About this episode

The episode discusses the resilience of consumer spending amidst economic challenges, particularly in relation to bank earnings and small business struggles.

The results are in, and despite concerns that the war in Iran would dampen big banks’ earnings, they’re doing just fine, thank you. On earnings calls this week, several banks shouted out consumer “resilience” for keeping everything chugging along. How long might that resilience hold up? Also in this episode: Small business owners slog through tariff refund paperwork, China is well-positioned to ride out this oil price surge, and we’ve got more of Kai’s visit to Vietnam. Every story has an economic angle. Want some in your inbox? Subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter. Marketplace is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future.

People in this episode

Host: Marketplace

Topics covered

• bank earnings
• consumer resilience
• small business
• tariff refunds
• oil prices
• Vietnam

Keywords

• bank earnings
• consumer resilience
• tariff refunds
• oil prices
• Vietnam

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: China

Places: Iran, Vietnam

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• Agentic AI anxiety · April 21, 2026 · 25 min
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