Bernanke Back To Work As Stocks Slide

It’s back to business for Ben Bernanke.  The Federal Reserve Chairman now starts his second term.

The vote ended overwhelmingly in Bernanke’s favor Thursday by a 70-30 margin.  The vote was made just three days before Bernanke’s first term was scheduled to end.  The Federal Reserve Chairman won his confirmation by one of the smallest margins of all time for a Fed chairman.

Wall Street didn’t fare as well as Washington.  The Dow ended at its lowest level since the start of the New Year at 10,120 after losing 115.70 points.  The NASDAQ lost 42.41 points, down 1.91%, while the S&P lost 12.97 points.

Stock declines were broad based with 24 of 30 Dow components falling.