Enjoy Low Inflation While It Lasts

Listen and subscribe to Everybody’s Business on Apple, Spotify, iHeart and the Bloomberg Terminal.

Where’s the inflation? With this week’s Consumer Price Index coming in softer than predicted (inflation at its lowest level since 2021, according to government data), a lot of people are wondering why tariffs haven’t pushed prices up. In the debut episode of Everybody’s Business from Bloomberg Businessweek, hosts Stacey Vanek Smith and Max Chafkin tackle President Donald Trump’s trade war, inflation and when the rubber will (if ever) hit the road.

Consumer spending columnist Amanda Mull takes Stacey on a tariff tour through Target, explaining why import taxes have yet to show up in inflation data and how you’re likely to see them in the future. It turns out flatscreen TVs, pineapples and mascara will all manifest tariffs in different ways. Mull concludes tariffs could very well ruin Christmas.

Then sports reporter Randall WIlliams joins to talk about why private equity has started buying up sports teams. It turns out teams are becoming more valuable as games dominate live television, attracting bigger audiences (and commanding higher ad rates). That’s got private equity sneaking into the game, pumping up prices and injecting billions of dollars into teams. Randall concludes that private equity won’t ruin sports (but Max and Stacey are skeptical). Finally, for the underrated story for the week, we look at the rising trend of rising sneaker soles. Shoe brands are creating ever puffier soles even as racing authorities try to put restrictions in place. Ultramarathoner Max realizes his beloved sport is in the crosshairs of controversy.

• Stacey takes to the streets to find out what people who don’t spend all day reading business news want to hear about. Answers include tariffs, the stock market, tips for young investors and of course egg prices.

• Then Bloomberg Businessweek reporter Mull joins to talk about this week’s inflation numbers and why Trump’s tariffs aren’t doing to prices what everyone thought they would.

• Mull then takes the show to Target, showcasing some of the different ways tariffs are likely to appear in what you buy.

• Reporter Randall Williams talks about private equity buying up sports teams. Valuations are booming and private equity wants in. Williams discusses the possible impact on teams, games and the people who love them. (It gets emotional).

• Finally, Stacey reveals Max’s sport of choice: ultra-marathons, and looks into how the sport is being impacted by scandals involving the ever-expanding size of running shoe soles. (The most extreme being a Puma running shoe with soles the size of a Rubix cube)

About the show: every week, hosts Stacey Vanek Smith and Max Chafkin take a look at the week’s business news and break down what you need to know, with the help of Bloomberg Businessweek journalists, experts and the people and businesses trying to navigate the economy every day.