Oct 06 Watch Commercial Real Estate May Be Next Victim of Recession Just two years ago an office space in midtown Manhattan could fetch close to $1.7 billion. Today, the same property trades for about $600 million. A sign the commercial real estate market will be the next shoe to drop in… Continue watching
Aug 18 Why Do Medical Costs Vary So Much Across the Country? Question: Why do medical procedure costs vary so much by region of the country? Paul Solman: I think the best answer I’ve come across is a piece in the June 1 New Yorker by the ever-excellent Atul Gawande, The… Continue reading
Aug 13 Home Foreclosures Set Third Record in Five Months By Online DA Foreclosure filings in the United States jumped in July, again setting a record for the third time in five months. The increase was due to falling home prices and the recession, which kept some homeowners from making payments or refinancing. Continue reading
Aug 04 Watch Despite Federal Aid, Lenders Slow to Modify Home Loans Fewer than 8 percent of eligible borrowers have successfully modified their mortgages under a $75 billion federal plan aimed at halting home foreclosures, according to a Treasury Department report. Jeffrey Kaye reports on the early struggles of the program. Continue watching
Jul 28 U.S. Home Prices Rise Slightly, Consumer Confidence Drops Again By Carolyn O'Hara A key measure of the housing market shows that U.S. home prices rose slightly in May, posting the first monthly increase since the summer of 2006. Meanwhile, consumer confidence continued to decline, according to another closely watched measurement. Continue reading
Jul 28 Thaler Responds to Posner on Consumer Protection Paul Solman: Earlier this month, I was pleased to learn that one of the most intriguing economists of my career span, the University of Chicago’s Richard Thaler, had entered the rotation of the… Continue reading
Jul 27 Bernanke Reflects on Fed’s Actions in Forum In a forum on the Fed's role in the handling of the economic crisis and recovery, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reflected on his desire not to be the Fed chief who "presided over the second Great Depression."… Continue reading
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
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