Is Obama going to ditch Bernanke now he's got the ear of Paul Volcker? I ask this in jest of course..
Thats what I thought until I saw this. The whole question of how and why the Fed gave Goldman Sachs 'bank holding status' at the peak of the crisis...fast-tracking their application when they were struggling to get funding like all other investment banks...and now a realization that cheap Fed money to prop shops and hedge funds might be a reason why GS profits are so big? After the Scott Brown result I think Obama will make some changes. Volcker is unlikely of course, but it's clear today Obama is listening to him... From Dow Jones: WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The U.S. Senate is "unlikely" to hold a confirmation vote on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's second term at the helm of the central bank, a senior Democratic leadership aide said Thursday. Earlier this week, leadership aides said it was possible lawmakers would seek to vote on Bernanke's confirmation on Friday, but that now seems doubtful, the aide said. The Fed chief's four year-term ends on Jan. 31. It is unclear what would happen if the Senate fails to approves him for a second term before then. Bernanke is widely expected to be confirmed once a vote is held, but there are a handful of lawmakers preventing the Senate from moving directly to a vote. One of those, Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Independent who generally votes with the Democratic majority, is pressing for President Barack Obama to withdraw Bernanke's nomination and select another candidate to lead the Fed.
Volcker is 83 or 84 years old, 'nuff said. In contrast to Easy Al, Wall Street's pal or Gentle Ben, Volcker was the man. Instrumental in the Prime rate being 21% in 1981. Stifled inflation, brought a secular bottom to 30 year T-Bonds later that year, and the breakout of the DJIA above 1000 in August 1982. He's also about 6 foot five. But, he's 83 or 84. Isn't gonna happen.
Shouldn't be a problem. He's likely to not go senile for a least a few years. Geithner, Obama, Bernanke, Summers, et al... are brain-deal already. How could Volker NOT improve things??
Volcker cleaned up the mess last time. And I get the feeling the 'cleansing' of Wall Street is just beginning. I suppose Geithner or Summers could be moved over, but I don't think Obama has much confidence in Bernanke.
It happens in Japan! Hayami was 78 when he was BoJ Governor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masaru_Hayami Of course, he died shortly after.