Marketplace Morning Report

Third quarter earnings season kicks off this week, when we’ll get a view of the economy through the lens of the companies on the front lines. We had a banner jobs report last week. Are banner earnings next? And what would all that mean for future rate cuts? Also on the show, we’ll examine why labor force participation has hovered at around 63% for a few years now.

The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget released a new study this morning, looking at how the Harris and Trump campaigns’ spending plans would affect the national debt. Both estimates are pretty dire. We’ll hear the latest. Plus, the global private equity market was worth $579 billion in 2000; today, it’s worth over $8 trillion. But is there trouble ahead for private equity?

From the BBC World Service: The biggest rise in oil prices for nearly two years was recorded on Friday, as the world watches mounting tensions in the Middle East and how Israel will respond to attacks by Iran. Then, an aging population is straining future growth prospects for Malaysia’s economy. And a British woman who spent nearly half a century wondering why a dream job application went unanswered has finally found out why.

Several times a year, millions of honeybees are transported back and forth across the country to help pollinate the nation’s crops. Whose job is it to move them? Plus, what to make of the gangbusters September jobs report.

Dockworkers have suspended their strike until Jan. 15 in response to a new, higher wage offer from port operators. But what about their demands around automation? Plus, a judge blocks the Biden administration’s latest student debt relief plan, and the complicated work of tracking political donations by companies and business owners.

From the BBC World Service: The European Union has given the green light to big tariffs on electric vehicles made in China, but not all member states or European car manufacturers are happy with the decision.

Will the ongoing port strike lead to food shortages? It depends on both businesses and shoppers. Plus, retailers bet on big consumer spending this holiday season, OpenAI’s massive new valuation, and a “temperature check” on U.S.-China economic relations.

As we enter day three of port strikes along the East and Gulf Coasts, ports on the West Coast are fielding record high amounts of diverted cargo. Plus, reassessing the legality of election betting, and the knock-on effects of stricter new SNAP requirements for older adults.

The Japanese stock market gains followed Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba saying the time wasn’t right for further increases in borrowing costs. Elsewhere, a court in Singapore has sentenced former transport minister S. Iswaran to 12 months in prison for corruption and obstruction of justice; he’s the first former or sitting cabinet minister in the city-state to be jailed. And in order to combat droughts which disrupt the workings of the Panama Canal, the Canal Authority is planning to build a new reservoir — but opponents say it’ll displace thousands of people.

How businesses strategically funnel cash toward political causes, what they hope to gain, and what they might be risking. Plus, the trucking industry braces for the impact of the dockworkers strike, and an antitrust case against Amazon moves forward.

Dockworkers from East and Gulf Coast ports enter the second day of a strike, with tensions centered around wages and automation. Plus, crude oil prices rise slightly amid escalating violence in the Middle East, and new car sales stall in response to high prices and interest rates.

From the BBC World Service: The San José is being hailed as the most valuable shipwreck in the world — it’s a Spanish galleon which sank in the Caribbean more than 300 years ago. Now there’s a legal battle over who has a claim to the treasure, which is valued at £18 billion. Plus, global oil prices rise amid increasing tension in the Middle East.

Legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola’s latest work flopped at the box office over the weekend. Coppola self-funded the film, “Megalopolis,” to the tune of $120 million. Yet it made just $4 million in its opening weekend. It’s the latest original film — one that’s not a sequel or remake — to struggle to attract audiences to the theater. Then, remittances to India top $100 billion a year.

The strike is impacting shipments of things like fresh food, cars and machinery. Workers reportedly want a 77% raise over six years and want to keep their jobs of loading and unloading ships from being automated. We’ll discuss the major economic ripple effects the strike could have. Then, CVS is considering splitting itself up. And later: a voice from “the room where it happens” on U.S.-China trade.

From the BBC World Service: Police have clashed with protesting garment workers in Bangladesh, who are demanding higher wages and better working conditions. We’ll examine the impact the protests could have on global fashion supply chains. Plus, India is the only country to have received $100 billion in a single year from citizens working abroad and sending remittances back home. What does that mean for those workers and the Indian economy?

Gavin Newsom vetoed a landmark artificial intelligence safety bill yesterday, siding with skeptical tech giants who that it would stifle innovation. The bill would have established a state-wide entity to oversee AI breakthroughs. We’ll hear more. Then, economists’ biggest economic concern right now is not the upcoming presidential election but the moves of the Fed. Plus, how can humans be more human at work? AI may be able to help.

As part of our ongoing Office Politics series, we’re taking a look at businesses what happens when businesses lean on their employees to vote for the candidates and polices that are in the company’s best interest. It’s a practice that’s legal, and companies point out labor unions do it too. Yet it’s not without risk for the companies. Also, inflation cooled in August, yet housing inflation remains sticky. Why is that?

From the BBC World Service: Thailand has launched the first phase of its flagship $14 billion stimulus handout plan, which will eventually see an estimated 45 million people receive about $300 each to encourage spending. Plus, devastating floods have hit central Europe. What are the economic impacts? We’ll also hear from the chairman of coffee chain Lavazza on global expansion and record-high coffee prices.

In the run-up to the election, we’re looking at political polarization in America — specifically, the role companies play in intensifying or easing political divides — in our Office Politics series. This time, we’re tackling the touchy subject of talking politics at work, which has become increasingly tense in recent years. We chat with Alison Taylor, executive director of the think tank Ethical Systems, about the interaction between our work and civic lives. And, the “Low-down” on this morning’s inflation numbers with FHN Financial’s Christopher Low.

President Biden just signed a bill to fund the government for the next three months, but extra money for the federal government’s disaster management agency, FEMA, was not in the legislation. A look at why the agency was asking for more funds and how fewer resources can impact communities recovering from disasters. The labor dispute between some of the largest U.S. ports and dockworkers escalated Friday, with employers calling for federal intervention to force a restart in negotiations. And, Southwest Airlines announced that it will scrap one of the features that set it apart in a crowded airline market: no pre-assigned seating.