The Federal Reserve's response to the crisis in the housing market was Chairman Ben Bernanke's biggest move since he took office a year and a half ago. It comes in a week of intense publicity about his predecessor Alan Greenspan.
David Wessel, Economics Editor for The Wall Street Journal says Chairman Bernanke was under pressure to "not" cut interest rates in order to protect his reputation. He doesn't want to be seen as someone who will protect investors from bad decisions. But Bernanke had greater pressure to make a rate cut, Wessel said, because the economy was at risk and the lives of consumers would be disrupted if he didn't do anything. Wessel speaks with Renee Montagne.
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