Jan 28 Fed Leaves Key Rate at Record Low, Vows to Use All Tools to Help Economy By PBS News Hour Acknowledging that the economy has continued to deteriorate, the Federal Reserve signaled Wednesday that it will continue to use unconventional tools to cushion the fallout, including keeping a key interest rate at a record low for quite "some time."… Continue reading
Jan 28 Are There Conflicts of Interest in the Credit Industry? Question/Comment: A business advice columnist in The Oregonian recently answered a question about canceling a credit card when the issuer changes the terms. One of her comments was that it always has a negative impact on one’s credit score to… Continue reading
Jan 27 Watch States Grapple With Unique Difficulties in Economic Downturn As the impact of the economic downturn ripples across the U.S., four public broadcasting reporters describe how the recession has impacted their states and local communities. Continue watching
Jan 27 Consumer Confidence Hits New Low as Home Prices Sink, State Unemployment Soars By PBS News Hour Americans' attitudes about the economy have sunk to a new low as another round of glum economic data released Tuesday also shows home prices plummeting and state unemployment rates soaring. Continue reading
Jan 27 With the Economic Downturn and Wages Stagnant, What Economic Rationale Prevails for Increasing Prices? Question/Comment: In the New York Times recently, it was stated that there has been a drop in consumer prices. Here is NYC I have found that prices have risen. For example, a half gallon… Continue reading
Jan 27 Obama to Push Stimulus Plan with GOP Lawmakers By Admin, PBS News Hour President Obama is making his first trip to Capitol Hill since his inauguration to push for broad bipartisan support of his $825 billion economic stimulus plan. Continue reading
Jan 26 Watch Massive Job Cuts Renew Calls for Quick Action on Stimulus Several U.S. companies reeling from the economic downturn announced a total of some 45,000 job cuts on Monday. Analysts assess what the employment situation signals about new government efforts to revive the economy. Continue watching
Jan 26 What Would Happen if the Fed Decided to Raise Interest Rates? Question/Comment: A stupid question, perhaps, but here goes. Okay, lowering the overnight rate to 0.25 percent doesn’t seem to have worked very well. What would happen if the Fed decided to RAISE the rate… Continue reading
Jan 26 U.S. Companies Slash More Than 45,000 Jobs By Admin, PBS News Hour More than 45,000 job cuts were announced by major U.S. companies Monday, part of a wave of global job cuts in response to dismal 2008 financial results. Continue reading
Jan 26 Following Financial Meltdown, Iceland's Government Collapses By PBS News Hour Iceland's coalition government collapsed Monday under the pressure of the country's financial meltdown, the first government to fall as a direct result of the worldwide economic crisis. Continue reading