Economy

The Economy: U.S and World Economic News NPR news on the U.S. and world economy, the World Bank, and Federal Reserve. Commentary on economic trends. Subscribe to NPR Economy podcasts and RSS feeds.

Sam Mertens checks on his chickens.

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Raising kids is costly; Tariffs will make it even more expensive

Bridge cranes load containers to a cargo ship at the Qingdao Free Trade Zone in Qingdao, Shandong province, China on April 15, 2025.

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Raising kids is costly; Tariffs will make it even more expensive

Munchkin CEO Steve Dunn says tariffs will impact the availability of baby products.

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Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

How tariffs could impact the availability of baby products

Powell says he’s determined to serve out the rest of his term, which runs through spring of 2026. In the picture, Powell departs after speaking at an an Economic Club of Chicago event in Chicago on April 16, 2025.

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Vincent Alban/Getty Images North America

Trump calls for Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s ‘termination’ in blistering attack

A worker pushes a wine barrel into a storage facility at Hunnicutt winery in St. Helena, Calif., on Sept. 30, 2021.

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Economic lessons learned from Investopedia (and Ferris Bueller)

Ben Stein as an economics teacher in the movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”

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CBS via Getty Images

Economic lessons learned from Investopedia (and Ferris Bueller)

Specialist Gennaro Saporito works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, April 16, 2025.

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Richard Drew/AP/AP

Toyota and Lexus cars unloaded from car carrier ships sit parked at the Port of Long Beach in California.

Toyota and Lexus cars unloaded from ships sit parked at the Toyota Logistics Services Inc. automotive processing terminal at the Port of Long Beach in Long Beach, Calif., on April 10.

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Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government

Career staff of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs work in the New Executive Office Building.

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Keith Romer/NPR

OIRA: The tiny office that’s about to remake the federal government

On April 9, President Trump posted on Truth Social, “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.”

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Jennie Sohn/AP Illustration

Did Trump enable insider trading?

Containers pile up at Kwai Chung Container terminal in Hong Kong.

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Chan Long Hei/AP

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How much is a weather forecast worth? (Update)

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Scott Olson/Getty Images

How much is a weather forecast worth? (Update)

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins speaks with reporters outside the White House on March 26, 2025.

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Win McNamee/Getty Images

Trump, tariffs and farmers

Alix Rodrigues, owner of Nut Hut in Vancouver, packing almonds.

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Amanda Aronczyk/NPR

Trade war dispatch from Canada

US President Donald Trump holds a chart as he delivers remarks on reciprocal tariffs during an event in the Rose Garden entitled “Make America Wealthy Again” at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 2, 2025.

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BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images/AFP

People stand outside a brokerage house where an electronic board displays shares trading.

People stand outside a brokerage house, as an electronic board displays shares trading, in the Central Business District in Beijing on Thursday.

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Andy Wong/AP

IRS information sharing, bonds bust, and a chorebot future

Robot assistant doing vacuuming a room.

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IRS information sharing, bonds bust, and a chorebot future

What’s a recession indicator?

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This podcast is a recession indicator.

A trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

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Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Trump’s conflicts of interest

Drowning in tariffs, American businesses try to stay afloat

Shrimp caught off Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, lay in a basket waiting to be weighed.

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Gerald Weaver/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Drowning in tariffs, American businesses try to stay afloat

A Social Security Administration office in Washington, D.C., is seen on March 26. On Wednesday, Social Security backtracked on its announced plan to require in-person visits to offices.

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Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Falling gasoline prices helped keep inflation in check last month. AAA says the average price of regular gas nationwide is $3.22.

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Jim Watson/AFP

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (L) Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick (R) look on as President Trump speaks in the Oval Office on Wednesday.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick with President Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday.

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Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images