Feb 16 The Pleistocene investor who predicted Dow 5K: How does 18K feel? By Terry Burnham Economist Terry Burnham is well know for predicting that the Dow would hit 5,000 before it hit 20,000. Now that the Dow has closed above 18,000, Burnham isn't abandoning his forecast, but he is speaking openly about the physical and… Continue reading
Feb 16 How to get what’s yours from Social Security By Laurence Kotlikoff, Philip Moeller, Paul Solman One day while playing tennis, Social Security expert Larry Kotlikoff informed Paul Solman about a strategy for maximizing the benefits that he and his wife were eligible to collect. They decided everyone else should know that secret, too, and are… Continue reading
Feb 15 Watch 3:37 Is the economic impact of the labor disputes at West Coast ports just hype? By PBS News Hour A labor dispute between shipowners and longshoreman on the West Coast has been going on for months now. This weekend, the president dispatched labor secretary Thomas Perez to California to try to resolve it. For more, economist Christopher Thornberg joins… Continue watching
Feb 15 Labor secretary to mediate West Coast port dispute By Associated Press President Barack Obama is sending his labor secretary to California to meet with both sides in a contract dispute that has affected the flow of goods from Asia into West Coast ports. Continue reading
Feb 14 Watch 1:52 Viewers respond to manufacturing boom in Columbus, Mississippi By PBS News Hour Alison Stewart reads viewer comments about a recent report about a manufacturing boom in the South that has prompted several international companies to open up shop in places like Columbia, Miss., which has been suffering under the effects of poverty… Continue watching
Feb 13 How to get what you want from online dating By Paul Solman Looking for love for Valentine's Day? In this Q&A, Paul Solman speaks with OkCupid co-founder Christian Rudder, author of "Dataclysm," about what works and what doesn't on online dating sites. Helpful hint for men: Learn your grammar. Continue reading
Feb 13 How the West got rich and modern capitalism was born By Sven Beckert "We need to qualify the fairy tale we like to tell about capitalism and free labor," argues Harvard historian Sven Beckert, author of the new book, "Empire of Cotton." In part two of his essay on Making Sen$e, he explores… Continue reading
Feb 12 Watch 7:53 Using rational economics to simplify the search for romance By PBS News Hour What can online matchmaking sites teach us about the marketplace? When an economist turned to the Internet to find a date, he found that searching for a life partner isn’t much different from other kinds of shopping. Economics correspondent Paul… Continue watching
Feb 12 The 3 first date questions that will predict your romantic compatibility By Simone Pathe Paul Solman talks to OkCupid co-founder and president Christian Rudder about the three questions that will help you find love. Continue reading
Feb 12 America’s first big business? Not the railroads, but slavery By Sven Beckert For too long, historian Sven Beckert argues, historians have depicted slavery as a non-capitalist "Southern pathology." In his new book, "Empire of Cotton," Beckert shows how slavery was actually at the very roots of modern American capitalism. Continue reading