On Saturday evening, the Richmond Forum will host a speech and Q&A by Ben Bernanke at the Altria Theater.

From the Altria Theater web page:

In 2013, Forbes called Ben S. Bernanke one of the ten most powerful people in the world. Bernanke served two terms as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from 2006 to 2014 under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. At The Richmond Forum, the former Fed Chief will discuss the critical role of the central bank of the United States, the events and policies of his tenure, and the domestic and global economies.
Mr. Bernanke’s presentation will be followed by an audience Q&A.

In a sense this is a victory lap for “Helicopter Ben”, having seen his policies seemingly stabilize the economy, even after going into “quantitative easing”. Some even credit Bernanke with holding off a second, deflationary “Great Depression”.

However, there are still critics. “Many argue that QE has not reduced unemployment, but has diminished the Fed’s independence and credibility, offsetting the effects of adopting a numerical inflation target. Now, only a year after the latest round of QE began, the Fed is struggling with how to unwind it, just as many had warned” – John B. Taylor.
Others are even more bearish about the future of the economy in the longterm response to these policies, adding to a “wall of worry” for investors.

I wonder if Chris Dorsey will try to attend?

Regardless, with Wall Street coming out of a “Fed watch”, it should be an interesting q&a for anyone interested in macroeconomics.