Department Index
Moneybox 2008:
Daily commentary about business and finance.
If you'd like to sort this department listing by headline, author or date, please use the Slate search.
- Secretary of Saving the World Tim Geithner's daunting to-do list at the Treasury Department.
Dec. 20, 2008 - Big Three, Meet the "Little Eight" How foreign car factories have transformed the American South.
Dec. 13, 2008 - The Slate Bailout Guide The first half of the $700 billion bailout is depleted, and now both Bush and Obama want Congress to approve the rest.
Dec. 9, 2008 - The Road to Zell How the Tribune deal went so bad, so fast.
Dec. 9, 2008 - Desperate Housewares Observing the Christmas carnage at FAO Schwarz, Bottega Veneta, and Bergdorf Goodman.
Dec. 6, 2008 - The Detroit Delusion The enormous gap between the Big Three's self-image and reality.
Dec. 3, 2008 - Who's the World's Worst Banker? I would nominate this guy. Who would you pick?
Dec. 1, 2008 - Ills de la Citi Should the troubled bank cancel its $400 million sponsorship of the new Mets stadium?
Nov. 24, 2008 - Don't Get Depressed, It's Not 1929 Why all those Great Depression analogies are wrong.
Nov. 22, 2008 - The Un-Paulson Why Timothy Geithner is a strong choice for treasury secretary.
Nov. 21, 2008 - Harvard's Investment Errors That's where America's greatest university is investing its endowment?
Nov. 18, 2008 - The Subprime Good Guys These mortgage lenders loan to poor people, strengthen communities, and are still making a profit. How do they do it?
Nov. 15, 2008 - The Big Three Are a National Disgrace But we still need to save them.
Nov. 13, 2008 - What's the Matter With Greenwich? Why the rich voted for Obama against their own economic interest.
Nov. 10, 2008 - The Fierce Urgency of Now Why Obama has to take over economic policymaking—today.
Nov. 5, 2008 - Sept. 24, 2008 The day John McCain lost the election.
Nov. 5, 2008 - Dividend Dopes Companies that are failing today were paying dividends a just few months ago. What gives?
Oct. 30, 2008 - Big Biz Still For GOP Why can't corporate America end its perverse love affair with Republican politicians?
Oct. 28, 2008 - Save! (But Not Too Much.) Americans are getting thrifty just when we should be spending more.
Oct. 24, 2008 - The 20-Hour Workweek The unemployment rate seems low. That's because it's not counting all those underemployed workers.
Oct. 22, 2008 - Will Your Recession Be Tall, Grande, or Venti? The more Starbucks a country has, the bigger its financial problems.
Oct. 20, 2008 - Fear Factor How anxiety and terror are making the financial catastrophe worse than it needs to be.
Oct. 13, 2008 - People Who Live in Glass Häuser Europeans were gloating about the American financial crisis. Not anymore.
Oct. 10, 2008 - Subprime Suspects The right blames the credit crisis on poor minority homeowners. This is not merely offensive, but entirely wrong.
Oct. 7, 2008 - Is Warren Buffett the New J.P. Morgan? In 1907, one man saved us from financial collapse. Today it takes three.
Oct. 6, 2008 - How the Bailout Is Like a Hedge Fund. It's massively leveraged. It's buying distressed assets. It's taking equity stakes …
Oct. 1, 2008 - Washington to New York: Drop Dead The Republicans' intransigence kills the bailout bill—and possibly McCain's electoral chances.
Sept. 29, 2008 - The Happy Talk Express The economy is a mess. The financial markets are in a panic. But these idiots think we mustn't say anything negative.
Sept. 27, 2008 - Why Congress Is Failing America The financial catastrophe and the WaMu collapse reveal that Washington bureaucrats can handle an emergency but politicians can't.
Sept. 26, 2008 - The End of the BSD A Wall Street icon falls.
Sept. 25, 2008 - Nice Bailout. Now Pay for It! Congress and the president favor a $700 billion Wall Street bailout, but they're afraid to say how they'll pay for it.
Sept. 22, 2008 - More Subprime Loans, Now! Why the world needs cheap loans at insanely high interest rates.
Sept. 19, 2008 - Wall Street Woes Slate's complete coverage of the financial crisis.
Sept. 19, 2008 - "The Fundamentals of Our Economy Are Strong" Is there any excuse for McCain's gaffe?
Sept. 17, 2008 - How Not To Lose Everything Merrill Lynch miraculously avoids the fate of Lehman Brothers.
Sept. 16, 2008 - Shattering the Glass-Steagall The rise of the commercial banks.
Sept. 15, 2008 - Lemons, But No Lehman Aid Who gets a government bailout?
