Finally Some Optimism And Hope Among The Doom And Gloom, Fed Chair Bernanke Says "Reasonable Prospect" Recession Will End In 2009

Thank you Fed Chair Bernanke for giving the markets and Americans something to look forward to, quite unlike President Apocolypto and Treasury Secretary Market Killer.




Hope and optimism moves markets.

The Associated Press Reports:

NEW YORK (AP) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has reassured Wall Street by telling Congress the recession might end this year.

In his semiannual report to the Senate Banking Committee, Bernanke predicted the economy is likely to keep contracting in the first six months of 2009. But he also said "there is a reasonable prospect" the recession will end this year. He warned that a recovery will require getting credit and financial markets to operate normally.

While Bernanke's assessment of the economy helped ease some pressure on the market, it also came after days of heavy selling that left the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 index near 12-year lows, so a bounce in stocks wasn't a surprise. Stocks made cheaper by the selloff attracted bargain-hunting traders. Also, some, better-than-expected quarterly numbers from Home Depot Inc. helped cool some anxiety about the economy.