Aug 21 Simon Johnson on the Falling Dollar By Business Desk Editor’s Note: This week, we’re featuring video conversations with Simon Johnson, former chief economist at the IMF, now at the Peterson Institute and MIT, and author of… Continue reading
Aug 21 Taking a Lesson from Cash for Clunkers, Why Don't We Recycle Old Cars? Question: With the success of the cash for clunkers program coupled with all of the auto plants that had to close this past year, why doesn’t the auto industry, the government, or some young entrepreneur reopen some of these plants… Continue reading
Aug 21 Bernanke: U.S. Economy Poised for Recovery By Carolyn O'Hara Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke offered an optimistic assessment of the U.S. economy's chances for recovery Friday in a much-anticipated speech to fellow central bankers and top economists. Continue reading
Aug 21 Watch Reviving the Economy Tests Convential Views on Inflation With the economy showing hints of a recovery, the threat of inflation is testing policy makers at the Federal Reserve as they work to determine how quickly to unwind emergency moves taken during the height of the financial crisis. Paul… Continue watching
Aug 21 Watch Fed Chairman Upbeat on Prospects for Economy Ben Bernanke offered a hopeful forecast for the U.S. economy Friday, saying "prospects for a return to growth in the near term appear good." Economists weigh in on the outlook. Continue watching
Aug 20 Watch Tougher Credit Card Rules Offer New Consumer Guards New rules for credit card companies took effect Thursday, the first in a series of measures designed to protect consumers from changes to the terms of their card agreements. Jeffrey Brown gets perspective from a consumer advocate and a banking… Continue watching
Aug 20 Simon Johnson on Economic Green Shoots By Business Desk Editor’s Note: For the next week, we’ll be featuring video conversations here on the Business Desk with one of our favorite economists, Simon Johnson, former chief economist at the IMF, now at the… Continue reading
Aug 20 Is GDP a Good Metric for Gauging Economic Health? Question: Do you consider GDP a realistic metric for gauging economic health and prosperity? I have some skepticism because two of the three main factors are consumer and government spending, and both can be… Continue reading
Aug 19 Is the Stimulus Working? Question: Is the stimulus working? Paul Solman: Hard to argue otherwise, if what you mean is: Would things be worse right now if there were no stimulus? In the long run, maybe the stimulus will be seen as just having… Continue reading
Aug 19 UBS to Surrender 4,450 Client Names to IRS UBS AG, Switzerland's largest bank, will provide the names of some 4,450 account holders to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service as part of a tax-evasion settlement reached between the two countries' governments. Continue reading