece I did a couple of years ago. The topic was how the pandemic changed the way consumers think about money. One person told me the isolation of the pandemic hit him so hard, he spent more on vacations and hobbies to feel more connected to the world.