Apr 30 Why Is the Gold Standard a Bad Idea? Question: Why is the gold standard such a bad idea? I know it is a discredited system, but having never studied economics, I don’t understand why. Right now, is our money just some arbitrary amount issued by the Federal Reserve?… Continue reading
Apr 30 Chrysler to File for Bankruptcy After Talks With Lenders Fail By PBS News Hour Chrysler, the nation's third largest automaker, will file for bankruptcy after talks among the company's creditors crumbled, President Barack Obama said Thursday. Continue reading
Apr 30 Reader Responses: The Paradox of Thrift You can watch one of Paul’s recent Making $ense pieces, The Paradox of Thrift, below. Here are a few reader reactions and Paul’s responses. Question: I have a question related to your recent segment, Paradox of Thrift: Aren’t the… Continue reading
Apr 29 Watch Other News: House Passes $3.4 Trillion Budget Plan In other news, the House adopted much of President Obama's budget Wednesday, and twin car bombings in Iraq killed at least 41 Iraqis. Continue watching
Apr 29 What Are Quants? Question: What are ‘quants’? Paul Solman: Quantitative experts, or if you prefer, “number jocks” or “math whizzes” who have gone to “Wall St.” (ie, the world of finance). They construct formulas for investing and packaging investments. Take their… Continue reading
Apr 29 Economy Shrank by 6.1% in First Quarter By Admin, PBS News Hour The Commerce Department released numbers Wednesday estimating the economy contracted during the first three months of the year at nearly the same rate as the final quarter of 2008, marking the third straight quarter of decline since the late 1950s. Continue reading
Apr 29 Reader Responses: In St. Louis, Comparing the Stimulus to the New Deal On Monday, Paul’s segment comparing the New Deal and the stimulus in St. Louis aired (you can watch it below), and as usual, a number of viewers wrote in. The topics ranged from okapi to jaywalking. Here are a few. Continue reading
Apr 28 Watch Chrysler Deadline Nears as GM Looks to Downsize After General Motors announced plans to cut another 21,000 jobs and Chrysler reached a deal with United Auto Workers that may help the automaker avoid bankruptcy, a New York Times reporter provides an update on Detroit automakers' latest efforts to… Continue watching
Apr 27 Watch In St. Louis, Unemployment Hits All Sectors As part of a series of reports from St. Louis on President Obama's first 100 days, Gwen Ifill examines the unemployment picture in St. Louis and talks to local residents about their thoughts on the economy. Continue watching
Apr 27 Watch In St. Louis, Comparing Stimulus Funds to the New Deal In the first in a series of reports from St. Louis on the Obama administration's first 100 days, Paul Solman tracks where federal stimulus money has been spent and compares today's projects with those funded by the New Deal during… Continue watching