Ben Bernanke

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Jobless Rate Posts Biggest Jump in 22 Years
Jobless Rate Posts Biggest Jump in 22 Years
Economy
Jun 6, 2008 8:43 AM CDT

Jobless Rate Posts Biggest Jump in 22 Years

Signs are very bad for consumers

(Newser) - Unemployment saw its biggest leap in two decades in May, spiking from 5.0% to 5.5%, as companies scale back their workforces in the face of recession, Bloomberg reports. Analysts had expected a more modest climb, to 5.1%; unemployment hasn’t been this high since October 2004. Payrolls...

In Turmoil, Bernanke Forged New Persona
 In Turmoil,
 Bernanke Forged
 New Persona 
ANALYSIS
May 28, 2008 10:50 AM CDT

In Turmoil, Bernanke Forged New Persona

Fed chief sheds academic image with crisis management; some worry he went too far

(Newser) - Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke’s aggressive actions in March to douse the fire consuming financial markets won him fans on Wall Street and elsewhere, but created a cadre of critics who say the “Bernanke Doctrine” fuels inflation and hurts the dollar, the New York Times reports. “It...

Bush, Stop Begging the Saudis
 Bush, Stop Begging the Saudis 
OPINION
May 17, 2008 1:23 PM CDT

Bush, Stop Begging the Saudis

Don't publicly ask for oil favors you won't get, WSJ writes

(Newser) - Whichever adviser sent President Bush to plead with the Saudi king to help bring down oil prices should be canned, the Wall Street Journal opines. Bush had the same request turned down during a visit in January, and the rebuff is even more humiliating the second time around. If Bush...

US Must Stop Foreclosures, Bernanke Warns

He warns of cascading crisis

(Newser) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke yesterday called for government intervention to halt home foreclosures, warning that to do nothing could "destabilize communities, reduce property values of nearby homes, and lower tax revenues." Bernanke said in a speech in New York that a million Americans were already three months...

Stocks Rally; Dow Up Almost 200
 Stocks Rally; Dow Up Almost 200 
MARKETS
May 1, 2008 3:24 PM CDT

Stocks Rally; Dow Up Almost 200

Fed's latest actions draw late but rave reviews

(Newser) - Stocks rallied today on strong performances by several big tech firms, MarketWatch reports. Investors also poured money into financials in anticipation of the dollar boost the Fed will cause by holding interest rates steady after yesterday’s cut. The Dow climbed 189.87 to at 13,010.00, the Nasdaq...

Fed Ponders Pause in Rate Cuts—After 1 More

Experts expect a last cut to 2% before the central bank stops and waits

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve may be ready to cool its torrid rate-cutting after a likely .25% percentage point cut at its meeting next week, the Wall Street Journal reports. Futures markets are betting Chairman Ben Bernanke is unlikely to rest just yet, with little change in the month-to-month economic picture, but...

On Pope's Heels, Brown Arrives in America

Overshadowed PM will talk global economy, seek closer US-UK ties

(Newser) - The pope might be commanding the headlines, but another world leader is in America this week—Gordon Brown arrived in New York yesterday for a three-day visit. In an op-ed for today's Wall Street Journal, the British PM announces a raft of initiatives designed to fortify the "special relationship,...

Frank is Dems' Unlikely Lead Economy Dog
Frank is Dems' Unlikely Lead Economy Dog
Profile
Apr 10, 2008 11:37 AM CDT

Frank is Dems' Unlikely Lead Economy Dog

Mass. rep huddles with Paulson, Bernanke on housing measure

(Newser) - Democratic Rep. Barney Frank has become an unlikely power player in Washington’s “new economic trio” with Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson, writes David Rogers in Politico. His pet plan—a “humongous housing deal” to steady an ailing market—might be a tough sell to the White House,...

Fed, Execs Defend Bear Bailout
Fed, Execs Defend Bear Bailout
Apr 3, 2008 12:10 PM CDT

Fed, Execs Defend Bear Bailout

Collapse would have spread throughout economy, they argue

(Newser) - Bear Stearns was just hours from collapse, and letting it go down would have been disastrous, executives and regulators argued on Capital Hill today while defending the controversial bailout, the New York Times reports. Without the takeover, “we would all be facing a far more dire set of challenges,...

Slow Day Sees Modest Losses
 Slow Day Sees Modest Losses 
MARKETS
Apr 2, 2008 3:48 PM CDT

Slow Day Sees Modest Losses

Stocks end mostly lower after Bernanke testimony

(Newser) - The markets slid into negative territory after Ben Bernanke's Congressional testimony on the state of the economy today, but trading was generally low-key. "Flat is good," an economist told the Wall Street Journal. "People are getting their nerve back." The Dow ended down 45.44 at...