Sept. 12, 2008 - Dragging Down the World That hot new theory that the global economy doesn't depend on the United States anymore? It's completely wrong.
Sept. 10, 2008 - Saving the People's Bank of China Who the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac bailout is really supposed to help.
Sept. 8, 2008 - The Eco-Friendliest Product You Can Buy How my new pool cover is saving the planet.
Sept. 5, 2008 - The Bad News About Falling Oil Prices If commodity prices are dropping, how come inflation might be getting worse?
Sept. 3, 2008 - The Death of the Credit Card Economy Car leases, student loans, no-money-down mortgages, and high credit limits are vanishing.
Aug. 30, 2008 - Sorry, Pal, but You're Rich The deluded business pundits and Obama critics who think $250,000 is a middle-class salary.
Aug. 27, 2008 - The Gold Medal in Medal-Predicting Goes To ... Did economists correctly predict who'd win in the Beijing Olympics?
Aug. 25, 2008 - Cold Cash, Not Cold War How Russia's new economic ties to the West diminish the possibility of a violent confrontation with the U.S.
Aug. 21, 2008 - Skirting the Issues Reading between the economic hemlines of September's fashion mags.
Aug. 20, 2008 - The Great Lobster Mystery Food prices are soaring. So why are prices for the delicious crustacean falling?
Aug. 18, 2008 - Harming Farming Low food prices used to hurt the world's poor—now high prices do. What gives?
Aug. 6, 2008 - Always Dumb Politics. Always Wal-Mart. The retailer's clumsy, self-defeating attempts to influence Washington.
Aug. 5, 2008 - America's Smartest Banker The nation's financial industry is cratering, so how come Hudson City Bank is thriving?
Aug. 2, 2008 - Hitting "Platypus Bottom" Forget bears and bulls. There's a new animal metaphor on Wall Street.
Aug. 1, 2008 - Who Needs the Tech IPO? Open source and Facebook have completely changed the economics of Web startups.
July 31, 2008 - Highways Paved With Gold You think the government is wasting a few billion a year on mass-transit subsidies. But what about the huge subsidies for cars and trucks?
July 30, 2008 - Freddie and Fannie's Healthy Cousin There's another quasi-governmental agency that's lending hundreds of billions to troubled banks. Fortunately, it's not a mess. Yet.
July 28, 2008 - Phones Without Homes What's really killing the land-line telephone business.
July 25, 2008 - Babies for Sale Teaching Brangelina and other celebrities how to be better economists.
July 25, 2008 - Selling the Family Jewels Desperate American banks are selling everything that isn't nailed down (except the private jets).
July 23, 2008 - Starbucks Obituaries Slate readers' responses to our call for Starbucks memories.
July 23, 2008 - Save Your Starbucks! Soon there will be 600 fewer places to get a Frappucino. Slate wants to hear the symptoms of your withdrawal.
July 21, 2008 - Help Wanted If the federal government can't accurately forecast which jobs will grow, can anyone do it?
July 21, 2008 - Bair Market The FDIC chairwoman's great ideas for preventing the meltdown of America's banking industry.
July 18, 2008 - eBay's Identity Is Going, Going … Online auctions are past their prime. Neither the market leader nor Wall Street knows what that means for the future.
July 17, 2008 - Flat Is the New Up The hot business catchphrase of 2008, and what it really means.
July 16, 2008 - The Bailout Will Be a Bargain The cost of rescuing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be way less than the amount they have saved American taxpayers.
July 14, 2008 - Farewell, Fake Steve Jobs From one pseudonymous business columnist to another: You'll be missed.
July 14, 2008 - Fannie, Freddie, Folly Why the two mortgage giants can't be allowed to fail.
July 11, 2008 - Unzipped High gas prices threaten the car-sharing model—yet more companies than ever want in on the action.
July 11, 2008 - The S&P 500's Bubble Trouble Did the housing bust burn investors in the world's most important stock index?
July 10, 2008 - Good Crop, Bad Crop Once-lauded biofuels are now blamed for high food prices. But the next generation might yet work.
July 10, 2008 - U Better Sell Reader suggestions for renaming UBS.
July 9, 2008 - Phil Gramm's UBS Problem If the Texas senator and McCain adviser was supposed to keep the Swiss bank out of trouble, he's made a mess of it.
July 7, 2008 - Super-vise Me It's OK to feel guilty about eating fast food, but is it the government's job?
July 2, 2008 - Why We Need Movie Reviewers Despite popular belief, critically acclaimed movies actually sell better.
July 1, 2008 - Presidential Impotence Why Obama or McCain won't be able to cure the ailing economy.
