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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

The Next Fed Chairman? And 1930 ...

by Calculated Risk on 6/23/2009 08:48:00 AM

A couple of morning stories ...

From Bloomberg: Bernanke Set to Defend Record as Reappointment Debate Begins

Besides keeping Bernanke, Obama’s options include appointing Summers or Janet Yellen [San Francicso Fed President]

Summers, 54, a former Treasury secretary who heads Obama’s National Economic Council, is considered the front-runner should the president want a change. San Francisco Fed President Yellen, 62, was previously a Fed governor and chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers ....

Summers wants the job, Senator Robert Bennett of Utah [said]. Asked if he would support Summers for Fed chairman, Bennett said: “I am told that Larry would very much like me to. I would have no objection to Larry.”
And Paul Krugman directs us to a site tracking the news from 1930 day by day. A couple quotes from June 23, 1930:
Col. Ayres, VP Cleveland Trust, predicts an abrupt recovery in stock and commodity prices by Labor Day due to current consumption exceeding production. Distinguishes between two types of depression, “V”-shaped and “U”-shaped.
And heard on the Street:
“'Things are getting back to normal,' remarked the head of a Broadway house. 'Again the main topic of discussion among our customers is the 18th amendment.'” [Prohibition]