Money Talking

Philanthropic giving tends to peak in December as big and small donors alike squeeze their donations in before the end-of-year tax deadline.  This week, WNYC's Money Talking takes a look at trends in philanthropy with regular contributor Rana Foroohar of Time magazine and Susan Wolf Ditkoff, a partner at The Bridgespan Group, a firm that advises nonprofits, organizations and philanthropists.  They examine what happens when business metrics are applied to the nonprofit world and whether charities are influenced by big donors.  Foroohar and Wolf Ditkoff also weigh in on what happens if the charitable deduction is capped or eliminated as lawmakers hammer out a deal on the fiscal cliff. Plus, with just a few days left before the new year, Money Talking examines what individuals looking to donate $1, $100 or $1000 should think about as they make their last minute gifts. 

A week after the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary, the mass shooting continues to have a ripple effect in the conversation around guns, even in the financial community.  The pension fund for California’s teachers questioned its investment with the private equity firm Cerberus because it owns Freedom Group, a company that makes the gun used in the shootings. Funds in other states like Massachusetts have followed suit. Now Cerberus says its looking to sell the company. This week on WNYC's Money Talking, regular contributors Joe Nocera of the New York Times and Rana Foroohar of Time magazine look into the challenges people face when trying to invest in a socially responsible way.  Among other questions, they debate what makes a company "socially responsible" in today's globalized economy. 

Ever since the presidential election, the business press has been consumed with the negotiations in Washington to avoid the December 31st fiscal cliff.  The details of any deal that's eventually brokered will have a tremendous impact on Wall Street and Main Street, and the impending cliff has come to inform the way we look at almost everything, from holiday spending to unemployment to the stock market.  But as is often the case, a dominant story can overshadow other events, even dramatic ones, like scandals. Remember LIBOR? What about the various glitches in high-frequency trading in 2012?  This week on Money Talking, WNYC contributors Joe Nocera with the New York Times and Rana Foroohar with Time magazine debate which business stories and scandals from the last 12 months will continue to have an impact on the business world in 2013.  Among other topics, they weigh in on whether we can expect to see more criminal prosecutions of companies and individuals involved in bringing on the financial crisis. 

The nation's biggest banks are facing job losses, falling revenue, big spending cuts, not to mention core questions about their very size and scope. The latest bank to show strain is Citigroup, which announced Wednesday it will cut 11,000 jobs and close 44 branches. This week on Money Talking, WNYC contributors Joe Nocera with the New York Times and Rana Foroohar with Time magazine discuss why Citigroup and other banks, like Bank of America, are cutting and who's to blame for falling revenues. Plus, is there a distinction between these mega, Wall Street banks and smaller, regional banks when talking about the health of the financial sector.

The question gets more urgent by the day: Can President Obama and Congress cut a deal in the next month to prevent the automatic government spending cuts and tax hikes known as the fiscal cliff? There's another question, too: If they reach an agreement on tax hikes on the wealthy, or cutting tax breaks like the mortgage interest deduction, what then? This week on WNYC's Money Talking, contributors Joe Nocera of The New York Times and Rana Foroohar of Time magazine discuss the potential impact of a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff on future economic growth. Plus, Warren Buffett is making the rounds with his proposals to address the debt. Nocera and Foroohar weigh in on one of his ideas: a minimum tax of 30 percent for people making more than $1 million a year. 

Grey is the new black when it comes to post-Turkey shopping. In a growing phenomenon known as "Grey Thursday," more of the largest U.S. retailers are opening on Thanksgiving Day, offering consumers deals a day earlier than Black Friday. Wal-Mart will open Thursday at 8 p.m and stay open overnight through the next day. Target, Nike, J.Crew and dozens of other stores will open for at least part of Thanksgiving.  In some case, this will be the first time. Black Friday entices shoppers with low cost price tags, but what about the other tag, the one that shows where a product was manufactured? This week on WNYC's Money Talking, WNYC contributors Joe Nocera with the New York Times and Rana Foroohar with Time magazine discuss whether Americans care about whether their electronics, clothes and other items are "Made in America." Plus, can the consumer save the economy as the nation faces the fiscal cliff?

