Topic: Ben Bernanke

Federal Reserve policymakers appear open to further monetary efforts to stimulate the economy according to minutes for the central bank's April meeting.

President Barack Obama's two stalled nominees for the Federal Reserve are likely to clear a Senate procedural hurdle on Thursday, paving the way for anticipated confirmation, the chamber's leaders said on Tuesday.

Officials at the Federal Reserve are increasingly concerned about the coming “fiscal cliff,” putting it on par with the European financial crisis and the housing market as among the U.S. economy's biggest potential threats.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that many businesses and consumers are finding it easier to borrow as banks shore up their balance sheets.

According to one leading hedge fund manager, the recent rise in stocks is a temporary one that will be thwarted by the coming period known as “Taxmageddon.”

The greenback and the U.S. bond market are headed for a collapse as the Federal Reserve loses the ability to service the nation’s debt with “artificially low” interest rates, Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital told CNBC on Wednesday.

Two top Federal Reserve officials — one with a dovish, employment-focused bent, and the other a self-avowed inflation hawk — on Monday both said they see no need for the U.S. central bank to ease monetary policy any further.

San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams is more optimistic about the U.S. economy now than he was three months ago and does not see the need for further monetary measures at the moment, he was quoted on Monday as saying.

Goldman Sachs is turning increasingly bearish on the U.S. economy, expecting the nation to have added only 125,000 new jobs in April, as the effects of a warm winter, which buoyed employment late last year, wear off.

Fiscal austerity has been the mantra on both sides of the Atlantic for the past two years. The tide now appears to be turning.

Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Jeffrey Lacker said on Friday he believes the U.S. central bank will have to raise interest rates in mid-2013, not late 2014 as suggested in this week's policy decision.

The Federal Reserve is doing more harm to the U.S. economy than good by keeping interest rates artificially low and continuing its "monetary medicine", Peter Boockvar, portfolio manager and equity strategist at Miller Tabak told CNBC.

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, faced with a daunting delegate disadvantage and dwindling media attention, nevertheless plans on continuing his campaign to try to change the way Washington operates.

Businesses are asking for more credit, consumers want more loans and mortgage demand is the highest in US Bancorp's history, CEO Richard Davis told CNBC Tuesday. That makes him optimistic the economy is taking small steps toward recovery.

Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday that the Federal Reserve was left with few good options when it stepped in to shore up the largest U.S. financial institutions during the 2008 crisis.