Jim Zarroli

Jim Zarroli is a business reporter for NPR News, based at NPR's New York bureau.

He covers economics and business news including fiscal policy, the Federal Reserve, the job market and taxes

Over the years, he's reported on recessions and booms, crashes and rallies, and a long string of tax dodgers, insider traders and Ponzi schemers. He's been heavily involved in the coverage of the European debt crisis and the bank bailouts in the United States.

Prior to moving into his current role, Zarroli served as a New York-based general assignment reporter for NPR News. While in this position he covered the United Nations during the first Gulf War. Zarroli added to NPR's coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the London transit bombings and the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.

Before joining the NPR in 1996, Zarroli worked for the Pittsburgh Press and wrote for various print publications.

Zarroli graduated from Pennsylvania State University.

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Business
4:58 am
Mon May 21, 2012

Ex-Goldman Director Faces Insider Trading Trial

Prosecutors say Rajat Gupta, a former member of the board of Goldman Sachs, passed on information about Goldman to billionaire Raj Rajaratnam, who is in prison for insider trading. Jury selection gets underway Monday.

Business
3:14 pm
Fri May 11, 2012

Massive JP Morgan Loss The Talk Of Wall Street

Credit Mario Tama / Getty Images
JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon cited "many errors, sloppiness and bad judgment" in announcing a $2 billion loss due to a hedging strategy.

Originally published on Fri May 11, 2012 4:52 pm

JPMorgan Chase is licking its wounds after announcing that it lost at least $2 billion in a hedging strategy that went terribly wrong. The announcement late Thursday sent the bank's shares tumbling more than 9 percent on Friday.

Meanwhile, regulators on both sides of the Atlantic have begun looking into what happened. And there were calls Friday for tighter restrictions on the kind of trades the bank engaged in.

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Business
3:29 am
Fri May 11, 2012

JPMorgan Chase Loses $2 Billion In Risky Trades

Originally published on Fri May 11, 2012 5:10 am

J.P. Morgan Chase reported $2 billion in losses over the last six weeks, and said there may be more to come. In a news conference shortly after the market closed Thursday, CEO Jamie Dimon said the losses stemmed from a credit default swap that was "poorly executed and poorly monitored."

Europe
4:42 pm
Wed May 2, 2012

Investors Flee Spain As Economy Spirals Downward

Credit Dominique Faget / AFP/Getty Images
People attend a demonstration in Madrid organized by unions against financial cuts in health and education on April 29.

Originally published on Wed May 9, 2012 8:44 am

The news keeps getting worse for Spain. This week came word that the country has fallen back into recession. Meanwhile, Spain's unemployment rate is the highest in Europe. Investors are once again fleeing the country and interest rates on government debt are climbing.

The numbers coming out of Spain these days are stark. The economy contracted at a 0.3 percent rate during the first part of this year. Housing prices are down 21 percent from their peak, and unemployment is nearly 25 percent.

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Economy
3:20 pm
Fri April 27, 2012

Mixed Signals: Weaker Growth, Higher Profits

Credit Don Ryan / AP
Consumers spent more than expected in the first quarter of 2012, partly because they dipped into their savings, but businesses spent less.

Originally published on Fri April 27, 2012 4:05 pm

The U.S. economy lost some steam during the first three months of the year. The Commerce Department said Friday that growth slowed to just 2.2 percent, down from 3 percent at the end of last year.

The good news was that the economy continued to grow during the first quarter of the year. But anyone who was waiting for growth to kick into a higher gear was disappointed once again. One reason for that was a slowdown in business investment — companies spent less on new equipment and software even though profits were surprisingly strong.

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