Jul 01 A Chat With the Prime Minister of Greece Paul Solman: Just had an extended chat with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou here in Athens, where we’ve come (from Spain) on a trip to look at the European economic crisis in the last two letters of the so-called… Continue reading
Jun 30 How Will the Unequal Distribution of Wealth in the U.S. Affect Economic Recovery? Question: If the USA has the largest unequal distribution of wealth of any industrial nation, what will this do for the recovery? Paul Solman: Intriguing question. There are those who argue that the crisis… Continue reading
Jun 29 Web Extra: Taleb and Roubini on Government Intervention Paul Solman: While we were interviewing America’s two most prominent doomsters a few weeks ago, Nassim “Black Swan” Taleb and Nouriel “housing crisis” Roubini, the two got into an argument. It was friendly enough — they admire each other —… Continue reading
Jun 29 Nassim Taleb Answers Viewer Questions Editor’s Note: Last week, we aired an interview with economists Nassim Taleb and Nouriel Roubini. Afterward, the two agreed to answer some viewer questions on this site. Unfortunately, due to an unexpected scheduling conflict, Nouriel Roubini was unable… Continue reading
Jun 28 Are Treasury Bonds a Safe Haven? Question: Re: your recent interview with Nouriel Roubini on sovereign debt and the possibility of a U.S. government bond default, would inflation linked U.S. Treasury bonds be a safe haven? Paul Solman: As I’ve written here before,… Continue reading
Jun 25 Why Don’t Equity Funds and Large Companies Invest in Small Businesses? Editor’s Note: This post continues a conversation begun yesterday about Paul Solman’s recent report on the small business credit crunch — which included a scene of “chicken chase” that some viewers found upsetting. Question: I like chickens too… Continue reading
Jun 23 A Letter From One of the Millions of Unemployed Paul Solman: I received a remarkable message the other day from a longtime e-mail correspondent and it seems worth sharing portions of it on this page. This is what the current job picture feels like for some (many? most? all?)… Continue reading
Jun 22 A Profit Motive for BP? Question: There is a fortune in oil under the gulf and BP has already put a lot of time, effort and money into getting it. They would be crazy to just cap it if they can get it to a… Continue reading
Jun 21 Credit Crunch Continues for Small Businesses Editor’s note: Updated on June 21: On Monday’s NewsHour, we’ll have a story on how small businesses in Springfield, Mo. say they are still struggling to get the credit they need — and the manufacturing firm Springfield Remanufacturing (… Continue reading
Jun 17 Do Federal Statistics Mask the True Unemployment Rate? Question: You are already in depression territory, not approachment. The statistic from the BLS is one of the reasons the economic crisis went undetected for so long — an economic indicator that is deceptive. Continue reading