How do big swings in the stock market affect consumer behavior?

Aug 6, 2024
The markets have been on a roller-coaster ride, and it seems we invest more emotion in the downs than the ups.
Humans tend to feel losses more acutely than gains, said Swarthmore's Syon Bhanot. That could be why stock market slumps freak consumers out more than gains provide them relief.
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China's consumers cautious about economy as top officials meet

Jul 15, 2024
Growth is being held back by weak domestic demand and a real estate crisis.
Customers are sparse at a newly opened coffee shop in central Shanghai.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

GDP grew 4.9% in Q3, the highest since 2014. How'd we get here?

Oct 26, 2023
The answer will be pretty familiar: consumer spending, and lots of it.
A majority of GDP growth came from people splurging on concerts, restaurants and durable goods.
Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

The future of agriculture may rest with the American consumer

Apr 10, 2020
Many farmers are facing reduced demand for their products as well as falling prices.
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Is Amazon hurting the retail industry?

Jul 25, 2019
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's recent comment that Amazon was destroying retail was "bold," according to James Pethokoukis at the American Enterprise Institute.
A close-up of  Amazon Prime packages in an Amazon fulfillment center in Peterborough, England.
Leon Neal/Getty Images

Why consumers and retailers alike love gift cards

Dec 24, 2018
There’s even something in there for the government.
 That wall of different gift cards hanging on hooks at the end of a drugstore or grocery story aisle actually has a name: the gift card mall.
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Your student loan company just changed the terms of your agreement. What do you do next?

Sep 20, 2018
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau helps you handle problems you’re having with a financial service or product. Here’s how that process works.
A poster of evidence is presented by then-U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara during a press conference on May 7, 2013 in New York City.
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For public good, not for profit.

Tariff pain: Will the U.S. or China hurt the most?

Aug 27, 2018
Chinese state-run media commentaries suggest that people in China can weather the trade tariffs for the sake of national pride.
Li Dapeng says her consumption of American brands and imported products is modest compared to her four-year-old son.
Jennifer Pak/Marketplace

CFPB’s Mulvaney: We don’t have to run a Yelp for banks

Apr 25, 2018
The acting director of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, Mick Mulvaney, said Tuesday that he wants to cut off public access to a web-based database of complaints about financial companies. The American Bankers Association thinks that’s a fine idea. Consumer advocacy groups, not so much.  Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 

You've heard of co-working; now there's co-retailing

May 30, 2017
The new type of startup allows small companies to share space — and foot traffic — in brick-and-mortar stores.
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