PBS Newshour - Business & Economy Coverage

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioHARI SREENIVASAN, PBS ANCHOR: Student debt is something millions of Americans live with for years — even decades after they graduate college. Now, two of the nation’s largest private student lenders are rolling out options that will allow borrowers to modify the terms on their loans. For more about the significance of this, we’re joined now by Marian Wang, a reporter with ProPublica and by AnnaMaria Andriotis. She is with the Wall Street Journal. So...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSWhat did the shopping mall look like in 1956? Retailers take stand against early Black Friday Black Friday is no match for China’s Singles’ Day JUDY WOODRUFF: Much of the attention on black Friday focuses on just how much people will spend. But one story that’s also important for retailers and local economies is a big shift in where people are shopping. Economics correspondent Paul Solman looks at how those changing habits are affecting the...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioHARI SREENIVASAN: In the past few years, Black Friday shopping sales have crept right into Thanksgiving Day, as stores try to gain an advantage over their competitors at the start of the holiday shopping season. But now, there is backlash against that practice within the business community. Stephen Greenhouse of “The New York Times” wrote about this recently. I spoke with him earlier. HARI SREENIVASAN: So, has it finally gotten too far that people are...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSWhat it’s really like to be an Uber driver Uber the unfair? Are ride-sharing firms exploiting deregulation? Is the traditional taxicab and endangered species? GWEN IFILL: Now: the backlash against Uber. The ride-sharing company exploded onto the tech scene with outposts in cities around the world. But, lately, it’s been getting attention for how it’s built its business and the manner in which it competes. “NewsHour” economics correspondent Paul...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSHow Will the Downturn Affect the Gambling Economy? Gamblers wager billions on unregulated Bitcoin betting sites President Bush Signs Law Banning Internet Gambling HARI SREENIVASAN: Casinos in the U.S. rack up billions of dollars in profits each year. But as they pop up in more states and expand in places like New England, classic gambling spots suffer, case in point, Atlantic City. Our economics correspondent Paul Solman has the story, part of...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioGWEN IFILL: As we reported earlier in the broadcast, the U.S. economy appears to be on the upswing, consumer confidence and growth up, the jobless rate down. Voters should be embracing the optimism, right? Not so much. And that might mean bad news for Democrats this coming Tuesday night. NewsHour political director Domenico Montanaro joins me to explain why. How do economic issues rank with voters this year? DOMENICO MONTANARO: Well, it’s always at the top...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSFederal Reserve ends six years of quantitative easing Is the Federal Reserve printing a free lunch? Are the Fed and the Treasury in Cahoots? GWEN IFILL: The mission of the Federal Reserve has long been the subject of debate, especially since the 2008 financial crisis. Six years later, the economy is recovering, but the Fed’s role is still being questioned. Paul Solman has the story, part of his ongoing reporting Making Sense of financial news....

