A beverage behemoth

Summary

---

Marketplace Morning Report – “A Beverage Behemoth”

Date: August 25, 2025
Host: David Brancaccio

---

Overview

In this brisk, information-packed episode, Marketplace covers the major business and economic stories for the start of the week. The main focuses are a shift in Federal Reserve economic policy following weak jobs data and inflation concerns, a massive merger in the beverage industry involving coffee and soft drinks, and the financial pressures currently squeezing U.S. higher education—particularly regarding international student enrollment.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Federal Reserve: Navigating Inflation and Employment

[00:47 – 02:50]

• The Fed’s “Dual Mandate” in Focus:
  Marketplace’s Mitchell Hartman reports on the Federal Reserve’s struggle to balance stable prices with maximum employment:

  • Weak July jobs numbers have raised fears about declining job creation.
  • The Fed, led by Jerome Powell, signals that changes in economic conditions might justify a rate cut soon, which is expected in about three and a half weeks.
  • Ongoing tariffs (notably on imports like electronics, tools, and furniture) are stoking inflation, which could rise further before the next Fed meeting.

• Quotable Moments:

  • “The Fed will try to head that off by lowering interest rates a bit, says MIT’s Daniel Hornnung. But it still has to worry about inflation.” – Mitchell Hartman [01:40]
  • “Insurance prices need to ease up a little bit.” – Jeffrey Roach, LPL Financial [02:22]
  • “Tariffs aren’t going away. Inflation pressures aren’t going away. But for the moment, the Fed appears ready to focus on risks to the job market first.” – Mitchell Hartman [02:44]

---

2. A Beverage Giant: Keurig Dr Pepper’s $18 Billion Move

[02:50 – 04:12]

• Massive Merger in Drinks Industry:
  David Brancaccio introduces the unprecedented merger of Keurig Dr Pepper and JDE Peet’s Corporation, forming a beverage powerhouse.

  • The $18 billion deal would combine soft drinks (Dr Pepper, 7up, Canada Dry, A&W) with a global portfolio of coffee and tea brands (including Peet’s, Stumptown, and Maxwell House).
  • The companies plan to split into two firms: one focused on coffee, one on soft drinks.
  • Expected operational “cost synergies” are about $400 million, with the deal anticipated to close in the first half of next year, pending approval.

• Drivers and Challenges:

  • Coffee bean prices are up due to drought in major producing countries (Vietnam, Brazil).
  • U.S. President Trump has imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian beans, driving costs even higher.

• Memorable Quotes & Moments:

  • “Everything you drink will be made by one company, it seems.” – David Brancaccio [00:47]
  • “Prices for coffee beans are up. Droughts caused a smaller harvest in Vietnam and Brazil. Plus President Trump has imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian coffee beans.” – Nancy Marshall Genzer [03:24]
  • “The plan is to split into two firms: one focused on coffee, the other on soft drinks.” – Nancy Marshall Genzer [03:37]

• Lighthearted Pronunciation Lesson:

  • Brancaccio jokes about the pronunciation of coffee brands:
    • “One of the Peet’s coffee brands is not Dewey Egberts. I’m told it’s Dauer Ekberts. Also. Apparently it’s just pronounced Maxwell House.” – David Brancaccio [04:12]

---

3. Higher Education: Bracing for a Turbulent Semester

[05:16 – 08:06]

• Struggles on Campus:
  Reporting from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, Kirk Carapezza explores how U.S. colleges are coping with fewer international students, rising costs, and slipping enrollment:

  • Universities, including Clark, are discounting tuition by 60% to fill seats.
  • Decline in visas and unwelcoming climate for international students could cost $7 billion and 60,000 jobs nationally, per a report from the International Association of Educators.
  • Schools are making cuts: Clark is considering dropping low-enrollment programs and cutting a quarter of its faculty.
  • Institutions are repackaging programs to focus on in-demand fields: climate, computing, and health.

• Expert Voices:

  • “Internationalization is a good thing... It’s extremely diverse.” – Cyril Ghosh, Political Science Professor [05:56]
  • “Whether it’s due to visas or the sense that America may not be the best place for international students to come right now, we’re prepared to deal with that.” – Clark President David Fithian [06:45]
  • “We’re responsible for saving ourselves. I don’t think that we should count on others to come and save us.” – David Fithian [07:24]
  • “No one likes to be forced into change, but it’s coming. It’s here.” – Kelly McManus, Arnold Ventures [07:46]

