Marketplace

As we follow the implosion of Silicon Valley Bank, we’ll examine the parties involved in regulating finance — both state and federal — and what changes may emerge from the meltdown. We’ll also check in with a former Federal Reserve official who oversaw reforms and ask him to chart a path forward for Washington. Plus, shelter costs continue to drive inflation and cowhides help predict the economic future.

Add the spectacular collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank to the lengthy list of consumer concerns. Bank failures like these don’t just rattle their depositors, they stoke anxiety in everyone who hears about them. Today, we’ll feature special coverage of SVB’s demise — how Washington is responding, the ripple effects on other banks and what it all means for average consumers.

The Federal Reserve has unleashed eight interest rate hikes in the past year, yet the economy doesn’t seem to be taking the hint. With unemployment at historic lows and consumer spending still robust, is monetary policy able to slow the economy any longer? And if not, what more can the Fed do? Plus, U.S. exports reached record highs in January and customers seeking retribution take to Yelp.

That’s how one economist described today’s job openings report. The number of available jobs remains high but is on the decline, as is the number of people who’ve quit their gigs. It indicates that the Federal Reserve’s efforts to cool the economy are working — at least in certain industries. Plus, converting office buildings to apartments, parsing the importance of seasonally adjusted data and gaming our way to a balanced federal budget.

Can we rein in inflation without unemployment surging? Though it’s an open question, one route to avoiding layoffs is for companies to accept lower profit margins and absorb additional costs. But whether they will is a whole ‘nother question. We’ll also unpack Day 1 of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s Capitol Hill testimony, look at the workforce gap left by pandemic-era retirements and visit one of Los Angeles’ newest lesbian bars.

This week, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited Kyiv to underscore U.S. support for Ukraine. Today, Yellen joined “Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal to chat about her trip, the “moral obligation” to aid Ukraine and the impact of sanctions on Russia, as well as domestic economic concerns — from the politicization of the debt ceiling to cooling the labor market. Plus, what an inverted yield curve foretells and where consumers are cutting back.

There’s a running assumption that a strong labor market and wage growth will make it harder to slow rising prices. But how much does wage growth need to slow to get us to normal levels of inflation? Today, we’ll do the numbers on what economists say is ideal wage growth. Also on the program: rising loan balances, growing hurricane risks and the sound of a $10 million violin.

The average consumer is hungry — to go out, that is. Sales at restaurants and bars are up nearly 25% since last January, but that spending surge coincides with dimming consumer confidence. What can all that going out tell us about the economy more broadly? Also on the show: bans on American investments in China, TikTok’s numbered days on government devices and Tubi’s CEO on ad-supported streaming.

The Federal Reserve’s original job was to help the U.S. avert financial meltdowns. But propping up the pandemic economy forced the central bank to do some “soul searching.” Today, we’re joined by The New York Times’ Jeanna Smialek to examine the Fed’s history and its shifting role in the modern economy. Also, recession predictions are all over the map, and low housing inventory fuels new home construction.

The American civil rights movement was about more than attitudes around racism. It also fought to expand workers’ rights and access to housing and good jobs. We’ll chart the economic agenda the movement outlined decades ago, which is sometimes left out of the conversation today. Plus, a look at how gross domestic product figures get revised and what a drop in unemployment claims says about the job market.