Interest Rate Cut And The Global Markets; New Frontline Documentary, Growing Up Online; Super Delegates And The Choice Of A Democratic Presidential Nominee; Academy Awards Nominations
Interest Rate Cut And The Global Markets
Many economists continue to say we're not facing a recession, but the global markets are following the Dow with serious declines. Japan's Nikkei stock average closed at 5.65 percent today, the biggest drop in nearly a decade. And the Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 8.65 percent a day after showing its biggest losses since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. US markets have shown some rebound today, but are still down. This prompted the Federal Reserve to issue a rate cut of 3.5 percentage points, the biggest since 1982. And Washington is talking about a second economic stimulus package. What does the future hold for the global and local economy? Larry talks with experts Steve Gelsi, reporter for MarketWatch, and Chris Thornberg, Principal, Beacon Economics.
New Frontline Documentary, Growing Up Online
Larry Mantle talks with Frontline co-producer Rachel Dretzin (with John Maggio) about their new documentary film, Growing up Online that explores the world of a cyber-savvy generation that often times finds itself spending hours online with no parental supervision or involvement.
Super Delegates And The Choice Of A Democratic Presidential Nominee
In 1982, Democratic Party leaders created positions called super delegates, which include Congressional members, governors and all of the elected members of the Democratic National Committee. Each one is granted a vote at the party convention. When they passed this rule, Democratic Party leaders assumed it would help them retain considerable control over the process and provide them with the bulk of political favors that historically flowed from supporting the winning candidate at the convention. In 2008, the 796 super delegates will make up about 20% of the entire convention. Will the super delegates be the "deciders" in this year's Democratic Convention if there is no clear front-runner at the end of the primary season? Larry Mantle talks about super delegates with Joshua Spivak, an attorney who writes on election issues.
Academy Awards Nominations
The Oscar nominations were announced early this morning. In the best picture category: Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, No Country for Old Men, and There Will Be Blood. Larry talks with film critic Henry Sheehan, of HenrySheehan.com, and John Horn, film writer for TheEnvelope.com from the Los Angeles Times, about who they think should take home the statuette and who was overlooked.