Aug 14 Energy, Food Costs Push Consumer Prices up, Fueling Inflation Fears By Admin, PBS News Hour The Labor Department reported a 0.8 percent rise in consumer prices in July -- double the expected rate -- sending inflation on its fastest annual pace in 17 years. Continue reading
Aug 13 Sagging Interest in Motor Vehicles Drives July Retail Sales Down By PBS News Hour Driven down by sagging demand for vehicles, U.S. retail sales had their worst showing in five months in July, according to newly released government figures. Continue reading
Aug 12 Report: Many Companies Able to Avoid Paying U.S. Income Taxes By PBS News Hour Despite trillions of dollars in revenue, a large swath of domestic and foreign corporations paid no U.S. income taxes between 1998 and 2005, according to a government study released Tuesday. Continue reading
Aug 12 Can you explain "moral hazard" in how it increases the cost of health care? Question/Comment: Your report on “moral hazard” was really outstanding. Now, try explaining how it increases the cost of health care. Paul Solman: As with any insurance, if you’re covered for your health, you might take more risks than… Continue reading
Aug 11 What can be done about today's unemployment statistics? Question/Comment: What can be done about the fact that in today’s unemployment statistics, there are only four times as many whites unemployed as blacks, despite there being six times as many whites in the labor force? Paul Solman:… Continue reading
Aug 05 The "experts" all seem to be on the side of the status quo. Why can't we hear from people inside the industry who really want to reform it? Question/Comment: With all the discussion of the mortgage crisis, there is still hardly any mention of actually cleaning up the mortgage industry. The "experts" all seem to be on the side of the status quo, but maybe this is contributing… Continue reading
Aug 05 Fed Opts to Leave Key Interest Rate Unchanged By Admin, PBS News Hour The Federal Reserve decided Tuesday for a second consecutive meeting to keep a key interest rate at 2 percent, saying that overall the economy is doing well despite inflationary fears. Continue reading
Aug 05 Do you believe that some of the run up in oil prices is based on speculation in the commodoties markets? By Business Desk Question/Comment: Do you believe that some of the run up in oil prices is based on speculation in the commodities markets? My understanding is that the amount of funds et al. playing in oil futures has risen more than 70… Continue reading
Aug 04 Why didn't the private mortgage insurance avert the current banking and credit crisis? Question/Comment: Not long ago, writing mortgages required private mortgage insurance (PMI) if the borrower’s equity in the property was below a certain percent of market level. Usually,… Continue reading
Aug 01 How exactly did the banks lose money? Question/Comment: My question about the mortgage crisis is this: how exactly did the banks lose money? It seems that people who put deposits on the loans that were foreclosed upon lost their money, not the banks. The banks… Continue reading