Stocks Slide for a Second Day

Stock market soars

(NEWSER) - 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 vibes coming. He said that interest rates are likely to remain low through at least 2014. “Conditions remain far from normal,” he said, according to Bloomberg . More»

Dow tumbles below 11K

(NEWSER) - Ben Bernanke didn’t give any sign that the Fed was about to take fresh action to prop up the economy in his speech at Jackson Hole today, sending stocks tumbling. Bernanke said the Fed “is prepared to employ its tools as appropriate to promote a stronger economic recovery,” but added that “the growth fundamentals of the United States do not appear to have been permanently altered,” according to the Wall Street Journal . More»

Fed isn't ready to take action soon

(NEWSER) - Wall Street semantics: Yesterday, Ben Bernanke appeared before Congress and mentioned the word "stimulus." His remarks were widely interpreted to mean that the Fed was poised to take action to bolster the economy, and the markets rose in response. Today, Bernanke resumed testimony and made clear the Fed wasn't considering stimulus measures anytime soon, reports AP . Markets, which had been up 90 points, immediately tumbled, and the Dow was down about 50 points in its final hour. More»

(NEWSER) - The Dow has soared a whopping 30% since March 9, but Andy Kessler doesn’t think the good times are here again. “This sure smells to me like a sucker’s rally,” he writes in the Wall Street Journal. Earnings aren’t up. The market is just responding to three government actions:

• The “stress tests” have made nationalizations seem unlikely.
• With the Fed’s rate at close to zero, only stocks offer decent returns.

Citi leads way as Bernanke comments give boost

(NEWSER) - The Dow surged more than 300 points this morning, as investors welcomed news from Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit that his bank had shown a profit the first two months of this year, and optimistic comments from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke. The Dow had risen 312 points by noon, led by Citigroup's 26% gain, the Wall Street Journal reports. Bank of America climbed 24%; struggling Alcoa was up 12%; General Electric jumped 15%; and even GM rose more than 11%. More»