Raising the roof

Summary

Marketplace: “Raising the Roof” Episode Summary

Released on January 16, 2025

In the “Raising the Roof” episode of Marketplace, host Kai Ryssdal delves into the persistent issue of inflation, the dynamics of the housing market, the robust performance of major banks, trends in the labor market, retail pricing, stock market movements, immigration policies, the expansion of electric vehicle infrastructure, and insights from the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book. Through expert interviews and real-world anecdotes, the episode provides a comprehensive overview of current economic conditions and their broader implications.

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1. Inflation and the Core Consumer Price Index (CPI)

The episode opens with a discussion on the latest inflation data, highlighting a "downside surprise" where the core CPI slightly underperformed expectations. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased by 3.2% year-over-year. A significant driver of this rise is the cost of shelter—comprising rent and owner's equivalent rent—which saw a 4.6% year-over-year increase in December.

Samantha Fields, Marketplace Reporter, introduces the topic:
[00:01] “Core was up 3.2% year on year over. Among the biggest drivers of that core number and a key reason that inflation is proving so sticky, shelter rent and owner's equivalent rent.”

Steve Reed, Senior Economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, emphasizes the weight of housing in CPI:
[01:29] “Over 36% of the whole CPI is sheltered.”

Susan Wachter from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School offers a cautiously optimistic view:
[01:58] “Shelter inflation has come down and it is coming down and it will come down.”

Despite the decline from a peak of 8.2% in March 2023, shelter costs remain high, posing challenges to achieving the Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation target. Wachter attributes the slow decline to homeowners' reluctance to give up low mortgage rates and ongoing supply constraints in the housing market.

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2. Housing Market Dynamics

The episode explores regional variations in the housing market. Logan Motashami, Lead Analyst at Housing Wire, notes that increased housing supply in cities like Austin is helping to drive rents down, whereas markets like New York remain tight. Los Angeles faces unique challenges with thousands of recent homelessness cases escalating demand for temporary housing.

Anecdote from a Los Angeles real estate agent highlights local inflationary pressures:
[03:12] “There was 167 people applying for one rental and that's inflationary.”

Despite severe local impacts, Samantha Fields assures that these regional issues are unlikely to significantly influence national shelter costs: [03:23] “But as huge as these losses are in Los Angeles, he says they're unlikely to raise shelter costs or inflation at the national level.”

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3. Big Banks' Q4 Earnings Performance

Major financial institutions reported strong fourth-quarter earnings, outperforming investor expectations. Kelly Wells of Marketplace discusses factors contributing to this success:
[06:16] “A lot of factors came together in the fourth quarter that spelled good news for big banks.”

Susan Wachter identifies market volatility as a key factor benefiting banks:
[06:21] “There was a lot of market volatility, and banks traditionally do very well when markets are volatile.”

The shift of deposits from regional to larger banks following the Silicon Valley Bank collapse in 2023 has bolstered big banks' financial positions, providing them with more capital to extend loans. Mike Stovall, Chief Investment Strategist at CFRA Research, links this to broader economic growth potential:

[07:40] “Good news for banks is good news for the overall economy because that means the companies borrowing from those banks have more money to invest.”

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4. Labor Market Trends and Employment Intensity

The labor market exhibits intriguing trends, with overall unemployment steady at 4.1%. However, there has been a notable decrease in average weekly hours worked, from 34.3 hours, down 45 minutes from its 2021 peak.

Daniel Ackerman highlights personal stories like Colin Bergman’s reduced work hours to pursue creative endeavors:
[09:06] “Instead of business as usual working behind my computer screen, Bergman started making more art.”

Susan Wachter explains the shift from a previously tight labor market:
[09:51] “We were in the beginnings of a really exceptionally tight labor market. There was talk of a labor shortage.”

Martha Gimble from Yale suggests that employers are adjusting by reducing hours instead of layoffs:
[10:19] “Workers don't seem upset about that adjustment because if you look at the share of part-time workers who would rather be full-time, those percentages are still quite low.”

