Some NYC Businesses Receive H1N1 Vaccine
Some of New York's largest companies have received the H1N1 vaccine in the last week.
All Blog Posts from Econwatch
Read all 'Economy' posts in Econwatch
November 5, 2009 11:18 AM
November 4, 2009 11:38 AM 
This post by Jill Schlesinger originally appeared on CBS' MoneyWatch.com.
Here's the second episode of "Ask the Experts"...please send more questions for the 3rd episode on Thursday morning. Just post your comments below and we'll tackle the questions!
Ask The Experts, Episode Deux!
This post by Jill Schlesinger originally appeared on CBS' MoneyWatch.com.
Here's the second episode of "Ask the Experts"...please send more questions for the 3rd episode on Thursday morning. Just post your comments below and we'll tackle the questions!
November 4, 2009 11:09 AM
In Tough Times, Kids Turn to Modeling
Today's depressed economy is leading more parents to modeling and talent agencies – not for themselves, but for their kids, in the hopes that their looks can bring in some needed extra cash. Child models make as much as $125 an hour.
October 29, 2009 11:33 AM
This post by Jill Schlesinger originally appeared on CBS' MoneyWatch.com.
Third quarter Gross Domestic Product showed that the nation's economy grew by an annualized 3.5% rate. Not bad, especially considering that we've seen contraction in five of the last six quarters. Most economists believe that the most severe economic decline since the Great Depression likely ended in August or September. Of course we'll have to wait until the folks at the National Bureau of Economic Research's Dating Committee declare the actual end date. Still, it's clear that much of the data is improving. "Tell that to my brother-in-law who just lost his job last week," said one Early Show employee.
In our interview this morning, Harry Smith and I discussed the good, the bad and the ugly of the economy. Not surprisingly, a lot depends on which sector of the economy employs you and where you live.
Jobs Outlook: Why GDP Gains Haven't Helped
This post by Jill Schlesinger originally appeared on CBS' MoneyWatch.com.
Third quarter Gross Domestic Product showed that the nation's economy grew by an annualized 3.5% rate. Not bad, especially considering that we've seen contraction in five of the last six quarters. Most economists believe that the most severe economic decline since the Great Depression likely ended in August or September. Of course we'll have to wait until the folks at the National Bureau of Economic Research's Dating Committee declare the actual end date. Still, it's clear that much of the data is improving. "Tell that to my brother-in-law who just lost his job last week," said one Early Show employee.
In our interview this morning, Harry Smith and I discussed the good, the bad and the ugly of the economy. Not surprisingly, a lot depends on which sector of the economy employs you and where you live.
October 28, 2009 5:35 PM
This article by Lewis Braham originally appeared on CBS' MoneyWatch.com.
While this month’s stock market action has been relatively benign, October is known to be a particularly spooky month for stocks (see: 1929 and 1987). Perhaps it’s the coming of fall, the days getting shorter, or the arrival of Halloween, but gloom and doom and ghoulish predictions for the future have often prevailed. With that in mind, we asked five money managers and financial gurus to share their worst-case scenarios for the market and the economy. From runaway inflation to sky-high deficits that force the government to slash Social Security and Medicare, we found five fears that keep the experts up at night.
Not to suggest that these spooky scenarios ought to make you hit the panic button. Just consider it a stress test for your portfolio: Are you diversified enough to provide protection if the market goes south, or are you betting the farm on a best-case scenario? Inflation is a recurring theme in our experts’ nightmares; you can hedge that risk by owning inflation-protected securities and boosting your exposure to international markets. That way, you should be able to get a decent night’s sleep no matter what happens.
1. Runaway Inflation
“I don’t think we’ll have a crash like the last one, but the risk that we will have a significant bear market is very real. There could be several catalysts. For one, European banks are undercapitalized and overleveraged — far more overleveraged than U.S. banks. So the likelihood of a major European bank failing in the next two to four years is significant. Also, the likelihood of the commercial real estate sector in the U.S. suffering a significant wave of foreclosures is high. A third risk is any sort of geopolitical shock, such as another terrorist attack or a small war starting in another country. The fourth — and arguably the biggest — potential catalyst is that our aggregated indebtedness as a nation has gotten totally out of hand. Rampant inflation is a serious risk if we keep spending $1 trillion to $2 trillion more than our tax revenues.”
