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November 2009 Archives

Is college a waste of money?

A recent post about a 20-year-old woman who bought a home drew much attention here and around the web. I noticed in the comments that people were debating not only her decision to make such an investment but also her choice to skip college for the time being. Today, I read another article claiming that college may be a waste of money. So, let’s have at it.

Continue reading Is college a waste of money?

On stocks and bonds

Let’s take note of what’s happening in the stock and bond markets as the year comes to a close. This may also help answer another reader question. Nic asks: Is the stock market artificially inflated right now? By what? What does that mean for the future? How will that affect other parts of the system?

Continue reading On stocks and bonds

Morning Reading

Good morning. Hope you had a good weekend. Here are a few items to get the week started:

Continue reading Morning Reading

After... After the Bell

We’ve made the decision to end my weekly podcast, After the Bell. It was a difficult call, but like every company in this economy, we’re trying to make the best use of limited resources. This decision will allow me to devote more time to the Scratch Pad and make it the best it can be. We’ll still be brainstorming the creation of new podcasts, but for now, this my Brett Favre press conference saying that After the Bell is retired. Thank you for listening, and I hope you’ll continue to visit me here at the Scratch Pad. Your participation greatly enhances the discussion!

You can keep your guarantee

Let’s continue with the topics you’ve asked to hear more about. Steve asks: What’s the deal with banks opting out of the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program? Can you read anything into why a bank would opt out or stay in? Good question.

Continue reading You can keep your guarantee

Better than cranberry relish

I heard Susan Stamberg making her cranberry dish
Must mean Thanksgiving is drawing near—ish
But here’s a new Friday tradition with no berries in it
The week’s news in poetry… all in one minute!

Marketplace Minute With Bill Radke 11/20 from Marketplace on Vimeo.

Continue reading Better than cranberry relish

Morning Reading

Happy Friday. This morning: radical budget solutions, American blood in the water, and did Texas accidentally ban all marriages?

Continue reading Morning Reading

What's with all the hostility?

Perhaps you’ve been hearing about Kraft’s hostile takeover bid for Cadbury or Barnes and Noble’s “poison pill” defense to ward off a hostile bid. Might be a good time to explain hostile takeovers and why we’re likely to see more of them.

Continue reading What's with all the hostility?

Calling Dr. Doom

Thanks for your feedback on topics you’d like to know more about. I’ll try to get to as many of them as possible. Today, I’ll address Scratch Pad reader Matt’s question: Is there another financial collapse coming down the pike?

Continue reading Calling Dr. Doom

Regulation pleas(e)

Perhaps there’s hope for meaningful financial regulation after all. A couple of interesting quotes have me thinking that way today.

Continue reading Regulation pleas(e)

Morning Reading

Good morning. To start the day, how ‘bout a stiff drink of Scotch? It’s only been sitting on ice for 100 years:

Continue reading Morning Reading

What's on your mind?

It’s been a pretty slow week for news, so it might be a good time to turn the floor over to you. Do you have any burning questions you’d like to get to the bottom of? Any topics on which you’d like to see more coverage? Anything you’d like to share? Last time I did this, there were some excellent comments that turned into future blog posts. Your feedback is welcome and encouraged in the comments section.

Fear and greed

A year ago, Warren Buffett wrote this: “A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.” So, where are we now? In a fearful stage or a greedy stage?

Continue reading Fear and greed

Work's a bummer

This may come as no surprise, but workplace morale is low. While grateful to have a job, many employees are dispirited by their bigger workloads, longer hours and smaller paychecks.

Continue reading Work's a bummer

Morning Reading

Good morning. A nice assortment of subjects to start the day, from brown-nosers to “cash for caulkers”:

Continue reading Morning Reading

Guess who?

A large company and a billionaire investor are reportedly launching an initiative to help small businesses across the country. I’ll give you one guess who I’m talking about…

Continue reading Guess who?

Dome sells for less than a home

If you don’t think commercial real estate is tanking, check out this deal: 127 acres containing an 80,000-seat stadium that cost $55 million to construct sells for… $583,000. I know the Detroit Lions used to play there, but still.

Continue reading Dome sells for less than a home

Job bennies: A bad drug?

Congress recently extended unemployment benefits again. 28 states are now giving out 79 weeks of jobless insurance. The first extension came with the stimulus package last February. Here’s a good topic for debate: Has this increased the unemployment rate?

Continue reading Job bennies: A bad drug?

Morning Reading

Good morning. To start the day — a stimulus success, clunkers, turkeys, reversals, firsts and questions:

Continue reading Morning Reading

The climate in Jeopardy

I’ll take The Climate Race for $200, Alex. Alright, here’s the clue: I’m the country that now leads the world in exporting green technology. Oh, I know this one. That’s easy. What is Germany! Oooh, I’m sorry, Scott, that’s incorrect. We were looking for…

Continue reading The climate in Jeopardy

Showdown at the Dollar Corral

The US and China are walking off their paces in a standoff over the dollar. Can you seen the tumbleweed rolling by? The Federal Reserve chairman rarely makes public comments about the value of the dollar, but Ben Bernanke did so today. And the Chinese did too.

