Jul 21 Watch News Wrap: Bernanke Promises to Bolster Recovery If Needed In other news Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke voiced concern about slow economic growth, saying the Fed would take action if needed to help the U.S. economic recovery along. Continue watching
Sep 10 How Can I Preserve, Protect, and Grow My Savings? Question: How should 65-year-olds be preserving their finances in order to make it to 90 without going into the poor house? We’ve lost a big chunk in the market; the savings we have is getting no interest. How can we… Continue reading
Aug 14 Who Gets the Interest on U.S. Government Debt? Question: We have a $12 trillion dollar debt and add to it pretty much every year. How does that work? I take on debt to buy, say, a car and I pay interest to the bank that loaned me… 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
Jun 16 Why Doesn’t the Government Simply Give Households Lots of Money to Stimulate the Economy? Question: One of the most popular suggestions I’ve heard for stimulating the economy is the federal government should give every household one or two million dollars. Would that work or would it create hyperinflation? Paul Solman: Let’s not be profligate… Continue reading
Jun 12 Watch Finance Fallacy: Stocks in the Long Run Financial advice is often loaded with misconceptions and misinformation. In the latest edition of Finance Fallacy, Paul Solman and Boston University professor Zvi Bodie debunk the belief that investing in stocks is the safest, smartest route to financial security over… Continue watching
May 04 How Are Banks Profiting on Mortgage Refinancing? Question: Banks like Wells Fargo and JP Morgan recently announced better-than-expected profits. The given reason is that they are making money on the refinancing of mortgages. Doesn’t mortgage refinancing imply lower rates of interest and repayment? How can they be… Continue reading
Apr 07 Why Is Deflation Bad? Question: Why is deflation so bad? I have certainly benefited from the drop in gas prices, so I wonder what is wrong with things becoming cheaper in general? And wouldn’t that make up for previous inflation? Paul Solman: Another good… Continue reading
Apr 07 Why Does the United States Have to Borrow Money From Other Countries? Question: If the federal government (and/or Treasury) can just create money, why does it have to borrow it from other countries? Paul Solman: Great question. Because it’s so cheap to do so right now, the thinking goes, why… Continue reading
Apr 02 How Does the Student Loan Landscape Look? Question: With the way things are right now, how does it look in the future for taking out student loans? For instance, if I take out a student loan in the next two years, how much is that going to… Continue reading