Stocks Up on Bernanke Remarks; Focus Now on Obama

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has given Wall Street a double dose of reassurance. Now it's President Barack Obama's turn.

In one of my political science classes today, part of the discussion turned to the idea of the nationalization of banks. A lot of my students expressed concern over the idea of nationalization. Even my resident Marxist folks had problems with the idea of the US buying up banks in order to "save" them. In that light, there's some good news from the Associated Press "Stocks up on Bernanke remarks; focus now on Obama":

Bernanke told Congress on Tuesday the recession might end this year, and that regulators aren't planning to nationalize banks. The news alleviated some of investors' worries about the economy and the banking industry, and lifted the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index off their lowest levels since 1997.

And investors are hopeful that Tuesday night, Obama will provide specifics about his plans to stabilize the financial system and further stimulate the economy. Anticipation of his remarks helped drive beaten-down financial shares up sharply.

The ball's now in your court President Obama. You can lead the country and give people a reason to have hope in the economy, or you can continue on your recent course and ignore the worries and concerns of many Americans. (See my article "Barack Obama, the Gallup Poll, Wall Street and Dow Jones.")