Hear: Can Anyone Make Jobs?

A job fair for veterans in New York City.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

 

Today on Planet Money:

We continue our theme about the nature of jobs -- what they really are, where they really come from and whether the government can really create them.

-- Economist Russell Roberts, of George Mason University, takes a whack at job-creation programs like President-elect Barack Obama's. Roberts says the billions of dollars involved get shifted from other parts of the economy, so the net effect is minimal.

-- Phil and Jen Sandifer get an Economist House Call from Simon Johnson of MIT. The Sandifers, graduate students at the University Florida, own their home and are worried about selling it when they find teaching jobs -- if they find teaching jobs.

-- Listener Michael A. Goldsmith asks where new money comes from. (And wouldn't we all like to know.)

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music: The Raconteur's "Salute Your Solution." Find us: Twitter/ Facebook/ Flickr.

Laura Conaway

5:47 PM ET | 12- 3-2008 | permalink

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Hear: Cousin 'Knows Best'

Construction workers keep on trucking.

Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images)

 

We don't usually listen to our family members when they offer financial advice. But what happens when your family member happens to be Planet Money host Adam Davidson? Does that mean you have to listen?

Adam's been telling his cousin, DJ, that he's facing economic danger for years. Now, with the help of a finance expert, he finds out it may not be so bad.

Today on Planet Money:

-- Finance professor Pietra Rivoli makes a housecall for Adam and his cousin DJ.

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music: Bruce Springsteen's "Born To Run." Find us: Twitter/ Facebook/ Flickr.

Caitlin Kenney

6:15 PM ET | 12- 2-2008 | permalink

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Hear: Money Goes Haywire

Bank on it.

Jessica Goldstein/NPR

 

We can all stop tiptoeing around the "R" word. Today the Bureau of Economic Research officially declared that not only is the U.S. in a recession, but it has been in one since December 2007. For those of you keeping score at home, that's a year.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is sending signals that it might take its benchmark rate below 1 percent. You'd have to look back half a century for money that cheap.

Today on Planet Money:

-- David Kestenbaum delivers the absolutely final word, forever, on whether your gift card will be worth anything if the store goes out of business.

-- We continue our series on the nature of money, with economics professor Steve Hanke. The Johns Hopkins fellow studies what happens when money goes bizarre, as it has with hyperinflation in Zimbabwe.

-- Listener Jerry Cosgrove posed a brainteaser about where the money goes when you sell your house for less than you paid for it. With help from Laura Sullivan of NPR, Russ Roberts of George Mason University, and a Monopoly game, we figure out Cosgrove's puzzle.

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music: Queen and David Bowie's "Under Pressure." Find us: Twitter/ Facebook/ Flickr.

Laura Conaway

4:44 PM ET | 12- 1-2008 | permalink

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Hear: Money Is As Money Does

The cart where Ash works.

Alan Cordova/NPR

 

Today on Planet Money:

President-elect Barack Obama picks Paul Volcker to lead the Economic Recovery Advisory Board. Meanwhile, Adam Davidson buys a hot dog. It's all part of our continuing coverage of the economic crisis and the nature of money.

Note: Happy Thanksgiving! We'll blog a little over the next couple of days, then be back podcasting on Monday.

-- Ammon Shea, author of Reading the OED, defines "money." Literally.

-- Adam Davidson takes former Treasury Under Secretary Peter Fisher out for street food, plus a mindblowing curbside chat on which kind of money is what.

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music: Ryan Adams "Come Pick Me Up." Find us: Twitter/ Facebook/ Flickr.

Laura Conaway

4:04 PM ET | 11-26-2008 | permalink

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Hear: Where Did The Money Go?

Click for annotated version.

Christy Cullen/Planet Money Flickr group

 

Today on Planet Money:

On Monday, we talked about money as a relationship. Today, we look at what happens when your sugar up and leaves. Where, oh, where did the money go?

Plus, a divine Economist House Call, and after the jump, links from you.

-- Renee Rico, a Presbyterian pastor in California, asks housecalling economist Simon Johnson about the church's annual pledge drive.

-- Niall Ferguson, author of The Ascent of Money, takes the one question that keeps on giving: Where did all the money go?

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music: Santogold's "Lights Out." Find us: Twitter/ Facebook/ Flickr.

Continue reading "Hear: Where Did The Money Go?" »

Laura Conaway

4:37 PM ET | 11-25-2008 | permalink

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Hear: Money Is A Relationship

Drip, drip, drip. . .

Nathan Bowling

 

Today on Planet Money:

We spend a lot of time worrying about money, working for money, spending money, saving money -- but what, exactly, is money? Where does it come from? Where does it go? Today, we begin a series that we hope will answer those questions (and, you know, more).

