Economy Oct 25 Why debt and money created ‘out of thin air’ are necessary, not evil Paul Solman sets the record straight on how he explains economics to himself and to his readers, tackling three different questions about the Federal Reserve, pictured above. Photo courtesy of Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
Economy Oct 25 Why Debt and Money Created ‘Out of Thin Air’ Are Necessary, Not Evil By Paul Solman Paul Solman sets the record straight on how he explains economics to himself and to his readers, tackling three different questions about the Federal Reserve, pictured above. Photo courtesy of Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images. I am…
Economy Oct 22 More than 25M Americans still can’t get a full-time job Our own unemployment metric, the "Solman Scale," found unemployment ticked down slightly to 15.6 percent. Photo courtesy of John Moore/Getty Images.
Economy Oct 22 More than 25M Americans Still Can’t Get a Full-Time Job By Paul Solman and Simone Pathe Our "Solman Scale" measures the "U-7," adding to the officially unemployed part-timers looking for full-time work and "discouraged" workers -- everyone who didn't look for a job in the past week but says they…
Economy Oct 20 Who made money on the presidential prediction markets and who lost President Barack Obama, seen here debating former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, wasn't the only winner of the 2012 election. Thanks to offshore presidential prediction markets, one Romney-backer's $4 million loss bankrolled a grad student's winter break in Portugal. Photo courtesy…
Economy Oct 20 Who Made Money on the Presidential Prediction Markets and Who Lost President Barack Obama, seen here debating former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, wasn’t the only winner of the 2012 election. Thanks to offshore presidential prediction markets, one Romney-backer’s $4 million loss bankrolled a grad student’s winter break in Portugal. Photo courtesy…
Economy Oct 05 Four secrets of debt default: Two to scare you; two to reassure The good news is that the bond market isn't acting like default is imminent. The bad news is that if the Treasury runs out of money, they can't simply prioritize who gets the remaining checks. Photo courtesy of Flickr user…
Economy Oct 05 Four Secrets of Debt Default: Two to Scare You; Two to Reassure By Paul Solman The good news is that the bond market isn't acting like default is imminent. The bad news is that if the Treasury runs out of money, they can't simply prioritize who gets the remaining checks. Photo courtesy…
Economy Sep 06 America’s Shrinking Workforce? Officially, this month's unemployment number is, in the words of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, "little changed" at 7.3 percent. The other headline number -- of 169,000 jobs added -- would have elicited an "eh" in my youth; a…
Economy Sep 06 America’s Shrinking Workforce? By Paul Solman Officially, this month's unemployment number is, in the words of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, "little changed" at 7.3 percent. The other headline number -- of 169,000 jobs added -- would have elicited an "eh" in…