Marketplace Here's what kept GDP climbing last summer
25 snips
Jan 22, 2026 Stephanie Hughes, a business and economics reporter, and Elizabeth Troball, who covers labor and immigration in the care economy, dive into the surprising factors behind the recent GDP growth. They discuss how private services, particularly in finance and tech, significantly contributed to the economy's resilience. The conversation also touches on the looming staffing crisis in South Florida's elder care sector due to the potential end of Temporary Protected Status for Haitian workers, highlighting the personal stakes involved.
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Economist Uses AI To Write Code
- Ishwar Prasad buys AI services and uses them to write and check code for his data analysis.
- That frees him to think more and speed up academic work.
Services Less Hurt By Tariffs
- Information services (like AI subscriptions) and financial services (refinancing, M&A) were big GDP contributors.
- Service industries were less exposed to tariffs, cushioning overall growth.
AI Buildouts Could Create Systemic Risk
- Rapid AI-driven investment in data centers raises questions about systemic financial risk.
- Heavy bond issuance and intercompany financing could create domino effects if projects underperform.