Bail-outs Ben has hit the road to make his excuses
THE latest star on America's talk show circuit is Ben Bernanke, the once-taciturn Federal Reserve chairman with the Joy of Sex beard.
Bernanke has descended from his financial Olympus to demystify the Fed and himself. Given his role in doling out hundreds of billions of dollars to support the United States banking system, and possibly impoverishing generations of Americans in the process, it was the least he could do.
Over the past week, he has taken reporters around his home town, Dillon, South Carolina, written some actually readable newspaper commentary explaining his decisions and appeared in a televised town hall-style meeting in Kansas City, Missouri.
When one man asked angrily why the Fed had bailed out Wall Street banks while appearing to ignore small companies, Bernanke's response was surprising: "I'm as disgusted by it as you are. Nothing made me more angry than having to intervene, particularly in a few cases where companies took wild bets."
For a career academic, Bernanke has turned into an adroit politician, steeled by the recent events. The Fed is more powerful than ever and Bernanke will have to work to justify his reappointment by President Obama in January.
By hitting the road and making his case, he will be building up a useful store of personal capital.
If it was Wall Street's call, he would be Fed chief forever. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase ought to put up statues to him. His decision to offer them cheap credit is a major reason for their blow-out profits this past quarter.
Warren Buffett has agreed to become a cartoon character in a new online series for children. In Secret Millionaire's Club, Buffett will act as mentor to a group of children who set up a sweet store. Buffett will record his own voiceovers for the show. He says he hopes to instil good financial habits in six-to-11-year-olds, warn them off credit cards, and make the point that "the best investment you can make is in yourself".
TIM Geithner, the Treasury Secretary, is feeling the pain of America's housing woes. In 2004, he paid $1.6 million (£971,000) for a house in Mamaroneck, a suburb of New York. Last year, when he moved to Washington, he put it on the market for just above what he paid. In May, he dropped the price to just under $1.6 million. Still no takers. Now he's renting it out for $7500 a month, which doesn't even cover his mortgage and property taxes.
