Aug 16 Europe's Stuttering Economy By Paul Solman With the eurozone in such obvious economic turmoil, we turn to former chief IMF economist and longtime friend and favorite of Making Sen$e, Simon Johnson (Peterson Institute, MIT). We asked him a series of pressing questions: Paul Solman: Is… Continue reading
Aug 15 Watch News Wrap: Google Plans $12.5 Billion Takeover of Motorola Mobility In other news Monday, Google announced its largest-ever acquisition with the planned purchase of Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. The cellphone maker controls thousands of patents and builds devices that run on Google's Android platform. Also, a wave of bombings… Continue watching
Aug 15 In Defense of Flogging: Controversial Conversation on Prisons and Punishment By Paul Solman We were curious: is flogging -- beating someone solidly on the behind with a wooden cane -- a reasonable, effective alternative to sending that person to jail for two, five, 10 years? That's exactly what Peter Moskos, a police… Continue reading
Aug 13 Big Think: 5 Takeaways From Economists After Market's Wild Ride It may not be nearly as bad as the financial crisis of 2008, but this was undoubtedly the most frenzied week on the markets since then. And yet while we spent much of our week asking people to… Continue reading
Aug 12 Rural Post Offices on Shaky Ground More than 3,500 post offices are being evaluated for potential closure. Photo by AFP/Getty. If you blink, you might miss it. That's how the Postmaster in Parshall, Colo., Grant Burger, described his town recently. In fact, photographer Brian Gill… Continue reading
Aug 12 Wealth Quiz: How Does the U.S. Slice the Pie? By Paul Solman Update: Watch Land of the Free, Home of the Poor and Americans Facing More Inequality, More Debt and Now More Trouble? to see the first two parts of Paul Solman's ongoing series of reports on U.S. economic inequality. Continue reading
Aug 11 Watch Uncertainty, Computerized Trading Fuel Wall Street's Wild Ride American markets once again dramatically reversed course Thursday with the Dow Jones industrial average gaining more than 400 points. Judy Woodruff discusses what's behind the latest wild day for Wall Street with Catherine Mann of Brandeis University and Andrew Ross… Continue watching
Aug 10 Watch Romer: Obama Should Push for Bold 2-Part Stimulus to Lift Economy The Dow Jones industrial average dropped by triple digits for the fourth time in just over a week, as market volatility reached near-record levels. Judy Woodruff discusses what's causing the market jitters and what could be done to calm them… Continue watching
Aug 10 Dow Closes Down 520 Points, Reverses Tuesday Gains The rollercoaster stock market took another downward turn Wednesday, with the Dow closing down 520 points, wiping out Tuesday's recovery from a 600-point dip on Monday. The bad news comes after a Tuesday announcement by the Federal… Continue reading
Aug 10 Another Take on a Volatile Market By Paul Solman Financial professionals work the phones on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City. Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images. Sorry I didn't post Tuesday, amidst all the turmoil. I was giving a speech at Chautauqua,… Continue reading