Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, the "most powerful nerd on the planet," was named as Time Magazine's Person of the Year 2009. For a magazine that has often savored picking controversial, argument-starters (Bono in 2005?, you in 2006?), Bernanke, "with his perpetually guilty, Eeyore-like expression," definitely seems like a particularly relevant pick. Time calls him, "the most important and least understood force shaping the American — and global — economy." You can find the full list of runner-ups and "people who mattered" here. more ›

Federal Reserve Chairmand Ben Bernanke said that the recession is probably over but had a caveat: "From a technical perspective, the recession is very likely over at this point. It's still going to feel like a very weak economy for some time because many people will still find that their job security and their employment status is not what they wish it was." He added in his remarks to the Brookings Institute, "Unfortunately, unemployment will be slow to come down. It will come down but it may take some time. Obviously, that's a very serious concern." Unemployment was 9.7% last month; it's expected to hit 10% by the end of the year. more ›

President Obama will re-appoint Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, the Wall Street Journal reports, "opting for continuity in U.S. economic policy despite criticism in Congress of the low-key central banker's frantic efforts to rescue the financial system." White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said, "The president thinks that Ben’s done a great job as Fed chairman, that he has helped the economy through one of the worst experiences since the Great Depression and that he has essentially been pulling the economy back from the brink of what would have been the second Great Depression." more ›

Treasury Secretary Timohty Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that the "U.S. government needs to be able to take over and wind down a broad range of economically important non-bank financial institutions," the Wall Street Journal reports." Geither gave an example, "As we have seen with AIG, distress at large, interconnected, non-depository financial institutions can pose systemic risks just as distress at banks can." Bernanke added, "If a federal agency had had such tools on Sept. 16, they could have been used to put AIG into conservatorship or receivership, unwind it slowly, protect policyholders, and impose haircuts on creditors and counterparties as appropriate." The Fed Chairman also said he knew about the AIG bonuses last fall, warned AIG about them, and wanted to sue, but was told suing could give the bank big punitive damages if the government lost the case. The pair's testimony did help stocks rally in the afternoon, but ultimately the markets lost a little of yesterday's ground. more ›

There's a load of bad news: Consumer prices have dropped 1.7% last month, housing starts have dropped 18.9% ("the lowest since the government started compiling statistics in 1959"), Best Buy is offering workers voluntary severance to most of its corporate workers... Which means the Federal Reserve is poised to cut interest rates again. It's believed the Fed will cut 50 basis points from the base rate, which would then be 0.5%. CNBC reports, "Market watchers are hoping the Fed will signal quantitative easing measures, which essentially involves printing more money, to restore growth and signal an end to the ongoing recession." more ›

Speaking at the European Central Bank Central Banking Conference, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said central banks are prepared to continue to work together and do more to help the global economy during the current credit crisis. In his speech, he noted, "The continuing volatility of markets and recent indicators of economic performance confirm that challenges remain. For this reason, policymakers will remain in close contact, monitor developments closely, and stand ready to take additional steps should conditions warrant." Back in the states, retail sales fell 2.8% in October--"the biggest since records began in 1992"--and stocks have dropped 1.6-2.65% this morning. more ›

Despite the naive exuberance exhibited in some quarters after Monday's stock surge, Wall Street is still armaggedon it! The sucker went down dramatically today amidst gloomy talk about the economy foundering in a recession. At the close, the Dow was down about 735 points, or 7.9 percent, negating most of Monday’s 936-point gain. And the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index was down 9 percent. Patting himself on the back for his prescience, bond market analyst Tony Crescenzi told clients, "I've said since the summer that a ‘dark period’ of economic data lie ahead." The darkness! Our only hope now is that brave Bilbo Bernanke can deliver Sauron Greenspan's evil ring to the floor of the stock exchange and let Gandalf Krugman destroy it once and for all. more ›

The Dow has fallen 5.73%--and the Nasdaq is down over 6% as is the S&P 500--thanks to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech to the Economic Club of New York earlier today. While officials have repeatedly said that the bailout will take a while to work, Bernanke also gave a grim look at the future, "Our export sales, which have been a source of strength, very probably will slow." Still, "Americans can be confident that every resource is being brought to bear to address the current crisis.” CNBC also thinks that there's "an openness to further interest-rate cuts." Also affecting the Dow: The disappointing news about retail sales, producer prices, core PPI, etc... more ›

Federal Reserve Chairman discussed the current economic and financial condition (speech transcript), outlining what happened with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and AIG--and what the Fed is doing--and said, "Overall, the combination of the incoming data and recent financial developments suggests that the outlook for economic growth has worsened and that the downside risks to growth have increased." more ›

Yesterday was a mixed day for the financial sector. Congress still had questions about the government's proposed $700 billion bailout plan for financial firms, sending the market down. But the after-market close announcement that Warren Buffett would invest $5 billion in Goldman Sachs has sent stock futures higher. But now there's word that the FBI is searching for possible fraud at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and AIG. more ›

Sure, as the NY Times reports, "Bailout Talks Advance" between Congress and the Bush administration over the $700 billion financial institutions bailout. But the two sides have differences of opinions on things like executive pay, reducing "mortgage payments of borrowers facing foreclosure," and whether the taxpayers should get a stake in companies the U.S. bails out. The Wall Street Journal also details some of the issues with the plan, from both Republicans and Democrats. more ›

President Bush held his first news conference in months to discuss the economy and tried to remain optimistic, saying in spite of the slowing economy, "I believe we will come through this challenge stronger than ever before." However, Bloomberg News reports Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was pessimistic in his Senate testimony, "abandon[ing] his June assessment that the threat of an economic downturn had diminished, telling lawmakers that growth and inflation risks are increasing." more ›

Even though spokesmodels for Estee Lauder, including Elizabeth Hurley, prettied up the New York Stock Exchange by ringing today's opening bell, the mood has been dark as "frightened money is jumping all over the place." Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke tried to soothe the market, by saying the Fed might extend emergency lending to investment firms. He told a FDIC forum, "Allowing Bear Stearns to fail so abruptly at a time when the financial markets were already under considerable stress would likely have had extremely adverse implications for the financial system and for the broader economy." more ›

After an ugly Monday in global financial markets while the U.S. markets were closed and Asian stock markets plunging today, the Federal Reserve lowered the interest rate by 0.75% in an "emergency move for the first time since 2001." From the Fed's press release:

The Committee took this action in view of a weakening of the economic outlook and increasing downside risks to growth. While strains in short-term funding markets have eased somewhat, broader financial market conditions have continued to deteriorate and credit has tightened further for some businesses and households. Moreover, incoming information indicates a deepening of the housing contraction as well as some softening in labor markets... more ›

Some of the really reassuring quotes about today's bad Thursday on Wall Street: more ›