-- Eric Rauchway, author of a new history of the Great Depression, looks at President-elect Obama's pick for Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner.

-- Niall Ferguson, author of The Ascent of Money, defines money in a rather surprising way.

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music: Flying Lizards's "Money." Find us: Twitter/ Facebook/ Flickr.

Laura Conaway

6:03 PM ET | 11-24-2008 | permalink

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Hear: Peter Schiff Is Warning You

Write your own pun.

NPR

 

Today on Planet Money:

Reports say Timothy Geithner has been tapped as the next U.S. Treasury secretary. How big of a mess might he face? We asked one of the original Cassandras, and the answer is so not pretty.

-- Christine Walravens asks whether the recession will help slow down climate change. Oil Drum contributor Gail Tverberg says yes, but . . .

-- Peter Schiff was right -- that's the message on YouTube. The president of Euro Pacific Capital and frequent TV commentator spent the past few years telling anyone who'd listen that America was heading for a recession. Now he tells us what he expects next.

-- NPR editor Uri Berliner looks at the example of Schiff and considers whether the network saw the crisis coming.

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music: Blondie's "Call Me." Find us: Twitter/ Facebook/ Flickr.

Laura Conaway

5:32 PM ET | 11-21-2008 | permalink

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Hear: Dancing With Detroit

An auto worker gets an update on his retirement account.

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

 

Today on Planet Money:

A bipartisan group of Congressional leaders say they've reached a compromise on bailing out the auto industry. Another group, Democratic leaders, says Detroit must present Congress with a plan by Dec. 2 -- in which case they'll consider voting on it.

-- Adam Davidson reveals what's troubling him about the stock market.

-- David Cole of the Center for Automotive Research looks at the standoff between Detroit and Congress. Cole also explains why the Big Three CEO's used private jets to reach Washington, D.C.

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music: The Killers's "Human." Follow our Twitter feed. Join our Facebook group.

Laura Conaway

6:14 PM ET | 11-20-2008 | permalink

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Hear: Uncle Sam Plays 'God'

Tax included.

Lonnie Cooper/Planet Money Flickr group

 

Today on Planet Money:

The bad news out there hits home, with the stock market falling below 8,000 and credit market indicators still in tough territory. Meanwhile, U.S. officials are now deciding which banks should get a potentially life-saving injection of public capital, and which shouldn't.

-- Charles Peabody of Portales Partners says the government is "playing God" with the banks -- and maybe playing politics, too.

-- Listener Ryan Stotland sends a song for the crisis. He recorded "A Central Banker's Dilemma." Because, you know, why not?

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music today: The Astroturf's "A Central Banker's Dilemma." Opening news clip from Rep. Barney Frank, on Morning Edition. Follow our Twitter feed. Join our Facebook group.

Laura Conaway

5:45 PM ET | 11-19-2008 | permalink

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Hear: World's Shortest Editorials

The Chinese say they're paying for America's financial crisis.

NPR

 

Today on Planet Money:

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is hailing the G-20's declaration that credit ratings agency be regulated as a major victory. But professor of banking, Joseph Mason, says he thinks it's just more of the same. Plus: Laura is back from China with a conversation about capitalism.

-- Louisiana State University banking professor Joseph Mason says credit ratings agencies have become arbiters of risk and need more monitoring.

-- A journalist in China calls capitalism a mixed bag.

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music today: Daryl Hall and John Oates' "Rich Girl." Get the opening clip in full. Follow our Twitter feed. Join our Facebook group.

Caitlin Kenney

6:19 PM ET | 11-18-2008 | permalink

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Hear: PMI To The Rescue?

Homes for sale in Clover, South Carolina.

Aimee Ennis/Planet Money Facebook Group

 

Today on Planet Money:

With so many homeowners facing foreclosure, a lot of you have been asking about what effect that's having on PMI, private mortgage insurance. We get the answer from a insurance expert.

-- Listener Holly Yoders wants to know what happened to all the private mortgage premiums that were paid on mortgage loans with less than 20% down.

-- Economist Hampton Finer of the New York State Insurance Department says private mortgage insurance is going to be of limited help to banks.

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music today: Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody." Get the opening clip in full. Follow our Twitter feed. Join our Facebook group.

Caitlin Kenney

5:02 PM ET | 11-17-2008 | permalink

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Hear: No One Shopping

Is anyone listening?

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

 

Today on Planet Money:

The holiday shopping season is just weeks away, but it doesn't look good for retailers. Retail sales fell by 2.8% last month, the largest drop off on record. But not everyone is worried. Finance professor, John Cochrane, says he doesn't understand what all the fuss is about.

