Marketplace Morning Report

Inflation's heating up and is well above the Federal Reserve's goal. The central bank's preferred reading on inflation came out this morning for April. Prices are up 3.8% from a year ago; it was 3.5% in March. What does that mean for the future of interest rates and the inflation consumers expect going forward? Then, we'll discuss how the war in Iran has added new pressure to an already strained farm economy.

Before war in the Middle East, roughly one-third of the world’s fertilizer shipped by sea moved through the Strait of Hormuz. In the last three months, fertilizer prices have climbed between 30% and 50%, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. It's yet another growing expense for farmers, and it comes at a time when more farms in the U.S. are closing or going bankrupt. But first: A new study finds racial bias in AI hiring tools.

The Office of Personnel Management is proposing a strict new non-disclosure agreement for federal workers, which would bar them from disclosing “non-public, confidential, or proprietary information.” The Trump administration says a new agreement is needed to stop leaks to the press. A draft of the NDA is being published today. Then, from the latest season of Marketplace's "How We Survive," can we engineer nature to slow the climate crisis?

Consumers have grown increasingly worried about inflation, and many are delaying major purchases, according to J.D. Power. That's especially true for people under 40. In a survey, J.D. Power found that only about a third in that age group believe they can cover everyday expenses. We'll dig in. But first, Spotify has long invested in podcasts and audiobooks. Now, it wants you to listen to magazine articles on the platform, too.

Heard of "doomspending"? It refers to a feeling of hopelessness about your financial future and spending more freely now than you maybe should. From Marketplace's "This Is Uncomfortable," we dig into the self-defeating financial decisions we sometimes make — from splurging to regain a sense of control to not saving for retirement because it's hard to envision the future — and how to rethink those impulses. But first: new strikes in Iran but the same old market uncertainty.