May 08 Jobs Reports Shows Layoff Pace Slowed in April By PBS News Hour The pace of layoffs slowed in April as employers cut 539,000 jobs, the fewest in six months, according to a Labor Department report released Friday. But the unemployment rate climbed to 8.9 percent, the highest since late 1983. Continue reading
May 07 Watch 'Stress Tests' Put Credibility of Banks, Regulators Back in Spotlight On the day the government released better-than-expected stress test results for 19 major banks, a panel of economic analysts explain how the numbers were calculated and gauge the report's impact on the nation's financial health. Continue watching
May 07 Watch Government 'Stress Tests' Find Big Banks Need $75 Billion The U.S. Treasury released stress tests of 19 major banks, finding that they collectively need another $75 billion by November. A financial reporter explains the results. Continue watching
May 07 'Stress Tests' Find 10 Big Banks Need $75 Billion By Admin, PBS News Hour The Obama administration's much-anticipated "stress-test" results found that 10 of the nation's 19 biggest banks need a total of about $75 billion in new capital to withstand losses if the recession worsens. Continue reading
May 07 Business Media Ask Themselves: 'Did We Blow It?' By PBS News Hour The business press convened in Denver recently to answer a key question: When it comes to coverage of the meltdown, did 9,000 journalists blow it?… Continue reading
May 07 GM Reports Heavy Losses in the First Quarter By Admin, PBS News Hour General Motors Corp., which faces a June 1 government deadline to finish a restructuring plan or go into bankruptcy protection, said Thursday it lost $6 billion and its revenue was cut nearly in half in the first quarter. Continue reading
May 07 What Is a Stress Test? Why Are They Being Done? Question: What are the stress tests? And why are they being done? Paul Solman: A stress tests is simply an analysis of a bank’s balance sheet. To determine what? Whether the bank is viable as a business. Or likely to… Continue reading
May 06 Are Examiners Preventing Banks from Lending? Question: I am a commercial mortgage broker in California. I have had nearly every bank recently advise that their examiners are preventing them from lending. How can we get out of this mess if the examiners, in effect, prevent the… Continue reading
May 05 Watch Glimmers of Economic Hope Emerge, But Tough Road May Remain Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told lawmakers Tuesday that the economy should pull out of a recession and start growing again later this year. Financial analysts assess where the economy stands and how new job numbers may impact the picture. Continue watching
May 05 Watch Finance Fallacy: Saving vs. Investing Understanding today's economy is hard enough without having to wrestle with popular misconceptions and misinformation. In a new series, Paul Solman and guests debunk the conventional wisdom to help make sense of our economic world. Continue watching