Marketplace All-in-One

Regulators tightened banking rules after the Great Recession. At a conference yesterday, Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michelle Bowman said the Fed is looking into easing rules for banks in hopes that this may mean more mortgage loans. But it also means banks may be more vulnerable to the next financial crisis. So why now? Plus, we take you on a tour of some of the physical infrastructure powering the AI boom.

From the BBC World Service: It's the start of the Lunar New Year — a major retail event. In China, AI has increasingly been merging with the shopping experience, and companies have poured billions of dollars into competing for customers over the next couple of days. Then, France and India are poised to sign a major deal for India to buy over 100 French-made Rafale jet fighters worth $35 billion. And, Cuba's world-famous cigar festival has been cancelled due to fuel shortages.

According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, the number of students enrolling in computer and information science decreased this past fall from the year before. That's at both the graduate and undergraduate level and the first drop since 2020. Meanwhile, the Computing Research Association says there's been a decline in a number of computing-related majors. Marketplace’s Stephanie Hughes spoke with Kari George, Senior Research Associate at the CRA's Center for Evaluating the Research Pipeline to learn more.

The White House may roll back steel and aluminum tariffs, according to the Financial Times. Sure, President Donald Trump has announced or enacted tariffs just to reverse course many times. But the difference is steel and aluminum are crucial materials in the production of, well, just about everything. In this episode: How might such a rollback affect your wallet? Plus, market conditions make for a stronger manufacturing sector in 2026, restaurants expand menu offerings that cater to GLP-1 users, and we explain how the Fed actually changes interest rates.

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Markets seesawed over the past few weeks over fears that artificial intelligence will soon disrupt several industries, including software and financial services. As large language models reshape how brands reach consumers, traditional ad shops could also face pressure to reinvent themselves or get left behind. We'll dig in. But first, inflation cooled this winter, but will it warm up in the spring? We'll discuss how tariffs and energy costs could play a role.