Mar 28 Economic Forecasters: Crow or Eat Crow By Elizabeth Shell Name: Dr. Gene Audette Question: Every year it's prognostications, prognostications. But seldom do "columns" like yours do a retrospective to compare what was predicted to what actually occurred, and to get the same prognosticator to have to defend his/her predictions… Continue reading
Jan 07 Watch Jobless Reading Holds Bright Spots, But Many Quit Searching Employers added 103,000 new jobs in December and unemployment dropped to 9.4%, but the recovery fell short of forecasts. Judy Woodruff looks behind the numbers with Catherine Mann of Brandeis University and John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas,… Continue watching
Oct 11 Watch Economists Earn Nobel Prize for Asking How Job Market Works Two Americans and a British-Cypriot won the Nobel Prize in Economics in recognition of their research into why markets often don't work as expected -- particularly the job market. Jeffrey Brown talks to Catherine Rampell of the New York Times… Continue watching
Feb 04 Watch Stand-up Economist Finds the Light Side of a ‘Dismal Science’ Economics isn't exactly a side-splitting discipline, but at a recent economics convention in Atlanta, self-proclaimed "stand-up economist" Yoram Bauman showed it's possible to infuse the sober science with monetary mirth. Continue watching
Jan 08 Watch Job Growth Stalls as Economic Outlook Remains Murky The unemployment rate held steady at 10 percent in December, according to new figures released Friday. As part of his continuing series of reports on making sense of the economy, Paul Solman travels to Atlanta to gauge the hiring outlook… Continue watching
Jul 31 U.S. Economy Shrinks Less Than Expected By Dave Gustafson The U.S. economy sank at a pace of just 1 percent in the second quarter of the year, the Commerce Department reported Friday, in a better-than-expected showing that the recession could be winding down. Continue reading
Apr 27 When Will Any Housing Recovery Reach Small Businesses and Contractors? Question: The housing downturn has affected not only large builders, but also small businesses and contractors that support and supply them. How long will any recovery take for these sort of businesses? Paul Solman: I’m sort of a broken CD… Continue reading
Mar 30 Will We Still Reject Materialism After the Downturn? Question: I enjoyed your recent interview with Robert McElvaine. (Editor’s note: Watch the interview below.) His thesis that the downturn will lead us away from consumption as a way of life to what really matters is interesting. Am I… Continue reading
Mar 23 Should the Government Break Up Big Banks Into Smaller Ones? Question: Can the government loan the FDIC money (which banks will pay back through the FDIC) to take over Citibank and Bank of America, et al., pay off… Continue reading
Feb 13 Should the Government Give Money to Consumers to Pay Off Credit Cards, Mortgages? Editor’s Note: Paul recently answered “Five Good Questions” on the economy for the PBS Engage blog. You will also be able to find those answers here on the Business Desk all week. Question/Comment:… Continue reading