Jul 08 Foreclosures in Wealthier Monied ‘Burbs May Signal Trouble Ahead By Anna Shoup As economists search for signs that the recession is abating, a look at the breakdown of foreclosures in Patchwork Nation's community types finds that a new wave may be impacting the U.S. differently and could stall recovery. Continue reading
Jul 08 Why Does the London Tube Charge More If You Use a Paper Ticket? Robert Frank: Why does the public transport system in London charge significantly more for a tube or bus journey if you buy a paper ticket than it does if you use their Oyster prepaid card? In most cities… Continue reading
Jul 08 The Cap & Trade Debate Paul Solman: Sometimes described as a “centrist” Democrat, Congressman Eric Massa, a former Republican, represents a district of New York state that includes Rochester. Recently, this press release of his came our way. Since part of what we’re… Continue reading
Jul 07 Watch Other News: Stocks Drop on Economic Recovery Doubts In other news, stocks dipped to their lowest levels in more than two months on doubts about the strength of the economic recovery, and the president of Costa Rica agreed to mediate the political crisis in Honduras. Continue watching
Jul 07 Send Robert Frank Your Questions Whether it’s tackling why brides buy outfits and grooms rent to explaining why drive-up ATMs have Braille dots and freezers don’t have lights, Robert Frank has been guest blogging fascinating… Continue reading
Jul 07 Why Is the iPhone on a Single Network? Robert Frank: Why has Apple restricted its popular iPhone to just a single wireless network in both the United States and the United Kingdom? Apple was shrewd to take this step. When it first hit the market in the… Continue reading
Jul 06 Why Are Christmas Tree Stands Different in NYC? Robert Frank: Economic naturalists often find that many interesting new questions are stimulated by the experience of living in an unfamiliar environment. That’s always been my experience during sabbaticals spent away from Ithaca. One Saturday last December during my… Continue reading
Jul 06 Judge OKs Plan to Sell GM Assets; Appeal Looms By PBS News Hour A New York judge has approved General Motors Corp.'s bankruptcy sale in a move that will allow the company's most-profitable assets to quickly emerge from bankruptcy protection under government ownership. Continue reading
Jul 05 Reader Response: The Uncounted Unemployed Paul Solman: A provocative response, via the PBS Ombudsman, to Thursday’s story about undercounting unemployment. The emailer said it was okay if her name was posted. I assume that means it’s okay to… Continue reading
Jul 03 Why Are Newspapers Sold in Vending Machines That Allow You to Take More Than One? Robert Frank: Here’s another product-design question, this one posed by my former student Brendan Quigley. “Why,” he asked, “are newspapers, but not soft drinks, sold in vending machines that allow customers to take more units than they paid for?”… Continue reading