Where did all the normal-priced stuff go?

Summary

Marketplace Podcast Summary: "Where did all the normal-priced stuff go?" Release Date: February 8, 2025
Host: Kai Ryssdal

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Introduction

In this episode of Marketplace, host Kai Ryssdal delves into the intriguing question: "Where did all the normal-priced stuff go?" The discussion navigates through various economic indicators, data accessibility issues, consumer behavior shifts, and emerging market trends that collectively influence the current economic landscape.

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1. Job Report and Economic Stability

The episode opens with an analysis of the latest jobs report, highlighting the addition of 143,000 new jobs in the previous month and an unemployment rate of 4.0%. Rory Reynolds provides context on the stability of the labor market.

Ryan Reynolds [02:00]: "It was steady. It was a continuation roughly of a trend that we had seen in the prior months. And this is a pretty good place to be."

Despite these positive indicators, the conversation quickly shifts to underlying concerns beyond mere job numbers.

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2. Data Accessibility and Its Economic Implications

Kathryn Rampell from The Washington Post raises alarms about the increasing suppression of critical governmental data, which poses significant risks to policymakers, businesses, and the general public.

Kathryn Rampell [03:19]: "Lots of other sources of data across the federal government have been disappeared... The CDC was told to stop publishing its weekly morbidity and mortality report."

Rampell emphasizes that reliable data is indispensable for informed decision-making across various sectors, including healthcare, business investment, and public policy.

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3. Economic Strategy and Market Reactions

Kai Ryssdal and Ryan Reynolds discuss the lack of significant market reaction to the ongoing economic disruptions and data suppression.

Ryan Reynolds [05:51]: "Congress has passed laws and they are not being executed... We won't see it in the wider economy for some time."

Reynolds suggests that the full impact of these disruptions is yet to be felt, potentially leading to more pronounced market effects in the future.

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4. Wage Growth vs. Inflation and Consumer Sentiment

The conversation shifts to wage dynamics, with wages rising at 4.1% year-over-year compared to a 2.9% increase in consumer prices. Experts discuss the sustainability of this wage growth and its implications.

Joanne Hsu [11:25]: "Consumers sort of get that wages outpacing inflation's a good type of economy to have."

However, consumer sentiment remains lukewarm, influenced by fears of escalating inflation fueled by tariff-induced price hikes.

Mitchell Hartman [10:54]: "Consumer sentiment has fallen sharply since the beginning of the year, driven in part by fears of tariffs causing more inflation."

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5. The Rise of Parlay Bets in Gambling

Catherine Sayre from The Wall Street Journal explores the burgeoning popularity of parlay bets in sports gambling, highlighting their profitability for gambling companies despite their risky nature for bettors.

Catherine Sayre [13:15]: "Parlay is where you bet on multiple things happening. The payout is much higher."

Sayre shares insights from her own experiment with parlay bets, illustrating the high-risk, high-reward nature of this betting style.

Catherine Sayre [15:17]: "We didn’t do so well. We won only eight of those bets. So the gambling companies took almost $114 from us."

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6. Consumer Behavior and the Bifurcated Marketplace

The episode delves into the concept of bifurcation in retail, where the market splits to cater separately to budget-conscious and luxury-focused consumers, leaving a diminishing middle ground.

Dean Brindle [22:35]: "Consumers of all kinds are skewing toward luxury, and a lot of that has to do with aspiration."

This trend is evident across various product categories, from home appliances to everyday groceries, as companies create sub-brands to appeal to distinct consumer segments.

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7. Small Business Challenges: A Personal Economy Story

In the "My Economy" segment, Christine Herron, co-founder and CFO of Achieve Sports in Aurora, Colorado, shares her experiences navigating the complexities of expanding a small business amidst economic uncertainties.

Christine Herron [26:00]: "Probably the two biggest challenges for us are cash flow and capital."

Herron discusses the significant investment in real estate and the ongoing struggle to achieve profitability, reflecting broader challenges faced by small businesses today.

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8. Consumer Inflation Expectations Rise

Concluding the episode, the University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment reveals a troubling increase in consumer inflation expectations, rising from 3.3% to 4.3%.

