Well, I’ll give Ben credit for this much: He recognizes the need for a plan (of any sort), and he seems to be recognizing that this is serious — no more pussy footing around.
The Fed Chair called for:
• Coordinated action between Congress, Treasury and the Federal Reserve
• Undertaking additional steps to rescue “Financial firms whose failure would pose a systemic risk”
• Supported “close regulatory scrutiny” of firms that engage in “risk-taking”
•Creating a “regulatory procedure for resolving a large, failing nonbank institution”
•Continued bolstering of credit for both consumers and businesses.
Hard to find much to argue with in that list. The bigger issue is whats missing (see this morning’s commentary for a complete discussion):
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Sources:
The Crisis and the Policy Response
Chairman Ben S. Bernanke
Stamp Lecture, London School of Economics, January 13, 2009
http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/bernanke20090113a.htm
Bernanke: More bank bailouts needed
Fed chairman endorses economic stimulus, but also says more help for banks is needed to fix the economy
Chris Isidore
CNNMoney.com, January 13, 2009: 10:52 AM ET
http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/13/news/economy/bernanke_speech/?postversion=2009011310
Bernanke Urges ‘Strong Measures’ to Stabilize Banks
Craig Torres
Bloomberg, Jan. 13 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=at6cYfv8wFJw&
Bernanke Says Stimulus Should Be Paired With Other Measures
MAYA JACKSON RANDALL
WSJ, JANUARY 13, 2009, 10:07 A.M. ET
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123185225001377063.html
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