John Berry
JOHN M. BERRY covered the Federal Reserve and the U.S. economy for the Washington Post for 25 years before leaving in 2004 to become a columnist for Bloomberg News. He left Bloomberg in 2009 to begin free lance writing including columns for Thomson Reuters. Over the years, his stories about the Fed frequently moved financial markets because he is widely recognized for his ability to interpret and explain the thinking of Federal Reserve officials, and for his knowledge of the American economy.
Before joining the Washington Post in 1979, he covered the Fed and the economy in Washington for Business Week, Time Magazine and Forbes Magazine, for which he was Washington bureau chief.
Berry began his journalism career with his hometown newspaper, the Johnson City (Tenn.) Press-Chronicle, after attending Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., where he was an economics major. From 1962 until 1965, he was a reporter and editor at the Providence (R.I.) Journal.
His work has also appeared in the International Herald-Tribune, Fortune, International Economy, Financier, Central Banking and other American and foreign publications.
Recent Stories By John Berry:
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Geithner: Euro Crisis Could Wreck the EconomyNovember 29, 2011
In a highly cautious assessment of the likely outcome of the sovereign debt crisis, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warned that without a speedy resolution the outcome could damage the entire...
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Fear, Frustration, and Division at the FedNovember 2, 2011
As Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke began a two-day policymaking session yesterday, he and his colleagues were split over what, if anything, they should do to bring down a jobless rate of over 9 percent...
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GOP War on the Fed Puts Bernanke on DefensiveOctober 18, 2011
Repeated Republican attacks on the Federal Reserve and Chairman Ben S. Bernanke have jarred Fed officials and prompted concern that the political assaults could undermine the central bank’s effort...
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Businesses Prime the Pump for a Big Growth SpurtOctober 4, 2011
In Wamego, Kan., Caterpillar Inc. is doing something that would surprise most people in this depressed economic time: It is adding 40,000 square feet to an already large factory complex to expand...
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Republicans are Playing Politics with the EconomySeptember 21, 2011
Congressional Republicans are intent, for purely political reasons, on making sure as little as possible is done to improve the sorely troubled U.S. economy before the 2012 elections. Under the...
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Bernanke Feels the Heat but Can't Put Out the FireSeptember 13, 2011
In many ways, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke did more to prevent a modern- day Great Depression than either the Bush or Obama administrations. Bernanke used the central bank’s routine...
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Bernanke Feels the Heat but Can't Put Out the FireSeptember 13, 2011
In many ways, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke did more to prevent a modern- day Great Depression than either the Bush or Obama administrations. Bernanke used the central bank’s routine...
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How Raising the Gas Tax Could Jumpstart the EconomyAugust 16, 2011
As President Obama renews his focus on fixing the economy and the new deficit “super committee” gears up for action next month – it must cut the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion over the next 10...
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No Light Ahead as Fed Holds Rates for Two More YearsAugust 10, 2011
By pledging to keep its target overnight interest rates close to zero for the next two years, Ben Bernanke and other Federal Reserve Board officials signaled on Tuesday their harsh assessment that...
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Investors Flock to Treasuries and Gold as Safe HavensAugust 8, 2011
Standard & Poor’s continued to roil the markets Monday by downgrading the credit ratings of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and other agencies linked to long-term U.S. debt. This comes on the heels...
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Bernanke Forced to Do A Little More Magic, AgainAugust 5, 2011
Sharp declines in both stock prices and longer-term interest rates and a string of weak economic reports have raised new fears the economy could slip back into recession – if it hasn’t already....
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The GOP 'Scorched Earth' PolicyAugust 4, 2011
Call it a “scorched Earth” policy. Republicans in Congress are so intent on getting everything they want they are prepared to impose enormous costs on the country in pursuit of their goals. Sometimes...