Bernanke repeats financial markets

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated his opinion that "at this stage conditions in financial markets are still far from normal."



Liquidity is better in several market segments and the Fed's interventions have helped relieve much stress, he told a Bank for International Settlements conference in Basel, Switzerland by videoconference.The Fed chairman was largely repeating a speech he gave May 13 to an Atlanta Fed conference. Back then, he said that although improving, at this stage conditions in financial markets are still far from normal.In today’s conference, he also said that the Fed stood ready to expand its liquidity-providing facilities, the Term Auction Facility for banks in particular, if financial market difficulties demand it. Much of Bernanke's speech was devoted to explaining the extraordinary expansion of direct Fed lending to Wall Street in the wake of the credit crisis. He reiterated that the Fed’s decision to shepherd and help finance takeover of Bear Stearns by JP Morgan Chase was aimed to prevent a much broader liquidity crisis.