Ben Bernanke

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Stocks Drop on Alcoa Downer, Bernanke Calls for More Bailout

Bernanke sounds all pessimistic

(Newser) - Stocks took a modest drop at the open, in the wake of a grim report from Alcoa and even grimmer words from Ben Bernanke, who said the strength and timing of the global recovery are “highly uncertain,” and that Obama’s stimulus won’t produce sustainable results without...

Dumbest Gaffes on the Economy

Instead of predicting financial crisis, they hid it

(Newser) - The men who should have been warning us about the impending financial crisis were a wee bit off the mark at times. MSNBC rounds up some of the dumbest things said:
  • "Subprime market problems seem likely to be contained."—Ben Bernanke, March 28, 2007
  • "The fundamentals
...

Spending Beyond Our Means? It's All China's Fault
Spending Beyond Our Means? It's All China's Fault
analysis
Dec 26, 2008 12:13 PM CST

Spending Beyond Our Means? It's All China's Fault

The time of the reckoning is here, NYT says

(Newser) - The financial crisis is, in part, a result of the uncomfortably tight economic embrace between the US and China, New York Times reports. China has long fostered an unsustainable credit cycle by keeping its currency artificially cheap and lending massive sums to the US. “Nobody wanted to get off...

'Helicopter Ben' Should Shower Us With Cash
'Helicopter Ben' Should Shower Us With Cash
OPINION
Dec 17, 2008 11:56 AM CST

'Helicopter Ben' Should Shower Us With Cash

Fed can prevent deflation, but problems lurk down the line

(Newser) - With interest rates functionally zero, Ben Bernanke is soon going to have to resort to the central banker's ultimate weapon: printing cash and showering Americans with money. There's no question that the "helicopter drop" will prevent the dreaded spiral of deflation, writes Martin Wolf in the Financial Times....

Dow Jumps 359 on Rate Cut
 Dow Jumps 359 on Rate Cut 
MARKETS
Dec 16, 2008 3:23 PM CST

Dow Jumps 359 on Rate Cut

Hopes that financials may soon be clear of bad debt also buoys sentiment

(Newser) - Stocks rallied today as investors cheered the Federal Reserve’s sharp federal funds rate cut and other policy measures designed to combat the economic crisis, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow rose 359.61 to close at 8,924.14. The Nasdaq climbed 81.55, closing at 1,589....

Fed Cuts Rate to 0%-0.25%
 Fed Cuts Rate to 0%-0.25% 
Dec 16, 2008 1:40 PM CST

Fed Cuts Rate to 0%-0.25%

Target is record low as Reserve battles recession

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve today cut its target for a key interest rate to the lowest level on record and pledged to use "all available tools" to combat a severe financial crisis and prolonged recession. The central bank says it reduced the federal funds rate, the interest that banks charge...

Record Low Rates Leave Investors Cold

Cut is likely tomorrow, but Wall Street wants more varied approach

(Newser) - Tomorrow the Federal Reserve will probably cut its target interest rate to 0.5%, the lowest in decades. But, the Wall Street Journal reports, investors are unlikely to be cheered by a further slash, instead waiting to hear what further measures Fed chief Ben Bernanke is preparing now that interest...

Fed Looks to Raise Cash With Its Own Debt Issue

Economy's dive prompts central bank to get more creative with financing programs

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet has more than doubled to $2 trillion since August as it’s financed new programs and bailed out ailing businesses, prompting the central bank to weigh issuing its own debt for the first time, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Fed, looking for new...

Forget Obama and Congress; Bernanke Has Most Tools

Fed taking a big gamble

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s economic team and its plans get the big headlines, but let’s not forget that Ben Bernanke remains the biggest mover in US economic policy, Robert Samuelson writes in the Washington Post. Bernanke has been inventing new economic tools at a pace never seen before at the...

Bernanke Plugs More Help for US Homeowners

Fed chief outlines ideas for public, private sector to slow foreclosures

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke says more must be done to halt record US home-foreclosure rates, the New York Times reports. The Federal Reserve chief suggested several options today, including the government buying bad mortgages en masse and refinancing them through a government-insured program, and strengthening a scheme aimed at lowering homeowners’ monthly...

