Bernanke says recession 'very likely over'

[brentspeak]

Source: AP

Bernanke says recession 'very likely over'

By JEANNINE AVERSA (AP) – 20 minutes ago

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday that the worst recession since the 1930s is probably over.

Bernanke said the economy likely is growing now, but it won't be sufficient to prevent the unemployment rate, now at a 26-year high of 9.7 percent, from rising.

"The recession is very likely over at this point," Bernanke said in responding to questions at the Brookings Institution.

The Fed boss also said he is confident that Congress will enact a revamp of the nation's financial rule book to prevent a future crisis from happening.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gQ6iVGh2tkgdbkyaZBrqeP-BqpdwD9ANQVO80

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[phantom power]

1. Keep fiddlin Ben.

:eyes:

[Tuesday Afternoon]

2. indeed

:rofl:

[rrneck]

3. Lets see.

The recession is over, but there's still no work and the bankers that screwed us got their bailouts and bonuses.

The recession is over for the fuckers that caused this mess.

I had a pitchfork around here somewhere...

[WriteDown]

4. Man, I was worried there for a second. nt.

[newfie11]

5. Baghdad Bobs cousin? N/T

[no_hypocrisy]

6. The sun'll come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there'll be sun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yop62wQH498&feature=related

[TheWatcher]

17. More like Bet the Dollar is going to the Bottom.

http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=NYBOT_DX&v=s

[hobbit709]

7. Sure thing, and I'm going to win the Lotto tomorrow too.

[orleans]

8. i thought they said that a month or two ago. n/t

[No Elephants]

9. I've heard others say similar things. They also say unemployment is a different issue and will not

end for a while.

[TheWatcher]

18. Of COURSE that is a different issue.

That involves real people who have to live in the Real Economy.

They aren't talking about us when they say The Recession is over.

We're expendable.

Our Cake is ready to be served.

And for the most part, the Public has been eating it happily.

Next month, Helo Ben will be telling us it's 1999 Again.

[TheWatcher]

19. Delete.

Wrong Place.

[Odin2005]

22. You do know that employment is a lagging indicator, right?

But outrage is SOOOO much better than an understanding of economic cycles... :eyes:

[brentspeak]

26. That only applies in a producer economy

More specifically, in a producer economy whose workers are not by-and-large saddled with debt. The U.S. now operates as a consumer economy -- and many Americans are saturated in debt. A service industry-based economy won't generate jobs when the so-called "consumers" aren't spending money on goods.

I've seen you post that "employment is a lagging indicator" dictum several times here on DU. Time to put it to rest, because it's not applicable today.

[TheWatcher]

28. YOU understand Economic Cycles?

Oh, mighty ruler of Valhalla, please tell us more ale-soaked stories of your deluded grandeur.

:rofl:

other than cutting and pasting Mainstream Propaganda and then attempting to cleverly analyze it, you understand about as much about economics as Bush understands.....Well....ANYTHING.

What you fail to understand is that in a Service Based economy dependent upon DEBT and CONSUMPTION, employment is a LEADING indicator.

By the way, what are you so concerned over? Your God Helo Ben just told you the Recession is over and The Economy is growing.

Now, go strap on your CNBC feedbag, (Or Bloomberg, whichever you think makes you look smarter) and be a good little lamb, so the adults can have a conversation. :rofl:

[Odin2005]

31. The Recession's over = the patient is STABLE, not CURED.

If I thought more surgery were not needed THEN I would be the corporatist shill you claim me to be.

[TheWatcher]

32. No, you are more like a blind faither that believes everything Helo Ben tells you.

You haven't the first clue what the patient needs, because you don't even understand the illness from which he suffers.

[Zynx]

36. If employment is a leading indicator, or the only important indicator, we should have

never fallen into recession in the first place. So long as aggregate personal income grows above inflation consumption can recover. It doesn't matter if the number of unemployed grows so long as the number of payroll positions remains even just flat.

[PSPS]

10. Bernanke says recession 'very likely over' (for him and other millionaires)

It's amazing what $13 trillion in taxpayer money can do.

[Xithras]

11. He may be correct.

Technically, it's only a "recession" when the economy is shrinking, and there are lots of indicators suggesting that we may have hit bottom. That doesn't mean that the economy is any better, just that it's not getting any worse at the moment.

I heard a talking head recently point out that, short of some type of economic shift, our current economic situation could easily become the new "normal" in the United States. The guy asked one simple question that nobody could answer: Improving the economy means improving consumer spending. Consumers can't spend if they don't have any money. The only way to get money into the hands of consumers is to improve their wages, or create a new source of wealth. At the present time, there is nothing coming down the pipeline with the potential to do that. Can anyone name a single large scale wealth creator that might arise over the next decade?