-- John Cochrane says the world hasn't fallen off a cliff...yet.

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Music today: Sia's "Little Black Sandals." Get the opening clip in full. Follow our Twitter feed. Join our Facebook group.

Caitlin Kenney

4:48 PM ET | 11-14-2008 | permalink

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Hear: World Gears Up For G20 Summit

Hedge fund managers on Capitol Hill.

Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images

 

Today on Planet Money:

Hedge fund managers say they'll share their numbers with SEC, but not with the public. And indications of the economic downturn are all around, as Washington gears up for the G20 summit.

-- Kumi Naidoo, co-chair of the Global Call to Action against Poverty is in town to guarantee the world's poorer countries won't be left out at the G20 meeting.

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music today: TV on the Radio's "Love Dog." Get the opening clip in full. Follow our Twitter feed. Join our Facebook group.

Caitlin Kenney

6:29 PM ET | 11-13-2008 | permalink

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Hear: Bankruptcy Goes Big Time

The man of the hour.

Alex Wong/Getty Images

 

Today on Planet Money:

We get your questions answered. A lawyer explains how a General Motors bankruptcy would work, and a corporate tax expert breaks down a significant change in the tax code.

-- Bankruptcy attorney Steve Jakubowski says Chapter 11 won't work for GM.

-- Corporate tax law expert Robert Willens adds up the windfall from a one-line change in the tax code.

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music today: Led Zeppelin's "Dazed and Confused." Get the opening clip in full. Follow our Twitter feed. Join our Facebook group.

Caitlin Kenney

6:50 PM ET | 11-12-2008 | permalink

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Hear: Auto Industry Asks for Help

Tough times in Michigan.

Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

 

Today on Planet Money:

We're all about the auto industry. President-elect Barack Obama wants to save them, but others aren't sure it's a good idea. We look into the problems at General Motors and hear from a listener on the ground in Detroit.

-- Kimberly Rodriguez, an economist with Grant Thorton LLP, says the U.S. automotive industry needs to survive.

-- Economist House Call! An auto worker in Detroit is nervous about the industry's future. Simon Johnson tells him to sit tight, for the moment.

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Music today: Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars." Get the opening clip in full. Follow our Twitter feed. Join our Facebook group.

Caitlin Kenney

6:30 PM ET | 11-11-2008 | permalink

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Hear: China's Big Stimulus

A street vendor in Beijing, China.

NPR

 

Today on Planet Money:

The federal government is throwing billions more at AIG, and the insurance giant isn't the only one in need of help; the Big Three want a loan of their own. Plus: China has its own solution to deal with the struggling economy: a $586 billion stimulus package.

-- Simon Johnson talks about how China plans to spend the money.

-- Laura checks in with an audio postcard from the streets of Beijing.

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music today: Air's "Universal Traveler." Get the opening clip in full. Follow our Twitter feed. Join our Facebook group.

Caitlin Kenney

4:59 PM ET | 11-10-2008 | permalink

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Hear: A Tale of Intertwined Misery

The Whitefish Bay High School, where nearly 900 students attend classes.

Ashley Gilbertson/New York Times/NPR

 

Today on Planet Money:

A tale of global economic disaster from Planet Money and the New York Times.

-- David Kestenbaum starts it off with a story about school districts that bought some of the worst stuff on Wall Street.

-- Adam Davidson picks it up with an Irish bank that has its own problems.

-- Alex Blumberg wraps it up with the story of how troubles at that Irish bank and other banks are wreaking havoc all across America.

(READ: New York Times reporter Charles Duhigg's story From Midwest to M.T.A., Pain From Global Gamble )

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music today: Thomas Newman's "The Bad Beginning" from "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events." Follow our Twitter feed. Join our Facebook group.

Caitlin Kenney

6:37 PM ET | 11- 7-2008 | permalink

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Hear: A Bailout Progress Report

Twin Cities, MN, 11.02.08

Elizabeth Deviney

 

Today on Planet Money:

The Treasury Department gave its first report to Congress on the bailout this week. We find out where the money is going and what's next. Plus: A look at what happens when big corporations make friends with one political party and another party comes into power.

-- Treasury spokesperson Jennifer Zuccarelli gives us a status update on the bailout.

-- Finance professor Michael Weisbach tells us how the political affiliations of a company's bard of directors affect its stock prices.

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music today: Oasis's "Live Forever." Get the opening clip in full. Follow our Twitter feed. Join our Facebook group.

Caitlin Kenney

4:52 PM ET | 11- 6-2008 | permalink

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Hear: 'Dear President Obama'

Manassas, Virginia, 11.03.08

Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images

 

Today on Planet Money:

Americans picked their next president. As the transition began, Planet Money listeners drew up lists of ideas for how Barack Obama should approach the economy. Plus: Obama finds a home in the suburbs.

