Bernanke: Recession Should End in 2009, 2010 "Will Be A Year Of Recovery"

From The Wall Street Journal... scroll down for live video from the hearing:

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday that the recession should end this year and 2010 "will be a year of recovery," if actions taken by the government lead to some stabilization in financial markets.

But that's a mighty "if" given recent severe declines in equity markets to levels not seen in more than a decade despite repeated announcements of government bank and housing rescue plans.

Read more from The Wall Street Journal (the article is password protected).

The AP has more on Bernanke's testimony:

Bernanke hoped that the current recession, now in its second year, will end this year.

But he said there were significant risks to that forecast and any economic turnaround would hinge on the success of the Fed and the Obama administration in getting credit and financial markets to operate more normally again.

"Only if that is the case, in my view there is a reasonable prospect that the current recession will end in 2009 and that 2010 will be a year of recovery," Bernanke said.

Among the risks to any recovery are if economic and financial troubles in other countries turn out to be worse than anticipated, which would hurt U.S. exports and further aggravate already shaky financial conditions in the United States.

Comments

[PhilipTaylor]

Today: The chairman of the Federal Reserve said in a rare interview televised Sunday that the U.S. recession will come to an end "probably this year."
__________­__________­__________­__________­__________­__________­_

Lets hope he also means the FED being run by the Big Banks is at an END!

Maybe the heat on the FED is getting too HOT so he has decided his Elite Banksters have enough of the 95% of Americans' retirements for this "HARVESTING" go round!

This is like the OIL Men deciding to increase Production to lower the gas price to "KNOCK OFF" the Green Revolution!

We are AGAIN being Manipulated by the Elite Banksters through the renegade “FLUNKY” FEDERAL RESERVE BANK and its professional front men!

[Artos]

When did Bernanke become a fortuneteller? Of course like any good fortune teller he hedged his so called Prediction by adding on a couple of exceptions to the rule. The man is a no nothing with a fancy degree and like all the so called experts we have here in America is just another no nothing. I will venture my own prediction and it goes like this. America is on it's downward slope of history. We have achieved our apex and done to ourselves the same thing that every empire before us has done, gone down into the dustbin of History. Our Military is even now preparing to hire foreigners (mercenaries) to fight for us since our own citizens won't any longer. Rome began using mercenaries at the point where it too started going downhill. Our two political parties have such enmity towards each other that even if the plan of the one were succeeding or had a chance of succeeding the other party would seek to stymie that plan in order to bring about the downfall of the dominant party. It doesn't matter to them one whit whether doing so would also help to destroy our nation. We should all raise our glasses in a toast to the Republican party for all they've done to harm our nation and it's people. Congratulations Republicans you've done your damndest.

[buckeyedave]

the longer the government tries to apply bandaids the longer if will last. all the massive government projects in the great depression era had little effect on the economy. it was not until the buzzing factories of WWII that economy actually recovered, and that was ten years after the government programs.

[PhilipTaylor]

Isn't that what Republicans like; War? But we have two wars going already and we see what that has done to our economy.

Do you think it could have been putting women in the workforce?

The bottom line is FDR's program reduced unemployment by over 10% in a few years. It was only when he tried the Republican program the a relapse happened!

[Carolab]

Whatever happened to the law (Title 12, Sec. 1831o) mandating that banking regulators take "prompt corrective action" to resolve any troubled bank? The law mandates that the administration place troubled banks, well before they become insolvent, in receivership, appoint competent managers, and restrain senior executive compensation (i.e., no bonuses and no raises may be paid to them). The law does not provide that the taxpayers are to bail out troubled banks. The Bush administration wanted to cover up the depth of the financial crisis that its policies had caused.

We can understand now why the administration and so many committee chairs are virulently opposed to the single most essential step we need to take to diminish future crises -- a modern Pecora investigation. Pecora was the prosecutor hired by the Senate banking committee to investigate the misconduct that helped cause the Great Depression.

Secretaries Paulson and Geithner subverted the PCA law by allowing failed banks to engage in massive accounting fraud (which also means they are engaged in securities fraud). Treasury is telling the world that resolving the failed banks will require roughly $2 trillion dollars. That has to mean that the failed banks are insolvent by roughly $2 trillion. The failed banks, however, are reporting that they are not simply solvent, but "well capitalized." The regulators flout PCA by permitting this massive accounting and securities fraud.

http://www.hu_ffington_post.com/william-k-black/why-is-geithner-continuin_b_169234.html

(Take out the underscores)

[PhilipTaylor]

Guess what Wall Street invented another SCAM, "TOO BIG TO FAIL!"

Like all their other Scams this one insures the Biggest and Most ELITE Banksters can keep their JOBS and continue their Culture of Greed and Corruption that gives our Christmas Bonuses (they will rename them) of $30 to $100 Million for devising illegal and Toxic Schemes!

[PhilipTaylor]

Put this on the "Why Is Geithner Continuing Paulson's Policy of Violating the Law?" page:

http://www.huf_fingtonpost.com/william-k-black/why-is-geithner-continuin_b_169234.html

[Carolab]

That's the same link. The paragraphs I pasted are from that article.

