Marketplace Morning Report

4.5 (885)
BUSINESS
UPDATED DAILY

In less than 10 minutes, we'll get you up to speed on all the news you missed overnight. Throughout the morning, Marketplace's David Brancaccio will bring you the latest business and economic stories you need to know to start your day. And before U.S. markets open, you'll get a global markets update from the BBC World Service in London.

9H AGO

The end of 'de minimis' exemption, four months on

The "de minimis" tax exemption on packages under $800 shipped to the U.S. came to an end in August. It's a move that's boosted business for logistics companies but has hit some smaller businesses at home and abroad hard. This morning, we'll learn outline the effects the change has had. Also on this morning’s show: an Nvidia licensing deal and the factors driving up precious metal prices.

7 min
11H AGO

Rise of the return fee

Now that Christmas presents are unwrapped, many of you — you know who you are — will head to stores to return gifts and get what you actually want. But increasingly, retailers are charging for those returns. Then, a couple of months ago, more than 5 million shoppers embraced a boycott of three major retailers: Amazon, Home Depot, and Target. From "This Is Uncomfortable," we'll learn about the impact it had on shoppers.

7 min
12H AGO

The year tariffs upended global trade

From the BBC World Service: There's one word that's dominated the headlines this year: tariffs. Countries around the world have been grappling with the U.S. import taxes central to President Donald Trump's trade policy, so how are countries faring? We check in on Mexico, China, and others. Plus, the Trump administration eliminated the tax exemption for parcels under $800 this year. We investigate how the move is playing out four months on.

8 min
1D AGO

A Christmas present for drivers

Gas prices are at the lowest level since 2021, according to AAA, as millions of Americans are traveling for the holidays. The average price of gas has been below $3 a gallon for most of the month. Plus, from "Marketplace Tech," ChatGPT has become the new WebMD. And from the Marketplace podcast "How We Survive," we learn what an invisible longitudinal line has to do with farmers, the economy, and the global food supply.

7 min
1D AGO

Why not just takeout for your holiday meal?

That's been the case for Thomas and Mariah Pisha-Duffly, a Portland foodie power couple with multiple James Beard Award nominations under their belt. Today, we chat with the Pisha-Duffys about their holiday meal planning, which focuses less on extravagance and more on family and serves as a departure from the stressors of the restaurant industry. But first, as you unwrap your Christmas presents, we check in on the supply chains that brought them to you.

7 min
1D AGO

The Chinese city powering Christmas

From the BBC World Service: Have you ever wondered where your festive Christmas lights, ornaments, and toys all come from? Well, there's a good chance they originate in the Chinese city of Yiwu. It's home to a major the world's largest wholesale market and produces more than half of the world's Christmas decor. This Christmas morning, we'll take a trip to the city and hear how it's being affected by the latest U.S. tariffs

7 min
2D AGO

Maybe going into the office isn't so bad?

2025 has been the year of getting dragged back to the office for plenty of workers — some part-time, but many full-time in the case of big finance and tech corporations. Thing is, in-person work appeals to many younger workers. Today, we'll hear the perspective of one. Then, the State Department says it will deny visas to five European citizens, including a former top EU official, and domestic production is still adjusting to tariffs.

7 min
2D AGO

The Trump administration can't withhold disaster relief

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to restore Homeland Security funding to 12 states and the District of Columbia. The administration had held back hundreds of millions of dollars from what it called "sanctuary jurisdictions." The cuts affected programs intended to support local police and emergency response in urban areas. Plus, food banks are bracing for strain ahead of changes to SNAP. We hear how services will be impacted on the ground in Kentucky.

7 min

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David Brancaccio

Host
Mariah Pisha-Duffly

Guest
Thomas Pisha-Duffly

Guest

4.5

out of 5

885 Ratings

One of the best!

Sep 12

Soggy OR Fan

Great content, delivered concisely & professionally. Keep up the good work, y’all. A gentle reminder to other listeners, there’s a fast forward button to mitigate your frustration with the ads. Super easy & quite effective.
I don’t mind the ads

Jun 20

CFWyatt

Marketplace, I don’t mind the ads, especially when public funding is under threat. Do what you gotta do. And thank you for all you do. You’re still the best.
Please stop with the Thoughts on the Market Ads!

Aug 7

Gabriela Jo

The reporting content is great once you get to it, but it’s becoming really irksome to have to listen to the same speaking Morgan Stanley’s Thoughts on the Market podcast ad — the speaking voice is incredibly annoying, inconsistent with the strong clear cadence of Marketplace, and most listeners don’t want to have to fast-forward every episode.
Solid coverage for <30 min content

Feb 27

Skitree

I’ve been contrasting the reporting from Fox to Marketplace for the last month. Fox consistently underreports federal perturbations. As someone that’s worked in the government and is in tech, whose personal network encompasses civil workers, the deep concern by domain experts across all domains is legitimately unprecedented yet garners little interest by conservative outlets. Marketplace has a specific interest in topics related to the economy. That is still the case. Reading through the negative reviews on Marketplace’s suite of podcasts, there’s a common thread: frustrations with political bias. It seems some listeners are jumping ship based on a belief that Marketplace is pushing a liberal agenda. This confuses me. The Trump administration has clearly expressed they are adopting an isolationist agenda while building relationships with nations we’ve been in contention with for many decades—at the cost of otherwise longstanding relationships with e.g. Europe, Canada, Mexico. This has consequences on our economy, which is now expressing increased volatility. How is discussing the consequences a liberal agenda? Meanwhile, Fox has *barely* begun discussing fed layoffs. Very frustrating when that’s a source of information I use as a common ground with family and friends. What I’d like to see more of from Marketplace: deeper research on analogous events and their outcomes / causality. Interviews with economists, sociologists, and historians to build reasonably priors. Longer-form content.

In less than 10 minutes, we'll get you up to speed on all the news you missed overnight. Throughout the morning, Marketplace's David Brancaccio will bring you the latest business and economic stories you need to know to start your day. And before U.S. markets open, you'll get a global markets update from the BBC World Service in London.