Mar 20 Watch Americans Feel Impact of Shaky Economy, Reflect on Race Relations In recent weeks, economic turmoil and the role of race in politics have emerged as top national issues. In the second part of the NewsHour's Big Picture discussion, a group of citizens share their views on the economy and reflect… Continue watching
Mar 18 Watch Fed Cuts Key Interest Rate in Latest Bold Move As fears of a recession intensified, the Federal Reserve cut the federal funds rate 0.75 percent Tuesday. A finance journalist from the Wall Street Journal discusses the rate cut and the markets' response. Continue watching
Mar 04 Watch Falling Dollar Pushes Oil Prices Up, Weakening Economy As the value of the dollar falls, the price of imported oil rises, which impacts costs from the gas pump to the grocery store. A reporter from the Wall Street Journal examines the current state of oil prices. Continue watching
Mar 04 Watch Dollar’s Falling Value Ripples Through U.S. Economy As the value of the dollar has fallen, the U.S. economy has had to adjust in a multitude of areas. While some sectors have benefitted from cheaper U.S. exports, others have felt the pinch of inflation. Paul Solman examines the… Continue watching
Feb 28 Watch Candidates Talk Policy to Texas, Ohio Voters Sens. Barack Obama, D-Ill., Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and John McCain, R-Ariz., made appeals Thursday to Texas and Ohio voters before their March 4 primary contests. Talk on the stump focused on health care, economy and Iraq war policy. Kwame Holman… Continue watching
Feb 28 Watch Congress Divided on Economic Relief, Housing Measures President Bush played down the possibility of recession Thursday, while Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke explained to Congress the difficulties of balancing rising inflation with a slowing economy. Two senators debate proposals to aid the economy, including a supplemental stimulus package… Continue watching
Feb 20 Watch Consumer Price Index Reports Unexpected Inflation Rise The Consumer Price Index, the Labor Department's yardstick of inflation, indicated greater inflation in January than had been anticipated. Paul Solman discusses how the CPI determines inflation and the meaning of this new report. Continue watching
Feb 20 Inflation Grew in Jan., Led by Food, Health Costs By PBS News Hour Inflation jumped by a bigger-than-expected amount in January, with large increases in the cost of food and health care, the government reported Wednesday. Continue reading
Feb 15 What is better, inflation or a recession? Question/Comment: I am a saver whose income is mostly CDs. We seem to be facing both a recession and inflation. Which of those two is better for me? I assume it is recession? Paul Solman: Neither is better for you… Continue reading
Feb 15 It’s been a long time since I took Econ. 101, but as I remember, if you keep printing ever-greater amounts of currency, inflation takes on a life of its own. Question/Comment: It’s been a long time since I took Econ. 101, but as I remember, if you keep printing ever-greater amounts of currency, inflation takes on a life of its own. Isn’t that what we’ve been doing at the rate… Continue reading