Fed chief Ben Bernanke: recession could end this year if gov't stabilizes banking system

[CatholicEdHead]

Source: AP/StarTribune

WASHINGTON - America's recession "probably" will end this year if the government succeeds in bolstering the banking system, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Sunday in a rare television interview.

In carefully hedged remarks in a taped interview with CBS' "60 Minutes," Bernanke seemed to express a bit more optimism that this could be done.

Still, Bernanke stressed — as he did to Congress last month — that the prospects for the recession ending this year and a recovery taking root next year hinge on a difficult task: getting banks to lend more freely again and getting the financial markets to work more normally.

"We've seen some progress in the financial markets, absolutely," Bernanke said. "But until we get that stabilized and working normally, we're not going to see recovery.

Read more: http://www.startribune.com/business/41289887.html

---

Only time will tell. Stay tuned for more expect discussion on this sometime early tomorrow morning as the Stock Market Watch thread dives into this and other matters of the financial day.

[Davis_X_Machina]

1. Bottom - not end. n/t

[FreakinDJ]

3. I'll guess we'll find out tomorrow when the DJIA closes

So far I'm up quite nicely from last week

[Double T]

2. BS.

And you can take that to the bank.

[Mojorabbit]

9. I agree, it is BS. nt

[Irish Girl]

12. aaand..I'll third that "BS" notion.

Bennie boy sure knows how to blow useless hot steam. Everything that made our country prosperous has been absolutely gutted.

:banghead:

[TheWatcher]

34. Sorry, I can't go along with you guys on this one.

What he said was too pathetic and bereft of even clever misdirection to qualify as BS.

:evilgrin:

[Mithreal]

4. I realize banks provide much needed capitol to businesses

but I don't see an end to this mess without restoring tariffs, ending "free" trade, AND bringing manufacturing jobs back.

Please someone correct me if I am wrong, I want to understand.

[OhioChick]

6. Agreed,

No Jobs = No Recovery.

[arcadian]

5. "My fellow Americans: Major combat operations in Iraq have ended"

"In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed."

[madrchsod]

7. by the end of the year?...maybe

the problem is job growth has to start before the end of the year...there`s an election next year.

[Downwinder]

8. Won't end until wages are in parity with prices. n/t

[No Elephants]

10. Probably? If? Well, that's not exciting. How did we give banks all that money without

requiring that they lend at least a good chunk of it? Same way we voted the states all that money without requiring that they spend it, I guess.

Fool me once, shame on Bush, Paulson and Bernanke. Fool me twice. Well. you can't fool me again.

Well, not unless I'm a Democrat in Congress.

Oy.

[mascarax]

11. "financial markets...work more normally"

What a joke. I think the LAST thing we want is for them to work "normally" - considering their definition of that word.

And, Ben: why should we believe anything you say?!

[CatholicEdHead]

13. That would mean inflating a new bubble

as SMW talked about last week. We need a bubble-free system for a while. It will probably come back in a generation or two, but no more short term bubbles.

[skoalyman]

14. so the funnymentals are looking up

yay:toast: pixie dust and fairy's all around oh happy daze are hear again:party:

[TheWatcher]

30. If they actually managed to Blow this Current "Hope Bubble"

To the insane levels they did with the one they started in March of 2003, it would stand a good chance of taking CIVILIZATION ITSELF with it next time.

And for anyone who happens to think that's "Doom And Gloom Freeptard" paranoia and extremism, you need only look at the current fallout from their LAST Excellent Adventure for guidance of how that might work out.

All over the world, entire COUNTRIES are collapsing (Iceland, Greece, Mexico, Ireland, THE WHOLE OF EASTERN EUROPE), and there is massive unrest and uprising occurring.

Iceland, which had one of the highest standards of living in the ENTIRE WORLD up until about six months ago has completely collapsed and is BANKRUPT, their Government has fallen, and they are slipping into chaos (I know some of the permabulls will giggle and snicker and say this doesn't exist because they didn't hear it on CNBC, but oh well.)

The Japanese Export Trade has completely collapsed, which was that country's ONLY SOURCE OF GROWTH. They do NOT have a plan B, and are now sliding even further into the Recession that they have been experiencing for 20 YEARS now.