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Everything you drink will be made by one company, it seems.” – David Brancaccio [00:47]
• “Tariffs aren’t going away. Inflation pressures aren’t going away. But for the moment, the Fed appears ready to focus on risks to the job market first.” – Mitchell Hartman [02:44]
• “Prices for coffee beans are up. Droughts caused a smaller harvest in Vietnam and Brazil. Plus President Trump has imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian coffee beans.” – Nancy Marshall Genzer [03:24]
• “We’re responsible for saving ourselves. I don’t think that we should count on others to come and save us.” – David Fithian, Clark President [07:24]
• “No one likes to be forced into change, but it’s coming. It’s here.” – Kelly McManus, Arnold Ventures [07:46]

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Fed Anticipates Rate Cut & Economic Policy: [00:47 – 02:50]
• Keurig Dr Pepper–JDE Peet's Merger: [02:50 – 04:12]
• Higher Ed Under Pressure: [05:16 – 08:06]

---

Tone and Style

Marketplace keeps the tone brisk, practical, occasionally wry, and authoritative—balancing data, expert interviews, and moments of wit (as in the “cocktail” metaphor for the drink merger and the pronunciation sidebar on coffee brands).

---

Takeaway

Listeners are left with a sweeping tour of the economic landscape—from Wall Street expectations to the office coffee station, and right into the halls of higher education. As the beverage business consolidates, the Fed leans toward job market support, and universities brace for change, the episode underscores the interconnectedness and complexity of today’s economic challenges.

---

Transcript

[Amy Scott]

Hey, hate to do this. Could we reschedule our morning hike?

[David Brancaccio]

I was just about to ask the same next week.

[Amy Scott]

Yes, it's Dunkin Original blend time. Staying at home with Dunkin'. Don't mind if I do.

[David Brancaccio]

The home with Dunkin's where you wanna be.

[Amy Scott]

This podcast is supported by Odoo. Some say Odoo business management software is like fertilizer for businesses because the simple, efficient software promotes growth. Others say Odoo is like a magic beanstalk because it scales with you and is magically affordable. And some describe Odoo's programs for manufacturing, accounting, and more as building blocks for creating a custom software suite. So Odoo is fertilizer Magic Beanstalk building blocks for business Odoo exactly what businesses need. Sign [e-mail] that's o d o o.com.

[David Brancaccio]

Everything you drink will be made by one company, it seems. I'm David Brancaccio. First, it is the economic policy that affects nearly every woman, man, child and pet in America when our central bankers dial in lower interest rates Stock index futures on this Monday are pointing to a lower opening on Wall Street. This follows a rally Friday seen as a response to America's central banker in chief, Jerome Powell saying changing economic conditions mean, quote, adjusting our policy stance. Market players took that to mean an interest rate cut is coming three and a half weeks from now. It is a shift from worrying about tariffs hurting inflation to a worry about tariffs and other factors hurting the job market marketplaces. Mat Mitchell Hartman reports the Fed's dual.

[Mitchell Hartman]

Mandate from Congress is to pursue stable prices and maximum employment. Recently, a terrible July jobs report raised the risk that job creation is tanking. The Fed will try to head that off by lowering interest rates a bit, says MIT's Daniel Hornnung. But it still has to worry about inflation.

[Amy Scott]

Tariff related price increases are just beginning to work their way through the system. And actually tariff rates are even increasing. It's likely that that inflation will move.

[Mitchell Hartman]

Higher before the Fed meets to set interest rates in September. It'll have new inflation numbers to chew over.

[Amy Scott]

Are the price increases only in tariff.

[Mitchell Hartman]

Related import sensitive goods, electronics, tools, furniture.

[Amy Scott]

Or are they spreading to other categories?

[Mitchell Hartman]

Keep in mind inflation overall is still above the Fed's 2% target, says Jeffrey Roach at LPL Financial. We really need to see some of the categories that are a little more sticky in the services. Insurance prices ease up a little bit. Bottom line, says Roach, tariffs aren't going away. Inflation pressures aren't going away. But for the moment, the Fed appears ready to focus on risks to the job market First, I'm Mitchell Hartman for Marketplace.

