Jan 08 Watch 7:12 Hiring got a bounce in 2015, while wages stayed flat By PBS News Hour The U.S. economy added 2.6 million jobs overall in 2015, part of a two-year gain that was the best since the late '90s. Yet wage growth remained relatively slow. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez explores the final jobs report of… Continue watching
Jan 08 Wolfers on today’s unemployment numbers: ‘yabba dabba doo!’ By Kristen Doerer The U.S. economy added 292,000 jobs in December, and unemployment remained unchanged at 5.0 percent. December’s jobs report was nothing short of stellar. Continue reading
Jan 07 Watch 8:01 Want to be happy? Giving is more gratifying than receiving By PBS News Hour 'Tis better to give than to receive, goes the old saying. But better for whom? Economics correspondent Paul Solman talks with psychology scholars about the ways altruism can benefit those who give. Continue watching
Jan 07 Watch 5:01 What does the market crash say about China’s economy? By PBS News Hour The Chinese stock market dropped 7 percent in the first 29 minutes of trading, before shutting down to stem further losses. China’s second major crash in the past four days drove investor skittishness around the globe, including a Dow loss… Continue watching
Jan 07 Money can buy happiness, especially when you invest it in others By Paul Solman Money can buy happiness — that is, as long as you follow five core principals on how to spend it. Continue reading
Jan 06 Watch 5:36 After a boom year, what’s down the road for the auto industry? By PBS News Hour In 2015, Americans spent roughly $570 billion dollars on more than 17 million cars and trucks, breaking a record set 15 years earlier. But it was also a year of automaker scandal, including a probe into GM's defective ignition switch… Continue watching
Jan 06 Watch 8:26 Fighting the debt trap of triple-digit interest rate payday loans By PBS News Hour Payday loans are supposed to be a short-term quick fix for those who can't get traditional credit. But the loans are rarely actually short-term, and borrowers frequently need to take out a second loan to pay off the first. Special… Continue watching
Jan 06 Watch 3:34 Left behind by banks, poor Americans pay more to borrow By PBS News Hour It’s expensive to be poor. Unable to maintain a minimum balance or provide the necessary ID to open a bank account, many low-income Americans rely on fringe financial services like check cashing stores and payday lenders, which charge interest rates… Continue watching
Jan 06 16 thought-provoking global predictions for 2016 By Vikram Mansharamani How can we possibly navigate the radical uncertainty presented by this chaotic tangle of events and trends?… Continue reading
Jan 06 Overworked and leisure starved, skilled workers move to city center By Making Sen$e Editor Moving closer to city centers is a time-saver for better-educated, better-paid "leisure losers."… Continue reading