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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Conflict in oil-producing regions usually sends oil prices higher. But the cost of oil has actually dropped, despite turmoil in the Middle East. Economists say it's a matter of supply and demand. -
The latest labor report indicates a slowdown in job growth, but many economists aren't buying it. They say other data paint a stronger picture, but the jobs numbers may delay higher interest rates. -
A Class A share of Berkshire Hathaway is now worth more than $200,000. Warren Buffett created the conglomerate about 50 years ago, and he has refused to split Berkshire's shares. -
Projections suggest that climate change will hurt agriculture in most parts of the world. But some areas of the U.S. could actually see a benefit as corn production moves farther north. -
Studies warn that climate change will threaten corn production in coming decades. Meanwhile, farmers are experimenting with new planting methods in hopes of slowing soil erosion from torrential rains. -
Russia reacted to Western economic sanctions by imposing a yearlong ban on U.S. and European food products. Moscow also made clear it's still considering other measures.
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According to new numbers, the U.S. economy continued to add jobs at a steady pace in July. Employers added 209,000 jobs to their payrolls.
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Federal Reserve policymakers are announcing that the Fed plans to leave short-term interest rates at a level near zero. This, despite an economy that grew at a surprisingly strong 4 percent annual rate in the most recent quarter.
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A U.S. judge has blocked an effort by Iraq's Kurdistan region to sell $100 million worth of crude oil to refiners in the U.S. It's sitting in a giant tanker ship off the coast of Texas. The judge agreed with the Iraqi government that the oil belongs to it and not the Kurds.
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The Affordable Care Act was the subject of two conflicting court opinions Tuesday. One upheld the subsidies that help middle- and low-income people afford health insurance; the other rejected them.