[David Brancaccio]

Now here's the cocktail recipe proposed by the mixologists at the mergers and acquisitions team. Lot of ingredients in the shaker, Dr. Pepper, 7up, Canada Dry, Clemado, Clamado, Yoohoo, A and W and then some Margaritaville mix. Plus add Pete's Gavaglia, Stumptown and Maxwell House coffees. Stir and enjoy. That is the cocktail produced by a merger just announced for the Keurig Dr. Pepper Corporation to buy J.D.E. peetz Corporation for $18 billion. Here's Marketplace's Nancy Marshall Genzer.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

It's a tough time to be in the coffee business. Prices for coffee beans are up. Droughts caused a smaller harvest in Vietnam and Brazil. Plus President Trump has imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian coffee beans. The deal Keurig Dr. Pepper and JDE Peetz has to be approved by shareholders and regulators. Assuming it is, the plan is to split into two firms, one focused on coffee, the other on soft drinks. Keurig Dr. Pepper's soda business is going strong. It includes brands like Dr. Pepper, Canada Dry, 7up and A and W. The company says the deal with JDE Peetz will increase efficiency, resulting in about $400 million in cost synergies. It expects the deal to close in the first half of next year. Hi, I'm Nancy Marshall Genser for Marketplace.

[David Brancaccio]

And as a public service for non Dutch speakers like me, one of the Peet's coffee brands is not Dewey Egberts. I'm told it's Dauer Ekberts. Also. Apparently it's just pronounced Maxwell House.

[Grainger Announcer]

If you work as a manufacturing facilities engineer, installing a new piece of equipment can be as complex as the machinery itself. From prep work to alignment and testing, it's your team's job to put it all together. That's why it's good to have Grainger on your side. With industrial grade products and next day delivery, Grainger helps ensure you have everything you need close at hand through every step of the installation. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click granger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.

[David Brancaccio]

Higher ed is having a moment and for many campuses it is not a good one. Enrollment is slipping, costs are climbing, and White House policies are keeping away international students. Research funding and financial aid from gbh. Kirk Carapeza reports. At Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, this squeeze is already forcing big changes this semester.

[Kurt Carapezza]

On Main street here in Worcester, there's a Salvadoran bakery right next to a Chinese Takeout joint. Just around the corner, there are Vietnamese and Dominican restaurants, a sign of Clark University's international flavor.

[Mitchell Hartman]

Internationalization is a good thing. I'm proud of the fact that I walk around campus and it's extremely diverse.

[Kurt Carapezza]

Political science professor Cyril Ghosh came to the US From India as a student. Today, as a faculty member, he values Clark's global feel. But he worries America is losing its edge as a destination for talent.

[Mitchell Hartman]

The whole world thinks this. The Europeans are saying, welcome to us now with all the natural scientists. The Canadians are happy.

[Kurt Carapezza]

A new report from the International association of educators projects the US could lose $7 billion and 60,000 jobs next year from a 15% drop in international students that would hit colleges, budgets and research and America's global competitiveness.

[Amy Scott]

One of the real concerns is the timing.

[Kurt Carapezza]

Clark president David Fithian says the school is bracing for fewer students from abroad in part because of a drop in visas.

[Amy Scott]

Whether it's due to visas or the sense that America may not be the best place for international students to come right now, we're prepared to deal with that.

[Kurt Carapezza]

Clark has been discounting its tuition by more than 60% just to fill its seats. Now it's looking at its lowest enrollment programs and in the coming years cutting more than a quarter of its faculty. The university is also repackaging degree programs for today's job market in climate, computing and health. Founded in the late 1800s, Clark has a legacy in advancing rocket science and psychology. Fithian says the liberal arts college is now taking matters into its own hands.

[Amy Scott]

We're responsible for saving ourselves. I don't think that we should count on others to come and save us.

[Kurt Carapezza]

In this polarized moment, colleges like Clark have few allies in the federal government.

[Amy Scott]

Oh, there is no one coming to save them now.

[Kurt Carapezza]

That's Kelly McManus with the Think tank Arnold Ventures. She says higher ed hasn't really changed in half a century.

[Amy Scott]

No one likes to be forced into change, but it's coming. It's here.

[Kurt Carapezza]

And McManus says college leaders who are really watching international and domestic trends know they have to rethink how they operate and make sure their programs actually lead to good jobs. In Worcester, I'm Kurt Carapezza for Marketplace.

[David Brancaccio]

Checking markets again. S and p futures are down 3. 10 of a percent. The 10 year interest rate has eased slightly 4.28%. I'm David Brancaccio. You're listening to the Marketplace Morning report from APM American Public Media.

[Kyle Rysdal]

Hey, everybody, I'm Kyle Rysdal, the host of Marketplace. I'm going to join Amy Scott on September 9th. She's the host of How We Survive and also science writer Elizabeth Kolber for a conversation about the economic consequences of our climate crisis. We're going to break down how the acceleration of climate change is going to disrupt jobs and entire industries, even our daily lives. But it's not all doom and gloom. We're also going to dive into the solutions that are giving us hope right now. Thanks so much to Odoo for sponsoring this free webinar, and you can sign up today at marketplace. Org Climate.