Dec 25 Samuelson on Economics and Behavior Paul Solman: A final excerpt from my interview with Paul Samuelson about a decade ago. For this Christmas Day edition of Business Desk, Samuelson on where behavior and economics intersect. Continue reading
Dec 25 Watch Billions in Pension Payments Loom for Struggling State Budgets In a weak economy, many states, cities and towns may be facing billions of dollars in pension liabilities that are currently underfunded. Spencer Michels reports from California on that state's pension challenge. Continue watching
Dec 24 Samuelson on Whether Economics Is a Science Paul Solman: More excerpts today from an interview I did with economist Paul Samuelson nearly a decade ago. Today, his thoughts on whether economics is a science and where math fits in the discipline. Click through to read the transcript. Continue reading
Dec 24 Bah Humbug: The Case Against Holiday Presents In his new book, "Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn't Buy Presents for the Holidays," economist Joel Waldfogel argues that giving unwanted presents is not just bad for those who receive them, it's bad for the economy as well. Continue reading
Dec 23 Signs of Economic Recovery in Hard-Hit Elkhart, Ind. Today's Wall Street Journal reports that in the heart of unemployment country, Elkhart, Indiana, things are looking up -- or, more accurately perhaps, "less down." Unemployment there now stands at 14.5 percent, reasonably well below its peak of… Continue reading
Dec 23 Patchwork Nation: Some Good Economic News for the Holidays By Anna Shoup The map above shows how counties compare in Patchwork Nation’s Hardship Index. Darker shades of red indicate tougher times over the past month, relative to the rest of the country. Just… Continue reading
Dec 23 Samuelson on Why You Should Study Economics Paul Solman: We continue this week with excerpts from an interview I did with Paul Samuelson in his office almost a decade ago, just after the dot.com collapse in the year 2000. I was helping make a series of videos… Continue reading
Dec 23 Wednesday’s Headlines: Health Bill Marches Ahead; Personal Incomes Rise Lawmakers continue to work toward passage of a bill to reform the nation's health care system with one more procedural hurdle slated for Wednesday, before a final vote now planned for Christmas Eve morning. The third procedural vote comes… Continue reading
Dec 23 Watch Hallelujah!: How Handel Orchestrated a Classic Financial Portfolio When 18th century composer George Frideric Handel wrote his timeless "Messiah" oratorio, he not only penned a classic holiday composition, he also established a foundation for a new business approach to opera. Paul Solman reports. Continue watching
Dec 22 Chicago Community Mourns Loss of Local Bank By Carolyn O'Hara On the West side of Chicago, the loss of a bank that invested widely in local neighborhoods is being mourned by residents, who question why a bank's commitment to community is not considered part of its bottom line. Continue reading