Thursday, June 20, 2013. Last Update: Wed 6:00 PM EST

Author Archive

Articles by Ryan Chittum | Email the Author

Opening Bell: “Pretty Crazy”

Dwarf-toss news leavens otherwise depressing day; monolines, economy not good; oil is nutty

The price of oil hit a new high yesterday and President Bush lashed out at OPEC for deciding not to... More

Opening Bell: Bernanke v. Paulson?

A Fed-Treasury split; Wamu pay outrage; a growing bankrupt class; pitiful Fed testimony, etc.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke came down firmly on the side of government action on Tuesday, urging banks to forgive... More

Opening Bell

Oil shocks again; Buffett glum on CNBC; spreading panic; our daily quote, etc.

The price of oil briefly hit a new all-time high yesterday in a landmark event that finally pushed petroleum past... More

Opening Bell

LAT on Nafta; Portfolio’s Eisinger on muni insurance; Euro-planes for the USAF; price of sawdust, etc.

The New York Times leads its front page with a report that cities and states are beginning to squawk at... More

Opening Bell

In CJR’s a.m. business-press roundup: More Street spooks; Jingle mail; WSJ’s dollar delay; Bush to recession: Drop dead; and more.

Lots of scary news yesterday, including the implosion of a major UK hedge fund from Peloton Partners. In a sign... More

Opening Bell

In CJR’s a.m. business-press roundup: Paulson pushes back, WSJ reports; a stunner from Bahrain; Bernanke: Damn the torpedoes, etc.

The New York Times and the Financial Times lead with the dollar tumbling to record lows on Fed chief Bernanke’s... More

Opening Bell

In CJR’s a.m. guide to the business press: Grim tidings on housing; WP says a veto threatened on bailouts; 50 bank failures? etc. etc.

After something of a reprieve from bad news on Tuesday, the business pages all lead with negative economic reports. In... More

The Opening Bell

Pause in the panic; the Times on useless insurance; more bad news for a fallen titan, etc.

Stocks rallied after the Standard & Poor’s ratings agency decided not to downgrade monoline bond insurers MBIA and Ambac Financial,... More

Opening Bell

Oil shocks; Wachovia bites its own leg off; ChiTrib on Countrywide’s skeletons, etc.

The New York Times leads its front page with an interesting report that inflation is causing (um, more) turmoil in... More

Opening Bell

One in ten homes underwater: NYT; Microsoft; perils of dried fruit; more gloom, doom

The Wall Street Journal reports on its Money & Investing cover that derivatives are predicting a collapse in the commercial... More

The Opening Bell

Stagflation; a run on anti-panic insurance; “that Armageddon feel,” etc.

Stagflation fears lead the front pages of the business press today after the Federal Reserve sharply cut its growth estimates... More

The Opening Bell

There will be triple-digit oil; NYT scores with MBIA; Suisse aftershocks, etc.

Crude oil closed above $100 a barrel on Tuesday for the first time, a nominal record only about $3 away... More

The Opening Bell

A Swiss credit bombshell; shaky Rock in the UK; Bay Area housing, etc.

There’s breaking news this morning out of Europe: big subprime write-downs at Credit Suisse, which, unlike its Swiss competitor—and let’s... More

Opening Bell

Spitzer turns the tables; WSJ scoops; renting in Dallas; FT on shaky LBOs, etc.

The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times report this morning that New York Governor Eliot Spitzer is stoking the... More

The Opening Bell

The Audit’s new daily column chimes in on new credit problems, Zell’s latest moves, bad Chinese drugs, etc.

Editor's note: Welcome to the formal launch of Opening Bell, a critical review of the morning's business news written by... More

The Opening Bell

The Audit’s new daily column chimes in on monolines, cars, Paulson, etc.

Editor's note: Welcome to the first Opening Bell, a daily look at the morning's business press written by Ryan Chittum,... More

Free Tunes! Not

Business press stampedes into Qtrax blunder

A penny-stock company called Brilliant Technologies Corporation made several business-news desks look silly recently when they credulously reported an announcement... More

Or What?

Business reporters need to finish the thought on bailouts

The financial press’ coverage of the “bailouts” on Wall Street by foreign and other investors has left out a critical... More

Can’t Get Any Worse?

Newspaper companies’ wildly inflated balance sheets

Newspapers are quick to tell us bad news about the war, the economy, and the local politician. Newspaper companies aren’t... More

Job Well Done

WSJ shines light on Wall Street ‘hairball’

Even the most diligent readers of the business press can be forgiven for not understanding what a collateralized debt obligation... More

The pace of modern life

Things have always been getting worse

Yes, women’s magazines can do serious journalism

In fact, we’ve been doing it for a while

Persuading David Simon

The people who run the American security apparatus are in the overwhelming majority diligent people with a deep concern for civil liberties. But their job is to find creative ways to collect information. And they work within an institution that, because of its secrecy, is fundamentally inimical to democracy and to a free society

Rachel Maddow’s tribute to Michael Hastings

“Michael was angry … he was angry about things that weren’t right in the world. He was angry with war and with loss, and that drove his reporting.”

  • If you like the magazine, get the rest of the year for just $19.95 (6 issues in all).
  • If not, simply write cancel on the bill and return it. You will owe nothing.

Who Owns What

The Business of Digital Journalism

A report from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

Study Guides

Questions and exercises for journalism students.