Feb 14 Hurricane Victims Should Leave Toxic Trailers, CDC Says By Admin, PBS News Hour Federal officials said Thursday they will intensify efforts to move Gulf Coast hurricane victims out of some 38,000 government-issued trailers as quickly as possible after tests found toxic levels of formaldehyde fumes. Continue reading
Feb 14 If I hear one more presidential (or candidate) speech about the imperative to rescue those poor subprime home owners, I will scream. Question/Comment: Paul, If I hear one more presidential (or candidate) speech about the imperative to rescue those poor subprime home owners, I will scream. Not one economist, not one candidate, no one ever addresses the painfully unregulated and rogue rental… Continue reading
Feb 13 Watch TV Writers Vote to End Union’s 3-Month Strike Members of the Writers Guild of America returned to work Wednesday, after voting to end a 100-day strike that left many out of work and TV shows in reruns. Michael Winship, president of the WGA-East, discusses the details of the… Continue watching
Feb 13 How can such enormous debt be sustainable and what happens to the world economy if the U.S. defaults? By Business Desk Question/Comment: I am a Canadian. Unfortunately, 87 percent of our trade is with America. Consequently, U.S. recessions are felt more deeply in Canada. However, my questions are about the American debt. My understanding is that the debt could reach $10… Continue reading
Feb 12 Watch GM Offers Employee Buyouts After $38.7 Billion in Losses After announcing record annual losses Tuesday, General Motors said that it would offer buyouts for all 74,000 of its union employees -- allowing GM to hire lower-wage workers -- to help reduce costs. New York Times business reporter Micheline Maynard… Continue watching
Feb 12 Watch Billionaire Buffett Offers to Help Insure Municipal Bonds Billionaire investor Warren Buffett announced Tuesday that he would help shore up three insurance bond firms by offering additional insurance on up to $800 billion in municipal bonds. The Wall Street Journal's David Wessel explains how bond insurers impact Wall… Continue watching
Feb 12 Watch Lenders Sign-on for Plan to Help Prevent Home Foreclosures The Bush Administration and six of the nation's largest banks agreed on a plan Tuesday that would delay some home foreclosures by 30 days, allowing lenders to negotiate more affordable terms. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson discusses the details of the… Continue watching
Feb 12 GM Reports Record Loss, Offers Round of Buyouts By Admin, PBS News Hour In an effort to stave off record losses, General Motors Corp. announced Tuesday it was offering a new round of buyouts to all 74,000 of its U.S. hourly workers represented by the United Auto Workers. Continue reading
Feb 11 Where is the Fed rate cut felt in the economy? Question/Comment: A Fed rate cut presumably has a cost; where is that felt? Paul Solman: Encouraging folks who made bad decisions before – invested stupidly, say, in mortgage-backed securities – to invest stupidly again, since the Fed will bail them… Continue reading
Feb 08 Bush Set to Sign $168B Economic Stimulus Bill By PBS News Hour President Bush said Friday he would sign the $168 billion economic stimulus bill that was passed Thursday by both houses of Congress in a bipartisan effort intended to ward off a possible recession. Continue reading