Marketplace All-in-One

When the latest jobs report dropped, so did stock prices. A listener wrote in to ask why Wall Street isn’t a fan of the hot labor market. We’ll get into it and answer more of your questions about how post-merger SPACs are holding up and how switching to an electric vehicle can save you money. Also, we’ll hear from Kimberly’s mom about her early Christmas decorating!

Here’s everything we talked about today:

As 2022 winds down, so are we! Join us Friday for our final episode of the year. We’re hosting a special holiday-inspired Economics on Tap starting at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time/3:30 p.m. Pacific on YouTube Live.

And if you have a holiday cocktail recipe or beer we should try, please send it our way. We’re at [email protected] or 508-U-B-SMART.

Mortgage rates usually move in tandem with the interest rate set by the Federal Reserve. But mortgage rates have dipped recently while the rate set by the Fed has been climbing. Why? The answer lies in the market for mortgage bonds. Plus, the state of the oil economy, the job gains workers with disabilities are making, and the growing need to crowdfund for basic necessities.

The e-cigarette maker hasn’t admitted to any wrongdoing, however. Karen Petrou of Federal Financial Analytics stops in to talk about the effects of the Georgia runoff results as well as economic inequality. We check in on the grim revenue projections for movie theaters.

The BBC reports on China’s relaxation of its ultra-strict COVID requirements. Then, we look into the many reasons behind the easing of the pain at the pump. Also, Congress has produced its first documentary.

From the BBC World Service: How significant is today’s visit by China’s president Xi Jinping to Saudi Arabia? We look at what’s on the agenda. Also, why Argentina’s vice president is facing a jail term for corruption. And, we find out how British restaurants are working around rising costs.

In this episode, we travel back in time to the place South Florida used to be — the Everglades before it was drained, developed and transformed into the megalopolis we know today. We start with a bird’s-eye view of the ecosystem. Then we get down on the ground to look at the consequences of drainage up close. Finally we discuss why a restoration plan passed more than two decades ago is more pressing now than ever before.

Despite the bankruptcies, hacks and general foul mood in crypto, one metric is moving in the right direction. As we talked about earlier this year, ethereum — the world’s second-largest crypto network — made a move to reduce the energy used in the “mining” process for authenticating transactions on the blockchain. In September, ethereum switched from the so-called proof of work method, in which a bunch of miners compete to solve an authentication puzzle with giant banks of supercomputers, to a method called proof of stake, in which just one miner validates a transaction. That requires much less electricity. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Alex de Vries, the founder of Digiconomist, a website that tracks cryptocurrency energy use, about just how much less energy the ethereum network is consuming, based on a paper that De Vries recently published.

Today we’re talking about that thing we all sort of dread paying: insurance. It’s a big business and a critical part of the housing market and our economy. But in the era of climate change, this multitrillion-dollar industry is being disrupted in a major way.

There’s data that shows insured losses from extreme weather disasters will exceed $100 billion for the second year in a row. And in one state in particular, the situation is, well, messy. On the show, Marketplace’s Amy Scott walks us through Florida’s complicated insurance marketplace and explains what’s at stake if the insurance industry doesn’t prepare for our changing climate.

In the News Fix, there are signs the U.S. economy is dis-inflating. Kai talks about what this might mean for interest rates. Meanwhile, Kimberly highlights a blockbuster case before the Supreme Court that could have major implications for the 2024 election and beyond.

Later, we’ll hear from a listener who picked up ice skating, and a writer explains what she got wrong about the mantra “It’s better to give than to receive.”

Here’s everything we talked about today:

As 2022 winds down, so are we! Join us Friday for our final episode of the year. We’re hosting a special holiday-inspired Economics on Tap starting at 6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT on YouTube livestream.

And if you have a holiday cocktail recipe for Kimberly, please send it our way. We’re at [email protected] or 508-U-B-SMART!

The military, just like everyone else, has to deal with supply chain disruptions and inventory balancing acts. In today’s show, we check in with the Pentagon’s chief weapons buyer about the war in Ukraine, a defense bill of nearly $850 billion and what the just-in-time economy means for the Department of Defense. Plus, normalizing retail inventory, confusion in streaming services and tensions between airlines and airports.

First, David Kelly of J.P. Morgan Asset Management joins us to talk about the slow cooling of inflation. Then, we dive further into the facets of the much-hyped and advertised Medicare Advantage as the end date for its open enrollment approaches.