It's no question that the housing bubble has created a huge effect on the housing economy today. But what would have happened to home prices if that bubble never happened? Robert Shiller of the S&P Case-Shiller index offers some insight.
As trust in banks falters and Americans try to budget their costs, many are turning to prepaid debit cards, where they can put up the money upfront and watch what they spend. But are they really a better alternative to credit cards?
Fees -- many of them hidden -- are everywhere these days. But that doesn't mean we have to give in to them. It pays to be a fee hawk, says commentator Chris Farrell, and it's time the government helps us out too.
Although some banks have just announced they're temporarily halting foreclosures, many homeowners are still in trouble and in need of answers. A non-profit group in L.A. tries to help.
The housing crisis just hit another obstacle with the halt of foreclosures in nearly of the nation. Tess Vigeland talks to Nic Retsinas, director of Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, about details of what's happened in the housing economy and what's to come.
Tess Vigeland and Marketplace Money's senior producer Deborah Clark go through the mailbox, inbox, voicemail and Facebook page for listener responses to recent stories.
What would you do if you walked into an A&W Root Beer -- and they said they were out of root beer? Or, if you stopped by a KFC that was out of chicken? Well, we know one economist who recently experienced both. Host Tess Vigeland talks to Freakonomics correspondent Stephen Dubner about the economic theory behind bad customer service.
Marketplace Money host Tess Vigeland and MSN's Kathy Kristof answer listener questions. On tap this week: An unmarried couple splitting the finances, renting a condo to your children and helping a parent deal with his spotty finances.
