Jul 9, 2021

Biden takes up the cause of competition

Alex Wong/Getty Images

With an executive order that President Biden is set to sign today, the White House is trying to encourage more competition across the board in the U.S. economy. One part of the executive order tells federal regulators to give greater scrutiny to proposed mergers, including when a Big Tech company wants to swallow a smaller competitor. Plus, a reminder that COVID anywhere is COVID everywhere in a global economy that is so interconnected. Also, how much it costs for businesses to adjust to more extreme weather. And, robots delivering food in Austin, Texas, are competing with humans for space on the road.

Segments From this episode

What the White House's new executive order on competition in the U.S. economy says about Big Tech

Marketplace’s Nancy Marshall-Genzer has more.

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The stock market sell-off this week is a global issue

The fates of the world’s economies are interconnected, says Christopher Low, chief economist at FHN Financial. Which means in a world of vaccine haves and have-nots, all economies are going to pay a price the longer it takes to get ahold of the pandemic for everyone. As Low explains, market jitters this week, in which the Dow and S&P were both down around 1.5% at one point on Thursday, are a result of the reminder that COVID is not as far behind the world as folks may have thought, with the delta variant running rampant in certain places. Also, the U.S. is still experiencing shortages or bottlenecks because it’s very dependent on production and resources from other parts of the world that don’t have COVID under control as much.

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For small businesses, extreme heat can mean unexpected costs

by Amanda Peacher

Jul 9, 2021

Among them are higher electricity bills, air conditioning upgrades and running cooling misters for customers outdoors.

With unexpected weather can come unexpected costs, like AC upgrades, higher electrical bills, even irrigation systems to protect property in case of wildfires.

Dirk Waem/AFP via Getty Images

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Robots have started to share the bike lane in Austin to deliver pizza

by Nathan Bernier

Jul 9, 2021

Some cyclists aren't happy about the new arrangement, but others say it may put a new focus on bicycle infrastructure.

$Riley Pakes, with Refraction AI robotics company, monitors a REV-1 delivery robot on South Congress Avenue in Austin, TX on June 16, 2021.$

Gabriel C. Pérez/KUT News

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Music from the episode

Island Sunrise Software

The team

David Brancaccio Host

Victoria Craig Host, BBC

Stephen Ryan Senior Producer, BBC

Jonathan Frewin Producer, BBC

Daniel Shin Producer

Jay Siebold Technical Director

Meredith Garretson Morbey Senior Producer

Alex Schroeder Producer

Erika Soderstrom Producer

Rose Conlon Producer

Brian Allison Technical Director

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