Pricey Copper, Bummed Consumers and a Bee Mystery Solved | Everybody's Business

On Tuesday, seemingly off the cuff, US President Donald Trump suddenly threatened a 50% tariff on copper (). The reaction from markets was predictably strong (), leaving metal distributors scrambling to get deliveries across the border (). In this week’s episode of Everybody’s Business, Bloomberg economics reporter Joe Deaux joins hosts Max Chafkin and Stacey Vanek Smith to discuss Trump’s latest musings, how complicated a rewiring of the copper supply chain might be and the stark challenges of bringing manufacturing back to the US. (As in, it takes about 1020 years to get a mine up and running at commercial scale.)

Also on this episode, wealth reporter Ben Steverman enters the studio to discuss consumer sentiment as an economic indicator. For many academics (and consumers), the economy is largely made up of numbers to be calculated. But how do you measure how someone feels?

Steverman discusses his recent profile of Joanne Hsu (), the director of the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers, an institution that’s been measuring vibes for decades. Over the years, the survey has found that people’s perception of the economy can be a powerful indicator of where things are heading. And as you likely know, recent surveys show that Americans are very pessimistic about their finances. Prices are still considered too high and Trump’s trade war is on everyone’s mind.

Lastly, Smith presents to Chafkin an underrated story of the weekscientists believe they have cracked the mystery () of the big honey bee dieoff. The likely culprits? Pesticideresistant mites. This is welcome news to Chafkin, who shares his own story of a recent runin with a bee.

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A smart and fun chat show about all things business. Hosted by award-winning business and economics journalists Max Chafkin (author of The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley’s Pursuit of Power) and Stacey Vanek Smith (former co-host of NPR’s Planet Money and reporter for Marketplace), Everybody's Business is powered by the unparalleled sources and reporters who bring you Businessweek magazine’s headlines and the stories behind them. The show gives listeners a window into the discussions happening in boardrooms, Zooms and group chats in power centers around the world. From interpreting Fed meetings to the business of wolf cloning, each week Max, Stacey and their friends at Bloomberg Businessweek guide listeners through what really went on during the last week from Wall Street and Main Street. Because what’s happening with money and markets is everybody’s business.

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Pricey Copper, Bummed Consumers and a Bee Mystery Solved

Everybody's Business