US humanitarian aid — with an asterisk

Summary

Marketplace Morning Report

Episode: US humanitarian aid — with an asterisk
Air Date: December 30, 2025
Host: Nova Safo (in for David Brancaccio)
Correspondents: Nancy Marshall Genzer, Henry Epp, Zachary Turner

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Overview

This episode covers three core business and economic stories shaping the news:

• The Biden administration’s new, conditional pledge for UN humanitarian aid
• A year-in-review of the 2025 IPO market and what to expect heading into 2026
• Major changes ahead for the US household solar industry as a key federal tax credit expires

The brief episode explores the complex intersections of government policy, market dynamics, and individual economic choices.

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Main Discussion Points and Insights

1. US Humanitarian Aid to the UN – With Strings Attached

(02:01–03:18)

• The Trump administration has pledged $2 billion in humanitarian aid to the United Nations for 2025.
• This amount is slightly less than last year, but likely keeps the US as the UN's top donor.
• The aid comes with strict warnings: the UN must reduce its bureaucracy and adapt, otherwise, agencies could face severe funding cuts or dissolution.

Key Insights

• The Trump administration’s skepticism towards foreign aid is clear. Earlier in 2025, it closed the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
• The $2 billion will be funneled into a UN umbrella fund, distributed across 17 "priority countries," including Sudan, Ukraine, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.

Notable Quote

• "Shrink or die. The Trump administration is skeptical of foreign aid. It shut down the US Agency for International Development earlier this year."
  — Nancy Marshall Genzer, 02:37

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2. 2025 Was a Strong Year for IPOs, But Private Money Still Dominates

(03:18–05:25)

• 2025 saw $46 billion raised through IPOs—the best annual total since 2021.
• Companies are sensitive to stock market conditions—when the market is up, IPO activity jumps; during downturns, activity collapses.
• Despite gains, IPO numbers are still below pre-pandemic levels because startups continue to access vast amounts of private capital.
• However, some firms (especially in tech) must eventually tap public markets for larger growth needs.

Expert Insight

• Jay Ritter, Director of the IPO Initiative at University of Florida:

  "When the market goes down, IPO volume collapses. When the market goes up, IPO volume jumps." (03:44)

• Santos Rao, Manhattan Venture Partners:

  "You need to at some point go public and raise public capital." (04:29)

• After a bumpy start in 2025, more companies felt comfortable going public in the year’s second half, thanks to increased clarity on tariffs and interest rates.

Future Outlook

• Companies like OpenAI and SpaceX are reportedly preparing for IPOs in 2026 if market visibility holds steady.

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3. The Uncertain Future of Residential Solar Power Post-Tax Credit

(06:41–09:23)

• Federal tax credits covering 30% of the cost of household solar installations expire at the end of 2025, leaving both the industry and consumers in limbo.
• Local and state incentives have helped fill the gap, but are often temporary or limited in scope.

Field Reporting – North Carolina:

• Demand for solar surged ahead of the expiration, with some companies booked into 2026.
• Local programs like 'Solarize' (a pooled purchasing initiative) and utility-backed battery incentives have aided adoption. For example, Charlotte homeowner Hope Lifsey benefited from both.

Challenges and Concerns

• The viability of rooftop solar post-tax credit is uncertain; local programs are ending or are just pilots.
• If incentives dry up, job losses in the sector could follow.

Notable Quotes

• Jay Reed, Solar Installer:

  "Everyone's a little nervous about the beginning of this next year because everything kind of changed with the incentives that everyone were getting to get solar." (07:15)

• Hope Lifsey, Homeowner:

  "It was out for seven hours and it was like 98 degrees outside." (08:14) [on utility outages, motivating her solar investment]

• Jay Reed, Solar Installer:

  "If they're not getting those same incentives, then less people are going to get it, there'll be less work, and eventually that's going to lead to people having less jobs, you know?" (09:01)

State Responses

• Some states are innovating: Colorado offers an energy storage tax credit, and major utilities are piloting new incentive programs for businesses.

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Notable Quotes & Moments (With Timestamps)

• "Shrink or die. The Trump administration is skeptical of foreign aid."
  — Nancy Marshall Genzer (02:37)

• "When the market goes down, IPO volume collapses. When the market goes up, IPO volume jumps."
  — Jay Ritter (03:44)

• "You need to at some point go public and raise public capital."
  — Santos Rao (04:29)

• "Everyone's a little nervous about the beginning of this next year because everything kind of changed with the incentives that everyone were getting to get solar."
  — Jay Reed (07:15)

• "If they're not getting those same incentives, then less people are going to get it, there'll be less work, and eventually that's going to lead to people having less jobs, you know?"
  — Jay Reed (09:01)

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Key Segment Timestamps

• [02:01] US UN humanitarian aid and conditionality
• [03:18] IPO market review and outlook for 2026
• [06:41] Solar industry faces post-tax credit uncertainty

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Conclusion

In just under ten minutes, this episode highlights the complicated policy choices and economic realities shaping 2025—and the year to come. The episode’s reporting underscores how changing federal policy, market sentiment, and local innovation continue to interact and shape opportunities for households, businesses, and entire industries.

