May 22 Ed Andrews Responds to Criticism in the Blogosphere Paul Solman: Yesterday, free-market enthusiast Megan McArdle, who describes herself as “the tallest female econoblogger” but is more often identified in the blogosphere as a libertarian, devoted a post on theAtlantic.com to Ed Andrews, the… Continue reading
May 22 What Are the Chances the Government Will Profit on the Bank Bailouts? Question: It seems that almost all of the news we hear about the government’s bailout of the banks is negative, as if the American taxpayer will never see another dime of the bailout money again. But isn’t it true… Continue reading
May 20 What Congress’ Credit Card Regulations Could Mean for Cardholders, Companies By Admin, PBS News Hour After clearing Congress, the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights is headed to President Barack Obama's desk to be signed into law by the end of the month. Continue reading
Apr 24 Watch In Slumping Economy, a Shift in Shopping Habits Economics correspondent Paul Solman speaks with author Paco Underhill about how consumer habits have changed during this recession. Continue watching
Apr 23 Watch Obama Calls for Reform of Credit Card Practices President Barack Obama put his support Thursday behind a credit card law that will regulate the sudden rate increases and late fees that cause financial trouble for millions of consumers. A financial reporter mulls the state of U.S. credit and… Continue watching
Apr 20 How Should We Interpret the String of Positive Earnings Reports from U.S. Banks? Question: After three major banks – Citigroup, JP Morgan, and Goldman Sachs – announced better-than-expected earnings last week, Bank of America announced more than $4 billion in first-quarter profits today. How should we interpret this string of good earnings reports?… Continue reading
Apr 16 Watch Foreclosures Rise in New Sign of Housing Market Trouble New government numbers show that home foreclosures increased 24 percent in the first quarter of this year as compared to the first quarter of 2008 as a voluntary foreclosure moratorium ended on March 31. Analysts discuss the data and the… Continue watching
Mar 31 Watch G20 Leaders to Tout Competing Ideas on Recovery Some European leaders are at odds with President Obama's economic agenda, which encourages more stimulus spending. Analysts assess the challenges at this week's G20 summit. Continue watching
Mar 27 Was Depression-Era Debt as High as It Is Now? Question: When we hear comparisons between today’s economy and that of the Great Depression, I wonder: Had as many people and institutions been as highly leveraged then as now? Were personal and institutional debt as high then as they are… Continue reading
Mar 24 With Budget Fight Brewing, Obama Defends Economic Recovery Plan By PBS News Hour In his continuing public campaign of interviews and speeches, President Obama pledged Tuesday to fight for spending initiatives in his $3.6 trillion budget and defended efforts to stabilize the faltering economy. Continue reading