What's The Future Of The Petrochemical Industry In The U.S.? For a decade, growing American gas production has fueled a boom in petrochemical plants. There are big plans for more of them in Appalachia, but some wonder if the pandemic will crush them.
Recruiting Black tech workers: Will remote work help make Seattle more attractive? Seattle has historically had difficulty recruiting and retaining Black tech workers. That’s led to a problem: Compared to the general population, Black tech workers are underrepresented. Now, the pandemic may give local tech companies a way to diversify their workforces. Joshua McNichols
What Banks' 3rd-Quarter Reports Might Reveal About The State Of The U.S. Economy This week major banks are expected to reveal profits in the third quarter of 2020. This data will shed light on how much the pandemic has affected consumer borrowing and spending. Jim Zarroli
'So Hard To Prove You Exist': Flawed Fraud Protections Deny Unemployment To Millions Efforts to prevent fraud in state unemployment systems are outdated, hurting millions of people with legitimate claims by causing lengthy and unnecessary delays while not managing to catch much fraud. Chris Arnold
Delta Loses $5 Billion In 3rd Quarter, May Soon Furlough 1,700 Pilots Delta is the first major airline to report 3rd quarter results and lost more than expected, as air travel demand remains weak due to the pandemic. David Schaper
'Auctions Are Everywhere': 2020 Economics Nobel Goes To 2 Americans Stanford's Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson are honored for their "inventions of new auction formats." Auctions are now used to price Internet ads, wholesale electricity and fishing permits. Mark Katkov
Wyoming Ranchers In Butchering Bind Are Selling Beef Directly To Consumers The pandemic has created a butchering capacity shortage in the U.S. It's illegal for ranchers to butcher their own animals and sell them directly to consumers, but a new state law offers relief. Kamila Kudelska
Yelp Will Label Businesses Accused Of Racist Behavior The review website will require a news article from a "credible media outlet" before adding an alert warning of alleged racist behavior. Reese Oxner
You Can Rent An Underground Cave To Escape From Election News A man-made cave 50 feet underground in New Mexico is available to rent for those that don't want to be stressed out by news during the upcoming presidential election.
How Have American Billionaires Gotten Richer Despite Pandemic Recession? Since the pandemic began, many American billionaires have gotten even richer despite one of the country's worst recessions. NPR explores the reasons why and the implications for the future. Audie Cornish