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We’ve got mail! And, lots of questions about inflation from listeners. Today, we’ll explain why interest rates cuts may be on the horizon even amid a booming economy; the relationship between the minimum wage and inflation; and what leap day means for your paycheck. Plus, Kai and Kimberly get a special delivery!

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• • “Why Cut Interest Rates in an Economy This Strong? A Big Question Confronts the Fed” from The New York Times

• • “Personal Income and Outlays, January 2024” from Bureau of Economic Analysis

• • “Fed’s Preferred Inflation Metric Increases by Most in a Year” from Bloomberg

• • “Characteristics of minimum wage workers, 2020” from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

• • “Wage increases haven’t really boosted inflation, new Fed research says” from Marketplace

• • “How does leap year affect your paycheck?” from Marketplace

• • “It’s leap day, an extra workday. Here’s what that means for your paycheck” from CNN

Get ready for Economics on Tap and subscribe to our newsletter to get a copy of our new cocktails zine. The YouTube livestream starts at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time, 6:30 p.m. Eastern.

Earlier this year, Bao Fan, a prominent Chinese banker and tech billionaire, went missing in China. According to a statement from his company, he's "cooperating in an investigation being carried out by certain authorities in the People's Republic of China." The details are very murky, but his disappearance raises questions about doing business in China right now.

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