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Big Tech firms saw major stock market slides this week. Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and Intel all dropped, following less-than-stellar earnings reports. Cracks are showing in the tech biz, and they aren’t all related to AI. Is this the beginning of an AI bubble burst? We’ll explain. Plus: How companies decide whether to offer buyouts or do traditional layoffs, what it’s like to go back to s...

Halloween is almost here, meaning plenty of people are on the hunt for a scare. And there is, in fact, an entire sector of the economy that revolves around providing spooks, frights, and horrors. For the latest installment of our "What's That Like?" series, we hear from Kalila Smith, owner of Haunted History Tours in New Orleans, Louisiana. Listen ... if you dare. But first, we examine what it cos...

Homebuilders constructed 19,000 fewer homes in 2024 because of the lack of skilled labor, according to a construction industry estimate from last year. A big factor in the labor shortage is the federal government's immigration crackdown, which has led to the arrest of many construction workers, often at job sites. This morning, we hear from some families and businesses impacted. Also: weighing job...

Surprise! We’ve got more creepy money stories to get you in the Halloween spirit. A while back, listener Hayden started getting these surprise gifts in the mail. Once he realized who sent them to him, he wondered just how far the gift giver would go. Plus, two more stories of spending regret. If you like this episode, share it with a friend! And let us know what you think by calling 347-RING-TIU o...

Anthropic formally filed to go public this week and about a third of its paperwork is dedicated to potential risks — including political ones. We'll get into it on today's “Tech Bytes: Week in Review.” Plus, it’s a big week for big tech earnings: Microsoft pleased investors with a more restrained approach to AI spending, but still announced it’s offering buyouts to 60,000 employees. Meanwhile, Goo...

Fresh data showed the economy grew faster than expected, at a 3.4% annual rate in the third quarter. Prices grew too , by 3.6%. Robust consumer spending tends to drive GDP, but the consumer savings rate — an important financial cushion — is falling. In this episode, when will strong topline economic figures catch up to a precarious consumer reality? Plus: Alphabet stock slides after a disappointin...

Dolores Huerta, an icon of labor rights, women's rights, and civil rights, died yesterday at 96. Huerta co-founded what became the United Farm Workers of America, and, for decades, she led strikes and protests pushing for better conditions for agricultural workers. Today, we have a remembrance. Also in this episode: why the Fed held off on raising interest rates and what a proposed hyperscale data...

Households often take on additional debt as they up their spending over the holidays. Buy now, pay later is poised to be an increasingly popular method for making those holiday purchases, new research finds. We hear about the benefits and the risks. And later in the show, we look at key takeaways from Anthropic's IPO filing and talk about what to make of the vast amounts of money flowing through b...

With Halloween around the corner, we revisit listeners’ spine-chilling money horror stories — you know, the financial choices that are still haunting them, or the spending secrets they hope to take to the grave. If you like this episode, share it with a friend! And let us know what you think by calling 347-RING-TIU or emailing uncomfortable@marketplace.org If you want to answer our “Uncomfortable...

Consumer electronics and AI data centers need memory chips. But there are only a handful of companies in the world that make them. The surge in demand has caused memory shortages and price spikes for everything, including our all-important smartphones. Gerrit Schneemann is principal analyst at Counterpoint Research, which recently reported global phone prices have jumped by an average of 15%, and...

Fed governors met this week and voted to keep interest rates steady at just below 4%. The central bank says it’s taking a “wait and see” approach to elevated inflation. But what does that mean for banks and businesses that want to borrow money? In this episode, economic forces make for a fraught lending environment. Plus: We take a trip to Costco to understand how toilet paper is an economic indic...

One of the statewide offices Texas voters will decide on next week is railroad commissioner. It's a role that has nothing to do with trains and everything to do with the state’s oil and gas industry. The position has real power over an industry that produces more crude oil than most countries. This morning, we dig in. Plus, we'll talk about a consumer sentiment improvement and why financial market...

In late September, the Trump administration removed 760,000 people from Affordable Care Act insurance plans, claiming the enrollees were likely in the program fraudulently. The administration blamed "health brokers." Some brokers have illegally signed people up for ACA plans without them knowing, so the brokers could collect commissions. Now, the administration has stopped issuing any licenses for...

