Jul 02 Watch Starbucks Plans to Close 600 Stores as Sales Slide Starbucks announced Wednesday the closure of 600 stores and plans for staff cutbacks after a drop in sales. Lee Hochberg reports on the economic shifts behind the company's losses and how the coffee giant plans to recover. Continue watching
Jul 02 Are the stimulus checks only a loan? Question/Comment: My accountant told me the government’s gift of money for taxpayers (to help stimulate the economy?) is actually a loan that most middle/upper income citizens will have to repay within a year. Paul Solman: America spends more than… Continue reading
Jul 01 Nearly Every U.S. Automaker Posts Double-digit Sales Losses in June By PBS News Hour Amid record-high gas prices, a slumping economy and consumer jitters, U.S. auto sales plummeted in June, but General Motors managed to retain its No. 1 spot ahead of Toyota thanks, in part, to a six-day sale featuring zero-percent financing offers. Continue reading
Jun 30 Watch Iraq Opens Oil Fields to Foreign Firms for Output Boost The Iraqi government announced Monday it was accepting international bids for contracts to operate six of its oil fields. An economics expert discusses the prospect of Western oil companies working in Iraq. Continue watching
Jun 30 Iraqis Open Oil to Foreign Firms to Boost Output By PBS News Hour The Iraqi government opened six of its oil fields to international bidders Monday as the nation attempts to increase daily production by 60 percent, leaving the door open for top Western companies to tap into the world's third largest oil… Continue reading
Jun 26 Watch California Community Hit Hard by Economy’s Fall Residents of a once-prosperous California community are feeling an economic pinch as home foreclosures, the credit crunch, low consumer confidence and high oil prices have hurt the U.S. economy. Continue watching
Jun 26 Watch Wall Street Jitters, Fuel Costs Spread Economic Woes The Dow Jones dropped Thursday to its lowest point since September 2006, due to economic woes and soaring oil prices across the country. A chief investment officer examines the impact of the bleak news on the national economy. Continue watching
Jun 26 Scientists to Begin Mapping the Cocoa Genome By PBS News Hour Chocolate maker Mars Inc. will fund a five year, $10 million project to map the cocoa bean genome -- work that could lead to hardier, higher-yielding crops and better quality chocolate, the company announced Thursday. Continue reading
Jun 26 Why don’t we hear government and private businesses pressuring to revitalize the U.S. rail system to help reduce the oil crisis? Question/Comment: Why don't we hear the government and private businesses pressuring to revitalize the US rail system to help reduce the oil crisis? I thought the rails were the most fuel-efficient form of transportation. Paul Solman: From a… Continue reading
Jun 24 Can you help explain how commodity exchanges and “commodity futures” and “index futures” work? By Business Desk Question/Comment: Can you help explain how commodity exchanges and “commodity futures” and “index futures” work? Apparently both some members of Congress, and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, are looking into how speculators affect oil and food prices. As the typical… Continue reading