Dec 15 Watch Obama Unveils Environmental, Energy Policy Team President-elect Barack Obama named a former head of the EPA and a Nobel prize-winning scientist to his energy and environmental policy teams Monday. Analysts discuss how Obama's picks will carry out his agenda. Continue watching
Dec 11 Watch Despite Growing Audience, NPR Cuts Programming, Staff Amid Economic Troubles National Public Radio announced Wednesday that it will cancel two programs and lay off 64 staff members -- its first staff cuts in 25 years. Ellen Weiss, NPR's senior vice president for news, discusses the cuts and the recession's worsening… Continue watching
Dec 11 U.S. Unemployment Claims Hit 26-Year High By Admin, PBS News Hour More than 570,000 people filed initial applications for jobless benefits during the first week of December, the highest one-week filing rate in 26-years, the Labor Department said Thursday. Continue reading
Dec 10 Watch Investors Turn to Low-risk Securities With Little Return As economic turmoil continues to rock the financial market, some investors are more willing to buy U.S. Treasury securities with low or zero yields in the short term. Analysts examine how the struggling economy is driving investors to minimal-risk investments. Continue watching
Dec 10 What is Free Trade? Question/Comment: What is free trade? I know the simple answer, no tariffs. But if a government subsidizes the production of a product or provides subsidies to farmers isn’t this interfering with the intent of the process? Paul Solman: Free trade… Continue reading
Dec 09 Watch College Students Squeezed by Rising Costs, Less Aid More college students and their families are struggling to afford tuition at public institutions due to increasing costs and state funding cuts in education. John Tulenko of Learning Matters Television takes a look at the impact of rising higher education… Continue watching
Dec 08 Markets See Early Lift on Infrastructure, Auto Bailout Plans By Admin, PBS News Hour U.S. stocks enjoyed an upbeat opening Monday as investors reacted to President-elect Barack Obama's plan to launch an infrastructure spending package to boost job growth and news that a deal on bailing out Detroit's Big Three automakers may be near. Continue reading
Dec 05 Watch Economy’s Stumbles, Obama’s Cabinet Top Week’s News Columnists David Brooks and Ruth Marcus weigh the news of the week, including rising job losses, the auto industry bailout and President-elect Barack Obama's latest Cabinet picks. Continue watching
Dec 05 Watch Soaring Job Losses May Signal Deepening Recession U.S. employers cut 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years, pushing the unemployment rate to 6.7 percent. Columnist Steven Pearlstein and economist Lakshman Achuthan examine what the new job figures indicate. Continue watching
Dec 05 The Economy, Your Pocketbook and the Recession Paul Solman: Forgive me for not responding to questions for a few days, but among other things, I’ve been trying to analyze the results of poll posted here recently: How is the Economy Affecting Your Pocketbook? Click on “Comments”… Continue reading