Marketplace All-in-One

From the BBC World Service: The UK’s inflation figures remain high today at 7.9%, although this is down from 8.7%. Why is it so high when compared to the USA (3%) and the Eurozone (5.5%)? Mohamed El-Erian, Chief economic adviser at German financial services group Allianz, explains. Plus, we hear from the Director General of the World Trade Organization, who has urged countries not to restrict food exports in the wake of Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea grain deal.

In this episode of Marketplace Tech’s “AI on the Job” series, Meghan McCarty Carino explores whether generative AI technology has the potential to automate certain jobs in the near term.

The 2024 presidential campaign is already well underway, but today we’re going to take a step back and examine the connection between Barack Obama’s presidency and the rise of white racial violence. It’s what Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Wesley Lowery calls the “American Whitelash” (also the title of his new book), which to some extent is rooted in economic fear. On the show today: How the election of former President Obama spurred a white racist backlash, why economic fear is entangled with xenophobia and the media’s role in all of it. Plus, is the media ready to cover the 2024 elections? (Spoiler: It’s not). Later, we’ll explain how Russia’s decision to pull back from a wartime agreement on grain exports will hurt countries that suffer from food insecurity. And, why the Joe Biden administration’s plan to restrict investment in Chinese tech could get a bit messy. Then, a listener tells us how their home state is dealing with flighty insurers. And, economist Peter Atwater shares that he was wrong about what it really means to have confidence. Here’s everything we talked about today: “The ‘American Whitelash’ Is Far From Over” from Politico “Support for the Black Lives Matter Movement Has Dropped Considerably From Its Peak in 2020” from Pew Research Center “Trump’s history of inciting violence in words and tweets: A timeline from 2015 through the Capitol attack” from Vox “Why allowing Ukraine to ship grain during Russia’s war matters to the world” from AP News “US Plans Narrow China Tech Investment Limits, Likely by 2024” from Bloomberg We want to hear your answer to the Make Me Smart question. You can reach us at makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

Companies in rural areas like northern Minnesota have been dealing with small labor pools for years. Could they have insight into how management and workers can handle the post-pandemic tight labor market? Plus, as the U.S. continues the will-they-or-won’t-they recession game, some countries are already there.

From the BBC World Services: What will constitute a successful trip to Washington for India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi? The BBC’s Nikhil Inamdar explains. Plus, Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum, explains how AI could negatively impact gender equality. And finally, Hannah McCarthy reports from Lebanon where businesses are increasingly demanding to be paid in dollars.  

In the U.S., employers are the main source of health coverage and, increasingly, benefits that encourage “wellness.” Many of them are provided in digital form, like meditation apps, virtual therapy or wearables that track our steps, heart rate or stress level. But with that web of digital benefits comes privacy concerns, according to a new report from the nonprofit Data & Society, titled “Wellness Capitalism: Employee Health, the Benefits Maze, and Worker Control.” Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino delved into the report with its co-authors, senior researcher Tamara Nopper and research analyst Eve Zelickson, both with Data & Society’s labor futures team.  

For Black workers in this economy, the last couple of years have brought gains in employment and wages. In April, the Black unemployment rate fell to a historically low 4.7%, and the racial wage gap has shrunk slightly over the last five years. But in terms of the economy as a whole, stark disparities still exist for Black Americans. “I’ve looked at the unemployment rates for the last 60 years,” said Algernon Austin, director for race and economic justice at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. “It’s important to remember that a historically low Black unemployment rate still tends to be a high unemployment rate if you’re a white person.” On this post-Juneteenth episode, Austin explains recent gains by Black workers, why the Federal Reserve can’t fix high Black unemployment alone, and how sputtering diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in U.S. companies could impact the Black workforce. Plus, why racial justice movements have always been economic stories. Later in the episode: Reddit is under growing pressure to walk back changes to its business model. Plus, what does monetary policy look like abroad? And the death of Olympian Tori Bowie is a reminder of rising maternal mortality rates in the United States, particularly for women of color. Finally, listeners call in about the New York City event every mermaid should know about and how much “Make Me Smart” they need in their lives. Here’s everything we talked about today: “The Fed Alone Cannot Create Black Full Employment” from the Center for Economic and Policy Research “Black unemployment is at a record low, but tight financial conditions could change that” from Marketplace “The labor market recovery and pandemic relief measures lifted Black and Brown workers and families in 2021” from the Economic Policy Institute “The Racial Wage Gap Is Shrinking” from The New York Times “Businesses much quieter on social justice issues than in 2020” from Marketplace “Hackers threaten to leak stolen Reddit data if company doesn’t pay $4.5 million and change controversial pricing policy” from CNN Business “China Cuts Key Interest Rates, Hoping to Kick-Start Flagging Economy” from The New York Times “Power companies spend millions to fight Maine’s proposed non-profit utility” from The Guardian “Tori Bowie death evokes many Black women’s own pregnancy crises” from The Washington Post “Thousands gather for the 2023 Coney Island Mermaid Parade” from Gothamist We want to know what you’ve been wrong about lately. Send us your answer to the Make Me Smart question at makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

