Spotlight on Ben Bernanke

The focus of the markets today will be Ben Bernanke's speech at a banker's conference in Jackson Hole. Investors have held their breath for days in anticipation.

The waiting also has been one of the primary catalysts in stock market movement this week. Experts see the results of Bernanke's comments as binary. If he supports more bond purchases by the Fed, known as QE3, the markets will react well. If he says the Fed wants to watch jobs and GDP numbers in advance of a decision, the markets will react negatively, as many investors already see the economy as being in dire straights.

And the downward pressure on the economy can only be made worse by the fiscal cliff at the end of 2012.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Economy, Rumors