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?
Recommended
Red State, Blue State
Americans are Sick and Tired of Politics America feels more divided than ever. But the majority of the electorate is actually united on something: they are tuning out from political debates.
KCRW Features
One Year Later: How Ojai Weathered the Thomas Fire Ventura County residents recall how the largest fire in state history, at the time, ignited and threatened to engulf the city of Ojai.
To the Point
California Gets Back into Presidential Politics In 1972, California clinched the presidential nomination for Democrat George McGovern. Since then, the biggest state has become an ATM for candidates of both parties. But starting in 2020 all eyes will be on California as it moves its primary up to a month after the Iowa caucuses.
KCRW Features
One Year Later: Rebuilding from the Thomas Fire This week marks one year since the Thomas Fire descended on the city of Ventura. It burned more than 500 homes within city limits. Since then, roughly half of those properties have received the green-light to start construction, but only a handful have actually broken ground. We visit one neighborhood where some of the first homes are getting rebuilt.