Before every new technology there comes the moment of invention. Before there was ethanol, someone had to look at biomass and say, "There's energy in them thar leaves." For the last day of our Power Trip energy series, venture capitalist Vinod Khosla joins The Takeaway from the TED conference in Long Beach, California. Khosla, whose company risks millions of dollars every year to fund upstart energy technologies, ruminates on creating billion dollar industries out of wild ideas.
Bill Gates, Microsoft founder and philanthropist, addressed the crowd at this year's TED conference with his thoughts on saving the world with a new kind of philanthropy. It's long, but funny. Really.
As interest rates for mortgage loans continue to drop, homeowners are looking to refinance and lock in lower long term rates. But most applicants are getting turned down. Takeaway contributor Alvin Hall joins host Adaora Udoji to talk about whether it's a good time to try and refinance and how to go about the process in a tough lending market.
These days it seems that economists are the go-to people to explain many of the world’s ills, from sub-prime lending to credit default swaps to Ponzi schemes to the bad, emotionally charged decisions that we make with our own money. Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist, has some first-hand insight into how one self-destructive financial decision can thrust us into a downward spiral of many bad decisions. Dan Ariely is the James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University and author of Predictably Irrational.
What bad economic decisions have you made? Tell us!
"Whenever you think of a situation where your emotion can get the best out of you, it's good to get a person between you and that decision." — Professor Dan Ariely on how to make better financial decisions
These are dark days for credit card companies--people are buying less on credit and having trouble paying their bills. Bad times for them may be good times for struggling borrowers, though, since credit card companies are increasingly willing to negotiate payment terms. Rozanne Andersen, Executive Vice President of ACA International, a professional association for collection agencies, joins The Takeaway to explain.
"The first thing you should do is face your fears, return those calls and talk to the person, because they are actually there to help." — Rozanne Andersen on what to do if the bill collectors come calling
Trader Bernard Madoff has been accused of cheating investors of $50 billion.
In my column last week I talked about that very term you highlighted 'sophisticated investor' and suggested that George Carlin may have missed that with his list of famous oxymorons like 'jumbo shrimp' and 'military intelligence.' — Jason Zweig
As Americans get ready to hit the mall on Black Friday, we talk to Consumer Reports' "Tightwad Tod" who says the sales this year are unlike any he’s seen in 20 years of covering retail sales. Should you buy that HDTV now, or wait?
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has announced a new $800 billion rescue plan that includes a commitment of $200 billion to increase the availability of student loans, auto loans and credit cards. Are small and mid-level banks finally getting a bailout of their own? The Takeaway talks to Mike Menzies, President and CEO of Easton Bank and Trust in Easton, Maryland.
"The marketplace has stopped buying those pools of loans. It's constipated."
—Mike Menzies discusses the strength of community banks
Despite glum financial forecasts, many families are taking the challenge head on — making sacrifices and implementing cost-saving strategies. Melissa Tarun, mother of two from Helotes, Texas, painlessly whacked around $1,700 from her family's annual budget. Cuts included:
Cancel seven magazine subscriptions: save $84.
Cancel unlimited access video rental plan: save $156.
Cancel premium cable channel: save $120
Don't renew season passes to area amusement parks: $300
Fewer haircuts for the two girls and fewer highlighting sessions for moms: save $452.
Sack lunches instead of buying lunch at school. $277.
Melissa says, "Our 'sacrifices' really aren't that at all. I mean, we gave up a "premium" channel! And a redundant satellite radio system." ...(continue reading)
Why do so many otherwise rational individuals make irrational decisions when it comes to money? Why do shoppers overspend when using credit cards, but manage to stay in a budget when they use cash? And why would a person walk five blocks to save $10 on a $20 purchase, but not on a $1,000 suit?
"Our brains evolved to make decisions on the savannah or in a jungle. And a lot of the decisions we have to make as adults in a modern world aren't necessarily applicable to what we might have made 10,000 years ago. The decisions aren't crazy; they are simply obsolete."
--Gary Belsky on irrational spending behaviors
"This time we're hitting the skids as a country with the families already deeply in debt; that does not bode well for where we're headed for the next few years." --Elizabeth Warren on American personal debt
I talk and write frequently about things that can be done, both in the public and private sectors, to increase household savings in the United States. But a more primitive question is, "Why such the mess?" Are we just the prodigal sons and daughters of the world, caught in some kind of moral decay that is uniquely American?
"It is under nine dollars for the first time in about thirteen years. It was at fifty-some dollars about fifteen months ago."
--David Enrich on Citigroup's stock price
Comedian Baratunde Thurston on 'How to Be Black'
Today's Takeaway: Focus on Violence Syria
Today's Takeaway: What the Mortgage Settlement Means
In-Depth Look at the Situation in Syria
Today's Takeaway: Big Night for Rick Santorum
'Tebow Bill' May Allow Home-Schoolers to Play on High School Teams
Is Our Constitution Out of Date?
Newly-Discovered Recordings Shed Light on a Young Malcolm X
Some Combat Restrictions for Women Lifted
