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| Ben Bernanke faces questions from Congress on economy – US politics live | Ben Bernanke faces questions from Congress on economy – US politics live |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| 10.31am: Asked in more detail about what the Fed could do to achieve further stimulus. Ben Bernanke replies, eventually: | |
| I recognise that rates are quite low so that is clearly a consideration. We do have tools that do let us have further accomodation in the economy and do offer some support. | |
| "Monetary policy is not a panacea," Bernanke goes on, and remarks that "it would be much better" to have broad based policy – meaning that Congress should get off it's ass. That's not quite how Bernanke puts it howevere: "I'd be much more comfortable if Congress would take some of the burden off us." | |
| 10.27am: Question time for Ben Bernanke, and Senator Joe Lieberman unloads all the big questions straight off the bat: China's interest rate move, the ECB's lack of action, and what is the Fed going to do about the economy in the wake of the dismal employment figures. | |
| Is that all? | |
| Bernanke answers directly – to a degree – on the Fed's next action, and offers a small hint that something may well be done at the FOMC's next meeting towards the end of this month. But he says that changes in short-term interest rates aren't an option (given that they are effectively zero). | |
| 10.22am: Dominc Rushe gives his thoughts on recent comments by Bernanke's deputy, Janet Yellen: | |
| Yellen warned that "headwinds" - the Fed's most overused phrase these days - were holding back the US recovery, including the Euro woes. "I am convinced that scope remains for the FOMC (The Fed's action committee) to provide further policy accommodation either through its forward guidance or through additional balance-sheet actions," she said. | |
| Her comments add weight to a Wall Street Journal article earlier this week that said the Fed was considering further action to prop up the US's fragile recovery. | |
| 10.18am: Ben Bernanake's a little slow to get started, but we have his prepared testimony – the full text is here. | |
| One key quote that suggests further monetary easing isn't about to be launched in the absence of something dramatic: | |
| The situation in Europe poses significant risks to the US financial system and economy and must be monitored closely. As always, the Federal Reserve remains prepared to take action as needed to protect the US financial system and economy in the event that financial stresses escalate. | |
| Stating the bleeding obvious there – but no bones for the teenage scribblers who have been frothing at the mouth in recent weeks about the Fed's lack of action. | |
| Bernanke delivered a warning for his audience to act more aggressively on fiscal responsibility: | |
| At best, rapidly rising levels of debt will lead to reduced rates of capital formation, slower economic growth, and increased foreign indebtedness," he said. "At worst, they will provoke a fiscal crisis that could have severe consequences for the economy. | |
| 10am: The Guardian's Dominc Rushe sets the scene for Ben Bernanke's testimony to Congress this morning: | |
| Bernanke is speaking after a couple of good days on the US stock exchanges. The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 286.84 points, or 2.4%, at 12414.79 yesterday – it's second up day in a row adding to the largest two-day points and percentage gain since December 21, 2011. | |
| Today is off to a good start too with the Dow up over 100 points so far. Now lets see what impact Ben has. | |
| 9.45am: Ben Bernanke's testimony to Congress is the political highlight of the day, as the Federal reserve chairman is grilled by politicians over the state of the US economy. | |
| That's coming up shortly. In the meantime, here's Ryan Devereaux with a summary of developments: | |
| • Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke will pay a visit to Capitol Hill today to answer questions on the nation's economy. He is expected to be questioned about the economic crisis in Europe, and how that will impact on the US economy. In its late April forecasts the Fed brightened its predictions for 2012, anticipating more growth and lower unemployment than it had three months earlier. But since then job growth has slumped and stock prices have fallen. | |
| • There are signs of improvement in the nation's battered labour market. For the first time since April the number of Americans lining up for jobless benefits last week declined. According to the labour department, state unemployment benefits dropped 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 377,000. Claims had risen for four consecutive weeks prior to last week, while last month's jobless rate was 8.2%, well above the long-term historical average. | • There are signs of improvement in the nation's battered labour market. For the first time since April the number of Americans lining up for jobless benefits last week declined. According to the labour department, state unemployment benefits dropped 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 377,000. Claims had risen for four consecutive weeks prior to last week, while last month's jobless rate was 8.2%, well above the long-term historical average. |
| • President Barack Obama and the Democratic party raised $60m in May, outpacing their April fundraising total of $43.6m. The sum includes cash collected after Obama announced his support for same sex marriage. The president took to Twitter yesterday to say that the average donation he received was $54.94. | |
| 98% of the donations the campaign received in May were less than $250, and the average donation was $54.94. | 98% of the donations the campaign received in May were less than $250, and the average donation was $54.94. |
| So far the president and the Democratic party have collected $450m for their 2012 re-election campaign. Mitt Romney's campaign has yet to post its totals from last month. | |
| • A new CBS News/New York Times poll finds more than two-thirds of Americans want to see the Supreme Court overturn some or all of president Obama's signature healthcare law. Forty-one percent of respondents said they want to see the law overturned altogether, 27% wanted the justices to overturn the individual mandate and just 24% said they hoped the court "would keep the entire healthcare law in place." | |
| • Texas congressman Ron Paul has acknowledged that he will not have enough delegates to win the Republican presidential nomination. In a statement to his supporters last night Paul said: "When it is all said and done, we will likely have as many as 500 supporters as delegates on the Convention floor. That is just over 20%! And while this total is not enough to win the nomination, it puts us in a tremendous position to grow our movement and shape the future of the GOP!" With a highly organized base of deeply committed backers, Paul has managed to rack up a number of delegates in states he did not win. |