Marketplace

Mortgage interest rates have been historically low for the past year — at or below 3%. However, many banks have kept in place Great Recession-era proof of employment requirements. This means that those who lost their jobs during the pandemic and could benefit the most from refinancing are often unable to.   More

Historically, barbecue has been a cheap and delicious way to cook meat — principally by Black pitmasters who lived in poverty. Now, ‘cue joints win prestigious awards and can charge top dollar.   More

The child care industry was struggling even before the pandemic. Costs are high for parents who need the service to enable them to work, yet employee wages rank low among professions.   More

Though unemployment levels are dipping, some 4.3 million people left their jobs in August, according to a new Bureau of Labor Statistics report. The “quits rate” is up to 2.9% — the highest it’s been since the BLS started tracking it.   More

If you’ve tried to buy much of anything lately, there’s a decent chance some of the products you’ve been scouring aisles for have been out of stock. On today’s show, we air the first segment in our new collection, “Temporarily Unavailable,” which explores how stuff moves around the world … or doesn’t.   More

People fall into one of two TV camps right now: You’ve either seen “Squid Game” or you haven’t. But odds are you’ve heard of the dystopian South Korean drama, which is  on track to be Netflix’s most-watched show yet.   More

After controversy over ethics and stock trading arose, two regional Federal Reserve presidents announced their resignations late last month. Their departures leave two senior leadership positions open and a chance for the Fed to regain trust.   More

Mental health professionals have had virtual tools for decades, but the pandemic catalyzed the field to offer more telehealth services. It’s a change that experts say is here to stay and one that makes care more accessible.   More

Monday’s outage of Facebook and Instagram was annoying, sure. But the outage of communication platform WhatsApp highlighted how vital the app is to chat with friends and family or even do business in some parts of the world.   More

Over the weekend, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists broke news about leaked financial documents called the Pandora Papers, which highlighted how the global elite shield their wealth. Dominic Rushe, U.S.   More

The pandemic has helped shift power in the economy from employers to workers. Public support for unions is among the highest its been in recent years. On today’s show, Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, discusses what she sees as the beginning stages of a modern labor movement that can grow and change with the needs of working people.   More

Hospitals and intensive care units have seen a wave of nurses leave the field, prompted by the stressors of COVID-19. Enrollment has picked up in many nursing programs, but schools project that there won’t be enough graduates to fill the gap.   More

Some families that include undocumented immigrants are reporting that, despite being eligible, they’ve yet to receive the child tax credit. Chabeli Carrazana, an economy reporter at The 19th, tells us about how those who need it most face barriers to accessing the federal aid.   More

The food-and-beverage industry has one of the lowest unionization rates among the U.S. workforce, but that wasn’t always the case. Now, organizing momentum is building. And public support for unions coupled with the stresses of COVID-19 could provide a boost to those efforts.   More

If the debt ceiling is reached without being suspended or raised by Congress, the Treasury will have to choose between paying its bills and repaying money already borrowed. Results could be catastrophic.   More

For many towns in the West and Midwest, rodeos are a boon to the local economy. Despite the delta variant’s surge, many rodeos have made a return in 2021. Marketplace’s Mitchell Hartman takes us to Oregon’s Pendleton Round-Up and chats with locals, tourists and health officials about mask enforcement, a boost to business and the return of a rural tradition.   More

The economy is growing strongly as it recovers from its pandemic-induced downturns — so strongly that the Fed has signaled it will start tapering bond purchases soon and may raise interest rates next year.   More

The United Nations General Assembly is meeting this week, and climate change is high on the docket. More than a decade ago, the U.S. and other developed countries pledged to gather $100 billion annually by 2020 to assist in climate adaptation and resilience for developing countries.   More

Anxiety over Evergrande, a behemoth property developer in China, and its $300 billion debt sent stock markets around the globe tumbling on Monday. The situation is spotlighting precarity in China’s real estate sector and the country’s economy as a whole; some fear a Lehman Brothers-style crisis.   More

Pfizer announced today that a smaller dose of its COVID-19 vaccine is proving safe and effective for children ages 5 to 11. If FDA emergency approval goes as planned, kids could be getting their shots by Halloween.   More