Hey there, hope you’ve had a great week. In today’s newsletter, we’ll answer some big questions I bet are on your mind — I know they’re on mine:

And maybe one more: Who am I hanging out with this weekend? Read to the end for our interview with a woman to tried out “friendship apps,” and whether they’re worth the subscription fees. — Tony Wagner, newsletter editor

PS: Marketplace’s spring fundraiser is going on right now, and we just need a few more donors to hit our goal of 500 new members by tonight, and unlocking an extra $25,000 gift. So don’t wait! Become a Marketplace Investor and snag some new merch too.

Anne Robinson hasn’t gotten any tariff money back since applying two weeks ago. The refund will probably take a few months.

“Nothing’s happened,” said Robinson, who owns Scottish Gourmet USA, a specialty grocery in Greensboro, North Carolina. “Still a valid claim, hasn’t been rejected. I checked again this morning.”

While she waits, she’s been thinking about what she’s going to do with the $30,000 refund. Some of it might go to her employees, who haven’t gotten raises in over a year. Some might be used to stock up on inventory. And the rest might go to customers who’ve spent big on tariff-impacted goods.

“Like there was a man who bought 100 boxes of shortbread. That would be a $50 gift certificate, so that’s a significant chunk of change,” Robinson said. People who spent less, maybe paid a couple bucks in price increases, will get a discount code.

Applications are open for businesses to start applying for $166 billion in tariff refunds after the Supreme Court ruled some of the Trump administration’s tariffs illegal. Tariffs are taxes often and ultimately paid by the American consumer. But it’ll be up to business owners to decide what they’re going to do with the refunds. Some are thinking about sharing it with their customers.

“It’s not about lining my pocket as much as it’s about building that relationship with that customer who’s going to be with me for the rest of their life,” Robinson said.

But there’s something else on her mind.

“I’m also scared of plaintiff lawsuits,” she said.

The barbershop’s presence in Black American culture is immense — over the years, it’s been the subject of paintings, movies, and even the setting for a talk show. And as a real-life community hub, it’s a vibrant place for men to talk sports, politics, health, and life.

But barbershop culture has been changing over the past few years, and COVID-19 had a lot to do with it.

Evan Harris, a Columbia Business School student, used to pay his barber in Harlem $25 cash before the pandemic. But since 2020, the price he pays for a haircut has risen to about $60, after tip. And amid the rising costs, he had a kind of revelation:

“I used to work in the office all the time,” he said, fresh off a recent cut. “So I would get a haircut religiously, like every one and a half to two weeks. And then the pandemic happened, so people stopped taking care of themselves.”

One of the big reasons the price of a haircut is going up is because barbers are spending more on supplies. Sherwood Dolor has been a barber for 15 years and worked in at least three different Brooklyn neighborhoods. Recently, he’s found himself spending more on supplies — a pack of once-$5 razors is now $10, and a roll of paper neck strips, once 50 cents or $1, now runs about three bucks.

“Cool Care used to be $6.99,” said Dolor. “Now, you go to the store, you probably pay $15 for a can of Cool Care. A pair of clippers runs you anywhere between $150 to 300 bucks.”

The first thing you saw when walking into the vast exhibition hall at this year’s SelectUSA Investment Summit was giant colorful booths from states that paid top dollar for extra space at the front.

Idaho’s smaller booth is about halfway back; there, you could find Jan Rogers, the head of the Southern Idaho Economic Development Organization. Rogers has been to almost every Investment Summit since they started back during the Obama administration.

“I have absolutely seen it all,” she said.

Rogers said that tariffs aren’t nixing any of the deals she’s lined up with foreign investors — so far. That’s the case even for a French company paying high tariffs to import packaging machines into Idaho.

“I don’t know what the pain point has to be, but they continue to move forward no matter what,” she said.

The U.S. is still seen as a stable environment, Rogers said — the place to be. Even countries that are part of the Trump administration’s travel ban are represented here.

Dating apps are struggling, but not because everyone’s paired up. Americans are still lonely, and phones aren’t helping. Now a new class of app is ready to sell you the solution — wouldn’t you know it, right there on the phone.

Timeleft users in 160 cities pay a subscription fee to get matched up with potential pals for dinner or drinks. Bumble has its own platonic spinoff called Bumble BFF, and the app 222 actually sprung up from academic research on how people connect. 

Amarah Hasham-Steele tested out a few of these services for the Canadian magazine The Walrus, and she came on “Marketplace” this week to talk about her experience paying upwards of $20 a month to be matched with dinner dates. She told Kai Ryssdal she came away less cynical about friendship apps, but unconvinced by the friendly ghost in the machine. 

“With Timeleft or 222 you get to buy into the illusion of ‘Oh this is happening naturally’ but in fact it’s this technological process working behind the scenes.” 

I’m just looking for someone to chill and listen to some jazz piano. If you’re interested, hit me up.