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Why the Fed is thinking about immigration Dec 11, 2025

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Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell’s latest presser was all about the job market. Buried among the usual talking points, like hiring sentiment and the unemployment rate, was immigration. That’s because the current administration’s immigration policies are complicating Fed measures of labor market health. In this episode, falling immigration turns jobs data on its head. Plus: Robust economic growth comes without typical job creation, U.S.-China trade tensions cool, and one company teaches AI to sort your trash.

Every story has an economic angle. Want some in your inbox? Subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter.

Marketplace is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future.

Why the Fed cut interest rates Dec 11, 2025

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The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point Wednesday. And this decision comes as President Donald Trump continues to put pressure on the supposedly independent agency to move the economy the way he wants. Plus, the president is reportedly beginning final interviews for Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s potential successor.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

“Fed lowers interest rates again amid debate over inflation, jobs” from The Washington Post
“Trump to start final Fed chair interviews beginning with Kevin Warsh” from CNBC
“What a Fed rate cut means for your home, car and credit card loans” from The Washington Post
“Watch out for these refinancing red flags” from Marketplace Morning Report

When the job market is a "complicated, unusual, difficult situation" Dec 11, 2025

Show notes

The Federal Reserve decided to cut interest rates again at its meeting this week, partly because Fed officials think the labor market is weaker than it appears. This morning, we'll hear why Fed Chair Jerome Powell says estimating job growth can be so tricky. Also on the show, we'll dig into the drone warfare industry, central to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Plus, are we past tariff inflation yet?

ICE raids harken back to COVID-era hardship Dec 11, 2025

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The COVID-19 pandemic changed the economic circumstances of many, creating demand for direct aid, interrupting consumer spending, and altering the nature of work. Today, there are people across the country in lockdown again — mixed-status immigrant families, who are experiencing disruptive economic pressures that mirror the pandemic. Today, we'll draw parallels. Plus, more people admit to stealing at self-checkouts. And, what can we expect from the Federal Reserve in 2026?

Mexico raises tariffs on imports from Asia Dec 11, 2025

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From the BBC World Service: Mexico’s parliament has voted in favor of a bill imposing tariffs of between 5% and 50% on more than 1,400 products from Asian nations, including China. Mexico states that the aim is to boost jobs and domestic production. Then, survivors of a deadly typhoon in the Philippines have filed a legal claim in Britain against the oil and gas giant Shell. And later, we'll hear about the lucrative business of making drones and developing the technology to thwart them.

The little-known regulatory bodies that can make or break AI data centers Dec 11, 2025

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The AI boom is propelling a once-obscure group of state regulators into key decision-making roles for the economy. AI needs data centers, data centers need power and power is generally regulated in some way — depending on the state — by public utilities commissions.

That's the topic of a new report from the Center on Technology Policy at NYU. Scott Brennen, CTP director and author of the report, said these commissions often make decisions on planning and permitting for new infrastructure and decide the rates utilities charge consumers.

Fed rate cut diverges from global central bank strategy Dec 10, 2025

Show notes

The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday by a quarter point. That’s pretty much what analysts expected. But in other parts of the world, central banks have been signaling that they plan to hold rates steady or even hike them. In this global economy, why is the U.S. out of step? Also in this episode, we hear the pros and cons of quarterly earnings reports, check in on a union-run pipefitting apprenticeship and dig into why wage growth has slowed.

Every story has an economic angle. Want some in your inbox? Subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter.

Marketplace is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future.

On Instacart: same store, same item, different price Dec 10, 2025

Show notes

Dynamic pricing is here. Several consumer groups designed a shopping experiment with hundreds of volunteers who shopped on Instacart for the same products at the same time from the same stores. The conclusion? 75% of products were offered at different prices to different customers. Plus, we'll chat about what's next for interest rates today and on into the new year. And later, we'll have a conversation about AI with Nobel laureate Peter Howitt.

Beware of shady refinance offers Dec 10, 2025

Show notes

Today, the Federal Reserve is expected to lower interest rates by a quarter point. While there's no guarantee of it, the move could translate to lower mortgage rates, too. This presents an opportunity for bad actors to pitch homeowners something that might cost more than they’d think. Today, we discuss some "too good to be true" refinance opportunities. But first, Texas has launched the first state-run cryptocurrency reserve with a $5 million purchase of Bitcoin.

Amazon announces mega investment in India Dec 10, 2025

Show notes

From the BBC World Service: Amazon has announced plans to double its investment in India by 2030 — to the tune of around $35 billion — with a focus on artificial intelligence and e-commerce. It comes after Microsoft and Google also laid out multibillion-dollar spending plans for AI in India. Also, the U.K.'s Royal Navy is developing ways to counter an increasingly serious threat from Russia to cut its critical undersea infrastructure.

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