Economist Ari Schwader provides historical context, indicating a return to pre-pandemic norms:
[10:47] “The overall reduction in hours worked is really just a return to how things used to be... we could finally be past the pandemic shock to the labor market.”

Looking ahead, Schwader warns of potential future disruptions from automation and AI, which could further alter work patterns.

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5. Retail Pricing and Business Insights

Retail sectors present a mixed picture. The sweets category saw a 7.10% monthly increase but only 3.1% annually.

Kristen Thullheimer Bingham, co-owner of Dean's Suites in Portland, Maine, shares her business experience during peak months:
[03:48] “November and December were record months for us... we probably could have used one more person.”

Eric Vaughn, owner of Eric's I've Been Framed in Detroit, discusses holiday season challenges and business expansions:
[12:21] “I was really shocked. I'm in the process of trying to add another division where I sell black memorabilia.”

Kalina Bruce of Noir Luxe Candle Bar in Seattle comments on holiday staffing and post-holiday business strategies:
[24:54] “Now that things have gotten a bit quieter, this is really our time to take a look at our inventory... focusing on some of our business goals for the year so that we can hope to see some more growth.”

These narratives illustrate how businesses navigate seasonal fluctuations and inflationary pressures while planning for future growth.

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6. Stock Market Movements and Wall Street Reactions

The episode details significant stock market gains, buoyed by better-than-expected inflation data and strong bank earnings.

Colin Rizdal reports:
[13:51] “The Dow industrials up 703 points, 1.6%, 43,221. The Nasdaq jumped 406, 66 points. That is 2.5% on that particular index finished at 19,511. The S&P 500 added 107 points. 1 and 8, 10%, 59 and 49 there.”

Strong earnings from major banks like JPMorgan Chase (+2%), Goldman Sachs (+6%), and Wells Fargo (+6.7%) contribute to positive market sentiment. Additionally, rising mortgage rates exceeding 7%, as reported by the Mortgage Bankers Association, indicate mixed signals for the real estate market.

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7. Immigration Policy and Humanitarian Parole

Transitioning to immigration, the episode highlights the Biden administration’s use of humanitarian parole to provide work authorization to individuals fleeing violence, oppression, or natural disasters.

Elizabeth Trovall narrates the story of Marilyn and Jonathan from Nicaragua:
[16:34] “In Nicaragua, universities have been a target of the violent authoritarian government... their stepdad, a US citizen, sponsored them.”

Under humanitarian parole, they secured custodial jobs in Houston, earning significantly more than in Nicaragua. Joanne Pantaleon from YMCA International Services lists the variety of jobs filled through this program, emphasizing its role in quickly integrating migrants into the workforce.

Kathleen Bush Joseph of the Migration Policy Institute contrasts current parole usage with past congressional adjustment acts that offered pathways to permanent residency. With the Biden administration nearing its end, uncertainty looms:

[19:00] “Congress hasn’t had the political will to do that in recent years. And humanitarian parole is both fleeting and discretionary.”

The narrative underscores the precariousness of parole-dependent migrants’ futures amidst potential policy shifts under the next administration.

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8. Electric Vehicles and Charging Infrastructure

The discussion shifts to the burgeoning electric vehicle (EV) market and the simultaneous expansion of charging infrastructure. Despite the incoming administration’s stance on federal EV programs, private sector investments have spurred a record number of high-speed charging stations in Q4 2024.

Steve Reed highlights barriers for EV adoption:
[21:59] “Barriers stand between many drivers and an electric vehicle. Higher prices and charging infrastructure, or the lack thereof.”

Gil Tal, Professor at UC Davis, discusses business opportunities arising from charging infrastructure:
[22:27] “More businesses are picking up on the revenue opportunity that comes with that charging anxiety.”

