Mar 04 Watch Falling Dollar Pushes Oil Prices Up, Weakening Economy As the value of the dollar falls, the price of imported oil rises, which impacts costs from the gas pump to the grocery store. A reporter from the Wall Street Journal examines the current state of oil prices. Continue watching
Mar 04 Watch Dollar's Falling Value Ripples Through U.S. Economy As the value of the dollar has fallen, the U.S. economy has had to adjust in a multitude of areas. While some sectors have benefitted from cheaper U.S. exports, others have felt the pinch of inflation. Paul Solman examines the… Continue watching
Mar 04 Do you think that overproduction or declining profit rates have contributed to the present subprime loan crisis? Question/Comment: Karl Marx, in his work “Capital,” alluded to the idea that overproduction contributed to a general historical tendency of capitalism to be undermined by declining returns on capital. Do you think that overproduction or declining profit rates have contributed… Continue reading
Mar 04 Do I receive a rebate if my only income is social security? Question/Comment: The only income I have is social security. Do I have to file my social security in order to get the rebate or will I get it automatically? Do I receive a rebate? Paul Solman: This Internal Revenue… Continue reading
Mar 03 Looking to Help Ailing Cities, Ohio Mayors Split Over Democratic Nomination By PBS News Hour In a county west of Cleveland, the mayors of two remarkably similar Ohio cities have endorsed different Democratic candidates in Tuesday's presidential primary -- highlighting just how tough the choice is for many voters in the state. Continue reading
Feb 26 Consumer Confidence Drop Among Economic Woes By Admin, PBS News Hour Consumer confidence and home prices plunged while wholesale inflation and home foreclosures jumped, a swath of new negative U.S. economic reports showed Tuesday. Continue reading
Feb 22 Do countries such as China react to counter downward trends in the U.S. economy? Question/Comment: Do countries such as China, which are so dependent on a healthy stable U.S. economy, react to counter downward trends in the U.S. economy (e.g., recession)? If so, what kinds of steps do they take? Paul Solman: Yes,… Continue reading
Feb 20 Watch Consumer Price Index Reports Unexpected Inflation Rise The Consumer Price Index, the Labor Department's yardstick of inflation, indicated greater inflation in January than had been anticipated. Paul Solman discusses how the CPI determines inflation and the meaning of this new report. Continue watching
Feb 20 Inflation Grew in Jan., Led by Food, Health Costs By PBS News Hour Inflation jumped by a bigger-than-expected amount in January, with large increases in the cost of food and health care, the government reported Wednesday. Continue reading
Feb 19 How much of the U.S. economic problems are caused by the deficit and what percentage of the deficit is the Iraq war? Question/Comment: 1. How much of the U.S. economic problems are caused by the deficit? 2. What percentage of the deficit is the Iraq war? 3. How can the U.S. ever pay off the deficit, and how… Continue reading