Ben Bernanke's nomination by US President Barack Obama to serve as the country's Federal Reserve Chairman for a second term has won wide acknowledgement. However, challenges facing the nation's most powerful economic policymaker remain tough.
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Photo dated on May 5, 2009 shows US Federal Reserve's Chairman Ben Bernanke testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. [Xinhua]
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Wide spread support
During a break from his vacation on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, Obama made the announcement and praised Bernanke for aggressively pulling the economy from the brink, saying the 55-year-old Fed chief tackled the crisis "with bold action and outside-the-box thinking" that helped limit the damage.
Obama said that "the actions we have taken to stabilize our financial system, repair our credit markets, restructure our auto industry, and pass a recovery package have all been steps of necessity, not choice."
Recent data showed that the US economy is on the verge of recovery. Olivier Blanchard, chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, said about one week ago that the US economy has started to recover.
In last week's annual meeting on macroeconomic policies, Bernanke also noted that the US economy is "leveling out".
Still, the nascent recovery needs cautious nurturing.
Apart from acknowledging Bernanke's work to tackle the financial crisis and economic recession, Obama's decision also aimed to maintain continuity in the country's economic policy in a time of crisis. To do otherwise could have jeopardized the still-fragile recovery in which Bernanke played a central role.
Christopher Dodd, Senate Banking Committee Chairman, said in a statement "While I have had serious differences with the Federal Reserve over the past few years, I think reappointing Chairman Bernanke is probably the right choice."
Bernanke's re-nomination "will bring continuity to the Federal Reserve that will send the right signal to the marketplace," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Wall Street has given almost unanimous approval to Bernanke's nomination. According to a recent survey by The Wall Street Journal in August, 42 out of 43 economists surveyed agreed that Bernanke should stay as the number one economic policy maker.
