Jan 01 Watch Economy May Hold Hopeful Signals for New Year In terms of the economy, it's good riddance to 2009. As for 2010, Ray Suarez speaks with a panel of experts about reasons for hopes and fears in the new year. Continue watching
Dec 31 Year in Review: Reporting on the Growing Ranks of the Unemployed By Paul Solman It's been an odd year for anyone who, like your correspondent, makes a living in and around economics. Odd because, for me at least, there's a version of survivor guilt: The worse the world has gotten, the more interest there's… Continue reading
Dec 31 Topic Archive of Making Sen$e with Paul Solman A list of topics covered by Paul Solman's Making Sen$e page. Continue reading
Dec 30 U.S. Steers $3.8 Billion in Additional Aid Toward GMAC GMAC Financial Services has already received $12.5 billion in government aid. On Wednesday, the auto and home lending giant got another $3.8 billion. The new aid is less than the $5.6 billion that the troubled lender indicated it was… Continue reading
Dec 30 Wasn’t WWII Debt Bigger than Obama’s Stimulus Package? Question: According to many, especially conservative economists who wish to denigrate FDR’s efforts to end the Great Depression, the spending for WWII was ultimately responsible for our recovery… Continue reading
Dec 29 States Plow Through Snow-Removal Budgets While it's been barely more than a week since the official start of winter, cash-strapped state and local governments have already plowed through all or most of their available snow-removal budgets, reports the Wall Street Journal. In Maryland,… Continue reading
Dec 29 If Banks Aren’t Lending, How Did They Make Recent Profits? Question: I’ve always understood that banks made their money by lending. If they are not lending, what accounts for their recent profits? Paul Solman: They’re lending all right. It’s just that they’re not lending much to individuals or businesses. They… Continue reading
Dec 28 How Did Banks, in Dire Straits Just Last Year, Pay Back TARP Money? Question: Hi, Paul. I really enjoy your attempts to make this banking mess clear to us. My big question that I don’t seem to be reading anywhere: If most of the banks were in such dire straits last year about… Continue reading
Dec 28 Watch Looking Back at Wall Street’s Behavior in 2009 Jeffrey Brown speaks with Andrew Ross Sorkin of The New York Times and John Cassidy of The New Yorker about the fallout from the financial crisis, the big bailouts and Wall Street's mentality. Continue watching
Dec 25 Up Next on Capitol Hill: Financial Reform With the end of the health care battle finally in sight (Democrats are talking about getting a bill to the President's desk by some time in February), there is plenty of talk here in Washington among reporters, lawmakers and… Continue reading