Bernanke to meet the press

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

When Ben Bernanke makes history today as the first Federal Reserve chief to begin a series of regular news conferences, his tasks will be simple. That doesn’t mean they’ll be easy:

Make no unintended news. Defuse critics of Fed policymaking. Say nothing that might spook investors.

The historic news conference, the first of three this year, is part of a long-standing Bernanke campaign to make the central bank more transparent and publicly accessible.