June 28, 2008 - This Bid's for You A Brazilian-Belgian company wants to buy American beer giant Anheuser-Busch. What's the problem?
June 27, 2008 - Wage Against the Machine If Costco's worker generosity is so great, why doesn't Wal-Mart imitate it?
June 27, 2008 - Barrel Fever Does anyone know how much oil there is in the world?
June 25, 2008 - Hey, Fat Spender Is America's obesity linked to its decline in saving?
June 24, 2008 - Houston, We Have No Problems In the midst of a stagnant economy, an oil star shines in Texas.
June 21, 2008 - Meet Bear Stearns' Prosecutor A relatively obscure U.S. attorney brings the subprime mortgage saga into a new, criminal phase.
June 19, 2008 - Even Injured, Tiger Still Sells What's the economic impact of the world's best golfer missing the rest of the season? Minimal.
June 19, 2008 - The Case (Almost) for Drilling Kooky ideas abound, but there is a nearly rational argument for new offshore oil exploration.
June 18, 2008 - Scrubbing Out Sea Life Exfoliating plastic beads feel good—unless you live in the ocean.
June 16, 2008 - The Coming Charity Crisis The economy is tumbling. Will philanthropic donations follow?
June 12, 2008 - We're Europe's Bargain Bin The pain of watching foreigners buy up Manhattan.
June 12, 2008 - Why Martha Stewart's Company Is Doomed Even a new CEO is unlikely to save the domestic diva's reeling firm.
June 11, 2008 - Recalculating ... The 3G iPhone is coming. GPS manufacturers should be very, very scared.
June 9, 2008 - Bushed There's nothing else the president can do to fix the economy.
June 9, 2008 - 80 Is the New 50 How did America's business leaders get so old?
June 6, 2008 - People Who Buy Glass Houses Are architectural landmarks a good real-estate investment?
June 4, 2008 - First Housing Bust, Now Baby Bust Is the recession causing a birth dearth?
May 29, 2008 - Sex and the Cash Register Retailers hope to piggyback on the Sex and the City movie, but it won't work.
May 29, 2008 - Honey, I Ate the Rebate You've already spent your tax windfall on gas and bread.
May 28, 2008 - Market Botch The folly of political portfolios.
May 24, 2008 - Rock the Cashback Microsoft's new advertising scheme is clever but fatally flawed. Somebody better tell Yahoo.
May 22, 2008 - My eBay Job Do 1.3 million people really earn their living from the auction site?
May 21, 2008 - Bubble Trouble The Fed hopes to stop investment bubbles before they pop. Good luck!
May 19, 2008 - Jim Cramer Doesn't Want To Poke You Why social networks can't mix with investors—unless they're not social.
May 19, 2008 - Network 2.0 CBS's purchase of CNET is pricey and tricky, but it might just work.
May 15, 2008 - Gasoline Is Cheap Four dollars a gallon is outrageous! We should be paying much more.
May 15, 2008 - RV Disaster The recreational-vehicle industry is the newest casualty of the economic slump.
May 15, 2008 - High Styles for Low Times How fashion and luxury firms will ride out a recession.
May 14, 2008 - McCain's Economic Brain Why Carly Fiorina is so important to the Republican's presidential campaign.
May 13, 2008 - Coming Soon, the Samsung Washington Monument! How "naming rights" have become a huge American export.
May 9, 2008 - Game Google, Help the World Why search-engine optimization makes the Web a better place.
May 9, 2008 - Corn Dogs Fuel prices are at record highs, so why are ethanol producers struggling?
May 7, 2008 - Obama-nomics Barack and Michelle are very cautious with their newfound wealth.
May 7, 2008 - Yahoo-bris! A company with a history of overpaying lost a great deal when it couldn't force Microsoft to overpay. Now what?
May 5, 2008 - How Bad Could It Get? Will the recession be more like the 1990-'91 downturn or the Great Depression?
May 2, 2008 - There Will Be Blood Orange Juice John D. Rockefeller's heirs urge Exxon Mobil to play nicer.
April 30, 2008 - Stop Blaming the Insurers It's not them. It's us. Exposing three myths about the costs of private health insurance.
April 30, 2008 - The Agony of the Food Snob Basque cheese at $22 per pound! Olive oil at $43 per liter! What's a gourmand to do?
April 29, 2008 - Going, Going, Not Gone Why does the press seem to be rooting for an art-auction crash?
April 28, 2008 - The Age of Grand Dilution Banks unveil their latest desperate strategy for self-preservation.
April 26, 2008 - McCain and His Money What the candidate's investing strategy reveals about his character.
April 25, 2008 - Inside the Liar's Loan How the mortgage industry nurtured deceit.
