May 16, 2024

Walmart, Wayfair and . . . wool?

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Today, three businesses — selling very different products — that adapted to changing customer demand.

Segments From this episode

Weekly jobless claims dip, but they've climbed this spring. What's the takeaway?

by Mitchell Hartman

May 16, 2024

Recent data indicates some cooling of the job market, but the real number of people laid off may be higher.

The Conference Board reports more Americans anticipate that jobs will be harder to find, and employment and income trends will worsen, in the coming months.

Scott Barbour/Getty Images

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Walmart's newest growth market? More affluent shoppers

by Nancy Marshall-Genzer

May 16, 2024

"I’m not embarrassed to say I bought something from Walmart anymore," says one such shopper.

The company has been trying to lure more high-end shoppers with new, trendier products and faster delivery of online orders.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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Wayfair steps into IRL retail

by Meghan McCarty Carino

May 16, 2024

Many consumers are more comfortable buying furnishings in person. Several online-native brands have recently expanded into physical retail.

$Wayfair's first brick-and-mortar store, located in Wilmette, Illinois. The 150,000-square-foot space will carry only a fraction of what’s online.$

Scott Olson/Getty Images

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Honeybee populations are hitting record numbers. Weren't they dying off before?

by Kai Ryssdal , Sarah Leeson and Sofia Terenzio

May 16, 2024

Scientists were ringing alarm bells about colony collapse disorder a decade ago. Brian Walsh of Vox explains what happened.

Barbara Gindl/APA/AFP via Getty Images

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The high stakes trade that can move entire currencies

by Sabri Ben-Achour

May 16, 2024

The “currency carry trade” is one way investors chase returns by moving their money from one country to another, and it can move currency markets. It’s emblematic of the power of interest rates to slosh money around the globe, and it may be growing.

Currency carry trade is a particular type of bet that investors make when they think they can earn more money in one country than in another.

Kazuhiro Nogi/APF via Getty Images

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With low wool prices, Midwestern sheep farmers are innovating with the fiber

by Rachel Cramer

May 16, 2024

Some are looking for new uses for fleeces while others shift to breeds that don’t produce much wool at all.

Newly shorn sheep bask in the spring sunlight at the Cory Family Farm in Polk County, Iowa.

Rachel Cramer/Harvest Public Media

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The team

Nancy Farghalli Executive Producer

Maria Hollenhorst Producer II

Andie Corban Producer I

Sarah Leeson Producer I

Sean McHenry Director & Associate Producer II

Sofia Terenzio Assistant Producer

Jordan Mangi Assistant Digital Producer

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