Sabri Ben-Achour

Correspondent & Host

Latest Stories (617)

Shortage of semiconductors is a security risk, and what the U.S. can do about it

Apr 21, 2021
Semiconductors are in almost everything, including military equipment, and we don’t have enough of them.
Biden’s infrastructure proposal calls for $50 billion to create a technology directorate that would focus, in part, on semiconductor manufacturing.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

What part of a new house costs 4 times as much as a year ago? Lumber!

Apr 19, 2021
Demand for new U.S. homes is at a record high, and existing homes are old and need repairs.
Lumber prices had risen for a while before the pandemic spurred a renovation trend and boosted prices further.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

How will inflation move in post-COVID recovery?

Apr 16, 2021
Will we see prices rising into 2022? And would larger-than-expected spikes in inflation be noticeable to consumers?
"The overall pattern of inflation, many things will not be noticeably more expensive," says Joseph Gagnon, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
DavidLeshem via Getty Images

Can company culture survive Zoom?

Apr 14, 2021
"Culture doesn't come for free," one professor told us. "You have to keep feeding it."
Hand in Hand Soap's financial controller Arnie Cohen and his green-winged macaw Zoey make an appearance during a recent meeting.
Courtesy Hand in Hand Soap

Why there's a flood of new stock market investors

Apr 13, 2021
This explosion didn’t happen just because everyone was stuck at home. It started before the pandemic.
New retail investors could have a good shot at growing their savings if they take a long term approach.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Inflation, after the pandemic, is going to change. Or is it?

Apr 12, 2021
On Twitter, the White House Council of Economic Advisers says a coming uptick in inflation may not last.
The prices of construction materials like lumber have climbed at alarming rates. Is that likely to last?
Scott Olson/Getty Images

More countries scrutinize foreign efforts to acquire their companies

Apr 9, 2021
The U.S. government is concerned about the national security risks in Chinese companies buying American companies.
The Chinese flag at one of its U.S. consulates. Thursday the Commerce Department stopped seven Chinese firms from buying American-made technologies.
Philip Pacheco/AFP via Getty Images

Infrastructure plan has positives and negatives for GDP

Apr 8, 2021
Infrastructure adds to gross domestic product, but interest rates can take away from it.
Lower-income workers have been able to raise their wages faster than middle and higher-income workers, says a new NBER working paper.
Andrew Burton/Getty Images

IMF warns global growth will be lopsided

Apr 5, 2021
It may take years for much of the world to match the U.S. and China, where bigger vaccine rollouts have sped up economic recovery.
As some countries recover, interest rates rise, making it harder for the economies of other countries to rebound.
Karen Bleier/AFP via Getty Images

For Broadway performers, a year of pandemic unemployment and reflection

Apr 2, 2021
As Broadway eyes reopening, a performer reflects on a year offstage.
"I think theater is resilient," said Broadway's Kathryn Allison. "There's nothing like sitting in a theater with a group of people, watching something that you know tomorrow's audience will never see."
@anniek_with_a_camera