Marketplace

The Department of Justice is appealing the ruling that cleared Time Warner's $85 billion merger with AT&T, the government announced just before we put out yesterday's show. Today, we're trying to game out what's next, especially since the merger's already begun. Then, we'll look at the other huge media deal in the offing: Disney and Comcast's bidding war for 21st Century Fox, and Hulu's role in it. And, of course, we'll tackle the fire hose of political news in the Weekly Wrap.

Jay Powell's been the chairman of the Federal Reserve for about five and a half months. His office in the Federal Reserve Building on Constitution Avenue is still getting put together, but he's already put his mark on the central bank and chatting with us today is part of that. We talked about transparency, trade disputes and stagnant wages, but he wasn't able to talk about inflation. The numbers came out just minutes after our conversation ended, and they showed consumer prices are growing faster year over year than they have since 2012. We talk about what that means for the Fed and for you.

In the five months since Jerome “Jay” Powell took over as chairman of the Federal Reserve, the country is facing a growing number of tests: stagnant wage growth, tariff disputes around the world and a White House that likes to publicly offer the Fed economic advice.

In his first broadcast interview since taking the job, Powell told Kai Ryssdal that he is “not concerned” about political pressure and that he’s keeping his focus on carrying out the Fed’s mandate from Congress: “We have a long tradition here of conducting policy in a particular way, and that way is independent of all political concerns,” he said. They also talked about The White House's ongoing trade disputes, why wages aren't rising and inflation. You can also read the whole thing here. 

If you thought all the Chinese trade talk was testy, you should see footage from President Donald Trump's first day of North Atlantic Treaty Organization meetings today. Trump slammed American allies, saying "many countries owe us a tremendous amount of money" from years of defense spending. And that was just the photo op. We'll fill you in on the NATO meeting and what to expect during the next few days of talks in Brussels. Plus, the latest on those tariffs. Then: Like a lot of cities hit hard by the housing crisis, foreclosed homes in South Euclid, Ohio were bought on the cheap by investors, who planned to flip them when the market recovered. But it didn't, really, and now some landlords are unloading them with shady rent-to-own deals.

President Donald Trump's nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court came with a little surprise and a lot of theater. But what happens next should come as no surprise at all: millions of dollars and hundreds of hours of advertising for and against Kavanaugh's appointment. We'll talk about what to expect. Then: We'll explain the upcoming rent control ballot measure in California, and what it could mean for the affordable housing crisis around the country. Plus, what you need to know about Trump, Pfizer and the market for one of that company's most profitable drugs: Viagra.

We've heard of a "soft Brexit" and a "hard Brexit," but what about a "BRINO: Brexit In Name Only"? We'll kick off today's show with everything you need to know about negotiations and the furor Prime Minister Theresa May is trying to manage on a tight deadline. Then, we'll look at the future of HBO after the Time Warner-AT&T merger — and why it might look a lot like Netflix. Plus: We love to do the numbers, but there are a lot of them. So what are the best figures to look at if you want to know how the economy is doing? You've always wondered, so we'll break it down.

Well, here we are. As of July 6, the U.S. is officially at odds with our biggest trading partner, to say nothing of several other large economies. So, what's the exit strategy? That's what we'll try to figure out today. Then, it's important to note this is all happening at a time when the American economy is doing quite well. We'll dig into the latest evidence of that: today's jobs report, which saw unemployment tick up, albeit for a good reason. Plus, we'll look at why even celebrity chef-owned restaurants are always "an inch from disaster."

Today might feel like a Monday, but it's actually the end of the week, which means U.S. tariffs against China go into effect tomorrow. Should you be worried about inflation? Or even ... deflation? We'll talk about it, then head to a Georgian pecan farm to see the impact of Chinese tariffs up close. Plus, how the "world's friendliest border" became the front for another trade dispute. And finally, how the box office bounced back this summer.

Happy Fourth of July, it's a hot one and your AC can feel it. The heat wave gripping parts of the midwest and northeast could have a damaging effect on the electric grid system. It also holds economic concerns for the areas poor. Although it’s a holiday, many people will be working, especially food vendors who sell at festivals all summer long. There's a big business for a lot of small businesses that work the music festival circuit. Also on today's show: lights, camera, tax breaks. The governor of New Jersey signed a bill yesterday offering tax incentives to attract film production. We took a look at how the state-by-state debate over film tax incentives affects the entertainment industry.

Traders only worked half a day, giving everyone a chance to get out of town for the July Fourth holiday. In that spirit we're bringing you three stories about summer vacations: Why plane tickets are so cheap right now, how Orlando became an amusement park capital, and what we talk about when we talk about the great American road trip. But first, what you need to know about Mexico's presidential elections, and the government agencies looking at Facebook. Then: It's not hard getting hired to deliver packages for Amazon, but the job itself is anything but easy; we talk to a reporter who tried it, and narrowly avoided a parking ticket that would have wiped out her wages for the day.