Second Round Of Joint Economic Committee Testimony Begins

[DailyFx]

After Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke delivered his prepared statements and answered a long string of question this morning before the Joint Economic Committe, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has stepped up to take answer Congresses questions. This morning, Bernanke repeated the urgency in passing the proposed $700 billion blank check the Treasury would need to buy illiquid debt from financial institutions without regulation and second guessing. There is a clear sense of hesistation among policy makers to pass the bills and suggestions for alterations (like Senator Schumer's suggestion for approving only $150 billion initially). Nonetheless, Bernanke and Paulson are adament in the necessity of their original plan. However, the stalled progress of the plan has clearly leaked into price action in the currency market. The rebound in high yielding currencies like the Australian dollar, New Zealand dollar and British pound has stalled while the US currency has leveled off. More attuned to the directionless markets, carry trades have also been retracing their gains and are generally falling into congestion until some resolution is found.