May 04 A Dark Abyss of Blessing or Curse By Elizabeth Shell Name: Hillhopper Question: I just listened to a business executive on TV say that the investment he made would return in three years based on fuel savings. Why is it that people that make financial decisions are not math savvy?… Continue reading
Apr 27 Watch Bernanke Spotlights Political, Economic Challenges in Historic News Conference In hopes of further revamping the Fed's secretive image, Chairman Ben Bernanke held the first-ever regularly scheduled news conference in its 98-year history. Jeffrey Brown discusses his remarks with Columbia University's Joseph Stiglitz and Matthew Slaughter, who served on the… Continue watching
Apr 27 The Obamas Gave $131,000 to Fisher House Foundation in 2010; What Is It? By Paul Solman Photo of President Obama by Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images Editor's Note: The Obama document du jour may be the President's birth certificate, but here on the Business Desk we've been looking into another document: the First Family's tax return. Last… Continue reading
Apr 25 Should Banks Modify Home Loans to Today’s Home Values? By Paul Solman Photo: Getty Images. Paul Solman answers questions from NewsHour viewers and readers on business and economic news most days on his Making Sen$e page. Here's Monday's query: Name: Charles Robertson Question: The media estimate 5 to 8 million houses… Continue reading
Apr 25 Should Banks Modify Home Loans to Today’s Home Values? Name: Charles Robertson Question: The media estimates 5 to 8 million houses are currently underwater or at some point in the foreclosure process, and housing values have declined 25 percent. If one million homes were put on the market in… Continue reading
Apr 22 Our National Debt: Political Gamesmanship or a Game of Chicken? By Paul Solman A graphic chronicle of debt ceiling hikes from Bloomberg Businessweek. For the record, it doesn't seem like either 'political gamesmanship' or a game of chicken, so much as a vivid illustration of how and why the national… Continue reading
Apr 20 What Happens to Us Codgers if the Debt Limit Isn’t Raised? By Elizabeth Shell We reported last week on the fear and trembling of bond vigilantism, real or imagined -- that the bond market would punish the country for profligacy by raising the interest it demanded to lend us money, thus making everything… Continue reading
Apr 20 What Happens to Us Codgers if the Debt Limit Isn’t Raised? By Paul Solman We reported last week on the fear and trembling of bond vigilantism, real or imagined -- that the bond market would punish the country for profligacy by raising the interest it demanded to lend us money, thus making everything… Continue reading
Apr 18 Watch In Downgrading U.S. Rating, Standard & Poor’s Fires ‘Warning Shot’ Jitters in Markets After Ratings Agency Downgrades U.S. Debt… Continue watching
Apr 18 Making Sen$e: How Much Did President Obama Make in 2010? By Paul Solman Editor's Note: The First Family's 2010 tax return was released today. We've pulled out some of the more interesting numbers in a graphic. Here's the snapshot: the Obamas reported an adjusted gross income of $1,728,096, about $3.78… Continue reading