Imagine having your boss talk publicly about your job standing at the same time you're having one of your most important staff meetings of the year. For Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, it's all in a day's work. The Fed chief was ensconced with other members of the Federal Open Market Committee on June 23 in the first day of a two-day policy meeting. The Fed is expected to leave interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of the meeting on June 24.

But the FOMC meeting, normally a signal event for financial markets, was not the only reason investors were chattering about the central bank on June 23. At a press conference, President Barack Obama appeared to offer only a lukewarm endorsement of the Fed chief as questions swirl about Bernanke's reappointment. [His term expires Jan. 31.]

To add to the fun, Bernanke faces a congressional hearing later this week on the Fed's actions to aid Bank of America's (BAC) takeover of Merrill Lynch.

What do market experts have to say about the Bernanke situation, the housing market, corporate taxes, and other topics? Here, BusinessWeek features comments from Wall Street economists and strategists:

Action Economics

President Obama said he would "not make news" on Fed Chairman Bernanke's reappointment, in answering reporters' questions after his speech. Obama said the Fed chief has done a "fine job" under difficult circumstances, but he qualified that by saying all regulators fell short and the Fed didn't do all that was necessary to anticipate systemic risk. The Administration's recent proposals on regulatory reform are focused on what the Fed needs to do in the future. Although Bernanke's tenure as chairman isn't up until next January, there's already been considerable speculation on his reappointment, with many believing Larry Summers [National Economic Council director] could get the nod, particularly if the economic recovery fizzles.

President Obama didn't give anything away regarding his decision on Bernanke, but his support was less than enthusiastic.

Ted Wieseman, Morgan Stanley

As expected, home sales showed a bit more upside in May, rising 2.4%, to a 4.77 million-unit annual rate. This was a seven-month high, but sales have been pretty stable near 12-year lows since the end of last year -- a trend that will be significantly challenged after the spike in mortgage rates that began in late May. In other data, the composite Richmond Fed manufacturing index ticked up to 6 in June from 4 in May, consistent with our preliminary forecast for a small further improvement in the national ISM [manufacturing index] to 43.5 from 42.8. The FHFA house price index dipped 0.1% in April for a 7% year-over-year drop.