Apr 29 Will oil ever be priced in a currency other than dollars? Question/Comment: Has there been a shift from petrodollars to petroeuros in world energy trading? I read that such a shift would result in less demand for the dollar, resulting in a drop in the dollar's value. Paul Solman: "Petrodollars" was… Continue reading
Apr 29 Can Fed come up with a better system for encouraging long-term savings? By Business Desk Question/Comment: I inherited some money, retired, and moved to Portland, Ore. Now that I have money in the bank, and the Fed has been lowering interest rates, I've been wondering exactly how our banking system actually works. When the Fed… Continue reading
Apr 29 Number of Homes Headed to Foreclosure Doubles By Admin, PBS News Hour The number of U.S. homes headed toward foreclosure in the first quarter of the year more than doubled from the same period a year ago, a real estate data firm announced Tuesday. Continue reading
Apr 25 Medicare's trust fund to run out by 2019? Then what? Question/Comment: Typically the Paul Solman features on the NewsHour are always among the show's most trenchant and perceptive. That is why I have been hoping that you could do a feature explaining the present financial situation of the Medicare Program. Continue reading
Apr 25 Doesn't Bear Sterns hiding of their problems while continuing to sell mortgage-backed securities as if all was well constitute fraud? Question/Comment: Bear Sterns did not go under overnight. Unless they are incompetent, the executives must have known what was happening for at least a year, maybe longer. So how come they took hundreds of millions in salary and bonuses (maybe… Continue reading
Apr 24 Ford Posts Surprise $100M Quarterly Profit By PBS News Hour Ford Motor Co. surprised Wall Street Thursday when it announced a $100 million profit for the first quarter, marking the automaker's first profitable quarter since the spring of last year. Continue reading
Apr 23 Watch As Food Prices Soar, U.N. Calls for International Help The head of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization urged help Wednesday for countries affected by a global food crisis caused by sharp increases in the prices of rice and wheat. Experts discuss the causes and consequences of high food… Continue watching
Apr 23 In this current financial mess, why do we not hear anything being said about the repeal of Glass-Steagall? This installment’s “guest vetter” is Robert Glauber of Harvard University. He led the Brady Commission in studying the 1987 stock market crash, was undersecretary of the Treasury for the first President Bush and, until recently, served as chairman of the… Continue reading
Apr 23 Global Food Prices Dubbed a 'Silent Tsunami' By PBS News Hour The global food shortage and soaring cost of staple foods is a "silent tsunami," the U.N. World Food Program said Tuesday, before a food summit hosted by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to discuss the growing crisis. Continue reading
Apr 22 Clinton Fights on after Much-Needed Pa. Victory By PBS News Hour Facing another must-win political battle, Sen. Hillary Clinton emerged victorious Tuesday in the Pennsylvania Democratic primary, but it's unclear how much the victory will help close her delegate deficit against the better-funded Sen. Barack Obama. Continue reading