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSThe potential downside of mandatory quarantines CDC offers new guidelines for U.S. health workers returning from West Africa – Part 1 Understanding the U.S. guidelines on Ebola quarantine – Part 2 GWEN IFILL: Most of our coverage about Ebola is focused on the human toll, particularly in West Africa, where it’s killed nearly 5,000 people, about half of all infections. But there have been other repercussions as well, as the outbreak slows...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioHARI SREENIVASAN:As you no doubt know, gas prices have fallen sharply in recent weeks. According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of regular was $3.52 in late July. Now, less three months later, it’s $3.12. For more, we are joined now by Isaac Arnsdorf. He is an (INAUDIBLE) with Bloomberg News. So we’ve seen it decline a lot and sometimes there’s a lag between the price of oil and the price of gas. So are we likely to see the price of gas go lower?...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSTreasury Secretary Jack Lew: Stop treating budget matters with crisis-driven politics What Wall Street’s wild swings say about the global economy Jean Tirole? Why did he receive the Nobel Prize in economics? GWEN IFILL: Today was the day the Obama administration decided to draw attention to some good economic news for a change. It announced the federal deficit has declined to $483 billion, the lowest level since 2007. The deficit had exceeded a...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSWhy is Wall Street becoming more bipolar? Ebola outbreak could cost West African countries more than $32 billion IMF chief Christine Lagarde on removing hurdles from a strong global economy GWEN IFILL: In recent days and weeks, the financial markets have been even more impossible to predict, swinging from record leaps to sudden drops. While the Dow Jones industrial average was nearly flat today, it’s been anything but recently, dropping 10...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioHARI SREENIVASAN: After a long climb the stock market suffered its biggest losses this past week in 2 and a half years. The DOW dropped 2.7 percent, the SNP fell 3.1 percent and the NASDAQ was down 4.5 percent. To help us understand the forces behind the sudden drop, we are now joined via Skype from Richmond, Virginia, by Roben Farzad. He’s the host of the radio program ‘Full Disclosure.’ Let’s talk first about what happened in Europe this week. What...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioJUDY WOODRUFF: Back in 2008, few travelers had heard of a new start-up called Airbnb. Its current value is said to be about $10 billion. Now others are copying Airbnb’s business model, part of an emerging sector of the economy that’s taking advantage of technology and peer-to-peer consumer services. Our economics correspondent, Paul Solman, looks at the good and the bad. It’s part of his ongoing reporting, Making Sense of financial news. PAUL SOLMAN: Last...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSWhat quality of life can workers earning nation’s highest minimum wage afford? The missing piece of the minimum wage and inequality debate CBO report fuels debate on costs and benefits of boosting the minimum wage JUDY WOODRUFF: In this midterm election, the fight for control of the Senate dominates the headlines. But as Jacob Kauffman of KUAR Public Radio in Little Rock, Arkansas, reports, there are issues like raising the minimum wage which...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioHARI SREENIVASAN: Some of America’s biggest and most expensive cities are acting on their own to increase the minimum wage. For some insight yesterday I spoke to Matt Flegenheimer, a reporter with the New York Times. New York did something recently, so did L.A., what did they do? MATT FLEGENHEIMER: So, in New York at least on Tuesday, Mayor DeBlasio signed an executive order essentially expanding a law that was passed in 2012 – over the objections of Mayor...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSA two-tiered jobs report for a two-tiered economy Jobs report: ‘Whatever you thought yesterday is pretty much what you should feel today’ A better-than-expected birthday present for U.S. in June jobs report JUDY WOODRUFF: For the first time since 2008, the jobless rate in this country has fallen below 6 percent. That fact was part of a jobs report out today that showed a better rebound in the labor market than had been expected even a month ago....

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Watch Video | Listen to the AudioEditor’s Note: PBS NewsHour incorrectly reported that 67 foundations with $50 billion in assets have so far pledged to divest their investments in fossil fuels over the next five years. In fact, the 67 foundations are part of a larger group of 181 institutions and local governments and 656 individuals that collectively represent more than $50 billion in assets being divested from fossil fuels as part of this movement. The transcript text reflects the...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSAlibaba IPO opens with a roar on the New York Stock Exchange Shareholders of e-commerce giant Alibaba seek greater control and exposure with American IPO filing How does Twitter’s potential for profit measure up to its high stock price? JUDY WOODRUFF: The Chinese e-commerce giant, Alibaba, took Wall Street by storm today. The company had its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, and it appears to be the largest of all time; 100...

Watch Video | Listen to the AudioRELATED LINKSHow the U.S. compares on income inequality and poverty How to combat the tightening grip of inequality around the globe The cruel key to individual prosperity: choosing the right ancestors JUDY WOODRUFF: The U.S. Census Bureau has been releasing a lot of new data this week on income, poverty and economic growth. Much of it, unfortunately, confirms again what many Americans already know and deal with on a day-to-day basis. That is that real...