Marketplace

While that sounds like an opportunity he wouldn't pass up, President Donald Trump is reportedly considering five economists for Fed chair, including current Chair Janet Yellen. Politico's Ben White takes us through the list of potential candidates, weighing them against what Trump is looking for: someone he can relate to and influence, and someone who won't raise rates as he enters the re-election period. All eyes should really be on China right now, where the Communist Party Congress opened today. It's an important meeting that happens once every five years, and today's speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping revealed China's five-year economic plan, which includes valuable information for companies and China-watchers. Next, we go to Minnesota to check in on the wild rice crop, a cornerstone of life for local Native American tribes. And on this week's edition of Corner Office, we talk to Reshma Saujani, CEO of Girls Who Code, an organization dedicated to teaching girls to code and getting more women jobs in tech.

At America's largest ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach, bales of plastic and paper are piling up. Once upon a time, they would have been packed and shipped to Asia, where they'd be turned into consumer goods and shipped back. But China has plenty of its own recycled materials now to sustain the manufacturing of goods, leaving the U.S. with a big problem: where's it all going to go? Maybe it can be hidden in the giant $2.4 trillion hole that the GOP's tax plan would leave in the budget (but it's likelier to end up in storage for now.) The tax plan is a big flip-flop from the fiscal responsibility Republicans have been been preaching, but it's not without precedent — historically, each side cares more about debt when they're in the opposition. Plus, NAFTA negotiations, what's really behind Amazon's choice of location for their secondary headquarters and how Houston's undocumented parents are struggling to receive federal aid for their children as the city recovers from Hurricane Harvey.

Many nonprofits are shaking in their boots at the prospect of a GOP tax plan that would decrease incentives for giving, especially for individuals in lower tax brackets. And as the smoke begins to clear from massive wildfires in Northern California (some of which are still active), we examine the failure of maps that show places most at risk for wildfires. One neighborhood that burned last week was Coffey Park, a subdivision in the middle of Santa Rosa — the type of place that everyone assumed would be safe from wildfires. And on the latest installment of My Economy, we hear from one listener grappling with health care costs.

We wrap up the news week wondering: Will Congress be able to pass any big legislation in 2017? What will happen to low-income people seeking health care once government subsidies disappear? Will President Donald Trump and European leaders decide to impose new sanctions on Iran? Plus, corporate America's reliance on nondisclosure agreements helps serial harassers stay under the radar and aren't necessarily protecting public interest, so why do we still have them? And, on a more personal note, it would make it a lot harder for us to do our jobs if we didn't have accurate economic data. The Census Bureau usually takes care of this every five years, but the upcoming count has already been delayed by six months because of funding cuts.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order today that will eventually allow Americans to buy health insurance with lower premiums. While younger, healthier people may be able to take advantage of these plans, they may exclude some sick people with pre-existing conditions and other factors Obamacare eradicated. The president is keeping us in business as fact-checkers: Last night he said the rising stock market will fix the debt problem. But debt and stocks are entirely different assets and can't be compared dollar for dollar. And while fires rage in Northern California, we look into the risk assessment of floods and why some in Houston would prefer their homes stay off official floodplain maps.

The White House made a few statements recently regarding tax cuts and tax rates that could really use some fact-checking. And that's what Marketplace is here for. President Donald Trump tweeted that the massive tax cuts he'd like to see from Congress would cause an already rallying stock market to skyrocket. But historically, the effects of big tax cuts on the stock market have been small, and it has likely gone up  since Trump was elected in anticipation of cuts. Then, Sarah Huckabee Sanders assured the press corps that the U.S. has the highest tax rate in the developed world, which is technically true, but the rate most corporations actually pay is pretty average in comparison. There's also some tax trouble in Cook County, Illinois, over a soda tax that's been repealed after only two months in effect. Plus, we dive deep into home buyouts in post-flood Houston, the economic mood in Catalonia and how to make a women's magazine thrive in a competitive industry.

The venture capitalists who just gave $110 million to a sock company said that. And that's today's good news. Nearly everything else revolves around two men at the helm of their respective organizations who are losing popularity this week: Harvey Weinstein, whose business affiliates in Hollywood are fleeing from deals with his eponymous production company after years' worth of sexual assault allegations were reported, and Donald Trump. His tactics renegotiating NAFTA were described as an "existential threat" by the president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, his big infrastructure plan is in limbo after he made comments trashing the public-private partnerships that had been expected to fund it, and data shows that the coal industry won't be coming back anytime soon despite his reversal of greenhouse gas emissions regulations. And we answer a listener's question: "Why are bottles of soda sold in liters but milk is sold in gallons?"

There’s a lot of policy reform underway at the White House this week. President Donald Trump is gearing up to sign an executive order to undermine Obamacare, and people are calling it a “synthetic repeal.” He’s also worked out a deal with Democratic senators on immigration, a deal that shifts policy based on family ties to one that prioritizes skilled workers. And the clock is ticking for Trump and the Republicans to overhaul taxes — there are only 32 legislative days left in 2017. Across the globe, we look at what’s happening diplomatically behind the scenes to put pressure on North Korea, how destruction in Puerto Rico looks like opportunity to some corporations and how European Union member states are breaking apart and coming together in the name of reform.

It's jobs day. The numbers weren't great, in part because of the hurricanes that hit Florida and the Gulf Coast, but also because of the way jobs numbers are crunched each month. We'll explain. Then: Amazon is testing a new service in its quest to (very nearly) take over this country's retail economy: shipping. Later, we'll bring you the latest on President Donald Trump and the Iran deal, and, as always, we'll wrap up the week in business news.

President Donald Trump gave his assessment of the American economy this morning on Twitter: "Stock Market hits an ALL-TIME high! Unemployment lowest in 16 years! Business and manufacturing enthusiasm at highest level in decades!" A couple things about that: Markets go down too, and unemployment was only at a 16-year low back in June. It's not clear what "business enthusiasm" metric he was using. But look: It's a long-established tradition for presidents to claim credit for the country's economic successes. Whether that credit's always deserved? That's less clear. Also on this show: We'll bring you the latest on Republicans' tax plan and examine a play all about junk bonds. Plus: Our reporter hitched a ride yesterday on a planeload of union nurses, truck drivers and electricians headed from New York to Puerto Rico.