Obama Boots Bernanke….Who will step up to the plate?

We spoke at the beginning of this year (here) that Ben Bernanke’s term would be over in early 2014 and there would be much talk on his continued service or not.

Missing Jackson Hole

Bernanke’s announcement that he would not attend one of the many but important FED meetings in Jackson Hole Wyoming was our first signal. While not mandatory, attendance is certainly expected at the Jackson Hole FED meeting.

Obama Gives Big Ben the Boot

Recently president Obama in a Charlie Rose interview completely tossed Bernanke under the bus with a comment of most notably “He has stayed longer than necessary” Yikes, to us his fate was sealed at that moment and while President Obama’s statement was possibly without tact, the point was made.

All Eyes on the Successor

At this time it appears Janet Yellen is the leading candidate, but there is a lot of political ground to be covered before the transition. At our Axel Merk Roundtable event, Merk stated Yellen would make Bernanke look like a hawk, meaning more stimulus over less in the future. We will see! With the US FOMC chairman being one of the most powerful positions in the US and debatably the world, we expect a lot of conversation and debates between now and early 2014.

Have a Great Day!

John Kvale

PS A travel day today…but back tomorrow !