Aug 06 If Banks Just Changed Their Accounting Rules, Why Do They Need Bailout Money? Question: If the banks are doing just hunky-dory due to the change in accounting rules, then why do they need any bailout money? Paul Solman: Hunky-dory? You might find this online etymology of the term amusing. I have to… Continue reading
Aug 06 Watch Dealers, Detroit Look for Boost With 'Clunkers' Extension The government's popular "cash for clunkers" incentive program -- aimed at replacing gas guzzlers with more fuel-efficient vehicles -- nearly exhausted its $1 billion budget in just days. Analysts look at who benefits from the program and its effects on… Continue watching
Aug 05 Should We Have Dealt With 'Too Big to Fail' in the 1980s? Question: If you go back and look at the recession of 1982, you will see that the Fed bailed out large banks mainly due to bad LDC loans. I think the precedent of moral… Continue reading
Aug 04 Why Does the Govt. Pay Farmers to Not Grow Crops? Editor’s Note: Robert Frank, who recently guest-blogged for several weeks here at the Business Desk with answers to some of life’s economic ironies, once again answers questions posed by viewers. Question: Why does the government pay farmers not to… Continue reading
Aug 04 Watch Despite Federal Aid, Lenders Slow to Modify Home Loans Fewer than 8 percent of eligible borrowers have successfully modified their mortgages under a $75 billion federal plan aimed at halting home foreclosures, according to a Treasury Department report. Jeffrey Kaye reports on the early struggles of the program. Continue watching
Aug 03 Why Do Cars Have Fuel Doors on Different Sides? Editor’s Note: Robert Frank, author of The Economic Naturalist’s Field Guide: Common Sense Principles for Troubled Times, recently guest-blogged for several weeks here at the Business Desk with answers to some of life’s economic ironies: why brides… Continue reading
Aug 03 What's the Basic Function of the Stock Market? Question: I would like to ask you two simple (some might say “simple-minded”) questions, which may be variants of a single question. No one has yet given me a clear, straightforward answer. Perhaps you can and will. 1) Why does… Continue reading
Aug 03 Despite Critics, Senate Considers $2B Boost for 'Cash for Clunkers' By Dave Gustafson The government's "cash for clunkers" program helped prop up sagging auto sales in July, but the popular program is almost out of cash and the Senate is considering a $2 billion infusion by the end of the week. Continue reading
Jul 31 Watch Congress Considers Plan to Influence Executive Pay Congress might give the government some say in how much Wall Street executives are paid. A former SEC accountant and a law professor give their take on the plan. Continue watching
Jul 31 Watch Other News: House to Add $2 Billion to Cash for Clunkers The House rushed to inject $2 billion into the cash for clunkers program, and the Associated Press reported that thousands of decaying bridges are suffering under the stimulus package. Continue watching