How Bernanke's Fed Gained Power

Few uncontroversial conclusions can be made about the complex 2,300-page financial regulation bill passed this summer. But one outcome is utterly clear: the Federal Reserve was the biggest winner, and is made much, much more powerful through the legislation. Steve Matthews and Joshua Zumbrun explain how this happened in the latest Bloomberg Markets cover story. Here's an excerpt:

For all of the heat Bernanke took for failing to see the gathering credit storm in 2007, lawmakers -- with a few exceptions -- have come to appreciate the actions he has taken to rescue the banking system and the economy in the past two years. He has pushed interest rates as low as they can go and vowed to keep them there until the employment picture improves. Last week at a Fed meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, he said the Fed was ready to provide still more stimulus if needed.

Read the full story at Bloomberg.

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http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/09/how-bernankes-fed-gained-power/62460/