Aug 17 Wessel Answers Questions on the Changing Fed By Carolyn O'Hara A year after Wall Street went into a tailspin, the Fed continues to take unprecedented steps to revive the economy. David Wessel has penned a book about Ben Bernanke and the changing role of the Fed. He answered questions in… Continue reading
Aug 12 Where Are Toxic Assets Now? Question: TARP was originally proposed to deal with “toxic assets” to unclog the books of financial institutions and prevent them from becoming insolvent. The toxic assets to date have not been bought up, so… Continue reading
Aug 11 Did Hank Paulson Just Want to Save Goldman Sachs? By Business Desk Question: [In the Bernanke on the Record forum hosted by the NewsHour,] Chairman Bernanke did not mention the bailout of Goldman Sachs — the first bank to receive such funds. Was it more critical to the survival of the… Continue reading
Aug 10 What Are Warrants Issued by Financial Institutions? Question: If you have not already done so, would you please explain the warrants that seem to be troubling the financial institutions at the moment? If you’ve already done so, I apologize for asking unnecessarily. Paul Solman: Hey, even if… Continue reading
Aug 07 Watch Job Losses Ease in July, but Economic Picture Still Mixed The U.S. economy shed fewer jobs than expected in July, according to new Labor Department figures. Experts discuss what the data says about the job market and an economic recovery. Continue watching
Aug 06 If Banks Just Changed Their Accounting Rules, Why Do They Need Bailout Money? Question: If the banks are doing just hunky-dory due to the change in accounting rules, then why do they need any bailout money? Paul Solman: Hunky-dory? You might find this online etymology of the term amusing. I have to… Continue reading
Jul 30 How Can the Repaid TARP Money Be Used? Question: Is the $68 billion that big banks are paying back in TARP money going back to the taxpayer or can it be reused by the Treasury in some of its other schemes (e.g. Continue reading
Jul 29 What About Banks That Didn’t Take TARP Money? By Business Desk Question: Thank you for your illuminating illustration of the fiasco involving our banks on PBS. How many banks in this country did not take TARP money and why… Continue reading
Jul 28 Tales From the Fed: Blinder on the Fallout from Lehman’s Failure By Business Desk Paul Solman: All this week, we’re posting excerpts of interviews we did with former Fed officials on the economic crisis and the Fed’s evolving role in the economy. The series is in conjunction with the NewsHour’s hour-long public forum… Continue reading
Jul 27 Watch At Forum, Bernanke Defends Fed’s Aggressive Moves At a forum in Kansas City, Mo., Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke discussed the central bank's actions in handling the economic crisis, saying he did not want to be the Fed chief who "presided over the second Great Depression." Here… Continue watching