sábado, 6 de febrero de 2021

Newsvine - economy-in-turmoil

Fed Chairman Bernanke said a U.S. government program intended to spark lending to consumers and businesses is still necessary.

The Panic of 2008 upended much of the financial “conventional wisdom” most individuals took on faith. Here are seven (once) widely held principles that turned out to be seriously flawed.

Obama: We will not go back to the days of reckless behavior and unchecked excess at the heart of this crisis, where too many were motivated only by the appetite for quick kills and bloated bonuses.

Even as economists point to signs that the country is slowly starting to regain its financial footing, for many Americans hope has been dampened by frustration, fear and anger.

In seat 24B as US Airways Flight 1549 fell silently toward the Hudson River, attorney Frank Scudere did not know that his name was on the list of lawyers that his firm planned to lay off the next morning.

The many government programs that have been launched since the economy began melting down last year may seem more like alphabet soup than a plan for recovery. Here’s a look at some of the main programs created in response to the financial crisis, and what you should know about them.

I am an employee of AIG. Well, actually, now I am an employee of AIU Holdings Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of AIG. To answer questions that I am repeatedly asked by everyone, I work 9 to 5 everyday, I am not in the Financial Products division, and no, I didn't get a bonus.

The uproar over bonuses paid to AIG executives is giving critics of corporate pay practices hope that either Congress or the private sector will move to rein in compensation even at companies that are not getting government aid.For years, some have argued that a system of rewarding executives with millions of dollars in annual compensation is too opulent and too far out of sync with what average employees take home.

If President Barack Obama wants to find a scapegoat for the mess at American International Group, he needs only to look east from the White House to the halls of Congress.

California, a state so large that its economy dwarfs most nations, now has another, less cheery, claim to fame: It is one of the states hardest hit by the country’s unemployment woes.

Chairman Dodd, Senator Shelby, and members of the Committee, I appreciate the opportunity to discuss monetary policy and the economic situation and to present the Federal Reserve's Monetary Policy Report to the Congress.

President Barack Obama and Democratic congressional leaders promised that money from the $787 billion economic stimulus legislation would be spent quickly, and in central Missouri, they were proven right.

One week, you’re working 40 hours. The next, your boss has cut you to 36. And maybe the week after that, it’s dropped to a measly 27 hours per week.

Looking back, many Americans may remember January 2009 as the month when the recession really hit home.

With three kids, four months of unpaid bills and a home teetering on foreclosure, Jenny hopes salvation lies in a precious slice of bubblegum-scented cardboard.

Every year we reporters and editors gather in our smokeless newsrooms to debate the top stories of the year and come up with endless "top 10" lists.

For American parents, bargain prices for toys this holiday season qualify as good news: A Barbie fan who rose before dawn for Wal-Mart’s Black Friday sale could secure the coquettish “Barbie Diamond Castle Princess Liana Doll” for $5 — royally marked down from its regular retail price. At Target, a 10-pack of die-cast Hot Wheels cars also went for just $5, while a radio-controlled helicopter cost a mere $15. The price wars were enough to draw consumers out of their bunkers for their first shopping spree in months.

For Bridget Smith and her family, Thanksgiving is going to be different this year. For one thing, they might not have a dining room table.

The economic crisis may be doing what pastors, family therapists and matrimonial counselors have long struggled to accomplish: keeping troubled marriages together.

After losing a job or suffering some other economic hardship, some Americans have decided they must withdraw money from their 401(k) or other retirement plan in order to cover expenses. Still, experts warn such a decision can carry substantial costs, and risks.

For years, Starbucks’ coffee drinks were considered the type of affordable luxury that could withstand the ebbs and flows of the U.S. economy.

For a long time, Bill Davis thought he was immune to the economy’s ills.

The financial crisis that has been sweeping the globe has reshaped nearly every corner of the economy, but no industry has been altered more radically than banking.