Marketplace All-in-One

Catastrophe bonds are a risky bet to make. But they offered returns of nearly 20% last year, Bloomberg reported. In this episode, we’ll cover why climate change makes these bonds more popular — and more lucrative. Plus: sporting brands have an overstock problem, large group reservations are hard to come by and ads on e-commerce sites make up a $50 billion industry

Today, the House of Representatives passed a bill that could ban TikTok in the U.S. We’ll weigh the national security risks behind the app and its growing impact on American culture. Plus, how bitcoin bounced back, a crackdown on judge shopping (yes, that’s a thing) and why we’re glad our podcast isn’t owned by a billionaire! Here’s everything we talked about today: “What to Know About the TikTok Bill That the House Passed” from The New York Times “Bitcoin Hits Record $72,000, Emboldening Crypto Industry” from The New York Times “Bitcoin soars to record high following UK approval of crypto asset” from ABC News “Bitcoin Rally Is Minting More Than 1,500 ‘Millionaire Wallets’ a Day” from Business Insider “Federal courts move against ‘judge-shopping'” from Politico “Don Lemon says Elon Musk canceled his new show after ‘tense’ interview” from Axios “Don Lemon says Elon Musk canceled X deal after taping an interview together” from The Washington Post Celebrate 35 years of Marketplace by stepping back in time! Donate to our nonprofit newsroom today and we’ll thank you with Marketplace swag that features our dot-com era logo. https://support.marketplace.org/smart-sn

Stocks close mixed; Dollar Tree closing about 1,000 Family Dollar locations; McDonalds says lower-income consumers are pulling back; mortgage applications rise.

The comprehensive rules could set a benchmark for other countries; banking coalition calls on members to track emissions from capital markets activities; Dollar Tree to close nearly 1,000 Family Dollar stores.

A year ago, Chilean officials voted to reduce the workweek from 45 hours, longer than in most industrialized countries, to 40. The new rule gives businesses until 2028 to tick down to 40 and is aimed at improving work-life balance. We check how the rollout is going. And the S&P 500 closed at a record high on Tuesday. Can the good times last? We hear the bull’s case for the market.

We’ve been hearing a lot about troubled commercial real estate loans, high office vacancy rates and continued remote work. All of these factors and more are feeding back up the food chain to the folks who design and build office towers and other commercial properties. We’ll discuss. Also: $300 million in new military aid to Ukraine, and a virtual fitness company CEO on staying strong in a changing market.

From the BBC World Service: Argentina’s inflation — the world’s highest — has slowed down from 20.6% in January to 13.2% in February. Then, hundreds of U.K. post office managers were wrongly prosecuted after faulty computer software calculated that money was missing from their branches. Today, the government will introduce legislation to quash the convictions. And businesses in Chile are preparing to cut their employees’ hours from 45 to 40 hours a week following a new law.

When President Barack Obama took office way back in 2009, he created a new role that promised to bring some tech know-how to his administration. Chief Technology Officer, or CTO, was, of course, a title borrowed from corporate America. Early on, the job focused on things like bringing broadband access to rural parts of the country and modernizing the way the federal government keeps records. President Donald Trump also had a CTO. Well, we are now deep into President Joe Biden’s current term in office and the president has yet to appoint a CTO for the United States. For more on why, Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Cristiano Lima-Strong, tech policy reporter at The Washington Post, who’s been tracking developments on the position.

Boycotts have been making headlines lately, from the movement to boycott Israel over the war in Gaza, which has hit companies like Starbucks and McDonald’s, to a new right-wing boycott of Doritos over the brand’s decision to partner with a trans influencer. Consumer boycott campaigns are frequently tossed around in the news cycle. But do they really make a difference in the long run? On the show today, Brayden King at the Kellogg School of Management explains why boycotts don’t usually affect a company’s bottom line, where boycotts actually do make an impact and how social media has changed the way these campaigns work. Plus, the difference between boycotts and buycotts. Then, a reminder that inflation’s ride down is a bumpy one. And, this week’s answer to the Make Me Smart question comes from Jasmine Harris, author of “Black Women, Ivory Tower.” Here’s everything we talked about today: “Shopping has become a political act. Here’s how it happened.” from Vox “How Much Do Boycotts Affect a Company’s Bottom Line?”  from KelloggInsight “What to Know About the Global Boycott Movement Against Israel” from Time “McDonald’s franchises emerge as new flashpoint in Israel-Hamas war” from The Washington Post “Right-Wing Boycotters Have a New Target: Doritos” from Business Insider “Inflation Picks Up to 3.2% in February, Slightly Hotter Than Expected” from The Wall Street Journal “Judge blocks US labor board rule on contract and franchise workers” from Reuters Don’t forget, your gift goes twice as far for Marketplace today only, thanks to a match from the Investors Challenge Fund. Give now! https://support.marketplace.org/smart-sn

The February consumer price index is out — inflation was 3.2% year over year. That’s just a smidge higher than January. Still, prices in some sectors are down from a year ago. We’ll dig into the data, from price drops in furniture to still waters in apparel. Plus: the state of banking one year after the SVB fiasco and the future of addiction treatment in Oregon. 

Stocks rise; gasoline and rent push up monthly inflation figures; small business owners more pessimistic; business owners report easier time finding workers.

The pilot program is now available to an estimated 19 million taxpayers; inflation rose to 3.2% in February; Southwest to reduce capacity amid fewer Boeing deliveries; Tyson Foods closing Iowa pork plant amid less consumer demand.

It’s practically accepted as truth at this point: Millennials would be the first generation to be worse off than their parents. But recent research casts some doubt on that assessment. We’ll consider some economic findings that reframe things a bit. Plus, prices were up 3.2% annually in February, and month-over-month price increases seem to be going in the wrong direction. That’s not something the Federal Reserve will be happy about.

While the purchasing power of earnings started to catch up to inflation last year, lower- and middle-income workers have been playing catch-up and are trying to dig out of debt. Meanwhile, Americans are working fewer hours on average, and fewer hours can cause total earnings to trail price gains. Also: a closer look at New York Community Bank’s lifeline and an examination of those earmarks in the $460 billion spending package.

From the BBC World Service: Haiti’s prime minister, Ariel Henry, has resigned after days of fierce fighting in the capital, Port-au-Prince. Heavily armed gangs have been roaming the streets there demanding his resignation. Then, India’s Supreme Court has told the country’s state bank to reveal the details of a scheme that allows political parties to receive anonymous donations. And later, as farmer protests continue across Europe, we look at what’s driving them.