❗Let's close the gap: We still need your help to raise $40,000 by April 1. Donate now

Weekly Wrap: Bernanke scolds Washington

Marketplace Staff Aug 26, 2011
HTML EMBED:
COPY

Weekly Wrap: Bernanke scolds Washington

Marketplace Staff Aug 26, 2011
HTML EMBED:
COPY

Bob Moon talks with Marketplace’s New York bureau chief Heidi Moore and Sudeep Reddy from the Wall Street Journal about Ben Bernanke’s latest speech, where he pressed Washington to do more, and about where consumer confidence has gone.

On whether Bernanke’s scolding of Washington has any power:

Sudeep Reddy: Well the Fed chairman does have some effect in terms of a bully pulpit in shaping expectations and driving the debate in Washington. Unfortunately, though, we have such a toxic political atmosphere right now that it’s not clear how much it would matter. A lot of what Chairman Bernanke said during the debt debate was actually ignored.

On the double-take the markets took this morning in response to the speech:

Heidi Moore: I guess Wall Street realized that they already have the best of all possible worlds and they should stop complaining. Zero percent interest rates for two years, and two more years of it to come — what more can the Street ask for? This is what has been driving stocks so high.

For more analysis, click on “Listen to this story” at the top of the page.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.