BEN BERNANKE

Two U.S. Senate Democrats on Friday said they would vote against Ben Bernanke for a second term as Federal Reserve chairman, adding an element of uncertainty for Wall Street.

President Barack Obama believes the Senate will confirm Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for a second term to lead the U.S. central bank, the White House said on Friday.

U.S. stocks dropped on Friday as proposed sweeping restrictions on U.S. banks and the delayed confirmation of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke overshadowed solid earnings from General Electric and McDonald's.

U.S. stocks were set for a lower open on Friday as proposed sweeping restrictions on U.S. banks and the delayed confirmation of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke unnerved investors after a 10-month rally.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Friday as President Barack Obama's proposed sweeping restrictions on banks and the delayed confirmation of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke put investors on the defensive after a 10-month rally.

The U.S. Senate will not vote this week on whether to confirm Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for a second four-year term, a Democratic party aide said, raising the risks that time will run out to confirm Bernanke before his current term expires.

President Barack Obama will propose stricter limits on financial risk-taking on Thursday in his latest populist-tinged move to crack down on banks and address the roots of the financial crisis.

Federal Reserve officials on Tuesday launched a vigorous defense of their dealings with American International Group , calling for a congressional audit and denying any inappropriate action with respect to payments the bailed-out insurer made to banks.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday asked a government auditor to conduct a full review of the central bank's actions in bailing out insurer AIG, seeking to quell a controversy that risks undermining the Fed's authority.

U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday weighed in to a simmering controversy over the Fed's actions in bailing out major insurer AIG in 2008, asking a government auditor to conduct a full review of the matter.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Thursday the bailout of insurer American International Group was not meant to help out bank counterparties and that he had no role in the decision not to disclose payments made to banks.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will testify about insurer AIG's payments to banks after its 2008 bailout, a congressional panel said on Thursday, as another committee weighed into the matter.

U.S. regulators admitted to failing to head off the 2008 financial crisis as they appeared before a panel whose chairman said he plans to seek testimony from former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke argued on Thursday the Fed must retain its regulatory powers, telling lawmakers that supervising banks helps it set monetary policy and will help guide its pullback of extraordinary support for the battered economy.

U.S. regulators admitted to failing to head off the 2008 financial crisis as they appeared before a panel whose chairman said he plans to seek testimony from former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.

The Federal Reserve paid a record $46.1 billion to the U.S. Treasury last year as aggressive bond purchases and lending to fight the financial crisis swelled its net income by 46.8 percent.

U.S. lawmakers on Friday pressed for Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to testify on whether the New York Federal Reserve Bank improperly pressured AIG to withhold information on payments it made to banks after its government bailout.

The New York Federal Reserve Bank under Timothy Geithner urged insurer AIG in late 2008 to limit disclosures about its payments to banks after getting a $180 billion government bailout, emails released on Thursday showed.

Here's a prediction for 2010: Another wild ride in the stock and bond markets, in real estate and in interest rates. The economists and analysts are all over the place when it comes to this year, leaving individual investors on their own to prepare for anything and everything.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday, as crude oil prices rose on jitters over an oil dispute between Russia and Belarus and as Novartis moved to buy eye care group Alcon in a $39 billion deal.

The dollar held near recent highs against the yen on Monday, helped by demand from Japanese corporates before the year-end, with eyes on U.S. data and Treasury auctions to see if it can maintain its recent rally.