5 Nightmare Scenarios for the Economy
This article by Lewis Braham originally appeared on CBS' MoneyWatch.com.
(CBS)
While this month’s stock market action has been relatively benign, October is known to be a particularly spooky month for stocks (see: 1929 and 1987). Perhaps it’s the coming of fall, the days getting shorter, or the arrival of Halloween, but gloom and doom and ghoulish predictions for the future have often prevailed. With that in mind, we asked five money managers and financial gurus to share their worst-case scenarios for the market and the economy. From runaway inflation to sky-high deficits that force the government to slash Social Security and Medicare, we found five fears that keep the experts up at night.
Not to suggest that these spooky scenarios ought to make you hit the panic button. Just consider it a stress test for your portfolio: Are you diversified enough to provide protection if the market goes south, or are you betting the farm on a best-case scenario? Inflation is a recurring theme in our experts’ nightmares; you can hedge that risk by owning inflation-protected securities and boosting your exposure to international markets. That way, you should be able to get a decent night’s sleep no matter what happens.
1. Runaway Inflation
“I don’t think we’ll have a crash like the last one, but the risk that we will have a significant bear market is very real. There could be several catalysts. For one, European banks are undercapitalized and overleveraged — far more overleveraged than U.S. banks. So the likelihood of a major European bank failing in the next two to four years is significant. Also, the likelihood of the commercial real estate sector in the U.S. suffering a significant wave of foreclosures is high. A third risk is any sort of geopolitical shock, such as another terrorist attack or a small war starting in another country. The fourth — and arguably the biggest — potential catalyst is that our aggregated indebtedness as a nation has gotten totally out of hand. Rampant inflation is a serious risk if we keep spending $1 trillion to $2 trillion more than our tax revenues.”
October 2, 2009 12:27 PM 
In response to last year's financial crisis, federal regulators offered the nation's banks billions of dollars, arguing they were "too big to fail." Yet that idea is a more serious threat to the nation's economic growth than many realize, Alan Greenspan, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, said Friday.
"'Too big to fail' is a major problem," Greenspan said at The First Draft of History, a conference in Washington, D.C. "It has a major impact in the way investments are made."
There needs to be a fee or an additional tax, Greenspan said, or some way "to make no institutions too big to fail." Politically, however, he acknowledged that this was very unlikely to happen.
"The problem is when you have institutions too big to fail, it is essentially saying they... cannot compete in the marketplace," he said. "Those institutions' capital... are being financed by national savings. To this extent, it is they and not the more cutting edge technologies getting the capital."
This goes against the very purpose of the financial system, Greenspan said, which is to "direct (the nation's savings) to those physical investments with the greatest promise."
Greenspan: Banks Shouldn't Be "Too Big to Fail"
(AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)
"'Too big to fail' is a major problem," Greenspan said at The First Draft of History, a conference in Washington, D.C. "It has a major impact in the way investments are made."
There needs to be a fee or an additional tax, Greenspan said, or some way "to make no institutions too big to fail." Politically, however, he acknowledged that this was very unlikely to happen.
"The problem is when you have institutions too big to fail, it is essentially saying they... cannot compete in the marketplace," he said. "Those institutions' capital... are being financed by national savings. To this extent, it is they and not the more cutting edge technologies getting the capital."
This goes against the very purpose of the financial system, Greenspan said, which is to "direct (the nation's savings) to those physical investments with the greatest promise."
September 30, 2009 12:02 PM
This post by John Keefe originally appeared on CBS' MoneyWatch.com.
The Dow at 10,000. Does it mean anything? It may be just fodder for financial writers: a Google search that also specifies September 2009 returns five million results. But it could be that the Dow Jones Industrial Average at 10,000 coincides with some extreme in valuation, and is a "destination" for the market. Otherwise, it's just a number, like one of those small, frequent mile markers that tick by on the interstate.
Dow 10,000: A Mile Marker, Or End of The Line?
This post by John Keefe originally appeared on CBS' MoneyWatch.com.
The Dow at 10,000. Does it mean anything? It may be just fodder for financial writers: a Google search that also specifies September 2009 returns five million results. But it could be that the Dow Jones Industrial Average at 10,000 coincides with some extreme in valuation, and is a "destination" for the market. Otherwise, it's just a number, like one of those small, frequent mile markers that tick by on the interstate.
