Ben Bernanke news stories on Newser

Krugman vs. Bernanke: Who's Reckless?

Kevin Spak — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:45:05 CDT

Call it the "battle of the beards," suggests Robert Samuelson of the Washington Post : Paul Krugman vs. Ben Bernanke. Both are prominent economists, both have facial hair aplenty, and each has called the other "reckless." Krugman has been lambasting the Fed for not doing enough to help the economy recover—...

We Need a Weaker Dollar

Kevin Spak — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 10:45:05 CDT

Ben Bernanke has become a popular punching bag for the right lately, with people like Ron Paul and Rick Perry trying "to bully the Fed into doing exactly the wrong thing," writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times . "The right wants the Fed to obsess over inflation," constantly warning...

Bernanke: Fed Will Do More to Boost Economy

Kevin Spak — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 09:42:05 CDT

The Federal Reserve isn't ready to take its foot off the gas pedal. In a speech this morning in Arlington, Virginia, Ben Bernanke said that while the Fed was encouraged by the downward trend in unemployment numbers, it believes that the economy needs “continued accommodative policies” to keep the good...

Ron Paul to Bernanke: Do You Shop for Groceries?

John Johnson — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:29:05 CST

Ron Paul may have a presidential race to run, but he's never too busy to return to DC to do a little Fed bashing. Paul grilled Ben Bernanke today, declaring in his opening statement that "what we are witnessing today is the end stages of a grand experiment," reports the...

Bernanke: Full Recovery Years Away

Mark Russell — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:03:14 CST

Don't get too excited about that pending economic rebound . The Federal Reserve's announcement it will keep interest rates super-low into 2014 is a key sign that the US economy is years away from truly recovering, reports the New York Times . Yes, the economy has picked up "moderately," said the Fed...

2006 Transcripts Show Fed Was Clueless on Housing

John Johnson — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:18:23 CST

The Fed released transcripts from meetings in 2006 today that reveal just how badly its top officials blew it on the looming housing crisis, the New York Times reports. The industry was showing signs of distress, but the Fed's attitude boiled down to, eh, no big deal. The officials clearly...

Fed Sees High Unemployment All Next Year

John Johnson — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:35:16 CDT

If President Obama were hoping for a quick election-year turnaround in the jobless rate, the Federal Reserve burst his bubble today. The Fed projected unemployment will be at 8.6% at the end of 2012, not much better than the 9.1% registered in September of this year, reports the...

Bernanke: Recovery 'Is Close to 'Faltering'

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 14:22:02 CDT

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said today that the US economic recovery "is close to faltering" and that the central bank is prepared to take further steps to support it. (That potential action apparently pleased investors: The Dow came off the day's lows, fell a bit, then rebounded furiously to...

Did GOP Cross Line With Letter to Bernanke?

John Johnson — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:05:00 CDT

The latest political firestorm comes courtesy of the top four Republicans in Congress (Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, Jon Kyl, and Eric Cantor), who wrote a letter to Ben Bernanke urging restraint on the economy. "We have serious concerns that further intervention by the Federal Reserve could exacerbate current problems," they...