May 11 What’s the Argument FOR Tax Havens? By Business Desk Question: I understand that President Obama is going after the use of offshore tax havens by U.S. corporations. My gut feeling is that he’s right to do this, but I’ve never really heard both sides of the argument. Is there… Continue reading
May 08 In Case You Missed It: A Racial Divide in Unemployment in East St. Louis Tonight on the NewsHour, Paul Solman traveled to East St. Louis, Illinois, to report on the racial disparity in unemployment. East St. Louis is a case study in African-American unemployment — 16 percent for men there, as it is nationwide… Continue reading
May 08 Making Sen$e of Business, Finance, and Economics No more posts for today or the weekend as we debut (drum roll here, even trumpets, perhaps, or maybe a French overture)…our new Making Sen$e Web site, made possible by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation,… Continue reading
May 07 What Is a Stress Test? Why Are They Being Done? Question: What are the stress tests? And why are they being done? Paul Solman: A stress tests is simply an analysis of a bank’s balance sheet. To determine what? Whether the bank is viable as a business. Or likely to… Continue reading
May 06 Are Examiners Preventing Banks from Lending? Question: I am a commercial mortgage broker in California. I have had nearly every bank recently advise that their examiners are preventing them from lending. How can we get out of this mess if the examiners, in effect, prevent the… Continue reading
May 05 Reader Response: Robert McElvaine on the Great Depression By Business Desk Comment: The coverage of the Great Depression by Robert McElvaine was so one sided it was unbelievable. [Editor’s note: You can watch the segment below.] Yes, the Great Depression was horrible, millions of people were out of work and… Continue reading
May 04 How Are Banks Profiting on Mortgage Refinancing? Question: Banks like Wells Fargo and JP Morgan recently announced better-than-expected profits. The given reason is that they are making money on the refinancing of mortgages. Doesn’t mortgage refinancing imply lower rates of interest and repayment? How can they be… Continue reading
May 01 Is the Auto Crisis Just a Lack of Demand? Question: I don’t understand the auto industry crisis. I infer that it is because we’re in a recession, and not many people are buying cars. Is that all of it, or is there something more? Paul Solman: Are you talking… Continue reading
May 01 How Do We Regulate Credit Rating Agencies? Question: How do we supervise and regulate the credit rating agencies which, so poorly and perhaps illegally overrated so many derivatives? Paul Solman: I don’t know. One proposed reform has been that the investors pay the ratings agencies for… Continue reading
Apr 30 Why Is the Gold Standard a Bad Idea? Question: Why is the gold standard such a bad idea? I know it is a discredited system, but having never studied economics, I don’t understand why. Right now, is our money just some arbitrary amount issued by the Federal Reserve?… Continue reading