Kai Ryssdal [25:53]: "Consumer inflation expectations... jumped from 3.3% to 4.3%. That is, first of all, not great."

This uptick signifies growing consumer concern over future inflation, which could have profound effects on economic behavior and policy.

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Conclusion

Kai Ryssdal wraps up the episode by emphasizing the interconnectedness of consumer behavior, data transparency, and economic policies. The episode paints a comprehensive picture of an economy grappling with both visible indicators and behind-the-scenes challenges, urging listeners to consider the broader implications of these dynamics.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Ryan Reynolds [02:00]: "It was steady. It was a continuation roughly of a trend that we had seen in the prior months. And this is a pretty good place to be."
• Kathryn Rampell [03:19]: "Lots of other sources of data across the federal government have been disappeared... The CDC was told to stop publishing its weekly morbidity and mortality report."
• Ryan Reynolds [05:51]: "Congress has passed laws and they are not being executed... We won't see it in the wider economy for some time."
• Joanne Hsu [11:25]: "Consumers sort of get that wages outpacing inflation's a good type of economy to have."
• Catherine Sayre [13:15]: "Parlay is where you bet on multiple things happening. The payout is much higher."
• Catherine Sayre [15:17]: "We didn’t do so well. We won only eight of those bets. So the gambling companies took almost $114 from us."
• Dean Brindle [22:35]: "Consumers of all kinds are skewing toward luxury, and a lot of that has to do with aspiration."
• Christine Herron [26:00]: "Probably the two biggest challenges for us are cash flow and capital."
• Kai Ryssdal [25:53]: "Consumer inflation expectations... jumped from 3.3% to 4.3%. That is, first of all, not great."

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the key discussions and insights from Marketplace's episode, providing a thorough understanding for those who haven't had the chance to listen.

Transcript

[Kai Rysdal]

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[Sudeep Brady]

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[Sudeep Brady]

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[Sudeep Brady]

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[Kai Rysdal]

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[Sudeep Brady]

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[Kai Rysdal]

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[Mitchell Hartman]

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[Ryan Reynolds]

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[Kai Rysdal]

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[Kathryn Rampell]

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[Claire Tassen]

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[Kathryn Rampell]

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[Kai Rysdal]

This morning's job report was not the most important thing that happened in this economy this week. From American Public Media, this is Marketplace in Los Angeles. I'm Colin Rysdal. It is Friday today. This one is the 7th of February. Good as always to have you along. We will talk about this morning's jobs report, of course, because data and the American labor market do matter, but everything else matters too, to this economy. Kathryn Rampel's at the Washington Post. Sudeed Brady is at Politico. Hey, you too. Hey Kai Sudeep, let me start with you. The jobs report. 143,000 new jobs last month, 4.0% on the unemployment rate. It was fine, right? I mean, thoughts?

[Ryan Reynolds]

It was fine. It was steady. It was a continuation roughly of a trend that we had seen in the prior months. And this is a pretty good place to be. This was also, of course, a snapshot of mid January, which is when the survey gets, gets taken. So we don't get to see the effects of what happens as a result of tariff fears, even if they were only fears. What happens as a result of, of, of other uncertainty. What happens? There's a lot going on in this economy right now. But as we came into January, I think things were in a pretty good place. And that's a very solid foundation to build on.

[Kai Rysdal]

And we will take the Foundation Catherine Rampel. There I am at 5:15 this morning, Los Angeles time, sitting in my chair in the living room and I pull up my iPad and I try to go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics website to, you know, just make sure that I can get there and the data is coming through and I can't. And I'm like, oh man, they actually did it. And then I realized that I was having connectivity problems of my own. Point being, there is data and information being shut down all over the place. You have been tracking this assiduously. Give us the once over on what you've seen, but also why it matters to the health and the future of this economy.

