Capital goods orders picked up in January — that’s stuff businesses buy that’ll last a while, like tools and equipment. Is it a sign business owners have money to spend? Or, have tariffs fears and economic uncertainty spooked them into buying things before it’s too late? Also in this episode: Unemployment claims tick up (and that’s not even counting laid-off federal workers), architects stress fire resilience in rebuilding and used car prices rise.

The second Trump administration has made spending cuts a priority  — already, the president has enacted a funding freeze and laid off thousands of federal workers. Reduced government spending will have major ripple effects, though, like shrinking the nation’s GDP. Also in this episode: Trump’s move toward Russia threatens longstanding relationships with European allies and Instacart forecasts a growth slowdown.

The top 10% of earners account for half of all consumer spending in the U.S., a new study shows. In other words, if the goods and services Americans buy in a year were a pie, those with the highest incomes have been shelling out for a massive slice. Where does that leave everyone else? Also in this episode: Investors and the AI industry await Nvidia’s earnings report this week and tariffs threaten a complex auto manufacturing supply chain.

American consumers agree: High prices aren’t going anywhere. All that stress about inflation, and throw in the impact of tariffs, heightens uncertainty, which translates into negative economic sentiment. But the severity of concern varies between Republicans and Democrats — a lot. Also in this episode: Private data can’t replace government data, oil tankers “go dark” and though the travel industry enjoyed healthy growth last year, new Trump policies could affect the upward trend.

Last month, key federal data sets were removed from government websites following actions by the Donald Trump administration, and researchers rushed to preserve the information. David Van Riper of IPUMS, an organization dedicated to improving public access to government data, talked to “Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal about the importance of these statistics. Plus, Walmart expands and diversifies, ChatGPT has lots of rivals as well as a huge user base, and the U.S. solar industry adapts without Biden-era tax credits.

Nearly half of consumers say they’ve taken action to align their spending with their moral views since the November election, a new Harris Poll shows. That includes boycotting brands based on campaign contributions, or even looking for ways to opt out of consumerism altogether. In this episode, could politically driven shopping habits make an impact on corporations? Plus, Etsy flounders, homebuilders lose confidence and Amazon Alexa and Apple’s Siri play virtual assistant catch-up.

At the national level, 2.5% is the lowest the unemployment rate has ever been … and that was for just two months in 1953. We’re at 4% right now, but the labor market is pretty tight. In this episode, we ask: How low can unemployment go? Plus, Samsung buys back stock and retires shares, the Fed is thinking about tariffs and a program that teaches refugees to drive runs out of gas, thanks to President Trump’s immigration policy.

Tons of sellers listed their homes in January, after months of waiting in vain for mortgage rates to fall. But many would-be buyers are facing economic uncertainty and aren’t ready to make an offer. Plus: A FEMA rule forces residents of flood-prone areas to make a difficult decision, developing countries will drive global energy demand in the next few years and when colleges close, local communities suffer.

Homeowners have been clinging to low mortgage rates for the past few years, stifling the housing market. But new data from Zillow shows once-patient sellers are finally pulling the trigger, despite high rates. Why now? Also in this episode: Supply logistics costs rise, businesses brace for tariff fallout and produce prices fall for suppliers — but that doesn’t mean grocery bills are shrinking.

The sun isn’t always shining and wind isn’t always blowing, but what if there was an always-available renewable energy source? In this episode, we take a trip to the Port of Los Angeles, where scientists are trying to capture energy directly from Pacific Ocean waves. Plus: New England faces a worker shortage brought on by an aging population, the U.S. steel industry’s days of market dominance are over and “AI accelerationists” want the technology to advance ASAP.

A series of policy changes are hitting the economy, but some aspects of consumer behavior have yet to demonstrate change. A Federal Reserve survey shows Americans still gauge future inflation at 3%. And we continue to spend 40% of our food budget on eating out and 60% on meals at home. Also in this episode, insurance and property taxes contribute to the housing affordability crisis, steel and aluminum are tariffed together but serve different markets, and only some states require vehicle safety inspections.

When you’re shopping, ever feel like your options are low-quality budget items or stuff that’s stunningly unaffordable? The growing gap between the haves and have-nots in the U.S. is reflected in what’s available for us to buy. It’s a phenomenon called bifurcation — we’ll explain. Also in this episode: Wage growth jumped in January and parlay betting makes loads of cash for sports gambling firms. Plus, share with Marketplace: What kind of consumer are you?