Jeff Allen, Executive Director of FOURTH, likens the symbiotic growth of EVs and charging stations to “chicken and waffles,” asserting that each drives the expansion of the other:

[23:09] “EVs and public charging are more like chicken and waffles. They both make the other better.”

The segment concludes with optimism about the continued growth of both EVs and charging infrastructure, bolstered by innovative business models that integrate charging with retail experiences.

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9. Federal Reserve’s Beige Book Highlights

Concluding the episode, insights from the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book reveal regional economic variations. The Kansas City Fed reports a bustling ski season but notes that some visitors opt for more affordable pass options, reflecting economic sensitivities even in leisure sectors.

Colin Rizdal summarizes:
[27:34] “The Federal Reserve's beige book came out today... Kansas, if you're confused, is yes, very flat. But the Kansas City Feds district does include Colorado. Famously not flat.”

This anecdotal evidence underscores the diverse economic landscapes across different regions, informing broader economic policy considerations.

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Conclusion

“Raising the Roof” offers a multifaceted examination of the current economic climate, from persistent inflation and housing challenges to the resilience of major banks and evolving labor market dynamics. Through expert analysis and personal stories, Marketplace elucidates the complex interplay of factors shaping today’s economy, providing listeners with a nuanced understanding of the forces at work.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Steve Reed: “Over 36% of the whole CPI is sheltered.” [01:29]
• Susan Wachter: “Shelter inflation has come down and it is coming down and it will come down.” [01:58]
• Kelly Wells: “A lot of factors came together in the fourth quarter that spelled good news for big banks.” [06:16]
• Sam Stovall: “Good news for banks is good news for the overall economy because that means the companies borrowing from those banks have more money to invest.” [07:40]
• Susan Wachter: “We were in the beginnings of a really exceptionally tight labor market. There was talk of a labor shortage.” [09:57]
• Ari Schwader: “We could finally be past the pandemic shock to the labor market.” [10:47]
• Jeff Allen: “EVs and public charging are more like chicken and waffles. They both make the other better.” [23:09]

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Attributions:

• Colin Rizdal: Host and reporter discussing inflation, housing, stock market, Beige Book.
• Samantha Fields: Marketplace reporter covering inflation and housing.
• Steve Reed: Senior Economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• Susan Wachter: Economist at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
• Logan Motashami: Lead Analyst at Housing Wire.
• Kelly Wells: Reporter covering big banks' earnings.
• Daniel Ackerman: Reporter discussing labor market trends.
• Martha Gimble: Director of the Budget Lab at Yale.
• Ari Schwader: Economist at the University of Michigan.
• Kristen Thullheimer Bingham: Co-owner of Dean's Suites, Portland, Maine.
• Eric Vaughn: Owner of Eric's I've Been Framed, Detroit.
• Kalina Bruce: Owner of Noir Luxe Candle Bar, Seattle.
• Elizabeth Trovall: Reporter covering immigration.
• Kathleen Bush Joseph: Migration Policy Institute.
• Gil Tal: Professor at UC Davis.
• Jeff Allen: Executive Director of FOURTH.

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and conclusions presented in the “Raising the Roof” episode of Marketplace, offering a valuable resource for those seeking to understand the current economic landscape without listening to the full podcast.

Transcript

[Colin Rizdal]

Someday we are not going to have to cover inflation all the time. Today, however, is not that day. From American Public Media, this is Marketplace in Los Angeles. I'm Colin Rizal. It is Wednesday today. This one is the 15th of January. Good as always to have you along, everybody. The economic data o the day, as you might have guessed, is of the inflation variety. And we had today what Wall street types call a downside surprise. That is, the core consumer price index came in just a hair lower than expected. Remember, core strips out food and energy, which thus makes it a better gauge of where overall prices are going. Core was up 3.2% year on year over. Among the biggest drivers of that core number and a key reason that inflation is proving so sticky, shelter rent and owner's equivalent rent. That's economists talk for the math they do to make mortgages match rent levels in their formula Combined, they were 4.6% higher in December than they were a year ago. Marketplace's Samantha Fields gets us going.

