Marketplace All-in-One

The U.S. lags behind other countries when it comes to making rapid at-home COVID-19 tests easily available and inexpensive. And we’re going to need to get better at it as omicron variant concerns increase and we see more indoor gatherings. Then we’ll look at the staffing shortages many schools have faced and what that’s meant for those who’ve stayed. And it’s Friday, so we’ll wrap up with a round of everyone’s favorite game, Half Full/Half Empty!

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

Support economic news and information for ALL by making a year-end donation today at Marketplace.org/givesmart. And thank you for your generosity.

Natural gas prices have skyrocketed in recent months thanks to strong global demand. Today, Marketplace’s Andy Uhler takes us to a village in northwest Louisiana where many landowners signed away their mineral rights to drillers. The resulting infusion of cash revived the local economy but has come at an environmental cost for some in the area. We’ll also digest a muddled jobs report in the Weekly Wrap, discuss whether job growth in the warehouse sector is here to stay and tackle the frustrations of on-and-off return-to-office plans.

Join Marketplace’s mission to make everyone smarter about the economy — make your year-end gift today!

The labor department’s job growth numbers came in at less than half of what forecasters projected, at 220,000. On the surface, that looks disappointing, but Christopher Low helps outline why it might not be quite that simple during our economic discussion. We look at how the omicron variant could determine whether or not the ski industry faces and uphill or downhill battle. The hurricane season of 2021 comes to a close, and a look back shows how historically expensive it has been.

From the BBC World Service: Under pressure from Beijing, the company will move its shares to Hong Kong. Plus, trains have started to run on a new line between Laos and China. But can one of Asia’s poorest countries afford the cost of Chinese financing? And, a group of World Trade Organization member nations agree to a deal to slash red tape and substantially cut trade costs.

We can do that with the help of Hannah Keyser of Yahoo Sports, who explains why the owners have locked out the players and what kind of potential far-reaching impact the lockout (not a strike) could have on the game of baseball as a whole. The Senate has evaded a government shutdown with the passing of a stopgap spending bill that serves as only a temporary solution.

Many tech companies had a good pandemic, financially-speaking, at least. That includes YouTube, which is of course owned by Google, owned by Alphabet. YouTube ad revenue jumped 46% between 2019 and 2020, as people stuck at home turned to the platform for all sorts of reasons. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams recently spoke with YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, who says more people are becoming creators for the platform, as well as consumers of videos. And they’re making money in the process.

Join Marketplace’s mission to make everyone smarter about the economy – Make your year-end gift today!

Almost two years into COVID-19, there are some parts of the pandemic that don’t seem to be going away. Yes, variants. But also the way we spend our money. We’ll talk about why grocery stores are still capturing the majority share of stomach and what that means in the days of omicron. Plus, a successful spacewalk, and we nerd out over today’s date.

Here’s everything we talked about:

Join us on YouTube Fridays at 3:30 p.m. Pacific/6:30 p.m. Eastern for our live happy hour episode! Subscribe to our channel and sign up for notifications so you don’t miss it.

Workers over 65 were the fastest-growing segment of the labor force before the pandemic. But as the pandemic persists and new coronavirus variants spread, older adults have been slow to return to the workforce, and many have simply retired early. In a tight labor market, that shrunken labor pool could persist for years to come. We’ll also hear how bond buying could translate into higher mortgage rates, how omicron could further complicate the global supply chain and how stock images play a role in reinforcing whiteness.

Join Marketplace’s mission to make everyone smarter about the economy — make your year-end gift today!

When Dalip Singh became taxi driver in New York City, he thought it’d be his ticket to the middle class. It would take years before he discovered that he’d instead bought into a massive lending scam, one that would go on for decades, pushing him and thousands of other drivers into extreme debt. Now, as Dalip and his family try to get ahead, they find themselves struggling against the exact systems they thought were meant to help them.

“This Is Uncomfortable” is Reema Khrais, Donna Tam, Megan Detrie, Peter Balonon-Rosen, Camila Kerwin, Phoebe Unterman, Marielle Segarra and Serena Chow

Parts of the president’s plan include the reimbursement of costs for at-home COVID tests and booster vaccinations, along with the establishment of family vaccination clinics. Diane Swonk references “Groundhog Day” during our standing markets discussion as everyone struggles to determine what omicron’s impact could actually be on the economy. There are concerns as to what hedge fund ownership could mean for many local news outlets. Grocery chain Kroger is squaring off against Publix in Florida by utilizing a delivery-only approach.

Join Marketplace’s mission to make everyone smarter about the economy – Make your year-end gift today!