Oct 15 Are the Latest Foreclosure Numbers Good News or Bad News? The Business Desk: The headline on Bloomberg’s foreclosure story this morning: “U.S. Foreclosure Filings Jump 23% to Record in Third Quarter.” The headline on Reuters: “Foreclosures Fall for Second Straight Month.” Both it turns out, are correct. But don’t… Continue reading
Oct 15 Watch Making Sense of the Foreclosure Crisis In the latest in a series of reports making sense of the economy, NewsHour economics correspondent Paul Solman examines the ongoing foreclosure crisis. Continue watching
Jul 23 Watch Other News: Dow Closes Over the 9,000 Mark In other news, better-than-expected earnings from several companies, combined with strong housing figures pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 9,000 for the first time since January, and three mayors in New Jersey were arrested on corruption charges. Continue watching
Jul 16 How is the U.S. Savings Rate Determined? Question: How is the U.S. savings rate, which has gone from near zero percent in the past to 6.9 percent recently, determined? And a more elaborate question: Is it truly the difference between what is earned and what is… Continue reading
Jun 26 Did U.S. Tax Policy Contribute to the Housing Bubble? Question: How much does (did) federal tax policy contribute to the housing bubble? If it was a contributing factor, how should that policy be reformed? Paul Solman: Not much, I wouldn’t think. Tax deductibility of mortgage interest has been… Continue reading
May 21 How One Economics Reporter Experienced His Own Mortgage Meltdown Paul Solman: Who knew? I’ve been reading Ed Andrews since he took over the New York Times patents column back in the late 1980s, and I followed him following the housing crisis. But until the… Continue reading
May 20 Why Were Banks Allowed to Bet on Derivatives? Question: How did the dollar volume of U.S. mortgages get to be such a huge dollar problem? Did derivatives do that? Why are investment banks allowed to bet 34 dollars for only one they have? Paul Solman: First, a word… Continue reading
May 07 What Is a Stress Test? Why Are They Being Done? Question: What are the stress tests? And why are they being done? Paul Solman: A stress tests is simply an analysis of a bank’s balance sheet. To determine what? Whether the bank is viable as a business. Or likely to… Continue reading
Apr 27 When Will Any Housing Recovery Reach Small Businesses and Contractors? Question: The housing downturn has affected not only large builders, but also small businesses and contractors that support and supply them. How long will any recovery take for these sort of businesses? Paul Solman: I’m sort of a broken CD… Continue reading
Apr 16 Housing Market Continues to Stumble By PBS News Hour New home starts fell more than 10 percent in March, according to new government numbers released Thursday, while foreclosures surged 24 percent in the first quarter of the year. Continue reading