Stocks posted big gains after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank was ready to step in if the U.S. economy showed further signs of weakening.
The recession is ending and the economy is growing again. That’s the message implicit in the Fed's latest survey, which found economic activity stabilizing or improving in most regions.
President Obama has announced he wants Ben Bernanke to get a second four-year term as head of the Federal Reserve, praising his "calm and wisdom" in the face of a near financial collapse.
