Marketplace All-in-One

Diane Swonk of Grant Thornton joins us on a day where stocks have opened lower and the producer price index is up. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is entertaining the idea of a price cap on Russian oil. The World Economic Forum once calculated that it would take a century to reach gender parity around the globe. Now … it says it’ll take even longer.

A big part of Wednesday’s hot inflation reading was the cost of gas, where retail price lags behind the wholesale price. That normally would lead to a boost in the use of mass transit, but that’s not the case. The BBC reports on how Ukraine, Russia, the U.N. and Turkey appear closer to a deal on resuming exports of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea. We discuss how the waves of flight disruptions and cancellations during the pandemic have taken a toll on flight attendants.

From the BBC World Service: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who still has not officially resigned, fled to the Maldives yesterday. Now he’s going to Singapore – we look at the reasons why. There’s been some progress in talks between Ukraine and Russia about getting Ukrainian grain out of the country and to hungry people around the world. A major new study suggests that people in the Arab world are losing faith in democracy’s ability to deliver economic stability.

Finland installed the world’s first functional sand battery this month. It heats up the sand, which can retain that heat for months at a time, according to the developers. This stored heat is energy that can be tapped later. All over the world, electric grid operators are looking to store more renewable energy from wind and solar and turning to big batteries, sometimes acres of them. Here in the U.S., more than 90% of this storage relies on lithium-ion batteries, according to the government, thanks to their efficiency and relatively low cost. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams spoke with Jason Burwen, vice president of energy storage for the American Clean Power Association, an industry group. She asked him what other kinds of battery innovations are getting him excited.

Amy Scott fills in for Kai today to answer listener questions with Kimberly. One listener has a followup question on a Marketplace story from last week about how little child care workers get paid. He wondered, then why is child care so expensive? Where does the money go? We’ll dig into the costs. We’ll also answer your questions about money in politics and what’s behind the baby formula shortage. Then, our hosts give a listener some drink recommendations.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

If you’ve got a question about money and politics, let us know. Email us at [email protected]. Or leave us a voice message at (508) 827-6278 or (508) U-B-SMART.

Odds are you’ve seen the eye-popping figure by now: Year-over-year inflation clocked in at 9.1% in June. Those price increases are pretty much everywhere you turn in this economy. Today, we’ll take a look at where prices head from here and what it all means for the Federal Reserve. Plus, the hurdles in the way of a Russian oil price cap and why the role of college rankings may be changing.

Susan Schmidt of Aviva Investors joins us to discuss the markets shortly after the June consumer price index came in higher than expected. Contingencies are making a comeback in the housing market. A study shows that people left big cities in record numbers during the pandemic.

Inflation has affected everyone, but it’s been been especially damaging for low-income members of the U.S. military, as many of them are also struggling with access to food. In keeping track of the falling euro, we discuss how the weakened currency affects the U.S. companies that export goods to Europe.

From the BBC World Service: Thousands of Sri Lankans have tried to storm the offices of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe after he became interim president of the country. Russian and Ukrainian delegations are in Turkey to discuss ways to get millions of tons of grain exported from Ukraine. We hear how Nigeria is working to plant more coconuts in an effort to cut its reliance on imports.

Scientists and space enthusiasts the world over rekindled their sense of wonder this week as NASA unveiled the first full-color images from the James Webb Space Telescope. The pictures give us exceptional new details of stars, galaxies and nebulas across space and across time. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams spoke to Nobel laureate Adam Riess, a professor of astronomy and physics at Johns Hopkins University. She asked him exactly what it is we’re seeing in the first image NASA put out.