Marketplace All-in-One

High commodity prices, driven by pandemic disruptions and the war in Ukraine, are roiling the global economy. Developing nations are particularly sensitive to these increases, especially in food prices. We speak to David Malpass, President of the World Bank, about the bank’s latest economic projections and what they say about where the world may be headed. Forecasters are talking ahead of morning’s forthcoming GDP numbers, which may show a slowdown amid high inflation.

From the BBC World Service: The BBC understands that if Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, buys the drugstores, he plans to expand the U.K. brand into India, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Plus, a Samsung smartwatch commercial faces criticism from women. And, the “urban miners” looking to profit from electronic waste.

Twitter users and investors have been trying to guess what’s ahead for the social media platform since the company agreed to a $44 billion buyout from Tesla and SpaceX CEO — and Twitter superuser — Elon Musk. Musk has praised Twitter as an important platform for public discourse and says he plans to make it better by cracking down on bot accounts, increasing transparency around its algorithms and making it a more free speech-friendly space. But what happens when that free speech happens to be false speech? Emily Dreyfuss, a journalist and senior editor at Harvard’s Shorenstein Center, spoke to Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams about how the change of ownership, which is subject to regulatory approval, could affect Twitter’s attempts to crack down on misinformation.

This Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday, Kai and Kimberly are tackling your questions about the supply chain — from how we could look at shortages and backlogs as pandemic indicators to why it seems like processed foods are less likely to sell out at the grocery store. And we’ll make you smart fast on Elon Musk’s plan to purchase Twitter.

Here’s everything we talked about on the show today:

Do you have a question for Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday? Send a voice memo or email to [email protected], or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART (508-827-6278).

We’ve talked about the Federal Reserve’s tricky balancing act: raise interest rates enough to quell inflation without spurring a recession. That’s often called a “soft landing.” Thing is, it’s hard to do. The Fed’s tried it nine times since 1961 and has succeeded only once. Today, we’ll discuss how soft (or bumpy) the landing may be this time around. Plus: Russia cuts off some gas exports and retirement planning may now include crypto.

Business owners are facing shrinking profit margins as they deal with higher costs for materials and rising wages. We take a look at what options businesses have, including raising prices. A look at why the stock market has been down in the past month. Businesses have been investing in new equipment, which can improve productivity at a time of labor shortages.

Rental rates are rising faster than they have in years. According to one expert, rents are going up by an average of 15% per year nationwide, compared to just 3% before the pandemic. We take a look into what’s driving the increase and what it means for consumers. Russia has cut off natural gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria amid increasing tension over their support for Ukraine. A look into why markets have been down in the past month. House prices have been increasing rapidly over the pandemic, but the shortage has been building for years – even before COVID.

From the BBC World Service: As the European Union holds emergency gas talks to decide how to respond to Russia, what does turning off the gas taps mean for Poland and Bulgaria? Plus, a Chinese drone manufacturer has halted sales to Russia and Ukraine to try and stop its products being used in the war. And, the “vampire devices” which are driving up our home energy bills.

Contrary to what you might have seen in the Rock’s movie “San Andreas,” we still can’t predict earthquakes. But there have been recent advances in seismology assisted by artificial intelligence. Researchers at Stanford used a deep-learning algorithm to detect more earthquakes in cities by filtering out the normal noise and vibrations of urban life. And a group at Penn State used machine learning to analyze simulated fault movements in the lab and look for indicators that could help predict an impending quake. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino speaks with Egill Hauksson, a research professor of geophysics at Caltech, who said these tools can give us a fuller understanding of earthquake patterns.

If you drive around suburbia these days, you might come across entire communities of newly constructed homes with all the amenities of an apartment. But these aren’t your average tract homes. These are subdivisions made exclusively for renters instead of homeowners.

It’s all part of the build-to-rent trend, one of the fastest growing sectors in the housing industry.

On today’s show, we’ll talk about the build-to-rent trend and what it means for the housing market, homeownership and building generational wealth in this country.

For today’s Newsfix, we’re sticking with the housing theme. Amy Scott, our housing correspondent, talks about her biggest takeaways from the latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index. It’s wild! Plus, what the heck is going on with Twitter’s stock?

Then, we’ll hear from listeners about taxes, Taco Bell and dinosaurs!

Here’s everything we talked about today:

We’re still taking questions for Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday. You can submit yours at [email protected] or (508) 827-6278, also conveniently known as 508-UB-SMART.