Guest: Michael Hunter, Financial Times markets reporter
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The stock price of General Motors Corp. stock took a nosedive Thursday as the company faced the threat of a credit rating downgrade and forecasts for abysmal sales. With credit locked down and consumers likely to avoid major purchases for some time to come, it’s not clear how GM and other automakers will hang on.
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The plunging Dow, failing banks, rising prices — it seems like things couldn't possibly get worse. But Wall Street Journal humor columnist Peter Jeffrey thinks there are more shocks to come, including the collapse of the key-fob industry and razor-toothed Velociraptors lumbering down Wall Street.
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Iceland’s financial crisis worsened yesterday after the government seized control of Iceland’s largest bank, Kaupthing. What does this mean for the citizens of Iceland?
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Thursday was an abysmal day on Wall Street, despite continued efforts by the Federal Reserve Board, the U.S. Treasury Department and central banks around the world to calm panicky investors. Heading into the three-day weekend, world markets are falling fast. Can anything be done to stabilize the situation?
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European markets were taking a hit Friday morning. A wave of panic selling began on Wall Street last night, then ran through Asian markets with historic falls in Tokyo. The FTSE 100 plunged by more than 7 percent in early trading and trading was cancelled in Russia because of the uncertainty in other world markets.
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After passing the bailout bill, the U.S. Treasury has infused cash into the banks across the country in hopes to convince them to resume lending money. But does it give them the right to take ownership of banks that are still thriving?
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Guest: Michael Hunter, markets reporter for the Financial Times
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Guest: Gretchen Morgenson, assistant business and financial editor and a columnist for the New York Times
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Guest: Edmund Andrews, the New York Times
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Guest: Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, BBC correspondent in Moscow, Russia
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Guest: John Steele Gordon, author and business and economic historian
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Yesterday Ben Bernanke hinted that the Federal Reserve Board would lower interest rates when it meets at the end of the month. The markets were having none of it though — the Dow plunged 508 points yesterday. New York Times reporter Edmund Andrews explains the Fed’s strategy for easing the financial crisis, and what has and hasn’t worked so far.
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Guest: Alex Retson, BBC business correspondent
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Guest: Vikas Bajaj, New York Times correspondent
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The U.S. financial crisis has become an international phenomenon, with global stock markets plummeting, credit markets freezing and banks failing. The World Bank and G7 finance ministers don't seem to be optimistic either can control the situation.
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Economist Peter Morici is a professor at the University of Maryland School of Business and former Chief Economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission. He joins us to explain the effects of the global stock sell off and why the federal bailout failed to excite the marketplace.
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GUEST: Matthew Bishop, The Economist's chief business writer and U.S. business editor. His new book is "Philanthrocapitalism: How the Rich Can Save the World."
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Guest: Javier Blas, Financial Times commodities correspondent
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A bailout of the U.S. financial system has passed Congress and was signed into law by President Bush on Friday. Now what? The Economist’s U.S. Economics Editor Greg Ip tells The Takeaway what the plan is designed to do and how it will function, and explains the best-case and worst-case scenarios.
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Guest: Alex Ritson, BBC business correspondent
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You can point your finger at many causes for the country's current financial woes, but here's one you may not have heard. During a routine meeting back in April of 2004, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission voted for something that at the time seemed of little significance. The five largest investment banks asked for an exception to a long-standing rule that put limits on their risky investments, allowing computer generated models to determine financial risk. New York Times reporter Stephen Labaton explains the commission's decision and its implications.
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Wall Street's free fall is hitting Main Street hard. And the credit crunch's vice-like grip could spell disaster for small companies. For a look at how businesses are getting by, and which ones are flourishing, The Takeaway turns to Alex Vantarakis. He arranges finances for those who want to buy and sell small businesses.
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The Senate passed its version of the Wall Street bailout bill last night, and the pressure is now back on the House to vote Friday on a new bill. The question is, What would it take to get the congressional naysayers to say 'aye?' The Takeaway checks in with Congressman Maurice Hinchey. The New York Democrat was one of four representatives from New York who voted against the bailout bill the first time around.
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Former Wall Street trader Nassim Taleb coined the term "black swan" to refer to unpredictable events that shape history and human experience far more than we are willing to admit. His bestselling book "The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable" challenges conventional methods of economic forecasting, and has become a sort of travel guide to the current economic meltdown.
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Guest: Todd Zwillich, Capitol News Connection
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The bailout has failed…for now. The markets are tumbling and then jumping up again. It’s harder than ever to get a mortgage, to get credit, to get a car loan. We all know where Wall Street is turning for help. But where should Main Street look for advice? The Takeaway continues the conversation with Harriet Johnson Brackey, personal finance columnist for the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.
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With Wall Street in disarray, New York Times Columnist David Leonhardt compares 2008's economic climate to America circa the Great Depression and discusses the loss of trust in the banks.
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