Americans are upset about what they feel was a bailout of irresponsible banks and their senators brought that message to Washington, with Senator Jim Burning (R-Ky) claiming that “A vote for Ben Bernanke is a vote for bailouts.”

While I understand Senator Burning’s comment, I don’t agree with it, or just about any other opposition to confirmation of a second term for Bernanke. By the time Bernanke took over the Fed in 2006, the housing crisis was already far past the point of no return. That may not be known to most Americans, but it’s absolutely clear to any of us who were waist-deep in the real estate and mortgage businesses and saw the foundation being laid for the current state of the economy as far back as 2000. Mortgage lending in the United States came to a screeching halt in 2007; it’s unlikely Bernanke could have done much to avert the crisis, even if he’d recognized and began implementing counter measures his first day in office. That said, Bernanke takes responsibility for not recognizing the extent to which the problem had grown by the time he took office and for not acting sooner.

What many Americans, and of course their soon-to-be-up-for-re-election Senators are upset about is what they perceive as Bernanke’s “bailout” of the very same banks that got us into this mess in the first place. While I absolutely agree that banks shouldn’t be “bailed out” when they take actions that lead to their own demise, I can’t agree that the actions the Fed took in early 2009 could be considered a bailout of those irresponsible banks. Did those banks get something they probably didn’t deserve? Sure. But the bottom line is that the extent of the economic damage would have been far worse had we allowed those banks to fail.

There were a lot of regulation problems that allowed those banks to get as large as they did and to be in a position to drag down the economy in the event they failed, but the stage was set long before Bernanke took office. His so-called “bailout” of wall street was really just the lesser of two evils…either let those banks fail and plunge the economy even deeper into financial meltdown or prevent those banks from failing and lessen the blow.

I’ve heard Bernanke say that he didn’t like the choices that were available to him at the time, but he feels the Fed took the correct action considering it’s options; and I have to agree with him.

All we can hope moving forward is that there are regulations put in place that prevent such a situation from happening in the first place. But as far as Bernanke’s performance goes, I think he made the best choices considering his options at the time and any senator who claims Bernanke didn’t act in the best interest of our economy either is either completely clueless about how the economy works or is pandering to his constituents for re-election.

Source: MSNBC

Don’t take my word for it. As I write this article, the stock market has had a dramatic move up. In fact, over the past 7 days, there have been triple digit gains in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. As I watch the financial news channels, nearly all of the stories talk about how the recent economic downturn may be over and recovery and prosperity may be here to stay.

This isn’t the first time that the stock market has run up fast. In early 2009, the market had a 30% run up in value in a short period of time. One particular day, the financial reporters talked at length about how the recession may be over. The next day, less than 24 hours after the stories of happy days are here again, the stock market dropped in value. It was a big drop. Triple digits, in fact.

To say that nobody expected this to happen would not be true. Everybody knows that there are always temporary bumps in the road. In fact, sometimes they are large and dramatic corrections. What were stories about the recession that was no more, in less than 24 hours, turned in to stories about how bad the economy was and how we were all fooled by the latest bull market.

Analysts filled the websites and airwaves with stories about how the economy was entering another period of free fall and investors would be well advised to take their money out of the market and ride out the storm.

Don’t forget that while responsible journalism is to report the facts, gaining and keeping viewers and readers is big business. Getting top advertising rates depends on the number of viewers.

I watch the financial networks each day and gain valuable information from them but as an investor I also recognize that creating emotional stories that sound an alarm will keep the viewers coming back. My investing decisions need to be made through my own research or the opinion of somebody who has gained my trust over a long period of time.

Here’s the bottom line. I know many people who invest based on what the guest commentators on the financial networks have to say. Sometimes it works out well but other times they lose money and feel betrayed. Take the knowledge that you gain from the news and add it to the list of facts to consider. Don’t make decisions based on it.

The Kentucky Derby is the longest running sports event in American history. Now, a cherished pastime is a multi-billion dollar industry. From the champions to the big business of on-line betting, the Run for the Roses has become the icon of American horse racing.

