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1 week ago | 
marketplace.org | Matt Levin
Your inbox over the past month has probably been filled with emails like the one Jacob Sendowski sent to his customers on April 17. Sendowski is the co-founder of Souper Cubes, a California-based business that makes silicone trays and other accessories for freezing leftovers. The email subject line: “An update on our pricing.” Followed by a heart emoji.
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1 week ago | 
marketplace.org | Matt Levin
In case you missed it, the April jobs report came in last week. The headline that likely got buried under the thousand other headlines coming into your newsfeed? Even amidst all that April tariff uncertainty, the labor market held up pretty well. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%, payroll grew by about 177,000 jobs.
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1 week ago | 
marketplace.org | Matt Levin
Whether it’s Hot Wheels or Barbies or pretty much anything else that’s supposed to come from China to the United States, it’s mostly all getting here one way. “I would say that it's about 99.8% of volume that's overseas is going to move via containerized freight,” said Tom Goldsby, who teaches supply chain management at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
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3 weeks ago | 
marketplace.org | Matt Levin
With the caveat that pretty much any economic data collected before April’s tariff bonanza should be taken with a grain of salt — salt that hopefully isn’t imported — the Census Bureau dropped some fresh numbers this morning on newly constructed home sales in March. Turns out, sales were pretty strong last month, up 7.9% year over year. The median price for that new home smell was about $404,000 — not cheap, but about $30,000 cheaper than a year ago.
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3 weeks ago | 
marketplace.org | Matt Levin
Let’s go back to the beginning of the year here for a moment. (I hear you and your 401(k) eagerly nodding yes.) Back then, all the big tech companies, including Meta, Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft, were still planning on spending unfathomable gobs of money on artificial intelligence, and specifically unfathomable gobs of money on AI data centers. Just how big of an unfathomable gob? $320 billion, in 2025 alone.
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3 weeks ago | 
kqed.org | Matt Levin
Apr 22Failed to save articlePlease try againFaculty, students and supporters gather in Sproul Plaza at UC Berkeley, on March 19, 2025, to protest the Trump administration's scrutiny of campus protests and curriculum nationwide. Anxiety continues to spread as the administration revoked over 1,000 student visas, including in the Bay Area. Many international learners fill jobs in science and technology. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)This story originally aired on Marketplace on April 21.
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3 weeks ago | 
marketplace.org | Matt Levin
According to the Associated Press, over the past few weeks the Donald Trump administration has revoked the visas or legal status of more than 1,000 international students, both undergraduate and graduate. Some were involved in protests over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The rationale for canceling the visas of many others remains unclear. Colleges across the country say that often they receive no warning from the federal government before a visa is revoked.
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3 weeks ago | 
ischool.berkeley.edu | Matt Levin
From MarketplaceBy Matt Levin According to the Associated Press, over the past few weeks the Donald Trump administration has revoked the visas or legal status of more than 1,000 international students, both undergraduate and graduate. Some were involved in protests over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The rationale for canceling the visas of many others remains unclear. Colleges across the country say that often they receive no warning from the federal government before a visa is revoked...
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4 weeks ago | 
marketplace.org | Matt Levin
Since President Donald Trump began announcing tariffs, we’ve been talking about safe havens — places investors put their money when the world turns chaotic. Usually, that’s U.S. debt, backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. But in the immediate wake of that tariff stock market sell-off, investors sold U.S. Treasurys too. There’s gold, an ancient safe haven, which hit another record high Wednesday — more than $3,350 an ounce.
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1 month ago | 
marketplace.org | Sabri Ben-Achour |Kai Ryssdal |Nicholas Guiang |Matt Levin
Apr 14, 2025Consumers are afraid that unemployment is going to rise over the next year, according to a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Meanwhile, the commercial real estate sector braces for another downturn. Segments From This Episodeby Sabri Ben-AchourForeigners account for massive portions of bond and stock ownership. Some experts say they fear the economic impact of White House policies.
