In Houston, a look at local disaster response

Summary

Marketplace Morning Report: In Houston, a Look at Local Disaster Response Release Date: June 11, 2025

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1. U.S.-China Trade Negotiations and Market Implications

Host Introduction: David Brancaccio opens the episode by discussing the potential improvement in U.S.-China trade relations. He highlights recent statements from President Trump regarding tariff adjustments and mutual concessions.

Key Points:

• Tariff Adjustments: President Trump announced that the U.S. will impose a 55% tariff on Chinese goods, while China will reciprocate with a 10% tariff on U.S. products. Additionally, China will continue exporting rare earth minerals to the U.S., and the U.S. will allow Chinese students to study in the country.

• Potential Impact on Markets: Jeffrey Cleveland, Chief Economist at Peyton and Regal, analyzes the situation, suggesting that progress towards a trade deal could alleviate fears of a recession induced by tariffs. He anticipates positive movements in equities and bond yields, projecting potential economic growth and the avoidance of a recession in 2025.

Notable Quotes:

• Jeffrey Cleveland [01:44]: “...if we are inching closer to a trade deal, I think that will be good for financial markets. I think equities will enjoy that.”
• Jeffery Cleveland [03:38]: “It's probably prudent for policymakers to wait for a few more months of data to see if the disinflation trend continues before taking any action on interest rates.”

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2. Consumer Inflation Data and Economic Outlook

Host Introduction: Brancaccio shifts focus to the latest consumer inflation figures, presenting a softened Consumer Price Index (CPI) for May.

Key Points:

• Inflation Statistics: The CPI increased by 2.4% year-over-year through May, indicating a moderation in consumer prices. The core CPI, excluding food and energy, rose by just 0.1% for the month.

• Implications for Monetary Policy: Cleveland remarks that the softened inflation data is favorable for both consumers and central bankers. He notes reductions in goods prices, such as vehicles and apparel, and a decrease in services prices, which constitute the majority of consumer spending. However, Brancaccio cautions that the full effects of tariffs on prices are yet to be realized, suggesting that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to cut interest rates in the near future.

Notable Quotes:

• Jeffrey Cleveland [02:23]: “We see a softness in the May consumer index data... So that's a soft reading.”
• David Brancaccio [03:13]: “But it's not just US China, tariffs. There are many other countries affected by the new tariff regime and that could boost prices. So I'm not expecting the Fed to lower any rates anytime soon.”

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3. Local Disaster Response Initiatives in Houston

Reporter: Amy Scott

Key Points:

• Doris Brown’s Hub House: Amy Scott reports from Houston, spotlighting Doris Brown, co-director of West Street Recovery. In response to past disasters like Winter Storm Yuri and Hurricane Beryl, Brown transformed her home into a "hub house," equipped with emergency supplies, solar panels, and backup power to serve as a community shelter and resource center.

• Community Preparedness: The hub house includes essentials such as medical supplies, solar batteries, fire extinguishers, and even an inflatable kayak for flood situations. Brown emphasizes the importance of local, community-based responses, especially in historically neglected areas.

• Funding and Expansion: Establishing a hub house costs between $15,000 and $30,000, funded through donations and grants. Currently, there are eight hub houses in Houston, with plans for further expansion to enhance neighborhood resilience against future storms.

Notable Quotes:

• Doris Brown [05:35]: “I almost froze to death.”
• Doris Brown [05:46]: “We are kind of like boots on the ground. After the disaster, we are the first ones to hit the ground running.”
• Doris Brown [06:40]: “I think eventually I would just like to see all neighborhoods getting a hub house ready because it's no longer. If it's just when, now, when the next storm is going to hit.”

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4. Trump Administration's Impact on Biden-Era Green Jobs and the Solar Industry

Reporter: Ray Solomon

Key Points:

• Solar Industry Challenges: Ray Solomon highlights the struggles within the solar industry due to the Trump administration’s policies. Mina Cox, Chief Operating Officer at Specialty Products in Longmont, Colorado, shares her experience of halted projects stemming from the administration’s freeze and subsequent alterations to Biden-era solar incentives.

• Funding Uncertainty: The initial successful solar array installation at Specialty Products was made possible by a USDA grant covering 40% of the project cost. Attempts to secure additional funding for expansion were thwarted by policy instability, leading Cox to withdraw her application amid fears of financial unpredictability.

• Industry Outlook: University of Colorado Law School Professor Chris Winter and Mike Krueger of the Colorado Solar and Storage Association express concerns over the administration’s conflicting energy priorities, resulting in reduced investments and hesitancy within the industry. The uncertainty is causing businesses to hold back on expanding renewable energy projects, stalling progress in green initiatives.

