Marketplace

The Coalition for Green Capital, funded by private investors and President Joe Biden’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, began doling out cash this fall. It’s an experiment in using federal dollars to spur investment in mitigating climate change. Will it survive under the incoming Trump administration? Also in this episode: How high can bond yields climb? Will 2025 be a big year for mergers and acquisitions? And, are tuition-free medical schools curing the industry’s ills?

Government bond yields are typically lower than corporate ones, since corporations can’t print their own money. The difference between the two is called a spread, and that spread has narrowed in recent months. In this episode, why that shrinking spread is a sign that investors feel optimistic. Plus: Retailers struggle with excess brick-and-mortar space, nationwide household net worth hits a record high and Vermont ski areas battle climate change.

The coming year will be a good one for housing — at least, the National Association of Realtors says so. It’s forecasting lower mortgage rates and more stable prices for homes in 2025. But not all housing experts agree. Later in the episode: an unexpected way to tap into geothermal energy, new approaches to corporate diversity as a court blocks Nasdaq’s DEI initiative, and a federal health care referral program leaves many Native Americans in debt, apparently in violation of the rules.

Older Americans will pass on more than $120 trillion to heirs and charities over the next 25 years, according to a wealth management company’s study. But financial advisers caution against assuming you’ll get lucky — half of the “great wealth transfer” will come from just the top 2% of households. Also in this episode: Insurance grows pricier, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau limits bank overdraft fees and less than 10% of Americans moved last year — the lowest proportion since the Census Bureau began keeping track in 1948.