Marketplace All-in-One

Caught in the Canada trade war crossfire

The Trump administration has doubled down on its trade war with our neighbors to the North — the U.S. is set to ban the import of several Canadian products, including bee

No relief for high oil prices

Nearly seven months after Israel and the United States attacked Iran, oil prices are holding at over $100 a barrel. How long will prices remain elevated, and how is oil g

Health insurance doesn't always protect you from medical debt

You can still pile up medical debt even if you have insurance. In fact, a new Commonwealth Fund survey says almost one in three working-age adults with private insurance

Trump rejects AI's "effective altruism" movement

Congress is looking to rein in Flock cameras; plus, Apple has a new way to prove your iPhone photos are real. But first, it's been a wild week in AI. After the freakout

Home improvement stores feel the pinch

Retail sales jumped 1.2% in August after falling in July. But building materials stores — think Home Depot or Lowe’s — still saw a dip. That’s because stretched consumers

The human costs of Medicaid cuts

The big Republican tax and spending law that President Donald Trump signed a little more than a year ago made significant cuts to Medicaid funding. States scrambling to m

Airfares have been taking off

One of the fastest-rising prices last month was airline fares. They were up 23% year over year in August, according to the latest reading of the consumer price index, and

Should you leave the country for your next doctor’s appointment?

Millions of Americans leave the U.S. each year for medical care. But how do you reap the rewards of medical tourism while managing the risks? And why do some have to trav

Insurers race to cover AI errors

More than 1 in 5 U.S. companies now use artificial intelligence in their daily operations, according to a recent analysis of federal data from Goldman Sachs. In theory AI

Bond traders take a turn in the spotlight

The yield on 10-year T-notes climbed to its highest point since 2007 on Wednesday, as the Fed raised its key rate for the first time since July 2023. Swirling inflation a

Rising diesel prices will mean rising grocery prices

The average price of a gallon of diesel just passed $6 for the first time late last week. Since then, it’s kept climbing and hit $6.31 a gallon this morning. A year ago,

Where interest rates go from here

Later today, we’ll learn whether Federal Reserve officials have decided to raise interest rates or leave them alone. Either way, economists and investors will be looking

AI safety requires action, not promises

AI leaders suddenly seem to agree on slowing down the AI race. Anthropic's Dario Amodei published an essay last weekend calling to "pace the frontier" — slow the developm

Imports are way, way up

August marked the third-highest level of container imports to the U.S. on record. Sure, it’s usually a busy month for holiday shopping inventory, but there’s also that pe

Why a 10-year bond at a 5% yield is a pretty big deal

The yield or interest rate on 10-year Treasury bonds has reached the critical threshold of 5%. This is a key rate because it’s tied to some major borrowing costs for cons

Understanding the "stealthy wealthy"

Picture someone wealthy; your image may be of some tech billionaire. Now picture the wealthiest person you know. Odds are it's not a Silicon Valley tech mogul or Wall Str

What's an auction and how does it work?

A new season of “Million Bazillion” is almost here. But first, we’re resharing one of our favorite episodes. Today, Ryan and Bridget are answering Hezekiah’s questions ab

Why AI models are obsessed with creatures

The problem of AI alignment has become a hot topic. It’s raised questions, like how do we get AI to do what we want, and not what we don't want? For example, hacking anot

A cast of hawkish central bankers

At this week’s FOMC meeting, it’s likely Fed governors will hike interest rates. They won’t be alone. The EU raised rates last week and Japan is expected to do the same a

More pain at the pump to come

Crude oil prices are up again this morning. For months, we've been hearing about the Strait of Hormuz, how the slowdown of oil tanker traffic there has affected prices, b