Making Heads or Tails of It
September 29, 2008 § Leave a comment
I have been trying to educate myself about mortgage backed securities and commercial paper within last two weeks, as I indicated in my earlier post about the information resources I have been collecting that best explain the economic crisis.
By far the best resource that I have found so far is the Planet Money blog and podcast from NPR. Thier stories are featured on some of the regular programs, like All Things Considered and Morning Edition, but the podcast through iTunes has a few nuggets that I haven’t heard anywhere else, so its worth downloading.
The contributing journalists to this effort offer down-to-earth easily understandable break downs for the average listener who doesn’t have a degree in finance or economics.
I need to understand this stuff for my job, and as a citizen I see it as a responsibility. The journalists here clearly see it as their job to educate the public on how some incredibly important decisions might impact our world and our day-to-day life for generations. They do a great job.
Oh, and I was thrilled tonight to find that they also have a Twitter feed.
Information Resources for the Economic Crisis
September 21, 2008 § Leave a comment
At work this week, I was asked to interpret how the current economic crisis might impact the bottom line of fundraising at the University of Chicago. I thus began to compile the best information resources to help translate what is happening.
So far, the best resource I have found yet is the Planet Money blog from NPR. Here they are compiling their best stories about the crisis. It all started with the story on This American Life: The Giant Pool of Money. Totally worth the $.95 for the download.
Other good resources include
- The finance section from The Economist
- Crain’s Chicago special section on the crisis
- The New York Times U.S. Economy page
- The Financial Times special section on the global financial crisis
- My friend Grace recommended this blog: The Big Picture
- Abnormal Returns is a blog recommended by a colleague from work
- That same colleague also recommended Infectious Greed
I’m sure that there will be others emergin in the next days and weeks. I’m particularly interested in gathering anything that speaks to fundraising and philanthropy. If you have others to share, I welcome your comments. Thanks!
InFomentation 