Ben Bernanke & US Fed 01 (May 08 - Nov 10 )

[kennynah]

ok...all bets down...

will helicopter get re-elected as fed reserve chairman? their final vote in a few hours time...

i say.... NO

[winston]

Ha Ha ... it's a non event.

The market will focus back on earnings when he's reappointed.

[millionairemind]

Published February 5, 2010

Bernanke vows to defend Fed autonomy

(WASHINGTON) Ben Bernanke vowed to defend the independence of the Federal Reserve, work harder to explain its decisions to the public and step up supervision of the nation's banks during his second term.

'In the interest of maintaining public confidence and promoting economic and financial stability, we must continue to protect our independence,' the 56-year-old former Princeton University professor told Fed employees after he was sworn in for another four-year term on Wednesday.

Mr Bernanke was confirmed last month by a Senate vote of 70 to 30, the most opposition since the chamber started voting on Fed chiefs in 1978.

Lawmakers are considering legislation to remove a shield from congressional audits of monetary policy and to strip the Fed of bank supervision powers, measures that Mr Bernanke opposes.

Mr Bernanke said independence is worth defending because it allows the central bank to make monetary policy 'in the longer-term economic interests of the American people, rather than in the service of short-term political imperatives'.

At the same time, that autonomy 'brings with it fundamental obligations of transparency, responsiveness and accountability'.

He said the bank will seek to increase the already 'voluminous' information it makes public. 'We will continue work with the Congress to ensure maximum transparency of America's central bank, without compromising our ability to conduct policy in the public interest,' he said, according to a text of his speech provided by the Fed.

He said the Fed must also revise its approach to banking supervision in light of the lessons of the most severe financial crisis since the 1930s, which prompted the central bank to participate in rescues of companies.

'The crisis revealed weaknesses and gaps in the regulation and supervision of financial institutions and financial markets,' he said. 'We must continue to do all that can be done to ensure that our economy is never again devastated by a financial collapse.'

During his second term, Mr Bernanke will also have to begin reversing a record monetary expansion without undercutting the recovery from the recession. While the economy grew at the fastest pace in six years in the fourth quarter, economists project the unemployment rate will average 10 per cent this year.

The resumption of growth 'has been encouraging', Mr Bernanke said. Still, 'far too many people remain unemployed, foreclosures continue at record rates, and bank credit continues to contract'.

The swearing-in ceremony took place at the Marriner S Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building in the Foggy Bottom section of Washington, a Depression-era structure named for the Fed chairman who served from 1934 through 1948. Vice-chairman Donald Kohn administered the oath of office, and Mr Bernanke's wife Anna was a witness. -- Bloomberg

[kennynah]

Bernanke to Testify on Fed Exit Strategy on Feb. 10 (Update3)
By Joshua Zumbrun

Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke plans to testify before the House Financial Services Committee on Feb. 10 about the central bank’s plans to withdraw emergency stimulus from the U.S. economy, according to a committee memo to lawmakers on the panel.

Bernanke and his colleagues are trying to pull back unprecedented stimulus and lending programs without impeding efforts to sustain a recovery. The Fed upgraded its economic outlook last week and reaffirmed it will end liquidity backstops and a $1.25 trillion program to buy mortgage-backed securities.

“This is a delicate balancing act that must be done right or we risk significant damage to the economy,” said the Feb. 5 memo obtained by Bloomberg News. The hearing will examine the Fed’s options in unwinding emergency aid “while not causing inflationary fears, hurting job growth or stunting the fragile economy recovery underway.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... tPM8Uu6_78

[millionairemind]

Bernanke Says Discount Rate May Rise ‘Before Long’ (Update4)
By Scott Lanman and Craig Torres


Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve may raise the discount rate “before long” as part of the “normalization” of Fed lending, a move that won’t signal any change in the outlook for monetary policy, Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said.

Bernanke repeated the Federal Open Market Committee statement that low rates are warranted “for an extended period” in testimony prepared for the House Financial Services Committee. The Fed may also temporarily replace the federal funds rate as a policy guide with interest it pays on banks’ deposits should fed funds become a “less reliable indicator than usual,” Bernanke said.

The dollar gained and Treasuries fell as Bernanke previewed what would be the first interest-rate move in more than a year while giving more details on tools that may be used to tighten credit “at some point.” Bernanke, 56, and his fellow policy makers are preparing to remove unprecedented monetary stimulus as the world’s largest economy is forecast to grow at the fastest pace since 2006.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... z9Rc&pos=2

[-dol-]

I think it's not up to Bernanke. The market will do the work.

Higher discount rate may let us see a relatively stronger US$. And we don't need to hear it from Obama or whoever.

[winston]

TOL:-

The Bearded One has spoken. And he's saying that he will keep interest rates low for a long time. And the market cheered !

Wait a minute. The only reason for low interest rates is because the economy is not doing well. So is the market cheering a lousy economy ? Or is the market cheering the tons of the money that the banks would continue to be making, risk-free, by lending to the US government ?

Was the Plunge Protection Team at work these past few days ? If such a team does exist, it makes sense for them to be at work these past few days. If not now then when ?

By the way, didnt Japan have low interest rates for 20 years ?

I'm not complaining. I initiated some positions yesterday so it may be time to sell today

[kennynah]

Look at the charts. They tell a consolidated story.

[millionairemind]

HOME > BREAKING NEWS > MONEY > STORY

Feb 25, 2010
Grim US economy outlook

WASHINGTON - US FEDERAL Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Wednesday a weak job market and tame inflation warrant low interest rates for 'an extended period,' curbing speculation the central bank was moving closer to raising borrowing costs.

In his first appearance before Congress following a testy confirmation vote in the Senate last month, Mr Bernanke offered a relatively somber assessment of the US economy despite recent signs of strong growth.

The country has lost 8.4 million jobs in just over two years in the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression. The Fed chief said job losses were abating, but acknowledged the recession's toll on American workers. 'Notwithstanding the positive signs, the job market remains quite weak,' Mr Bernanke told the US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.

Delivering the Fed's semiannual report to Congress, Mr Bernanke said the US central bank's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee was prepared to support the economy with extraordinary stimulus for some time.

'The FOMC continues to anticipate that economic conditions -- including low rates of resource utilisation, subdued inflation trends, and stable inflation expectations -- are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period,' he said, echoing the Fed's most recent policy statement in late January.

The Fed last week surprised markets by raising the discount rate it charges on direct emergency loans to banks. The move spurred fears the central bank was about to embark on a broader push for higher borrowing costs, even though the Fed made no change to the federal funds rate, its main policy tool. -- REUTERS

[kennynah]

After raising 25bp, now say keeping interest low. Ben the joker