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
Mar 17 New Home Construction Jumps as Wholesale Prices Edge Up By PBS News Hour The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that construction of new homes and apartments jumped 22.2 percent in February compared with January, pushing total activity to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 583,000 units. Continue reading
Mar 09 What's the Total Wealth of the United States? Question: With all this economic turmoil and talk of trillions of dollars, my question is: What is the total wealth of the United States? If the total U.S. wealth is, say, $100,000 trillion, then spending $1 trillion to help banks… Continue reading
Mar 04 New Details Emerge on Mortgage Relief Plan By Admin, PBS News Hour The Obama administration on Wednesday announced new details on its $75 billion mortgage relief plan to help those in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure. Continue reading
Mar 03 Obama, Brown Praise Relations, Assess the Economic Crisis By Admin, PBS News Hour President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Tuesday hailed the "special relationship" between their countries as the two held talks on how to solve the economic crisis reverberating around the globe. Continue reading
Feb 25 Are We Overreacting to Unemployment Numbers? Question/Comment: In the early ’80’s unemployment was over 10 percent. I’m old enough to remember what the economy was like at that time. It wasn’t pretty given interest rates, but on the other hand we weren’t considering massive government funding… Continue reading
Feb 20 Watch Investors' Hopes for Turnaround Dim as Markets Plummet As fears over the economic crisis continue to erode investors' confidence, markets at home and abroad are feeling the effects. Financial analysts discuss how the markets relate to the realities of the economic turmoil. Continue watching
Feb 19 Watch Public, Bankers, Analysts Debate Merits of Obama's Foreclosure Plan Reaction in the banking world and among the public to President Barack Obama's plan to ease home foreclosures has proven mixed. Analysts debate the plan's merits and examine what the measure may mean for homeowners and lenders. Continue watching