-- Money trader Will Aston-Reese scratches his head over the mystifying credit crisis.

--Urban planner Robert Lang, of Virginia Tech's Metropolitan Institute, argues the presidential race turned in part on economic hardship in the mushrooming neighborhoods outside cities.

(NOTE: Technical troubles beyond our control caused this podcast to get shortened in iTunes. The full 16-minute version is now available. Just hit "refresh" in iTunes.)

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music today: Lady Gaga's "Just Dance." Get the opening clip in full. Follow our Twitter feed. Join our Facebook group.

Laura Conaway

5:01 PM ET | 11- 5-2008 | permalink

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Hear: Who's Afraid Of Lower Prices?

Bright lights of Manhattan. (Click to enlarge.)

Ryan Eugene Kelley

 

Today on Planet Money:

While the world waits for some election or other to finish up, a few key pricetags in the American economy continue quietly falling. Deflation means lower prices for you -- and what could be so wrong with that? Um, a lot.

-- Jay Sachdev takes a break from getting out the vote in Nevada to ask why everyone's so afraid of deflation.

-- Maria Fiorini Ramirez says it's because inflation is so much easier to fix. With deflation, you're just rolling money downhill.

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Music today: Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." Get the opening clip in full. Follow our Twitter feed. Join our Facebook group.

Laura Conaway

12:01 PM ET | 11- 4-2008 | permalink

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Hear: Big Story Starts

The bottom line.

Andy Washkowitz

 

Today on Planet Money:

We're all about economic disasters, up close and far away.

-- Andy Washkowitz sends photo evidence of the economy from his neighborhood, where things maybe aren't what they used to be.

-- Only a few months ago, the International Monetary was laying off people, says former chief economist Simon Johnson. Now the IMF is scrambling to save the economies of the world

-- Planet Money teams with the New York Times to present a major story about school districts that bought some of the worst stuff on Wall Street. Charles Duhigg and Adam Davidson unveil the first installment. (NYT/NPR)

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Music today: Big Star's "The Ballad of El Goodo." Get the opening clip in full. Follow our Twitter feed. Join our Facebook group.

Laura Conaway

5:00 PM ET | 11- 3-2008 | permalink

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Hear: The CDS Monster

Scary out there.

Jacqueline Wells/Planet Money Facebook

 

Today on Planet Money:

We're all about credit default swaps, the great trick-or-treat of the modern economy.

-- Alex Blumberg, our collaborator from This American Life, eases us all through Credit Default Swaps School. (From his two-part series on All Things Considered.)

-- Economist Satyajit Das takes listener questions on CDS, including how people settle things when they go wrong.

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Music today: Smashing Pumpkins' "I Am One." Follow our Twitter feed. Join our Facebook group.

Laura Conaway

3:29 PM ET | 10-31-2008 | permalink

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Hear: The R-Word

Columbus, Ohio.

Michael Paull/Planet Money Facebook

 

Today on Planet Money:

The American economy shrank in the third quarter of 2008. A lot of economists think it's still shrinking. It might be time to roll out the R-word: reces****. Just don't say it too loudly.

-- When Gross Domestic Product falls, who you gonna call? Amir Sufi, professor of finance at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

-- Economist House Call! A fellow in Pennsylvania says he'd like to retire but his 401k isn't up to it. Simon Johnson lends a hand, and a handkerchief.

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Music today: Young Jeezy's "Circulate." Follow our Twitter feed. Join our Facebook group.

Laura Conaway

5:54 PM ET | 10-30-2008 | permalink

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Hear: Prescription? Borrow.

Stormy weather.

Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images

 

Today on Planet Money:

The Federal Reserve cut a benchmark interest rate today for the second time in three weeks -- knocking half a percentage point off the federal funds target rate. It's now at 1, and it's all about you.

-- Vinny Catalano, president of the Blue Marble investment firm, says the stock market will go up. Absolutely. Positively. Up.

-- Economic historian John Steele Gordon explains the Federal Reserve wants people to borrow money -- responsibly.

-- Listener Sean Flynn wants to know what in the world is a "yen-carry trade."

-- Currency strategist Meg Browne of Brown Brothers Harriman explains the yen-carry trade, and more.

Download the podcast; or subscribe. Music today: Muddy Water's "Blow Wind Blow." Follow our Twitter feed. Join our Facebook group.

Laura Conaway

5:52 PM ET | 10-29-2008 | permalink

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Hear: Economist Makes House Call, Prescribes Buying Something

Economy car, Grand Junction, Colo.

Travis and Ellen