BEN BERNANKE

U.S. stock index futures were higher on Thursday in the wake of President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech, which had no new plans to tighten Wall Street oversight, and after strong results from Procter & Gamble and Ford.

Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke's nomination for a second term running the world's most powerful central bank faces a decisive day in the Senate on Thursday when his confirmation vote looks set to go ahead.

Stock futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 rise 0.4 to 0.5 percent, pointing to a stronger start on Wall Street on Thursday.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday offered a guardedly upbeat view of the U.S. economy and renewed its pledge to keep interest rates near zero despite the objection of one policy maker.

The S&P 500 Index closed higher today, adding 5.33 points or 0.49 percent. It recovered to 1,097.50 from a downward spike minutes after the FOMC statement that took the index to a low of 1,083.11.

U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday challenged Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's credibility after he said he was not involved with AIG's decision to withhold details on $62 billion the bailed-out insurer paid to banks.

The S&P 500 recovered from a low of 1,083.11, downward spike that occurred minutes after the Federal Open Market Committee statement, to trade at 1,093.54, up 0.12 percent at 3:27 p.m. in New York.

The Federal Reserve voiced a cautious note of optimism on the U.S. economy on Wednesday as it stuck to its pledge to keep interest rates near zero for a while to ensure a sustainable recovery.

The S&P 500 Index paired some its earlier losses to trade down 0.18 percent at 12 p.m. in New York. It briefly dropped to 1085.55, before recovering to trade at 1,090.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index is slightly positive, gaining 0.03 percent.

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday is expected to leave interest rates near zero and restate its vow to keep them low for an extended period.

A congressional panel, probing how money from the huge bailout of insurer American International Group Inc was spent, grilled Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Wednesday about his role.

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday resumed a two-day meeting that is expected to end with a decision to leave interest rates near zero and a restated vow to keep them low for an extended period.

Stock index futures pointed to a mixed opening on Wall Street on Wednesday, following declines in Europe and Asia, with some caution expected ahead of the Federal Reserve interest rate decision later in the day.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner denied any role in disclosures about American International Group's payments to banks and defended his decisions as New York Federal Reserve chief to pay full price to retire AIG credit default swaps.

Global stock markets fell again on Wednesday, hitting their lowest in two months as investors fretted about a monetary squeeze from central banks around the world and also the impact of tightening U.S. banking regulation.

Asian stocks fell for the ninth straight day on Wednesday on fears that China's heightened efforts to rein in soaring credit growth could hamper the global economic recovery.

(Corrects in first line and in text that Asia stocks ex-Japan fell for the 9th straight day, not the 8th)

The New York Federal Reserve Bank actively supported insurer American International Group's regulatory requests to keep its bank counterparties confidential but did not pressure the bailed-out firm for secrecy, the bank's top lawyer said on Tuesday.

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday moved to clear the way to confirm Ben Bernanke to a second term as Federal Reserve chairman, setting a procedural vote for Thursday in a sign that the needed votes were now secured.

Although stocks posted amazing gains in 2009, it has left most with an empty feeling as the decade overall was flat in US equities. The politics though fiery and hopeful at one euphoric moment in 2008 were also empty. It appears that in hindsight the last decade was a wash for America. Americans marched through most of the last ten years mad at a President who recovered an economy that had been dealt its largest blow ever and kept us from being attacked for a second time during his watch from a...

U.S. stocks slipped late on Tuesday due to trepidation over churning political and regulatory developments, offsetting solid earnings and improved consumer confidence data.