Ben Bernanke

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Inflation Still in Check as Housing Offsets Energy

Housing slump offsets energy rise to keep CPI down

(Newser) - Consumer prices saw only modest gains last month, welcome news for inflation watchers with an eye on rising oil prices and a dropping dollar. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.3%, in lockstep with analysts' estimates. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.2%. Year-over-year, the increases were...

Bernanke Ups Fed Transparency
Bernanke Ups Fed Transparency
Nov 14, 2007 10:34 AM CST

Bernanke Ups Fed Transparency

Extra reports to give investors clearer picture

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve will issue more detailed reports  twice as often, Ben Bernanke announced today. Starting next Tuesday, the Fed will release projections for inflation, GDP, and unemployment four times a year, accompanied by a “narrative” telling investors what the Fed is thinking. Bernanke also said he’d be...

Bernanke Sees Q4 Slowdown
Bernanke Sees Q4 Slowdown
Nov 8, 2007 9:58 AM CST

Bernanke Sees Q4 Slowdown

Fed chief sees economy as 'resilient' but growth slow through this quarter

(Newser) - Economic growth will slow "noticeably" through the end of the year and into 2008, Fed chief Ben Bernanke said in prepared testimony for a congressional panel today. Bernanke called the economy "resilient," but said the housing slump will intensify before it's over, the Wall Street Journal reports....

Fed Pitches $41B Into Market
Fed Pitches $41B Into Market
Nov 1, 2007 1:03 PM CDT

Fed Pitches $41B Into Market

Cash pump meant to keep markets moving

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve followed up yesterday’s quarter-percent interest rate cut with a $41 billion cash injection into the US financial system today—one the biggest infusions of money yet, aimed directly at easing the credit crunch. The money was pumped into temporary reserves, where it's meant to lubricate turbulent...

Fed Slashes Key Interest Rate Another Quarter-Point

Board signals further cuts are no sure thing

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve cut its key lending rate today by 25 basis points, to 4.5%. The expected reduction is the second of the federal funds rate in two months. The board asserted, however, that growth and inflation risks are now “roughly balanced,” a signal that further cuts...

GDP Grows at 3.9% Clip Despite Housing Crunch

GDP tops estimates on increased consumer spending

(Newser) - The US economy grew at a brisk 3.9% pace in the third quarter despite the credit and housing turmoil buffeting Wall Street, according to Commerce Department figures released today. Overall construction spending was up—with record commercial and government spending offsetting the housing slide—while individuals increased spending 3%...

Bernanke: How's He Doing?
Bernanke: How's He Doing?
Oct 31, 2007 11:05 AM CDT

Bernanke: How's He Doing?

Journal looks back at Fed chairman described as more collaborative, creative than Greenspan

(Newser) - As the Fed rolls out another anxiously awaited decision on rate cuts, the Wall Street Journal does a play-by-play analysis of Ben Bernanke's handling of the three-month old credit crisis with an eye to what we've learned about the new Fed boss. For starters, he's more open and collaborative than...

Consumer Confidence Falls to Post-Katrina Levels

Housing slump deepens, cranking up pressure on Fed

(Newser) - Consumer confidence plummeted in September to its lowest reading since October 2005, fueling worries that housing’s downturn could affect consumer spending, which makes up two-thirds of the economy. Home prices, meanwhile, suffered their biggest drop in at least 6 years. “There is really no positive news in today's...

Fed Doesn't Want Rate Cut— But Markets Do

And they're expecting it. Bernanke's hands tied as Fed meets today

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke and the rest of the Fed are meeting today to decide whether to cut interest rates again after September's surprise half-point reduction. Bernanke has made it clear that he'd rather not drop rates again. But, as Bloomberg writes, he might not have much of a choice: with home...

Wall Street Watching Fed's High Wire Act

Rate cut expected in unusually tough decision this week

(Newser) - All eyes are on the Fed this week, with Wall Street expecting a quarter-point rate cut when the group meets Tuesday and Wednesday. But the decision is an usually tough one, the AP reports, with the tight rope between controlling inflation and keeping markets fluid more precarious than it has...