[brookmo]

In my previous post of this email, I failed to include the company and contact company:
Company United airlines
Contact: Dennis Cary

[thedave108]

Big Criminal Bernanke - Until him and his cohorts are jailed, we'll be dancing around the same problems. He's just trying to deflect some blame by his prediction. It makes no sense - the system has fallen apart and there's no way (or reason) to fix it. Until we stop using play money as currency - Until we stop allowing criminal bankers to lend 10 times the amount of (fake) money they have on deposit - Until we make those responsible for these crimes to answer for them, we'll be living in this make believe world of predictions and obfuscation - set up to take your money, power and freedom. Shut up Bernanke.

Does anyone who's been screwed by it - feel that we should put this crimi system back together and keep doing the same thing? Only guys like benanke, who reaps huge benefits from the criminal activities.

[mycall8]

What recession ?

[totaldisbelief]

another gas attack from a guy who has demonstrated that he knows nothing.

[sixx]

You have driven the ship state aground, and now you see land?

[Gib]

I want what he's smoking.

[totaldisbelief]

no you don't..it rotted his brain already.

[BillyMae]

hahahahhah­ahahahahah­ahahaha...­..........­..........­..........­..........­..........­......

[FreedomAgain]

I'll be hiding in the closet with a bottle of liquor. Let me know when its over.

[markinaz]

With the foreclosure rate in 2010 predicted to be at least as bad as this year, I really don't know if he was just blowin' smoke or smokin' blow.

[brookmo]

This is the letter I sent my previous employer

Good Afternoon:
I have had an opportunity to think about what happened to me today and I have some things to say.

I have never been treated with the disrespect and callousness that I experienced today. I was informed by a co-worker that my last day was tomorrow. I expected, having failed to honor their contractual obligations (5/4 original end date vs.3/4 new end date) that United would at least act honorably in the interim. Not only did United not honor their written agreement but also failed to honor their verbal agreement.

Most recent layoffs in my area were of competent African Americans, who were replaced with incompetent Caucasian Americans, with the exception of 2 token black employees, which I am sure will be gone as soon as their brains are adequately picked. I expected better of a global corporate entity. I provided programming skills and left a functional database for statistical analysis, skills for which I was not compensated and were not part of the job description (United hired a project manager NOT a programmer).My reward, having co-workers notified that I am dismissed prior to management notifying me of such.

I have seen competent African Americans laid off and incompetent Caucasians and/or H1B’s put in their place. Enough! I expected better of the corporation, my managers, and you. Dismissing competence for incompetence in this economy is a prescription for disaster. .

[littlepitcher]

It's happening everywhere, as white middle-class managers with out-of-work relatives start cooking the HR books. This recession is when the racists and sexists will consolidate their gains.
Bigots also are targeting older workers and disabled/d­isfigured/­just plain ol' ugly people for job theft.
Keep reminding everyone that people who have to steal jobs are too dishonest to hire or promote.

Hope you find a better employer soon--have you considered being your own best boss? You may qualify for minority contractor status on some of these new Obama-admin public works projects.

[CaptainStormfield]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5119012
It seems the SEC "stood down" repeatedly for those in the Bush Family Circle.
A bit off topic but still relevant.

[Carolab]

Yes, and Kucinich would like to know what agency authorized the SEC to stand down on the Stanford Group. It appears likely the NSA under Negroponte owing to an edict by Bush in 2006.

[Carolab]

Pirates of the Caribbean: Stanford, drugs and the CIA (updated)

Here's where it gets really interesting. Stanford also owned not one but two airlines: Caribbean Sun Airlines, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Caribbean Star Airlines, based in Antigua. The two entities are, we are told, unrelated.

Well, if you're a long-time reader, you can probably guess what I'm thinking. Oddball airlines..­.Florida..­.the Caribbean...run by a politically well-connected shady operator...

Let's take it further. From the Independent:

More than 20 years ago, the authorities repeatedly probed Allen Stanford’s alleged links to some of the world’s biggest and most powerful drug lords. Despite no fewer than five investigations into suspected drug money laundering by law enforcers ranging from Scotland Yard to the FBI, no charges were ever brought.

http://cannonfire.blogspot.com/2009/02/pirates-of-caribbean-stanford-drugs-and.html

[Carolab]

Regarding the "insider trading" at Lehman--read Portfolio.com's account of how John Paulson's Paulson & Co. hedge fund scored billions betting against Lehman.

http://www.portfolio.com/executives/features/2009/01/07/John-Paulson-Profits-in-Downturn

December 2, 2008

Next up, we have John Paulson's Paulson & Co. Paulson & Co. is famous for making a fortune by betting against sub-prime when this whole mess began to unfold. And, it appears as if Paulson is still up to his fortune-making ways. One of his funds has generated a 589% return, which could easily be up there amongst the largest returns by a single hedge fund in a year. Paulson's Advantage Plus fund has returned 19.44% year-to-date as of the end of August. This is the same fund that gained 158% the year prior and has grown to almost $9 billion.

Paulson's bet against sub-prime has paid off and he has recently reversed course on that bet and has started to buy the assets he was previously short.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/108699-hedge-fund-tracking-paulson-co-john-paulson-q3-2008

[PhilipTaylor]

Paulson made $3.7 Billion in one year and paid no more than 15% due to a Tax Loophole for Hedge Funds that lets them be taxed as capital gains!

We called this a DOUBLE-WHAMMY when I was a KID!