But when Ben Bernake gave his twice-yearly monetary testimony to Congress this week he had little to offer but unvarnished and uncomfortable truths.

un·var·nished
adj.  

1. Not coated with varnish: unvarnished floors.
2. Stated or otherwise presented without any effort to soften or disguise; plain: the unvarnished truth.

It helped that Christian Bale, a reluctant smiler whose sharply planed face looks as if it had been carved with a chisel, slid into Bruce Wayne’s insouciance as easily as he did Batman’s suit.

in·sou·ci·ance
n.   Blithe lack of concern; nonchalance.

Beijing’s move could raise China’s demand for oil imports at first rather than tamp it down, because Chinese refiners will likely ramp up their activity and reduce energy shortages in the country, now that they can charge higher prices.

tamp
tr.v.   tamped, tamp·ing, tamps

1. To pack down tightly by a succession of blows or taps.
2. To pack clay, sand, or dirt into (a drill hole) above an explosive.

But like many others, Pickens believes there’s a fortune to be made in slaking the thirst of a rapidly growing population.

slake
v.   slaked, slak·ing, slakes

v.   tr.

1. To satisfy (a craving); quench: slaked her thirst.
2. To lessen the force or activity of; moderate: slaking his anger.
3. To cool or refresh by wetting or moistening.
4. To combine (lime) chemically with water or moist air.

Presumptive GOP presidential candidate Senator John McCain joined critics of the ruling, telling a town hall meeting in New Jersey, “We are going to be bollixed up in a way that’s terribly unfortunate.”

bol·lix also bol·lox
tr.v.   bol·lixed also bol·loxed, bol·lix·ing also bol·lox·ing, bol·lix·es also bol·lox·es Informal
To throw into confusion; botch or bungle: managed to bollix up the whole project.

An IPO lends a certain cachet.

ca·chet
n.  

1. A mark or quality, as of distinction, individuality, or authenticity: “Federal courts have a certain cachet which state courts lack” (Christian Science Monitor).
2. A seal on a document, such as a letter.
3. 1. A commemorative design stamped on an envelope to mark a postal or philatelic event.
   2. A motto forming part of a postal cancellation.
4. A kind of wafer capsule formerly used by pharmacists for presenting an unpleasant-tasting drug.

Even as Western financial firms have fallen into disrepute, banks in emerging markets are treated as paragons of probity.

pro·bi·ty
n.   Complete and confirmed integrity; uprightness: “He was a gentlemanly Georgian, a person of early American probity” (Mary McGrory).

Yahoo! told its employees Tuesday replacing its board with Carl Icahn’s dissonant slate would trigger its hotly-debated severance plan: which it admits was structured to discourage outsiders from taking over the board.

dis·so·nant
adj.  

1. Harsh and inharmonious in sound; discordant.
2. Being at variance; disagreeing.
3. Music Constituting or producing a dissonance.

Companies promise CEOs lavish posthumous paydays.

post·hu·mous
adj.  

1. Occurring or continuing after one’s death: a posthumous award.
2. Published after the writer’s death: a posthumous book.
3. Born after the death of the father: a posthumous child.

For a central banker, the most important parts of the job can be the most arcane.

ar·cane 
adj.   Known or understood by only a few: arcane economic theories.