Ben Bernanke

Ben Bernanke,the chairman of the Federal Reserve,the U.S. central bank,and a former professor,has been focusing on the economic dislocation.He notes that the U.S. economy is still going through a very difficult period.It should strengthen in the second half of 2008,returning to growth in 2009.Much adjustment has already taken place,but the financial markets are still under stress.So far,hedge fund behavior has not created losses for our major financial institutions.The sudden failure of Bear Stearns(BSC) would likely have led to a chaotic unwinding,which would have been felt broadly in the real economy,Mr.Bernanke said,justifying the Federal Reserve's intervention in the matter.