John Ydstie
John Ydstie has covered the economy, Wall Street, and the Federal Reserve at NPR for nearly three decades. Over the years, NPR has also employed Ydstie's reporting skills to cover major stories like the aftermath of Sept. 11, Hurricane Katrina, the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. He was a lead reporter in NPR's coverage of the global financial crisis and the Great Recession, as well as the network's coverage of President Trump's economic policies. Ydstie has also been a guest host on the NPR news programs Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition. Ydstie stepped back from full-time reporting in late 2018, but plans to continue to contribute to NPR through part-time assignments and work on special projects.
During 1991 and 1992, Ydstie was NPR's bureau chief in London. He traveled throughout Europe covering, among other things, the breakup of the Soviet Union and attempts to move Europe toward closer political and economic union. He accompanied U.S. businessmen exploring investment opportunities in Russia as the Soviet Union was crumbling. He was on the scene in The Netherlands when European leaders approved the Maastricht Treaty, which created the European Union.
In August 1990, Ydstie was one of the first reporters on the scene after Saddam Hussein's Iraqi army invaded Kuwait. He accompanied U.S. troops to Saudi Arabia as a member of the Pentagon press pool sent to cover the Iraqi invasion for U.S. media outlets.
Ydstie has been with NPR since 1979. For two years, he was an associate producer responsible for Midwest coverage. In 1982, he became senior editor on NPR's Washington Desk, overseeing coverage of the federal government, American politics, and economics. In 1984, Ydstie joined Morning Edition as the show's senior editor, and later was promoted to the position of executive producer. In 1988, he became NPR's economics correspondent.
During his tenure with NPR, Ydstie has won numerous awards. He was a member of the NPR team that received the George Foster Peabody Award for its coverage of Sept. 11. Ydstie's reporting from Saudi Arabia helped NPR win the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award in 1991 for coverage of the Gulf War. In 2016, Ydstie received a Gerald Loeb Award for financial reporting for his contributions to an NPR series on financial planning.
Prior to joining NPR, Ydstie was a reporter and producer at Minnesota Public Radio. Ydstie is a graduate of Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, where he is now on the Board of Regents. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum laude, with a major in English literature and a minor in speech communications. Ydstie was born in Minneapolis and grew up in rural North Dakota.
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U.S. employers added 200,000 jobs to payrolls in January, a big improvement from December. The Labor Department report, released Friday morning, showed unemployment unchanged at 4.1%. But there was one surprise: African-American unemployment shot up after hitting a record low in December.
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As she leaves the Fed's top job, Janet Yellen gets high marks for the way she resisted calls to raise interest rates as the economy began recovering. Instead, she was determined to boost job growth. -
Laurence Fink, CEO of the investment firm BlackRock, is telling other CEOs they need to do more than just deliver profits. In a letter published by The New York Times, Fink says companies must show how they are making positive contributions to society.
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Companies like Wal-Mart say tax cuts are making it possible for them to boost wages. But other economic factors could also be contributing to pay increases.
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Wal-Mart plans to share part of its savings under the new tax law with its employees. The giant retailer announced today it is boosting its starting wage to $11 an hour and handing out bonuses to most of its employees.
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"Baby Bonds" are back in the news. Two professors presented their idea to do something about widening inequality to an economics conference. They suggest creating an education trust fund for each newborn. The grants — ranging from $500 to $50,000 — would be on a sliding scale tied to household income.
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Germany runs huge trade surpluses. The U.S. hasn't seen one in decades. President Trump accuses the Germans of cheating, without offering specifics. But a number of factors fuel German export prowess. -
Every year, about half a million young Germans enter the workforce through apprenticeship training programs. They provide a steady stream of highly qualified industrial workers. -
Manufacturing accounts for 24 percent of the German economy. In the U.S., it's only 11 percent. What makes German manufacturing so strong and resilient?
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Policymakers increased a key rate for the third time this year. The quarter-point move indicates the Fed is confident in the economy as it continues to recover from the financial crisis.
