Corporations are expected to take on record debt in 2026. Plus: Rebuilding after the LA fires, rising brisket prices, and Costco wine snobs. Today on Marketplace.

It’s been a year since the Eaton and Palisades fires swept through Southern California, destroying over 16,000 structures — including the home of our own David Brancaccio. On "Make Me Smart," David joined Kimberly to discuss the complicated, costly task of rebuilding with fire resistant materials.

Corporate debt issuance is expected to hit a record in 2026. That's despite all of the uncertainty in this economy and the fact that interest rates are still higher than they were just a few years ago.

Futurist @amywebb.bsky.social of the Future Today Strategy Group explains how the convergence of AI, energy, robotics, biology and more will define how tech evolves and how it will influence our lives. Today on Marketplace Tech.

On a single street in Altadena, 15 houses were total losses after the Eaton Fire. One year later, our own David Brancaccio gives us an update on how he and his Altadena neighbors are rebuilding: www.marketplace.org/story/2026/0...

A year after the Eaton Fire destroyed thousands of homes in LA County, people are still rebuilding — and searching for contractors to do the job. Our own David Brancaccio checked in with his neighbor, Dustin Kunkel, who spoke to 30 contractors before finding someone to rebuild the house he owned.

Economists and analysts are looking to new data from late 2025 to help them understand where the economy might be headed in 2026.

Market participants have plenty of questions about how the situation in Venezuela will affect geopolitics and geoeconomics. One hanging in the air right now: How might the U.S. attack on Venezuela affect the value of the dollar?

Markets are largely unmoved by Trump’s military intervention. Plus: How intervention in Venezuela could affect the U.S. economy, it’s been a year since the Los Angeles fires, and economists eye upcoming jobs data. Today on Marketplace.

Venezuela’s current oil production infrastructure “has been held together by string and gum,” said Fernando Valle at Hedgeye Risk Management.

At a time when average concert ticket prices have reached triple digits, and the labor market is cooling, consumers may pull back on spending on pricey shows. That helps tributes bands. “[Because] the big concerts will go before tributes go,” one booking agent said.

Goldman Sachs predicts that by 2027, the influencer industry will grow to $500 billion. So it’s not an overstatement to say that influencing has changed how and what content we consume on the internet. And in turn, it informs what we choose to buy.

Move over “Be Kind, Rewind.” The new slogan is “Take A Movie, Leave A Movie.” That’s right: A Blockbuster nostalgia trip could be coming to a yard near you.

The knock-on effects of SNAP benefit restrictions, for shoppers and retailers. Plus: Huge driverless trucks and a deportation deal. Today on Marketplace.

Private credit has been around for decades, but with the growth of services like buy now, pay later, it’s entering the mainstream. That makes it harder to measure how consumers are doing.

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People who are in default on their federal student loans could soon start seeing their wages garnished for the first time since the pandemic began.

LA has had rent control for decades. Still, most of the city’s renters pay more than what the federal government considers affordable.

In 2025, highly publicized federal cuts resulted in an individual giving boost to nonprofits throughout the year. Some nonprofits worry demand will soon outgrow those private donations. Plus: Deportation fears, public utilities, airport lounges, and customs logistics. Today on Marketplace.

The U.S. Mint pressed the final batch of pennies in November, ending a 232-year run for the one-cent coin. But with more than 100 billion pennies in circulation, they’ll be around for a while.

According to one energy expert, “Consumers should expect gasoline prices to be 10% to 15% lower in 2026 than they were in 2025.”

When was the last time you paid for something in cash? On the other hand, when was the last time you left home without a wallet? We ask because the way we pay for things is changing — only 14% of all payments are now made in cash. And that shift has been particularly acute among young people.

Total jobless claims fell last week, which is the second-lowest reading in the last two years. Experts, though, say it’s likely a seasonal blip. Plus: Solar panels, influencer shopaganda, rent control, and tribute bands. Today on Marketplace.

U.S. electric vehicle sales plunged after federal tax credits were cut by Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration. Marketplace’s Henry Epp looks at what other challenges the EV industry could face in 2026.

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Stock prices for companies powering AI have seen wild growth. How did we get here, and what lies ahead?

Cox Automotive and Edmunds expect that, once this year wraps up, 16.3 million new cars and trucks will have been sold. That’s the most in any year since 2019. And it's come in a pretty chaotic year for the auto industry.

Today is the last day of 2025. We’re building the future of economic journalism – but we can’t do it without you. Your gift today helps sustain Marketplace’s mission well into 2026 and beyond. Give now at mktplc.org/4au1Xjh.

Beth Benike’s business, Busy Baby, was set to have its best year ever in 2025 — until tariffs hit.

Home price growth is slowing. Plus: contactless payment, GED classes, and buy now, pay later. Today on Marketplace.

As residential solar installers are racing to finish projects before federal tax credits expire at the end of 2025, local programs and tax breaks are already buoying sales into the new year.

2025 is on track to be the best year for initial public offerings — when companies go public on stock exchanges — since 2021, with IPOs raising a total of $46 billion this year.

AI's tendency to affirm what people say can result in conversations that become untethered from reality and, in the worst cases, has ended with real-world harms. Today on Marketplace Tech.

When the calendar turns to 2026, workers who earn the minimum wage in more than a dozen states will see a bump in pay. And by the end of 2026, more states will have a minimum wage of at least $15 an hour than those where workers will continue to receive the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.

The world is producing more oil than it needs, so 2026 prices are expected to be lower. The question is how low a barrel will get.

Travel influencers can be especially expensive for companies. In addition to payment, they might require comped flights, hotel stays, meals, and other services. Enter AI travel influencers.

The housing market is on the up and up. Plus: U.S. oil production, minimum wage increases, and AI travel influencers. Today on Marketplace.

Applications for adjustable-rate mortgages have more than doubled over the past year. Rising interest rates on ARMs contributed to the 2008 financial crisis, but post-crisis regulations tightened up lending standards — and many borrowers are betting that the rewards are worth the risks.

Kirsten Korosec, transportation editor at TechCrunch, explains how autonomous vehicles turned from a sci-fi novelty to a regular part of the traffic landscape in 2025. Today on Marketplace Tech.

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According to LinkedIn, the number of job listings that include “storyteller” have doubled in 2025.

When one of the largest manufactures of wallpaper cleaner started losing steam in the 1950s, the company decided to make a major pivot. If the dough-like cleaner wouldn’t be used to clean walls, what if it were used for play?

Some of the best surfing is possible during those icy, windy months before the lakes freeze over. Those willing to face the frost actually help boost beachside communities.

Fewer than 1% of job listings in 2025 advertised an end-of-year bonus, one study showed. Plus: Play-Doh and anime. Today on Marketplace.

For a new episode of "This is Uncomfortable," we’d love to hear from YOU. We want to know – "How much money is enough?" You can call our hotline and leave a message at 347-RING-TIU or email us at [email protected] to share your answer for a chance to be featured!

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Since the de minimis exemption was abolished four months ago, the number of parcels coming to the U.S. worth less than $800 has fallen by 54%.

Now that Christmas presents are unwrapped, many Americans are looking to return those gifts. And in some cases, those returns might cost you. According to a National Retail Federation survey, 72% of retailers have started charging for certain returns this year, up from 66% last year.

Widgets are a general stand-in for any produced good. But how do we think about widgets when goods are only a fraction of what we produce?

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