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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The big drop in oil prices is a gift to consumers that should propel the U.S. economy, analysts say. But those lower prices are hurting the energy sector, and consumers continue to be cautious. -
The Labor Department provided more evidence Friday that the U.S. job picture is finally getting back to normal — nearly six years after the great recession ended. The monthly jobs report showed an increase more than a million jobs over the past three months. The unemployment rate did tick up to a notch, but even that is a positive signal.
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The energy sector is laying off workers, as falling oil prices have slowed drilling. Analysts are sifting through the January employment report, which showed American employers added 257,000 jobs.
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The energy sector has started laying off workers as oil prices drop. Analysts will sift through the government's monthly employment report to see what affect that's having on U.S. job creation.
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Oil industry representatives are criticizing the decision, but analysts say the shale revolution will buy the industry time to develop safe technology in the threatened environment. -
The European Central Bank will begin buying up Eurozone country government bonds in a bid to stimulate Europe's flagging economy. The Federal Reserve implemented a similar program after the 2008 financial crisis, and it is credited with helping to keep the U.S. economy on track.
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The ECB will begin buying up eurozone member government bonds in a bid to stimulate Europe's flagging economy. America's Federal Reserve had a similar program that aided recovery from its 2008 crisis.
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President Obama wants to expand an existing tax credit for child care and create a new one for families with two working spouses. He also wants to make two years of community college free and expand access to retirement savings programs.
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The Center on Global Energy Policy says lifting the ban, which was put in place during the Arab oil embargoes of the 1970s, would help producers, consumers and improve U.S. security.
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The dollar's value keeps climbing. That's a sign of a healthy economy, especially compared with some of America's biggest trading partners — but it also has the potential to slow U.S. economic growth.
