WASHINGTON — A Senate panel yesterday approved the nomination of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to run the nation's central bank for another four years.

The Senate Banking Committee voted 16-7 to send Bernanke's nomination to the full Senate for consideration. Approval came after a two-hour debate that heaped both praise and criticism on the Fed chief.

Although Bernanke, 56, appears to have enough votes in the Senate to win a second term, six Republicans and one Democrat on the committee did line up against him. They blame him for not spotting problems that led to the financial crisis, failing to protect consumers and supporting Wall Street bailouts.

REPORTS INDICATE ECONOMY WON'T RECOVER VIGOROUSLY

WASHINGTON — A report on unemployment claims and a forecast of U.S. economic activity pointed yesterday to an economy mending slowly, without the job growth needed to fuel a vigorous recovery.

The number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week. But the four-week average for jobless claims, which smooths out fluctuations, fell. That was an encouraging sign that the pace of layoffs continues to decline. The four-week average is now at its lowest point since late September 2008, when the financial crisis hit with full force.

FEDEX EARNINGS DROP 30%; QUARTER OUTLOOK LUKEWARM

NEW YORK — FedEx, the world's second-largest package delivery company issued a tepid outlook for the quarter that ends in February, saying it's not sure if strong holiday season shipping volume will hold up. But in the long run, it sees strong demand in Asia and Latin America leading the way to global economic recovery.

Both FedEx and rival UPS are key indicators of the nation's economic strength because they carry a wide range of business and consumer goods — everything from auto parts and real estate documents to toys and tools.

FedEx said yesterday its earnings for the quarter that ended in November fell 30 percent from a year ago.