Fed Chairman

Ben Bernanke says declines in home prices have forced many Americans to cut back sharply on spending warns that the trend could continue to weigh on the economy for years. The Federal Reserve chairman drew the connection between home values and consumer spending, which fuels 70 percent of economic activity, on Friday during a speech to the National Association of Home Builders in Orlando.

The U.S. must act to rein in its massive budget deficits or face the risk of a bond market crisis, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said Sunday. If deficits begin to frighten the bond market, interest rates will rise, undermining the recovery, and possibly causing a double-dip recession.

Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan is calling for the complete repeal of the Bush tax cuts, a position that goes further than that of the White House. President Obama advocates keeping tax rates steady for all but the richest Americans.

Love him or hate him, Ben Bernanke, also known as Time magazine's Man of the Year, is likely headed for a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve after the Senate Banking Committee gave him the thumbs up by a vote of 16 - 7 on Thursday.

Although there are still several months remaining before Federal Reserve Chairman Benjamin Bernanke's term expires, the debate about whether or not President Obama will replace him is already heating up. One Fed insider has stated that "the vultures are circling," though it seems likely that...