Marketplace

In this summer's Shakespeare in the Park, the titular character in "Julius Caesar" is distinctly Trumpy. Of course — 400-year-old spoiler alert! — he's assassinated, and outcry from the right caused Delta and Bank of America pull their support. The theater is the latest in a growing series of political minefields for brand-sensitive companies. We'll look at how companies are trying to find their way and what it means for entertainment. Plus, it's been a tough start to the week for America's highest-profile CEOs, with GE's Jeff Immelt being shown the door and Uber's Travis Kalanick facing a possible leave of absence amid personal tragedy and a new report of dysfunctional corporate culture. Then: New York City is adding a new area code, and the after-market for the old 212 is booming.

Oy. Right after the U.K. kicked off the two-year countdown to Brexit in March, Prime Minister Theresa May called for a snap election in hopes of getting a stronger majority in Parliament to negotiate the country’s exit from the European Union. That plan has backfired, leaving May with less support than she started with. We asked our London reporter for an update on the ground there. Then: We'll talk through the week in business and economic news — it's infrastructure week at the White House, remember? Plus, Taylor Swift and Spotify gave us a lesson in why you should never say, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together."

The Senate spent most of the day consumed with former FBI Director James Comey's testimony on President Trump and Russia. But over on the House side, political theater turned into economic reality with the passage of the Financial Choice Act. We'll talk about what it does, how it relates to the GOP's pledge to dismantle Dodd-Frank and its chances of actually becoming law. Then: Big news out of Kansas got a little lost this week. The state's five-year-old experiment with big income tax cuts ended this week. The idea was that low, low taxes would spur economic growth, but for lawmakers the deficits were just too much. What went wrong? Plus: We've talked a lot about the troubles facing brick-and-mortar retail — here's how one California mall says it will survive. 

Tomorrow's Election Day in the U.K., and it's a test for Prime Minister Theresa May ahead of Brexit negotiations with the European Union. One of the toughest issues in those talks may well turn out to be immigration. More than 3 million European nationals have settled in Britain, but since the Brexit vote, EU migration to the U.K. has slowed sharply. That's stoked fears of a labor shortage. We'll talk about it. Then: For the first time, Apple is giving third-party vendors access to a sort-of secret machine it uses in fixing cracked phone screens. Screen repair is a $4 billion business, but this move from Apple means it could be in for some changes. Plus, a conversation with the woman who runs the second-busiest airport in the country.

Let's say Trump's tax plan that has yet to be introduced to Congress does get passed. How long would it take for tax cuts to jolt the economy? We ask tax experts. Also on the show: Amazon offers a discount on Prime memberships for people receiving government assistance. What's behind the move? Amazon, again, is going toe-to-toe with Walmart. Plus, we talk to Forbes reporter Chloe Sorvino, who scored an interview with a very private billionaire in Denver whose company controls 85 percent of the pizza cheese market.

The Trump administration has promised to simplify the tax code, which is an idea Democrats and Republicans can get behind. But reforming the tax code is no easy task. We take a look at what this change could mean for the IRS, tax-prep companies and Americans filing their taxes each year. In other news from the White House, President Trump wants to put a nonprofit in charge of air traffic control instead of the Federal Aviation Administration. How would air traffic control work as an independent organization? Also on today's show: We talk to Stephen Beard, Marketplace's European bureau chief, about the upcoming election in the U.K. 

Happy jobs day Friday! The unemployment rate is at a 16-year low, but the participation rate is down, with more people leaving the labor force. Also, wage growth is still sluggish. So what is Janet Yellen thinking? We get to it in the Weekly Wrap. In other big news this week: President Trump decided to pull out of the Paris Agreement on climate change, but that isn't stopping companies from participating. American automakers like Ford and GM have said they’re unhappy with the decision and want to continue lowering emissions. Also on today's show: We return to Erie, Pennsylvania, this time to the county prison, where more than half the inmates enter addicted to drugs, including opioids. A new drug called Vivitrol could help the opioid addicts, but under Trump’s proposed budget, the county may no longer be able to afford it.  