As stated above, the Elephant in the Room is Eastern Europe, and no one seems to want to talk about it. If eastern Europe Collapses, it could very well take the whole of Europe with it.

The Unfunded Debt Liability of the United States is $66 Trillion Dollars

The ENTIRE GDP OF THE PLANET is $65 Trillion.

Oh but the "Stimlus" will solve all that.

The CDO Swaps and Derivatives Mess has yet to be unwound and is another time bomb waiting to go off.

And yet, so many people want to willingly believe that a "recovery" is taking place, based on nothing but Propaganda, conjecture, and soothing language, mostly from the very mouthpieces that have lied to and deceived the country throughout this Fake, bubble Economy the past Six years, and facilitated this unsustainable environment that has now collapsed.

The Great Con goes on.

And it saddens me to see that many Americans still can't wait to fall for it again.

[Mr. Hyde]

15. The banks are fucked up because the fundamentals are fucked up, not the other way around.

[nolabels]

16. Banks are four or five years away from admitting they were using bad business fundamentals

The banks are too busy riding the gravy train and so them slogging through till much later would be my bet.

[FreakinDJ]

17. Fed chief Bernanke: recession could end in '09

Source: Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer

Fed chief Bernanke: recession could end in '09

Fed chief Ben Bernanke: recession could end this year if gov't stabilizes banking system

WASHINGTON (AP) -- America's recession "probably" will end this year if the government succeeds in bolstering the banking system, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Sunday in a rare television interview.

In carefully hedged remarks in a taped interview with CBS' "60 Minutes," Bernanke seemed to express a bit more optimism that this could be done.

Still, Bernanke stressed -- as he did to Congress last month -- that the prospects for the recession ending this year and a recovery taking root next year hinge on a difficult task: getting banks to lend more freely again and getting the financial markets to work more normally.

"We've seen some progress in the financial markets, absolutely," Bernanke said. "But until we get that stabilized and working normally, we're not going to see recovery.


Read more: http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/090315/bernanke_60_minutes.html

---

And Obama is doing very well to carefully craft a plan that will actually work

Markets should do very well tomorrow with news like this coming on the heals of a nice ralley on Wall St last week

[rockymountaindem]

18. Well, it sounds like things are already improving, what with BofA and Citi declaring they've been

profitable so far this year. Of course, they may just be blowing smoke to stifle any more talk about that nasty "nationalization" word or "Swedish Model" thingy... but if they are lying that just gives the Obama admin. more leeway in dealing with them, I'd suspect.

[FreakinDJ]

20. I've been here before - there is light at the end of the tunnel already

By mid-summer the stimulus money will be flowing very nicely and everyone knows it. We have a lot of "Doom and Gloom Tea-Party FreepTards" here lately trying to pour water on any good economic news.

I even saw 1 of those FreepTards recommending "Oil Fututres"

http://money.cnn.com/data/commodities/index.html?

What a Moroon....

[TheWatcher]

28. Not everyone that doesn't buy this current "Rally" which is mostly based on "Hopes", "Assurances"

Conveniently "leaked" memos with no tangible evidence based on anything substantial or any basis in reality, and Well-Crafted Propaganda is a "Doom And Gloom Tea-Party FreepTard."

What an utterly ridiculous and foolish statement.

You should take this "theory" of yours over to the Stock Market Watch thread and try that label on some of the very intelligent, insightful, and knowledgeable posters who have been posting there for years, and who are the furthest thing from that, and see how far you get.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3784764&mesg_id=3784764

Then again, please don't.

I'm sure they want to keep the discussion intelligent, insightful, and knowledgeable.

[TheWatcher]

33. Yes, they've made their "declarations"

No matter that's all from the same script laid out by Pandit's conveniently "leaked" memo, which was basically bereft of any tangible evidence other than "We're Profitable because I said so."

And Citi and BAC, being the hallmark of honesty and honor, and who have been so TRUTHFUL and and honest with the public about their operations up to this point, can SURELY be trusted on blind faith of the words of their respective CEO's alone.

:eyes:

They'd better hope that those Accounting Rules on how they value their toxic assets get changed before April so that they can do some major fudging on their books to keep this Shell Game going.

Otherwise, this new "Hope Bubble" might not last that long.

