Marketplace All-in-One

Christopher Low of FHN Financial helps us look beyond the good feelings behind recent market activity. The BBC reports on how China will start to loosen some strict zero-COVID regulations. Also, we check in on the COP27 climate summit. Art critic Blake Gopnik discusses the billion-dollar auction of the collection of Paul Allen.

That surge is expected to continue into today. Arizona voters took a big step toward transparency in election financing. Also, we discuss what a U.S. government with divided power could economically mean for Democrats.

From the BBC World Service: Hong Kong’s tech-heavy Hang Seng surged nearly 8% on Friday, with market rallies in Shanghai and Tokyo. Plus, Singles Day in China – the biggest shopping day of the year – saw estimated sales nearly 5% lower than last year. Also, U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen is in India to try to bolster trade ties. And, a film 90 years in the making is finally hitting the silver screen.

Quantum computers are considered by many to be the next big thing in technology. The promise – in theory – is they could complete extremely complex calculations very quickly by harnessing what Einstein called the “spooky” nature of quantum mechanics. So while regular computers work with bits that are either 1’s or 0’s, quantum computers use “qubits” that can store combinations of 1’s and 0’s at the same time. This week, IBM announced it has developed the largest quantum processor in the world. It’s called Osprey and IBM says it has triple the processing power of its previous versions – a potentially huge leap. Marketplace’s Sabri Ben-Achour recently explored the multi-billion dollar race to develop quantum computers. He explained why some of the world’s biggest companies and governments are competing against each other.

Earlier this week, we told you about two cryptocurrency giants joining forces. Well, that deal fell apart, and now a major crypto exchange is in big trouble. Kimberly and guest host Andy Uhler talk about the fallout from FTX’s collapse. Plus, we’ll check in on El Salvador’s bitcoin investments. Then, the hosts’ attempt to make us smile fails, but they later redeem themselves. Here’s everything we talked about today: Opinion | Brittney Griner moves to a Russian penal colony. Biden has no good options from The Washington Post “Behind FTX’s fall, battling billionaires and a failed bid to save crypto” from Reuters El Salvador Says China Offered to Buy Its Debt Amid Default Fears from Business Insider El Salvador’s bitcoin holdings down 60% to $60 million, one year later from CNBC “For the first time, Texas voters send Muslims and openly gay Black men to Legislature” from The Texas Tribune Tweet from Eli Lilly and Co. parody account Tweet about a classroom of second-graders paying rent on their desks Join us tomorrow for Economics on Tap. The YouTube livestream starts at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time/6:30 p.m. Eastern. We’ll have news, drinks, a game and more.

October’s consumer price index contains a glimmer of hope. Though prices are still on the rise, inflation may finally be starting to moderate. On today’s show, what to make of one month’s worth of mildly good news. Also on the program: a computer chip oversupply, a pulse check of the real estate market and a lab trying to disaster-proof buildings.

How much generosity is too much? Would you pay for your friend’s lunch every week? Or risk falling behind on bills to pay for a Christmas gift? And what does it take to ask strangers to be generous with you? We tend to think of generosity as a good thing, but it can also get… complicated. This week: three stories about giving and receiving generosity, and how it changes our relationships and ourselves.    This episode was reported by Reema Khrais, produced by Alice Wilder with support from Camila Kerwin, edited by Karen Duffin and engineered by Drew Jostad.

Is this a sign that the higher interest rates are working? We discuss with Diane Swonk of KPMG. Then, we have more on the aftermath of the fallen Binance-FTX deal. Seasonal hiring has appeared to slow down this year. Also, slavery as a form of criminal punishment was a thing in several states until voters closed a legal loophole.

We take a peek into the fallout from the failed bailout pact between crypto exchanges Binance and FTX. Also, we delve more into the developing election results and their possible impact on economic policy.

From the BBC World Service: One of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, FTX, is on the brink of collapse. A bailout deal it struck with archrival Binance on Wednesday has fallen through. Plus, a new survey says the influence of fossil-fuel lobbyists at climate talks has risen significantly in recent years. And, the costs of supporting migrants who are rescued at sea.

The bad news just keeps coming. It started with hiring freezes, then moved to layoffs. A lot of them. Twitter, Lyft, Stripe, Salesforce and, of course, Meta are cutting thousands of jobs. It’s a turn of events that felt almost inconceivable a year ago, after a two-decade run during which the industry seemed unstoppable. But tech is notorious for booms and busts — and not just the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Margaret O’Mara, a professor of history at the University of Washington who studies the links between technology and politics, about key similarities and differences between the tech sector’s current downturn and those of the past.

You can now pay to get verified on Twitter (without actually verifying your identity). What does this mean for misinformation on the app? We’ll discuss. Plus, Kai Ryssdal explains why he joined Mastodon, the Twitter alternative. And we’ll answer more of your questions about inflation, the future of sports broadcasting and California’s sky-high gas prices. Here’s everything we talked about today: “Why eBay Wins From Supply Chain Woes” from The Motley Fool “Twitter Is Said to Delay Changes to Check Mark Badges Until After Midterms” from The New York Times “Twitter Blue verification separates ‘notable’ accounts from subscribers” from The Verge Tweet from @elonmusk about the brief “official” badge “NWSL has plenty of ‘ammo’ for TV rights deal, says Angel City’s Ohanian” from Reuters “Apple scores deal for Major League Soccer streaming rights worth $2.5bn” from the Financial Times “Why are California’s gas prices so high?” from Marketplace “California repeatedly warned about spiking gas prices, fragile supply. But fixes never came” from the Los Angeles Times “Why are gas prices high in California? Consumer group calls for windfall profit tax on oil companies” from ABC7 News Tweet from @tweetohkyle asking about Mastodon If you’ve got a question about the economy, business or technology, let us know. We’re at makemesmart@marketplace.org, or leave us a message at 508-U-B-SMART.

After rapid growth during the pandemic stalled, Meta announced that it’s slashing 13% of its workforce. It’s not the only company cutting staff and grappling with dashed expectations. Today, we’ll interrogate the sustainability of the more-is-more approach to corporate growth and what it means for the folks being laid off. Then, a crypto exchange crash, inflation’s impact on medical insurance and a firsthand account of identity theft.

Political scientist Ian Bremmer helps us figure out economic takeaways from the aftermath of Election Day. David Kelly of J.P. Morgan talks about the impact of possible Republican control of the House. A drought has sapped the water levels of the Mississippi River, and farmers are struggling as a result.

We discuss some potential election outcomes and how they could affect the economy. Big spending on state ballot measures led to some mixed results. The waves of tech layoffs have actually endangered the ability of many people to stay in the U.S.