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.

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.

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."

A key Fed policy maker sees the U.S. economy continuing to recover in 2010, but not at a "gangbuster" rate.

Dennis Lockhart, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, in a speech Monday before the Downtown Atlanta Rotary Club, said U.S. GDP growth will continue in 2010, but will not be strong enough to lower unemployment substantially.

Yesterday's Federal Reserve can be viewed in two parts. First we have the restatement of the Fed's low interest rates, by keeping the Fed Funds rate at 0 -- 25% for an "extended period."

It repeated that economic activity was improving. Specifically, housing and consumer spending were up a bit. The unemployment picture, while still weak, is showing signs of bottoming.

But this is not the real news. In a detailed statement the Fed explained how it would exit its emergency programs. It said that it would still buy $1.25 trillion dollars of agency mortgaged backed securities and $175 billion of agency debt. What is significant is that it will terminate these programs during the first quarter of 2010. This is the first piece of hard news from the Fed since these programs began.

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 unanimous.

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.

All is not well in paradise. Producer prices rose 2.4% in November. While this the first gain this year, the size of the jump was much more than expected and the highest since October 2008. At than time we were coming off record oil prices. Analysts had expected a meager 1.6% rise, a surge in energy prices in the past month contributed to a much higher rise.

The Federal Reserve is meeting today and tomorrow. The Fed will then issue its policy statement on interest rates. It is expected that interest rates will remain low. All eyeballs are on whether the Fed will still include the words: "Extended period."

The U.S. economy lost only 11,000 jobs last month. The unemployment rate fell to 10%, from 10.2% Good news, right?

For the Federal Reserve, the new set of variables spells confusion for its stated policy: Interest rates will remain low for an "extended period."

Now the Fed is getting closer to the day when it will raise interest rates. While one month of low jobless numbers is not sufficient to say a trend has started, it will certainly bear upon the policy statement at the Fed meeting on December 15-16.

This post is quite short, yet very important. For the first time, the Fed is conducting "Reverse repos."

Why is this so significant? For the past year the Fed has been doing "repos." A repo is when the Fed steps in and buys Treasury securities. The effect is to create a credit on bank balance sheets and consequently give them more lending power.

On Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will appear before the Senate Banking Committee. The purpose of the meeting is to decide whether he will be reappointed for a second term as Fed chairman.

He must be a bit nervous. He has taken to the stump, touting his accomplishments and desires for fiscal reform. He is being charged by some members of Congress for not being vigilant enough during the financial meltdown. Representative Ron Paul (R., Texas) already sponsored a provision in a committee that would audit the Federal Reserve more than it already is. Both the House and Senate are looking at ways to strip Bernanke of some of his powers. They would relegate him to managing interest rates.

Is a Fed rate tightening up ahead any time soon? Despite concern that low, real, short-term interest rates are hurting the dollar. Don't count on it.

First, the U.S. Federal Reserve wants to encourage banks to lend -- for auto purchases, and especially for business loans -- and nothing prompts banks to lend, even in tighter capital times, like low-interest-rate or zero-interest-rate money.

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) issued its statement almost exactly as expected. The language on interest rates is remaining low for an extended period of time remained largely unchanged, and the decision was unanimous.

As I have mentioned earlier, the Fed continues to avoid any potential language which could disrupt the financial markets. Any potentially controversial ideas seem to be reserved for speeches by the Chairman and other government officials.

One modest ray of light on the fiscal front for the United States: the U.S. Treasury, as expected, announced that total borrowing for the current quarter (October quarter) will be 43% lower, as a result of a reduction in money needed to help the U.S. Federal Reserve manage its balance sheet.

The Treasury said net borrowing will total $276 billion for October through December, compared to the previous estimate of $486 billion. The Treasury also projects a borrowing of $478 billion for the January-March quarter.

Against the backdrop of heightened public criticism, The U.S. Federal Reserve is trying to encourage banks to take the first step in controlling excessive pay and bonuses. Regulators have established broad guidelines for pay incentives and bonuses. However, they are quite loose and do not nail down any specifics. Regulators are trying to coax compliance before the end of the year.

Britain has taken the lead and mandated that a percentage of bankers' bonuses should be deferred for a number of years.

Why is there such a public outcry to curb excessive bankers' pay and bonuses?

Remember when the Federal Reserve and general public were blasting companies like AIG for going on retreats and holding conferences at luxury resorts? Well, on October 29, it was reported that the Fed has held its conferences at "exotic high-prices locales."

The Washington Post reported on October 28, that the San Francisco Fed hosted a conference at the "spectacular Bacara Resort and Spa" in Santa Barbara, where it paid $300 a night for the rooms -- an off-season price. Perhaps we should be praising the frugal nature of the Fed, as suites can run $2,000 during the peak season. Ben Bernanke attended this conference, which has drawn the ire of some. This conference was followed by a conference held by the Boston Fed at an Inn that charges up to $320 a night for regular rooms and nearly two grand a night for suites.