U.S. stock futures edged higher Wednesday with Wall Street seemingly aiming to continue the prior day's rally and following overseas markets higher. Meanwhile, investors awaited news on a Greece and other of Europe's debt-ridden nations rescue plan and possible testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

U.S. stocks surged Tuesday after indications that Germany may lead a rescue to aid Greece with its debt problems. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 150 points, or 1.5%, closing above 10,000 again, and other leading indexes rose by over 1% as well.

This is a fascinating story -- a behind-the-scenes scenario that is the stuff of conspiracies.

During the housing bubble, a huge number of questionable mortgages were created in what is called the subprime market. Many of the home buyers had shaky credit and, eventually, fell into foreclosure. Goldman Sachs (GS) held some of these securities but wanted protection against default. Where do you buy such insurance? American International Group (AIG), of course.

Under the terms of the insurance, Goldman was entitled to collect payments if the securities fell below certain agreed-upon values. You guessed it. When the housing bubble started to burst, Goldman demanded $2 billion from AIG to cover its losses.

The late, great writer David Halberstam, who left this world far too soon, once said that a writer's life was the loneliest job in the world.

Perhaps the Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve is the second loneliest job in the world.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was sworn in for his second four-year term Wednesday, the Fed announced.

And with it Bernanke ventured into his second term -- his initial term having taken place as first the United States, then the world, became ensnarled in the financial crisis that deepened the global recession -- the world's first contraction since the end of World War II.

The Obama administration has a full-press program underway to reduce unemployment. One of their proposals is to provide $30 billion to community banks to spur lending to small businesses. The money would be transferred from TARP.

The big banks have been reluctant to lend to small businesses, instead preferring to use their money for in-house trading. This proposal from the Obama administration is viewed as an end-run around big banks.

The current investigation of the American International Group (AIG) bailout by Congress has brought to light the inner workings and secret deals that were made.

Center stage in the investigation is the New York Federal Reserve. There are 12 Federal Reserve Banks that operate under the supervision of Federal Reserve's Board of Governors, chaired by Ben Bernanke. Member bank presidents are appointed by the nine member board, who themselves are appointed by other bankers.

U.S. stock futures edged higher Friday following robust results from Amazon and Microsoft and as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was confirmed for a second term. But still ahead are GDP figures, which Wall Street will focus on to get a clearer picture of economic activity.

At 8:30 a.m., the government will disclose fourth quarter gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic activity. Most likely, the economy grew in the fourth quarter for a second straight quarter and possibly at the fastest pace in nearly four years. Analysts estimate the economy grew 4.5% in the final three months of 2009, according to Thomson Reuters. Much of it was due to the stimulus, economists say, and if that stops, they worry growth would slow, or even stop.

Under the radar: Some trends are obvious enough and visible to all investors. Others are more subtle, but are just as potent, and these often slip 'under the radar.'

Case in point: As Senate leaders molded a late coalition to secure the reappointment of U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to a second term as Fed Chair, the Princeton University economist and Great Depression scholar received public backing from an unexpected source: European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet.

U.S. stock futures were higher on Thursday following the Federal Reserve's outlook for the economy and President Barack Obama's State of the Union address and his pledge to create more jobs. Meanwhile, a stream of earnings is coming in this morning, with Ford posting its first annual profit since 2005. Also on the agenda today are some economic indicators, including data on jobs. All the while, investors will watch as Fed chairman Bernanke's faith is decided.

President Barack Obama late Wednesday put job creation at the top of the agenda in his first State of the Union speech. He promised not to abandon health-care reform and promised tough, new rules on Wall Street.

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) issued its statement indicating again that interest rates will remain low for an extended period of time. The decision was not unanimous with one dissenting vote.

The Fed continues to avoid any potential language which could disrupt the financial markets. Chairman Bernanke, a student of the Great Depression, does not want to do anything to damage the current stabilization in the economy. This is particularly true with a controversial vote on the Chairman's confirmation coming soon.

U.S. stock market futures were higher Wednesday morning as upbeat earnings report from late Tuesday and early Wednesday boosted sentiment. Meanwhile, investors also awaited the Federal Open Market Committee policy statement later in the day as well as President Barack Obama state of the union address.

As Fed chairman Bernanke fights for another term at the helm of the federal bank, the Federal Reserve may take a chance the housing market can stage a comeback without its support and announce today it will stick to the plan to end a $1.25 trillion program of mortgage-debt purchases in March. The Fed will release its policy statement at 2:15 p.m. Eastern.

U.S. stock futures declined Tuesday morning as global growth concerns hit markets following S&P downgrade of Japan's outlook and reports of further tightening in China that could hamper growth. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the Federal Reserve begins its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, amid several economic indicators due out.

U.S. stocks rose Monday as bargain hunters jumped in. But trading was light as Wall Street awaited news from later in the week regarding the confirmation of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, the State of the Union address and bank regulatory developments. Meanwhile, the earnings season continues to give mixed results, not fully convincing investors a recovery is underway.

Senator Russ Feingold, D-Wisconsin, announced Friday he will vote against U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's re-nomination, Reuters reported, even as chatter surfaced that Senate Leaders may fall short of the 60 votes needed for the re-appointment to clear procedural hurdles. A vote on the re-nomination is expected next week.

As it stands now, the reappointment will likely require Republican votes to pass, and to-date since the start of the Obama presidency, that's been an uncertain proposition, to say the least.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• Aetna Inc. (AET) shares declined after the insurer issued a surprise earnings warning for 2010.
• Alcoa Inc. (AA) swung to a smaller-than-expected Q4 profit even as revenue declined, sending shares lower.
• Carter's Inc. (CRI) posted strong Q3 earnings that topped estimates and same-store sales growth.
• Chevron Corp. (CVX) shares declined slightly after the company issued a surprise earnings warning.
• Con-Way Inc. (CNW) was downgraded due in part to concerns about near-term earnings.

It appears members of the U.S. Federal Reserve's board of governors are becoming more confident about the U.S. economy's ability to hitting a critical -- and required -- phase: self-sustaining growth.

On Monday, Kansas City Fed Bank President Thomas Hoenig said the Fed should end purchases of mortgage-backed securities because the market is "healing," Bloomberg News reported Friday. Also, Philadelphia Fed Bank President Charles Plosser said Tuesday the recovery is "sustainable even as the fiscal and monetary stimulus programs eventually wind down."

The Fed's Beige Book summarizes economic activity compiled from data obtained from the 12 Federal Reserve districts.

Here are some notes from the Beige Book:

• Most districts reported that consumer spending was up a bit during the recent holiday season, but still below the 2007 level.
• Retailers in Philadelphia and San Francisco noted small gains, but they didn't amount
• to much.