Is What Wall Street Makes Worth What It Takes
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Guest host Conan Nolan takes a critical look at how Wall Street is operating these days and profits being made from financial “innovations” while credit remains tight and unemployment high. We also look at the tax-cut deal between Congressional Republicans and the White House. Also, British police refuse bail and send Julian Assange to jail, and students from Shanghai blow away the competition in an international test of math and science skills.
Banner image: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange before the closing bell December 1, 2010 in New York City. Stocks were up nearly 250 points on positive economic reports. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Making News
Assange Denied Bail, Sent to Jail ()
Julian Assange, the mastermind behind WikiLeaks, which resulted in a crisis in world diplomacy, is now facing a problem of his own. He is in custody in London, after being arrested on a Swedish extradition warrant in connection with alleged sex crimes. Jerome Taylor of the Independent has more.
Guests:
- Jerome Taylor: Reporter, Independent of London
Main Topic
Wall Street's Disconnect with the American Economy ()
Wall Street is making money again and financial institutions could hit record profits, but the unemployment rate went up last month and businesses complain they can't get credit. Meanwhile, President Barak Obama yesterday cut a deal that will extend the Bush tax cuts for another two years. While it's hoped that the agreement will help stimulate the economy and job growth, there are plenty who say it misses the mark, that what is truly needed is a critical look at the workings of America's financial institutions. How can the financial sector be booming while the rest of the US economy remains sluggish? What roll does President Obama's extension of the Bush tax cuts play?
Guests:
- Kevin Hall: National Economics Correspondent, McClatchy Newspapers, @KevinGHall
- John Cassidy: Staff Writer, New Yorker, @TNYJohnCassidy
- Nicole Gelinas: Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute
- Megan McArdle: Business and Economics Editor, The Atlantic
- William Fleckenstein: President, Fleckenstein Capital
Links:
- Hall on deal to extend tax cuts
- Cassidy on China and the economy
- Cassidy's 'How Markets Fail: The Logic of Economic Calamities'
- Gelinas' 'After the Fall: Saving Capitalism from Wall Street and Washington'
- McArdle on the tax-cut extension
- Fleckstein's 'Greenspan's Bubbles: The Age of Ignorance at the Federal Reserve'
Reporter's Notebook
US Students Struggle as Shanghai Students Ace Test ()
Recently, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development administered the Program for International Student Assessment to thousands of 15-year-olds in 65 different countries, including the world’s most industrial powers. For the first time, China agreed to take part in the test and its students made quite a statement, scoring higher than students of any other nation. The results stunned educators around the world, as we hear from Sam Dillon of the New York Times.
Guests:
- Sam Dillon: National Education Reporter, New York Times
Links:
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