Every August, the world's financial markets shift their attention from the centers of global commerce to a mountain valley in northwest Wyoming. On Friday, they will hear a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. So how did Jackson Hole, Wyo., come to wield such outsize importance in global economic affairs?
Federal Reserve officials spoke with increased urgency at their last meeting about the need to provide more help for a weak U.S. economy. Many members felt further support would be needed "fairly soon" unless the economy improved significantly, the minutes of the July 31-Aug. 1 meeting show.
Here's a quick primer on the Fed, why you never want a central bank to have to do anything, and the reason why we all hang on Ben Bernanke's every word.
Some investors have been running scared after the quake and tsunami that devastated parts of Japan and left it with an ongoing nuclear crisis. But when there's gloom in the air, there's also opportunity to buy on the dip and gain from the rebound.
Speaking at the Federal Reserve's annual symposium in Wyoming, chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. central bank is prepared to undertake another round of extraordinary measures should the prognosis for the economy get worse.
In his second day of testimony, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reasserted the central bank's commitment to act if the the U.S. economy slows substantially or grows too quickly, risking rising inflation.