Marketplace All-in-One

On Monday, Amazon increased the base pay cap for some of its employees. Tech and corporate workers will see their base salaries rise from $160,000 to $350,000. In an internal memo, the company announced it hopes to offer more competitive compensation compared to other big tech companies. With Amazon being one of the world’s largest employers, we wonder what effect it could have on wages throughout the tech industry as well as for the rest of its own employees. We’ll also catch you up on the weekend’s news, including a White House update on Russia. Plus, a Make Me Smile that’s just our type!

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

Joe Rogan’s podcast will remain on Spotify following controversies over COVID misinformation and his past use of a racial slur. Still, the company’s CEO issued an apology to staffers this weekend. In a competitive industry with a tight labor market — and at a time when workers prioritize company values — the streaming platform may be less worried about keeping subscribers than it is about retaining employees. Plus: An inside look at China’s zero-COVID policy and supply chain management programs see a boom in student interest.

Augmented reality tools have become more in demand, as evidenced by the exponential growth of Snapchat, which utilizes a lot of AR features. Could this be a sign that more of society is about to embrace AR in daily life? The Beijing Olympics are underway, but alleged human rights abuses in the country have cast a pall over the festivities. However, corporate sponsors for the games haven’t budged despite calls from groups to boycott. Julia Coronado talks with us about how the markets are interpreting the Fed’s messaging about rate hikes.

From the BBC World Service: President Biden is due to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz amid concerns over European access to natural gas from Russia. This happens as tens of thousands of Russian troops remain stationed along its border with Ukraine. Plus, leading figures behind the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine accuse politicians of damaging its reputation. And Canada’s capital, Ottawa, declares a state of emergency over ongoing trucker protests.

A new documentary, “Owned: A Tale of Two Americas,” traces a long history of of discriminatory housing policy that has systemically denied Black families from home ownership. We spoke to Giorgio Angelini, the documentary’s director. There’s more trade tension between the U.S. and China as the former is leaning on Beijing to honor commitments to purchase products from the U.S.

Nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, are basically digital certificates of ownership, a virtual claim that an image or gif or even a song belongs to you. And while some artists are happy to jump into this new space, others have been surprised — or furious — to find that strangers beat them to owning and selling NFTs of their work. Just last week, several musical artists publicly complained after the website HitPiece temporarily listed NFTs for their songs or albums without the artists’ permission. But does selling someone else’s art as an NFT break the law? Aram Sinnreich is a professor and chair of the communication studies division at American University. He said this gets into a gray area, at least when it comes to existing copyright law.

January’s employment report was released Friday morning, and it showed the U.S. economy added 467,000 jobs last month. The headline numbers were a pleasant surprise, but a closer look revealed troubling statistics for women hoping to return to the workforce. We discuss that and other takeaways over a nice adult beverage for Economics on Tap. Plus, a round of our Friday favorite, Half Full/Half Empty!

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

If anything makes you smile over the weekend, or if you have questions or comments, email us at [email protected]. Or leave us a voice message. We’re at 508-827-6278 (508-UB-SMART).

Whatever your adjective of choice, the January jobs report was — to say the least — surprising. Despite gloomy forecasts, employers added 467,000 jobs last month. Pay and labor force participation were up, too. Today, we’ll dig into the data and tackle more of this week’s economic news in the Weekly Wrap. Plus, the little perks just aren’t cutting it anymore to retain workers, and finding a home in a family-friendly neighborhood is easier said than done.

This morning’s labor market report is like going into a meeting with the boss expecting to be fired and getting a promotion instead. The Labor Department says the economy added nearly 470,000 jobs in January, far higher than expected. This is despite earlier surveys showing omicron was leaving businesses short staffed and impacting consumer spending. Following that, Jared Bernstein of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, as well as economist Christopher Low, join us to break down the latest data on hiring and unemployment. A winter storm is gripping much of the country, as are rising heating costs. Texas’ recent experience with harsh winter blackouts is still on the minds of many of its residents. The Beijing Olympics aren’t being expected to bring in lots of money. 

From the BBC World Service: After all, China is the world’s biggest energy consumer. We examine the economic links between the two countries. Also, Beijing is being cautious about how much it supports Moscow, especially when it comes to the build-up of Russian troops at Russia’s border with Ukraine. And, scientists in South Africa say they’ve produced a version of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.