Wall Street Strategies submits:Admittedly, while I wanted more honesty from Ben Bernanke, there is always a price to pay for the things we ask for. Although the Federal Reserve Chairman made what are obvious comments, the fact he had to take the shine off his previously glossy assessments of the economy was unnerving. In other words, we like it when Big Ben lies to us; we are human, after all. There seems to be a suggestion the economic rally baton can be handed off to household and business spending as fiscal policy and inventory restocking will not provide the same oomph. The big problem, or "drag" as the Fed chief put it in his opening statement, emanates from a lack of jobs. Judging the average of 100,000 jobs gained per month in private payroll (no word on those saved and created jobs) as "insufficient" to reduce the unemployment rate materially only told us what we knew. But we were able to suspend the thought from time to time even as our unemployed brother-in-law keeps blowing up our cell phone. Hey, he was bumming money even when he had a job. In a week with heavy debate over extending unemployment benefits with paying for them, Bernanke underscored the harsh reality that those chronically unemployed (about half of total unemployed) face erosion of skills which makes future employment opportunities more difficult. That stuff didn't send the market lower; however, it was the tone of the testimony which makes it seem as if the Fed is confused, and maybe even frustrated. There were comments on Europe and its economic crisis being something of a wildcard, but it's clear those early victory laps were premature. Complete Story »
