Economy

Economy

Poverty Levels In Minority Communities On The Rise

7:33am October 16, 2020

Rachel Martin talks with economist William Spriggs about the rise in poverty levels, especially among minority communities in the U.S., due to the lack of new coronavirus stimulus.

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Regional Theaters Are Forced To Be Creative To Stay Afloat

6:40am October 15, 2020

by David C. Barnett

Regional theaters blossomed in the 1960s as an alternative to Broadway. During the pandemic, they're facing some of the same challenges, and each has had to come up with its own solutions.

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Economy

Pandemic Plays A Role In Retailers' 2020 Holiday Strategy

5:49am October 15, 2020

by Alina Selyukh

They call it Christmas creep. Retailers have long tried to get people shopping for holiday gifts earlier and earlier — and this year, as early as October. The pandemic has had something to do with it.

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When the pandemic first hit, corporate executives thought video meetings were awesome and productive. Now, CEOs are questioning how much those meetings really achieve.

CEOs Want To Ditch Sterile Zoom Calls: From The Folks Who Brought You Boring Meetings

8:56pm October 14, 2020

by Pallavi Gogoi

Draining. Awful. Those are the words being used to describe virtual meetings. "What we as human beings need, want, seek ... is human contact," says Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

What Banks' 3rd-Quarter Reports Might Reveal About The State Of The U.S. Economy

6:04pm October 14, 2020

by Jim Zarroli

This week major banks are expected to reveal profits in the third quarter of 2020. This data will shed light on how much the pandemic has affected consumer borrowing and spending.

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Workers rally outside General Motors' plant in Lordstown, Ohio, on March 6, 2019 — the day the sprawling facility was idled after more than 50 years of producing vehicles.

Why An Auto Plant Closure Looms Large In Presidential Contest In Ohio

5:16pm October 14, 2020

by Tamara Keith

In 2016, support for Donald Trump surged in northeast Ohio. But the 2019 closure of General Motors' plant in Lordstown may have changed residents' views.

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What Is The Future Of The Oil Industry?

4:02pm October 14, 2020

by Camila Domonoske

It's a pivotal moment for the oil industry. With a pandemic-induced demand crash, the uncertainty about the long-term prospects for gas is growing. Forecasts chart divergent paths for the future.

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Tekiah Elzey is using Coworker.org to petition for hazard pay to be restored at the New Seasons Market where she works in Portland, Ore.

Economy

Power Of The Petition: Nonprofit Helps Front-Line Workers Fight For Their Rights

11:53am October 14, 2020

by Ashish Valentine

Eight out of every nine American workers don't have a union to represent them in workplace disputes. A nonprofit website is helping push for better wages and working conditions amid the pandemic.

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Jennifer Pahlka co-chaired a strike team that discovered that outdated fraud detection systems were to blame for delaying benefits for millions of Californians. As a result, a new modern ID verification system has just been launched to fix the problem.

'So Hard To Prove You Exist': Flawed Fraud Protections Deny Unemployment To Millions

10:19am October 14, 2020

by Chris Arnold

Efforts to prevent fraud in state unemployment systems are outdated, hurting millions of people with legitimate claims by causing lengthy and unnecessary delays while not managing to catch much fraud.

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Chairs are stacked outside a restaurant in Montreal on Sept. 29. The Quebec government ordered restaurants, bars and casinos to close for 28 days, effective midnight Sept. 30, after a recent spike in new daily coronavirus cases.

In Pandemic Downturn, Canada's Drive For Guaranteed Basic Income Picks Up Speed

4:04pm October 13, 2020

by Urooba Jamal

As pressure mounts for a longer lifeline than the government's emergency benefits, some lawmakers and advocates are pushing to make broader state stipends a priority.