Sandy left behind not only countless disrupted lives, but a cost in dollars that’s hard to quantify and is still being counted. Governor Andrew Cuomo said New York will need at least $30 billion from Washington, and Governor Chris Christie said New Jersey is also seeking financial help from the federal government. As the President and the Congress head into tough negotiations about spending cuts and tax hikes to avoid the Jan. 1 fiscal cliff, they're also dealing with the impact of Sandy. This week on WNYC's Money Talking, contributors Joe Nocera of The New York Times and Rana Foroohar of Time magazine weigh in on who should decide what is rebuilt and what is not after a natural disaster. Plus, the President’s former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said during the financial crisis, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” Nocera and Foroohar discuss why rebuilding after Sandy could be an opportunity for local and state governments.

With President Barack Obama reelected to a second term and Congress set to reconvene after Veterans Day, all eyes in Washington are set on the January 1 fiscal cliff when billions in spending cuts and tax increases will go into effect. Addressing reporters on Capitol Hill Wednesday, House Speaker John Boehner spoke of bipartisanship and went on to say he wants to act quickly. "I want to work together," he said. "But I want everyone also to understand, you can’t push us around." Despite his diplomatic attitude, the question on many people's minds is whether the same president and same divided Congress have the political will to end the gridlock that's hampered any action to avert the fiscal cliff. This week on WNYC's Money Talking, contributors Rana Foroohar of Time magazine and Joe Nocera of the New York Times discuss if there's anything in the election results that signal a change to the no-compromise attitudes of the past.  They also weigh in on what will happen if the country does plunge over the fiscal cliff.

Four days after Hurricane Sandy turned the New York metropolitan area on its head, estimates for the economic damage are coming in as high as $50 billion — making it one of the costliest storms on record. New York City — especially Lower Manhattan — was hit hard and is still experiencing power outages, transit disruptions and polluted, standing water that will take days or weeks to resolve. This week on WNYC's Money Talking, contributors Joe Nocera of The New York Times and Rana Foroohar of Time magazine weigh in on whether the superstorm has some people rethinking if New York City should remain the nation's financial center. These days, much the trading on the New York Stock Exchange is done electronically in New Jersey, so would anyone even notice if the trading floor moved to the Garden State? Plus, what the megastorm means for next week's presidential election.

When it comes to the economy, corporations see the glass as half-empty, while consumers see it as half-full. By just about every measure, U.S. consumers are feeling more positive about the direction the economy is headed. Home sales are up, with new home sales increasing 27.1 percent in September compared to a year ago. Consumers are also out shopping and eating in restaurants: retail sales are up 5.4 percent year over year, according to the Commerce Department. Consumer sentiment — which tracks people's expectations about future economic conditions — is at its highest level in five years, according to Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary October survey. Corporations, however, are not nearly as optimistic about the economy. Investments are down, the outlook for future economic growth is negative, and CEO confidence is at its lowest level since 2009.   Recent less-than-stellar sales numbers from companies ranging from IBM to Google to McDonald’s only reinforce the pessimistic outlook of chief executives. This week on WNYC's Money Talking, contributors Rana Foroohar of Time magazine and Joe Nocera of The New York Times weigh in on who has more sway in driving the economy: consumers or corporations. Plus, a discussion about the incoming CEO of The New York Times Company, Mark Thompson. There are more questions being asked about what he knew as head of the BBC when allegations of child sexual abuse emerged about one of the broadcaster’s biggest stars. 

