Doubt continues to grow over Bernanke re-confirmation

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) on Friday morning pledged to vote against Ben Bernanke's nomination to head up the Federal Reserve Board for a second term. ∴ Feingold’s announcement comes amid questions about whether Bernanke has the votes to win confirmation in the Senate. He was easily approved in a 16-7 Senate Banking Committee vote in December. ∴ The chairman has come under criticism from lawmakers in both parties on a range of issues, from the Fed’s efforts to save AIG to the transparency of its books. Read more at The Hill...

White House Stands by Bernanke Amid Democratic Opposition
- The White House is standing by Ben Bernanke, saying President Obama is confident he will be confirmed for a second term as Federal Reserve chairman despite emerging opposition. Read more at FOXNews.com... Read More......

Merkeley to vote against Bernanke confirmation

REUTERS, 12/17/2009 - WASHINGTON: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is likely to pass the first hurdle in winning Senate confirmation to serve another term on Thursday but will face unusually strong opposition as his nomination moves ahead. ∴ Bernanke and the Fed have become lightning rods for anger over financial excesses and government bailouts of Bear Stearns, American International Group, and support for the biggest U.S. banks during the worst crisis since the Great Depression. ∴ With unemployment rates in double digits for the first time in over a quarter century, public resentment over the taxpayer-funded rescue of the banking sector runs high.

"We need to have leadership that understands the goal is not Wall Street profits," Oregon Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley told Reuters on Wednesday. "The focus should be on how do you enable families to thrive and prosper." Merkley said he will vote against Bernanke, the first majority-party Democrat on the 23-member panel to express outright opposition to him. Read more at Reuters...

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Catching up with financials

• The Obama administration admitted that their estimated 10-year budget deficit was off by $2 trillion.
• The budget czar is Peter Orszag.
• President Obama reappoints Bernanke as Fed Chair.
• The 2009 budget deficit balloons to $1.6 trillion (3 times the 2008 deficit).
• We're drowning in a sea of red ink according to one national magazine.

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Green Shoots or Scorched Earth?

INFORMATION CLEARING HOUSE, 8/14/2009, Bulletins From Clunkerville by Mike Whitney - Is the economy really recovering or is it all just hype? ∴ Here's what we know. The Fed doesn't drop rates to zero unless its facing a 5 alarm fire and needs to pull out all the stops. The idea is to flood the markets with liquidity in order to avoid a complete financial meltdown. It's a last-ditch maneuver and the Fed does not take it lightly. ∴ The Fed initiated its zero interest rate policy, ZIRP, eight months ago (December 16 2008) and hasn't raised rates since. In the meantime, Fed chair Ben Bernanke has pumped huge amounts of money into the financial system using thoroughly-untested and unconventional means. No one knows whether Bernanke can roll up his multi-trillion dollar lending facilities or not (and avoid Zimbabwe-like hyperinflation) because no one has ever created similar programs. It's all "make-it-up-as-you-go" policymaking. What we do know, however, is that the Fed intends to keep rates at rock-bottom for the foreseeable future, which means that the lights are all still blinking red. Read more at ICH... Read More......

Stocks jump after Bernanke says recession may end

NEW YORK (AP), 2/24/09 - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has given Wall Street a double dose of reassurance. Bernanke told Congress Monday that the recession might end this year, and that regulators aren't planning to nationalize banks. Read more at Breitbart... Read More......