Podcast Center
Video Center
Webcasts
Resource Center
Events
July 22, 2009 at 08:00 PM
In the first round of his semi-annual Humphrey-Hawkins testimony to Congress beginning July 21, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed expects the economy to return to growth mode by year-end and to expand by 2.1% to 3.3% in 2010. However, Bernanke was less sanguine on jobs, suggesting that unemployment will remain above 9% through the end of the year. “Unemployment is going to be high for awhile,” he said in answering a question following his prepared testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, “so it’s not going to feel like a strong economy.” The Fed expects a “gradual recovery,” he said, and “positive job creation by the end of this year, but it will take some time for unemployment to come down.”
Moreover, he warned that the lag in jobs could deter consumer spending and thus further growth.
The big news from Bernanke’s testimony for the markets was that the Fed would not consider raising interest rates until the job market and other signs of economic growth showed signs of improvement.
In his testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on July 22, Bernanke warned of the economic dangers emanating from growing defaults in commercial real estate.