[Kathryn Rampell]

Sure. So to my knowledge, bls, which produces the jobs report has not been infiltrated or compromised in any way yet. Just make that clear. But lots of other sources of data across the federal government have been disappeared, for lack of a better term at this point. CDC data, NIH data from the epa, greenhouse gas data that had been released, lots of things have been taken down as well as other kinds of scientific reports, guidance for physicians, things like that. And this is very troubling for a whole bunch of reasons, including that policymakers need measurements, however imperfect, to make decisions about laws and regulations. Voters need this information to assess their elected officials. Businesses need reliable, quantifiable data to make investment decisions. They need to decide, you know, where to place the new store or restaurant based on demographics, based on transit access, all sorts of things. Doctors need it to figure out treatments for their patients. You know, people abroad have lost access to data that helps. Like in Nepal. One example that I saw to, you know, to predict mudslides that would, that would help people, to help save lives. And then there are other miscellaneous things like the CDC blocked or not. The CDC was told to stop publishing its weekly morbidity and mortality report which has come out every week since 1952. And that has critical data and research for physicians for other providers and scientists around the country, including. The first issue that was blocked was slated to have two new studies about bird flu transmission that have since been muzzled. So lots of reasons to be concerned about this.

[Kai Rysdal]

Sudeep this. This next question comes as the signage for the USAID offices in Washington D.C. is literally are literally being covered up and the letters taken off the wall. What we have here in addition to that and the tariff, will he or won't he? Yes, he did, but then he got rolled and now he's not for another month. We have chaos as economic strategy. And my question is, today aside, right Major indices down about a percent, which all in all is not great, not, not huge. Why aren't the markets really reacting to this?

[Ryan Reynolds]

We are in early stages of seeing what this is. Obviously a lot of what's going on is outside the law. It, it is alarming when, when Congress has passed laws and they are not being executed, seeing how far that goes. And once that starts hitting parts of the domestic economy, I think the markets will start noticing. But this will take time for, for all the effects to take shape. You don't just start hacking at government and expect that a few thousand jobs here, a few thousand jobs there will start to add up, but you're not going to necessarily notice it in the wider economy for some time, especially with government jobs. There are people who need to be furloughed. There will be long, long tail effects of this. Even if there are retirements and buyouts that could take months to take effect. So all of this will happen at some point. Something can break and we will see if, if the, the fiddling with the government computer systems and that sort of thing from the so called Doge people are, are as they step in there. There are a lot of risk factors, but you actually have to see some things happen first.

[Kai Rysdal]

You know, we've talked before, Sudeep, you and me, just really quickly because I have one more thing I need to get to Catherine about. But you and I have talked about, you know, at some point something's going to break and then it'll. But it was always like a small break. It was like, you know, government shutdown or you know, maybe, I don't know, a default, but that would never really happen. This does seem to me to be the big they're breaking it thing.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No, it could lead to the thing breaking but these are always easier to see in the rear view mirror. Look back and see what happened that led to this point. But we won't know until it actually happens that oh, that's how it breaks. There are, there are just dozens of safeguards within government to make sure that doesn't happen. But if you break down the dozens and bring it down to one or two, then eventually something will happen.

[Kai Rysdal]

Katherine, you have one minute for this answer and I apologize for that in advance. There is, as Sudeep said a second ago, lawlessness abroad out there. There is extra constitutionality if not unconstitutionality. There is a fire hose of things that could really damage this economy that are happening and that we are having to report on. We talked about whether or not I was gonna ask this in the morning meeting this morning that we had, how are you staying focused? You specific?

[Kathryn Rampell]

How am I staying focused? You look, you're a focus.

[Kai Rysdal]

Well, yeah, I mean, join the club. But you know, people respect your opinion.

[Kathryn Rampell]

I feel like I am just trying to get a hold of the fire hose of information and I definitely feel committed to the mission of, you know, as a journalist holding power to account. So that's definitely motivating. But it is really challenging to grasp everything that's going on. Like I'm trying to track the data deletions, I'm trying to track what's going on at treasury and messing with the payment system. I'm trying to check what's going on with immigration and how that affects and the effects for both humanitarian reasons and economic reasons. And that's just a small subset of what I'm following. And plenty of other journalists have an even larger portfolio. So there's a lot to try to keep track of and it's frankly challenging.

[Kai Rysdal]

Pace yourselves, people, pace yourselves. Kathryn Rampel at the Washington Post, Deep Radio Politico on this Friday. Thanks you two.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Thanks, guy.

