Does Bernanke know what he is doing? He gives a good impression of being incompetent.

Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke's readiness to cut interest rates to avert a recession is stoking concerns that prices will get out of hand.

``Bernanke has really overweighted the economic risks relative to inflation,'' said John Silvia, chief economist at Wachovia Corp. in Charlotte, North Carolina, following the Fed chief's testimony to Congress yesterday. ``He may get some disagreement'' among colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee, Silvia said.

Investors' expectations for inflation over the next 10 years jumped to the highest since June after Bernanke pledged to the House Financial Services Committee to act in a ``timely manner'' to combat ``downside risks'' to growth. A day after government figures showed wholesale costs rose 7.4 percent in January from a year ago, Bernanke said the price outlook has deteriorated ``slightly.''

Bernanke is at the Senate Banking Committee today in the second day of semiannual testimony on the economy. His prepared remarks were the same as yesterday's.