An early lesson from the meltdown: Wall Street isn't the safest place to save. Economics editor Chris Farrell sets the story straight on rethinking the way we save for retirement.
There've been comparisons between the current economic crisis and the Great Depression. While it may be a stretch, it does remind that there are lessons to be learned from the past.
The children of Baby Boomers tend to have low expectations when it comes to government help As part of our series "Interested Parties," Marketplace's Nancy Marshall Genzer asks Boomer kids what they're looking for in this election.
Economics editor Chris Farrell and host Scott Jagow take questions on wrap accounts, high-yield savings, diversification, depression-proofing investments and 529 plans.
Host Scott Jagow asks financial planner Stuart Ritter how target-date funds can help keep your investments on track with path to retirement, even in a shaky market.
Marketplace's Tess Vigeland wraps up her "Road to Ruin?" trip in St. Louis, where she sits in with a group of high school students as they learn about the economic crisis.
Marketplace's Tess Vigeland and Amy Scott have been traveling across the country getting reactions to the financial crisis. Together in St. Louis, they share what they found with host Scott Jagow.
Kai Ryssdal finds a credit-crisis snapshot in St. Louis, where developers worry about getting loans for their projects and a restaurant owner hears customers stories of lost jobs and homes.
Panicky stockholders are pulling cash out of the market at a dizzying pace. But where is all that money going? Mattresses? Gold mines? But seriously, where? Ashley Milne-Tyte went looking.
Is there an end to these financial disasters? To get an answer, Rico Gagliano and the Marketplace Players went to the future and brought back tape of a Marketplace broadcast 25 years from now.
Stockholders bailed. Bargain hunters bought. And Wall Street turned into a wild roller-coaster ride. Bob Moon tells to Kai Ryssdal what was driving the action and when it's going to settle down.
Missouri Sen. Kit Bond tells Kai Ryssdal about farmers worried about loans for the next crop, public projects on hold and workers losing jobs. Fellow Sen. Claire McCaskill had similar stories, but she also sees cause for hope.
Tess Vigeland and Amy Scott hook up with Kai Ryssdal in St. Louis, at the end of their road trips through the Main Streets of America. So, has Wall Street put the country on the Road to Ruin?
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said taxpayers get preferred stock and banks get cash infusion when the government purchases the stocks. Washington Bureau Chief John Dimsdale has more.
The IMF says rising food and energy prices are taking a heavy toll on some developing nations. Nancy Marshall Genzer reports financial ministers will have struggling countries on the agenda this weekend.
President Bush addressed press from the Rose Garden of the White House, listing steps the government has taken to resolve the financial crisis. The statement was intended to calm down the markets. Jeremy Hobson reports.
Marketplace Money host Tess Vigeland is wrapping up her "Road to Ruin?" trip in St. Louis. She says a high school economics class has given her hope the next generation may learn from the current crisis.
Governments worldwide are making strides to stop the financial crisis from escalating any further. But money manager Bill Fleckenstein told Bill Radke why he doesn't have much confidence the moves will help.
The government is weighing a plan to insure all of the nation's bank deposits. Previously, depositors were insured for up to $100,000, but lawmakers may remove the limits altogether. Jeremy Hobson reports.
A stock-savvy hotel bellman in St. Louis tells Marketplace's Amy Scott how he's weathering the financial storm. It's another report in our "Road to Ruin?" series.
Despite governments around the globe pulling out all the stops, markets worldwide are crashing this morning. Stacey Vanek-Smith talks to economist Andrew Hilton about what this means for investors and the economy.
Why are investors stubbornly resisting efforts to restore faith in the market? Kai Ryssdal turns to Andrew Lo, a professor at MIT's Sloan School of Management, for an answer.
SEC Chairman Christopher Cox has repeatedly sought to plug up "the regulatory black hole" of credit-default swaps, a big issue in the credit crisis. Nancy Marshall Genzer explains.
S&P's warning that it was reviewing General Motors credit rating for a possible downgrade sent the auto maker's shares down 30 percent and helped drag the Dow below 9,000. Steve Henn has more.
Rate cuts. Bailouts. Injections of cash. The Fed has used almost every tool it has to try to restore confidence in the markets and loosen the credit squeeze. To no avail. Ashley Milne-Tyte reports.
The closest parallel to our financial state is perhaps Japan in the early '90s. Its recession is known as the Lost Decade and by many accounts is still going on. Scott Tong reports from Tokyo.
The word "depression" has been on the lips of many politicians, news people and pundits of late. Reporter Nate DiMeo takes a look back into history to see if all this Depression talk makes any sense.
The Treasury Department is considering taking an ownership stake in some banks. Host Kai Ryssdal speaks with Washington Bureau Chief John Dimsdale on how the plan would work.
Treasury Secretary Paulson will attend the G-7 meeting in Washington, although he says it's unlikely it will produce a global economic plan. Megan Williams has more.
The World Economic Forum has released a survey rating global banking systems, and Canada has come out on top. Jennifer Collins reports where the U.S. falls on the list — and the U.K. is close behind.
The Treasury Department is considering going further to help the credit markets by taking ownership stakes in many U.S. banks. Marketplace's Bill Radke talks to Jeremy Hobson about why that could be a risky move.
It may not be the best time to buy a new vehicle, but used car salesman Morton McArthur remains optimistic. New York Bureau Chief Amy Scott caught up with him at his lot outside of Cincinnati, Ohio for our Road to Ruin.
Oil may not be seeing the per-barrel prices of last year, but the average prices are still higher than last year. Ashley Milne-Tyte looks into what energy analysts are predicting for oil profits as earnings reports come in.
