Ben Bernanke Tells All to the Money Honey

When he took over as Fed chair, Ben Bernanke said he hoped to provide clearer and more transparent guidance to financial markets than his predecessor, Alan Greenspan. We haven’t been impressed thus far. And now, this story:

Stock prices fell yesterday after CNBC, the financial news cable television network, reported that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said investors would be wrong to think the central bank has finished raising interest rates….

“Ben Bernanke … told me over the weekend the media and the markets got it wrong last week in speculating the Fed is done raising interest rates,” CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo said at about 3:15 p.m. during her afternoon program. “I asked him whether the markets got it right after his congressional testimony, and he said, flatly, no.”

Stock prices dropped sharply after Bartiromo’s description of a conversation she said she held with the new Fed chairman at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Saturday night.

Sounds like someone was having some pretty important conversation at the WHCA dinner! Our friendly banter with Tucker Carlson doesn’t have the same market-moving power.

The moral of the story: Bernanke is just as delphic and easily misunderstood as Greenspan. This is why he needs the comely Maria Bartiromo, a.k.a. “the Money Honey,” to clarify his remarks.

Our modest proposal: All future Fed chairs should get their own personal cable news hotties, to translate their pronouncements for the markets. This will markedly improve public understanding of our nation’s fiscal policy.

(Now that she didn’t get the White House spokesperson job, what’s Torie Clarke up to? As we’ve said before, we like her; she’s a real firecracker.)

Investors Misunderstood Bernanke Testimony, CNBC Anchor Says [WP]
Fed Emphasizes Inflation Fight [Reuters]

Earlier: Bernanke Just as Delphic and Inscrutable as Greenspan

READ MORE: alan greenspan, ben bernanke, cnbc, federal reserve board, maria bartiromo, victoria clarke