Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's Final Speech
A committee of the Federal Reserve meets on Wednesday to consider maintaining monetary policy measures to stimulate U.S. economic growth. Their discussion will focus on various indicators of strength, such as inflation and employment. Remarks by Ben Bernanke will be his last as Fed chairman.
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U.S. dollar hits more than five-year high versus Japanese Yen -
The U.S. Federal Reserve announced plans to trim its aggressive bond-buying program, but sought to temper the long-awaited move by suggesting its key interest rate would stay lower for even longer than previously promised. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s remarks were part of his final planned news conference before retirement. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).
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Bernanke has ended his last speech as Fed chair. We will have additional stories here on the live blog as well as a video of his remarks shortly. Meanwhile, we expect the Senate to vote Janet Yellen to be his replacement as chair on Friday.
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In semiotically related news, scientists in Brazil have made "one of the biggest animal discoveries of the century: a new tapir."The description of new tapir's size seems like a good scientific stab at Fedspeak: it's "one of the biggest animals on the continent, although it's still the smallest living tapir."
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U.S. housing starts surged to their highest level in nearly six years in November, a sign of strength in the housing market that could give the Federal Reserve ammunition to cut its bond purchases.
The Commerce Department reported on Wednesday that housing starts jumped 22.7 percent, the biggest increase since January 1990, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.09 million units. That was the highest level since February 2008. Read the full story here: www.reuters.com -
The Senate's final vote to confirm Janet Yellen as the next chair of the Federal Reserve may come on Friday, a senior Democratic aide said. The Senate is expected to turn to Yellen, currently the Fed's vice chair, and nine other Obama nominees after finishing voting about a major defense bill.
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But, like, it's all 50-50 -- and in hindsight the prior tweet was oddly specific given that nobody knows what's coming. Flip a coin.by CardiffGarcia via twitter 12/18/2013 6:34:36 PM -
My guess: No taper, no threshold change, no inflation floor. BUT strong new lang taper coming v soon & rates low even if U threshold passedby CardiffGarcia via twitter 12/18/2013 6:34:20 PM
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Quartz's Matt Phillips lays out where Wall Street analysts stand on the Fed taper.The opinions are heavily caveated and hedged, but tend to lean towards a "no taper" decision. Deutsche is the only bank with an out and out call for a taper:
Wall Street’s Fed watchers seem a bit more cautious about their calls this time around. After all, virtually everyone on the street—and some informed observers—thought that the Fed would announce a taper at its September meeting. It didn’t happen, and trading desks across global Wall Street were caught off-guard, which really hurt their trading results during the third quarter.
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WSJ looks at Ben Bernanke's legacy: Meltdown Averted, Bernanke Struggled to Stoke Growth
National Journal asks: Does Ben Bernanke Care Too Much About Jobs? -
by mccanner via twitter 12/18/2013 5:29:54 PM -
Even the United Nations is watching the Fed's last meeting of the year, reports Louis Charbonneau:
In a new report published on Wednesday, the U.N. cited risks facing the global economy, including a possible "bumpy exit" from quantitative easing of interest rates; fragility of the banking system and economy in the euro zone; and political wrangling over the U.S. budget and debt ceiling.
Wednesday's report specified two types of risks associated with U.S. political uncertainties:
"First, the recurring uncertainties about the government budget, even if no large-scale crisis erupts, discourages business investment and hiring, thereby leading to lower growth and higher unemployment in the short run and damaging potential growth in the longer run," the United Nations said.
"Second, should a crisis occur if the debt ceiling were not raised, for example, the consequences would be devastating not only for the United States, but also for the world economy," it added. -
Reuters Angela Moon reports that U.S. stocks were little changed on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve's last policy announcement of the year. Many expect the Fed to continue its quantitative easing program at the current pace of $85 billion monthly asset purchases into next year. But stronger economic data recently has led some to believe now is the time to begin to take off the training wheels of the recovering economy and allow it gradually to grow on its own.
A survey of fund managers by Bank of America Merrill Lynch released on Tuesday revealed that only 11 percent of those polled expect a taper this week. Continue reading: www.reuters.com -
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke at the National Economists Club annual dinner at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, November 19, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
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Last Bernanke press conference is today. Everyone update your scrapbook and just spend some alone time with it and a bottle of wine.by pourmecoffee via twitter 12/18/2013 4:35:06 PM
Putin says Russia will follow up fast after Ukraine call with Biden
MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia would send ideas to Washington within a week to follow up his talks with U.S. President Joe Biden on the Ukraine crisis.
