Episodios

  • How economists are making sense of our geopolitical climate
    Apr 20 2026

    Markets were hopeful on Friday after Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened to commercial vessels. Now, escalating tensions are bringing expectations back down. Marketplace’s Nova Safo spoke with Julia Coronado, founder and president of MacroPolicy Perspectives and a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, about how global economists at the National Association for Business Economics International Symposium in Rome, Italy, are grappling with the back and forth. Plus, later in the program: underemployment among recent college graduates and how we measure it.

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    7 m
  • Waiting for gas prices to drop? Don't hold your breath
    Apr 20 2026

    The Strait of Hormuz has remained largely closed, with only three sanctioned tankers making it through the waterway according to Reuters. When asked about a potential timeline for lower gas prices on CNN, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said prices below $3 “might not happen until next year.” Also on the program, we discuss a New York State law limiting employers’ use of credit history and Germany’s plan to build military enlistment.

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    6 m
  • Markets optimistic after Iran announces Strait of Hormuz has reopened
    Apr 17 2026

    Iran declared on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz has reopened for all commercial vessels. While the news caused stocks to rally and oil prices to drop, it’s unclear yet whether or not the market reaction is premature. Plus, we take a look into the aging demographics of first-time homebuyers and their shrinking share of the housing market.

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    6 m
  • Soaring jet fuel costs could leave European planes grounded
    Apr 17 2026

    The head of the International Energy Agency warned on Thursday that Europe could run out of jet fuel in few as six weeks. The continent is the biggest consumer of jet fuel shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, and ongoing closures in the strait could lead to swaths of flight cancellations. Also on the program: we discuss shifting expectations for American universities, our aging first-time homebuyer population, and changes at Netflix.

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    6 m
  • What a time to be a central bank
    Apr 16 2026

    The Federal Reserve is meeting at the end of this month to figure out what to do with interest rates. They have a tough task ahead of them: weighing the job market, inflation, and a war in the Middle East that is "roiling supply chains in ways that are similar ... to what we saw emerging from the pandemic," said KPMG's Diane Swonk. Also on the show: Rising health insurance costs are dragging down wage growth.

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    7 m
  • The cost of keeping the lights on
    Apr 16 2026

    Power utilities plan to spend $1.4 trillion over the next five years on capital projects. A lot of that boils down to grid maintenance and projects to support additional power generation. That’s a 21% increase over what utilities were planning to spend a year ago — and it could drive up household utility bills. Then, it’s been a little over three months since the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. How has Venezuela's oil industry changed since?

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    7 m
  • So many different flavors of oil
    Apr 15 2026

    We talk a lot about the price of oil on this show, but there are actually dozens of types of oil. On today's program, we're learning about where they come from, what they're used for, and why the price of oil futures differs from oil's on-the-spot market price. And later, as energy gets more expensive, governments around the world are asking people to try to conserve energy. How much of an impact do those moves have?

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    7 m
  • Tariff refunds are coming
    Apr 15 2026

    The Trump administration says it’ll start issuing refunds for tariffs the Supreme Court ruled were collected illegally next week. Customs and Border Protection's automated system will be able to process about 82% of the tariff payments, worth about $127 billion. More complicated claims will have to wait. Then, we'll discuss what the closure of the Strait of Hormuz means for U.S. oil producers. Plus, could a United Airlines-American Airlines merger be in the cards?

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    7 m