'Massive' Asset Purchases Likely Loom for Bernanke

Weak credit and labor markets mean recovery will be slow: Fed chair

(NEWSER) - Ben Bernanke painted a stark picture of the economy today, warning that "formidable headwinds" are working against the incipient recovery. Despite an unexpectedly positive jobs report, the pace of expansion is likely to remain "moderate," the Fed chair said. “Despite the general improvement in financial conditions, credit remains tight for many borrowers,” and the job market “remains weak,” Bernanke said in a speech to the Economic Club of Washington. More»

Fed chief warns global imbalances could trigger new meltdown

(NEWSER) - The world economy is headed back down the drain if Asians don't start spending more and Americans don't start saving more, Ben Bernanke said at a conference yesterday. The Fed chief warned that unequal trade patterns were partly to blame for the financial crisis and that they are re-emerging as Asia leads the global recovery, reports the Los Angeles Times. More»

Prez: he 'approached a financial system on the verge of collapse with calm and wisdom'

(NEWSER) - President Obama has nominated Ben Bernanke for a second term as Federal Reserve chairman, saying Bernanke “led the Fed through the one of the worst financial crises that this nation and this world have ever faced,” the AP reports. “Ben approached a financial system on the verge of collapse with calm and wisdom; with bold action and outside-the-box thinking that has helped put the brakes on our economic freefall,” Obama said. More»

(NEWSER) - Ben Bernanke patted himself on the back today for helping to save the world from a complete economic meltdown, MarketWatch reports. Facing public outrage and the prospect of President Obama dumping him in 6 months, the Fed chair said at a retreat in Wyoming that the world’s central banks “responded with speed and force" to "a rapidly deteriorating and dangerous situation." More»

(NEWSER) - Ben Bernanke can expect a standing ovation from economists at a Fed retreat in Jackson Hole today—for the financial establishment, the Fed chairman is a superhero, hailed for his aggressive, unprecedented actions to stem the worst crisis in generations. Yet on Capitol Hill he's far less popular, and the White House still isn't showing its cards about a second term. For the New York Times, Bernanke is fighting two battles: one economic, one political. More»