The United States today is facing the same situation that Japan faced in 1990, which kicked off 15 years of 1.5% GDP growth. Even today, almost 20 years later, their economy still bounces between 2% and 2.5% growth. For comparison, GDP growth during the Clinton years, a period that most Americans consider to be a "good" economy, was about 4.5%

[Myrina]

12. Yeah, for *them* it is ...

... because most of the corporates increased their profitability by cutting jobs, wages & benefits.

Is the recession over for the rest of us? Notsomuch. :(

[mother earth]

13. Right, the middle class is finished too.

[Delphinus]

14. On what planet?

Not on the Earth upon which *I* live.

[specialed]

15. This must be the lollipop unicorn theory of economics...

Because I don't a damn thing getting better anytime soon.

[Vilis Veritas]

16. Welcome to the Bernanke Zone

"There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of the FED's Imagination. It is an area which we call the Bernanke Zone. "

[TheWatcher]

20. Oh, Ben.....

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[Odin2005]

21. The End of the recession is just the START of the Recovery.

So why is everyone bashing Bernanke? Just because the recession's over doesn't mean everything is all well and good.

[TheWatcher]

29. OF COURSE IT DOES!

Job Losses continue to mount, nothing has changed in the Real Economy, (Except the creativity to which the numbers are fudged), but all of that's a lagging indicator, so we all just need to shut up and feel good, and bask in this growing Recovery.

As far as the reason everyone is bashing your Knight In Shining Fiat, there are various reasons, but the main reason should be that he's a liar and a criminal.

And maybe The Recession is over for you and everyone in Valhalla, as well as Helo Ben, Goofy Geithner, and the rest of the Cirque Du Soulless, but for most of the country it's just getting started.

But, by all means, get back to your Bubble Economics, Bankster Worship, Infinite Printing and Monetizing, and feeling good, and the rest of us will get back to reality and cake.

You really should see about getting a job on CNBC. You'd be a SCREAM. You and LIESman, telling us all how it REALLY is.....I can see it now. Maria and her freshly plumped lips, nodding in concerned knowingness......

OOOOHHHHH, THE TELESCREENS OF HIGH FINANCIAL MEDIA WILL SHOW US THE WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :rofl:

[Odin2005]

30. Just because we are out of the recession does not imply the economy is doing well.

You are are making a whole lot of assumptions based on me using the term "recession" with it's actual meaning rather than a synonym for "shitty economy". Roubini and Krugman have all been saying that the end of the recession does not mean everything is going to be good again, it just means the patient has been stabilized. There is still a lot of surgery left to be done in order to save the patient's life.

[TheWatcher]

33. Youa re basing all of these notions on the Propaganda that the Recession is OVER.

Despite what your Lord and Savior, Helo Ben tells you, it isn't.

Not by a long shot.

Don't Stop Believin', Norse Jester.

You've pretty much bought the lie that feeds you.

Don't expect those who can think for themselves and see what's really going on to shop where you do.

[LiberalEsto]

23. It ain't over till I say it's over

and I say it'll be over when I find a job.
Me and millions of other unemployed and underemployed Americans.

[Xolodno]

24. To Translate....

It means we hit bottom...we hope.

Question is, how long will we be at bottom?

If Japan is any indicator....well, its going to be slow time clawing back up.

For "growth" to occur the Gini-Coefficient needs to reverse course (not what it has been doing for way too long)and redistribute income less unequally. Question is, how do you do that? Taxing and redistributing probably isn't the best way.

I'm think a large increase in the minimum wage and new taxes for a certain threshold of income and above (call it the windfall income tax)...unless its reinvested in some sort of entrepreneur ventures. This increases wages, and the wealthy are less likely to horde their money (and force them to diversify while at the same time providing more income paying jobs...or corporations simply pay less executive salaries and redistribute it more amongst its employee's). Executive salary and bonuses need to be "capped" without appearing to be "capped".

[sofa king]

25. Wow. How soon until it only sucks as bad as the day Bush stole the Presidency?

Decades, is the answer. Decades.

[Earth_First]

27. HOORAY!!!

:fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce:
:fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce:
:fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce:
:fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce:
:fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce:
:fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce:
:fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce:
:fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce: :fistbump: :bounce:

The 14.9 million unemployed Americans collectively celebrate along with you Mr. Bernanke!

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

[Imagevision]

34. Gentlemen & ladies, Bernanke didn't say recession was over - he stated it's 'probably over'...

[Imagevision]

35. Home sales increased last quarter - of course it was the foreclosed spectacular deals but hey!

beats a blank...?

[Autumn]

37. Not in my neck of the woods,

he's going to have to sell that shit somewhere else cause I'm not buying it.