[Kai Rysdal]

Wall street, as I said, it is a Friday. Thankfully, it was fine. You know, a little down. Details, numbers. You know, the Dr. That jobs report we got this morning is about more than just jobs, of course. Lots of data in there, including a category called average hourly earnings, which is to say wages. They were up in January more than people had been guessing they would be half a % month to month, 4.1% year over year. You might remember back in 2021, 2022, wages were really climbing, growing nearly 6% a year at one point as companies scrambled for workers in the pandemic recovery. Well, what then might the wages of January be bringing? Here's Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman.

[Mitchell Hartman]

First thing to know, this could be a one month blip, an effect of wildfires in California and bad winter weather across the country, says economist Bill Adams at Comerica Bank. When a natural disaster hits, you often.

[Kathryn Rampell]

See wage growth pick up because salary workers are still getting paid on a snow day. Hourly workers typically don't.

[Mitchell Hartman]

Meanwhile, longer term forces are pushing employers to keep giving workers hefty raises even though the labor market's cooling, with fewer job openings and fewer workers quitting to get higher pay in a new job, says Andrew Flowers at recruitment technology firm Appcast.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Employers are hiring less, but they're also firing less.

[Kai Rysdal]

They don't want to lay off workers.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Because they remember the scars of 2021 and 2022, when talent was so hard to find they're giving into some of these wage demands that, compared to pre Covid times, look high.

[Mitchell Hartman]

Hot wage growth has spooked the Fed in the recent past with fears it could generate more inflation, but it shouldn't this time around, says Flowers.

[Ryan Reynolds]

This level of wage growth can be sustained because workers are producing more per hour.

[Mitchell Hartman]

Right now, we're enjoying a healthy balance of wage and price growth, says Comerica Bank's Bill Adams.

[Kathryn Rampell]

Wage growth outpacing inflation's a good type of economy to have.

[Mitchell Hartman]

At last check, consumer prices were up 2.9% year over year, wages 4.1%, and consumers sort of get that, says Joanne Hsu at the University of Michigan surveys.

[Kathryn Rampell]

They actually are showing a slight uptick in their income expectations.

[Mitchell Hartman]

Still, consumer sentiment has fallen sharply since the beginning of the year, driven in part by fears of tariffs causing more inflation. As for rising wages, Hsu says consumers.

[Kathryn Rampell]

Don'T necessarily see this passing through to their personal finances because they are expecting any income gains they see to be.

[Mitchell Hartman]

Really eroded away by a resurgence of inflation in the year ahead. I'm Mitchell Hartman for Marketplace.

[Kai Rysdal]

As we tune in by the tens and tens of millions to the super bowl this weekend, consider this There is more on the line than just that shiny silver trophy. According to the American Gaming Association, Americans are expected to spend $1.3 billion gambling on the big game. I myself will not be among them. I lose bets all the time. But for those who are in the mood, parlay bets have apparently become a thing. Catherine Sayre at the Wall Street Journal wrote the other day about parlays, why they are so popular and what they mean for gambling companies. Kathryn, welcome to the program. Good to have you on.

[Catherine Sayre]

Thanks for having me.

[Kai Rysdal]

As I said up in the introduction, I am a horrible gambler, and I imagine many in the audience are as well. And maybe they're not gamblers at all. What is a parlay bet?

[Catherine Sayre]

So, yeah, Americans have really taken to this kind of sports betting that, as it turns out, is really profitable for gambling companies. A parlay is where you bet on multiple things happening. Often it's multiple things happening within one game. So you might predict how the quarterback, a tight end and a running back are going to perform. All three of those things have to come true in order to win. But the odds are much longer than, say, picking the winner of the super bowl this weekend.

[Kai Rysdal]

And. And is the payoff greater since the odds are longer, right?

[Catherine Sayre]

Exactly. So that's what makes it so alluring to betters. The payout is much higher.

[Kai Rysdal]

It also Though, as you talk about in this piece has. It's not like a socialization of it, but it has made gambling overall kind of more popular.

[Catherine Sayre]

It really has. Parlays have tapped into sports fandom in a way that more traditional bets just haven't. You know, we're talking about our favorite players, how they're going to perform, the narratives on and off the field. And so when you can turn that into a bet, it's just a very fun experience.

