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Companies go on a borrowing spree
May 19, 2023

Companies go on a borrowing spree

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It’s been a busy month in the corporate bond market. Big mergers and the looming debt ceiling deadline could be among the reasons. Plus, a potential nail in cable TV's coffin.

Segments From this episode

The Weekly Wrap

Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal talks to Ana Swanson at the New York Times and Catherine Rampell at the Washington Post about the G-7 summit and whether lawmakers will reach a decision on the debt limit next week.

Corporate borrowing is up this month, despite rising interest rates

May 19, 2023
Recent mergers and the ongoing debt limit negotiations in Congress could be prompting companies to borrow more.
Large mergers, like Pfizer’s $43 billion purchase of the biotech company Seagen, is one reason why corporate borrowing is up this month.
Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images

If ESPN goes to streaming, what happens to cable?

May 19, 2023
Leaders at Disney, which owns ESPN, say it’s an inevitability that the cable channel will migrate to streaming. Such a move would shake up the cable industry.
The CEO of Disney, which owns ESPN, has called the migration of ESPN to streaming “an inevitability.” Above, ESPN College Gameday hosts in 2020.
Matt Cashore-Pool/Getty Images

What John Deere's strong earnings say about the farm economy

May 19, 2023
Solid earnings posted by the farm equipment maker show many farmers had cash to spend, but that's no guarantee for the year ahead.
After Russia invaded Ukraine, supplies of grain and oil seeds were low and prices soared, said Kristen Owen of Oppenheimer. Now, farmers can afford to make some investments. 
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Welfare to Temp Work Pipeline

Most welfare recipients are required to work in order to keep their benefits, but the temp jobs they’re set up with are far from stable work. In Chapter 6 of the latest season of “The Uncertain Hour,” Krissy Clark looks at why our welfare policy props up some of America’s most unstable jobs.

We dig into more of the welfare-to-work industrial complex in the latest season of “The Uncertain Hour.” Listen now.

The team

Nancy Farghalli Executive Producer
Maria Hollenhorst Producer II
Andie Corban Producer I
Sarah Leeson Producer I
Sean McHenry Director & Associate Producer II
Richard Cunningham Associate Producer I
Dylan Miettinen Associate Digital Producer