[Samantha Fields]

Housing is most people's biggest expense by far. Steve Reed, a senior economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, says that's why it weighs so heavily in the Consumer price index.

[Steve Reed]

Over 36% of the whole CPI is sheltered.

[Samantha Fields]

As long as housing costs remain high, inflation can only go so low.

[Steve Reed]

Purely mathematically. It's hard to get a low headline number without shelter numbers coming down.

[Samantha Fields]

Shelter numbers have actually come down a fair amount since March of 2023. That's when housing inflation peaked at 8.2%. Now it's 4.6%. Susan Wachter @ the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School calls that good news.

[Susan Wachter]

Shelter inflation has come down and it is coming down and it will come down.

[Samantha Fields]

But it's still got a ways to go if overall inflation is going to reach the Fed's 2% target. And Wachter says that could take a while because so many homeowners have low mortgage rates they are loath to give up.

[Logan Motashami]

Demand is strong because the economy is.

[Susan Wachter]

Strong, but supply is still limited. And so prices are increasing, but not.

[Samantha Fields]

Nearly as quickly as they once were. That's partly because affordability, if you want to buy, has gotten so bad that fewer people are looking and getting into bidding wars. And two, we're building a lot of.

[Colin Rizdal]

Apartments, and those are coming online.

[Samantha Fields]

Logan Motashami, lead analyst at Housing Wire, says all that new supply is helping drive rents down, at least in some markets like Austin. In others, like New York, inventory is still very tight. And then you have Los Angeles, where thousands of people have lost their homes in the last week and they're now looking for temporary places to live.

[Colin Rizdal]

I've talked to some of my real estate agent friends and one said that there was 167 people applying for one rental and that's inflationary. Natural disasters are inflationary in the local markets.

[Samantha Fields]

But as huge as these losses are in Los Angeles, he says they're unlikely to raise shelter costs or inflation at the national level. I'm Samantha Fields for Marketplace.

[Colin Rizdal]

Inflation data of course comes with much detail shelter. We just talked about also a good amount of retail goods which prompted us to get some of our retail regulars on the phone. First up, sweets is the category. Prices were up 7. 10% month on month, 3.1% for the year. Kristen Thullheimer Bingham is our chocolatier. She's the co owner of Dean's Suites in Portland, Maine.

[Susan Wachter]

November and December were record months for us. Our corporate orders were up over last year and our website orders increased too. For our walk in traffic in in both of our stores we had a nice leap of about 25%. We were stretched pretty thin. We had some late nights and some stressful days. We probably could have used one more person actually no, we definitely could have used one more person and it would have made the days a little easier. But we got by, we did it and all turned out well. So over the next few weeks we'll work at a slightly less frenzied pace. We'll build up our inventory again, especially working on the ganache for truffles and making and dipping more caramels and all sorts of other things, especially things in the shape of hearts because yes, we'll be getting right back into it and getting ready for Valentine's Day.

[Colin Rizdal]

No rest for the weary, huh? Kristen Talheimer Bingham at Dean Suites in Portland, Maine. Two more retail reports coming up later on in the program. Wall street did enjoy that downside surprise on inflation today softer inflation means maybe, just maybe Powell and the gang are going to look more kindly on more interest rate cuts. Honestly, your guess as good as mine. Anyway, traders were looking to buy today. We will have the details when we do the numbers. Bigger it turns out, might really be better, especially if you're running a Wall Street Bank. JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs posted fourth quarter earnings today, most of them exceeding investors already rosy expectations. JPM, you know what that is, right? And WFC, that's Wells Fargo and Co. For the unfamiliar, each saw net income up 50% 5 0%. Now this isn't to say as go the big bank, so goes the economy. But there is definitely a correlation. Marketplace's Kelly Wells has it.

[Kaylee Wells]

A lot of factors came together in the fourth quarter that spelled good news for big banks.

