The chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, predicted Tuesday the economy will rebound from an anemic performance at the start of the year even if the housing slump continues. Bernanke said he believes some of the forces that figured prominently in the economy’s poor performance “seem likely to be at least partially reversed in the near term.”

RON BURKLE

The billionaire investor is interested in exploring a bid for Dow Jones & Co. (DOW), publisher of The Wall Street Journal along with the union that represents Journal employees. The union, the Independent Association of Publishers’ Employees, reached out to Burkle and other potential bidders after Dow Jones’ controlling shareholders agreed to meet with Rupert Murdoch.