Economy Apr 10 Why Doesn’t the Treasury Turn Over Banks to the FDIC for Inspection? Question: Why didn’t the U.S. Treasury turn over the banks to the FDIC and let the FDIC do an audit and dispose of the rotten assets? Paul Solman:…
Economy Mar 17 How Do We Get Banks Lending Again? Question: Given our collective financial plight and our need for credit to survive, how do we get banks to be banks again (read: lend)? Can it be legislated – and if not, how can we surmount our impasse? Paul Solman:…
Economy Mar 16 How Much Responsibility Do Boards of Directors Bear? Question: It seems the press is ignoring the elephant in the banking bath tub: Members of each board of directors had responsibility to their shareholders, yet I never hear that being discussed. And I’ve only had a whiff of who…
Economy Feb 25 Wall Street Teeters, Obama Presses Economic Plan Wall Street rang up fresh losses in early trading Wednesday as the Obama administration pressed its economic plan and moved forward with preparations to begin new "stress tests" on the banking system. By Admin, PBS News Hour
Feb 23 What Would My Investments Look Like if the Government Nationalized Banks? Question/Comment: I’m retired and considering investing in Citigroup and BAC. However, I keep hearing the word “nationalization.” Would my prospective investment be lost should the Government nationalize Citigroup and… Continue reading
Feb 06 Watch Good Bank vs. Bad Bank: Segregating Toxic Assets Might Help U.S. Economy Rebound Business correspondent Paul Solman explores the problem of banks holding toxic assets and explains how the Swedes successfully emerged from a similar economic crisis by splitting banks into "good" and "bad" categories. Continue watching
Oct 23 Can temporary total nationalization avoid the doomsday scenario? Question/Comment: Paul, I benefit from your explanations of complicated ideas, especially, the financial woes we’re now encountering. I wonder, however, why the doomsday scenario posed by the author of The Black Swan cannot be avoided by the government nationalizing the… Continue reading
Oct 21 Why are we not focusing on stimulating consumer spending? Question/Comment: Hello, Paul. I am certainly no economist (as my question will show), but I learned in business school (to my surprise at the time) that two-thirds of GDP is the result of consumer… Continue reading
Oct 09 Watch Government Intervention Does Little to Calm Markets Wall Street saw stocks dive Thursday as reports emerged that the Treasury Department is considering new moves to increase bank stability. Financial experts discuss the latest moves and what comes next for the government and the markets. Continue watching