Tag: Markets

The Takeaway

How America Will React to Europe Helping Greece

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Newsweek columnist, Dan Gross, tells us how the European Leaders' agreement to give Greece some debt relief may affect the U.S. markets. Among other things, Gross says it might be good news for Americans traveling overseas.

 

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The Takeaway

Stocks Tumble as Americans Brace for New Unemployment Figures

Friday, February 05, 2010

As European nations in the Iberian Peninsula fall deeper into debt, the U.S. markets came tumbling down on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing just above 10,000 points. All this comes hours before new jobless numbers are released.

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The Takeaway

Takeouts: Football, Reforming Derivatives Markets

Friday, November 27, 2009

  • Sports Takeout: Ibrahim Abdul-Matin joins us for a look back at Thanksgiving's football games and those coming up over the weekend.
  • Business Takeout: The New York Times' finance reporter, Louise Story, explains why the risky derivatives market needs reform, and why banks and bankers seem to want to prevent that reform from happening.

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The Takeaway

The Dow, the Banks and the State of the Economy

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Yesterday the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above the symbolic threshold of 10,000. New York Times finance reporter Louise Story says the news is interesting, but it doesn't say much about the overall health of the economy. Something that might: the banking sector. Also joining the conversation is New York Times economics correponsdent Edmund Andrews with a look at how the U.S. Treasury wants some bailed-out banks to start paying back their loans.

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The Takeaway

One Year On: The Housing Market

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

All this week, we are looking back at the events that triggered the financial meltdown, one year ago. Today, we focus on the  housing market, then and now. We talk to economist Robert Shiller, of the Case-Shiller home-price index, who was among the few experts to warn of the coming housing crisis. We also speak to New York State Supreme Court Judge Arthur Schack, who has a penchant for halting the bank foreclosures that come before his bench. (Read his profile in the New York Times, "A ‘Little Judge’ Who Rejects Foreclosures, Brooklyn Style") And we also talk to Pamela Zombeck, who is struggling to hold on to her home in Salem, Massachusetts.

Listen to more housing stories in this series.

"A lot of the paperwork I find from banks, is insufficient, it's not accurate, there's sloppiness so I believe there has to be a level playing field for homeowners as well as banks."
—Judge Arthur Schack, New York State Supreme Court judge on one of the reasons why he's thrown out 46 of the 102 foreclosure motions that have come before him.

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The Takeaway

Latest Economic Data Thoroughly Mixed

Friday, August 14, 2009

Louise Story, finance reporter for the New York Times, joins The Takeaway to help parse the latest economic data. The Consumer Price Index remained flat in July, making for an annual decline of 2.1 percent — the largest in 60 years. Industrial production, however, rose in July for only the second time since the recession officially began in December 2007. Story says that the minimal change in inflation is a good sign, which will allow the Fed to keep on its current monetary strategy.

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The Takeaway

What Recession? A Boom for Big Banks

Friday, July 17, 2009

Bank of America and Citigroup have released their quarterly earnings reports and both have beaten the forecasts by financial analysts. Bank of America reported $2.42 billion in profits, and Citigroup earned $3.1 billion. Bank of America received $45 billion in bailout funds as part of the Treasury Department's $700 billion financial rescue package, but it has yet to repay the government loan. These earnings reports come on the heels of both Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase also posting high profits. How are the banks faring so well despite the gloomy economic climate? The Takeaway talks to Marshall Eckblad, banking reporter for the Dow Jones Newswire Service.

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The Takeaway

JP Morgan Chase: Profiting in a Downturn

Thursday, July 16, 2009

This morning, JP Morgan Chase posted a quarterly profit of $2.7 billion. That's a 36 percent jump from a year ago. It comes just two days after Goldman Sachs announced a quarterly profit of over $3 billion. As the two banks weather a harsh economic climate, they have managed to pay back the huge government loans they took last year and proceed to earn record profits. Joining us to discuss Chase's earnings is Eric Dash, banking reporter for The New York Times.

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The Takeaway

Are Markets the Best Economic Indicators?

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Yesterday, Goldman Sachs made headlines with their record quarterly earnings, taking in $3.44 billion in just four months. That may be a sign of a strenthening economy. And yet unemployment has continued rising: nationally 9.5 percent, the highest rate in 26 years. Which of those two numbers tells us where the economy is headed, and which just tells us where its been? Here to help us figure that out is Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI), a company that forecasts recessions and recoveries.

"By April it was clear the recession would be over this summer. I don't think the man on the street will feel that until the fall when they're looking in the rear view mirror. Because really your gut feel is the rear view mirror feel."
—Lakshman Achuthan on lagging economic indicators

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The Takeaway

Do Goldman's Numbers Mean the Recession is Over?

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Analysts were expecting Goldman Sachs to post around $2 billion in profit in their second quarter. But when the numbers were released they surprised everyone with a profit of $3.4 billion. If Goldman Sachs is doing so well, does this mean America is on its way out of the recession? Dan Gross, columnist for Newsweek and Slate, and author of Dumb Money: How Our Greatest Financial Minds Bankrupted the Nation joins The Takeaway with his analysis of the financial news.

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The Takeaway

Record Earnings, Record Bonuses for Goldman Sachs?

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Goldman Sachs has just released their earnings report showing that they made a jaw-dropping $3.4 billion profit from March through June. How are they doing it while the rest of the nation is facing bleak economic times? And what do record profits mean for the employees of Goldman? Graham Bowley, financial reporter for The New York Times, joins us for a closer look at the numbers.

