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Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke took to the podium to answer reporters’ questions about the Federal Open Market Committee’s latest announcement. Here are the big takeaways. 1. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is really, really worried about the “fiscal cliff.” Asked if he felt the risks to the economy over the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts and automatic budget cuts set to take effect Jan. 1 were overblown, Bernanke had a clear answer: No. “I don’t buy the idea that a short-term descent off the fiscal cliff would not be costly,” Bernanke said.  Pointing to declining consumer and business [...]

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pleaded with Congress and the White House on Wednesday to reach a “sensible agreement” on the fiscal cliff before the looming batch of spending cuts and tax hikes derails the economic recovery.  In a press conference in Washington after the Fed unveiled new monetary policy thresholds and an extension of a Treasury-buying program, Bernanke also sought to explain the central bank’s efforts to keep the U.S. economy float and drive down unemployment. He warned that the $ 600 billion combination of tax hikes and spending cuts contained in the fiscal cliff “could have a very [...]

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans should try to find creative ways to reach a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff. In a speech to the New York Economic Club, Bernanke said the recovery has been hurt by the uncertainty surrounding U.S. fiscal policy. Bernanke warned lawmakers not to repeat the fractious debate over the federal debt ceiling, urging that legislation to raise the limit be passed without delay.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Tuesday that U.S. politicians must come to a timely agreement on the budget in order to ensure the economic recovery is not derailed. The powerful central bank chief said the U.S. economy could have a strong 2013 if politicians can quickly come to a deal to avert the so-called fiscal cliff, adding that the Fed’s latest stimulus should continue to provide support. Bernanke argued that fears about the cliff of expiring tax cuts and government spending reductions, set to kick in early next year, are already causing uncertainty in financial markets and possibly [...]

The improving U.S. housing market is “far from being out of the woods,” Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday, arguing that part of the problem are lending standards that are overly tight. The Fed, which has focused on mortgage bonds in its latest round of asset purchases, will continue to do what it can to support the housing market, Bernanke said in prepared remarks. A bubble in the housing market was at the core of the 2007-2009 financial crisis and the housing market continues to hamper the world economy. Data in recent months, however, show the sector is [...]

Mortgage lending standards now appear to be “overly tight,” and are preventing creditworthy borrowers from buying homes, thus slowing the revival in housing and impeding the economic recovery, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday. Despite welcome signs of an emerging improvement in the housing market in most parts of the country, the sector is “far from being out of the woods,” Bernanke said. Strengthening the recovery in housing is a critical challenge for policymakers, he added in a speech to a conference in Atlanta sponsored by Operation Hope, an economic empowerment organization. The extension of mortgages to homeowners [...]

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has told close friends he probably will not stand for a third term at the central bank even if President Barack Obama wins the Nov. 6 election, the New York Times reported. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has already said he would not re-nominate Bernanke if he wins the presidency. Bernanke’s term as chairman ends in January 2014. Bernanke, who was first appointed to run the U.S. central bank by former president George W. Bush and was given a second term by Obama, has declined to comment publicly on whether he would accept another [...]

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has told close friends he probably will not stand for a third term at the central bank even if President Barack Obama wins the November 6 election, the New York Times reported. Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has already said he would not re-nominate Bernanke if he wins the presidency. Bernanke’s term as chairman ends in January 2014. Bernanke, who was first appointed to run the U.S. central bank by former president George W. Bush and was given a second term by Obama, has declined to comment publicly on whether he would accept another four-year [...]

TOKYO Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Sunday said it was far from clear that the U.S. central bank’s highly stimulative monetary policy hurts emerging economies, defending a policy raising concerns in China, Russia and Brazil. In a blunt call for certain emerging economies to allow their currencies to rise, he also said that foreign exchange intervention encouraged destabilizing inflows of foreign capital, but he did not specify China by name. “The perceived advantages of undervaluation and the problem of unwanted capital inflows must be understood as a package – you can’t have one without the other,” Bernanke said in [...]

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke will speak Sunday afternoon at a Tokyo seminar on the global financial system, the central bank announced Friday. The seminar, “Challenges of the Global Financial System: Risks and Governance under Evolving Globalization,” is sponsored by the Bank of Japan and the International Monetary Fund. His remarks will be available at 12:20 a.m. Eastern on Sunday.