September 21, 2009 7:39 AM 
Princeton economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman (pictured left in a file photo) is feeling optimistic — at least in terms of a global financial apocalypse being averted.
Bloomberg's Kati Pohjanpalo reports that, speaking at a seminar in Helsinki today, the Nobel Prize-winner said that "the end of the world appears to have been postponed."
Paul Krugman: End of World 'Postponed'
(AP)
Bloomberg's Kati Pohjanpalo reports that, speaking at a seminar in Helsinki today, the Nobel Prize-winner said that "the end of the world appears to have been postponed."
September 18, 2009 11:44 AM 
Following a pattern of economic improvement in recent weeks, General Motors was surprised to find that its dealers want up to four times more cars than the company had predicted it would build in October, reports the Detroit News.
Dealers to GM: Give us More Cars
(AP Photo/File)
September 15, 2009 4:00 PM
Winners and Losers in the New Job Market
By Nancy F. Smith of CBS MoneyWatch.com
Among the most pervasive and long-lasting effects of the Lehman Brothers failure — and the economic collapse it exemplified — has been the pain felt by the American labor force. When the firm failed on September 15, 2008, and the credit markets slammed shut, a wave of sheer panic swept across businesses big and small as they scrambled to shore up lines of credit and gird for what most believed would be a significant economic downturn. The result: What had been a relatively predictable and gradual rise in unemployment since the beginning of the recession in December 2007 became a hemorrhage as the unemployment rate jumped from 6.2 percent that September to 9.7 percent a year later. Over the past year, about 6 million Americans have lost their jobs. Another 9 million find themselves in the category of involuntary part-time workers, a jump of 3.7 million in just over 12 months. The economy must create 125,000 jobs a month just to stay even with population growth, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and clearly, it’s not.
But it’s not the sheer numbers of jobs shed that will be a lasting legacy of the death of Lehman Brothers. Already, job loss is slowing, and the recession may have ended. Rather it’s the way those numbers will shake out to reshape the contours of the labor force. Here, the winners and losers in the post-Lehman world.
Women Will Bring Home the Bacon
One key factor shaping the new reality facing America’s workforce is the relative ascendance of women. Since May 2007, the number of jobs held by men aged 25 to 64 has fallen by 4.7 percent a year; for women in the same age group, the loss is 1.7 percent. Women aged 55 to 64 actually have gained jobs, while every other group in the prime working years lost jobs. The gap in jobless rates between men and women has been increasing. According to BLS data, the August unemployment rate for men was more than 10 percent; for women, 7.6 percent. That 2.4 percent gap is an all-time high.
Among the most pervasive and long-lasting effects of the Lehman Brothers failure — and the economic collapse it exemplified — has been the pain felt by the American labor force. When the firm failed on September 15, 2008, and the credit markets slammed shut, a wave of sheer panic swept across businesses big and small as they scrambled to shore up lines of credit and gird for what most believed would be a significant economic downturn. The result: What had been a relatively predictable and gradual rise in unemployment since the beginning of the recession in December 2007 became a hemorrhage as the unemployment rate jumped from 6.2 percent that September to 9.7 percent a year later. Over the past year, about 6 million Americans have lost their jobs. Another 9 million find themselves in the category of involuntary part-time workers, a jump of 3.7 million in just over 12 months. The economy must create 125,000 jobs a month just to stay even with population growth, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and clearly, it’s not.
(AP Photo/Lynne Sladk)
But it’s not the sheer numbers of jobs shed that will be a lasting legacy of the death of Lehman Brothers. Already, job loss is slowing, and the recession may have ended. Rather it’s the way those numbers will shake out to reshape the contours of the labor force. Here, the winners and losers in the post-Lehman world.
Women Will Bring Home the Bacon
One key factor shaping the new reality facing America’s workforce is the relative ascendance of women. Since May 2007, the number of jobs held by men aged 25 to 64 has fallen by 4.7 percent a year; for women in the same age group, the loss is 1.7 percent. Women aged 55 to 64 actually have gained jobs, while every other group in the prime working years lost jobs. The gap in jobless rates between men and women has been increasing. According to BLS data, the August unemployment rate for men was more than 10 percent; for women, 7.6 percent. That 2.4 percent gap is an all-time high.
