BEN BERNANKE

President Barack Obama will nominate Harvard economist Jeremy Stein and Jerome Powell, an investment banker and former Treasury official, to the two empty seats on the Federal Reserve's policy-setting board of governors.

Last week Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke told federal lawmakers that no bailout of Europe was forthcoming and ended a monthly meeting of the central bank’s top decision-making body by pointedly rejecting a new round of quantitative easing. Data released by the Fed reveals that, at least partially, the organization spent the week engaging in exactly those actions.

Ron Paul's has emerged as the new GOP frontrunner in Iowa with a not-Mitt tag. But political pundits and voters should pay greater heed to his sudden rise. The anyone but Romney title downplays Paul's emergence, writing him off as just the latest in a string of candidates-du-jour. But Ron Paul is more than a fling.

Americans are making progress in working down their heavy debt burden, but they are struggling to break out of another funk holding back the economy: their deep pessimism.

With less than two weeks left before the end of the year, all kinds of market participants, from economists at multinational banks to stock bloggers in their bedrooms, have begun to give their predictions for 2012. Here is a lucky set of seven predictions that could benefit investors next year.

Europe's debt crisis threatens to throw a strengthening economy off track, but more monetary accommodation from the U.S. Federal Reserve is not the answer, a top Fed official known for his hawkish views on inflation said on Friday.

Modern Family leads with 5 nominations in the TV categories.

Fed-watchers two decades ago had a hard time speculating what the central bank's decisions were because the Fed said relatively little about its monetary policy and allowed actions to speak for themselves. However, efficient markets do not like to be kept guessing.

The Federal Reserve is likely to hold off offering the economy fresh stimulus at a meeting on Tuesday as it weighs encouraging signs on the recovery against risks coming from Europe.

The Federal Reserve Board on Thursday announced that Steven Kamin will take over the helm at its International Finance Division, which supports the Federal Open Market Committee by providing information and analysis pertaining to economic and financial developments in foreign countries and the performance of the U.S. external sector.

In the past few months, but particularly in the last few days, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Governor of the Bank of England, roughly British equivalents to the American Treasury Secretary and Fed Chairman, have become the bane of the English banking system's existence. Other British government officials have also joined the fray.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday pushed back against reports that the Fed had lent banks $7.77 trillion or more during the financial crisis, saying they contained egregious errors and mistakes.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday pushed back against reports that the Fed had lent banks $7.77 trillion or more during the financial crisis, saying they contained egregious errors and mistakes.

You can't blame investors for feeling a bit hesitant regarding deploying new money in the U.S. stock market these days. Lingering concern about Italy's finances, along with below-trend U.S. GDP growth has created an uncertain U.S./Europe economic outlook. Where's the Dow likely to head in the next six months?

The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday named Michael Gibson as director of the Division of Banking Supervision and Regulation, an important role that oversees the implementation of Dodd-Frank rules and bank stress tests, effective Jan. 1, 2012.

Is the U.S. Federal Reserve likely to purchase more securities as part of a plan to help jump-start U.S. GDP growth? It is, if a survey of key bond dealers is accurate.

The Federal Reserve appears to be edging closer to providing financial markets with more detail to gauge the likely path of monetary policy as a way to buttress a weak recovery.

The U.S. Federal Reserve held a wide-ranging debate on communications strategy at its most recent meeting, suggesting a shift in the way it frames policy may be its next step to buttress a weak recovery.

A '60 Minutes' investigation claims several members of Congress may have made investment decisions based on insider information.

Defending the Federal Reserve on the turf of his harshest critics, central bank chief Ben Bernanke on Thursday said the Fed was intently focused on lowering unemployment and warned that strains from Europe could trigger global economic shocks.

Spurring stronger growth and more robust job creation in the weak recovery are top priorities for the Federal Reserve, Chairman Ben Bernanke told a military audience at a rare public forum on Thursday.