Housing

Steve Fraser might look mild-mannered, but when it comes to economic doomsaying, he is the Rocky Marciano of recession, the Tiger Woods of turndown, the David Beckham of depression.Speaking of bending one, Fraser's LA Times column of today, "Symptoms of an Economic Depression," twists U.S. economic data into a harbinger of impending doom. Fraser begins by falsely claiming that "no one wants to…

In "Wall St. Sees Silver Lining," new New York Times economics reporter Peter Goodman (formerly of the Washington Post) made Saturday's front page with a "news analysis" that impressively managed to put last week's big stock market rally in the context of an "ailing economy" that was "imperiled by the crumbling housing market."

As the 2008 election approaches, the New York Times uses the image of a sinking red "RECE$$ION" to communicate a fear that is so far only a phantom menace. Peter Goodman's Sunday Week in Review cover story, "Trying to Guess What Happens Next," displayed plenty of pessimism about the U.S. economy after years of foreign-financed easy money. But the accompanying graphic communicated even more…

*****Update at end of post includes detailed response to unhappy e-mail messages concerning this subject.As someone that has done a lot of economic writing and financial media analysis, I'm used to gloom and doom from journalists. However, Saturday's Associated Press article concerning the credit crunch and how it's impacting the mortgage market could be the worst example of economic and…

Here's what a CNN e-mail I received said when the news was first released: Here's how the headline at the home page turned out mid-morning:

Uh oh, it's that time of the month again. Once a month, California-based RealtyTrac releases national foreclosure statistics and once a month, all three networks manage to overlook details in their reporting. But, this time, ABC's "World News with Charles Gibson" got it completely wrong.From the November 14 broadcasts:

Leave it to resident CNBC loose cannon Jim Cramer to take it upon himself to call a spade a spade or a red a red. Cramer, host of the CNBC’s “Mad Money” called liberal Democratic New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo as “communist” on CNBC’s November 7 “Street Signs.” “[W]itness the fact that right now, the most important man in America for the stock market – the most important man and…

Talk about talking down the economy! No fewer than three times today, Matt Lauer invited Barack Obama to declare that the U.S. economy is headed into recession. At the end of a "Today" interview that focused largely on Hillary-related issues and Iran, Lauer turned to the economy and pressed Obama to predict the worst.View video here.