[Susan Wachter]

One, there was a lot of market volatility, and banks traditionally do very well when markets are volatile.

[Kaylee Wells]

Managing partner Karen Petru at Federal Financial analytics says volatile markets make people trade and seek advice and look for other services. A lot of that volatility was based on election uncertainty. But Petra doesn't expect that to end.

[Susan Wachter]

Some of what the president elect says may be just bluster, but bluster from the Oval Office really moves markets, and I think you will see a good deal of volatility.

[Kaylee Wells]

Also, the Fed has been cutting interest rates. Kent Velasco directs the commercial banking program at Marquette University. And he says that made companies that use these big banks more optimistic if.

[Colin Rizdal]

They were looking to grow or expand or whatever. They start looking at this as an opportune time to maybe borrow from a bank to do that.

[Kaylee Wells]

On top of that, Belasco says big banks also saw more deposits after the Silicon Valley bank collapse in 2023.

[Colin Rizdal]

People started moving their deposits out of regional banks and into the bigger banks, mainly because of the size. And I think they felt more comfortable with that.

[Kaylee Wells]

Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research, says the positive effects of that extend well past the banks.

[Colin Rizdal]

The financial sector is, in a sense.

[Steve Reed]

The lifeblood of the economy.

[Colin Rizdal]

Good news for banks is good news.

[Kaylee Wells]

For the overall economy because that means the companies borrowing from those banks have more money to invest.

[Colin Rizdal]

If there's an increase in demand for loans, then there's the expectation for economic.

[Steve Reed]

Growth, for improved output, et cetera.

[Kaylee Wells]

And Stovall says all that growth and increased output also spells good news for employment, too. I'm Kaylee Wells for Marketplace.

[Colin Rizdal]

The jobs report that came out last week had the overall unemployment rate at the end of last year at 4.1%. There are, of course, a couple of ways you can slice and dice that data. Workers who are discouraged or marginally attached. People aren't working as many hours as they want to. You can also measure what's known as employment intensity, how many hours workers are putting in every week. Last month it was 34.3 hours. That's down nearly 45 minutes from its peak in 2021. Daniel Ackerman explains why that's so.

[Logan Motashami]

Last year, Colin Bergman chose to cut back on how much he worked as a water resources designer in Western Massachusetts. He went from 40 hours a week to 24 to travel and kind of do some different things for a year. Instead of business as usual working behind my computer screen, Bergman started making more art. He sold his colorful custom maps at local craft markets. Plus he took a few long canoe trips down the Connecticut river, and then I did another down the Erie Canal for a few days. Sounds like a dream. A dream made possible because his company allowed him to cut back when he asked to go part time. Celeste Carruthers is an economics professor at the University of Tennessee. She says firms these days are not as desperate for workers as they were back in 2021.

[Susan Wachter]

We were in the beginnings of a really exceptionally tight labor market. There was talk of a labor shortage.

[Logan Motashami]

At the time, so companies asked the employees they had to put in longer hours 35 a week on average. That number had been the highest average.

[Susan Wachter]

Weekly hours worked that we had seen on record.

[Logan Motashami]

Now, with a cooling job market, firms finally have enough workers but still want to hold onto them, says Martha Gimble, director of the budget lab at Yale.

[Susan Wachter]

Part of what's happening in the labor market is employers just aren't laying off a huge number of people, and so workers cutting down on hours is another way for employers to adjust.

[Logan Motashami]

Gimbal says. Workers don't seem upset about that adjustment because if you look at the share of part time workers who would rather be full time, those percentages are still quite low.

[Susan Wachter]

And what that suggests is that workers are likely still getting the number of hours that they want to get, and.

