Maria Aspan
@mariaaspan.bsky.social
📤 453
📥 45
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Business correspondent @NPR. Newsletter:
https://ladybiz.substack.com/
Trump’s new $100K fee for H-1B visas created panic this weekend for some half a million workers, and their employers. I discussed the fallout, and the longstanding bipartisan criticism of H-1Bs, with
@michelmartinnpr.bsky.social
this morning:
www.npr.org/2025/09/22/n...
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Trump's $100K fee for H-1B visas creates chaos, confusion for employers and workers
President Trump signed an executive order Friday that adds a $100,000 fee for high-skilled workers to enter the country through the H-1B visa program, creating panic for employers and workers.
https://www.npr.org/2025/09/22/nx-s1-5548567/trumps-100k-fee-for-h-1b-visas-creates-chaos-confusion-for-employers-and-workers
9 days ago
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Had fun joining
@tamarakeithnpr.bsky.social
and
@ashleynpr.bsky.social
yesterday to talk all things Fed, and why the economy feels like a summer picnic, for the NPR Politics Podcast:
www.npr.org/2025/09/19/n...
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Federal Reserve lowers rates, but less than Trump wants : The NPR Politics Podcast
The Federal Reserve voted this week to cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point. We discuss the factors behind the agency’s decision, as well as President Trump’s legal fight to fire Fed Gover...
https://www.npr.org/2025/09/19/nx-s1-5546737/federal-reserve-lowers-rates-but-less-than-trump-wants
11 days ago
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"In general for workers, it's kind of take it or leave it. And they really don't have much of a choice but to take it."
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19 days ago
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New favorite dystopian corporate-speak dropped
28 days ago
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Listen to our full conversation on Up First here:
one.npr.org?sharedMediaI...
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28 days ago
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"They are now ground zero for a big polarizing political and cultural issue." Great story by
@alinaselyukh.bsky.social
and Liz Baker:
www.npr.org/2025/08/19/n...
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Home Depot keeps quiet on immigration raids outside its doors
The home-improvement chain is now one of the companies most caught up in Trump's immigration crackdown. The retailer's history with day laborers is long. So far, it's choosing to keep its distance.
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/19/nx-s1-5504124/home-depot-earnings-immigration-raids-day-laborers
about 1 month ago
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A close read of the complicated, increasingly conflicted (and maybe Chinese-Communist?) relationship between the president and corporate America, for
@npr.org
:
www.npr.org/2025/08/14/n...
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Trump is tightening the screws on corporate America — and CEOs are staying mum
Critics warn that Trump's demands for business leaders to step down, and for the government to take a cut of sales, threaten American-style capitalism.
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/14/nx-s1-5501591/trump-corporate-america-capitalism
about 2 months ago
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"We are woefully dependent on foreign oil." Olive oil, that is:
www.npr.org/2025/08/05/n...
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This Tuscan startup sold all its olive oil in the U.S. Then came Trump's tariffs
Americans love olive oil — and import 95% of it. But tariffs are making it harder for Europeans to sell it to Americans.
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/05/nx-s1-5464844/trump-tariffs-europe-olive-oil
about 2 months ago
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About to go on
@msnbc.com
to discuss the economy, the Fed, tariffs, and corporate America’s weird tariff summer with
@nicollewallace.bsky.social
www.npr.org/2025/07/26/n...
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Corporate America is having a weird tariff summer
Some big companies are reporting real financial pain from tariffs and economic uncertainty — but for others, business is booming.
https://www.npr.org/2025/07/26/nx-s1-5480695/corporate-america-weird-tariff-summer-earnings-investors
2 months ago
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I joined the greats
@sarahmccammon.bsky.social
and Mara Liasson for today’s
@npr.org
Politics Podcast, on the Fed, tariffs, earnings, and this really weird time in markets.
one.npr.org/i/1256157825...
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🔊 Listen Now: Trump's Attacks On Federal Reserve's Powell Could Bring Economic Pain
The NPR Politics Podcast on NPR One | 15:28
https://one.npr.org/i/1256157825:1269695552
2 months ago
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"We've done a lot of winning already — and we do have a lot to lose."