April 24, 2008 - Ditch the Annual Report! Corporate America's most-overlooked environmental crime, and how to stop it.
April 21, 2008 - Spinning Through the Credit Apocalypse Wall Street's head honchos say the crisis is nearly over. Don't bet on it.
April 16, 2008 - Here Comes the Next Mortgage Crisis Subprime was just the beginning. Wait until California's prime borrowers start handing their keys to the bank.
April 15, 2008 - Why I Love the Taxman Owe the government money? The IRS could be your best friend.
April 14, 2008 - Clear Skies, Empty Runways How the recession could be good for airline passengers.
April 12, 2008 - The Last Days of Cheap Chinese Why American consumers are about to start paying more for clothes, electronics, toys, and just about everything else.
April 8, 2008 - A Tax Break for Bubble Heads Congress' latest dumb idea to fix the housing crisis.
April 7, 2008 - Countrywide Wants To Sell You a House The foreclosure boom means they're the seller, the lender, and maybe even the appraiser. Would you buy a home that way?
April 4, 2008 - The Mark-to-Market Melee Is an obscure accounting rule to blame for the credit market meltdown?
April 1, 2008 - Why Fed Reform Won't Work Yes, the financial regulation system needs overhaul, but the proposed plan is a Band-Aid for Wall Street's mortal wounds.
March 31, 2008 - Rich Men Behaving Badly Meet the super-rich, the dysfunctional class threatening American values.
March 29, 2008 - Staying on Bush's Course Here's some straight talk: McCain's fiscal program is either a joke or a fantasy.
March 28, 2008 - The New New Deal Roosevelt-era reforms are saving capitalism—again.
March 25, 2008 - Bear Run Why the Fed had to bail out Bear Stearns.
March 18, 2008 - The Rise of American Incompetence We used to be the world's most skillful entrepreneurs and managers. Now we're laughingstocks. What happened?
March 15, 2008 - Spitzenfreude Wall Streeters are suggesting that Spitzer's fall exonerates them. No way.
March 13, 2008 - Spitzer Gets Spitzered How Spitzer was brought down by the same kind of investigation he pioneered.
March 10, 2008 - Stagflation Is Back And it's even worse than you feared.
March 6, 2008 - NAFTA Nonsense Explaining the Clinton/Obama spat over trade policy.
March 4, 2008 - The Unspeakable R Word Why nobody in Washington wants to say recession.
March 1, 2008 - Landslide! Why are there so many natural disasters during presidential election years?
Feb. 29, 2008 - The Wal-Mart Puzzle The economy's tanking. So why is it thriving?
Feb. 26, 2008 - America Has Too Many Stores Should anything be done about it?
Feb. 16, 2008 - Foreclosure, for Closure What's wrong with the Bush and Clinton plans to suspend foreclosures.
Feb. 15, 2008 - Yahoo! Boohoo. Why investors assume the Microsoft-Yahoo deal won't happen.
Feb. 12, 2008 - Understimulated Do Americans lie to pollsters about how they'll spend their stimulus rebate checks?
Feb. 7, 2008 - Are Bush's Tax Cuts Dead? Does McCain's victory doom them?
Feb. 6, 2008 - The Toddler Economy Why are CEOs and Wall Street financiers behaving so childishly?
Feb. 2, 2008 - Yahoo! Can't Say No The logic of Microsoft's brilliant bid.
Feb. 1, 2008 - Web 2.Over What Microsoft's bid for Yahoo! means for the economy and for Google.
Feb. 1, 2008 - Taxing to the Dark Side Bush misleads Americans about tax cuts—again—during the State of the Union.
Jan. 29, 2008 - SWF Seeks Loving American Man The hottest session at Davos is about … sovereign wealth funds?
Jan. 24, 2008 - Panic at Davos! The global financial meltdown intrudes on the World Economic Forum.
Jan. 22, 2008 - Dear Rich People … All you wealthy Americans, stop complaining and save the economy!
Jan. 19, 2008 - The Good News About the Recession Maybe it will finally teach Americans how to compete globally.
Jan. 16, 2008 - Ghost Malls Is retail real estate about to crash?
Jan. 9, 2008 - Bad Bet Why were the political futures markets so wrong about Obama and Clinton?
Jan. 9, 2008 - Gas Bubble Oil is at $100 per barrel. Get used to it.
Jan. 5, 2008 - If Presidential Candidates Were Stocks Mike Huckabee would be Chick-fil-A, Barack Obama would be …
Jan. 4, 2008 - Beware of Falling Knives It's tough to make money off the credit bubble—even for daredevil billionaires.
Jan. 2, 2008
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