- Feb 26, 2006
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22592939/from/RSS/
(some snips from the article...any bolding & underlining is mine)
WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pledged Thursday to slash interest rates as needed to prevent housing and credit problems from plunging the country into a recession.
Bernanke showed his hand in terms of the Fed?s likely next move amid mounting concerns that the economy may be in danger.
Many economists now believe the Fed will slice its key interest rate by a bold one-half of a percentage point when the Fed meets next Jan. 29-30. Some, however, think the Fed will go with a more modest one-quarter point reduction, given concerns that high energy prices could spark inflation.
Wall Street was buoyed by Bernanke?s words. The Dow Jones jumped 117.78 points to close at 12,853.09.
?The Federal Reserve is not currently forecasting a recession,? Bernanke said, fielding questions after his speech. It is, however, ?forecasting slow growth,? he said.
Worries about the country?s economic health have gripped voters, galvanized presidential candidates and spurred the White House and Congress to explore ways to stimulate the economy to avoid a recession. The White House is considering a tax cut.
Hiring practically ground to a halt in December, pushing the unemployment rate up to 5 percent, a two-year high, the government said in a report last week that rattled Wall Street and Main Street.
Bernanke, in a speech to a housing and economic forum in Washington, cautioned against reading too much into one report. But he said that if employment conditions were to continue to deteriorate, that would raise risks to the economy. The big worry is that consumers might cut back on their spending, sending the economy into a tailspin.
Many analysts predict upcoming reports will show the economy grew at a feeble pace of just 1.5 percent or less in the final three months of last year and will be weak in the first three months of this year as consumers ? major shapers of overall economic activity ? tighten their belts. Major retailers reported Thursday weak sales for December, raising uncertainty about the economy?s outlook.
Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, who ran the Fed for 18 1/2 years, recently warned that the economy is ?getting close to stall speed.? Some economists said the odds of a recession are up to 50 percent.
The artlcle is 2 pages on MSNBC.com.
It's about time Bernake did something substantial to forestall the impending recession. I know many people here deny one is looming, but those of us "in the trenches" see the signs every day. High unemployment (may be regional) homes standing empty because of the collapse of the housing bubble/credit crunch, construction sites shut down, land development companies going out of business, crappy sales numbers posted for the holiday season, etc...all indicate that the economy is in trouble. I spoke to the dispatcher of my union during the summer and was told that no one there had seen the work picture look so bad in over 20 years. As I drive around, I see construction projects boarded up and abandoned, one of my college adjunct instructors was a city planner/architect for a land development company that had been in business for over 50 years. They closed their doors in December because no one can afford to buy homes...Prices are still high, even though many sit empty, and getting credit is often difficult,if not impossible, especially with less than sterling credit.
I really hope Bernake doesn't try to be TOO conservative in his actions. It's past time for that, it's time to get aggressive in trying to heal the economy.
Like we heard in the 1992 presidential campaign, "It IS the economy, Stupid!"
(some snips from the article...any bolding & underlining is mine)
WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pledged Thursday to slash interest rates as needed to prevent housing and credit problems from plunging the country into a recession.
Bernanke showed his hand in terms of the Fed?s likely next move amid mounting concerns that the economy may be in danger.
Many economists now believe the Fed will slice its key interest rate by a bold one-half of a percentage point when the Fed meets next Jan. 29-30. Some, however, think the Fed will go with a more modest one-quarter point reduction, given concerns that high energy prices could spark inflation.
Wall Street was buoyed by Bernanke?s words. The Dow Jones jumped 117.78 points to close at 12,853.09.
?The Federal Reserve is not currently forecasting a recession,? Bernanke said, fielding questions after his speech. It is, however, ?forecasting slow growth,? he said.
Worries about the country?s economic health have gripped voters, galvanized presidential candidates and spurred the White House and Congress to explore ways to stimulate the economy to avoid a recession. The White House is considering a tax cut.
Hiring practically ground to a halt in December, pushing the unemployment rate up to 5 percent, a two-year high, the government said in a report last week that rattled Wall Street and Main Street.
Bernanke, in a speech to a housing and economic forum in Washington, cautioned against reading too much into one report. But he said that if employment conditions were to continue to deteriorate, that would raise risks to the economy. The big worry is that consumers might cut back on their spending, sending the economy into a tailspin.
Many analysts predict upcoming reports will show the economy grew at a feeble pace of just 1.5 percent or less in the final three months of last year and will be weak in the first three months of this year as consumers ? major shapers of overall economic activity ? tighten their belts. Major retailers reported Thursday weak sales for December, raising uncertainty about the economy?s outlook.
Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, who ran the Fed for 18 1/2 years, recently warned that the economy is ?getting close to stall speed.? Some economists said the odds of a recession are up to 50 percent.
The artlcle is 2 pages on MSNBC.com.
It's about time Bernake did something substantial to forestall the impending recession. I know many people here deny one is looming, but those of us "in the trenches" see the signs every day. High unemployment (may be regional) homes standing empty because of the collapse of the housing bubble/credit crunch, construction sites shut down, land development companies going out of business, crappy sales numbers posted for the holiday season, etc...all indicate that the economy is in trouble. I spoke to the dispatcher of my union during the summer and was told that no one there had seen the work picture look so bad in over 20 years. As I drive around, I see construction projects boarded up and abandoned, one of my college adjunct instructors was a city planner/architect for a land development company that had been in business for over 50 years. They closed their doors in December because no one can afford to buy homes...Prices are still high, even though many sit empty, and getting credit is often difficult,if not impossible, especially with less than sterling credit.
I really hope Bernake doesn't try to be TOO conservative in his actions. It's past time for that, it's time to get aggressive in trying to heal the economy.
Like we heard in the 1992 presidential campaign, "It IS the economy, Stupid!"
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