Bernanke's new blog

[walkinwood]

His first post is "Why are interest rates so low?". Interesting read.

Ben Bernanke's Blog | Brookings Institution

Enjoy!

 

[GrayHare]

That was more simplistic than I was expecting. His answer is: the economy.

 

[photoguy]

Thanks for posting. I'll definitely bookmark the site.

 

[RonBoyd]

For the Financial Nerds amongst us: A Bernanke BLOG

Blogging Bernanke Says He Didn’t ‘Throw Seniors Under the Bus’

It’s a critique Bernanke must have heard often. As Fed chair, he had responded strongly to Corker’s criticisms at a Senate Banking Committee hearing in early 2013. “If we tried to raise interest rates to 3, 4 or 5 percent while the economy is still weak, it could not be sustained,” he said at the time. “The only way to get interest rates up for savers is to get a strong recovery, and the only way to get a strong recovery is to give adequate support to the recovery.” (He also at one point told Corker, “None of the things you said are accurate.”)

Former Federal Reserve Chair knows how powerful words can be. “When I was at the Federal Reserve, I occasionally observed that monetary policy is 98 percent talk and only two percent action,” he wrote Monday in launching a new blog at the Brookings Institute. “The ability to shape market expectations of future policy through public statements is one of the most powerful tools the Fed has.”

Bernanke no longer has the power of the Fed chairmanship, but his new blog shows he’s willing to use the tools he has now to comment on the economy and defend past policy decisions — this time without some of the restrictions or risks inherent in speaking as the head of the central bank. He might also, occasionally, write about baseball.

Bernanke’s second blog post asks "Why are interest rates so low?" It provides a detailed and admittedly “textbook-y” answer (Bernanke was, after all, an economics professor before he was the Fed chair). “The bottom line is that the state of the economy, not the Fed, ultimately determines the real rate of return attainable by savers and investors,” Bernanke writes.

The BLOG's URL: Brookings: Ben Bernanke's Blog

 

[Meadbh]

There is already a thread about this blog.

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/bernankes-new-blog-76620.html#post1575874

Perhaps the mods would like to combine them? The title of the first blog would be clearer.

 

[Gumby]

There is already a thread about this blog.

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/bernankes-new-blog-76620.html#post1575874

Perhaps the mods would like to combine them? The title of the first blog would be clearer.

Done. Thank you, Meadbh.

 

[MichaelB]

Interested readers should take another look at his blog this morning. His writing style is clear and easy to understand, and he is not shying from controversy or challenging mainstream views.