NPR Business News

Baking cookbooks boomed in 2025

Dec 23, 2025

Sales of baking cookbooks are up about 80% over the past year, according to research group Circana. And that's bucking a downward trend in cookbooks overall.

Student loan borrowers in default may soon see their wages garnished

Dec 23, 2025

About 5.5 million borrowers are currently in default. They haven't risked wage garnishment since the beginning of the pandemic, when policymakers paused the practice.

The U.S. economy grew robustly as Americans continued to spend

Dec 23, 2025

The data, which was delayed from October by the government shutdown, comes as the economy takes center stage for voters and the Trump administration.

Federal student loans are changing. Here's what to expect in 2026

Dec 23, 2025

The SAVE Plan is ending and repayment options will change dramatically in the new year.

Warner Brothers has a long history of messy corporate marriages and divorces

Dec 22, 2025

As Netflix and Paramount continue their battle over Warner Brothers Discovery, we take a look back at the company's history of messy corporate marriages and divorces.

Nearly 2 dozen states sue the Trump administration over funding for CFPB

Dec 22, 2025

The attorneys general say the Trump administration is refusing to accept funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which could hurt consumers in their states.

The Trump administration pauses wind projects off New England, New York and Virginia

Dec 22, 2025

An Interior Department statement did not detail the national security risks. It's the administration's latest pus to hobble offshore wind and limit renewable energy sources.

How Trump's 'crony capitalism' has shaken up U.S. business

Dec 22, 2025

His policies are picking winners and losers — and blurring the lines between business and government.

Can Americans learn to love tiny, cheap kei cars?

Dec 22, 2025

President Trump recently embraced kei cars, tiny vehicles that are popular in Asia but hard to get in the U.S. Kei car enthusiasts are delighted — but doubt whether much will change.

'The Nutcracker' isn't just a cozy classic. It helps ballet companies pay the bills

Dec 22, 2025

Nearly half of the revenue for large American ballet companies each year comes from the cozy seasonal favorite The Nutcracker. Since COVID, they have become even more dependent on those sugarplum fairies.