Bankers Saved the World: Bernanke

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."

Their quick response “averted the imminent collapse of the global financial system," Bernanke said. With a series of quick moves—cutting interest rates and approving TARP funds among them—officials helped avert "an outcome that seemed all too possible to the finance ministers and central bankers.” While praising policies, Bernanke devoted few words to the cause of the crisis: “There was little to suggest that market participants saw the financial situation as about to take a sharp turn for the worse.” (More Ben Bernanke stories.)