Jun 11 What Happens to California State Bonds if the State Goes Bankrupt? By Business Desk Question: I live in California and own California State Bonds. What happens to state bonds if the state goes bankrupt? Paul Solman: They stop paying, both interest and principal. That’s what a default IS. Last September 15, Lehman Brothers… Continue reading
May 27 Do Mutual Funds Count as Savings? Question: You recently did a piece on savings, and it made me wonder. Every month, I shunt some money automatically into mutual funds (nothing to do with an official retirement account). The portion that is in a money market… Continue reading
May 08 Making Sen$e of Business, Finance, and Economics No more posts for today or the weekend as we debut (drum roll here, even trumpets, perhaps, or maybe a French overture)…our new Making Sen$e Web site, made possible by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation,… Continue reading
Mar 05 What Would Happen if Washington Let Big Banks Fail? By Business Desk Question: What would happen if the government let Citibank and Bank of America, et al., just fail? Paul Solman: The possibilities are various, intriguing, and terrifying. Let’s say Citi goes under. The government has to honor all of the company’s… Continue reading
Feb 25 What Would Be the Energy Cost of Electric Cars? By Business Desk Question/Comment: Paul, I am wondering about the new restrictions that are being forced on the car manufacturers for bio-fuel/electric/ethanol cars. Why isn’t there any mention about the cost of producing the electricity for the car batteries and ethanol? In the… Continue reading
Feb 13 In Case You Missed It: Society’s Ability to Weather Crisis Largely Depends on Leaders’ Positions By Business Desk As the country struggles through an economic crisis, Paul Solman talked to author Jared Diamond about his book “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed” on Friday’s NewsHour. Read the transcript here. // ]> // ]]>… Continue reading
Jan 09 In Case You Missed It: Economists Explain Why Hints of the Economic Crisis Eluded Them By Business Desk Paul Solman reports from San Francisco on a conference for economists and why hints of a recession were missed. // ]> // ]]>… Continue reading
Dec 23 I’m Not Sure It’s My Responsibility to Go Out and Shop to Keep Businesses Afloat. By Business Desk Question/Comment: It seems to me there’s been a shift in market thinking in the recent past. I’m not sure that it’s my responsibility to go out and shop to keep businesses afloat; I always thought that it was business’ responsibility… Continue reading
Dec 19 Which Is It: Spend or Save? By Business Desk Question/Comment: We’re told that lower consumer spending will make economic recovery much more difficult. We’re admonished that we don’t save nearly enough, and are among the lowest among industrialized nations. So which is it: spend or save? Paul Solman: The… Continue reading
Dec 17 In Case You Missed It: Low Consumer Confidence Limits Holiday Spending By Business Desk // ]> // ]]> On Tuesday, Dec. 16, Paul Solman looked at the psychological causes and effects of low consumer confidence through the holiday season. Continue reading