Marketplace

Several recent surveys found that a significant number of Americans don’t just feel the pressure to buy more, they also end up overspending during the holidays. Today, we do the numbers on who’s going into debt this season and why, along with some tips to avoid spending more than you can afford. Plus: What you need to know from the last Fed meeting of the year and the big tech regulation that’s a sticking point in the USMCA.

House Democrats have reached an agreement on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement more than two years after the Trump administration started the process of renegotiating NAFTA. We’ll tell you everything you need to know. Plus: robotic produce pickers, the fight over irrigation water and a conversation with the first woman to run an American record company.

Former Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volcker, who helped shape American economic policy for decades, died this morning. Today, we look over his impact on the economy, and recall the time he raised interest rates to 21.5%. Plus: A new innovation that could make recycling more efficient, how to make kids’ entertainment more diverse, and the “smoker’s track” at work.

Uber reported today that of about 1.3 billion rides in the U.S. last year, there were 3,045 sexual assaults, nine murders and 58 people killed in car crashes. Today, we’re looking at those numbers in the context of Uber’s market share: some 70% of app-based ride services in the U.S. Plus: How Amazon changed Baltimore, takeaways from the latest jobs report and how inflatable holiday decorations took over American lawns.

We’re a week into the official holiday shopping season and, thanks to a late Thanksgiving, some shipping companies are already racing to the finish line. Plus: The end of the WTO as we know it, Sen. Rand Paul’s creative proposal for student loan debt and will 5G live up to the hype?

The Trump administration is tightening work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP or sometimes “food stamps.” The White House says low unemployment should make finding work easy, and the move will save $5.5 billion over the next five years. Today, we follow the money to find out what impacts the move could have. Plus: Twitter’s junk bonds, e-books’ effect on libraries and the unexpected costs that come with treating rare cancers.

We’re partial to “Stormy Weather” and “We’re In the Money,” but there’s one iconic sound that means it’s time to do the numbers: the bell that opens and closes the trading day on Wall Street. Today we take a look at that tradition, who gets to ring the bell and how they do it. Plus: Why batteries are getting cheaper and what the economy will look like in a year if the trade war continues.

America is short more than 60,000 truckers, and that number is expected to double in the next decade. Today, we talk with a trucker who trains people for the road. Plus, the latest on currency and trade wars, how e-commerce has changed holiday hiring and another shortage Americans are grappling with: not enough access to childcare.

Whether you spend the day after Thanksgiving hunting for deals or lounging on the couch, consumer spending is still one of the primary drivers of this economy. Today, we’re gonna look at the outlook for this holiday season. Plus: why more teens are headed to stores today, how one couple found perfect gift, and why you might find a pair of Crocs under the tree this year.

Thanksgiving air travel is expected to break records this year, and that means a lot of sitting around at airports. But there might be alternatives this year: Some airports are building walking paths, yoga rooms and full gyms. But is that the best use of space? Also: How small businesses are negotiating tariffs, innovation in the flower industry and a “Decade of Fire” in the Bronx.