Bernanke's Job Security Hardly Assured

Economists give Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke a passing grade for his efforts to fight the nation’s financial crisis, but that doesn’t guarantee he’ll keep his job when his appointment expires in 2010, reports the Wall Street Journal. President-elect Barack Obama may have a Fed-chief-in-waiting in Lawrence Summers, the outspoken former Treasury secretary who will head his National Economic Council.

The policies pushed through by Bernanke to deal with the crisis could also play a role in his status; if the economy isn’t perceived to be on the upswing by this time next year, he could be out. “Bernanke has done a good job in very difficult circumstances,” said one economist. (More financial crisis stories.)