Dec 03 Will these fringe technologies become the future of clean energy? By Vikram Mansharamani As the public and private sectors collaborate on energy and climate matters to help slow carbon emissions, it is worth pondering other technologies and how they may affect the future of energy. Continue reading
Dec 02 A procrastinator’s guide to navigating Medicare open enrollment By Philip Moeller Medicare’s annual open enrollment period ends on Dec. 7. Have you signed up?… Continue reading
Dec 01 How Europe’s insatiable thirst for beaver hats drove trade between the Native Americans and colonists By Paul Solman In 17th century New Plymouth, the pilgrims’ trade with the Natives focused on the three F’s: fur, fish and forests. Continue reading
Nov 27 Why it’s OK to splurge on Black Friday, according to a behavioral economist By Kristen Doerer Dan Ariely says go ahead, buy that new ski jacket on Black Friday. As a behavioral economist at Duke University, he's studied how people can successfully indulge one day, and then resume normal spending practices for the rest of the… Continue reading
Nov 26 Watch 8:20 Were pilgrims America’s original economic migrants? By PBS News Hour Four hundred years ago, a group of pilgrims founded a colony in Plymouth. But what did they hope to accomplish there, how did they live? Economics correspondent Paul Solman jumps back in time to interview some of these early settlers… Continue watching
Nov 26 What you didn’t know about the pilgrims: They had massive debt By Ruth A. McIntyre About 70 investors, known as merchant “adventurers,” pooled together capital and funded the pilgrims' passage. They expected, of course, a return on their investment. Continue reading
Nov 25 Why health savings accounts and Medicare don’t mix By Philip Moeller Journalist Philip Moeller, who writes widely on health and retirement, is here to provide the Medicare answers you need in “Ask Phil, the Medicare Maven.” Send your questions to Phil. Continue reading
Nov 24 Column: Widows lose thousands in Social Security benefits due to misinformation By Laurence Kotlikoff A Social Security whistleblower claims that widows are losing thousands due to agency mistakes. Continue reading
Nov 24 Move over turkey. Here comes the Thanksgiving ham By Vikram Mansharamani Can you imagine a Christmas ham on your Thanksgiving dinner table in place of the traditional turkey? It’s a scenario some agricultural economists have been worrying about for months. Continue reading
Nov 23 One startup’s solution to your student loan debt By Cristina Quinn A Boston startup wants to help you tackle your student loan debt — by having your boss foot part of the bill. Continue reading