All Eyes on Bernanke
Feb. 15, 2006 — -- Ben Bernanke made his first appearance before Congress as the new chairman of the Federal Reserve System this morning and delivered a prepared statement to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Economists, Fed groupies and the markets were watching the event with intense interest, hoping to glean information that would indicate the future actions of the Fed. They are also looking at Bernanke's testimony for style points. Will he be more plain-spoken than Greenspan (as promised in his confirmation hearing)?
Some highlights from his prepared remarks:
Overall, Bernanke says the economy is in a good place as the consumer and business appear to be spending. The biggest risk he sees is continued Fed rate hikes "overshooting" growth and slowing the economy too much. Rate hikes are not certain at every meeting, but the Fed will likely increase rates in the coming months.
Bernanke was direct and confident in his presentation.
Likely the markets will react favorably as the new Fed chair has turned in a good performance and a right-down-the-middle assessment of the U.S. economy.
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