PRI - APM

We continue our look at venture capital — how it works, how investments are made and how those investments shape our world. Social Capital is a venture capital fund founded by Chamath Palihapitiya, a former Facebook executive and professional poker player. He believes more venture capitalists need to use their own money when investing and not rely on institutional partners such as universities and pension funds. We revisit his talk with Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood about what should change in startup investing. (08/07/2018)

(Markets Edition) Edgy rhetoric used to cause investors to fall back on the perceived safety of bonds, but despite the headlines on trade and Iran, markets are still ticking along. We'll talk to David Kelly, chief global strategist at JP Morgan Funds, about why investors aren't running scared from stocks. Afterwards, we'll discuss Missouri's plan to vote on potential new powers to undercut private-sector labor unions, and then we'll look at how Arkansas is experimenting with work requirements for those on Medicaid.

Wyoming’s economy is dominated by coal, other fossil fuels and mineral extraction. The formula here has worked — residents in Wyoming enjoy among the highest per capita GDP in the nation. So naturally, there’s been some hostility toward new sources of energy that could threaten that.

This is a story about two ranchers in western South Dakota — Kenny Fox and Eric Jennings.

The two men have both been busy vaccinating and branding their calves, and preparing to get hay ready for winter. Fox is in his 60s; Jennings is in his 50s. Their lives, jobs and outlooks have a lot of overlap. Where the two men differ sharply, however, is on trade.  

“We have people who have lost jobs because of NAFTA,” says Fox.

On the flip side, Jennings says, “We’re very happy with NAFTA. It has opened up our borders tremendously.”

Yiwu city, sometimes referred to as Santa's real workshop, is just a short bullet train ride from Shanghai.

Some 600 factories in the city are estimated to produce two-thirds of the world's Christmas products, according to the local Christmas Products Association.

The items are on display at the Yiwu international wholesale market, which is a sprawling complex that is almost two square miles in size – picture 280 Macy’s department stores.

Arkansas is at the forefront of a national experiment to see whether requiring work for health care coverage helps lift people out of poverty. So far, the state’s plan has seen low compliance among beneficiaries who may soon see themselves fall off the Medicaid rolls. Out of the around 10,000 people who were supposed to report their work in the state’s first phase of the work requirements, 7,464 had not reported  as of June.

Voters in Missouri will decide Tuesday whether to pass a “right-to-work” law. If approved, Missouri would join Michigan, West Virginia, Wisconsin and more than 20 other states in banning private-sector unions from charging dues to members.

Unions, who oppose right-to-work laws, say without the ability to collect union dues, they’ll have less power to bargain for higher wages for their workers. That in turn will hurt workers of all stripes, since nonunion employers typically raise wages to compete with union shops.

(U.S. Edition) The U.S. has re-imposed sanctions on Iran overnight, but there's one way the Middle Eastern country is trying to get around that. We'll look at how Iran has been telling its citizens to import precious metals and get their hands on U.S. dollars. Afterwards, as part of Black Women's Equal Pay Day, we'll look at the wages that black women make compared to white men, and what some are trying to do to end the wage gap. Then to cap off today's show, we'll explore what trade tensions between the U.S. and China might mean for Christmas.

(Global Edition) From the BBC World Service … Snapback sanctions from the U.S. against Iran went into effect at midnight, and while European governments have vowed to protect companies wanting to continue doing business with the Middle Eastern country, will many choose to risk being frozen out of the American economy? Then, amid a diplomatic row between Saudi Arabia and Canada, one activist who left Saudi Arabia says economic reforms cannot be achieved without more political freedoms.

President Donald Trump tweeted about the economy this weekend and made this claim: “Because of tariffs we will be able to start paying down large amounts of the $21 Trillion in debt." He’s right about the size of the debt, but the power of tariffs to reduce it? 

Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 

As an artist who uses Instagram as her primary platform, Mandy Harris Williams wants to know who is moderating content at Instagram and Facebook, Instagram's parent company. They've been criticized of inaction where the flow of misinformation and hate speech on their platforms is concerned, though their removal of posts from right-wing conspiracy theorist and Infowars founder Alex Jones might indicate a step forward.

The tight labor market has prompted employers to reach into pools of workers they might have otherwise overlooked: People who failed drug tests, people with prison records, early retirees. And people who were out of that labor market — like older workers — are starting to look for jobs again despite reduced benefits and stagnant wages. So is the labor force pretty tapped out, or are or are there more potential workers waiting in the wings to jump in?

Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 

Gabby Jacobs and her husband, Erin Bullock, were in a battle with their landlord, and they were losing. They were living in Bedford, Ohio, outside Cleveland. There was no heat in their daughter’s room. The stove didn’t work. The landlord refused to make repairs. The time had come to buy a place of their own.

“It was a big jump for us, but we always knew homeownership was a big plus, because it would be ours,” Jacobs said.

My Economy tells the story of the new economic normal through the eyes of people trying to make it, because we know the only numbers that really matter are the ones in your economy.

This week we hear from a music teacher who decided he needed another source of income while looking for a full-time job.

President Donald Trump's tweets made a lot of news Sunday, but we want to zoom in on this bit: "Because of Tariffs we will be able to start paying down large amounts of the $21 Trillion in debt," Trump wrote. "While at the same time reducing taxes for our people." Leaving aside that tariffs are taxes, could they ever pay off the national debt? Or even just the deficit? We looked into it. Then, a look at JPay, a company that lets prison inmates and their families exchange emails — for a cost.

(Markets Edition) Elders are going bankrupt at a much higher rate than they used to, according to a new study from the Consumer Bankruptcy Project. We'll look at some of the factors that may be causing them financial distress. Afterwards, we'll talk to economist Julia Coronado from MacroPolicy Perspectives about how China's currency is faring, and then we'll discuss how the Trump administration might let people factor in inflation when calculating the tax on capital gains.

It's a busy Tuesday evening in the trendy neighborhood of Podil, not far from the city center of Kiev. It's hot out but people are enjoying a breeze as they stroll through a mostly pedestrian-friendly part of the city. A street band plays in the background while people line up to ride a huge Ferris wheel. 

(U.S. Edition) With U.S. sanctions on Iran going into effect today, we'll explore how many companies are in a lose-lose situation — whether they do business with the Middle Eastern country or they don't. Afterwards, we'll look at how the ongoing trade conflict between the U.S. and China will affect Southeast Asian countries, and then we'll chat with art critic Blake Gopnik about the way Andy Warhol mixed business with art.

U.S. sanctions on Iran go into effect today. Back in 2015 when Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program, many U.S. sanctions were lifted. But President Donald Trump pulled out of the multinational agreement in May, and now the measures are back. What's at stake for foreign companies?

Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 

(Global Edition) From the BBC World Service … A top supplier to Apple was hit by a computer virus over the weekend – and it could cost the Taiwanese company more than $250 million. Then, orders at the factory gate in Germany saw a sharp drop in June amid growing concerns about global trade tensions. What does this signal for economic growth in the second half of the year?  Afterwards, what would you do if you saw your face advocating for a product you’ve never used? Or endorsing a college program you never participated in? All without your consent?

All week we're looking at venture capital and the people who control that wealth. We start with the industry's very culture. In November, venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson of Draper Fisher Jurvetson left that firm following allegations of inappropriate behavior and an internal investigation. The company said he left by mutual agreement. Ellen Pao is a venture capitalist who sued another well-known firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, for gender discrimination in 2012. She lost the case, but it inspired other women to come forward.

Larry Kudlow, who became President Trump’s chief economic adviser in March, sits in an office on the second floor of the West Wing. Kudlow is not a desk guy — he sits at a conference table with stacks of papers covered with comments and yellow sticky notes.  I sat down at that table today to talk with him about the health of the American economy.  

This week, we are revisiting a bunch of our favorite stories from over the past few years. The average woman earns about 80 cents for every dollar the average man makes. So how can we move toward pay equality? Then, our health. Changes in health care affect society’s most vulnerable citizens — children. We’ll take a look back at our visit to a pediatric hospital in Southern California. Plus, dogs. Rescue dogs make our hearts melt AND teach us lessons about supply and demand! The business of rescuing, transporting and adopting puppies is complicated, so we break it down.

(Markets Edition) We have yet another trade war update. China is upping up the ante by announcing it may impose tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. products. We'll look at what's behind this decision and the kinds of U.S. exports China is targeting.

Heather Repennin, vice president of the Los Angeles Bureau of Public Works refers to herself as a "wastehead." 

“It’s someone who is completely immersed in discussions, operations and policy around the waste sector,” Repenning said. In her job, Repennin helps set waste and recycling policy for the city of Los Angeles. “Welcome to the world of being a wastehead," she said. 

One thing that keeps wasteheads up at night is the lousy job of recycling that non-wasteheads are doing.