A big piece of not so surprising news was released today; president Obama has decided to nominate Ben Bernanke for a second term as fed chairman. This is a sad day indeed, as Mr. Bernanke’s financial shenanigans have caused many economic analysts and market pundits much consternation.

Frankly, Mr. Bernanke has as been outright dishonest about his financial policy. He has continuously revoked Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests by several news organizations claiming that the Federal Reserve is above the law, and that the FOIA doesn’t apply to him or the Fed.

There is some good news however. According to my sources, Congressman Ron Paul has started an “audit the Fed” campaign to see just what chariman Bernanke is doing with your money. Of course, the comatose Barney Frank will not let the bill out of committee to be voted upon, but that may soon change.

A federal judge ruled that

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Do you remember the first time you saw a rain drenched Peter Finch scream, “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!”? We do. We were too young to see Network in the cinema (the movie came out the year we were born: 1976). Instead, we watched it late one night on TV. And we’ll never forget the moment when Finch’s character, news anchor Howard Beale, arrives in the television studio in his tan raincoat with a deranged look on his face and begins to speak to camera.

I don’t have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It’s a depression. Everybody’s out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel’s worth; banks are going bust; shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter; punks are running wild in the street, and there’s nobody anywhere who seems ...

After stock markets have held up bravely in the face of the credit crises and mounting economic woes, a combination of renewed concerns about the financial sector, a record-breaking spurt in the oil price, and a rotten unemployment number claimed their toll on Friday, triggering a sharp sell-off in most parts of the world.

“Today was a bona fide panic day. They threw ‘em in,” said Richard Russell, author of the Dow Theory Letters for the past 50 years. The bears were out in force, as personified by Bill King (The King Report): “The technicals, seasonals, fundamentals and financial system conditions are negative. And now the Fed

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Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is trying to support the dollar, making rare statements on Tuesday about how the weak dollar has contributed to inflation, and that the Fed is closely monitoring the dollar. Bernanke went on to repeat his inflation concerns while speaking at Harvard University yesterday, saying that “some indicators of longer-term inflation expectations have risen in recent months, which is a significant concern for the Federal Reserve. We will need to monitor that situation closely." Interestingly enough, his comments come at a time when my models have been forecasting a bounce in the buck, and a short-term correction in gold, oil and other natural resources. So Bernanke’s unconvincing attempt to support the dollar comes as no surprise to me. These moves tend to happen at normal turning points in the market, which proves once again that it’s not the news that drives the markets necessarily, but it’s the ...

MarketWatch bullish pundit states: “…if it weren’t for the financial news, the market would be doing pretty well right now.” And, he added, “In the bigger picture technology has less exposure to the financial issue going on, and people are still optimistic for a recovery of some degree.”

Bernanke chimed in with more “happy talk” saying that the economy has dealt with the oil price shock comparatively well. How are you folks dealing with it?

You know, being a pundit or a Fed chairman for that matter, is tough work. I don’t think I’d like to be called on to forecast anything.

Volume is picking up again and breadth is mixed with the NASDQ positive with big tech names leading once again. [Dave’s Daily reader Giorgio was kind enough to help the old Fryguy out with this suggestion–Barchart in lieu …

In a speech this morning at an international monetary conference in Spain, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke took the unusual step of speaking out on the dollar saying that the central bank is “attentive” to the weak U.S. dollar and that it has contributed to an “unwelcome rise” in inflation. He went on to say that over time, Fed policy will be a key factor “ensuring that the dollar remains a strong, stable currency.”For some reason the markets were surprised by this. I wasn’t. What else did they expect him to say? That he supports a weak dollar? Of course not. Central bankers can talk about how they are going to control inflation, and not let it get out of hand, but their actions will be entirely different. Regardless of what Bernanke says, our own Federal Reserve wants the dollar pushed lower and as much asset inflation as possible because it’s …