Halloween haunts have long relied on a little technical wizardry to bring their terrors to life —from lighting and animatronics to digital decorations. But these days, the technology behind those scares is getting increasingly sophisticated, and the spectacles more elaborate. We got a glimpse behind the scenes at the Hollywood Haunted Hayride, put on by Thirteenth Floor Entertainment in Los Angele...

The housing market is a bit chilly right now — new home sales are down, and so are prices. But current homeowners watched their property values grow over the past several years. So when it comes to selling, they’ve got (as Olivia Rodrigo might say) real big expectations. In this episode, the disconnect between need-to-sell homeowners and price-sensitive buyers. Plus: Consumer confidence continues...

DoorDash is in advanced talks to buy the grocery delivery company Instacart, according to multiple media reports. The deal would value Instacart at about $17 billion. The two companies are facing growing competition from retailers. This morning, we parse details of the potential deal. Also on the program: upcoming changes to flight disruption reimbursement and the aspects of the economy most likel...

The Trump administration has escalated its crackdown on legal immigration pathways that involve foreign workers and students. The most recent example is the suspension of eight major tech companies — including Microsoft and Adobe — from using the H-1B visa program to help workers obtain U.S. residency. Trump officials have argued the program takes jobs from American-born workers. This morning, we’...

Urgent concerns about losing control of AI have burst into the national conversation recently after the OpenAI hack of the open-source AI platform Hugging Face , the high-profile resignation of an Anthropic researcher , and other AI insiders sharing alarmingly high p(doom) figures — that is, the probability that AI kills us all. An event listing for a picnic beckoned people in the AI scene to spen...

To help celebrate spooky season we’re sharing an episode from our dustry haunted archives about two of the biggest economic frights of all. When Lulu wrote in asking about recessions and depressions Ryan and Bridget went to the experts at the Federal Reserve. While learning about how the Fed keeps an eye on the health of our economy, the pair accidentally unleash an economic disaster. They’ll need...

A few Big Tech firms are slated to explain their quarterly earnings later this week. AI will, of course, be the protagonist of these earnings calls. Investors are hoping for some positive character development, or at least a spoiler for any plot twists. In this episode, the next installment of the AI narrative. Plus: Central banks prepare for interest rate setting, Treasury rates rise with heighte...

The Federal Reserve begins a two-day meeting on interest rates tomorrow. Just last month, the Fed hiked rates by a quarter percentage point. Since then, oil prices have surged, and consumer inflation has intensified. This morning, we dig into analyst expectations for where interest rates go next. Also in this podcast: investor doubt creeps in when it comes to AI spending, and carmakers grapple wit...

Trump administration officials say they’re making progress in trade negotiations with Canada. Talks have been stalled since August, when President Donald Trump announced 50% tariffs on a range of imports from Canada. Now, with border states hurting and midterm elections around the corner, negotiations appear to be picking up. We hear where things stand. Then, RadioShack — still alive and kicking —...

Donna Guthrie had obituaries on her mind after her brother passed away in May. She recently celebrated her 80th birthday and started wondering how she might be remembered. So, she asked ChatGPT to write her obituary. It's the topic of today's “ Uncanny AI ,” our regular segment about our sometimes unsettling experiences with this tech. Plus, we asked Michelle Huang, a technologist and artist who e...

Big Tech is kind of carrying the stock market right now, thanks to all that spendy artificial intelligence innovation. That means your retirement account is probably invested in at least some AI stocks. So we asked an expert: If the theoretical AI bubble pops, will those 401(k)s be OK? Also in this episode: New data shows healthy growth in the private sector, Kai goes over the week’s economic head...

This morning, as part of our Economic Pulse series , we continue our conversation with Robyn Vincent, host and producer of WDET’s “The Metro” in Detroit . We dig into how data centers have become a flashpoint for Michigan voters ahead of the midterm elections, as well as how rising utility bills are coming up on the campaign trail. But first, corporate earnings seem to be holding up despite all th...