Money Talking

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Stop Trying To Tell the Fed's Future Sep 11, 2015

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For years since the financial crisis, one question has loomed large in the minds of investors, analysts, economists and politicians: When will the Federal Reserve raise interest rates?

The suspense may not keep everyone up at night, but a rise in the federal funds rate from nearly zero would be a sign that the economy has recovered since the financial crisis. So for months now, there's been a lot of over-thinking about the comments made by members of the Federal Reserve Board, trying to determine when, oh when, the interest rate will rise.

The latest prediction in the economic crystal ball: possibly next Thursday afternoon after a meeting of the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee.

Money Talking host Charlie Herman asksAllison Schrager from Quartz and Myles Udland from Business Insider what's at stake and, if the media hubbub is worth your attention.

The Half-Hour Drama of Picking a Show to Watch Sep 04, 2015

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It’s being described as a “Golden Age of Television,” but with so many choices and so many ways to watch, it’s also a time of confusion.

Hulu. Netflix. Amazon. HBO. Showtime. Not to mention network TV. They are all creating new programming that’s getting people’s attention.

And now, there are reports that Apple might be looking to create it’s own, exclusive programming.

For viewers, it can be a daunting to figure out which shows to watch, where to find them, and how much it will cost. And that doesn’t even include finding the time to actually watch the shows.

This week on Money Talking, Emily Steel with the New York Times and Tim Stenovec with Business Insider review how television as we know it is being upended, who will be the winners and losers, and what it means for consumers.

If you’re looking to cut the cord and say good bye to cable, here’s Steel’s guide for figuring out which streaming service to use, and how much it will cost.

When Bad Listeners Grow Up to Be Bosses Sep 03, 2015

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For the horrible listeners in your office, the advice to get them to pay attention is pretty straightforward:

1. Slow down.

2. Stop talking.

3. Listen.

But Amy Jen Su, an executive coach with Paravis Partners who has written and talked about the issue for the Harvard Business Review, knows it's not so simple, especially for some particularly stubborn bosses.

"I think many of us speak just to hear ourselves think," she said.

For one flagrant interrupter she worked with, Su pulled out some preschool training strategies and asked her client to use a "listening stick" at home with his wife: he couldn't speak until his wife handed him the stick.

If you can get the awful listeners to listen, the solutions are as simple as slowing down, getting comfortable with silence, and focusing attention on the speaker. But if you find yourself getting physically uncomfortable when you're not hearing the sound of your own voice, she said the first step is to get comfortable with the discomfort.

"Part of listening is listening for the facts," Su said. "Is the person sharing facts that you weren't aware of? Hear the person out." She said as you listen, you need to have your mind open to being changed. And if you don't agree with the speaker, let the speaker know you've listened to what they've said, and then tell them why you disagree.

But if you're the one who isn't being heard during a one-on-one with your boss, Su said you need to go over the conversation at the end of your chat, and reiterate your points. If you're in a large meeting where you keep getting interrupted, you can use verbal cues during the meeting like raising your hand gently and saying "Hang on a second, let me just finish my point there," Su said.

And most importantly, don't rely on your own opinion to determine if you're a good listener. Go to a trusted colleague. They'll tell you the truth. If you're willing to listen and hear what she has to say.

The Country That's Making the Stock Market Crazy Aug 28, 2015

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For many economists and analysts, this week's turbulent stock market isn't surprising. They knew it was coming — and they knew where it would be coming from: China.

But for the rest of us, it seemed like China's image changed overnight: from major engine of global economic growth to one of the market's biggest liabilities. When the Dow Jones fell more than a 1,000 points at the start of trading on Monday, it was perhaps the first, most visible indicator that if China stumbles, the global market will feel it.

Host Charlie Herman asks Rana Foroohar from Time and Jordan Weissmann from Slate whether the communist nation is up to the task of directing its faltering economy.

Amazon's Cutthroat Culture: Cruel by Design? Aug 21, 2015

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When the New York Times described Amazon as a cutthroat workplace with unkind leaders where employees cry at their desks, it apparently came as news to the CEO, Jeff Bezos. He wrote to employees, saying that's not the Amazon he knows, and he asked them to notify him directly if they experienced the harsh management style the Times described.

The article has been criticized as loosely sourced and anecdotal, but some of the Times story, like the data-driven management style or the way employees can report on each other directly to higher-ups, is part of the workplace design. And while some see it as a grim place to work, others might call the challenges Amazon poses to its employees as the way of the future.

Money Talking host Charlie Herman discusses what makes a good workplace with Patty McCord, the former Chief Talent Officer of Netflix, which has a reputation for being one of the friendliest places to work, and Nikki Waller, management and careers editor at the Wall Street Journal.

Stop Whining. Do Your Work. Aug 20, 2015

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Alex Samuel says she never really grew up. And, she adds, neither did you.

“The truth is, all of us have that little kid who doesn’t want to their homework buried inside somewhere,” Samuel told Charlie Herman, host of WNYC's host Money Talking.

The author of several books on mastering technology, Samuel wrote the article "How to Trick Yourself into Doing the Tasks You Dread" for the Harvard Business Review by turning to her own kids for inspiration. She says she gives herself something like the gold stars you get in grade school to motivate her to get work done. She's not above it — and she gets results.

