Feb 04 A Disjointed Jobs Report and U-7, Month Two By Paul Solman Today's unemployment data are a muddle. The two surveys - of individuals and of employers - seem to say very different things. Unemployment dropped - to 9 percent, according to the "household survey." Three cheers. But the "payroll… Continue reading
Feb 03 AIG and Credit Default Swaps: A Clarification By Paul Solman Paul Solman answers questions from NewsHour viewers and web users on business and economic news most days on his Making Sen$e page. Here's Thursday's query: Name: Merritt Dunn Question: Since the Treasury Department bailed out AIG and… Continue reading
Feb 03 AIG and Credit Default Swaps: A Clarification By Elizabeth Shell Name: Merritt Dunn Question: Since the Treasury Department bailed out AIG and AIG had underwritten a large number of credit default swaps (that I understand pay up if a certain percentage of mortgages in a portfolio go into foreclosure), then… Continue reading
Feb 02 One-Million Car March? By Paul Solman A warning to those expecting EVs (electric vehicles) to clog the roadways anytime soon, or even to meet President Obama's stated goal of one million by 2015: It's not likely to happen, despite the fact that the U.S. has as… Continue reading
Feb 01 Tool$ Tuesday: What’s Your Vehicle’s Carbon ‘Tire-print’? By Paul Solman Today's "Tool$ We Use" features three on the carbon emissions you generate by driving, with a bonus global warming video attached for your viewing discomfort. On the broadcast Monday: a story about electric cars, with a focus… Continue reading
Jan 28 From the Pain in Spain to Taxes in Naxos: Merle Hazard’s Euro-Serenades By Paul Solman All this week we've featured investment advisor Jon Shayne, aka Country-and-Western economist Merle Hazard, warbling his way through the European debt debacle. He started with the pain in Spain and moved on through Erin Go Broke… Continue reading
Jan 27 Ode to Germany: Merle Hazard, Backed by Beethoven By Paul Solman Today’s post introduces the fourth of country singer Merle Hazard’s Euro-shanties, this one taking off on the Ode to Joy from Beethoven’s 9th. Merle (if not Beethoven) will do anything to educationally amuse. So will we. But given the gravity… Continue reading
Jan 27 Paul Solman on the Economics of the Union By Paul Solman What a relief: a SOTU address without the traditional partisan whack-a-mole standing ovations. "Date night's" civility - or, if you prefer, lack of passion - had the virtue of keeping Democrats and Republicans mostly in their seats. (… Continue reading
Jan 26 The ‘Hits’ Just Keep On Coming By Paul Solman By "hits," I mean Merle Hazard's Golden Newbie Euro-crisis Euro-tunes, as well as the Internet views that they've been garnering. Monday's post: The Pain in Spain Falls Plainly from Merle's Brain. Yesterday's: Erin Go Broke. And… Continue reading
Jan 25 Making Sen$e: Erin Go Broke By Paul Solman Today's post puts the economic woes of the Emerald Isle to music. The lyrics are Hazard's, though I confess to have taken crack at them myself and then, at some risk to my ego, sent both sets of lyrics… Continue reading