Economy Sep 14 Reporting the Crisis Paul Solman: This week marks the anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers and one of the most extraordinarily tumultuous weeks Wall Street has ever had. So, in reflecting on those events and the subsequent year, I thought I’d offer… By Business Desk
Arts Jul 14 Simon Johnson on China and the U.S. Economy Paul Solman: The second in this week’s series of video exchanges with Simon Johnson of the Peterson Institute of Economics, MIT, and (formerly) the IMF, concerns China. By Business Desk
Economy Apr 10 Why Doesn’t the Treasury Turn Over Banks to the FDIC for Inspection? Question: Why didn’t the U.S. Treasury turn over the banks to the FDIC and let the FDIC do an audit and dispose of the rotten assets? Paul Solman:…
Economy Mar 27 How Can Assets Be Toxic If They Were Insured? Question: Why does everyone avoid discussions about PMI (Personal Mortgage Insurance), which protects the lenders from loss and is required on all loans with less than 20 percent down (except VA & Federal Housing…
Dec 08 If Big Companies Need Help, Then Why Do the CEO’s Still Get Huge Bonuses? Question/Comment: I am writing this with my mom’s permission. I am 12 years old and my question is if companies like Freddie and Fannie needs government help to bail them out, then how come the… Continue reading
Nov 05 My conservative friends are convinced that this economic mess is the result of changes to Fannie and Freddie’s lending policies forced on them by the Democrats. Question/Comment: My conservative friends are convinced that this economic mess is the result of changes to Fannie and Freddie’s lending policies forced on them by the Democrats. My own theory identifies our chronic balance of payments as the chief culprit. Continue reading
Sep 25 What regulations do you think would possibly fix this situation? Question/Comment: I’m concerned that your viewers are going to come away from this discussion thinking that the market is to blame. The risky investments you refer to at the root of this problem were ones that the government mandated, ones… Continue reading