ben bernanke

On Nov. 21, 2002, just two months after leaving Princeton University's economics department for a spot on the Federal Reserve Board, Ben Bernanke gave a speech in Washington on the topic of deflation.

At the time, stock prices had been falling for almost two years straight, inflation was just 2%, and there was widespread worry that it would drop into negative territory.

The specter of Japan, beset for a decade by falling prices and economic stagnation, was on the minds of many.

In his speech, Bernanke even brought up a far worse deflationary spiral - the Great Depression.

We still don't know what Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress last week that got lawmakers so scared.

But Marketplace's Bob Moon looks at how bad the worst-case scenarios could be.

Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke warned Wednesday that the current Wall Street crisis could drag the U.S. economy into a deeper downturn and urged Congress to take action on a proposed bailout package.

The $700 billion bailout plan proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is now in the hands of Congress.

Maya MacGuineas of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget tells Kai Ryssdal she expects the bill to gain in size.

In the year-and-a-half since Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the credit crisis would be contained, the markets have kept a mostly cautious stance.

But a couple of weeks ago things changed -- and not for the better. Bob Moon reconstructs the course of events.

In the year-and-a-half since Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the credit crisis would be contained, the markets have kept a mostly cautious stance.

But a couple of weeks ago things changed -- and not for the better. Bob Moon reconstructs the course of events.

The sound of air hissing out of the commodities bubble is music to Ben Bernanke's ears.

To protect borrowers from the kind of subprime lending practices that led to the mortgage crisis, the Fed is planning new regulations.

Host Kai Ryssdal shares Chairman Ben Bernanke's remarks.

Ben Bernanke's tough talk on inflation suggests the economy may be improving. He's wrong, and his comments will backfire.

The wave of foreclosures sweeping the nation are driven in part by a nearly unprecedented decline in home prices and require a concerted government and private-sector response, Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, said Monday.