May 26 Is There Any Talk of Reinstating Glass-Steagall? By Business Desk Question: Is there any talk of reinstating the Glass-Steagall Act? Paul Solman: For those who can’t remember as far back as 1933, Glass-Steagall was an act of Congress passed only three months after President Roosevelt took office and… Continue reading
Apr 30 Reader Responses: The Paradox of Thrift You can watch one of Paul’s recent Making $ense pieces, The Paradox of Thrift, below. Here are a few reader reactions and Paul’s responses. Question: I have a question related to your recent segment, Paradox of Thrift: Aren’t the… Continue reading
Apr 22 Where Can I Find Updates on the U.S. Money Supply? Question: The money supply of the United States is such a key economic indicator, why don’t we get a reading of it on a daily basis? It seems like it would be a lot more valuable gauge of the economy… Continue reading
Apr 15 Can We Prepare for Inflation? Editor’s Note: The government reported Wednesday that consumer prices fell in March, indicating a weakened demand for goods and services. But while this price drop raises the specter of deflation, many economists contend that the real risk to… Continue reading
Apr 08 As the Amount of Money in Circulation Increases Rapidly, How Does the Fed Prevent Hyperinflation? By Business Desk Question: If the Fed and Treasury have increased the amount of money in circulation by $1.6 trillion in an effort to stave off deflation in the near term, how does the Fed take this money back out of circulation to… Continue reading
Mar 16 Obama Cites ‘Outrage’ Over AIG Bonuses By PBS News Hour President Barack Obama said Monday that he intends to stop American International Group from paying out millions in executive bonuses, as concern intensified over the insurance giant's handling of federal rescue money. Continue reading
Mar 04 Does the FDIC Really Protect My Deposits? Question: With as much debt as our government is in, does the FDIC really make my bank deposits safe? And if the FDIC had to pay millions of… Continue reading
Oct 30 U.S. Economy Shrinks as Consumers Slow Spending By Admin, PBS News Hour The Commerce Department reported Thursday the economy shrank at an annual rate of 0.3 percent in the July to September period, indicating that a recession may have already begun. Continue reading
Oct 07 Why were there no checks on these fraudulent practices and unscrupulous mortgage brokers? Question/Comment: I have a hard time understanding how some of these mortgages were ever permitted to happen. In particular, mortgages for which absolutely no documentation for verifying income or anything else were required. This allows borrowers to lie on their… Continue reading
Oct 07 For those of us who are not accountants, can you help explain how bad mortgages work? Question/Comment: For the non-accountants among us: Hypothesize that a bank has $1000 in bad mortgages (cdos, etc) that have dropped to $100 in value. How does this adversely affect the bank if it simply holds onto them and no longer… Continue reading