[Logan Motashami]

The overall reduction in hours worked is really just a return to how things used to be, says Ari Schwader, an economist at the University of Michigan. So if you look at like the 2012-2020 timeframe, we're a tiny bit below sort of the average there, but not dramatically so, schwader says. We could finally be past the pandemic shock to the labor market. But maybe that's just in time for the next shock for workers. If you start to think about things like automation or AI, of course, being the big buzzword, you don't need your customer service people to work as much or as many hours because you can have an AI bot do a lot of the work for them, shwayder says. We're not there yet, but AI could mean big changes for how and how long employees work in the future. I'm Daniel Ackerman for Marketplace.

[Colin Rizdal]

Back to our retail regulars now. Elsewhere in the Consumer price Index, one finds a category labeled clocks, lamps and decorator items. Prices there down just under half a percent for the month, flat for the year. Picture frames are Decorator items, frames like those sold by Eric Vaughn at his shop in Detroit. It's called Eric's I've Been Framed. Once we get his holiday report, we.

[Eric Vaughn]

Had people coming in at the last minute. We get that every year. Then we were able to accommodate most of the requests. A lady came in, she had this picture that she had shipped from New York and it took forever to get here. And I told her, don't worry about it. I'm going to take care of it. When it was completed, came back in and she said, here, this is for you. And she gave me $400. I was really shocked. I was like, wow, that made my Christmas. I'm in the process of trying to add another division where I sell black memorabilia. Over the years, I've amassed all types of memorabilia. It's going to be probably about two to three months before I can really get it up and going. This is something I've always wanted to add. Just in the back of my mind I said, I've got to do this because I just can't hold on to it forever.

[Colin Rizdal]

Eric Vaughn, Eric's I've Been Framed is his shop in Detroit coming up.

[Kalina Bruce]

You know, everyone wanted to take time to go off and be with their families.

[Colin Rizdal]

Ah, yes, retail scheduling over the holidays. But first, let's do the numbers. Yeah. The really happy music today. Dow industrials up 703 points, 1.6%, 43,221. The Nasdaq jumped 406, 66 points. That is 2.5% on that particular index finished at 19,511. The S&P 500 added 107 points. 1 and 8, 10%, 59 and 49 there. Kaylee Wells was telling us about how big banks reporting better than expected earnings from last quarter. JPMorgan Chase rang up 2%. Goldman Sachs grew 6%. Wells Fargo gained 6.7%. Citigroup Sports sprang up about 6.5% today. According to the Mortgage Bankers association, rates for 30 year home loans have surpassed 7%, the highest since May of last year. Not going to do anything for the real estate market, right? Bonds up Yield on the 10 year T note down 4.65%. You're listening to Marketplace.

[Kai Rysdal]

Hi, this is Michael from Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania. Marketplace is both enjoyable and extremely informative. Kai and the reporters go out to all kinds of people in the community and they ask straight ahead questions like how are you holding up these days? It's very personal and as we listen we get a good sense of the challenges people face as they are trying to make it from day to day. I listen to the Marketplace podcasts every day and have been doing so for a number of years. It's a breath of fresh air that helps me understand the economic world better. Join me by making a gift to [e-mail] donate.

[Colin Rizdal]

This is Marketplace. I'm Kai Rysdal. Immigration, as we know, has been a very high profile public policy issue the past number of years. We also know that a lot of immigration authority in this country rests with the President. The Biden administration, which has just five days left to it, has used its immigration powers broadly specifically for something called humanitarian parole, which provides work authority here for people escaping violence or oppression or natural disaster back home. Marketplace's Elizabeth Troval reports. Now on.

[Elizabeth Trovall]

This is the story of a big sister, Marilyn, and a little brother, Jonathan. Both were university students back home.

[Susan Wachter]

Somos denicarawa.

[Elizabeth Trovall]

In Nicaragua, universities have been a target of the violent authoritarian government for not using their family name because of the risk of persecution. There's no freedom of expression in Nicaragua, says Marilyn. And no job prospects. So two years ago, when President Biden opened up humanitarian parole for Nicaraguans, their stepdad, a US citizen, sponsored them. Within weeks they were on a plane to Houston and within months she and her brother landed jobs as custodians at a local school district with their work permitsa they had never worked cleaning jobs before, but the pay was decent, $12 an hour more than salaries in Nicaragua, and she felt good about making her way. Humanitarian Pearl has been a useful tool to getting fleeing migrants quickly into US Jobs that are often low paying and hard to fill.

