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“Regulatory and supervisory policies, rather than monetary policies, would have been more effective means of addressing the run-up in house prices . . . Policy during that period--though certainly accommodative--does not appear to have been inappropriate, given the state of the economy and policymakers' medium-term objectives.”...

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke today spoke at the Economic Club of New York. The topic of his speech was the Outlook for the Economy and Policy. While nothing groundbreaking was said, I do want to recap his comments and point out a few observations. ...

One day ahead of the all-important Nonfarm Payrolls report for May, the focus is on speeches from Federal Reserve officials, overseas policy, and Treasury auctions. The weekly Jobless Claims report for the final week of May is expected to show 620,000 new filings for unemployment benefits. It’s safe to say an outlier figure will be considered a blip due to the four-day week from Memorial Day. Continuing Claims have have been setting record highs one week after the next and this report is unlikely...

In contrast to the optimistic assumptions of the Obama administration, Ben Bernanke said economic recovery could be slow as businesses will be cautious about hiring even as broader growth resumes. The Federal Reserve Chairman also said more emphasis needs to be put on restoring fiscal balance. “Even after a recovery gets under way, the rate of growth of real economic activity is likely to remain below its longer-run potential for a while, implying that the current slack in resource utilization...

The late economist Hyman Minsky often summed up his theory of financial instability with the paradoxical phrase, “Stability creates instability.” Speaking on Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke echoed that sentiment as he called for new initiatives for financial oversight and regulation on Thursday. “Our supervisors are emphasizing to institutions that maintaining strong risk-management practices is at least as important in good times as in bad,” Bernanke said...

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. economy has “contracted sharply” over the past six months, and he sees “further sizable job losses” and a rising unemployment rate in the coming months. Speaking before the Joint Economic Committee at Congress on Tuesday, the Fed chairman said the U.S. economy could return to growth later this year, provided that improvements in the financial markets continue. “In coming months, households' spending power will be...

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stressed the need to overhaul operating rules for " too big to fail " institutions on Tuesday. Speaking to the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C., Bernanke said the U.S. government currently...

Federal authorities do not see any advantage to nationalizing large banks since a return to profitability can be achieved through a combination of strong regulations of how rescue funds are used, and greater transparency on financial institutions, according...