Marketplace

Going into the holidays, consumer confidence was high and retail forecasts were looking rosy. Now, more than a week into the new year, it turns out the results are a bit of a mixed bag. We take a closer look at industry news out today. Then, government employees are feeling a lot of stress after 20 days of the partial government shutdown. How is that affecting their jobs? Also: A group of big finance companies is starting a new stock exchange, Members Exchange.

With today's talks falling through and federal workers about to miss a paycheck, this shutdown is on its way to becoming the longest-ever, and millions in missing income has ripple effects. We're devoting much of today's show to that, looking at how housing, food, taxes and more are impacted. Plus: Experts weigh in on trade negotiations between China and the U.S.

Friday's payday — or it should be. If the government shutdown continues through the week, federal workers will miss out. We talked with some out-of-work employees about how the shutdown is affecting their personal economies. Then: High economic growth in the U.S. has fueled carbon dioxide emissions despite technological advances aimed to reduce them. Plus: Why are airline tickets priced like that anyway?

With the government shutdown in its third week, the U.S. Census Bureau is still closed, leaving businesses and investors without valuable economic data. We'll look at what they're missing and talk with a hog farmer about how he's affected by the impasse in Washington. Plus: What does a trip to the emergency room really cost?

Among the federal employees still working during the government shutdown are those at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They put out this morning's jobs report, and it's better than anyone expected: 312,000 new jobs. We'll talk about what that does (and doesn't) tell us about the economy and recap a very volatile week for markets. Plus, is it just us or are movie credits getting longer?

We can feel it all the way from China. Apple's revised forecast yesterday helped torpedo stocks today. But this might just be a leading indicator of the problems a lot of companies will have as the second-biggest economy in the world slows down. We look at what's next for Apple and how American businesses are dealing with the slowdown. Also on the show: Professional sports teams are scoring more and more points each game. How is that helping the bottom line? Then: Be honest, are you guilty of going on vacation and staying glued to your phone? You're not alone, but some businesses want to change that. We'll talk about why a growing number of hotels are trying to persuade vacationers to take a break from their smartphones.

When a company like Target or Yahoo gets hacked, where does the stolen personal information end up? A lot of times, it is up for sale on the dark web. Cybersecurity researcher Stephen Cobb gives Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal a tour of the dark web and shows us how stolen information is sold. Also on the show: China's slowdown. A new survey reveals that Chinese manufacturing declined in 2018. We'll talk about what's behind the decline, what Chinese officials may do in response and how that is affecting American companies. And is Brexit still happening? Maybe. British Prime Minister Theresa May has until Jan. 14 to convince Parliament to approve her plan or face the possibility of a “no-deal” Brexit. What would that look like?

Last year was full of major economic events, and 2019 looks like it will be too. We'll talk about what we're watching in the global economy and what to expect from trade, Brexit and government spending. Speaking of global economies, six Pacific-Rim nations including Japan, Australia and Mexico are lowering tariffs on a number of products and services as of today. So what does that mean for American farmers? Then: The Chinese are likely to land a probe on the far side of the moon for the first time in history. China is spending billions on space exploration, but why now? 

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers and contractors are going into the new year without pay as the government shutdown stretches into 2019. But a new year also means a new Congress. We'll talk about how lawmakers plan on tackling the spending bill and what to expect from Capitol Hill in the coming months. As of tomorrow morning, wages are set to increase in over 20 states, yet the federal minimum wage remains unchanged since 2009. More on what that means for the economy. Then, we'll talk to Elizabeth White, author of "55, Unemployed and Faking Normal," about how people 55 and older are coping without retirement savings.  

It was a crazy week in economic news. Luckily we have the Weekly Wrap to review what went down. We're joined by Leigh Gallagher from Fortune Magazine and Rachel Abrams from the New York Times to unpack the last five days in stock market and shutdown drama. Then: We spent a year covering the 10-year anniversary of the financial crisis with our series #HowWeChanged. We'll talk about what we learned from hearing people's personal stories about how the recession changed their lives. And remember that huge GOP tax overhaul passed about a year ago? It’s the biggest change to the tax code in three decades. We’ll talk about how the rollout has gone so far and why tax workers are scrambling to get it right.