Crash Survival Zone

By David Leonhardt

There are two basic truths about the enormous deficits that the federal government will run in the coming years.

The first is that President Obama’s agenda, ambitious as it may be, is responsible for only a sliver of the deficits, despite what many of his Republican critics are saying. The second is that Mr. [...]

The unemploymentality is a transformative state of mind that is the result of a sudden loss of job. Initial symptoms include spite and resentment towards the ubiquitous “economy.” People in these early stages can often be found at bars and Speakeasys, their heads hung low over a pint. Later stages of the unemploymentality are subtle [...]

Gillian Tett of the Financial Times discusses the origins of the financial crisis — namely those innovative and toxic subprime mortgage-backed securities. Tett, an assistant editor at newspaper, has been writing extensively about the financial crisis.

.Audio clip

NPR

Help! I can’t stop rooting for the stock market to fall.
By Chadwick Matlin

I am a heretic, an economic masochist, a traitor to my industry and my country. When the Dow Jones Industrial Average starts falling, I hope it keeps falling. I am a man who roots for the stock market to go down.

Forgive me, capitalism, [...]

How would you like to study a economics course offered by an Ivy League university taught by one of the top economists in the world from the comfort of your home? And what if it was all completely free? Well, you can. Thanks to Yale’s open courses project and great technology, you can take part [...]

Federal Reserve Policies to Ease Credit and Their Implications for the Fed’s Balance Sheet
We live in extraordinarily challenging times for the global economy and for economic policymakers, not least for central banks such as the Federal Reserve. As you know, the recent economic statistics have been dismal, with many economies, including ours, having fallen into [...]

With the market revisiting the lows it touched last fall, it’s hard to get too excited about investing, period, even in a vehicle that promises a measure of tax savings such as an IRA.

Moreover, the IRA rules are confusing and off-putting under the best of circumstances. Nothing is altogether simple when the IRS is involved, [...]