Economy

Filter

Unemployment Rises to 9.7%, Though Hints of Recovery Remain

By Quinn Bowman

U.S. employers shed 216,000 jobs in August, increasing the unemployment rate to 9.7 percent, the highest level since 1983.

Health Care Reform Splits Retailers

In a summer of health care reform twists and turns, few things may have surprised the public more than the debate over the positions that their favorite -- and least-favorite -- places to shop have taken on the issue.

Of Dollars and Spidey Sense: Disney Has Much to Gain by Purchasing Marvel

Disney's plan to buy Marvel Entertainment, Inc. for $4 billion opens up the gates of the Magic Kingdom to a whole host of new characters and helps complete the evolution of comics from a dime-store fringe market to a global…

Can the Economy Truly Recover With So Many States in the Red?

Question: We keep hearing phrases such as “when the recession/depression is over,” but none of the analysis (that I’ve read or heard, anyway) addresses the relationship of the current and impending government insolvencies. Surely our economy can’t recover while…

Madoff Report Highlights SEC Lapses in Detecting Fraud

A scathing report by an inspector general for the Securities and Exchange Commission has found the agency missed numerous chances to uncover Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme. A financial reporter and a law professor speak with Jeffrey Brown about the SEC's…

Continue watching

A New Deal for Artists

Artists today have a number of safety nets to help ease the pain brought on by a battered economy, but during the Great Depression it took a federal stimulus program of sorts to protect many of the nation's painters and…

If Big Banks Were Allowed to Fail, Would the FDIC Need a Bailout?

Question: Some have said that big banks, like Citi or Bank of America, should have been allowed to fail. Given their size, could the FDIC really have covered the insured deposits? Or would the…

Other News: Worker Productivity Soars Most in 6 Years

In other news, the Labor Department reported worker productivity jumped last spring by the most in six years, and an SEC investigation concluded that agency flaws enabled Bernie Madoff.

Continue watching

What Sectors Will Keep America an Economic Superpower?

Question: I’d love to see a discussion on future growth in the American economy. As we’ve witnessed, the financial services sector clearly has a limits to what it can yield. What are the sectors that can keep America an economic…

Other News: Stocks Slide on Bank Fears

In other news, stocks in the U.S. were hit by fears about additional bank failures, and Iran signaled it may be ready to restart talks over its disputed nuclear program.

Continue watching