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4 months ago
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Three years ago, as Zaslav put WBD together, I wrote a cover story for Fortune dubbing him one of "the most overpaid CEOs in America." Today, well:
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4 months ago
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Thanks so much to
@lorichung.bsky.social
and
@spectrumnewsny1.bsky.social
for inviting me to discuss my reporting on what Corporate America’s DEI retreat means for everyone working in this once-hot professional field
www.npr.org/2025/05/27/n...
4 months ago
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This was a fun conversation!
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4 months ago
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As companies end their DEI promises, what happens to all the people they hired to implement them? “It’s been pretty tough,” one executive told me. She’s one of 2600 people working in DEI whose jobs have been eliminated since 2023, I report for
@npr.org
:
www.npr.org/2025/05/27/n...
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Corporate America's retreat from DEI has eliminated thousands of jobs
"I just didn't think it would take this long," one veteran head of diversity, who's been job-hunting since last summer, tells NPR.
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/27/nx-s1-5307319/dei-jobs-trump
4 months ago
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Verizon joins T-Mobile in cancelling some DEI policies to win FCC approval of a business deal. The FCC has taken an especially active role in the Trump administration's campaign against diversity, also opening investigations into Comcast/NBC and Disney/ABC over “promoting …DEI discrimination."
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4 months ago
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UnitedHealth is the fourth-largest company in the United States. Obviously it has a ton of power in health care … but when it has a terrible week(/month/year) like this one, there are also less obvious ripple effects.
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5 months ago
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UnitedHealth, one of the world's largest companies, is having a publicly awful year: The killing of a top executive, a massive data breach, and mounting costs in its key Medicare business. Today, that all caught up w/ now-former CEO Andrew Witty, I report for
@npr.org
:
www.npr.org/2025/05/13/n...
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UnitedHealth Group abruptly replaces CEO Andrew Witty, deepening a terrible year
The health care conglomerate is facing mounting financial problems – and ongoing consumer anger over high costs and denied claims.
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/13/nx-s1-5396614/unitedhealth-group-terrible-year-replaces-ceo-andrew-witty
5 months ago
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Some final thoughts from Omaha last weekend about Warren Buffett, and how he used some of his billionaire bully pulpit to mourn Charlie Munger.
ladybiz.substack.com/p/love-and-l...
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Love and loss in Omaha
Warren Buffett’s cult of personality includes matter-of-fact mourning for his late best friend.
https://ladybiz.substack.com/p/love-and-loss-in-omaha
5 months ago
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Thanks so much to
@nicollewallace.bsky.social
for inviting me on
@msnbc.com
today to discuss tariffs, business uncertainty, and the economic impact on consumers, with Rev. Al Sharpton and
@goangelo.bsky.social
m.youtube.com/watch?v=fn-u...
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'A sliding doors moment': Donald Trump appears backed into a corner on tariffs
YouTube video by MSNBC
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fn-uZaKubCg
5 months ago
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Some thoughts about what Warren Buffett stands for — and how deliberately he’s created his media image — in this era of Elon Musk and unpopular billionaires. For
@npr.org
www.npr.org/2025/05/09/n...
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Why Warren Buffett matters beyond Wall Street
The 94-year-old investor is retiring as Berkshire Hathaway's CEO. He's built both a fortune and a reputation as "the nicest billionaire" — at a time when many other billionaires are widely criticized.
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/09/nx-s1-5392315/why-warren-buffett-matters-beyond-wall-street
5 months ago
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A very eventful day in Omaha, for
@npr.org
:
www.npr.org/2025/05/03/n...
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Warren Buffett announces his retirement and warns the trade war will hurt America
The billionaire investor, now 94, also said he would be resigning as CEO at the end of the year. He spoke at Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting known as "Woodstock for Capitalists."
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/03/nx-s1-5384958/warren-buffett-tariffs-trade-war-america-berkshire-hathaway-omaha
5 months ago
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Thanks to
@kqedforum.bsky.social
&
@scottshafer.bsky.social
for hosting this conversation about tariff chaos, markets chaos & allegations of insider trading in the White House and in Congress, w/
@erinmansfield.bsky.social
@robert-faturechi.bsky.social
&
@levin.house.gov
www.kqed.org/forum/201010...
