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Friday

Help us pick the indicator of the year!
Kenny Malone, Jeff Guo, Adrian Ma

The Indicator from Planet Money

Help us pick the indicator of the year!

2024 was a wild year for the U.S. economy: The economy did well in terms of inflation and unemployment, but vibes ruled the roost. (Mostly didn't feel great!) Additionally, Bitcoin went to the moon and some wacky stuff was happening with unemployment and job opening rates, showing that we might have achieved an economic soft landing.

Help us pick the indicator of the year!

Listen · 9:25
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Saturday

Monday

Is the financial media making us miserable about the economy?
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Is the financial media making us miserable about the economy?

There's been a disconnect between how the US economy is doing and how people actually feel about it. Maybe people are still burnt from when inflation was high, maybe it's the expensive cost of borrowing for a car or a mortgage, or maybe it's ... wait, are WE the problem?! Today we look in the mirror and find out if financial media contributes to negative economic sentiment.

Is the financial media making us miserable about the economy?

Listen · 9:12
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Friday

The Indicator of the Year

Whose indicator best sums up 2023? Is it Kenny Malone with consumer sentiment? Jeff Guo with the soft landing? Or Wailin Wong on the housing market? Kenny Malone, Jeff Guo, Wailin Wong/NPR hide caption

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Kenny Malone, Jeff Guo, Wailin Wong/NPR

The Indicator from Planet Money

The Indicator of the Year

By many measures, 2023 was a decent year for the U.S. economy, but that's not how people necessarily felt. So what economic story best defined the year? Soft landings? Hard feelings about the economy? An inhospitable housing market? Our hosts from Planet Money and The Indicator battle it out over which economic story best illustrates the year.

The Indicator of the Year

Listen · 8:43
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Thursday

Taking the temperature of the US consumer

Betsy Kirchen conducts phone interviews for the University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers. (Photo: Wailin Wong / NPR) Wailin Wong/NPR hide caption

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Wailin Wong/NPR

The Indicator from Planet Money

Taking the temperature of the US consumer

Economic indicators like the Consumer Price Index can tell us a lot about the past, but what about the future? For close to 80 years, policymakers have relied on the Surveys of Consumers to give them an idea of what the economy might do next. Today on the show, we go behind the curtain at the University of Michigan to meet the people in charge of checking the vibes of the U.S. consumer.

Taking the temperature of the US consumer

Listen · 9:31
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Saturday

Inflation is surging and people are hopping mad

Some consumers are wondering why President Biden is not doing more to counter surging prices across the economy. Patrick Semansky/AP hide caption

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Patrick Semansky/AP

The Coronavirus Crisis

Inflation is surging and people are hopping mad

Inflation is the highest it's been in more than 30 years, imposing a financial burden on households and putting President Biden under pressure.

Inflation is surging and people are hopping mad

Listen · 4:04
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