Economy

Economy

The word 'recession' is coming up more frequently. But there can be silver linings

5:19pm October 09, 2022

by Michel Martin

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Michelle Singletary, personal finance columnist for The Washington Post, about why a recession doesn't have to be so scary.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference.

Economy

When your seatmate on the plane talks about the Fed, you know things aren't right

9:22am October 09, 2022

by Stacey Vanek Smith

The woman next to me, who described herself as knowing "zero" about the economy, asked whether I thought the Federal Reserve would continue raising interest rates. I felt an acute sense of dread.

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Economy

The Federal Reserve is trying to maintain a tough balance in controlling inflation

7:53am October 09, 2022

The Federal Reserve is trying to slow down the economy just enough to get rising prices under control, but not so much that a ton of people lose their jobs. It's a tough balance.

Economy

How sorority rush is a matching market

4:17pm October 07, 2022

by Wailin Wong

Sorority rush. It's a college tradition full of excitement and anxiety for recruits. For economists, it illustrates a concept that plays a huge role throughout our economy: matching markets.

A man walks past a "Now Hiring" sign in New York City on July 8, 2022. Signs that job growth cooled in September could help with uncomfortably high inflation.

Stocks sink despite Friday's report that hiring cooled in September

4:02pm October 07, 2022

by Scott Horsley

A new jobs report showed a modest slowdown in hiring last month that was not enough to soothe Wall Street's worries about inflation and the Fed. The unemployment rate edged down to 3.5%

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Will the OPEC decision to cut oil production further hurt U.S.-Saudi relations?

5:06am October 07, 2022

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to ex-U.S. Ambassador to Yemen Gerald Feierstein about the U.S.-Saudi relationship after OPEC decided to cut oil production. President Biden was disappointed by the decision.

Brian Bouser, 22, says his recent experiences in the workforce have prompted him to go into business for himself.

Americans are becoming less productive, and that's a risk to the economy

5:01am October 07, 2022

by Stacey Vanek Smith

Job market swings over the past few years have dampened the motivation of many workers and led to a decline in the fuel of the U.S. economy — productivity.

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U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says international development banks need new strategies to help countries finance the transition to low-carbon sources of energy like this rooftop solar project in Jordan.

Yellen says development banks need overhauling to deal with global challenges

7:15pm October 06, 2022

by Michael Copley

Development banks need new strategies to address problems that cut across national borders, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.

Why that foul baseball you caught might cost you more money in taxes

4:36pm October 06, 2022

NPR's Juana Summers talks with Bloomberg correspondent Michael Bologna about the increasing number of fans catching record-breaking baseballs and the taxes that come with catching a piece of history.

Mortgage rates are up, sales of homes are down

4:36pm October 06, 2022

by Chris Arnold

The current percentage rate for the average home loan is nearly 7%. These mortgage rates continue to push home ownership out of reach for many Americans navigating a frothy housing market.