May 09 What triggered Frontier Airline’s bankruptcy filing? Question/Comment: I would like to have a better understanding of what triggered Frontier Airline's bankruptcy filing. How do credit card processors do business? Why would they suddenly change the rules so drastically? Was it a sign of lack of… Continue reading
May 09 Wars increase production and employment, but this time the US is in a recession. Can we blame globilization? Question/Comment: Wars are inflationary, because goods are being produced in order to be destroyed. Wars increase production and employment but this time around the U.S. is at war and in a recession. Is this the result of… Continue reading
May 07 The housing market has made a major jump in the last thirty years, why? Question/Comment: Paul, in 1965, my dad bought our house in a suburb of Los Angeles for about $3,000. In 1979, he sold it for about $80,000. Why did the market jump so much in just 14 years? This has been… Continue reading
May 07 Aren’t production jobs the foundation of a healthy economy? Question/Comment: Having grown up around workers and plant managers in western New York, and knowing the vibrant history there, one factor stands out as fundamental to our current economic problems today: the massive loss of production jobs… Continue reading
May 06 Watch Fannie Mae Posts Losses; Mortgage Market Quakes The mortgage giant Fannie Mae posted $2.2 billion in losses Tuesday in its third consecutive quarter of bad news. A reporter from the New York Times explains this latest bad news and its potential impact on the mortgage market. Continue watching
May 06 Indonesia Mulls Quitting OPEC; Oil Prices Leap Past $122 a Barrel By PBS News Hour Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Tuesday that his country is considering dropping out of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries based on its declining oil output. Continue reading
May 02 Watch New Federal Rules Target Deceptive Credit Card Practices The Federal Reserve proposed new credit card regulations Friday in response to growing rancor over credit practices that are widely regarded as unfair and deceptive. Robin Farzad of BusinessWeek Magazine explains the details and possible effects. Continue watching
May 02 Labor Dept. Report Shows Fewer Jobs Lost in April By Admin, PBS News Hour Employers cut fewer jobs in April than in recent months and the unemployment rate dropped to 5 percent, the Labor Department announced Friday. Continue reading
Apr 30 Watch Fed Cuts Rate Again in Latest Bid to Shore Up Economy The Federal Reserve cut a key interest rate by a quarter point Wednesday, bringing the federal funds rate down to its lowest level since late 2004. The move is intended to help address the ongoing housing slump and credit crunch. Continue watching
Apr 30 Federal Reserve Trims Key Interest Rate By Admin, PBS News Hour In a smaller move than in past months, the Federal Reserve cut a key interest rate by a quarter percentage point Wednesday in what could be the last in a line of reductions aimed at boosting an economy hit hard… Continue reading