Articles About Ben Bernanke

Author:
James I. Clark III
Posted:
09.28.2010

Basel III Tightens Global Banking Standards

Global banking regulators have agreed to implement new rules that will make the international banking industry safer and avoid future financial meltdowns. Known as Basel III — after the Swiss city in which the agreement was worked out — the new requirements will more than triple the amount of capital that banks must have in […]

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Author:
Tom Silva
Posted:
08.31.2010

Anthony Downs On Financial Reform

he nation’s financial system needs significantly more regulation than exists now.  The lack of tough regulatory powers strongly impacted the recent financial crash and the Great Recession that ensued.  The good news is that the Obama administration is moving firmly in this direction with financial reform legislation a critical item on its agenda.  This is […]

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Author:
James I. Clark III
Posted:
08.04.2010

Pre-Crisis Credit Levels Will Return Slowly

As the nation gradually recovers from the Great Recession, several years are likely to pass before lending returns to pre-crisis levels, according to Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth Duke.  The return of credit growth is far slower than during any business cycle of the last four decades with the sole exception of the 1990 – 1991 […]

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Author:
James I. Clark III
Posted:
06.23.2010

Bernanke Sets Sights on the Growing Deficit

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is warning that – even as the nation struggles to recover from the worst recession in 75 years – Congress must deal with an “unsustainable” level of debt.  “Our nation’s fiscal position has deteriorated appreciably since the onset of the financial crisis and the recession,” Bernanke said in testimony before […]

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Author:
James I. Clark III
Posted:
05.25.2010

Congress Will Examine the Fed’s Actions During the Financial Crisis

In a rare moment of bipartisanship, the Senate voted 96 – 0 to attach a modified version of an amendment proposed by Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-VT) to the financial regulatory bill to investigate transparency in emergency lending practices by the Federal Reserve during the financial crisis.  “This amendment begins the process of lifting the veil […]

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Author:
James I. Clark III
Posted:
05.12.2010

Is the Fed About to Hike Its Federal Fund Rates?

The recent release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s March meeting may hint that the nation is experiencing a sustainable recovery and is possibly facing upwards inflationary pressure.  The yield on 10-year Treasury notes has already surpassed four percent for the first time since last June; oil and copper traded at their highest prices in […]

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Author:
Tom Silva
Posted:
04.28.2010

Increased Worker Productivity Putting Brakes on New Hires

Worker productivity increased 3.8 percent in 2009, the best record since 2002. Writing in the Washington Post, Neil Irwin notes, “That means high-level gains in productivity – which in the long run is the key to a higher standard of living but in the short run contributes to sky-high unemployment.  So long as employers can […]

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Author:
James I. Clark III
Posted:
03.12.2010

Fed Retirement Gives President Obama the Go-Ahead to Chart a New Fiscal Course

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke may get all the headlines, but the retirement of Vice Chairman Donald L. Kohn is giving President Barack Obama the historic opportunity to reshape the nation’s central bank. Kohn is one of seven Fed governors who set U.S. monetary policy and regulate the financial system. The change comes at a […]

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Author:
James I. Clark III
Posted:
03.04.2010

Cheap Money to Build Skyscrapers Has Gone Bust

The last 30 years have seen a boom for skyscraper construction because the cost of borrowing money had declined significantly. When investors borrow money to purchase assets, they send prices higher.  The problem is that this borrowing makes the markets susceptible to busts when investors sell assets to pay their debts.  The recent financial crisis […]

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Author:
James I. Clark III
Posted:
02.17.2010

Bernanke Edges Closer to Closing the Cash Floodgates

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is starting to look at ways to back off from the central bank’s heroic efforts to keep the nation’s economy afloat through the financial crisis of the past 18 months. The trick to raising short-term interest rates, which have been at historic lows for more than a year, is to […]

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