Indie musician Conor Oberst takes the Marketplace Quiz

Mar 17, 2017
He says that the music industry is a reflection of the general economy.
Conor Oberst has a carousel horse in his living room.
GrandstandHQ

What Homer Simpson can tell us about the economy

Dec 14, 2016
He's had more than 100 jobs, but hasn't progressed economically.
Fox

Starbucks doubles down on China

Oct 21, 2016
The company plans to open more than 2,000 additional stores in the next five years.
A Starbucks coffee shop, built in traditional Chinese style, in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images

The middle class vacation squeeze

Jul 14, 2016
Taking an annual out-of-town vacation is a mark of middle-class attainment in the U.S. But about 1 in 4 households haven't managed to get away for a week or more — in five years.
Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

Why the middle class has less money and bigger bills

Jun 9, 2016
An economist explains why things have gotten more expensive and we make less money.
 Middle-class life has become 30 percent more expensive in the past 20 years.
Brendan Wood/Flickr

What it feels like to be a middle class family today

Jun 9, 2016
Maybe it's time to redefine what it means to be middle class in America
Aaron and Mary Murray live with their five-year-old daughter Vandy and their dog Murphy in Los Angeles.
Tommy Andres/Marketplace

For public good, not for profit.

If you had to come up with $400 right now, could you do it?

Apr 20, 2016
A Federal Reserve Board study found that almost half of respondents couldn’t come up with $400

Mobility as an economic measure

Dec 10, 2015
The latest research from Pew shows the middle class is no longer the majority.
According to the Pew Charitable Trust, it's not so easy to climb income brackets in the United States.
Pixbay

The path to the middle class in China

Mar 17, 2015
The nation's household registration policy is leaving many workers stuck in place.