[Susan Wachter]

Food production Assistant, forklift operator, gardener in.

[Elizabeth Trovall]

Her office at the refugee resettlement agency YMCA International Services in Houston, Joanne Pantaleon reads off a list of jobs filled by her Cuban, Afghan and Ukrainian clients on humanitarian parole.

[Susan Wachter]

Security guard, cashier, Uber driver, Packer, stalker, babysitter.

[Elizabeth Trovall]

Just last year, her organization helped around 1800 Cubans, Afghans and Ukrainians with humanitarian parole get work permits.

[Susan Wachter]

It's immediate access to employment. They're making money for themselves, they're contributing to pay their bills.

[Elizabeth Trovall]

And in the last couple years, she says, those work permits have been processed more quickly.

[Susan Wachter]

Just the fact that it only takes a month and a half or two months to get it from the moment you submit your application. It's a vast improvement.

[Elizabeth Trovall]

Humanitarian parole has been used in unprecedented ways during the Biden administration, though it's actually been around for decades, since before the US had an asylum and refugee system. But a big difference between today and back then is Congress used to pass adjustment acts. Kathleen Bush Joseph with the Migration Policy Institute says Congress used to recognize that people couldn't go home for humanitarian reasons. So they'd say, we're going to set.

[Susan Wachter]

Up a process for you to be able to become a lawful permanent resident and perhaps eventually a citizen.

[Elizabeth Trovall]

Congress hasn't had the political will to do that in recent years. And humanitarian parole is both fleeting and discretionary. So when Donald Trump takes office, his.

[Susan Wachter]

Officials have said that they think the Biden administration's use of parole has been illegal and they want to end on day one. These processes that have allowed for hundreds of thousands of people to come into the country.

[Elizabeth Trovall]

And even absent Trump administration policy changes, parole is expiring for many. Some have been able to apply for asylum or temporary protected status. Others will return home or stay in the US Undocumented. As for Jonathan and Marilyn from Nicaragua, their pathway to stay is their dad, who has a green card. But because Jonathan was under 21 when he entered and Marilyn was older, they're in different immigration lines, facing different visa wait times. He gets to stay in Texas, but she has to go back to Nicaragua and she's afraid. For now, she's had to turn down a promotion at work as she makes plans to return to Nicaragua. But she's grateful for the two years she was allowed to live in the U.S. unlike in Nicaragua, here she's been able to make some money, she says, and she's actually felt free. In Houston. I'm Elizabeth Trovall for Marketplace.

[Colin Rizdal]

There was a survey out the other day, yesterday actually it was from the National Federation of Independent Business that showed small business uncertainty about where this economy is headed has dropped sharply since the election. The broad strokes of the soon to be Trump administration's economic policies are pretty clear. But what seems certain for one slice of the economy can induce deep uncertainty in another. And I speak here of the electric vehicle market. The president elect has said he will end some of the federal programs that have boosted EVs the past couple of years. And that gets us to this. Bloomberg has analyzed some data from the Department of Energy that shows a record number of high speed charging stations were installed in the fourth quarter of 2024. That build out has been boosted by federal dollars, yes, but the cash is also coming from the private sector. As Marketplace's Henry Epp reports, two main.

[Steve Reed]

Barriers stand between many drivers and an electric vehicle. Higher prices and charging infrastructure, or the lack thereof, says Stephanie Valdez, streety at Cox Automotive.

[Susan Wachter]

It's those edge cases that they're thinking about if I'm going to go on a trip and you know, I want to be able to charge or I have to go long commute.

[Steve Reed]

They want to know that they won't get stranded. And more businesses are picking up on the revenue opportunity that comes with that charging anxiety, says Gil Tal, a professor at UC Davis.

