Staying ahead is tough if you run a business — especially in this odd economic moment, where even affluent shoppers are picking low-cost alternatives. Whether you’re selling furniture, home goods or sheep’s wool, sometimes you have to adapt by targeting new markets. In this episode, three businesses doing just that. Plus, what a dip in weekly jobless claims might signal, why currency carry trades are risky, and how the bees made a comeback.

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Looking at fresh economic data, retail sales were flat and some categories of food dropped in price from March to April. That indicates both falling inflation and a consumer spending pullback — good things if you’re the Federal Reserve. We’ll dig into the consumer price index and hear from Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee about the stickiest part of inflation right now. Plus, more women are employed than ever. Could that change as pandemic support programs expire?

The next $50,000 in donations to Marketplace will be matched, thanks to a generous gift from Dr. Joe Rush of Florida. Give now and double your impact.

President Joe Biden announced a slate of new tariffs on $18 billion worth of Chinese goods today, including electric vehicles, semiconductors, steel and aluminum. We’ll look at how the tariffs compare to those implemented under the Donald Trump administration and what they mean to business owners. Plus, the latest on salvage efforts in the Port of Baltimore, and a new federal rule encourages more long-distance power lines.

The next $50,000 in donations to Marketplace will be matched, thanks to a generous gift from Dr. Joe Rush of Florida. Give now and double your impact.