Housing Still a Drag: Fed Chief

For those who can't remember 1981, rates are headed up

(NEWSER) - There's a generation of consumers out there that can't fathom 8% interest, much less 1981's peak of 18.2%, but the days of free or cheap money are coming to a rapid close. With national debt ballooning, inflation looming, and government props that suppressed interest rates ending, the cost of credit is headed for a long upward climb, reports the New York Times . More»

(NEWSER) - The Federal Reserve anticipates the recession will continue through 2009 despite its recent rate slash and other planned “nontraditional policies,” the Wall Street Journal reports. Minutes of the Fed's December 15-16 meeting, at which it cut rates to nearly zero, indicate a deep pessimism about the economy. Officials expect the unemployment rate to keep rising as the GDP contracts. More»

Economic woes may be beyond cure by monetary medicine

(NEWSER) - Ben Bernanke has employed virtually every tool in the Federal Reserve's kit to calm markets panicked by the credit crisis, but hasn't scored any more than temporary rallies, Bloomberg reports in a look at the markets' fading faith in the Fed chief—and the Fed itself. "The Fed has been playing the equivalent of Whac-A-Mole,'' says a former Fed vice chairman. More»

As Wall Streets meltdown accelerates, the Fed chief adapts on the fly

(NEWSER) - With a recession and worsening meltdown on Wall Street looming, Fed chief Ben Bernanke has dumped textbook central bank economic policy, reports the New York Times. Last week's bailout of Bear Stearns, for example, seemed to fly in the face of his previous reluctance to rescue big institutions. And it came in the same week the Fed made $200 billion available to investment banks and another $100 billion for banks and thrifts. More»

Many tech workers not seeing US slump

(NEWSER) - Ben Bernanke’s report to Congress on monetary policy offered a grim outlook on the economy, but ABC News sees some signs that good news may be around the corner: workers in Silicon Valley, a national economic bellwether, feel good about their prospects. Rising exports, the recently-passed stimulus package and the future rate cuts Bernanke will probably make at the Fed’s March 18 meeting are additional reasons for optimism. More»