Today's Focus: Bernanke Testifies on Capitol Hill

This morning, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke heads to Capitol Hill to provide his semi-annual report on monetary policy. With the Fed having provided its economic projections last week, Bernanke is likely to encounter some pointed questions about the Obama administration's plans to quickly bolster the economy, as Wall Street continues to slide to new lows in recent weeks. (Just yesterday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell to a 12-year low.)

In particular, there is expected to be a lot of interest about the administration's plan announced yesterday to ease terms under which banks can receive government investments and the possibility of nationalizing some particularly large, troubled banks.

But before the hearing starts, some new housing data will be released. The Case/Shiller index house prices in major metropolitan areas is out with figures from December at 9 a.m. Also a report on December data from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight is due after that.

Check back here for live updates later today.

--Sara Goo