Kyla Scanlon wants to remind us that "people are the economy"

May 30, 2024
Scanlon explains her philosophy of economic education in this excerpt from her book, "In This Economy? How Money & Markets Really Work."
Jordan Mangi/Marketplace

Why the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. has been getting busier

May 7, 2024
CFIUS has a say in foreign transactions when national security is a concern, including venture capital and real estate deals.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who chairs the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, speaks at a conference in September.
Alex Wong/Getty Images

Worry about foreign ownership of telecom companies has a long history in the U.S.

Apr 24, 2024
It's part of an overall mistrust of foreign influence with deep roots in American history.
The founders were concerned countries would try to meddle in the U.S., so they passed measures like the Emoluments Clause which prohibits office holders from taking gifts from foreign officials.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The TikTok ban is poised to make the U.S.-China divide even starker

Apr 23, 2024
"You sort of have these two parallel internets that are existing in both countries," says WSJ technology reporter Meghan Bobrowsky.
Anna Barclay/Getty Images

A TikTok ban would be bad news for the beauty brands that advertise on it

Apr 2, 2024
A lot of brands don't seem to have a backup plan, says Jordan Holman of The New York Times. The platform is where "they need to be."
These days, TikTok is "the most formidable way that people are selling products," says Jordyn Holman of The New York Times.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Congressional crackdown on TikTok raises logistical and legal questions

Mar 14, 2024
Efforts to force parent company ByteDance to either divest or sell off the app would likely meet resistance from China.
Efforts to force parent company ByteDance to either divest or sell off TikTok would likely meet resistance from China.
Chesnot/Getty Images

Steamy, sultry and stigmatized no more: romance novels are having a moment

Feb 13, 2024
They used to sell as a guilty pleasure to be hidden away. Now they're cool and out in the open.
Books Inc. in Mountain View, California went from a couple shelves of romance to a full bay in recent years.
Meghan McCarty Carino/Marketplace

For public good, not for profit.

Why Universal is calling time out on TikTok

Feb 1, 2024
The video platform and the music company couldn't agree on terms for renewing their contract. Some of the fallout will hit video creators.
Universal says TikTok accounts for just 1% of its revenue. TikTok calls itself a “free promotional and discovery vehicle” for Universal’s talent.
Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

Content creator economy is everywhere, but labor data and protections are sparse

Nov 9, 2023
The government has virtually no data on this mostly unregulated, $250 billion global industry, says Drew Harwell of The Washington Post.
"This is a market of millions of people around the world who work as creators or influencers," said Drew Harwell at The Washington Post.
Phillippe Lopez/AFP via Getty Images

Tiktok "water chefs" have people shelling out for mermaid flavored drinks

Oct 10, 2023
TikTok's latest beverage trend is driving sales of flavored syrups and powders, but experts don't expect it to last.
Water flavored to taste like fruity cocktails, Mountain Dew and cotton bubble gum are trending on TikTok under the hashtag Watertok.
Rimma Bondarenko, iStock / Getty Images Plus