This Week's Agenda: Crunch Time in Washington
The August 2 deadline for Congress to agree on a budget deal and avoid defaulting is looming uncomfortably close. Last night, President Obama and Senate Majority leader Harry Reid said tonight that...
View ArticleHow US Cities are Reacting to the Debt Crisis
The nation's debt crisis has all eyes on the politicians on Capitol Hill. But we wanted to know how the debt crisis is playing out in different cities across the country — what local fears and concerns...
View ArticleThe Tea Party's Take on the Debt Crisis
The House of Representatives passed a landmark deal yesterday as the United States inched closer to defaulting on its debts. As the bill makes its way over to the Senate many are noting the influence...
View ArticleGlobal Impact of US Credit Downgrade
The credit rating agency Standard and Poor's downgraded the United States' credit rating for the first time in its history, from AAA to AA+, last Friday. This news sent shock-waves around the globe,...
View ArticleBrooklyn Small Business Owners Fear Lasting Effects of Downgrade
Three days after Standard & Poor's downgraded the U.S.'s credit rating, local small business owners fear a return to the Great Recession.David Bolotsky, the founder and CEO of online and catalog...
View ArticleTop 10 Reads About the Debt Crisis
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 634 points in the first day of trading since Standard & Poor's downgraded the U.S.'s credit rating last Friday. While investors reacted by dumping stocks,...
View ArticleQ&A | 5 Questions With Columbia Business School Professor on the Debt Crisis
Standard & Poor's downgraded the U.S.'s credit rating agency, and economists had mixed reactions. WNYC spoke Andrew Ang, the Ann F. Kaplan Professor of Business, Chair of the Finance and Economics...
View ArticleBites | Times Columnist Joe Nocera Says U.S. Is on Brink of Recession
The Dow Jones closed down 634 points on the first trading day since Standard & Poor's downgraded the U.S's credit rating, falling below 11,000 for the first time since November. The sharp drop on...
View ArticleQ&A | 5 Questions With Economist Editor on the Debt Crisis
Standard & Poor's downgraded the U.S.'s credit rating agency, and economists had mixed reactions. WNYC spoke with Steven Leslie, managing editor of financial services for the Economist Intelligence...
View ArticleMeet the Man Who Downgraded the US Credit Rating
John B. Chambers, one of three credit analysts at Standard & Poor's who downgraded the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+ on Friday, lives in New York City, received an MA in English literature at...
View ArticleStocks Swing Wildly After Fed Statement
Stocks swung wildly before rallying Tuesday after the Federal Reserve expressed growing concern about the direction of the economy, following the worst day for stocks since 2008.The Dow Jones...
View ArticleLook | A View from the Floor of the Stock Exchange
PHOTOS. Take a peek at the New York Stock Exchange as stocks rose slightly on Tuesday following the worst day for stocks since 2008.• Meet the Man Who Downgraded the US Credit Rating• Q&A | 5...
View ArticleQ&A | 5 Questions With an Investor on 401Ks After Stocks Swing
After another volatile day on Wall Street, WNYC checked in with Erika Safran founder of Safran Wealth Advisors, to see how her clients — many retired and living off of their 401Ks and investments — are...
View ArticleStocks Drop as Attention Returns to Weak Economy
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 520 points Wednesday on a day that concern over the weakening economy continued to percolate on Wall Street and send stocks tumbling.Investors turned their...
View ArticleStucknation: America's Debt Addiction is About Character, Not Numbers
Debt is really not about numbers, it is about character. Incurring debt today enables us to get something right now and defer the consequences down the road. And in the case of our trillions in...
View ArticleAll That Glitters Is Gold: Price of Precious Metal Reaches All-Time High
Gold was flying off the shelf in midtown Manhattan as the price of the precious metal reached an all-time high amid a wild week on Wall Street."We’ve done the most business that we’ve done in any...
View ArticleOpinion: Obama's Job Plan - Another Promise when We Need Action
"I'll be putting forward a very specific plan to boost the economy, to create jobs and to control the deficit… And my attitude will be, 'Get it done,'" announced President Obama as he launched a tour...
View ArticleEuropean Leaders Try to Solve Debt Crisis
European shares have fallen today after a meeting between French President Nicholas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel failed to calm investors' fears that the debt crisis could spread. The...
View ArticleDow Closes 400 Points Lower on Worries Over Sluggish Economy
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 419 points to close at at 10,990.58. It recovered slightly from this morning's plummet of 500 points, as stocks fell around the world on fear of more economic...
View ArticleBackstory: Slovakia's Rejection of the Eurozone Debt Plan
On Thursday, Slovakia's parliament approved the latest proposal to address the Eurozone's debt crisis, but it was the second time that the measure came to a vote this week. On Tuesday, the parliament...
View ArticleMarkets React to the New Euro Pact
European leaders have drawn up a new fiscal accord. In the new agreement, the European nations agreed on tighter budget regulations as part of an effort to reassure investors that the euro is a stable...
View ArticleDebt in State Government Hits Fever Pitch
Yesterday the Government Accounting Standards Board, which sets the accounting standards for governments, voted torequiore more transparency from state and local governments by requiring they post...
View ArticleTackling the Coming Debt Ceiling Crisis
It's the joke of the week in Capitol Hill: minting a trillion dollar coin to solve our nation's debt crisis. While that's probably unlikely, it very well might be the most agreeable option on the table...
View ArticleCyprus and the Latest Debt Crisis
Cyprus is the latest EU country to face bankruptcy - and potentially bring down the rest of the region with it. Joseph Cotterill, reporter for Financial Times Alphaville blog, discusses the EU's...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Civil Society in Decline
Niall Ferguson, Harvard professor of history and the author of The Great Degeneration: How Institutions Decay and Economies Die (Penguin, 2013), warns that Western democracies have entered a phase of...
View ArticleNYC to Feds: Help Puerto Rico
Local leaders are calling on the federal government to help save Puerto Rico from its looming $73 billion dollar debt crisis.Speaking from the steps of City Hall on Tuesday, Council Speaker Melissa...
View ArticleThe Center Cannot Hold
Now that Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee, the nay-saying pundits have one last-ditch idea: a centrist third party candidate to save the day! Just like they said in the last election,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Beyond debt default and Zika, Puerto Rico struggles as trash piles up
Watch Video | Listen to the AudioBy Ivette Feliciano and Melanie SaltzmanWhenever it rains, several feet of black, contaminated water and trash flood the homes of people living near the Martin Pena...
View ArticleClik here to view.
House passes bill to help ease Puerto Rico’s debt
The Puerto Rican and U.S. flags are seen in the Old Town district in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Photo by Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty ImagesWASHINGTON — The House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a rescue...
View ArticleBrian Lehrer Weekend: CO Governor Hickenlooper, Pool Rules in Williamsburg,...
A few of our favorite segments from the week, in case you missed them.CO Governor Hickenlooper (First) | Pool Rules in Williamsburg (Starts at 24:11) | Puerto Rico and Luis Miranda (Starts at 41:50)If...
View Article