[Kai Rysdal]

You know, it is. Actually. It reminds me of fantasy leagues. Right, that's kind of the analog here.

[Catherine Sayre]

Absolutely, you're right. It's an evolution from fantasy that, that, that focus on players and their data.

[Kai Rysdal]

Sportsbooks are making hay out of this. It's obviously more profitable if more people are betting, right?

[Catherine Sayre]

Absolutely. So when you think about a sportsbook offering a traditional bet on who's going to win the game, the company might take 5 to 7% of total bets wagered. With these parlays, they could take 20%, 30% or more.

[Kai Rysdal]

We should point out here that gambling is not for everybody. And in fact, for a lot of people, it's a big problem. I assume the gaming world knows this.

[Catherine Sayre]

Absolutely. Sports betting companies all have certain requirements by regulations and they will tell you they have so called responsible gaming policies in place. Yeah.

[Kai Rysdal]

In the course of reporting this story, did you make some parlays yourself?

[Catherine Sayre]

Yeah, we did at the Wall street journal. We placed 209, $1 same game parlay bets.

[Kai Rysdal]

Okay, wait. First of all, whose money? Journal's money or your money?

[Catherine Sayre]

The Journal's money.

[Kai Rysdal]

Okay, all right. Okay, all right, continue.

[Catherine Sayre]

We didn't do so well. We won only eight of those bets. So the gambling companies took almost $114 from us.

[Kai Rysdal]

Man, money in the bank. Did it make you want to keep on going though?

[Catherine Sayre]

It did pique my curiosity to see if we kept going, could we win. I felt that urge inside of me. But we set our limit.

[Kai Rysdal]

Yeah, fair enough. It's not like it's all nickel and dimes, but as you point out in this piece, some huge number of same game parlays, that is to say, these bets inside the same game are like 30 bucks or less. I mean, not quite the dollar that you spent. But you know, people are not waging huge amounts of money here.

[Catherine Sayre]

Exactly. They've come to be seen as a new sort of lottery ticket. The odds are long, you're going to put a few bucks down and it's just a lot of fun. Now there are skeptics out there who call same Game parlays a sucker bet. But the betters I've talked to for the most part, they kind of understand the odds are wrong and they're willing to do it anyway.

[Kai Rysdal]

Yeah. You got any money on the game on Sunday or.

[Catherine Sayre]

No, I don't. I'll just be watching as a reporter.

[Kai Rysdal]

Same, same, same, same. Catherine Sayer at the Wall Street Journal. Parlay gambling. Thanks, Katherine. Coming up, we're just us.

[Sudeep Brady]

We are not venture capitalists. We've put everything that we have into.

[Kai Rysdal]

This sports as a small business. But first, let's do the numbers. Dow Industrials down 444 points today 1% 44,303. The Nasdaq subtracted 268 points, about 113 3%. 19,000 five two three S&P 500 down 57, just shy of 1%, 6,025 for the week. The Dow fell a half percent as did the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 declined about a quarter percent fall of this year. That's when Take Two Interactive reported it's going to be releasing Grand Theft Auto 6. The video game producer also beat analysts earnings estimates. Shares rang up 14% today. Frontier Group holdings, that's Frontier. Frontier Airlines to you and me, expects to break even in the first quarter and turn profitable later in the year. Frontier soared almost 15 and a half percent today. Bonds failed yield on the 10 year t note rose to 4.49%. You're listening to Marketplace. I was doing so well. Hey everybody, it's Kai. We've got an exciting offer for you. Now through Valentine's Day, you can show off your love for Marketplace by grabbing an investor T shirt when you donate $5 a month. Invest in the nonprofit journalism you love and get a shirt to show off your support. Give [e-mail] donate foreign serious about investing.

