US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, a respected Princeton professor before heading off to Washington, is finding that the nation's financial markets can be tough graders. He also is demonstrating that he can be a quick learner.
Going into Tuesday's meeting of the Federal Reserve's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, Bernanke was failing to make the grade in the eyes of many on Wall Street. In contrast to his venerable predecessor Alan Greenspan, who gained rock star status during nearly two decades at the Fed, Bernanke was seen as too cautious, especially at a time of crisis like the current turbulence in financial markets.
Then with one stroke, Bernanke turned the jeers into cheers. He got unanimous agreement among his colleagues to cut the federal funds rate for the first time in four years, and not by the quarter point that had been expected but by a much bolder one-half point.
The bigger rate cut sent stocks soaring with the Dow Jones industrial average skyrocketing by 336.05 points, its biggest one-day point gain in nearly five years.
In the eyes of investors, Bernanke had gone from a failing grade to doing OK in the handling of his first major test since taking over the top Fed job in February last year.
Bernanke, whose specialty as an economics professor was monetary policy, demonstrated that he has learned one key thing from watching Greenspan. If you find your policy is wrong, don't stay wrong too long.
During his long tenure at the Fed, Greenspan on more than one occasion was called upon to reverse course suddenly because of changing economic data. The fact that Greenspan was able to guide the country through its longest economic expansion in history and only endured two mild recessions during two decades was proof of the success of his nimble footwork.
Since the last Fed meeting, Bernanke has shown his own touches of dexterity.
At the Aug. 7 meeting, the Fed generated groans among investors when it seemed to dismiss the emerging problems in credit markets and the deepening housing slump by saying that the risks to growth had only been ``increased somewhat.''
In the days immediately following that meeting, financial market instability increased significantly with the announcement by BNP Paribas, France's largest bank, that it was suspending withdrawals from three investment funds, raising worries about just how far-reaching the fallout would be from rising defaults on subprime mortgages in the US.
Responding to plunging markets, the Fed first pledged to supply as much money to the banking system as needed to make sure all institutions could meet their obligations. Then the next week, on Aug. 17, it cut the discount rate, the interest the Fed charges for direct loans to banks, by a one-half point and encouraged banks to use the window as much as necessary to meet their obligations.
However, it left the federal funds rate unchanged at 5.25 percent, where it has been since June last year.
Some believed Bernanke was hesitating to use the funds rate because he did not want to be seen as bailing out investors such as hedge funds that made bad bets in such areas as mortgage-backed securities.
For that reason, many believed Bernanke would exhibit the caution he has shown in his 19 months as Fed chairman at Tuesday's meeting by cutting the funds rate only by a quarter-point. The surprising half-point move was seen by some as evidence that the Fed is more worried about a possible recession, especially after last month's employment report showed the economy lost jobs for the first time in four years.
There was certainly growing political pressure on the Fed to act, coming publicly from such Democrats as Representative Barney Frank, chairman of the Financial Services Committee of the House of Representatives.
While the Bush administration has maintained its customary line that it will not comment on Fed monetary policy because of the Fed's independent status, there is little doubt that Republicans hoping to hold onto the presidency in next year's elections did not relish the possibility that the country could be in a recession at this time next year when voters are getting ready to select their next president.
But the major factor governing Bernanke's decision to opt for the half-point move could have been that he wanted to challenge the prevailing view on Wall Street that he was not able to respond with sufficient boldness when the situation called for it.
And while the move was Bernanke's first funds rate cut, analysts believe it is not likely to be the last, especially if the credit squeeze claims more victims and financial markets remain turbulent.
But as a good professor, Bernanke knows that the final grade depends on the quality of the course work. For Bernanke, the final exam will be whether the country avoids a recession.
Martin Crutsinger has covered economics and the US Federal Reserve for The Associated Press since 1984.
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