Economy Dec 17 Is the Bernard Madoff Financial Fiasco Tied to the Global Economic Meltdown? Question/Comment: How is the Bernard Madoff financial fiasco tied to the global economic meltdown? Is it just a timely coincidence? The thought of a connection somehow seems important. Paul Solman: Let’s see if I can resist the urge to make…
Economy Dec 17 In Case You Missed It: Low Consumer Confidence Limits Holiday Spending // ]> // ]]> On Tuesday, Dec. 16, Paul Solman looked at the psychological causes and effects of low consumer confidence through the holiday season.
Economy Nov 25 Have We Ever Been This Close to Socialism Before? Question/Comment: Have we ever been this close to socialism before? Referring, of course, to all of the bail outs and attempted influence on the “free” market. Paul Solman: It’s an intriguing question, Dave. Yes, I think the New Deal was…
Economy Nov 17 An Election Economics Post-Mortem Paul Solman: Here’s an email I received from Yale economist Ray Fair, whose presidential prediction model we featured on the site a few weeks ago: Ray Fair: The vote equation did well in predicting the 2008 election. The following…
Economy Nov 05 Do you think Alan Greenspan really thought that the “bubble” would never burst? Question/Comment: It is my belief that Alan Greenspan is a strong follower of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of a free and unfettered economy. Do you think Greenspan really thought that the “bubble” would never burst? Paul Solman: Greenspan IS (or at…
Economy Oct 14 It seems to me that FDR may have saved the traditional banking system. What do you think? Question: First, it seems to me that FDR saved the traditional banking system. I’ve checked the account of the plan they came up with during the “bank holiday” in the second Schlesinger book and…
Economy Oct 09 A response as the markets close below 9,000 for the first time in five years. Paul Solman: This afternoon’s question comes from the steward of The Business Desk who wrote, moments ago: “I don’t know how you feel about this, but I thought maybe you could do another response to the day? The market just…
Economy Sep 24 With all of the trouble on Wall Street, is it the end of the world as we know it? Paul Solman: As Lehman was melting down on Sept. 14, I wrote the following “answer,” which remains my best effort to explain what’s been going on. We’re going to keep it as the lead item on this page for awhile…
Economy Sep 19 Is it possible, as a worst case scenario, for the Feds to close the banks as FDR did in the 1930’s? Question/Comment: I hope you will not think me too crazy for asking this question. Is it possible as a worst case scenario for the Feds to close the banks as FDR did in the…
Economy Sep 19 Can the recent market fallout be traced back to Reagan’s deregulation of these types of institutions? Question/Comment: Can the recent market fallout be traced back to Reagan’s deregulation of these types of institutions? Is it also a reflection of a Republican/Bush White house that has purposely discouraged regulators from doing their jobs? Paul Solman:“Deregulation” as a…