Nov 10 Watch Parties Seek Consensus on New Financial Stimulus Plan Congressional leaders and both President Bush and President-elect Obama have stressed the need for another financial stimulus package to jump-start the stalled economy. Economists weigh in on what steps they would take. Continue watching
Nov 10 AIG Aid, China Bailout Boost World Markets After G-20 Conference By Admin, PBS News Hour The bailout of embattled insurance giant American International Group, Inc. got another dramatic boost Monday with the U.S. government easing the terms of its loans to the company. Continue reading
Nov 07 Watch Soaring Jobless Rate Offers Latest Sign of Weakened Economy In the latest gloomy financial news, the U.S. economy shed 240,000 jobs in October, pushing the employment rate up to 6.5 percent. Two analysts examine the labor numbers and what they say about the economy. Continue watching
Nov 07 Can Anything Good Come From the Crisis? Paul Solman: In anticipation of the weekend, when I don’t get many questions from you folks to answer, I sometimes pose rhetorical questions. And because they come from me, I’m in a unique position to answer them. As is the… Continue reading
Nov 07 And Now For Something Not Completely Different Paul Solman: For those who just can’t get enough of my explanations, and like them in video form, you can go to the the home of the weekly PBS show called ‘The Newsmakers,’… Continue reading
Nov 07 U.S. Unemployment Surges to 6.5 Percent in October By Admin, PBS News Hour Fueled by an economic downturn, the U.S. economy lost 240,000 jobs in October, the Labor Department said Friday. The numbers helped push the employment rate to 6.5 percent, its highest level in 14 years. Continue reading
Nov 07 What is the reasoning behind having the Fed, rather than the market, set short term interest rates? Question/Comment: Dear Mr. Solman: I’m hoping you will answer my question as to the reasoning behind or justification for having a committee (i.e., the Federal Reserve) setting the price of money, i.e., interest rate. It is generally accepted that it… Continue reading
Nov 06 Watch As U.S. Fiscal Woes Persist, Lawmakers Pledge More Aid The U.S. economy continued to falter as markets sank sharply Thursday for the second consecutive day. A chief investment officer and a journalist discuss congressional plans to craft a stimulus package later this month and weigh efforts by lawmakers to… Continue watching
Nov 06 President-elect Obama Sets About Crafting New Administration By Admin, PBS News Hour With the U.S. economy likely in recession and the country embroiled in two wars, President-elect Barack Obama and his staff have been quickly transitioning from campaign mode to preparing to govern with little time to celebrate his landmark victory. Continue reading
Nov 06 Will we ever pay down or even pay off the national debt? Question/Comment: Given the history of the ever increasing U.S. national debt and our fluctuating economy, how realistic is it that we will ever pay down or even pay off the national debt? We have never managed to maintain the necessary… Continue reading