Oh, but I know it's all about optimism and feeling good.

Reality and fundamentals don't matter anymore.

It's all about perception.

[Tyler Generation]

19. I hope we're out of the woods at least nt

[dtotire]

21. Very Impressive and Informative Program

Bernacke will do a lot better than Greenspan. Something was borne out on the program than most people don't know. Although they can act independently, they are a quasi-governmnental institution. Their profits are limited to 6%, and anything above that is returned to the Treasury. The chairman and the Board of Governors is appointed by the President. They cannot pay themselves multi-million dollar salaries, as directors of private banks sometimes do. I believe Bernacke's salary is around $400,000 annually.

[TheWatcher]

32. I must have missed out on all that informative information.

Exactly what details did Helo Ben go into as to how the Fed plans to fix everything?

What specifics did he point to as to how they would act?

and how have the general fundamentals in the economy changed that would reflect such a bold claim about the timetable for the Recession's end? (That he has changed about five times since last week)

[Bigmack]

22. Gosh... I must be one of those

"gloom and doom freeptards". I understand the stimulus money will be circulating and all, but what about the insolvent big Banks, the Credit Default Swaps, the derivatives, the credit freeze (the TED spread), the shipping freeze (Baltic Dry Index), the ARM mortgages that are resetting, the Chinese nervous about buying our debt?

Hmmmm?

[mackerel]

23. Please stick your head back in the sand...

It helps to stay optimistic. Oh and while your at it ignore China, if you give them any credence you'll only end up encouraging them.

[Bigmack]

25. MY head in the sand??

I'm hoping... and if I prayed, I would be praying... that Obama can pull a recovery off. He's GOT to.. for our survival.

BUT. Who's the one whose head is in the sand? You are ignoring all the items I mentioned.

If you are optimistic while the Nobel laureates in Econ aren't, perhaps it's your head in the sand... or somewhere else.

[Pale Blue Dot]

27. I think that the person you replied to was being sarcastic.

My guess is that he/she understands EXACTLY what you're saying and agrees with you. So do I.

[TheWatcher]

29. Please use the sarcasm tag.

So you won't get accidentally flamed for what I HOPE is clever sarcasm.

[Lint Head]

24. I think Obama will be President over the biggest economic recovery

in the history of the United States. Even the world will be in awe.

You may think I'm blowing this out of my ass but if I am correct I hope just one person will tell me I am right.
I said this to several people but the signs are there. I've been on this earth for a while and some things you just know.

The Republicans may never recover from this. The only thing that can stop it is a military uprising by ultra right wing fanatics
taking drastic actions.

This recovery will be a giant snowball that gains strength as it rolls down hill and buries right wing fanatics.
Ann Coulter's book is failing. Rush Limpballs will implode once his sexual proclivity is exposed. Palin is a has been.
I could list page after page locally and nationally. This will happen.

:dem:

[w4rma]

26. I agree. But, he's going to have to go at it in a way that Geithner and Summers aren't. (nt)

[TheWatcher]

31. OK, I'll bite.

Explain in very specific details what those signs are.

If you can point to something tangible, it would be very helpful to the discussion.

How exactly have the general fundamentals in the economy changed to point to signs of a real recovery?

Exactly why did Wall Street have such a big week last week, and what was the tangible evidence that was the spark for that big upswing.

Now, notice what I said before you answer.

"Tangible Evidence." That's the key.

[mbperrin]

35. Yes, and IF I grew wings, I could fly with the rest of the pigs!

But when huge chunks of taxpayer money are being used to pay off bad bets for foreign investors and to pay "bonuses" to finance executives, and when millions of Americans are losing jobs, homes, pensions, and healthcare, and when some of that job loss is mandated by the government (such as the auto industry), well, then, there will be no recovery.

We've actually been here before, in the late 60s to early 90s. It will take just as long this time. I hate that. I'm 57, and I hoped to live long enough to see my children secure.

[flayellowdog]

36. Bernanke, Paulson, Geithner... They are the problem!

The foxes are watching the henhouse!

This is a long read but I found it very informative. I tend to believe Mr Weissman. Draw your own conclusions.

http://www.wallstreetwatch.org/reports/sold_out.pdf