[Mitchell Hartman]

You need to know about public.com that's where you can invest in everything. Stocks, options, bonds and crypto. They even offer some of the highest yields in the industry like the bond account 6% or higher yield that remains locked in even if the Fed cuts rates. What sets Public apart is how they give you the tools you need to make informed investment decisions. Their built in AI tool called Alpha doesn't just tell you if an asset is moving, it tells you why the asset is moving so you can actually understand what's driving your portfolio's performance. Public is a FINRA registered SIPC insured US based company with a customer support team that actually cares. Bottom line, your investments deserve a platform that takes them as seriously as you do. Fund your account in five minutes or less at public.commarketplace and get up to $10,000 when you transfer your old portfolio. That's public.commarketplace paid for by Public Investing. All investing involves the risk of loss, including loss of principal. Brokerage services for U.S. listed registered securities, options and bonds in a self directed account are offered by Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC. Cryptocurrency trading services are offered by Bakkt Crypto Solutions, LLC. Complete disclosures [e-mail] Disclosures VantageScore is the.

[Catherine Sayre]

Fastest growing and most predictive credit score.

[Sudeep Brady]

Used by 8 out of the 10.

[Kai Rysdal]

Largest banks and over 34 banks, fintechs.

[Sudeep Brady]

And other companies nationwide. VantageScore is mandated for use for mortgages funded by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. VantageScore drives financial inclusions by scoring approximately.

[Catherine Sayre]

33 million more consumers than competitive credit scores.

[Kai Rysdal]

VantageScore good for credit credit for good learn [e-mail] this is Marketplace. I'm Kai Rysdal. Consumers get a whole lot of airtime on this program because what happens in this economy depends in very large measure on what consumers do. And increasingly, the wealth gap in the United States is affecting what consumers do, how they shop and what they buy, which in turn is changing what retail looks like. The industry term is bifurcation, the split in stores and brands as they cater to two different kinds of consumers, the budget conscious on the one hand, the luxury focused on the other. And as Marketplace's Kristen Schwab reports, that plays out in how you shop for everything from pasta sauce to appliances.

[Claire Tassen]

Claire Tassen's got a thing for old rugs. I'm really into home decor. That's my passion project. The reason she sways vintage is because it's tricky to find quality new rugs at a reasonable price. They're one of those things that costs something like $1,000 or 100 when you get up close to a rug and you can see that it's like screen printed and it's not actually woven with the pattern that you want. That to me is just I don't want that. Lately, Tassin, who's a retail analyst at Morning Consult, has been seeing this high, low split happen in more categories, from sweaters to couches. It's easy to find fast fashion and fiberboard furniture. It's also easy to find cashmere scarves and hand carved teak dining sets. Meanwhile, in the middle is kind of falling out. The middle falling out has a lot to do with the middle class Falling out in 2023, just over half of Americans were middle class, compared to more than 60% in the 1970s, according to the Pew Research Center. It means American consumers are financially farther apart than ever before. And with that, famously middling stores like JCPenney and Macy's have nearly disappeared. But Dean Brindle, head of product management for Home Solutions at lg, says something else is happening. American consumers are changing.

[Kai Rysdal]

It's not always the high income households or high net worth households that are.

[Sudeep Brady]

Purchasing the premium appliances.

[Claire Tassen]

Brindle says consumers of all kinds are skewing toward luxury, and a lot of that has to do with aspiration. Aspiration that starts on social media and spills over into certain parts of our homes.

[Kai Rysdal]

When you have guests over, friends, family, et cetera, they're not typically looking at your laundry appliances in the kitchen, you.

[Sudeep Brady]

Know, where people, you know want to.

[Kai Rysdal]

Show off a little bit.

[Sudeep Brady]

Maybe those home chefs typically will lean in a bit.

[Claire Tassen]

So LG has been developing more premium appliances. Some refrigerators run up to $9,000 and have fancy features like ice makers that make multiple styles of ice and temperature controlled drawers for storing kimchi. The trend toward high end is playing out in the market for phones, too. Drew Blackard is a vice president at Samsung America.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Consumers, generally speaking, are skewing premium. Historically, that was not the case. You used to see that consumers maybe.

[Kai Rysdal]

Would opt towards the entry model and.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Decide if they wanted to plus up. So it's kind of gradually changed over time.

[Claire Tassen]

Of course, there will always be a market for entry level everything. The profit margins for those products aren't as big, but the sales volume is usually bigger. And it's why. Ed Johnson, who leads retail and consumer products at Deloitte, says the highbrow low brow split is happening everywhere in retail, even at the grocery store.

