US Fed chief Bernanke offers no measures to ease jobs crisis

In a much anticipated speech Friday before a gathering of central bankers and international financial officials, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke sought to reassure panicky markets while proposing no measures to ease the worsening jobs crisis in the US and internationally. - Bernanke acknowledged that US economic growth was far slower than previously forecast by the Fed and ruled out any prospect for an early end to mass unemployment, but he limited himself to reiterating the Fed’s assurance earlier this month that its benchmark interest rate would remain at near-zero for at least two years and hinting that more aggressive monetary easing might be in the offing.

AWIP: 'Secret' Fed Loans Reveal Divide Between 'Wall Street Aristocracy' And Ordinary Americans - "Wall Street Aristocracy Got $1.2 Trillion in Loans from Fed." The amount cited in the headline is somewhat misleading, as it refers only to the highest single-day amount of outstanding Fed loans under seven emergency programs the US central bank launched to cover the bad debts of the Wall Street elite. The $1.2 trillion figure is undoubtedly lower than the total amount in loans disbursed over the course of the programs' existence, including loans to banks that came to the Fed for money multiple times.