Stocks Slide for a Second Day
Stocks Slide for a Second Day
Oct 16, 2007 3:39 PM CDT

Stocks Slide for a Second Day

Bernanke speech, oil prices send markets down again

(Newser) - Stocks slid today for a second consecutive session following an ambiguous speech by Ben Bernanke and record-busting oil prices that topped $88. The Fed chairman offered a so-so assessment of the markets but no clues about rate cuts. The Dow fell 71.86 to 13,912.94, the S&P...

Bernanke Sees More Housing Pain, ‘Relatively Strong’ System

Foreclosures continue, but market OK overall

(Newser) - Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke went before Congress today, two days after trimming the benchmark lending rate, and said new foreclosures will come as more subprime mortgages run out clocks on initial interest rates. Markets “do tend to self-correct” in crises, the economic guru said, and the global system...

Record Low: Euro hits $1.40
Record Low: Euro hits $1.40
Sep 20, 2007 7:07 AM CDT

Record Low: Euro hits $1.40

Dollar breaks important threshold, but fall isn't over yet

(Newser) - The dollar dropped to a record low against the euro in early Asian trading on Thursday, breaking the $1.40 barrier for the first time since the establishment of the common currency. The Fed's half-point cut in interest rates led investors to drop the greenback, and chief Ben Bernanke's upcoming...

Stocks Keep Up Rate-Cut Rally
Stocks Keep Up Rate-Cut Rally
Sep 19, 2007 3:39 PM CDT

Stocks Keep Up Rate-Cut Rally

iPhone sales spur market on

(Newser) - The stock market kept rising one day after the Fed slashed key interest rates, as speculation that the housing slump might ebb compounded the biggest rally in four years. The Dow climbed 76.17 to 13815.56, while the Nasdaq rose 14.82 to close at 2666.48 and the...

Expected Fed Rate Cut Could Halt Crisis

Wall Street counting on help to boost falling stock prices

(Newser) - What happens next in the volatile world stock markets could depend on Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke. The Fed is expected to cut the interest rates banks charge each other for overnight loans, currently 5.25%. It would make loans cheaper, boost consumer spending, revive stock prices and ultimately, prevent...

Greenspan Missed Subprime Crisis Signs

And Bernanke's doing 'an excellent job,' says Fed's former Yoda

(Newser) - Alan Greenspan didn't see the subprime crunch coming, the former Fed chairman tells CBS' "60 Minutes." Greenspan also gave his successor a pat on the back, saying Ben Bernanke "is doing an excellent job." Some have suggested that Bernanke isn't acting as presciently as his predecessor;...

Pending Home Resales Drop to Record Lows

Vicious cycle of credit crunch and housing slump continues

(Newser) - In yet another sign of the troubled housing market infecting the ailing credit market, the number of home resales plunged to a record low in July. The measure, which tracks the number of Americans signing contracts to buy previously owned homes, dropped 12.2% to 89.9, its lowest level...

Energy, Techs Give Stocks a Jolt
Energy, Techs Give Stocks a Jolt
Sep 4, 2007 4:25 PM CDT

Energy, Techs Give Stocks a Jolt

Traders still confident that Bernanke will cut rates; GM leads upward trend

(Newser) - Tech and energy stocks led a rally at the end of today's session on Wall Street, as rumors of an interest-rate cut multiplied and traders examined indications that earnings would outpace prices in the two sectors. GM was up 6.1% as the Dow jumped 91.12 to 13448.86,...

Recession Risk Seen in Mortgage Misery

Top economist urges immediate rate cuts to avoid catstrophe

(Newser) - Mortgage woes could spark a serious recession, a prominent economist said yesterday. National Bureau of Economic Research President Martin Feldstein said that interest rates must be slashed heavily and quickly, or declining prices and weakening home equity withdrawal could hobble the economy, Reuters reports.

Wall Street Up, Up, and Away for Holiday Weekend

Investors thank Bush, Bernanke for gains

(Newser) - On the eve of the holiday weekend, the major markets jumped today, riding encouraging comments by President Bush and Ben Bernanke to broad advances that pushed their monthly gains above 1%. The Dow, which saw 28 of 30 stocks rise, finished up 119.01 points, closing at 13,357.74....

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