Continue reading Showdown at the Dollar Corral

GM has something to prove

Thought you might like an update on how your investment in GM is faring. Today, GM said it generated more than $3 billion in cash last quarter, and it plans to start repaying government loans early. That’s the good news.

Continue reading GM has something to prove

Morning Reading

Good morning. Hope you had a good weekend. President Obama’s in China, so we’ll begin with that:

Continue reading Morning Reading

Dollar dollar bill, y'all

My weekly podcast, After the Bell, is now available. This week’s menu includes more context on the stock market and the value of the dollar, plus a conversation with Nick Johnson of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The CBPP’s new report says states could bleed another 900,000 jobs if the federal government doesn’t step in with more stimulus money. As you might imagine, I have a few questions about that. Music from the Beatles, Mika and Dave Matthews. If you’d like ATB to download automatically each week, click here. To listen now, click continue reading.

Continue reading Dollar dollar bill, y'all

Sex and drugs

They say too often, men think with their you-know-whats. Conversely, the key to a woman’s sex drive might be through her brain. A German drug company certainly hopes it is. Boehringer Ingelheim may have come up with a female version of Viagra.

Continue reading Sex and drugs

Big Time

In a Washington Post editorial today, JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon says any bank, regardless of size, should be allowed to fail. But he argues the government should place no limits on the size of banks.

Continue reading Big Time

Morning Reading

Good morning. TGIF, my friends. A few things to get the day started:

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This day in history

What is it about November 12th? On this day last year, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced he was changing TARP from a toxic asset fund to a cash giveaway for banks. More significantly, 10 years ago on this day, the repeal of a banking law might’ve led to the need for TARP in the first place.

Continue reading This day in history

Robbing TARP to pay Paul?

The Obama administration knows it has to get serious about tackling the deficit and the national debt. Apparently, it’s considering the following plan: take a chunk of money from the credit line kitty known as TARP and pay down the deficit.

Continue reading Robbing TARP to pay Paul?

The customer is always...

Last? Lost? In line? On hold? I did a story a few years ago about how customer service was going in the toilet. I asked why. I was told that businesses were doing so well, they didn’t need to focus on customer service. Well, here we are. Businesses are desperate. The economy’s bad. And customer service still stinks?

Continue reading The customer is always...

Morning Reading

Good morning. Here’s what has caught my attention so far:

Continue reading Morning Reading

The state of things

Two separate reports out today paint a very dark picture for state budgets. One of them says without more federal stimulus money, states could bleed almost a million new jobs next year.

Continue reading The state of things

No case, no conviction

There might be some anger and confusion after two Bear Stearns hedge fund managers were acquitted of fraud. But it sounds like the government may have not had the case. And it certainly didn’t make the case.

Continue reading No case, no conviction

Guest post: George Washington

The first president is staring at me, like he wants to say something. I let him out of my wallet this morning for a little fresh air, thinking maybe he wanted to take a ride down the vending machine chute or something. But I can tell that doesn’t interest him in the least. His eyes are piercing. I think he might be angry. Uh-oh. What is it, Mr. President? What is it?

Continue reading Guest post: George Washington

Morning Reading

Good morning. Plenty of rousing stuff to start the day:

Continue reading Morning Reading

I want candy

Thought you might like to check out our latest Department of Behavioral Economics feature. It’s about the co-worker who has all the free candy in their office. You know the one:

Continue reading I want candy

At odds with Dodd

Senator Christopher Dodd unveiled his version of financial re-regulation today. It’s 1,136 pages long, but I can sum it up in one, short sentence: The Fed, the FDIC and the banks won’t like it.

Continue reading At odds with Dodd

A nasty Nor'easter

Wall Street bonuses could increase as much as 40% over last year. And although the fine, hard-working, average person in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut may find that utterly sickening, the truth is, it might be good for them.

Continue reading A nasty Nor'easter

10,000 anxieties

When your retirement account statement comes in the mail, what do you do with it?

A. Rip it open with unbridled optimism
B. Open it very slowly with one eye half-open
C. Toss it unopened into a boiling pot of acid
D. File it away as a memento to share with your grandchildren who ask about the Great Recession.

Continue reading 10,000 anxieties

Morning Reading

Good morning. Here’s what has me contemplating and chuckling:

Continue reading Morning Reading

Ideas, ideas

A few days ago, on my After the Bell podcast, I asked whether the public’s outrage over Wall Street would produce real change. This was the week of the protests at the American Bankers Association convention. Here’s one of the responses I received:

Continue reading Ideas, ideas

Too big to exist

I wasn’t here on Friday to point this out, and it seemed to get lost in the news shuffle anyway, but a bill was introduced in the Senate that would tackle Too Big To Fail. And by tackle, I don’t mean in the wishy-washy Treasury Department way. It would actually break up the banks.

Continue reading Too big to exist

Jobs? Who needs jobs?

The stock market seems to have no interest in the unemployment rate. 10% unemployment? 17% underemployment? No worries. Just order me some more stock, please. Today, the Dow hit a new high for the year.

Continue reading Jobs? Who needs jobs?

