Ben Bernanke

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Bernanke Optimistic in Rare TV Interview

Fed chairman sits down for rare one-on-one amid crisis

(Newser) - The recession will likely end this year, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke declared yesterday on 60 Minutes in his first interview since taking office. Fed chairmen don't typically give TV interviews—the last one was Alan Greenspan in 1987—but Bernanke ventured out from behind the curtain to reassure the public....

Economists Rate Obama, Geithner: 'F'

Obama, Geithner score poorly in survey; Bernanke does better

(Newser) - Barack Obama retains high approval ratings with the public, but a panel of economists had a far more negative view, reports the Wall Street Journal. A majority of 49 economists polled said they were dissatisfied with the president's economic policies. Asked to score his tenure out of 100, economists gave...

Market Bounces 300+ on Bernanke, Citi News

Citi leads way as Bernanke comments give boost

(Newser) - The Dow surged more than 300 points this morning, as investors welcomed news from Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit that his bank had shown a profit the first two months of this year, and optimistic comments from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke. The Dow had risen 312 points by noon, led by...

Bernanke: Time to Prevent Next Crisis

(Newser) - Even as the financial crisis rages, Ben Bernanke says it’s time for broad regulatory reforms to stem future crises. Bernanke said today “too big to fail” institutions should be more tightly watched, perhaps by his Federal Reserve. He also admitted that the US hadn’t been prudent with...

Obama 'Dithering' on Bank Rescue: Krugman
Obama 'Dithering' on Bank Rescue: Krugman
OPINION

Obama 'Dithering' on Bank Rescue: Krugman

Toxic asset plans just aren't going to work

(Newser) - Barack Obama has repeatedly said that bold action is needed to save the financial system, and he’s probably right, writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times. So it’s a shame he isn’t taking any. “The reality is that when it comes to dealing with the...

Dodd Moves to Lend FDIC $500B

(Newser) - Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd has introduced a bill to allow the FDIC to borrow up to $500 billion from the Treasury Department, the Wall Street Journal reports. It’s the latest attempt to bolster the fund that insures consumer deposits, which has been ravaged by a string of bank...

Bernanke Backs Stimulus Bill
 Bernanke Backs Stimulus Bill 

Bernanke Backs Stimulus Bill

Bigger deficits are worth the benefits, Fed chair tells Congress

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke supported the Obama administration’s economic policy before Congress today, the Wall Street Journal reports. The $787 billion stimulus bill should boost “demand and production” and soften job losses over the next 2 years, the Federal Reserve chief told the Senate Budget Committee. The expansion of government...

Fed Bailout Spawns More 'Zombie' Banks

Fed lifelines preserve banks that, frankly, are better off dead

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve’s aggressive lending to banks has helped avert financial collapse, but it may have created some monsters as well, the Wall Street Journal reports. A research paper from the University of Chicago suggests that while federal aid has succeeded some in thawing frozen credit markets, it has...

Big Banks Up; Dow Down 80
 Big Banks Up; Dow Down 80 
MARKETS

Big Banks Up; Dow Down 80

Troubled financials boosted by Bernanke comments, Treasury plan

(Newser) - Stocks suffered modest losses today, though prominent financial institutions gained, the Wall Street Journal reports. Details of the Treasury’s “stress tests” and comments from Ben Bernanke disavowing nationalization buoyed Citigroup, Bank of America and Wells Fargo—but another dismal home-sales report depressed the broader market. The Dow fell...

We Know What We're Doing, Bernanke Assures Congress

Fed chair defends response to financial crisis

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke defended the government’s response to the financial crisis today before Congress, saying regulators’ various approaches reflect different aspects of a unified strategy, MarketWatch reports. “We’re not making it up,” the Federal Reserve chief said. “We’re working along a program that has been...

Street Battles Back; Dow Up 236
 Street Battles Back; Dow Up 236 
MARKETS

Street Battles Back; Dow Up 236

Financials lead rally

(Newser) - Stocks rallied today as traders snapped up bargains in the wake of yesterday’s sell-off, the Financial Times reports. Citigroup and Bank of America led the surge after Ben Bernanke said the government would not have to resort to nationalization to save the beleaguered banks. The Dow gained 236.16,...

Bernanke: Recession Should End This Year

2010 will be 'year of recovery'

(Newser) - If the government’s plans work, the recession will be over by the end of this year, Ben Bernanke told senators today, making 2010 a “year of recovery.” But, the Wall Street Journal reports, the Federal Reserve chief pointed to continuing storm clouds, saying the US is undergoing...

How the Crisis Changed Bernanke
 How the
 Crisis Changed
 Bernanke 

ANALYSIS

How the Crisis Changed Bernanke

Extraordinary times have changed the Fed chairman's language and policy

(Newser) - Crises change people, and the changes wrought by the financial meltdown on Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke were well evident at a Press Club lunch yesterday, writes Dana Milibank for the Washington Post. Previously known for bland answers, this academic now tempers his economist-speak with straight talk and supplemented official data...

Bernanke's Childhood Home Foreclosed On

Fed chief hails from one of America's hardest-hit towns

(Newser) - “This is where it all happened,” says the new owner of a modest ranch house in Dillon, SC. This is the house Ben Bernanke grew up in, and though his family sold it long ago, it’s a tad ironic that it was just bought in a foreclosure...

Dow Up 201 on Fed News
 Dow Up 201 on Fed News 
MARKETS

Dow Up 201 on Fed News

Obama plan for 'bad bank' inspires confidence

(Newser) - The Fed’s announcement today that it will keep target rates near zero sustained a rally led by financials, the Wall Street Journal reports. Financials continued to rise off the Obama administration’s plan to create a “bad bank” to buy toxic assets, with the Financial Select Sector Fund,...

Fed Leaves Rate Unchanged, Will Try Other Tactics

Economy has weakened further, committee concludes at meeting

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve said the US economy has weakened further and signaled it will keep a key interest rate near zero for quite "some time" to cushion the fallout. The Fed agreed—with one dissenting vote—to keep the targeted range for the federal funds rate at a record...

'Bad Bank' for Toxic Assets Among Feds' TARP Options

Paulson, Bair show support creating federally sponsored institution

(Newser) - Support is growing for the latest proposed use of bailout funds: a federally sponsored “bad bank” to purchase toxic assets from troubled financial institutions, Bloomberg reports. “A lot of work has been done on an aggregator bank,” Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said today; FDIC chief Sheila Bair...

Feds' Bank Aid Smacks of Nationalization
Feds' Bank
Aid Smacks of Nationalization
ANALYSIS

Feds' Bank Aid Smacks of Nationalization

Washington may have no choice but to take majority stakes

(Newser) - The federal government may be forced to effectively nationalize some of America's biggest banks, a notion gaining traction as Bank of America and Citigroup teeter on the brink of insolvency. While Washington has shown extreme reluctance to take ownership stakes in corporate banks, it may now have no choice, the...

2008 Inflation Slowest in 50 Years on Oil Prices, Economy

Slow spending, sliding energy costs lead to 0.1% CPI increase last year

(Newser) - In 2008, consumer prices crept up at the slowest rate since 1954, climbing just 0.1% for the year and missing the Fed’s preference of 1.5% to 2% by a wide margin, the Wall Street Journal reports. Just months after inflation hit 17-year highs, a 75% drop in...

Bailout Hasn't Failed, But Banks Need More

(Newser) - The Wall Street bailout has not failed, but it hasn’t worked yet, either, as evidenced by the renewed call from Barack Obama and the Fed to release more TARP funds, the New York Times reports. Banks that received bailout funds are clamoring for more to stabilize their finances, but...

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