Fed Sees More Signs of Recovery

Former Fed chief takes heat on Capitol Hill

(NEWSER) - Alan Greenspan is taking more heat on Capitol Hill today as a three-day series of hearings begins on the economic meltdown. “What we tried to do was the best we could with the data that we had,” the former Fed chief told the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. “Did we make mistakes? Of course we made mistakes." But he defended the central bank's efforts and said it was "quite active in pursuing consumer protections for mortgage borrowers," reports Bloomberg . 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) - President Obama has big plans for the economy, and that’s too bad because he knows nothing about it, Fred Barnes writes in the Weekly Standard. All of his proposals and angry jabs at Wall Street are counter to his professed interest in growth and job creation. “Obamanomics pays lip service to a free market economy,” Barnes writes. “But Obama hasn't a clue what makes it work.” More»

Economy picking up, but not enough that inflation is a worry

(AP) - The Federal Reserve says the recession is easing, but that the economy likely will remain weak and keep a lid on inflation. Against this backdrop, the Fed held a key bank lending rate at a record low of between 0% and 0.25%, and pledged again to keep it there for "an extended period" to help brace activity going forward. More»

(NEWSER) - The net worth of US households—assets minus debt—fell $1.33 trillion in the first quarter to $51.71 trillion, the Wall Street Journal reports. The 2.6% drop is smaller than the 8.6% of 2008’s fourth, a Fed report says. The first-quarter data don’t include the recent market rally. Household debt crept up 1.1% after a 2% drop in last year’s fourth quarter. More»