Depression Fears Subside on Bernanke Remarks, Rally in Stocks

By Christopher Anstey and Scott Lanman

March 16 (Bloomberg) -- The longest winning streak in U.S. stocks since November and reassuring comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke are soothing concern that the U.S. is headed for its first depression in seven decades.

“The financial meltdown and accompanying depression scenario has been taken off the table,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Chicago-based Harris Private Bank, which oversees $60 billion. “The heart of the problem is the banking system, and news coming out of that sector suggests that we may have turned a corner.”

Banks from Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. to Barclays Plc indicated in the past week that earnings have been rising since the start of the year, and government data showed U.S. retail sales may be stabilizing after a six-month rout. With officials working on details of their bank-rescue plan, Bernanke said in an interview with CBS television’s 60 Minutes that the main risk is a shortage of political will to complete the task.

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