Bernanke's Job Security Hardly Assured

Fed chief's term is up in 2010, and with Summers in play, another is no certainty

(Newser) - Economists give Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke a passing grade for his efforts to fight the nation’s financial crisis, but that doesn’t guarantee he’ll keep his job when his appointment expires in 2010, reports the Wall Street Journal. President-elect Barack Obama may have a Fed-chief-in-waiting in Lawrence...

Fears of Deflation Spook Economists

With oil below $50 and sales everywhere, economists seek solutions

(Newser) - Lower prices may sound like a good thing, but economists say sustained deflation poses a serious threat to any turnaround, the Washington Post reports. Consumer prices are tanking on everything from clothes to steel, which feeds a cycle: People stop buying as they hold out for better sales, and stores...

Paulson, Bernanke Defend Bailout Before House

Money for Detroit isn't the 'purpose' of the bailout: Paulson

(Newser) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told Congress today he opposes tapping a $700 billion taxpayer-funded bailout pool to help struggling US automakers. Paulson and Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke were on Capitol Hill defending their management of the bailout program, just a week after the Bush administration abandoned the original strategy...

Banks Boost Interest Rates to Lure Deposits

'Price war' increases pressure on profit margins, loan funds

(Newser) - Banks are boosting interest rates on deposits in an effort to increase the supply of cash available for lending, resulting in what one consultant calls a "national price war," the Wall Street Journal reports. Many banks are pinched between the desire to build up deposits and the shrinking...

Fed Won't Say Where $2T in Loans Went

Money is in addition to $700B Wall St. bailout; collateral unclear, too

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve has lent more than $2 trillion to financial institutions under programs without congressional oversight—and will not disclose to whom or under what terms, Bloomberg reports. The loans are separate from the $700 billion congressionally approved bailout package. Investors and citizens are concerned that the collateral given...

Prez Obama to Work With Key Bush Holdovers

Bernanke, Mullen, FBI's Mueller will retain power

(Newser) - As he addresses the most serious problems that face the country, Barack Obama will have to work with several key Bush appointees whose tenure will last a year or two into his administration, the Washington Post reports. But experts say dealing with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, Joint Chiefs head Michael...

'Race to Zero' Under Way as Central Banks Cut Rates

With Fed at 1% and European, Asian banks trimming, no-interest loans not far off, perhaps

(Newser) - Interest rates around the world are falling, with no end in sight as central banks hack away at obstacles to lending and try to jump-start their economies, Bloomberg reports. With the US rate at 1%, the Bank of England yesterday cut its key figure to 3%, the lowest since 1955,...

Think 1% Is Low? He Could Go to Zero

Analysts predict Japan-style cuts in interest rates

(Newser) - Yesterday Ben Bernanke cut the federal funds rate to an ectomorphic 1%—but the Fed might not be done yet. More and more analysts are predicting that the central bank will have to cut rates all the way to zero if it wants to get the economy moving again. But...

Fed Cuts Rate Half-Point to 1%
 Fed Cuts Rate Half-Point to 1% 
Oct 29, 2008 1:29 PM CDT

Fed Cuts Rate Half-Point to 1%

1% is lowest mark since 2004 as Bernanke tries to combat slowdown

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve surprised no one today, cutting interest rates by half a point, to 1%—as investors widely predicted he would, AP reports. “The pace of economic activity appears to have slowed markedly, owing importantly to a decline in consumer expenditures,” the Fed said in a statement,...

Fed Rate Cut to 1% Expected
 Fed Rate Cut to 1% Expected 
Oct 29, 2008 8:44 AM CDT

Fed Rate Cut to 1% Expected

With Inflation fears fading, 'the issue now is how bad the recession will be'

(Newser) - Worries about inflation are taking a backseat to recession fears as the Federal Reserve today is likely to lower its benchmark rate another half-point to 1%, with the possibility it could go to zero by June if the economy doesn’t rebound, reports Bloomberg. “The issue now is how...

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