Notable Quotes:

• Mina Cox [08:59]: “We wouldn't have done it without the grant. It just was not financially feasible.”
• Jeffrey Cleveland [09:47]: “It's almost like a 180 degree flip from where we were with the prior administration.”
• Mina Cox [10:51]: “Feels like a lot of rugs are being pulled out of small businesses and we don't want to be participating in a risk like that.”

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Conclusion

The episode of Marketplace Morning Report offers a comprehensive overview of critical economic and local issues, from international trade negotiations and inflationary trends to grassroots disaster preparedness and the volatile landscape of renewable energy funding. Through expert analysis and on-the-ground reporting, listeners gain valuable insights into how these multifaceted topics interconnect and impact both national and community levels.

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For more in-depth stories and updates, tune into future episodes of Marketplace Morning Report.

Transcript

[David Brancaccio]

Hey there and thanks for listening. We want to know more about our audience. Stick around at the end of this episode to hear about how you can help, provide feedback and have a chance to walk away with a $75 gift card.

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[David Brancaccio]

The US And China appear back on track toward a trade truce. I'm David Brancaccio in Los Angeles. U.S. and China negotiators have a framework to get their trade relationship to a healthier spot. President Trump said today the US will have 55% tariffs on China goods. China, he says, will go with 10% on the U.S. also, according to the president, China will keep rare earth minerals flowing this way. And the US Will let students from China study here. Jeffrey Cleveland is chief economist at Peyton and Regal here in Los Angeles. Good morning.

[Jeffrey Cleveland]

Good morning, David.

[David Brancaccio]

First of all, through online postings, the president of the United States says there is a done deal. This is his wording for the US China trade talks, but then he says it's subject to approval by him and President Xi of China. So perhaps not fully a done deal. How would you expect this to percolate out into financial markets?

[Jeffrey Cleveland]

Well, I think the fear for this year, the main fear, was that tariffs would induce a recession. And so if we are inching closer to a trade deal, I think that will be good for financial markets. I think equities will enjoy that. And you should also see that reflected in bond yields as well. But it means potential for better growth and avoiding a recession, at least in 2025.

[David Brancaccio]

All right. Another key piece of news that came in this morning is consumer inflation for May. And with that May data, we can now tell you that prices at the consumer level, the consumer Price Index, went up just 2.4% in the year through May.

[Jeffrey Cleveland]

Yeah, I think this is great news for consumers, great news for central bankers as well. We see a softness in the May consumer index data. We saw soft readings on goods prices, so vehicle prices and apparel and also in, we would call it non housing services. So most of what you spend your money on, David, services prices. Not that I've seen your budget, but I can just guess from the average consumer most of what they spend their money on are services. And so that softened and we like to look at the core cpi, so excludes food and energy and that was up just 0.1% for the month of May. So that's a, that's a soft reading. I have to imagine, you know, stepping back here, if we didn't have the tariff threat, it might be possible that the Fed would cut interest rates. David given the softness in the inflation data and the I would say slowly softening labor market that we've seen in recent months.

[David Brancaccio]

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. We're still waiting for the full effects of tariffs to percolate into prices. So clearly today's news is we're not seeing that yet. But it's not just US China, tariffs. There are many other countries affected by the new tariff regime and that could boost prices. So I'm not expecting the Fed to lower any rates anytime soon.

[Jeffrey Cleveland]

I think it's probably prudent for policymakers to wait for a few more months of data to see if the disinflation trend continues before taking any action on interest rates. So that sets up an interesting fall or second half of the year.

[David Brancaccio]

DAVID all right, we'll watch for that. Jeffrey Cleveland, chief economist at Peyton and Regal, the investment firm. He's based in Los Angeles. Thank you very much.

[Jeffrey Cleveland]

Have a good week.

[David Brancaccio]

Not a hurricane season that starts in about two and a half weeks. Last year, hurricanes caused $124 billion in economic damage. Using federal numbers this year the Trump administration is making cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Marketplace's Amy Scott reports from Houston on some communities trying to plan local disaster responses.

[Amy Scott]

Doris Brown used to park her car in the garage attached to her small cream colored house in northeast Houston. But these days there's no room. The place is chock full of emergency supplies, neatly organized and labeled on shelves.

[Doris Brown]

We have menstrual products, medical supplies, solar batteries and panels, fire extinguisher.

[Amy Scott]

She's got tools, hard hats, electric heaters and sleeping bags, boxes of military style meals ready to eat.

[Doris Brown]

And food's pretty good because we tested it, especially the dessert back there.

[Amy Scott]

So pretty much everything you could ever want.

[Doris Brown]

Yeah, we try. We try.

