Economy

Student loan payments are about to restart. Can American families afford them?

4:41pm August 23, 2022

After being on pause throughout the pandemic, student loan payments are expected to restart on Aug. 31, devastating household budgets across the country.

A three-bedroom and two-bath home for sale in Winston-Salem's East Winston neighborhood on South Graham Avenue.

Economy

Understanding the housing market: a look at supply and demand

11:24am August 23, 2022

by David Ford

During the past two years, America’s red-hot housing market left millions of people scrambling to find an affordable home to purchase or rent.

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Electric vehicles are displayed at a news conference with White House Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg in Washington, D.C., on April 22, 2021. The Biden administration's climate and health care bill passed by Co

Economy

You can get a $7,500 tax credit to buy an electric car, but it's really complicated

5:07pm August 22, 2022

by Arezou Rezvani

The Biden administration's climate and health care bill revamps the available tax credits for buyers of electric cars. Here's what to know about how they work.

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Country stores — a hallmark of rural life — deal with the challenge of inflation

4:26pm August 22, 2022

by Stephan Bisaha

Country stores are a hallmark of rural life. Many have survived for more than 100 years by learning to adapt. Today, they face a new challenge: inflation.

Some Uber and Lyft drivers question whether its worth it as companies cut incentives

4:14pm August 22, 2022

by Raquel Maria Dillon

With inflation running high, more people are driving for Uber and Lyft. Uber's CEO said that lots of new drivers signing on, but over 70% of them say that cost of living is the main reason.

Back-to-school stress is amplified by inflation affecting the cost of supplies

8:15am August 21, 2022

by Ayesha Rascoe

NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Tomicia Gray, a single mother in Charlotte, N.C., about the onerous cost of school supplies.

The SolDias ice cream stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area noticed some customers were downsizing their orders this summer. The chain is exploring ways to cut costs to keep prices in reach.

Economy

These are some of the ways inflation is changing Americans' spending habits

5:01am August 21, 2022

by Scott Horsley

From Walmart to the neighborhood supermarket, retailers across the country are having to adjust as Americans watch their pennies in the face of high inflation.

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U.S. and Chinese tensions cause economic worries in the Indo-Pacific region

8:56am August 20, 2022

by Julie McCarthy

There's growing fear that the rift between the U.S. and China could cause economic instability in the wider Indo-Pacific region.

The IRS will look into options to create a free tax filing system

8:03am August 20, 2022

by Scott Simon

Scott Simon talks with ProPublica's Justin Elliott about a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act requiring the IRS to study free tax filing options for taxpayers.

The cautionary tale of Japan: Why an L-shaped recession is so undesirable

5:23pm August 19, 2022

Not all economic recessions and recoveries are created equal. Japan's "L-shaped" recovery — which really isn't much of a recovery at all — in the 1990s offers a cautionary tale.