Financial Futures

Marketplace Money takes its show on the road tonight with a special event in Portland, Oregon. The theme is a subject that deserves special attention in these economic times — young people and their money.

Continue reading Financial Futures

Morning Reading

Good morning. Hope you had a good weekend. Just a few things to start the week, on this 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall:

Continue reading Morning Reading

Chop chop

Our weekly podcast, After the Bell, is now available. This week, the White House said its goal is to cut the deficit in half by the end of Obama’s first term.

Is that possible? Scott talks to Diane Lim Rogers.

Continue reading Chop chop

Busta Rhymes

The latest Marketplace Minute is here! Once again, Morning Report host Bill Radke waxes lyrical with this week’s business news. In a poetic 60-seconds: unemployment, GM isn’t selling Opel, Warren Buffett bets on Berkshire Hathaway, Disney’s new Chinese park, and CIT Group goes bust.

U6 and you

By now you’ve probably read the highlights. The economy lost 190,000 jobs in October, sending the percentage of Americans out of work, but looking for jobs, to 10.2%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Continue reading U6 and you

Morning reading

Scott Jagow is out today - he’ll be back Monday.

Meanwhile, here’s a little Friday food for thought.

bear.jpg

The bear is back

It was only a handful of years ago that people would have laughed if you’d told them Russia was issuing bonds - the country defaulted in 1998 and until recently, all but the most iron-stomached investors have held the country at barge-pole length. But Bloomberg reports Russia is considering going back to the bond market.

Continue reading Morning reading

Just some funny stuff

I don’t know about you, but The Onion has the ability to make me laugh uncontrollably. If you’d possibly enjoy such an experience, follow along:

Continue reading Just some funny stuff

Bloggers have cookies at the Treasury

Thought you might like to read about a somewhat strange meeting at the Treasury Department this week. Treasury officials invited eight financial bloggers to come have a chat.

Continue reading Bloggers have cookies at the Treasury

Morning Reading

Good morning. Some interesting items and perspectives this morning, include some rap poetry about a Treasury Secretary:

Continue reading Morning Reading

Subprime student loans, take 2

Part two of our series on for-profit universities airs tonight. Based on the reaction to the first piece, I’d say this is a hot topic.

Continue reading Subprime student loans, take 2

Slots or taxes?

Apparently weary from the recession, the people of Ohio have changed their minds about slot machines. After rejecting casinos four times in the past 19 years, yesterday Ohioans voted to allow them in four cities. Smart thinking?

Continue reading Slots or taxes?

Bubbliciousness

With the Federal Reserve meeting today and Congress poised to extend the home buyer’s tax credit, many forms of the word “bubble” were tossed about at our morning meeting.

Continue reading Bubbliciousness

Morning Reading

Good morning. Here a few things I’ve seen so far:

Continue reading Morning Reading

Poor Charlotte

Bank of America has reportedly expanded its CEO search to include executives who would rather live in New York City than Charlotte, NC. It could portend Charlotte losing a second major banking headquarters in a very short time. Does someone have it out for my former town?

Continue reading Poor Charlotte

Subprime student loans?

Make sure you catch Marketplace tonight. We’re airing the first of two stories on for-profit colleges like the University of Phoenix. These schools make most of their money from taxpayer-backed loans to students. So it’s easy to see why the schools might want to sign up as many students as possible. And of course, that leads to problems.

Continue reading Subprime student loans?

Buffett's new train set

Warren Buffett just turned 79, but to quote a great line from the Washington Post, he invests “like an 8-year-old boy in the 1950’s.” Coca-Cola, Dairy Queen, candy, chewing gum and now a choo-choo set. But seriously, what does his purchase of Burlington Northern Santa Fe tell us about the economy?

Continue reading Buffett's new train set

You be a good boy, Johnny

The US isn’t the only government that continues to shovel money into banks. Today, Britain agreed to infuse two of its financial institutions with another $51 billion. The British government now owns 84% of RBS. Eighty-four percent.

Continue reading You be a good boy, Johnny

Morning Reading

Good morning. A few items to get the day started:

Continue reading Morning Reading

Some props to Ford

Ford Motor Company deserves a little blog time today. Ford surprised just about everyone with a third quarter profit of a billion dollars. Most analysts were predicting a loss. This doesn’t mean Ford has solved all of its problems, but the company’s turnaround is impressive.

Continue reading Some props to Ford

Cleaning the office coffee pots

Are you being asked to do more with less? Is your department stretched so thin, your workday now includes duties beneath your accomplished resume? Take a seat on the couch. Let’s discuss.

Continue reading Cleaning the office coffee pots

Bank failures are piling up

I’m guessing the FDIC has told its employees what they’ll be doing on Friday nights for a long time to come. So far this year, the government has seized 115 banks, the most in a year since 1992. Nine were taken over last Friday, including one downstairs from Marketplace.

Continue reading Bank failures are piling up

How Goldman beat the housing market

One question that keeps sticking around: How did Goldman Sachs manage to get out of the building before it burned down? One answer — it sneaked out the back door while no one was paying attention.

Continue reading How Goldman beat the housing market

Morning Reading

Good morning. Hope you had a good weekend. A few things to get the week rolling:

Continue reading Morning Reading


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