Nov 16, 2021

Inflation sure hasn’t stopped consumer spending

Brandon Bell via Getty Images

Later in the show: Checking in with the co-owner of a Maine candy store, and a fire delays dreams for a gallery and lofts in Baltimore.

Segments From this episode

Inflation is hiding within retail sales spikes

by Mitchell Hartman

Nov 16, 2021

While prices are rising for consumers, that's not discouraging them from making purchases.

A woman shops at a Miami Target in September. While retail sales were up 16.3% year over year in October, inflation is eating up a lot of that increase.

Joe Raedle via Getty Images

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Using “queuing theory” to understand supply chain logjams

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst

Nov 16, 2021

"We can use some fancy math to predict how long the line will get," Keely Croxton of Ohio State says, then apply it to related problems.

According to logistics expert Keely Croxton, the mathematical formulas that explain wait times at an ATM can be applied to global supply chains.

Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images

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Biden pressures China on commitments to buy U.S. goods and services

by Nancy Marshall-Genzer

Nov 16, 2021

This is part of the phase one trade deal China signed with the Trump administration. But those goals may have been unrealistic.

President Joe Biden meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a virtual summit Monday.

Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

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A sweet staffing situation for one candy shop

Kristin Thalheimer Bingham, co-owner of Dean’s Sweets in Portland, Maine, sends a dispatch on how business is going.

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More workers are returning to offices, but downtown? Not so much.

by Meghan McCarty Carino

Nov 16, 2021

The share of workers staying home due to worries about the coronavirus dropped last month to a pandemic low.

A few lights are on in a New York City high-rise. Some workers are coming back, but downtowns still have plenty of unused capacity.

Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images

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The Block

A fire in Baltimore threatens effort to rebuild

by Amy Scott

Nov 16, 2021

And shows why restoring distressed neighborhoods can be so hard.

Shelley Halstead assesses the damage after a fire burned through a building she owns in Baltimore.

Dena Fisher

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Music from the episode

Concussion Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio

K.I.S.S.E.S Bent

People Everywhere (Still Alive) Khruangbin

Bus In These Streets Thundercat

Uptown Cabaret Oddisee

Daydream Mothlight

no tears left to cry Ariana Grande

The team

Nancy Farghalli Executive Producer

Maria Hollenhorst Producer II

Andie Corban Producer I

Sean McHenry Director & Associate Producer II

Richard Cunningham Associate Producer I

Dylan Miettinen Associate Digital Producer

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