Marketplace® is the leading business news program in the nation. We bring you clear explorations of how economic news affects you, through stories, conversation...
Republicans in Congress want to extend several provisions from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, passed during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term, that are set to expire at the end of this year. But they’re expected to be costly — very costly. We’ll unpack the spending cuts the House GOP is eyeing to offset the impact on federal deficits. And, we’ll get into why Paramount is considering settling Trump’s lawsuit over CBS’ interview with Kamala Harris. Plus, we’ll weigh in on the business trends that are in and out for 2025.
Here’s everything we talked about today:
“CBS Owner Discusses Settling Trump Suit, With Merger Review on Tap” from The Wall Street Journal
“House Budget Republicans eye more than 200 spending cuts, tax changes for major bill” from The Hill
Ways and Means memo from the House Budget Committee
Bluesky thread from Sen. Ron Wyden
“Will 2025 Be the Watershed Year for Return-to-Office Mandates? That Depends.” from The Wall Street Journal
“TikTok Influencers React to a Potential Ban” from The New York Times
“Every Movie Sequel Releasing In 2024” from Screen Rant
“Beyoncé’s Whisky, Kylie Jenner’s Canned Vodka Soda, Plus More Stars in the Alcohol Business” from People
“Tesla stock jumps amid speculation Musk could buy TikTok” from Yahoo Finance
We love to hear from you. Email us at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.
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26:44
Credit keeps consumers consuming
Retail sales ended last year strong, despite a somewhat uneasy economic mood. Today, we dig into a tool many spenders used to keep up: credit. Non-housing debt just hit a record high, according to the New York Federal Reserve — that includes credit card and buy now, pay later purchasing. Also in this episode: Activist legal groups strategize in anticipation of Trump’s second term, history-themed media is having a moment and housing starts leapt up from November to December.
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28:44
Navigating the maze of insurance after destructive fires
California officials and insurance representatives are holding workshops starting this weekend to help people deal with their insurance companies amid the fires. It’s a complex system. Today, we’ll have a conversation with California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara about gaps in insurance and what the road to recovery looks like from here. Plus, a new World Bank report shows that economic growth among developing countries is slowing. We’ll unpack the reasons why.
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8:11
A moment of bipartisan agreement on government spending
From a new so-called Department of Government Efficiency to an incoming Republican Congress, deep cuts to the federal government are promised this year. Among areas to be reviewed are Medicaid and Medicare. But that spending is popular among voters — Republicans and Democrat alike, according to a new poll from the health research organization KFF. But first, California officials are launching a new effort to help people navigate the insurance maze this weekend.
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8:51
China hits growth target, but consumers hold back
From the BBC World Service: China’s economy grew by 5% last year, beating expectations. This growth was driven by the country’s manufacturing sector, with those goods mainly heading to foreign markets. But China is still struggling to shake off a protracted property crisis, high local government debt and youth unemployment. We’ll discuss. And later on the program, we’ll hear about the economics and history of Italy’s traveling troubadours.
Marketplace® is the leading business news program in the nation. We bring you clear explorations of how economic news affects you, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. The Marketplace All-in-One podcast provides each episode of the public radio broadcast programs Marketplace, Marketplace Morning Report®and Marketplace Tech® along with our podcasts Make Me Smart, Corner Office and The Uncertain Hour. Visit marketplace.org for more. From American Public Media. Twitter: @Marketplace
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