Jan 10, 2024

What Alan Greenspan got right and wrong at the Fed

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

A biographer discusses the former chairman's complicated legacy. Plus, raising cattle costs a lot more than it used to.

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Shelf Life

Alan Greenspan's greatest legacy may be the Fed's independence

by Kai Ryssdal and Sean McHenry

Jan 10, 2024

Greenspan ignored political pressure to cut interest rates so that he could bring down inflation, says author Sebastian Mallaby.

Where did Alan Greenspan, above, go wrong? "In thinking that 2% inflation was the be-all and end-all," says Sebastian Mallaby, "because it turns out, of course, that economies can be disrupted by things other than the price of eggs going up too fast."

Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

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Why we care about wholesale numbers

by Kai Ryssdal and Sofia Terenzio

Using census numbers released Wednesday, “Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal looks at wholesale inventories and how some small businesses are taking stock in the new year.

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If inflation slowed down in 2023, why is my grocery bill so high?

by Stacey Vanek Smith

Jan 10, 2024

2023 was officially a very good year for the US economy: unemployment stayed near record lows, the markets were strong, and inflation came under control. So with all this good news, why does looking at the grocery bill still feel a little like getting poked with a cattle prod?

Ranchers watch as cow prices are bid up at a cattle auction in Caldwell, Idaho.

Stacey Vanek Smith

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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

Richard Cunningham Associate Producer I

Sofia Terenzio Assistant Producer

Jordan Mangi Assistant Digital Producer

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