U.S. Consumers Stumble Over Bernanke's "Transitory Inflation" Claim

In the first-ever press conference by the U.S. Federal Reserve, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke tackled a handful of eager reporter questions about why he continues to think rising inflation does not warrant a change in interest rates. The Fed announced Wednesday after a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) that it would keep its record-low interest rates between 0.00% and 0.25% "for an extended period." Bernanke stressed to reporters that "longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable and measures of underlying inflation are still subdued," and Fed policies would keep "transitory inflation" under control.