CNBC Originals takes you inside the winner’s circle where legends are born and millions are made.

Catch the special tonight, Thursday, April 30th at 9pm eastern time. If you miss it tonight, check your local listings as CNBC always runs these specials several times over the following days.

From CNBC.

CNBC takes you aboard a city at sea where passengers are enticed to spend big money…but can this fast growing segment of the travel industry navigate the rough seas of a slumping economy and stay afloat? Correspondent Peter Greenberg takes you cruising for profits.

Check your local listings for showtimes.

I lived in California for several years and had no idea that people were growing it in their back yards in the Northern Part of the state, with little, if any resistance from law enforcement. Learn more about what they call the “Marijuana Triangle” tonight on CNBC. Check your local listing for showtimes.

From the CNBC website:

While it may not be traded on Wall Street any time soon, marijuana has become a booming cash crop. CNBC’s Trish Regan goes behind the scenes to explore the inner workings of this secretive industry, focusing on Northern California’s “Emerald Triangle,” now the marijuana capital of the U.S. In this scenic pocket of America, the pot business, much of it legal under state law, now makes up as much as two-thirds of the local economy.

Marijuana Inc [CNBC.com]

Both republicans and democrats seem to be waving flags of surrender and going for the idea of nationalization in droves. According to Republican Lindsey Graham, “We cannot keep pouring good money after bad. If nationalization works, then we should do it.” Ouch.

According to Greenspan, government ownership in the banks would allow the transfer of toxic assets to a bad bank without the problem of how to price them.

Greenspan’s comments came as President Obama signed into law the $787 billion stimulus package and announced another $50 billion in spending for home foreclosure relief.

Regardless of what happens as a result of all the recovery efforts, it’s pretty clear that this will be the defining period of Obama’s presidency.

December Unemployment at 7.2%

December’s jobless rate came in at 7.2%, up 0.4% from November’s 6.8% rate. December’s number marks the highest unemployment rate in nearly 16 years.

November, October Job Losses Revised

November’s job losses were revised to show a 533,000 loss, and October’s numbers were revised to 423,000 from 320,000.

December Job Losses: 524,000

December saw 524,000 jobs lost, bringing the total reduction in U.S. non-farm payrolls in the four months through December to 1.9 million. The services sector got hit the hardest with a staggering 273,000 jobs lost, contributing a great deal to the 524,000 total.

2008 Totals:

Total jobs lost for 2008: 2.6 million. That number represents the largest decline since 1945.

Forecasts saw the numbers to be a bit better, ranging from 250,000 to 550,000 jobs lost.

Important to note, however, is that December is the first month the ADP has implemented a new methodology, which is supposed to provide a more accurate picture of the labor market.

According to Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, “The new methodology uses the raw ADP figures, plus data on jobless claims and previous payrolls, to model current payrolls, resulting in a much smaller error compared with the previous method which relied solely on the ADP figures.”

While this is so, spokemsan for the ADP report, Joel Prakken, told CNBC that the economy is struggling at a pace not seen since 1981 or perhaps even World War II.

According to the report, the goods-producing sector saw employment declines hit 220,000, the 23rd consecutive monthly decline. The manufacturing sector saw job losses reaching 120,000, marking the 27th month of decline out of the previous 28 months.

Firms with 500 or more employees saw a drop of 91,000 for the month, medium-sized firms saw 321,000 jobs lost, and small firms (those with less than 50 workers) saw a drop of 281,000.

Construction saw its 21st month of continuous decline at 102,000 jobs lost for the month.

ADP National Employment Report

Ringleader Matt Cox made off with around $12 million and, in a telephone interview with CNBC, explains the details of his crime.

Check out CNBCs American Greed site here. Their site lists showtime at 9p | 1a ET, but I’m on the east coast and my guide has it listed at 10:00pm, so you may want to set your DVR so you don’t miss it, or check your guide.

Mat Cox - Mortgage Broker & Ringleader

Alison Arnold - The Ex-Girlfriend

Rebecca Hauck - Partner-in-crime