Marketplace

Sears is shutting down more than 100 stores, which is good news for people in the liquidation business. What's it like when your job is help shut down other businesses? We'll look into it, but first: Fed Chair Powell said yesterday that the U.S. won’t be able to sustain economic growth without immigration. We'll look at why. Plus, what you need to know about bullet journaling.

At the turn of the century, only about 2 percent of people in India had internet access. Thanks to cheaper and cheaper tech, you can get online in just a few minutes for maybe $100, and that's transformed the country. We'll look at how, and turn stateside, where iPhones are getting pricier than ever. But first: Ahead of the most-expensive midterm election ever, we'll look at spending strategies in the final days. Plus, what you need to know about the walkout at Google.

Inflation is (slowly) creeping back up, and major companies are starting to raise prices on essentials like diapers and paper towels. On today's show, we'll look at whether consumers are feeling the effects and ask all of you about your price-hike breaking point. Then: With midterms less than a week away, both parties are trying to win over Hispanic voters with more Spanish-language TV ads. But the messages are different from commercials in English. Plus, a conversation with Charles Schwab CEO Walt Bettinger. 

It's felt harder than ever to avoid political conversations since the 2016 election, even (maybe especially) in the workplace. We'll look at how employers are handling tough conversations. But first, an unintended consequence of Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox: It has to give up 22 regional sports networks, which could be a business opportunity for team owners and new tech players. Plus, HBO has a new job on its sets: intimacy coordinator. 

The Los Angeles Lakers are more than just a basketball team. They are also a company worth $3.3 billion, one of the most successful franchises in the NBA. Fundamentally, the Lakers are an entertainment company with outsized influence. Today we'll talk with Jeanie Buss, CEO and co-owner of the team, who took over for her father in 2013. But first: consumer spending is up for the seventh straight month, but income doesn’t seem to be keeping up. What does that say about the economy? Plus, gaming out a global economy without German Chancellor Angela Merkel. 

Economic growth was strong last quarter, but trade tensions did not go unnoticed. We'll take apart the gross domestic product and see what it can tell us about the economy's push and pull. Then, a look at tech news both big — falling user numbers that threaten Snapchat and Twitter — and small: Why do movies on your Netflix account look different from your friend's? Plus, the old school tech and legal drama behind cloud storage and the magnetic tape that powers it.

No, really. We're looking at where the trade war might be going, with seemingly no product off-limits, even water. How's it all end? We'll game it out. Then: New York State is suing ExxonMobil for misleading the public on the risks associated with climate change regulations. As the world gets hotter, will more governments and companies sue over liability? Plus,  a conversation with Audrey Gelman, who runs of the women’s co-working space The Wing.

Dropping the "Donuts" from its name could be pretty expensive for Dunkin'. The chain is revamping its menu and adding fancy drinks to compete with Starbucks, and that means outfitting stores and retraining thousands of employees. Then: Eighty percent of voters think that it should be illegal to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions. Candidates on both sides of the aisle have taken note, and we'll look at how that's reshaping midterms. Plus, we'll do the numbers on a rough day for Wall Street.

Yeah, we're going to talk about the trade war and corporate earnings today. We'll do the numbers, too. But let's be honest: The main event is Kai Ryssdal's conversation with RuPaul. They got coffee in West Hollywood last week to talk about the business Ru has built on drag and how he became the "Queen of Queens." Plus, what the holiday season will look like without Toys R Us.

Midterm elections are just a couple weeks away, and record donations are flowing to congressional candidates. All told, we're looking at $5 billion this year, up from 2016's congressional races and President Barack Obama's first midterms in 2010. One reason? Billionaires are lavishing more of their cash on politicians. Then, FICO scores are getting a makeover, and that could mean a boost for your credit. Plus, recreational marijuana has been legal in California for less than a year, and the industry's already seeing a tech disruption. We'll take you inside the emerging pot-on-demand business.

China’s economic growth hit a 10-year low in the third quarter, the lowest since the financial crisis. Consumers are showing signs of consuming less. We'll look at what that means for the economy at large. Plus, we hear from an Irish farmer at the Northern Ireland border about how Brexit affects him. Then we'll tell you everything you need to know about Facebook's scandal involving a pivot to video. But first, we'll recap the rest of the week's business and economic news.

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the budget deficit. At last count, it's up 17 percent over last year — the government spent $779 billion more than it collected in taxes. Seems we're paying the price for one of the biggest tax cuts in history. But wasn't that cut supposed to pay for itself? Then: African-Americans are more scared of a recession than white Americans, according to the latest Marketplace-Edison Research Poll. We'll look at how communities of color are still recovering from the last recession. Plus, the big business of disaster cleanup.

A majority of Americans believe the United States is in a trade war with other countries, according to the latest edition of the Marketplace-Edison Research Poll, which is out today. As trade tensions with China increase, so too has the concern that the country could weaponize its large holdings of U.S. debt, selling its reserves suddenly in an attempt to destabilize the U.S. economy. We'll talk about what that could mean for the trade war. Then, we talk with five participants from our poll about what financial security means to them. Plus, the big business of secondhand luxury with the CEO of The RealReal.

Corporate tax cuts from earlier this year have helped drive up the deficit, and lawmakers are debating ways to pay it down. We'll look at how the deficit works and how politicians like to use it. Then, the U.S. posted more than 7 million jobs in August. Why are so many of them in transportation? Plus, 10 years after the financial crisis, Americans are still less likely to own a home than before the crash. We'll look at what's keeping them out of the market.

Gibraltar, on the southern tip of Spain, is a British territory. It’s also one of Europe’s most prosperous economies. But could Brexit change all that? We'll take a closer look at the territory caught in the middle. Then, an unintended consequence of the trade war: As the Trump administration doles out $12 billion in aid for farmers hurt by tariffs, a lot of produce has found its way to food banks. Plus, what the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi could mean for the American and Saudi economies.