[Amy Scott]

There's even an inflatable kayak in case of flooding. Brown is co director of West Street Recovery, a disaster relief organization that works in historically neglected communities. Now 75, she started her activism as a teenager in the civil rights movement. Brown says she decided to turn her home into a community hub after winter Storm Yuri knocked out the power for millions of Texans in 2021.

[Doris Brown]

I almost froze to death.

[Amy Scott]

Him in this house?

[Doris Brown]

Mm. Yeah, in this house. And that's when west street came up with the idea of a hub house right in your neighborhood.

[Amy Scott]

Now she has solar panels on the roof and a whole house battery to keep the lights on when the grid fails. Neighbors can come take shelter from the elements and charge up their phones. She also keeps a roster of folks to check on who are homebound or may need supplies delivered.

[Doris Brown]

We are kind of like boots on the ground. After the disaster, we are the first ones to hit the ground running.

[Amy Scott]

She says her hub house was put to use after a powerful derecho last May. Then Hurricane Beryl just weeks later.

[Doris Brown]

We was dispensing batteries and food, water and ice and stuff.

[Amy Scott]

Brown estimates it costs between 15 and $30,000 to set up a hub house, funded by donations and grants. There are now eight of them around Houston, with plans to expand by a few each year.

[Doris Brown]

I think eventually I would just like to see all neighborhoods getting a hub house ready because it's no longer. If it's just when, now, when the.

[Amy Scott]

Next storm is going to hit. In Houston, I'm Amy Scott for Marketplace.

[David Brancaccio]

For a lot more on strategies to adapt to climate change, listen to our podcast how we Survive, which Amy hosts free from podcast apps.

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[David Brancaccio]

See t mobile.com an update now on the Trump administration halting Biden era programs that funded green jobs around the country, including in rural places. KUNC's Ray Solomon reports.

[Ray Solomon]

The story of the solar industry in 2025 can be told as a tale of two rooftops. Roof number one is here at the headquarters of Specialty Products, a global auto parts manufacturer in rural Longmont, Colorado, where Mina Cox is chief oper.

[Mina Cox]

See, the whole roof is covered with the solar arrays.

[Ray Solomon]

We're talking row upon row upon row of solar panels. The company built it last year and a Grant from the USDA covered 40% of the half million dollar price tag.

[Mina Cox]

We wouldn't have done it without the grant. It just was not financially feasible.

[Ray Solomon]

The project was so successful that late last year, Cox applied for another grant for an even bigger solar array on the second rooftop in this story. Rooftop number two. It's a few miles up the road at the company's manufacturing plant, where mills, laser cutters and welders turn blocks of steel and aluminum into suspension parts and oil pumps.

[Mina Cox]

We thought, oh, this would be great for manufacturing. These are all very large machines cutting metal and they use a lot of energy to do that.

[Ray Solomon]

The panels were supposed to be funded by Biden era solar incentives. University of Colorado Law School professor Chris Winter says the new Trump administration has a different approach.

[Jeffrey Cleveland]

It's almost like a 180 degree flip from where we were with the prior administration.

[Ray Solomon]

Since taking office, President Trump has sown chaos for rural renewables. Funding for those IRA green energy grants were frozen, then unfrozen, with the USDA encouraging recipients to bring their projects in line with Trump's energy priorities. Confused? So is the solar industry.

[David Brancaccio]

The solar industry is in a very strong hold pattern. People aren't investing, they're not hiring.

[Ray Solomon]

That's Mike Krueger of the Colorado Solar and Storage Association.

[David Brancaccio]

They're generally just holding onto their cash in the hopes that we get more certainty and less chaos.

[Ray Solomon]

Which was exactly the thought process for Mina Cox, who was hoping to build that second solar array on roof number two at her company's manufacturing plant.

[Mina Cox]

This facility is 40,000 square feet.

[Ray Solomon]

The grant money seems to be flowing again, but Cox says she's not interested anymore. The uncertainty made her so wary, she withdrew her application.

[Mina Cox]

Feels like a lot of rugs are being pulled out of small businesses and we don't want to be participating in a risk like that.

[Ray Solomon]

So at least for now, our roof number two remains there. In Longmont, Colorado, I'm Ray Solomon for Marketplace.

[David Brancaccio]

And in Los Angeles, I'm David Brancaccio. You're listening to the Marketplace morning report from apm, American Public Media. Hey, David Brancaccio here. Over the last few months, you may have heard me talk about the home that my family lost in the California wildfires this year. Well, I recently chatted about rebuilding our Altadena, California, cottage with the team over at this Old House Radio Hour, a radio program and a podcast from Public Media. So for a tale of new beginnings, or if you need any tips for your own home improvement projects, this episode has you covered. You can find episodes of this Old House Radio Hour wherever you get your podcasts.