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Democrats Call for Investigations into Trades Surrounding Tariff Pause | KQED
We delve into allegations that some lawmakers are making money off Trump’s trade war and discuss the calls for accountability.
https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101909574/democrats-call-for-investigations-into-trades-surrounding-tariff-pause
6 months ago
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Coming up at 1 pm ET on
@kqedforum.bsky.social
, I'm looking forward to discussing my reporting on why some lawmakers and government ethics experts are calling for an investigation into whether President Trump enabled insider trading:
www.npr.org/2025/04/10/n...
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6 months ago
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Listen to me and Scott Simon discuss this week's "unprecedented, uncharted uncertainty," how corporate America is trying to cope, and what it means for us all, on today's
@npr.org
Weekend Edition:
www.npr.org/2025/04/12/n...
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For CEOs, 'unknown' and 'uncertainty' are the words of the hour with tariffs
President Trump's tariffs are causing chaos for consumers, businesses and investors. Corporate America's CEOs are now embracing a favorite buzzword to talk about the future: "uncertainty."
https://www.npr.org/2025/04/12/nx-s1-5361177/for-ceos-unknown-and-uncertainty-are-the-words-of-the-hour-with-tariffs
6 months ago
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"We can't have senior public officials — including the president — talking about ... whether to buy or to sell at the same time as they are making and announcing decisions that have a dramatic impact on stock prices,"
@rwpusa.bsky.social
tells me for
@npr.org
.
add a skeleton here at some point
6 months ago
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Went on (my first!)
@npr.org
Politics Podcast yesterday, to discuss w/ Asma Khalid and
@francoordonez.bsky.social
all things tariffs, markets whiplash, and the role billionaire Wall Street CEOs played this week:
www.npr.org/2025/04/10/1...
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Trump's tariff tug of war : The NPR Politics Podcast
After days of market turmoil, President Trump walked back some tariffs on some countries, but kept a near universal 10 percent tariff in place and increased tariffs on goods from China. What's behind ...
https://www.npr.org/2025/04/10/1243870153/podcast-tariff-changes
6 months ago
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reposted by
Maria Aspan
Brett House
6 months ago
It’s unlikely we’ll see a shift in direction on tariffs without more voices speaking out—and more pain in financial markets. I joined
@mariaaspan.bsky.social
on
@npr.org
to talk about what it may take to change course.
www.npr.org/2025/04/07/n...
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Trump's tariffs spark Wall Street pushback
The U.S. stock market sank for the third consecutive day, as Wall Street CEOs started raising the alarm.
https://www.npr.org/2025/04/07/nx-s1-5354891/trumps-tariffs-spark-wall-street-pushback
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Gold is timeless. Gold is precious. Gold is so hot right now, as we watch a trade war vaporize our more modern forms of money.
open.substack.com/pub/ladybiz/...
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All that glitters
Contemplating gold, billionaires, and how quickly our money can vanish, at the Brooklyn Museum.
https://open.substack.com/pub/ladybiz/p/all-that-glitters?r=9ca1&utm_medium=ios
6 months ago
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The problem with reporting on gold prices, and doing related online research, is that all of my popup ads are now trying to sell me gold. For
@npr.org
:
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Why gold prices are surging to record highs
Tariffs are roiling stock markets — but making gold hotter than ever.
https://www.npr.org/2025/04/01/nx-s1-5347985/gold-prices-record-highs-tariffs-trump
6 months ago
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Wall Street is worried that President Trump's new tariffs could spark a U.S. recession. On
@npr.org
’s Up First, I spoke with
@steveinskeep.bsky.social
about the markets, the tariff whiplash, the U.S. economy ... and the changes in Trump's priorities this term.
www.npr.org/2025/03/11/1...
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Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest : Up First from NPR
As Ukraine begins ceasefire negotiations in Saudi Arabia, the Trump administration signals that aid could resume if Ukraine makes concessions. A steep sell-off on Wall Street followed new tariffs from...