Bernanke: Adjustment Is Mostly Over
Bernanke: Adjustment Is Mostly Over
Apr 2, 2008 10:24 AM CDT

Bernanke: Adjustment Is Mostly Over

But admits economy could contract, possibility of recession

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke for the first time acknowledged the possibility of a US recession, but he also voiced optimism that “much” of the adjustment period was over, the Wall Street Journal reports. His testimony before Congress seemed to suggest an end to aggressive stimulus measures—noting that rates had already...

Congress to Grill Bernanke on Bear Stearns

Questions will likely focus on timing and intensity of Fed's actions in brokering deal

(Newser) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke steps onto a tightrope today for two days of Congressional testimony focusing on the central bank’s starring role in the Bear Stearns bailout. Bernanke likely will be taken to task for not stepping in earlier, and more forcefully, to avert economic chaos, reports the...

Bush Readies Mortgage Bailout
 Bush Readies Mortgage Bailout 
Mar 29, 2008 6:48 AM CDT

Bush Readies Mortgage Bailout

Aid plan would back new loans for homeowners in 'upside-down' mortgages

(Newser) - Homeowners facing foreclosure could soon be getting a helping hand from the Bush administration, the Washington Post reports. Details are being finalized on a plan that would see portions of loans forgiven for people who now owe the bank more money than their house is worth. The remainder would be...

Investors Urge Reluctant Fed to Buy Mortgage Debt

Critics say plan would put too much risk on taxpayers

(Newser) - The best way for the Fed to help reverse the sagging economy is for it to buy some of the $6 trillion in outstanding mortgage-backed securities that have Wall Street so nervous, investors say. The move would ease the credit crunch but put taxpayers at risk. It’s an option...

Cramer: the Bear Has Been Tamed

Bombastic market guru says Bear deal marks end of crisis; buy JP Morgan

(Newser) - We've hit bottom, Jim Cramer proclaims. Bear Stearns' collapse may have been apocalyptic in scale, but it at least woke up a complacent Fed and Treasury secretary, the bombastic market guru writes in New York today. “We’ve been through dozens of false bottoms,” he says, but now...

Bernanke's Home Is Case in Slump's Point

Fed chief's DC digs worth about the same as in 2004

(Newser) - Federal Reserve boss Ben Bernanke’s own home illustrates the very crisis his organization must fight—in the midst of a national housing slump, it’s worth roughly the same as when he bought it in 2004, Bloomberg reports. Values peaked just after that; the fact that his Capitol Hill...

Crisis Is More of Confidence Than Credit
Crisis Is More
of Confidence Than Credit
ANALYSIS
Mar 19, 2008 11:39 AM CDT

Crisis Is More of Confidence Than Credit

Times scribe connects dots from housing boom to Bear Stearns

(Newser) - The credit crisis that’s roiled financial markets has its genesis in the housing boom that began in 1998, David Leonhardt writes in the New York Times. The boom led lenders to create new financing options—including subprime loans—as investors saw potential for huge returns. Low interest rates encouraged...

Fed Cut Raises Inflation Fears
 Fed Cut Raises Inflation Fears 
Mar 19, 2008 10:27 AM CDT

Fed Cut Raises Inflation Fears

Borrowers, exporters stand to gain, but critics find move 'self-defeating'

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve's latest rate cut might boost the economy with cheaper credit, but economists worry a freed inflation genie could be behind any magic, the Washington Post reports. Commodity prices rose to record levels in expectation that the rate cut would keep demand high, and the price hikes are...

Fed Cuts Key Interest Rate &frac34; Point
 Fed Cuts 
 Key Interest 
 Rate ¾ Point 
updated
Mar 18, 2008 1:37 PM CDT

Fed Cuts Key Interest Rate ¾ Point

But Wall Street had hoped for more

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve today cut the federal funds rate by ¾ of a percentage point, from 3% to 2.25%, disappointing many investors who were hoping for a cut of a full point, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Fed voted 8-2 for the rate cut. "Recent information indicates...

Housing Starts Down; Producer Prices Up

Housing will hurt '08 growth

(Newser) - Housing starts fell yet again in February, and building permits hit a 16-year low, Bloomberg reports. The annual housing start rate fell to 1.065 million homes, a 0.6% drop from January, while permits sank 7.8%, indicating still bigger declines to come. “We don’t see it...

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