Nomination draws attention to powerful position of Fed chief.

Publication: The Dallas Morning News (Dallas, Texas) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News)

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COPYRIGHT 2005 The Dallas Morning News

Byline: Angela Shah

Oct. 25--Ben Bernanke's nomination to replace Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan is more than a passing of the torch amid Washington power corridors.

For Americans who own homes and 401(k) retirement plans, use a credit card or buy imported goods, the Fed chief influences some of the most personal aspects of their financial lives.

"When the Federal Reserve acts, average Americans react," said James Galbraith, an economist at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.

"When rates go down, people refinance their homes, they go out and buy cars," he added. "It's a position which can have an enormous impact on people's lives."

That has never been truer than...

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