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The Takeaway

In Their Wildest Dreams: Goldman's Record Payday

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

The financial markets were in a frenzy yesterday after rumors started circulating about Goldman Sachs' earnings. Most analysts were expecting a record $2 billion in second quarter profits from the investment bank. Now the numbers are out and Goldman's profits are even bigger than expected: $3.44 billion dollars profit from March through June. Ed Welsch, a markets reporter for the Dow Jones Newswire, joins The Takeaway with more on this story.

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The Takeaway

Goldman Sachs: When Good News Is Bad

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Today, Goldman Sachs announced massive profits from the second quarter— $3.4 billion dollars. But as they announced the good news, they had to brace themselves to deal with some inevitable public outrage. How can Goldman avoid a public relations nightmare? The Takeaway is joined by Jonathan Bernstein, President of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc.

"It's a choice: does Goldman Sachs want to be known as successful and arrogant about it or successful and humble? Humble is a lot smarter because their continued success is not guaranteed, and their former arrogance can come back and bite them."
—Jonathan Bernstein, professional crisis manager, on how the banking giant should behave in the face of its record profit

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The Takeaway

Damned If You Do: Profiting in a Recession

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

While much of America remains mired in a recession, Goldman Sachs is booming. The investment bank just paid back the $10 billion loan it took from the federal government last year and today Goldman is expected to announce a $2 billion dollar profit in its second quarter earnings report. How did Goldman go from bust to boom so quickly? Joining The Takeaway with their analysis are Matt Taibbi, a contributing editor to Rolling Stone, who wrote a scathing article on Goldman's practices, and Graham Bowley, a financial reporter for The New York Times. Graham's article on Goldman's expected earnings set off a market buying frenzy.

For more, read Matt Taibbi's article Inside the Great American Bubble Machine, in Rolling Stone. Also, read Graham Bowley's article, For Goldman, a Swift Return to Lofty Profits, in The New York Times.

"The entire Wall Street knows that this bank isn't going to go under because the government just isn't going to allow it."
—Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone on the high earnings of Goldman Sachs

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The Takeaway

Is Black Gold Back in Business?

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Oil prices rose above $61 a barrel in Asian trading this morning, recouping some losses after tumbling 17 percent last week. But gasoline reserves in the U.S. are growing, showing continuing low demand for crude. In Economics 101, you learn that when demand drops, so does price, so why are oil prices rising? Joining The Takeaway to analyze the turbulent oil market is BBC Business Correspondent Mark Gregory.

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The Takeaway

Gone Rogue: One Bad Broker Made Oil Prices Spike

Friday, July 03, 2009

On Tuesday, oil trading volumes rose overnight and prices jumped more than $2 a barrel without apparent market justification. The explanation? A rogue broker had been making unauthorized trades with global implications. For more on the story, The Takeaway is joined by Gordon Heslop, oil analyst with Redmayne Bentley, private stockbrokers and investment analysts.

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The Takeaway

The Economy: Why Are Global Markets Slumping?

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

This morning the Asian stock markets are reflecting yesterday's hiccup on Wall Street. Key indexes in Japan, Australia and Hong Kong all slumped this morning, a gloomy market mood that was not helped by discouraging words from the World Bank yesterday, which said the U.S. and European economies would shrink. Should these new numbers make us nervous? Russell Padmore, BBC Business News presenter, joins us with his report.

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The Takeaway

Oil Prices, the Stock Market and Your Pocketbook

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

The price of oil has risen to just over $71 dollars a barrel, which is a high point for the year. This is good news for a global commodity that has seen its prices drop by 100 percent in the past three months. But the price increase could hit American's pocketbooks hard. Mark Gregory, international business reporter for our partners the BBC, joins us with his analysis.

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The Takeaway

BlackRock Under The Microscope

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Many Wall Street giants toppled during the financial crisis, but a few giants have been created. One is money manager BlackRock. BlackRock manages $1.3 trillion in assets for a range of big private clients, from hedge funds to foreign governments. But it is the company's role as a major U.S. government adviser and contractor that is now drawing scrutiny. They're involved in everything from the rescue of AIG, Bear Stearns and Citigroup to helping the Federal Reserve stimulate the housing market. Michael de la Merced, finance reporter for the New York Times, joins The Takeaway with more of the story.

For more, read Michael de la Merced's and Eric Lipton's article, In Advising U.S., BlackRock Thrives in Uncertain Times, in the New York Times.

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The Takeaway

Invest Like A Woman

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Warren Buffett invests like a girl. He’s patient and does thorough research. He doesn’t take huge risks. He waits for the right price to buy, and he hold onto stock a long time. All of which, according to a survey of financial analysts and investment advisers, is generally how women investors behave. The study found that women felt it was much more important than men did to avoid incurring large losses, falling below a target rate of return or acting on incomplete information. In short, women are more risk-averse than men. And that can make them better investors than men. The study found that women’s portfolios gained 1.4% more than men’s portfolios did. (Single women did even better than single men, with 2.3% greater gains.) Now that the economy is showing some faint signs of recovery and many of us might be considering jumping back into the market, we turn to Dr. Ellen Peters, a psychologist from the University of Oregon, who was involved in the original study, for some ideas on what investment strategies will work for everyone.

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