ECONOMY

How grocery stores are adjusting for rising prices

4:59pm August 17, 2022

by Scott Horsley

Rising prices at the grocery store and elsewhere are putting a strain on family budgets. Retailers are making adjustments, offering smaller package sizes and more discount options.

CHOWCHILLA, CA - MARCH 02: Valley State Prison inmate Will Caldwell cuts the hair of a prison employee during a cosmetology class at Valley State Prison on March 2, 2017 in Chowchilla, California.

What People Really Make (and Spend) Behind Bars

3:05pm August 16, 2022

The Marshall Project asked people in prison to track their earning and spending — and bartering and side hustles — for 30 days. Their accounts reveal a thriving underground economy behind bars.

Bassam al-Sheikh Hussein looks through the bank's window in Beirut, Lebanon during the hostage standoff on Thursday. He surrended after several hours of negotiations in exchange for a portion of his savings.

A man who held up a bank demanding his own money becomes an unlikely hero

10:34am August 16, 2022

by Rachel Treisman

Many in Lebanon can't access their life savings because of the economic crisis. A hostage-taker in Beirut surrendered in exchange for some of his funds, which he needed for his father's medical bills.

Queue Listen Now

Starbucks says regional staff of the National Labor Relations Board repeatedly crossed the line of neutrality to help union organizers in Kansas. Here, activists protest against Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz in New York City last month.

Starbucks asks for a nationwide pause in mail-in union votes, alleging misconduct

2:39pm August 15, 2022

by Bill Chappell

In a letter shared with NPR, the company alleges that labor board personnel exploited "weaknesses in the mail-ballot election process" to help union organizers.

The Internal Revenue Service building is seen in Washington, D.C., on April 5. The IRS got $80 billion in new funding as part of the climate and health care bill passed by Congress on Friday. Most of that money will be used to target wealthier tax evaders

The IRS just got $80 billion to beef up. A big goal? Going after rich tax dodgers

10:10am August 14, 2022

by Scott Horsley

The big climate and health care bill passed by the House Friday includes billions in new funding for the IRS over the next decade. Most of that money is aimed at catching wealthy tax cheats.

Queue Listen Now

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City on Aug. 5. The majority of America's top companies have reported strong earnings, but warning signs about the economy are also emerging from their corporate earnings.

Economy

3 warning signs about the economy coming out of America's top companies

7:29am August 12, 2022

by David Gura

Companies are bracing for potential trouble ahead by lowering their advertising budgets, cutting costs and adapting to their customers' changing spending habits.

Queue Listen Now

U.S. companies seem to be doing fine — but below the surface, there are warning signs

6:04pm August 11, 2022

by David Gura

Despite a lot of economic uncertainty, most companies in the S&P 500 did better in the second quarter than Wall Street expected. But there were signs the economy is starting to slow down.

Queue Listen Now

What the Inflation Reduction Act does and doesn't do about rising prices

10:10am August 11, 2022

by Juliana Kim

The Inflation Reduction Act is not expected to bring down inflation dramatically or right away, but experts say that might not be such a bad thing given the bill's other areas of focus.

Economy

Gas prices have dropped $1 in a little over a month. What's driving the dip?

7:24am August 11, 2022

AAA reports the average price of gas in the United States has fallen below $4 a gallon. That's a sharp drop from an average of $5 a gallon just a little over a month ago.

Queue Listen Now

Economy

Lower gas prices provide some relief to inflation-weary consumers

7:24am August 11, 2022

NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with economist Julia Coronado, the founder of economic research service Macropolicy Perspectives, about the impact of gas prices on inflation and the economy.

Queue Listen Now