Latest from Rose Conlon

• May 9, 2022

  As Russia marks WWII “Victory Day,” how is its economy doing?

  

  From the BBC World Service: The annual event serves as a reminder of the 27 million Soviet citizens who died during World War II. President Putin took the opportunity to justify his invasion of Ukraine, which is squeezing the finances of ordinary Russians. Plus, China’s export growth is slowing. And, as people in the Philippines cast their votes, we hear about the economic challenges facing the country’s next President.

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• May 6, 2022

  A Warhol painting could fetch $200 million. What’s so special about it?

  

  Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe silkscreen is valuable, yes, but not very innovative, says art critic Blake Gopnik.

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• May 6, 2022

  Another month, another strong hiring report

  

  The unemployment rate remained unchanged, though. Also, wages are still going up but not quite as fast as they have been, and not as fast as prices are rising. We talked to Christopher Low, Chief Economist at FHN Financial, about what to make of today’s numbers. Plus, Boeing announced it is moving its headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, VA. New York Times art critic Blake Gopnik tells us his thoughts on the sale of a painting by Andy Warhol featuring Marilyn Monroe, which will be sold at auction soon.

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• May 6, 2022

  Employers continue to face pressure to raise wages in a tight labor market

  

  Workers are continuing to flex their bargaining power in a tight labor market. Average hourly earnings were up 5.6% in March, compared to a year ago. Employers are giving raises and boosting starting salaries to retain and attract workers. Plus, Fidelity Investments’ plan to allow investors to invest in cryptocurrency as part of retirement accounts is facing questions from lawmakers, including Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Businesses that provide medication abortions are facing new demand and challenges amid the leaked draft of the Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade.

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• May 6, 2022

  Hungary calls Russian oil ban an economic “atomic bomb”

  

  From the BBC World Service: The Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban vowed to veto current EU proposals to phase out imports of Russian oil, saying they would be devastating to Eastern European countries which rely heavily on the fuel. Plus, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says a sixth sanctions package against Russia will go ahead, even if it takes longer than expected. And, we visit a German oil refinery that’s still very reliant on Russian oil.

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• May 5, 2022

  TurboTax parent company to settle over deceptive advertising claims

  

  The company behind TurboTax has agreed to pay restitution to millions of customers who used its tax preparation software. This is to settle allegations that Intuit used deceptive marketing tactics to charge people who should have been able to file their taxes for free. Marketplace’s Nova Safo has the latest details. Also, Diane Swonk, chief economist at the tax and advisory firm Grant Thornton, walks us through the state of the labor market and the implications of the Fed’s half point rate hike yesterday. Plus, what happens when a country’s central bank does not use higher interest rates to rein in inflation? We have an example from Turkey, where consumer prices are up nearly 70% in a year. And, hear how Allentown, Pennsylvania, at the heart of the Rust Belt has started attracting new manufacturing businesses.

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• May 5, 2022

  The Fed hiked interest rates yesterday. Now what?

  

  Yesterday, the Federal Reserve moved to hike interest rates by half of one percentage point. Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed is not actively considering raising rates by three-quarters of a point. We talked to Marketplace’s Nancy Marshall-Genzer, who was in person at the press conference following the announcement. Plus, the Department of Homeland Security will grant work permit extensions for many immigrants with expired and near-expired documents. And, there has been an uptick in donations to abortion funds following the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade case.

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• May 5, 2022

  Turkey’s cost-of-living crisis deepens, and one mother tells us how

  

  From the BBC World Service: Turkey’s annual rate of inflation is just shy of 70%. It’s 69.9% to be exact, according to data released Thursday. We hear what life is like for one family in Istanbul. Plus, as many European countries seek alternatives to Russia energy supplies, Lithuania officially opens a natural gas pipeline to Poland.

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• May 4, 2022

  Take a window-seat view into the unfriendly skies of the airline industry

  

  The airline industry is attempting to soar over and through a minefield of obstacles, such as the pandemic, labor shortages and passengers being bad. In the middle of all this is Avelo Airlines, a new low-fare carrier that emerged during the pandemic – and is ready to expand. We sat down with Andrew Levy, founder, chairman and CEO of Avelo Airlines, about what it’s like to navigate the industry’s maze of challenges. The European Union has proposed a ban on Russian oil. Susan Schmidt joins us to discuss the market’s focus on the Fed.

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• May 4, 2022

  There’s an inequitable flip side to the monthly jobs numbers

  

  The monthly jobs report has become something of an event, where the numbers about the labor market and unemployment are used as beacons to indicate the economy’s health. Beyond those numbers, however, is the relatively untold story of inequality among workers of color and across genders. For more on this, we spoke to to Dr. Alex Camardelle, Director of Workforce Policy at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. Later this morning, the payroll firm ADP will release its monthly report of private sector job growth. Marketplace’s China correspondent Jennifer Pak checks in from Shanghai, which is still wading through a COVID lockdown period.

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