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/11/1237470070/up-first-ukraine-us-stock-market-slide-columbia-arrest-03-11-2025
7 months ago
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“This administration is really sowing the seeds for the next financial crisis.”—
@mayramrvassociates.bsky.social
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The FDIC's goal is to prevent another banking crisis. It's now also a Trump target
President Trump's sweeping cuts to the federal government are also threatening a key banking watchdog.
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/27/nx-s1-5307239/fdic-jobs-bank-regulator-trump-doge-elon-musk?renderplatform=nprone_ios&unified=true
7 months ago
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Had a fun time this week looking into the roots of America’s penny problem for
@npr.org
… and discovered that I’m part of the problem:
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President Trump's order is latest in the decades-long effort to eliminate the penny
President Trump became the latest U.S. president to say he wants to kill the penny. Both Republicans and Democrats have tried and failed for decades to get rid of America's one-cent coin.
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/13/nx-s1-5292440/president-trumps-order-is-latest-in-the-decades-long-effort-to-eliminate-the-penny
8 months ago
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GM, Disney, Pepsi, and many other big companies are scrubbing
#DEI
from their annual reports to investors, my new investigation for
@npr.org
finds.
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Exclusive: GM, Pepsi, Disney, others scrub some DEI references from investor reports
Some companies have announced diversity rollbacks — but many more are deleting or softening language from their investor disclosures, an NPR analysis finds.
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/07/nx-s1-5288947/trump-dei-disney-pepsi-diversity
8 months ago
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Under the political headlines about DEI, there’s a more subtle question: Did corporate America really think it through in the first place? Read and listen to my analysis for
@npr.org
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How corporate America got DEI wrong
President Trump is accelerating the attacks on diversity-in-business programs. But DEI experts say this may be the wakeup call big companies need.
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/03/nx-s1-5281168/corporate-america-dei-trump-diversity-business-stakeholder-capitalism
8 months ago
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Newslettered about Mexico City, Covid dolls, “nuns with free time” who decided to make clothes for fleas, and this weekend’s tariffs headlines:
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Welcome to the dollhouse
Visiting the cultural past—and trade-war present—at Mexico City’s House of 1000 Dolls.
https://open.substack.com/pub/ladybiz/p/welcome-to-the-dollhouse?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
8 months ago
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reposted by
Maria Aspan
Sekou Bermiss
8 months ago
I had the opportunity to speak with an
@mariaaspan.bsky.social
at
@npr.org
about how businesses are responding to the evolving landscape of
#DEI
. đź”— You can listen to the segment here:
www.npr.org/2025/01/25/n...
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Trump is ending DEI in the federal government. Corporate America is way ahead of him
President Trump is ending diversity, equity and inclusion in the federal government. But big companies have already been rolling back their DEI promises, for business as well as political reasons.
https://www.npr.org/2025/01/25/nx-s1-5258154/trump-is-ending-dei-in-the-federal-government-corporate-america-is-way-ahead-of-him
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Stock markets are closed today, to mourn Jimmy Carter. It’s part of a tradition dating back to the 1865 assassination of Abraham Lincoln, as I discussed with
@nasdaqexchange.bsky.social
’s Tal Cohen for Morning Edition today
@npr.org
www.npr.org/2025/01/09/n...
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U.S. stock markets close to honor former President Jimmy Carter
The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq will both observe Thursday's national day of mourning in a Wall Street tradition dating back to 1865.
https://www.npr.org/2025/01/09/nx-s1-5251459/u-s-stock-markets-close-mourning-former-president-jimmy-carter
9 months ago
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We've finally found the thing that can unite our divided country ... and it's hating Big Health Care. Even the investors making money from this business have grown unhappy with it this year. I dug into why for
@npr.org
and All Things Considered:
www.npr.org/2024/12/20/n...
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Big Health Care is ending a terrible year. Is anyone happy with this business?
Patients are protesting, bipartisan lawmakers are threatening regulation – and investors are selling their shares.
https://www.npr.org/2024/12/20/nx-s1-5234682/big-health-care-terrible-year-business-of-health
9 months ago
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