From NOW on PBS, the economics editor of The Economist talks to David Brancaccio about the structure of Congress’ plan to reform Wall Street.
Regulation and reform
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Picture this
The economy is notoriously hard to visualize – how do you take a picture that encapsulates everything that’s going on?
An art movement in New York is trying to make people more aware of the economic crisis, and projects around public media are taking user-generated content into account when talking about the recession.
Enjoy Banking is plastering New York streets (and now cities as far away as Moscow, Russia with stickers that have phrases like “enjoy American dream” and “enjoy bubble burst”.
They are placed in opportune and inopportune spots around the city and have gotten quite a bit of attention as both an art and activist movement.
Last May, the PBS program Art: 21’s Hrag Vartanian did an interview with the prolific street artist, who goes only by the moniker “Enjoy Banking”.
“Hrag Vartanian: Is there something specific, other than the obvious economic meltdown, that triggered the EnjoyBanking campaign?
EnjoyBanking: You are partially correct—the financial meltdown is a direct catalyst for the campaign. However, the true heart of the campaign lies in responding to an underlying cause of the collapse: misinformation. Mainstream media outlets, particularly financial news networks, exacerbated the banks’ many problems with panic-driven fear mongering.”
You can read the rest of his interview here.
Independent film blog POV provided a rundown of projects that are trying to get a grasp of economic coverage using images in a post this week, including the New York Times’ Living with Less series and the NewsHour/Patchwork Nation map.
Have you seen EnjoyBanking’s work in public or do you have a picture of your own that symbolizes the economic crisis? Share your thoughts and suggest links to images.
Fueling confusion
The government’s Cash for Clunkers plan has dominated headlines this week – working so well in some places that dealerships have run out of cars.
Nightly Business Report’s Xchange blog details how the program is working so far, and which members of Congress are voicing their support to extend it.
“Today, Senators Diane Feinstein (D-California) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced their support for extending the program. Despite earlier concerns, they are happy with how consumers are using the program, particularly the increase in the number of fuel efficient vehicles purchased.”
But some senators are skeptical, Capitol News Connection reports:
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) said she worries any new spending will further burden taxpayers.
“Most of the folks who are buying cars with this program would have probably bought a car. Maybe not today or tomorrow or next week, but probably in the next 18 months,” McCaskill said. “What does that say for demand next year, when this recovery needs to be sustained? Aren’t we just robbing Peter to pay Paul?”
KCRW’s “Which Way LA” spoke with California car dealers who are hoping Cash for Clunkers funding continues.
And for a car-related (and gas-saving) fun fact of the day, NewsHour’s Paul Solman finds out why different makes of cars have the fuel doors on different sides.
Economic Naturalist author Robert Frank explains:
“Putting fuel filler doors on different sides of different cars thus means that some cars can access pumps from the left. And this makes it less likely that drivers will have to wait in line for gas. That benefit greatly outweighs the cost of occasionally pulling up to the wrong side of the pump in a rental car.”
Searching the future
Last week, Microsoft and Yahoo agreed to join forces after years of rumors, back-and-forth brokering, and debate in the Internet industry. And just the week before, another big online force, Amazon, bought successful online shoe retailer Zappos. Do these deals mean the weak economy could be a good time for mergers and acquisitions?
WNYC’s Brian Lehrer Show spoke with Web guru and Mahalo search engine founder Jason Calacanis today for his take on the Yahoo/Microsoft deal.
“I think this is a disaster for Yahoo and their shareholders…search is just an awesome business in terms of revenue and profitability… it’s the greatest advertising medium ever created…The big irony of it was, yahoo gave their search business to Google.”
PBS blog Mediashift asks for your opinion on the new Microsoft search engine Bing and gives a roundup of sources analyzing the Yahoo deal. And Marketplace looked at the details of who gets what out of the search agreement.
Last year, Nightly Business Report discussed the likelihood of mergers and acquisitions in recession eras.
Linda Gridley, CEO of Grindley & Co. said in an interview:
“You are seeing a big land grab for strategic maneuvering and positioning and market share building in that market environment. And companies have strong stock prices. They’ve got lots of cash and so they’ve got the money to be able to spend.”
Are more big deals from Silicon Valley to Wall Street in the works as the economic climate falters?
This old-new house
While not everyone has $15 million lying around to snag Frank Lloyd Wright’s recently available Ennis House in Los Angeles, the housing market may be looking up, at least according to the latest figures, which show new home sales up 11% in June.
Patchwork Nation reminds readers to keep the national numbers in perspective.
“Housing markets are very localized,” Patchwork Nation’s Dante Chinni writes. “National numbers are interesting (maybe even promising) but may have little to do with the reality in your community.”
In the ‘monied burbs’ foreclosures were up in June, compared with May, Chinni explains.
“In a lot of ways, that’s the better measure because it gives an understanding for what the average ‘Monied ’Burb’ experienced. More of those communities were experiencing rising foreclosures. In fact, you could argue foreclosures are spreading.”
A Wall Street journal blog post today reiterates that national numbers might not tell the whole story.
“In Seattle sales of existing homes rose by nearly 8% from a year ago, to around 2,800, marking the highest level in nearly two years and the first year-over-year increase since the housing downturn began. However, banks foreclosed on 863 homes and condos in June, the highest month since the bubble burst and a 37% increase from May.”
Foreclosures are still the name of the game in places like St. Louis, where KETC’s Facing the Mortgage Crisis reported on crime waves and how to stay safe when houses around yours are being abandoned.
On a lighter note, but just as jarring, The Daily Show found that even Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is feeling the housing crunch. And that can’t mean the housing numbers are all good news.