But it's not only trick she uses to. First, it helps to identify the tasks at hand. According to her, there are two main types of tasks we tend to dread: the mindless ones, like emptying out email; and the daunting tasks, like writing a novel. Depending on the kind of task she's tackling, she gives herself a different kind of reward.

while

Samuel says it's important to tailor the grown-up star chart to your own preferences.

"One person’s delight is another person’s dreaded task," she said Pay attention to which tasks stay undone on your To-Do list — that's where you should apply these rewards.

But wait. There's one more to consider. It's what Samuel calls "Avoid These Tasks." If there are projects you go out of your way to avoid doing, then just don't do them. Get rid of the guilt. And what you might find, as Samuel did, once you do that, you will actually check them off your list.

Getting Financial Advisers to Care (More) About You Aug 14, 2015

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President Obama is proposing changes to how financial advisers provide retirement advice.

“The challenge we’ve got is right now there are no uniform rules of the road that require retirement advisers to act in the best interest of their clients,” Obama said, speaking before the AARP in February.

As it stands, advisers can suggest retirement plans that include high fees and provide low returns without facing significant consequences. To change that, the Labor Department in April proposed a new set of standards known as a "fiduciary rule."

During hearings this week about the proposed rule, representatives from the financial industry said it's impractical and burdensome, and would increase the cost of marketing, which would make it impossible to reach people living in remote areas of the country or clients with relatively small portfolios. Others said the rule patronizes consumers who should be able to make financial decisions for themselves. Some groups have proposed amendments to the rule which they say will help those who have less money to invest.

Money Talking hostCharlie Herman interviews guests Jason Zweig, investing and personal-finance columnist for the Wall Street Journal, and Helaine Olen, "The Bills" columnist for Slate and author of Pound Foolish, about what the rule would accomplish and what it says about the current state of the financial advice industry.

Clean Power's Economic Potential Aug 07, 2015

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Obama is calling his clean power plan the "most important step" the country's taken to fight climate change. But how will it change the U.S. energy industry?

Love Thy Office Frenemies Aug 06, 2015

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Friendship at work can be a special kind of torture.

We spend most of our waking hours with our coworkers, so right off the bat, we have a lot in common with them. But the intensity of a work friendship can sometimes fluctuate between two opposites: we love them or we hate them.

Shimul Melwani experienced this kind of tortured love-hate relationship at work, and she chose to find the silver lining: the proof is in her Harvard Business Review article, "Love-Hate Relationships at Work Might Be Good For You."

Melwani tells Money Talking host Charlie Herman the workplace seems perfectly designed for these kinds of relationships.

"We're expected to cooperate with our team members," Melwani said, "but then we're also expected to compete with them for resources and promotions and time with our leader and money."

She added, however, that love-hate friendships might actually improve your work in the office more than purely positive or purely negative relationships ever could. Having a friend at work can be distracting, and if you have a someone you just despise, you can dismiss them completely. A love-hate friendship keeps you both empathetic and a little angry, so it can motivate you to work harder to understand what is going on and perhaps find a way to get along better.

The key is to minimize the damage your inevitable frenemy can cause to your psyche. As Melwani puts it:

Focus on the love. If you have to pick one side of this relationship to fixate on, keep your attention on the good parts. Enjoy the positive aspects of having a partner in crime as much as you can. Have some self-compassion. Understand where your negative feelings come from. If you feel competitive and resentful toward someone you also respect and like, the consequence is often to feel guilty. Give yourself a break. This kind of thing is normal. Teams, by default, reward people for acting cooperatively and then also expect people to individually shine: this is fundamentally confusing and it's okay to feel conflicted.

Melwani said most of all, it's important to find a balance.

"Just having lots of different kinds of relationships [at work] is really what's going to help you," Melwani said. You can have that best friend at work that keeps you sane and satisfied, a frenemy or two to push you to do better, and maybe even a straight-up enemy, to keep things interesting.

Is the Fight for $15 the Good Fight? Jul 31, 2015

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The fight for $15 is catching on.

Fast food workers in New York claimed victory last week when a panel appointed by the governor agreed with them: their minimum wage should be increased to $15 an hour over the next few years. That recommendation must now be reviewed by a high commissioner, who's expected to approve it. But in Seattle and Los Angeles, city councils have already approved citywide increases to $15. And at the national level, a bill before Congress would more than double the federal minimum wage to $15 from $7.25.

This week, Money Talking raises a perennial economic question: do raises in the minimum wage help or harm the workers who fight for them? A raise might help the wage stagnation we're seeing in the national economy, but some economists suggest a raise too big could shrink the pool of jobs. In Los Angeles this week, some union leaders are asking to be exempt from the $15 city-wide minimum they fought for, in order to have more flexibility in asking for other benefits. And some critics suggest industry-specific raises, like the fast food one in New York, could lead to distortions in the economy.

Guest host Cardiff Garcia of the Financial Times asks Josh Barro from The New York Times and Reihan Salam from the National Review, who've both written on the topic, what the raises at local and national levels could mean for the workforce and other ways the government might improve conditions for workers.

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