The sudden departure of Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit has sparked a conversation about where the bank is headed under new leadership and what it says about the so-called "too big to fail" banking behemoths. The bank’s immense size was causing problems even before the financial crisis. Even after slimming down considerably during Pandit’s five-year tenure, it’s still the third largest in the country by assets. The contrast between Pandit and the new chief executive Mark Corbat could not be more stark. Pandit was an outsider who took over Citi five months after the bank acquired his hedge fund Old Lane Partners LP in 2007. An investment banker by trade, he was never comfortable with the prospect of breaking up Citi's vast holdings, according to the Wall Street Journal. By contrast, Corbat is a company man and commercial banker who earned kudos and a promotion for shedding hundreds of billions of Citi's unwanted assets, a project he said would remain paramount as the bank moves forward. This week on WNYC's Money Talking, contributors Rana Foroohar of Time magazine and Joe Nocera of The New York Times weigh in on whether the leadership shift at Citi signals a return to what might be termed "boring old banking." Plus, why Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase and Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs are the only two heads of big banks and major Wall Street firms that remain in power following the financial crisis.

As the November election approaches, lawmakers are spending more time campaigning and less time working to avoid the "fiscal cliff," the trigger set to send Americans' taxes higher and slash federal spending by more than a trillion dollars at midnight on December 31. "Taxmageddon," as it's also called, is expected to inflate the unemployment numbers and slow economic growth, facts the titans of Wall Street are having a hard time digesting. "JPMorgan will survive a fiscal cliff. I just think it's terrible policy to allow it to get close," JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said at the Council on Foreign Relations Wednesday. Dimon and other Wall Street CEOs are spending millions on an ad campaign to get support for a deal that would prevent the cliff. On CNBC Thursday, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein put an even finer point on the issue. "The fiscal cliff, specifically, is one of the major ways in which the slow recovery that we have could be completely derailed," he said. This week on WNYC's Money Talking, Rana Foroohar of Time and Ben White of Politico weigh in on whether Wall Street executives still have the clout with legislators to spur Congress into making a deal. Plus, employees at Goldman Sachs and other financial firms shifted their campaign donations to Mitt Romney this election season after supporting candidate Barack Obama in 2008. Money Talking examines whether the president will feel free to ignore Wall Street when it comes to bank regulation if he wins a second term.

The first presidential debate between President Barack Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney focused on jobs and the economy but left some pundits asking for more specifics. This week on WNYC's Money Talking, contributors Joe Nocera of the New York Times and Rana Foroohar of Time weigh in on what business leaders think was left out or glazed over in Wednesday night's debate and what they hope will be brought up next time. The president and the former governor of Massachusetts will meet for their second head-to-head match-up on October 16 at Hofstra University on Long Island. The third and last presidential debate comes less than a week later. Nocera and Foroohar also discuss the upcoming debate between Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan, the lawmaker behind proposals to shrink the federal budget and reform Medicare.

The Supreme Court begins a new term Monday with a docket full of cases pertinent to the business community. The nine justices will rules on issues like how and when class action lawsuits can be filed, whether antitrust laws should apply to government-affiliated organizations and how much time can elapse before the Securities and Exchange Commission files charges of securities fraud. This week on WNYC's Money Talking, host Jeff Greenfield is joined by contributor Joe Nocera of The New York Times and Emily Bazelon, a senior editor at Slate and author of Sticks and Stones, a book about bullying to be released in February. Nocera and Bazelon examine the business implications of a number of cases. Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin Amgen Inc. v. Connecticut Retirement Plans at Trust Funds Gabelli v. Securities and Exchange Commission They also weigh in on what role the court's 5-4 conservative-liberal split plays when it comes to cases involving business.

In Olympic track and field, a tenth of a second can mean the difference between the gold and the silver. But on Wall Street, mere milliseconds separate the winners from the losers as a result of a technological advance that has fundamentally changed how the market operates. So-called "high-frequency traders" use algorithms to make tens of thousands of trades a day. They may only earn a fraction of a cent on each trade, but the high volume means they can earn millions. Recent snafus have raised concerns that this newfangled, computer-based trading is risky. In August, brokerage Knight Capital lost $440 million in 45 minutes when its new trading software malfunctioned shortly after the market opened, and just this week there was a brief plunge in oil prices pegged to high-frequency trading. Slip-ups like these prompted the Senate Banking Committee to hold a hearing Thursday into whether the practice is hurting investors and whether it needs to be regulated. This week on WNYC's Money Talking, contributors Joe Nocera of The New York Times and Rana Foroohar of Time explain what this means for the average investor and what it says about the purpose of the market.