[Colin Rizdal]

When you are charging, you will be there for between 15 minutes to half an hour.

[Steve Reed]

You can go grab coffee, do a quick shopping. So if you put some chargers next to your coffee shop or clothing store, you probably won't make much selling electricity. But drivers might spend money in your store while they wait. Very similar to how gas stations make more money from selling soda and stuff. This is happening in a lot of shopping plazas and along interstates. Some truck stops are adding chargers, but so are other companies that haven't traditionally been in the fueling business, says Jim Herless at CBRE. One example, Volvo ChargePoint and Starbucks built.

[Colin Rizdal]

Out a network of DC fast charging.

[Steve Reed]

Between Seattle and Denver along the interstate corridors. All these new charging stations are a response to the growing number of EVs on the road. Or maybe there are more EVs on the road because there are more chargers. You know, those of us in the space pretty much universally hate the chicken and egg analogy. Jeff Allen is executive director of an organization called FOURTH, which advocates for electrified transportation. He says EVs and public charging are more like chicken and waffles. They both make the other better. The more EV drivers you have, the more utilization you have of the charging network. And the more charging you have out in public, the easier it is for more people to choose to go electric. And for now, Both charging and EVs are growing pretty fast. I'm Henry Epp for Marketplace.

[Colin Rizdal]

You know what goes together like chicken and waffles? The Marketplace Morning Report and you needing to know what you need to know to get your economic day started. Check it out. David Brancaccio and the gang get up real early in the morning to tell you what there is for the last of our retail regulars, Kalina Bruce, owner of Noir Luxe Candle Bar in Seattle, Washington. Candles, should you be curious, are in that same clocks, lamps and decorator items CPI categories picture frames so prices virtually unchanged year over year.

[Kalina Bruce]

December was really packed with a lot of private sessions, holiday events and things happening at our Candle bar. We also did a ton of off site markets, vendors markets, so we were in the community three to five times a week. I would say it does feel like we were very well prepared in terms of staffing and inventory. However, there was about a week or so where, you know, everyone wanted to take time to go off and be with their families. Of course, that is something that we honor and support and it also is something that caused a little bit of, you know, trickiness in terms of scheduling during that time. Now that things have gotten a bit quieter, this is really our time to take a look at our inventory, do restocking, reorganizing our workspace, holding, you know, our team meetings and really working on staff development and focusing on some of our business goals for the year so that we can hope to see some more growth.

[Colin Rizdal]

Kalina Bruce there, wrapping up our January retail report. Noir Luxe Candle bar. Should you be in the market for a candle up in Seattle? This final note on the way out today in which central bankers they're just like the rest of us. The Federal Reserve's beige book came out today. It's an anecdotal look at this economy broken down by regional Federal Reserve Reserve Bank. Today's winner comes to us from the Federal Reserve bank of Kansas City which offered this insight and I'm quoting here, ski resort contacts noted busy early season bookings and a sold out holiday season. However, out of state powder hounds opted for lower cost basic passes to save on their ski vacations. Kansas, if you're confused, is yes, very flat. But the Kansas City Feds district does include Colorado. Famously not flat. Our media production team includes Brian Allison, Jake Cherry, Justin Dueler, Drew Josdak, Gary O'Keefe, Charlton Thorpe, Juan Carlos Dorado and Becca Weinman. Jeff Peters is the manager of Media production and I'm Kai Rysdal. We will see you tomorrow. Everybody, this is apm.

[Susan Wachter]

Hi, this is Julie from Centennial, Colorado. I listen to Marketplace on my drive home from all my 3 to midnight ER shifts. Kai and the gang keep me awake and interested for my 30 minute drive. For someone not in the financial field, it's a fantastic synopsis of all things business and economics. I love the commitment to showcasing a steady stream of brilliant and articulate women who are experts in their field. Join me in supporting Marketplace with a gift today. Go to marketplace.org donate.