August 27 Bernanke Offers Economic Pep Talk, No Actions (Global Association of Risk Professionals site)

By not giving in to financial market hopes of more support, Bernanke may have won some additional credibility, suggested Dean Croushore, a former Fed economist who's the chairman of the economics department at the University of Richmond in Virginia.

"They're not going to jump into some action because the market got spooked by the debt ceiling debate. This is what the Fed should do, and if people are nervous they should say, 'I think the long-run prospects are fine,' "Croushore said, highlighting exactly what the Fed chief did.

"Slow growth is to be expected, and we don't want to panic in terms of things that are not well thought out."