Ben Bernanke

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

Ben Bernanke Among Trio to Share This Year's Final Nobel

Nobel Prize in economics was awarded Monday

(Newser) - This year's Nobel Prize in economic sciences has been awarded to the former chair of the US Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, and two US-based economists, Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig, "for research on banks and financial crises." In announcing the prize Monday, the AP reports the committee...

Bernanke: Wall Street Execs Deserved Jail for Crisis

'It would have been my preference to have more investigations of individual actions'

(Newser) - Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says some Wall Street executives should have gone to jail for their roles in the financial crisis that gripped the country in 2008 and triggered the Great Recession. Billions of dollars in fines have been levied against major banks and brokerage firms in the...

On al-Qaeda's New Hit List: Bill Gates, Warren Buffett

And other 'economic personalities' targeted in magazine article

(Newser) - On the eve of the 14th anniversary of 9/11, a group of what al-Qaeda is calling "economic personalities" and "wealthy entrepreneurs" has been labeled as being in the terror organization's sights. The list appears in its latest issue of Inspire and includes names like Bill Gates, Warren...

Bernanke: Keep Hamilton, Kick Jackson Off the $20

He is 'appalled' by plan to dump 'best economic policymaker'

(Newser) - Former Federal Reserve chief-turned-blogger Ben Bernanke has joined those calling for the US Treasury to abandon plans to drop Alexander Hamilton from his featured spot on the $10 bill and to dump Andrew Jackson from the $20 instead. In a post entitled " Say it ain't so, Jack ,"...

As Deficit Plummets, Feds Actually Saw Surplus in Dec.

Fiscal Q1 figures were looking decidedly up, CBO reveals

(Newser) - Don't look now, but after years of congressional dogfights, the federal budget deficit is in pretty good shape. The deficit plummeted by more than a third in October, November, and December—the first three months of fiscal 2014—the Congressional Budget Office announced yesterday, Reuters reports. In fact, December...

Senate OKs Janet Yellen to Lead Fed

Brooklyn, NY, native will be first woman to lead the central bank

(Newser) - The Senate has easily approved Janet Yellen's nomination to head the Federal Reserve. Monday's 56-26 vote makes Yellen the first woman to lead the central bank in its century-long history. It puts an economist in the post who has long focused on fighting unemployment and who backed the...

Departing Bernanke Puts Brakes on Stimulus

But stocks go up on slight pullback

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve will be hitting the brakes a little on its bond buying gravy train, it announced today, in what will be the last Fed pronouncement under chairman Ben Bernanke. The Fed will cut its bond buying from $85 billion a month to $75 billion a month starting in...

Janet Yellen: US Economy Still Needs Fed's Help
 Janet Yellen: 
 US Economy 
 Still Needs 
 Fed's Help 

confirmation hearing

Janet Yellen: US Economy Still Needs Fed's Help

Fed nominee is testifying before Senate Banking Committee

(Newser) - Janet Yellen said today that the US economy has regained ground lost to the Great Recession but still needs the Federal Reserve's support because unemployment remains too high at 7.3%. Yellen is testifying this morning to the Senate Banking Committee, which is considering her nomination to be the...

Fed Keeps Pedal On Gas; Markets Hit Records

In surprise move, bond buying to hold steady

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve surprised the financial world today by announcing that it would continue buying roughly $85 billion worth of bonds a month. Many analysts had expected the central bank to ease off the quantitative easing gas pedal, but the committee announced that it had "decided to await more...

Every Fed Member Is a Millionaire

Although Ben Bernanke appears to just barely qualify

(Newser) - It's a safe bet that whoever replaces Ben Bernanke as Fed chief will be personally familiar with large sums of money. Janet Yellen has assets worth between $4.8 million and $13.2 million—including a stamp collection worth up to $50,000—while fellow frontrunner Larry Summers clocks...

Larry Summers Next Fed Chief? Not If His Critics Can Help It

It's mostly a race between him and Fed vice chairwoman Janet Yellen

(Newser) - Larry Summers or Janet Yellen. If you're a weird hybrid of wonk and gambler, you already know those two are the heavy favorites to replace Ben Bernanke as Fed chief in January. Expect to hear much more as decision time nears for President Obama, especially because an influential hodgepodge...

Obama: I'm Not 'Bush- Cheney Lite'

President refutes charge in Charlie Rose interview

(Newser) - Appearing on Charlie Rose last night, President Obama had a few things to clear up: First, he's not, as Rose put it, "Bush-Cheney lite." "Some people say, 'Well, you know, Obama was this raving liberal before. Now he’s, you know, Dick Cheney,'"...

Bernanke to Congress: Stop Screwing the Economy

Says he's not taking his foot off the gas with monetary policy

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve isn't planning to take its foot off the gas pedal anytime remotely soon, Ben Bernanke told Congress today, while rebuking legislators for not doing their own part to juice the economy. The Fed's interest rate has been near zero since 2008, and Bernanke said he...

Bloomberg News Caught Snooping on Bankers

May have also tapped data from Bernanke and Geithner

(Newser) - Bloomberg LP operates both a multi-platform media organization, Bloomberg News, and a computer system, Bloomberg Terminal, that bankers and traders use to monitor market data. The problem: Bloomberg News reporters can see how and when any customer has been using a terminal, and now it turns out they have been...

Bernanke Taking Big Gamble on Policy

Lower dollar stimulates economy but risks trade wars: Allan Sloan

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke's push to keep interest rates low might be stimulating the US economy, but it's also raising the risk of currency wars, writes Allan Sloan at Fortune . "Cutting interest rates faster and more deeply than most other central banks has weakened the dollar against the currencies...

Fitch Threatens Downgrade If Debt Deal Is Too Weak

Meanwhile, Pat Toomey introduces backup bill

(Newser) - The US credit rating is once again in danger thanks to a debt ceiling showdown. Fitch today announced that it may downgrade the US even if lawmakers manage to strike a deal, CNN Money reports. Fitch already has a negative outlook on the US' AAA rating, and said that would...

Fed Announces $45B-a-Month Bond Buy

Plans to hold interest rates down until jobless rate hits 6.5%

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve dropped a bombshell today, announcing that it would spend $45 billion a month on bond purchases to keep interest rates low, and that it would keep its short-term rates near zero as long as it takes to get unemployment below 6.5%. It will also keep up...

Bernanke to Step Down: Report

Fed chair won't return for another term, even if President Obama is reelected

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke doesn't intend to return for another stint atop the Federal Reserve after his term expires in January 2014, close friends of the chairman tell Andrew Ross Sorkin of the New York Times . Mitt Romney has already said he would appoint someone else if he gets the chance,...

Fed Opts for More Stimulus

Federal Reserve will buy more bonds to try to boost economy

(Newser) - The in-limbo markets finally got their answer: The Federal Reserve said today it will indeed try to juice the economy with an aggressive new round of bond-buying. The difference this time, explains the Wall Street Journal , is that it's not buying a set amount—this is "an open-ended...

On Deck for the Fed: QE3, GOP Backlash

Markets soar on widely expected new round of stimulus

(Newser) - Markets have soared in the expectation that the Fed will announce fresh steps to boost the US economy at the conclusion of its two-day meeting tomorrow—making it all the more likely that a stimulus will be forthcoming. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is widely expected to announce a third round...

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>