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Welcome to Bernanke Panky! We aim to track the every move of the man "market skeptics" love to hate, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairmen, Ben Bernanke! Check out BP features including forums, original articles and commentary, and resources to aid in understanding the Fed and it's impact on the economy. Tune in!
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Bernanke Bytes — On the Money!
- Lawrence B. Lindsey on US Crony Capitalism "Excellent video of Lawrence B. Lindsey, ex-Governor of the Federal Reserve System from 1991 to 1997, on CNBC followed by an article on Paulson and crony capitalism in which he is quoted." (08/20/2008 12:41 AM )
- Paulson Playing Chicken With Markets “Hank Paulson’s gamble is that if the Treasury commits to investing in Fannie and Freddie [if required] it will never have to put money in,” said Alex Pollock, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute... In other words, this was all meant to be a bluff. But the markets have called the bluff in very short order. (08/19/2008 05:24 PM )
- FHA Share of Mortgage Apps Soars: MBA ``... of all mortgage applications accepted during the month of July 2008, 29.1 percent were for government-insured loans (mostly FHA) compared to 8.4 percent in July 2007.'' (08/19/2008 05:14 PM )
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Freddie Note Sale Crimps Treasurys
Investors took Freddie Mac's sales of $3 billion five-year reference notes positively as foreign investors still showed up to bid on the auction even amid renewed worries over the viability of the federally chartered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Financial weekly Barron's this week reported that a U.S. government bailout of the two mortgage-finance giants is increasingly likely.
Freddie Mac had to jack up yields to entice investors, however. It sold the notes at 113 basis points over comparable Treasurys, the highest premium it has ever offered for a five-year note. The notes yielded 4.172% at sale.
(08/19/2008 05:06 PM ) - Cox: SEC to propose short sale rule in weeks "The top U.S. securities regulator plans to propose a new short selling rule in the next few weeks which would be broader than an emergency order covering just 19 financial stocks which ended last week." (08/19/2008 03:24 PM )
- Fed’s Fisher Says FOMC Cannot Risk Credibility, Must Act if Inflation Continues "The Federal Reserve must be prepared to take action and curb inflation if slowing growth doesn't moderate prices as expected, said the most hawkish member of the FOMC on Tuesday." Well give the M3 supply today wed say you're blowing smoke or full of it (08/19/2008 03:09 PM )
- Large U.S. Banks May Fail Amid Recession, Rogoff Says " ``The worst is yet to come in the U.S.,'' Rogoff, a Harvard University professor of economics, said in an interview in Singapore today. ``The financial sector needs to shrink; I don't think simply having a couple of medium-sized banks and a couple of small banks going under is going to do the job.'' " (08/19/2008 02:46 PM )
- M3 Contraction - The Future Is Now "The drop is not or rather should not be disturbing. Nor should it have been unexpected. The reason a huge plunge was expected by me has to do with why M3 was soaring in the first place. M3 was soaring because institutions and consumers were telling credit lines and parking the money in money market funds. Those screaming inflation, or hyperinflation missed the boat on this big time. Now that those credit lines have been tapped or shut off, it is perfectly logical to see M3 plunge." (08/19/2008 02:35 PM )