Bernanke renominated as Fed chief

Obama interrupted his vacation on the Massachusetts island of Martha8217;s Vineyard to make the brief announcement with Bernanke,55,at his side.

8220;Ben approached a financial system on the verge of collapse with calm and wisdom; with bold action and outside-the-box thinking that has helped put the brakes on our economic freefall,8221; Obama said.

Bernanke8217;s four-year term expires in January and the president had not been expected to make an announcement until later this year.

Critics said the announcement had been timed to deflect attention from less market-friendly news on the government8217;s budget deficit,but an Obama aide denied this.

8220;There has been a considerable amount of speculation in the marketplace,both in the market and among observers of the Fed,and going into the fall the president wanted to end that speculation,8221; Austan Goolsbee,a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers,said Television.

The White House raised its 10-year cumulative budget deficit projection by 2 trillion on Tuesday to approximately 9 trillion. That would push the national debt up from more than 11 trillion now to more than 20 trillion in 2019.

With polls showing Americans deeply worried about the deficit,the new data will make it more difficult for Obama to push through his ambitious economic and healthcare overhaul.

US stocks were slightly higher in afternoon trading,buoyed by news of Bernanke8217;s nomination and strong housing and consumer confidence data.