Paul Krugman writes in his blog:
Quite aside from everything else going on, the economic recovery isn’t looking very good. Unemployment claims are stalled at a level that bodes ill for for the overall employment picture (don’t count on falling unemployment until that number falls well below 400,000). And the 10-year bond rate, which is my personal index of the market’s expectations about recovery, has been falling off again after rising for several weeks.
Maybe not such bad news: Ben Bernanke isn't a shoo-in for confirmation. In fact, says economist Simon Johnson, the reconfirmation is "in disarray." Senators need clarity from Bernanke on these issues:
Does he support the President’s proposed emphasis on limiting the scope and scale of big banks?
With regard to the key detail, is it his view that the size of big banks can be capped “as is” or – more reasonably – should we require these banks to contract or divest so as to return to the profile of system risk that prevailed say 15 or 20 years ago?
If Congress cannot act in the short-term, because of opposition from Republicans and some Democrats, does he see the Fed’s role as taking the initiative in this arena – or will he wait passively for the legislature to act?
Not exactly Bernanke's strengths, not one of them.