Will the United States tip into a recession? That’s an open question. But it’s already happened to New Zealand, Germany and likely China. All of that economic trouble abroad could spell trouble at home. Then, why the housing that’s being built isn’t all that affordable, and how workwear went from functional to fashionable.

What we’re talking about here is using the structure of something like a central bank to govern artificial intelligence. In other words, when a financial crisis hits, central banks all over the world see things similarly and act accordingly based on shared expertise. Is that type of structure one way we could start to regulate artificial intelligence to avoid the bad and keep the good that might come with the technology? Plus, word today that Hyundai of South Korea is making a big investment in electric vehicles. It plans to increase EV production at its factories in the U.S. and develop new batteries.

A survey of workers in 46 countries finds about 25% of them plan to change jobs within a year, and nearly half plan to ask for an increase in pay. The survey, from accounting and consulting firm PwC, finds the number of people planning to quit has risen compared to last year. Plus, the Chinese tech giant Alibaba is reshuffling leadership. And, how a decline in support for the Black Lives Matter movement is showing up in corporate America.

From the BBC World Service: Some U.S. companies have moved parts of their organization to Mexico due to Russia’s war on Ukraine and tensions with China. Now, Europe is following suit as it witnesses an increase in so-called near-shoring. We hear from Tim Creighton, who is head of logistics and industrial at Cushman and Wakefield. Also, the BBC’s Beth Timmins tells us that the U.K. government is trying to ensure that money gathered from Russian sanctions will be used to help rebuild Ukraine. And finally, the BBC’s Nasser Hanif reports on Pakistan’s government, which is waiting to see if its new budget will convince the International Monetary Fund to give it a desperately needed loan.

For a lot of us, most of our days are spent online, and the pandemic only increased that pace. That’s also true for the way we do business. Utilities, restaurants, health care providers, the government — they all want us to go to an app or a website to get stuff done. While this might be easy and convenient for people who don’t remember a world before the web, many older adults are left out by the move to digital. Reporter Ashley Milne-Tyte looks into the ways older adults are trying to catch up with tech and how some companies are responding.

Black homeownership climbed early in the pandemic, with mortgage rates near historic lows. But the current prolonged period of higher rates has some economists worried about Black Americans’ prospects for wealth building. We’ll also examine what’s fueling homebuilders’ optimism, why water contamination is pervasive in Black communities and how the climate crisis is changing your morning cup of Joe.

Relations between Beijing and the West are in focus this morning with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meeting China’s leader Xi Jinping, who said there was progress in mending strained relations. And Europe is watching all of this. After reports of multiple Chinese crackdowns on Western businesses, some European firms are rethinking their operations in China. Also on the show today: Garrison Hayes, author of “A Kids Book About Juneteenth.” Hayes tells us more about why he decided to write this book.

Juneteenth became a federal holiday two years ago. But about half the states in the country have yet to adopt it as an official state holiday. Efforts to change that are ongoing. Plus, the latest from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to China. He’s meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping. And, in Argentina, workers have been on strike for weeks, demanding higher wages to keep up with soaring inflation, which is running at more than 100%.