Listeners are left with a sense of conditional optimism and a clear-eyed view of the challenges ahead, from global humanitarian needs to the viability of clean energy at home.

Transcript

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[Nova Safo]

What's the future of household solar power without federal tax incentives? For Marketplace, I'm Nova Safo, in for David Brancaccio. First, the Trump administration is pledging $2 billion in humanitarian aid for the United Nations. But the money comes with a warning that the UN Needs reform. Marketplace's Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

The official State Department announcement of the UN donation says it reaffirms the United States ironclad commitment to supporting critical life saving humanitarian action around the world. But the last paragraph warns the UN it has to reduce bureaucratic overhead and individual UN agencies will need to adapt. Shrink or die the Trump administration is skeptical of foreign aid. It shut down the US Agency for International Development earlier this year. The US was the UN's biggest donor in 2025. The Trump administration's $2 billion pledge will probably keep the US in that position al smaller than last year's donation. The money will go into a UN umbrella fund and will be doled out to 17 priority countries, including Sudan, Ukraine, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. I'm Nancy Marshall genser for marketplace.

[Nova Safo]

2025 was a good year for initial public offerings. That's when companies go public on stock exchanges. Bloomberg says IPOs raised a total of $46 billion, the most since 2021. Marketplace's Henri Epp has more companies thinking.

[Henry Epp]

About going public Pay close attention to how the stock market is doing. They want to enter it when investors are feeling bullish. Jay Ritter is director of the IPO Initiative at the University of Florida.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

When the market goes down, IPO volume collapses. When the market goes up, IPO volume jumps.

[Henry Epp]

That partly explains why more companies have gone public this year. The stock market's been doing really well, but the market did well the last couple years too, when IPOs were not all that popular. And even though IPO volume rose in 2025, it's still lower than it was pre pandemic. One reason There's a lot of private money flowing to startup companies, so they've.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

Been able to raise large amounts of money without tapping public capital markets.

[Henry Epp]

But for companies that want to significantly grow, especially in tech, private capital has its limits, says Santos Rao at Manhattan Venture Partners.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

You need to at some point go public and raise public capital.

[Henry Epp]

Rao says more companies reached that point this year, and after a Rocky start to 2025, more of them felt comfortable going public in the second half of the year.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

They were waiting for the dust to settle, for the coast to clear, for some visibility down the road. I think they have visibility on the tariffs, they have visibility on the rates.

[Henry Epp]

And if that visibility continues, some big IPOs could be coming in 2026. Both OpenAI and SpaceX have started laying the groundwork to go public. I'm Henry Epp for Marketplace.

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[Nova Safo]

Residential Solar Tax credits from the federal government expire at the end of this year. Some state and local governments have offered solar incentives too, but the industry is now facing an uncertain future. Zachary Turner reports from WFAE in Charlotte, North Carolina.

[Zachary Turner]

Solar installers from NC Solar now drill into the roof of this home in Concord, North Carolina. On the ground roof lead Jay Reed puts on his safety harness. He says recent federal changes have installers on edge.

[Henry Epp]

Everyone's a little nervous about the beginning of this next year because everything kind of changed with the incentives that everyone.

[Zachary Turner]

Were getting to get solar. The federal residential Clean energy tax credits covered 30% the cost of rooftop solar since July. Homeowners have been rushing to take advantage of low cost solar. Reed's company, like many others, was booked through the end of the year and has been since August, according to Jesse Solomon, NC Solar Now's Director of Sales. Fortunately, we're already selling into 2026 pretty.

[Henry Epp]

Heavily with no tax credit.

[Zachary Turner]

That's partly because of local incentives like those that allowed Charlotte resident Hope Lifsey to put panels on her home. She bought her solar and battery system through Solarize, a group purchase program. How it works It's a public private partnership where the more folks enroll, the less each individual pays. Lifcy enrolled because she experienced frequent power outages.

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It's just ridiculous, you know.

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And like one day it was out.

[Rima J. Reyes]

For seven hours and it was like 98 degrees outside.

[Zachary Turner]

The second local incentive lifcy got allows her to keep the power on during an outage. Her local utility gave her several thousand dollars to install a home battery. Similar programs exist in other states, such as California, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Some states, like Colorado, offer an energy storage tax credit. Local incentives combined with the federal tax credit made it affordable for lifseed to invest in solar. Do you have like a payback, like how long it takes you to get back the amount that you paid on the system? Eight years?

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[Zachary Turner]

One challenge. Local programs are often temporary. Solarize wrapped up in November. The battery incentive is a pilot. And when it ends, rooftop solar installer Jay Reed worries work will dry up.

[Henry Epp]

If they're not getting those same incentives, then less people are going to get it, there'll be less work, and eventually that's going to lead to people having less jobs, you know?

[Zachary Turner]

In September, the state's largest electric utility proposed creating a battery incentive program for businesses. Utilities in other states are exploring similar options. In Charlotte, North Carolina, I'm Zachary Turner for Marketplace.

[Nova Safo]

Our producers are Tamar Fagan, Ashley Rodriguez, Ariana Rosas, and Erica Soderstrom. Our senior producer is Alex Schroeder. Our supervising senior producer is Meredith Garrettson Morby. And I'm Nova Salvo with the Marketplace morning report. From APM American Public Media.

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