Business Reporter, Los Angeles Times
Business reporter for the Los Angeles Times
PROFILE
Tom Petruno
Guest
FROM Tom Petruno
To the Point
Economic Malaise Grows as Oil and Gas Continue to Rise Global financial markets were still in shock when they opened today after Friday's huge jump in oil prices and the big Wall Street decline. Yesterday, the average price of gasoline in the US hit $4 a gallon. The big fear is a "vicious cycle," according to Tom Petruno, financial writer and columnist at the Los Angeles Times .
To the Point
Economic Trouble in an Election Year For the first time since the markets reopened after September 11, the Federal Reserve today stunned Wall Street by making an emergency cut in interest rates. In 2001, it was a half a percentage point; today it was three-quarters, a week earlier than expected, and bigger than any such cut since 1982. The Dow plunged anyway, then went back up in supposedly hard-hit sectors, including home-repair and high finance. Overall, the markets were down. Is a recession around the corner or already here? The White House and Congress are working up a " fiscal stimulus package ." Will it make things better or worse? What's the role of election year politics?
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To the Point
Venezuela spirals into economic and political chaos Venezuela, a country whose potential for prosperity is unmatched, finds itself on the verge of civil war. What sustains the repressive government? With time running out, guest host León Krauze looks at what the international community can do to pull the country from the edge of collapse.
Left, Right & Center
President Trump: US to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord Trump says he was elected to serve Pittsburgh, not Paris.
Left, Right & Center
The week that wouldn't quit Will next week get even weirder? (Special one-hour episode)
To the Point
Janesville and the American Dream Janesville, Wisconsin is the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. But he couldn’t prevent the closing of the General Motors factory after 100 years. On this Memorial Day rebroadcast of To the Point, we hear what’s happened to what once was a model of American middle-class unity.