Feb 18 Fed Raises Rate It Charges Banks In its first step to unwind emergency measures put in place during the height of the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve announced late Thursday it was raising the rate it charges banks on emergency loans. Continue reading
Feb 18 After Losing Its Bookstore, Laredo Tries to Write the Next Chapter By Tom LeGro The last bookstore in Laredo, Texas, closed its doors for good one month ago this week. This bilingual and bicultural border town, long challenged by high illiteracy rates, is now adjusting to its new reality. Continue reading
Feb 18 A Defense of Goldman Sachs Question: I must take exception to your two pieces on Goldman Sachs (Part I and Part II). Let us concede up front that Mr. Blankfein’s formulation of Goldman doing “God’s work” was a bit ham-handed at best, but… Continue reading
Feb 18 President Obama Creates National Commission on Debt Reduction By Quinn Bowman President Obama Thursday morning signed an executive order to create a commission tasked with helping the nation reduce its debt. Mr. Obama selected Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson to head the commission, the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility… Continue reading
Feb 18 Watch Should Obama Pull the TARP from Under Banks? As part of his continuing series of reports examining bank reform and the future of Wall Street, Paul Solman sits down with bank consultant and former FDIC chair William Isaac for a critical look at the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Continue watching
Feb 18 Watch Obama's Deficit Panel Chiefs: 'Staggering' Task Ahead President Obama has tasked a new commission to target ways to reduce the national debt, projected to hit $1.6 trillion this year. Opponents are concerned the panel could weigh in favor of tax hikes. Judy Woodruff reports interviews the commission… Continue watching
Feb 17 The Stimulus at One: How Effective Has $787B Bill Been? By Carolyn O'Hara On the first anniversary of President Obama's signing of the $787 stimulus bill, Hari Sreenivasan spoke with Michael Grabell of ProPublica about how much has been spent, how much is left and how hard it is to count… Continue reading
Feb 17 Cillizza: Proving Stimulus Effects a Tough Task for White House By Hari Sreenivasan Washington Post reporter Chris Cillizza, author of The Fix blog, joined us again Wednesday to share his reporting and political news analysis. It's the first anniversary of President Obama's economic stimulus bill, the American Reinvestment and Recovery… Continue reading
Feb 17 How Can the Unemployment Rate Go Down if Jobs Are Still Lost? Question: C-Span reports that in January, the unemployment rate declined by 0.3 percent, yet also that 20,000 jobs were lost. If jobs were lost how could the unemployment rate decline? Paul Solman: Technically, it actually… Continue reading
Feb 17 Wednesday Headlines: Stimulus Act Turns 1; Obama to Create Debt Panel One year and $787 billion later, Wednesday marks the first anniversary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, otherwise known as the stimulus. To highlight the occasion, the Obama administration is gearing up for a public relations blitz… Continue reading