After more than a year of negotiations, the sale of U.S. Steel to Japanese firm Nippon Steel appears close. And it's expected to give an unusual role to the U.S. government. But first: how offshore wind developers are feeling, and why investors shouldn't tune out the markets this summer.

Bitcoin 2025 — billed as the world's largest event dedicated to the digital currency — kicked off this week in Las Vegas. Among the speakers: Vice President JD Vance and the White House's AI and Crypto Czar, David Sacks. their attendance marks another clear signal of the administration's growing embrace of cryptocurrency. Plus: What happened to corporate pledges made five years ago to help historically Black colleges and universities? We look into how some of those commitments have held up.

From the BBC World Service: The Panamanian government has declared a state of emergency in one province. It comes after U.S. banana giant Chiquita Brands laid off about 5,000 workers following a strike that had stopped production. Prosecutors in Brazil are suing the Chinese EV giant BYD, accusing it and two contractors of human trafficking and slave-like conditions at a factory site. And we take a look at Europe's biggest plant for processing the rare earth minerals a lot of modern technology relies on.

In late April, details came to light about a covert experiment conducted by researchers from the University of Zurich on unsuspecting Reddit users on the debate forum known as r/changemyview. They used AI chatbots posing as real humans on the forum to test their powers of persuasion and invented backstories like a rape survivor or a Black man opposed to Black Lives Matter. What they didn't have was consent. The experiment violated Reddit Terms of Service, forum rules and, critics say, academic research standards. The researchers who notified Reddit of the experiment after the fact have since apologized and said they won't publish the results. Reddit says it's increasing efforts to verify users are human. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke to Mohammad Hosseini, a professor at Northwestern University's medical school, about the potential harms that could come from a study like this one.

The Conference Board’s latest consumer confidence index notched its highest monthly increase in four years. To be clear, it was coming off a five-year low in April, but the jump still represents cooling trade war anxieties among American consumers. Also in this episode: The U.S. isn’t the only country experiencing rising bond yields, durable goods orders fell in April and first-time home owners in Houston are saddled with climate-related cost burdens.

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Hey Smarties! Make Me Smart is taking a short break while Kimberly and Reema cook up something good for you!

In the meantime, we’re bringing you an episode from “Financially Inclined” a podcast from Marketplace that helps families learn more about money. It turns out where you park your money can actually make a difference in the fight agains climate change. Today, host Yanely Espinal speaks with author and financial educator Kara Perez about how you can spend, save and invest your money in a way that aligns with your values, without sacrificing your financial goals. Plus, they share practical tips for how to use your money to make a real impact.

From our sponsor: Imagine if you could ask someone anything you wanted about their finances. On “What We Spend,” people from across the country and across the financial spectrum are opening their wallets — and their lives — to tell you everything: What they make, what they want, and — for one week — what they spend.

Over the past 40 years, more people have been delaying retirement and working longer. Keeping a job is one thing, but changing jobs becomes harder as you get older. And nearly a quarter of workers aged 50 and over plan to look for a new job this year. Later, our BBC colleagues gain rare access to the facility of a company said to make the world's most advanced microchips.

The delay of President Trump's 50% tax on European imports gives both sides more time to negotiate a trade deal. But what that agreement will look like remains unclear. And later on the show: foreign aid. We take a look at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, why it was spared by the Trump administration and its proposed $3 billion funding boost.

From the BBC World Service: The EU Commission has accused Chinese fashion retailer Shein of using illegal commercial practices to mislead customers. Plus, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is expanding its presence in the U.S., as President Trump looks to boost the economy with more tech manufacturing.