Political Economy

If you’re unemployed, how do you keep your work skills sharp?

Washington Post editors — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 15:26:37 GMT

We need your help. Have you been unemployed for an extended period? If so, have you been struggling to keep your skills sharpened or stay up on the new innovations that are changing your field?

We'd like to talk to you about the skills and training that you think you may have missed out on during your weeks/months/years without a job.

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NATO protest tweets: updates from the march

T.J. Ortenzi — Sun, 20 May 2012 14:05:47 GMT

Thousands of protesters are planning to march in Chicago during the NATO Summit on Sunday to call for income equality and peace. Post reporter Annie Gowen is there and sending updates from the protest.

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Are you considering coming out of retirement because of recession?

Ryan Kellett — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:08:00 GMT

Staff writer Peter Whoriskey wrote Thursday about how more older Americans are employed than ever before.

Are you retired or approaching retirement? Do you want to reenter the workforce? Or are you delaying retirement for financial reasons?

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Are you a college graduate who’s looking for a job?

T.J. Ortenzi — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 19:06:55 GMT

If you’re a college graduate, do you think your degree and the money invested in your education have paid off?

As recently as October 2011, the unemployment rate for college graduates ages 16-24 (there are 16-year-olds with college degrees?) was 8.1 percent — just 0.5 percent lower than the general jobless rate of 8.6 percent.

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What business or economics leader had the worst year in 2011?

Sarah Halzack — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:13:42 GMT

The end of a year always brings with it a deluge of lists, rankings and and other rearview-mirror analysis about events of the past 12 months and explanations of why or whether they matter.

Many of these pieces tend to focus on the year’s best or most influential people, creations and events. But we’d like to take a page from our friends at The Fix, who wrap up the year with a ‘Worst Year in Washington’ award, a culmination of their regular ‘Worst Week in Washington’ competition.

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Here are my best savings tips. What are yours?

Michelle Singletary — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:09:00 GMT

It’s so sweet when you find a good way to save money. I know I get giddy when I discover a way to spend less and still live well.

There are a few things I do to shave money from my budget every month. To some it may seem like small savings, but as my grandmother, Big Mama, used to say, “You can’t have a dollar without a penny.”

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Safeway sandwich theft allegation: Charges dropped; what do you think?

Sarah Halzack — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:50:00 GMT

Should an allegedly stolen sandwich really have led to a mother losing custody of her daughter? Is it always good practice to follow rules and regulations to the letter, even if they don’t seem appropriate to the situation at hand?

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Will Bank of America’s move change your banking habits?

Sarah Halzack — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:31:30 GMT

Bank of America experienced a serious backlash after it announced in September that it would begin charging a $5 monthly fee to its debit card users.

Now, the company has changed course, saying Tuesday that it would not move forward with implementing the fee program.

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Will Bank of America’s move change your banking habits?

Sarah Halzack — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:31:30 GMT

Bank of America experienced a serious backlash after it announced in September that it would begin charging a $5 monthly fee to its debit card users.

Now, the company has changed course, saying Tuesday that it would not move forward with implementing the fee program.

Read full article >>

Will Bank of America’s move change your banking habits?

Sarah Halzack — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:31:30 GMT

Bank of America experienced a serious backlash after it announced in September that it would begin charging a $5 monthly fee to its debit card users.

Now, the company has changed course, saying Tuesday that it would not move forward with implementing the fee program.

Read full article >>

Bank of America shares falls below $6, first time since ‘09

Hayley Tsukayama — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:58:00 GMT

Bank of America shares fell below $6 for the first time since March 2009 Monday, going as low as $5.60 by Monday afternoon.

The dip in stock price comes as the bank faces customer gripes about the its decision to begin charging a $5 monthly fee for debit card transactions. The fees will begin next year and will apply only to debit card purchases, not to ATM withdrawals, online bill pay or mobile phone transfers, The Post’s Ylan Mui reported Thursday.

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Bank of America shares falls below $6, first time since ‘09

Hayley Tsukayama — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:58:00 GMT

Bank of America shares fell below $6 for the first time since March 2009 Monday, going as low as $5.60 by Monday afternoon.

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In wake of Bank of America’s new debit charge, tips on how to avoid fees

Sarah Halzack — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:12:00 GMT

Bank of America’s announcement that it would charge customers $5 a month for using their debit cards has not gone over well on Wall Street or Main Street. The company’s stock tumbled Friday morning, and some consumers are pledging to boycott the bank.

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Bank of America’s debit card policy: Will you put away the plastic?

Sarah Halzack — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 21:28:00 GMT

Bank of America announced Thursday that it would start charging customers a $5 monthly fee for using their debit cards. The policy would take effect next year and would apply to customers with basic accounts and relatively small balances.

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Bank of America’s debit card policy: Will you put away the plastic?

Sarah Halzack — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 21:28:00 GMT

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Jobless claims drop to lowest level since April

Sarah Halzack — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 17:13:00 GMT

Weekly applications for unemployment benefits dropped sharply to a seasonally-adjusted 391,000, according to figures released by the Labor Department Thursday. That is 37,000 fewer claims than were filed the previous week and is the lowest number since April 2.

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Mortgage rates fall to record lows again

Sarah Halzack — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 15:05:00 GMT

Average mortgage rates fell to another record low this week, according to data released Thursday by Freddie Mac. The average on a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped to 4.01 percent from 4.09 percent last week. It was the lowest number since Freddie Mac started recording it in 1971. For a 15-year loan, the average was an eye-popping 3.28 percent.

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Home prices up in July in 17 cities

Sarah Halzack — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:32:00 GMT

Home prices rose in 17 U.S. cities in July, according to the Case-Shiller Home Price Index, a closely watched measure of the health of the nation’s housing market. Nationally, prices were up 0.9 percent from the previous month, exceeding analysts’ expectations.

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Home prices up in July in 17 cities

Sarah Halzack — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:32:00 GMT

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An economics lesson from George Shultz

Sarah Halzack — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 11:29:00 GMT

Trying to make sense of the global economic malaise and the policy decisions that might impact it? This speech by George P. Shultz, a former treasury secretary and head of the Office of Management and Budget, is a good place to start:

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Forbes’ richest Americans list: Who made the cut?

Sarah Halzack — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:30:00 GMT

Evidence is mounting that even as the U.S. economy continues to struggle, America’s wealthiest individuals are getting richer, pulling further away from the middle class than ever before.

This year’s edition of Forbes’ list of the 400 richest people in America is yet another example of this widening income gap. Forbes reports that the combined wealth of all the individuals on their list is up 12 percent for the year as of August 26th.

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Forbes’ richest Americans list: Who made the cut?

Sarah Halzack — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:30:00 GMT

Evidence is mounting that even as the U.S. economy continues to struggle, America’s wealthiest individuals are getting richer, pulling further away from the middle class than ever before.

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GOP leaders tell Fed not to act on economy

Neil Irwin — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:48:00 GMT

Even by the standards of the long history of politicians trying to influence decisions by the Federal Reserve, the latest episode is surprising.

On Tuesday night, when Fed policymakers were midway through a two-day, closed-door meeting to decide the nation’s monetary policy, Republican congressional leaders released a letter they had sent to Chairman Ben S. Bernanke saying that the central bank ought not take any new steps to ease monetary policy.

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