Takeout has become a huge part of life in the pandemic era, and restaurants have leaned into to-go alcohol as a big part of their business. New York is moving toward making to-go alcohol a permanent thing. Julia Coronado joins us to discuss the release of the latest jobs data, part of which shows a somewhat underwhelming December. In an effort to turn things around, GameStop is about to explore the space of cryptocurrency and NFTs.

It’a another jobs report day today, and one thing that’s shown itself to be constant no matter what the data says is that demand for workers remains high. There’s a record-setting number of job openings and a desire for people to fill them. While inflation has been seen as a kind of economic dark cloud by many, others see some marketing possibilities. The BBC reports on how steel companies in the U.K. are handling U.S. import tariffs.

From the BBC World Service: A large coalition of investment firms is calling on the world’s biggest COVID vaccine makers to improve global jab distribution. Plus, though the fuel price cap has been reimposed in Kazakhstan, life in the commercial capital of Almaty is getting increasingly difficult. And, how British steel companies are dealing with the ongoing impact of U.S. import tariffs.

Nearly two years into the COVID era, the landscape of work has changed. Managers and employers everywhere are scrambling to find ways to hold on to the workers they have in a tight labor market. We address the anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol building with Ian Bremmer of the Eurasia Group, who put out a list of the biggest challenges facing the global economy.

From the BBC World Service: As unrest continues in Kazakhstan, including in the main commercial city of Almaty, we examine the country’s economic links with neighboring Russia. Plus, French regulators crack down on Facebook and Google over the use of electronic cookies to track online users. And, Taiwan is setting up a $200 million investment fund to further bolster ties with Lithuania.

That’s one of the possibilities analysts have mentioned following the release of the minutes from the Fed’s December policy meeting. The minutes showed that inflation concerns are spreading through more of the economy. Omicron worries have heavily impacted CES, the massive tech show in Las Vegas. What’s happening there raises questions about the convention-going experience in the future. Corporate political giving essentially shut down following the Jan. 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol, but it appears to be making a comeback.

President Biden could nominate Philip Jefferson for the seat on the Fed’s board of governors. If he makes it, Jefferson would just be the fourth Black governor in the history of the Federal Reserve. We take a short look at the how diversity has eluded the Fed for years. Susan Schmidt joins us for a markets discussion on a day when reportedly more than 800,000 jobs were added to private payrolls in December. The pandemic actually helped boost the sports collectibles market – is it poised for repeat business in 2022?

Update (1/5/21): The story about diversity at the U.S. central bank has been updated to correctly characterize leadership at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. For more information, check out the story on marketplace.org.

The omnipresent pandemic and the tense staring contest between the U.S. and China are just a couple of the things to watch as the global economy churns ahead into 2022. We spoke to Ian Bremmer, founder of the Eurasia Group, about its “Top Risks” report for the new year. For the first time in 90 years, General Motors has lost its spot at the top of the U.S. car sales mountain.

From the BBC World Service: That’s after authorities in oil-rich Kazakhstan lifted price caps on liquefied gas used for cars, causing prices to surge. An emergency has been declared in a number of cities and in the oil-producing western region of Mangistau. Plus, KFC apologizes to customers in Kenya after running out of fries. But, it’s more complicated than that. And, can London really compete with New York as a financial center?

Layers of numbers and data keep getting added to the arsenal of measurements used to interpret economic activity, but those numbers are becoming less and less dependable. Senior economics contributor Chris Farrell talks with us about possible solutions to this wide-ranging issue. There’s a shortage of bus drivers along with everything else, and transit systems are struggling to make up the difference. Apple is now worth $3 trillion dollars.