National

Economic Woes Test Bernanke's Leadership

By John Ydstie

Published January 25, 2008 at 1:00 PM PST

This story was published more than 16 years ago.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's ability to lead the Central Bank is being tested by the subprime mortgage crisis and the faltering economy. The interest rate cut earlier this week demonstrates that he's willing to make bold moves. But he's been criticized for acting too late.

NPR's John Ydstie has a profile of Bernanke and an assessment of his leadership at the Fed so far.

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National

John Ydstie

John Ydstie has covered the economy, Wall Street, and the Federal Reserve at NPR for nearly three decades. Over the years, NPR has also employed Ydstie's reporting skills to cover major stories like the aftermath of Sept. 11, Hurricane Katrina, the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. He was a lead reporter in NPR's coverage of the global financial crisis and the Great Recession, as well as the network's coverage of President Trump's economic policies. Ydstie has also been a guest host on the NPR news programs Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition. Ydstie stepped back from full-time reporting in late 2018, but plans to continue to contribute to NPR through part-time assignments and work on special projects.