After days of build-up, President Trump finally made it official: The U.S. is pulling out of the Paris climate agreement. "I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris," Trump said. That's true! But not for nothing, moving away from coal and steel has made that city's economy strong again. Plus, with the U.S. taking a seat on the sidelines of the fight to control global warming, it's also sitting out big investment opportunities that China and the E.U. are promising to grab. Then: There's something of a tug-of-war going on within the Trump administration over the debt ceiling. We'll tell you what you need to know. Plus, the latest installment of our series "My Economy" visits a stay-at-home mom in Texas.

We're still waiting on the official word out of the White House on whether President Trump will pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement on climate change. It's looking likely, but some of the news around Trump's decision today indicate businesses are still planning on climate change no matter what. Then: Goldman Sachs is taking heat for nearly $3 billion worth of Venezuelan bonds it bought from a state-owned oil company via a broker. It stands to profit handsomely, but protesters are ripping the bank for making money from a country that's facing food shortages. We'll explain everything you need to know about the so-called "hunger bonds." Plus: A look at how one airport is enlisting drones to get things moving more efficiently.

Donald Trump is back in the country, and his Twitter account is making up for lost time. The President ripped the "MASSIVE" and "very bad" trade gap between the U.S. and Germany. But reality check: it's not nearly as scary as it sounds. Then according to data released this morning, consumer spending rose last month. Home prices are up too, and the average American FICO score hit 700 last month, the highest it's been in over a decade. So how'd we get here, and what's it mean for the economy? Plus, a visit to the schools of Erie, Pennsylvania for our series "The Big Promise."

You might be spending the long weekend relaxing with family, paying respect to fallen servicemembers, or getting outside. But if you're enjoying a national park this weekend, maybe think twice about pulling out your smartphone. 2016 was the third record-breaking year in a row for the National Park Service, but all that extra traffic from selfie-snapping tourists can harm the places they visit. Plus: What's at stake of the U.S. pulls out of the Paris climate agreement. Then: California's drought has all but ended, but some wells are still dry, forcing some of the state's poorest people to pay a premium on water.

The European leg of President Trump's trip abroad got off to a rocky start yesterday when, in a meeting with G7 officials, the president was reportedly critical of Germany's trade practices. The main gripe, it seems, was about the number of German cars sold here, but that's just one slice of a pretty huge trade relationship. We'll talk about it, plus the drama back home at the Department of Education, which is considering handing some of its student loan business to the Treasury. Plus: A look at Kushner Companies, the family real estate business where Jared Kushner worked before taking a role in the White House.

We've talked a lot about the economic anxiety normal Americans face every day, but today we're casting and eye toward economic anxiety in and about Washington. First, the White House's budget. There are some assumptions that don't quite add up, but today Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reiterated his confidence that tax cuts, deregulation and trade policy will ratchet up economic growth. But what if it doesn't? Then: Mnuchin and White House budget director Mick Mulvaney both testified on Capitol Hill this week to sound the alarm about the deb limit. They're worried Congress might have to raise it sooner than expected. We'll explain what's going on. Plus: a California prison town's big bet on pot to save its economy.

The Congressional Budget Office released its analysis of the American Health Care Act today. That's the revised version, passed by the House already. The CBO says this bill will leave 23 million people without insurance by 2026, while reducing the deficit by $119 billion. The last version scored by the CBO came out to a million more uninsured, but a steeper deficit reduction. We'll get some initial analysis from Vox's Sarah Kliff. Then, we'll return to Pennsylvania for our series The Big Promise, exploring how health care is propping up Erie's faltering manufacturing economy. Plus, a conversation with PayPal CEO Dan Schulman. 

They call it "A New Foundation for American Greatness," we just call it the White House budget proposal. Whatever you want to call it, Trump's budget guy Mick Mulvaney presented it today with a focus on three percent economic growth. We talked to several experts who say the whole plan is based on assumptions and math that doesn't quite add up, not to mention a tax plan that isn't done yet. Then, we'll dig into the White House's proposed cuts to the USDA and Obamacare. Plus: how the mess at Penn Station ripples through the economy of the entire East Coast.