Published by Jamie JemmesonBen Bernanke has been given the seal of approval by banking committee chairman Christopher Dodd for the Federal Reserve chairman to serve a second term.Dodd's approval came despite an admission that the Federal Reserve's toothless regulation of banks prior to the financial crisis was an "abysmal failure".However, he did credit Bernanke with successfully steering the US through the worst economic storm seen since the 1930s; his approval is now likely to be ratified in full by the senate.Speaking to Bloomberg, Christopher Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd in New York, said: "The Fed chairman will have won the battle but lost the war if Congress strips the Fed of its authority to regulate banks."It has been a busy week for data and events shaping foreign exchange trading in the dollar. Later today, (December 4th) traders will be reacting to a slew of employment and earnings data, in addition to factory orders figures.For more information on international payments, visit our Smart FX site