Yesterday's coordinated rate cut seems to have calmed the markets overseas. Stacey Vanek-Smith talks to European correspondent Stephen Beard about why the weekend IMF meeting could be encouraging.
When the analysts and experts talk about the current financial crisis, they often refer to "credit default swaps." So, what exactly is a credit default swap? Marketplace Senior Editor Paddy Hirsch goes to the whiteboard for this explanation.
The U.K. has threatened to sue Iceland to recover millions of euros Brits deposited in banks such as the collapsed IceSave, which has an online branch open to foreigners. European Bureau Chief Stephen Beard reports.
Global warming and other environmental worries sparked a green business boom in recent years. But with the flow of money freezing up, so is spending on renewable energy technology and sustainable products and services. Sarah Gardner reports.
Signs of recession are everywhere in Michigan, which has been dealing with the auto industry's decline for years. New York Bureau Chief Amy Scott visited the Detroit area for our "Road to Ruin?" series and tells Kai Ryssdal what she saw.
The government has been collecting applications from asset managers to work on the bailout. They're the people who will buy and manage those bad loans and securities for the Treasury. Washington Bureau Chief John Dimsdale reports.
The bailout didn't give the economy a psychological boost as was hoped. Consumers just aren't consuming. Commentator Robert Reich proposes a WPA-style solution — put people to work on infrastructure and invest in schools.
September was not a good month for retail. No surprise there, right? Well, the drop in sales was even more than expected. Now retailers are especially worried about the holidays. Jaime Bedrin has the story.
Businesses aren't the only ones squeezed by the credit crunch. State governments rely on short-term loans to keep services running. Jeff Tyler reports on the problems facing California and Massachusetts.
The Fed and five other central banks made history by coordinating half-percentage-point interest-rate cuts. That had never been done before. Steve Henn reports how it came about.
The U.S. Federal Reserve led a round of rate cuts by central banks around the world amid fear of a global recession. Jeremy Hobson reports that the move could be one of the last tricks central banks have.
The U.S. Federal Reserve just teamed up with several other central banks for a coordinated rate cut. The Fed slashed its key rate by half a percentage point. Renita Jablonski explores the move with economist Peter Morici.
Today Britain has unveiled a bailout package which would buy up billions worth of preferred stock in eight British banks. Renita Jablonski talks to David Buick of BGC Partners about how it would work.
The Luxembourg meeting of 27 of Europe's finance ministers wrapped up with guarantees for all European bank deposits up to $70,000. Megan Williams reports why the guarantees couldn't be much larger.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development met on whether all-government housing assistance programs would help struggling homeowners. Danielle Karson reports they may not have enough funds to face the problem.
We heard from listeners about what their greatest economic concerns were in the financial crisis. Among them: the tough job market and the recent lowering of gas prices.
The British government announced its move to help the country's banking system by incorporating $90 billion of taxpayers' money. Stephen Beard tells Renita Jablonski why this bucks the trend of government policy.
Few things are more sacred to investors than quarterly dividends, but now dividends are becoming victims of the credit crisis, too. Janet Babin reports how dividend suspensions can hurt investors.
When regulation goes bust, it's easy to blame the whole system and say all regulation needs tweaking. Commentator Will Wilkinson says it's not about a need for more or less regulation, but for the right regulation.
Americans living abroad share their perspectives of the American financial crisis with our European Bureau Chief Stephen Beard. Another part in Marketplace's "Interested Parties" series.
Judging from the unemployment figures, the financial crisis is affecting regional economies all over the country. The state of Georgia, in particular, is feeling a lot of the pain. Steve Henn reports.
Marketplace Money host Tess Vigeland stopped and talked with Nebraskans for our "Road to Ruin?" series. She was invited to a spirited dinner-table discussion with the Landis family, which she shares with host Kai Ryssdal.
Commentator Susan Lee says even though Americans' political will may be lacking in this financial crisis, the economic argument for less government intervention is as powerful as ever.
Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis says he hasn't seen such difficult conditions for banks in his 39 years in the business. Ashley Milne-Tyte reports on what to expect from third-quarter statements next week.
Following this economic crisis is almost like getting a degree in finance. The latest term-of-the-day is "commercial paper." Reporter Jeff Tyler asks an economist to help unravel that one.
Credit is so tight the Fed is now loaning money to businesses in need of short-term cash. Should we be worrying about the Fed's new role as America's ATM? Washington Bureau Chief John Dimsdale reports.
The next stop on our Road to Ruin is Lincoln, Nebraska, where Marketplace Money host Tess Vigeland Marketplace Money had dinner and a spirited economic discussion with three generations of the Landis-McKibbin family.
As part of our series Interested Parties, we're talking to different voters and getting their thoughts about the economy. Today we hear from Rafeeq Jaber, a certified financial planner from Illinois.
At $4 a gallon, gas prices are a sting for truckers. So what do they feel the government should do about it? Mitchell Hartman pulled into a truck stop in Portland, Oregon to pick the brain of independent truckers.
The Fed is reportedly considering pumping money into the commercial paper market to further contain the financial crisis. Jeremy Hobson explains how it would work — and that time may be running out for the idea.
Later today, three former executives from AIG will testify on Capitol Hill about their company's near collapse. Steve Henn tells the story of how AIG incurred billions of dollars in losses — and where they are now.
Fifteen European finance ministers met yesterday to discuss the financial crisis and 27 will meet today in Luxembourg. But Stephen Beard reports it's unlikely the group will be able to agree on a resolution.
