Ben Bernanke, Interest Rate | featured news

Chairman Ben Bernanke offered a wide-ranging defense Monday of the Federal Reserve's aggressive policies to stimulate the still-weak economy. The Fed needs to drive down long-term borrowing rates because the economy isn't growing fast enough to reduce high unemployment, Bernanke said in a speech to the Economic Club of Indiana. The unemployment rate is 8.1 percent.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Wednesday that a weak job market and low inflation would likely allow the central bank to keep interest rates at very low levels for a long time.

Bernanke detailed the Fed's strategy to tighten credit, indicating the rate paid to banks on excess reserves may for a time replace the fed funds rate as the main policy tool.

Despite the positive signs, Ben S. Bernanke told lawmakers, the labor market remains weak, and interest rates will likely remain low for some time.