[Kai Rysdal]

You can even think about, you know, a category as mundane as ground beef, right? You have different grades, you have organic, you have grass fed, you have the, and you have the fat content and so on. That matrix, based on what you're looking for, you can pay anywhere from $2.99.

[Ryan Reynolds]

A pound to 9.99 a pound.

[Claire Tassen]

And Johnson says increasingly, the brands making all of these competing products are owned by the same companies. Campbell's makes Prego pasta Sauce, and Rao's L'Oreal Group owns its namesake drugstore brand. And Lancome Hormel Foods makes Spam and Applegate organic meats.

[Kai Rysdal]

And it's done intentionally, it's done to create these sub brands again that maybe appeal, you know, to a different audience or maybe that have a slightly different formulation but ultimately can reside on shelf.

[Claire Tassen]

At different price points, which leaves you, the consumer, with fewer options. If you're looking for something not too fancy, not too basic, but just middle of the road, I'm Kristen Schwab for Marketplace.

[Kai Rysdal]

Speaking of you, the consumer as we are, we're launching a new series about how you fit into this economy and how you feel about it. Share your story with us, would you? You can do [e-mail] consumer opening up a brick and mortar business is not easy. One of the big hurdles is finding the right brick and mortar space. You've got to think foot traffic, parking, availability, rent too. And everything just gets more complicated when your particular business needs a really particular kind of space for a very specific kind of use. Here's today's installment of our series, My Economy.

[Sudeep Brady]

My name is Christine Herron. I am a co founder and the CFO of Achieve Sports. We offer everything from gymnastics to turf sports and court sports. In Aurora, Colorado, I run Achieve Gymnastics and Achieve Sports center with my husband Allen. Neither one of us had been our own business owners, entrepreneurs prior to this. So not only were we jumping into, hey, we're gonna do something new and run our own business, but also, hey, we're going to own some big time real estate. And so both of those things combined, you know, certainly added an element of risk and a little bit of a fear. But very soon after opening our first location, we were at capacity with a very large wait list. You know, having to turn a kid away is heartbreaking. And so we went ahead and started the process of searching for a larger and more expansive kind of operation. It probably took us close to five years to find this expansion location. We took over an old grocery store building and completely reimagined it and remodeled it. It's very expensive. I mean, real estate, especially in Colorado, within the last several years has been pretty extreme. So that was definitely a challenge. And then just the costs to remodel it. It was a very, very big step for us. Probably the two biggest challenges for us are cash flow and capital. You know, management growth, as they say, eats cash. And Alan and I are, we're just us, we are not venture capitalists. We, we've put everything that we have into this. But this week marked two years that we've been open at the new location. And we're hoping that year three is our breakout year and that we can actually start to see a turning of a profit.

[Kai Rysdal]

Running a small business. Takes guts. Christine Herron, the co founder of Achieve Sports in Aurora, Colorado. We cannot do this series without you. So let us know what's going on. Wood [e-mail] myeconomy this final note on the way out today, an inflation data point that is not all that encouraging. We have talked, I think, about how what consumers think think is going to happen with inflation can actually make it happen. So consider this. The University of Michigan's Index of Consumer sentiment came out today. We're a tad grouchier than we've been of late about which fine moods change. But get this, consumer inflation expectations, where we think inflation is going to be in the year to come, jumped from 3.3% to 4.3%. That is, first of all, not great. And second of all, it's the highest that number's been in almost a year and a half. Our theme music was composed by BJ Lederman. Marketplace's executive producer is Nancy Fargoli. Donna Tam is the executive editor. Neil Scarborough is the vice president and general manager. And I'm Kai Rysdal. Have yourselves a great weekend, everybody. We will see you back here on Monday. All right, this is apm. Hi, I'm Kai Rysdal, the host of How We Survive. This season is all about the institution that shaped me, the US Military and how it could shape the future of climate tech. You've probably heard that 2024 was the hottest year on record, that wildfires devastated Los Angeles and that the US Withdrew from the Paris agreement again. And while all that might feel pretty terrible, the climate crisis is not an inevitable reality. From simulated climate emergencies to micro grids and sustainable aviation fuel, we look at how the military is investing part of its $850 billion budget in a greener, more resilient future. Listen to How We Survive wherever you get your podcasts.