So, the debt limit is how much money a country can borrow. Yesterday, the Senate voted to increase it. This doesn't mean the debt limit is definitely going up, though; it still has to get through the House of Representatives. But let's look at the numbers here. The Senate vote would've raise the country's debt limit by $1.9 trillion. Right now, the limit is around $12.4 trillion, and we're about there. So, the increase would move it up to about $14.3 trillion. The reason we have this limit in the first place is because if the country ever borrows more than it's allowed to, it means the U.S. would be in what's called default. And that could have serious consequences for investors and for the economy.

Ben Bernanke, whom you see right here, is the chairman of the Federal Reserve, the country's central bank. And thanks to another vote by the Senate, he will keep that title for a while longer. Yesterday, he was confirmed for a second term. The final tally was 70 to 30, which may not sound close, but it's actually one of the smallest margins of all time for a Fed chairman. The reason why: the recession. Some lawmakers say Bernanke deserves the blame for it. Others believe his decisions kept it from getting even worse.

The U.S. auto industry was hit hard by the recession. But one carmaker has good news: Ford reported that it earned a profit last year for the first time since 2005. The company lost more than $7 billion in 2008, last year, it earned $2.7 billion. And, Ford executives expect to make a profit again in 2010.
 

Meantime, Toyota, expanding its recall of vehicles whose gas pedals may be malfunctioning. The announcement affects more than 5 million cars in the U.S. and Europe. Toyota says it's working on a solution and could have a new pedal design ready soon. CNN's Ali Velshi talked with the chairman of Ford about his take on Toyota's situation. Take a listen.

债务限额指的是政府可以借款的数额。昨天，参议院投票增加了该数字。然而，这并不意味着债务限额一定会上升，仍然需要众议院通过。但是，让我们来看一下以下数字。参议院的投票将使美国的债务限额提高1.9兆美元。现在，该限额已经是大约12.4兆美元。所以，一旦增加限额，总数将升高至14.3兆。我们设置限额的原因是，一旦国家借款数额超过允许的数额，这意味着美国将陷入不履行债务的困境。这对投资者和经济都会造成非常严重的后果。

你现在看到的人物是本·伯南克，美国中央银行美联储的主席。多亏参议院的又一次投票，他将继续担任该职务更长时间。昨日，他已通过确认担任第二任期。最终的投票是70:30，听上去相差并不大。但是，这是有史以来美联储主席选举差距最小的一次。原因就是经济衰退。一些立法者称伯南克应当承担责任。另外一些人则认为他的决策避免经济形势向更糟糕的局面发展。

美国汽车行业受到经济危机重创。但是一家汽车制造商发出了好消息：福特报告称，自2005年以来，去年首次盈利。2008年，该公司亏损超过70亿美元，而去年，盈利27亿美元。福特高管预期2010年该公司会继续盈利。

同时，因油门踏板故障，丰田汽车扩大了召回的范围。该公告影响了美国和欧洲超过500万辆汽车。丰田表示，他们正在制定解决方案，将很快研制出新的油门踏板。CNN记者Ali Velshi与福特总裁进行了会谈，让我们听一下他的说法。