Aug 06 Are Credit Card Companies Raising Rates to Repay the Government? Question: I received a call from my sister this morning asking me for help regarding her credit card debt. According to her bank and credit card issuers, they are raising their credit card interest rates because they have to pay… Continue reading
Jul 30 How Can the Repaid TARP Money Be Used? Question: Is the $68 billion that big banks are paying back in TARP money going back to the taxpayer or can it be reused by the Treasury in some of its other schemes (e.g. Continue reading
Jul 24 Should the Government Set Up a National Lottery? Question: No one wants to pay higher taxes. But at the same time, many people don’t think twice about spending a few dollars a week on a lottery ticket. Why doesn’t the government set up a National Lottery to supplement… Continue reading
Jul 13 Is California Printing Its Own Money? Question: Is California printing its own money? Paul Solman: Funny you should ask. The State of California Franchise Tax Board website currently features this statement: “We will accept registered warrants…towards the payment of tax liabilities.” State taxes, of… Continue reading
Jun 29 What Do You Make of the Madoff Sentence? By Business Desk Question: What do you make of the Madoff sentence? Paul Solman: I’m tempted to say that, at 150 years, he may have gotten off lightly. In today’s email came the regular newsletter of one of the world’s most provocative and… Continue reading
Jun 25 Will the Actions of the Fed and Treasury Keep Asset Prices Artificially High? Question: It seems to me like the Fed and the Treasury are trying very hard to keep asset prices high. The Fed has vastly increased the money supply, partly by lowering interest rates to zero, and partially through quantitative easing. Continue reading
Jun 23 Watch Deciphering the Shape of Economic Recovery When economists discuss economic recovery, it's often in terms of the alphabet. In the latest installment of his Making Sen$e series, Paul Solman explains what phrases such as "V-shaped recovery" or "U-shaped recession" say about the economic outlook. Continue watching
Jun 23 What's the Relationship Between Inflation and Interest Rates? Question: I am confused about the cause/effect relationship between inflation and interest rates. Many economic talking heads claim that interest rates will rise if present monetary policy produces inflation. But the principle of supply and demand suggests that if… 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
Jun 02 Geithner in China: How Is China Weathering the Economic Crisis? By Business Desk Question: How is China weathering the economic crisis? And does China want to remain the United States’ largest creditor? Paul Solman: With Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner in Beijing for the past few days, the financial world has been watching and… Continue reading