Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday that banks have been stabilized but lending remains too weak to support a healthy recovery.
The Federal Reserve is expected to stick to its highly accommodative monetary policy when it wraps up a two-day meeting on Wednesday, with high unemployment constraining enthusiasm about an improving economy.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who helped steer the U.S. economy through its darkest days since the Great Depression, was named Time magazine's 2009 Person of the Year on Wednesday.
Shifting views on interest rates in 2010 whipsawed markets on Wednesday, with the Australian dollar tumbling as investors scaled back their bets on aggressive rate hikes, while U.S. Treasuries rose before the last Federal Reserve meeting this year.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to stick to its super loose monetary policy stance on Wednesday as high unemployment constrains policy-makers' enthusiasm about the economy's recent improvement.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, in a response to a lawmaker's questions made public on Tuesday, said the U.S. economy is operating so far beneath its potential that inflation is unlikely to become a problem.
U.S. producer prices jumped a surprising 1.8 percent last month and industrial output rose firmly, sparking inflation jitters in financial markets.
The Federal Reserve, meeting next week to set monetary policy, faces the tricky task of acknowledging a pick up in economic activity without spooking fragile markets into believing interest rate hikes are imminent.
Low interest rates will prevail through most of next year as the U.S. economy expands modestly and the unemployment rate remains stuck in double digits, the UCLA Anderson Forecast group said on Wednesday.
U.S. copper futures slipped
more than 1 percent in early business on Tuesday, as global
credit concerns resurfaced and prompted investors to seek
safety in the dollar.
Fitch Ratings cut Greece's debt rating to BBB+ from A- with a negative outlook, the first time in 10 years a major ratings agency has put Greece below an A grade, citing fiscal deterioration in the euro zone's weakest member.
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 created the $700 billion bailout (plus $100 billion in add-ons) Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), a wealth transfer scheme so brazen as to leave one breathless. Another Fed bubble had popped; losses in the real estate mortgage meltdown were real; they had already taken place. The only real question was who would be made to eat those losses: the investment banking community that earned millions in fees each year in the debacle and their offspr...
Stock index futures were lower on Tuesday after cautious comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sparked jitters about the pace of economic recovery.
Global share markets were becalmed on Tuesday and the dollar struggled after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave a cautious assessment of the world's biggest economy, driving investors toward government debt.
The dollar dipped on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke dampened speculation of an early U.S. interest rate rise, while Asian shares steadied as investors took a breather after recent gains.
The dollar dipped on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke dampened speculation of an early U.S. interest rate rise, while shares faltered on renewed concern about the strength of the global recovery.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Monday said the U.S. economy's recovery remained fragile and unemployment may be high for some time, cooling anticipation of an early increase in U.S. interest rates.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended slightly lower on Monday and the Dow was flat, reversing earlier gains, after comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sparked jitters about the economic recovery.
Tackling Global Warming; Obama's Jobs Plan; Economy Fragile but Rising
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Monday said the U.S. economy's recovery remained fragile and unemployment may be high for some time, cooling anticipation of an early increase in U.S. interest rates.
The Australian Dollar opens higher against the greenback today at 0.9135.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended slightly lower on Monday and the Dow was flat, reversing earlier gains, after comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sparked jitters about the economic recovery.
