por admin » Jue Jun 07, 2012 10:04 am
ECONOMY Updated June 7, 2012, 10:54 a.m. ET
Bernanke: Fed Ready to Act if Europe Hits U.S.
By JON HILSENRATH And KRISTINA PETERSON
The U.S. economic recovery faces significant risks, including from the European sovereign debt crisis and uncertain U.S. fiscal policy, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in testimony prepared for a congressional hearing on Thursday.
Still, the Fed chairman stopped short of signaling Fed action to combat these risks, other than to say that the Fed remained "prepared to take action" to protect the U.S. economy and financial system if stresses on the financial system escalate.
Forget about jobless claims: Thursday's big event will be Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony to the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. Jon Hilsenrath has details on The News Hub. Photo: Bloomberg.
In all, Mr. Bernanke's testimony was more restrained than comments offered this week by other Fed officials, including Wednesday evening comments by vice chairwoman Janet Yellen, which laid out detailed arguments for why the Fed might to take new actions to bolster the economy and protect it from risks to growth.
The U.S. economy looks poised to continue growing at a "moderate" pace this year, the Fed chief said in remarks prepared for a Joint Economic Committee hearing on Thursday. But he pointed to headwinds constraining the recovery, including a weak housing market and concerns about the health of the European banking system. He also warned that the recovery may now be at a point where faster economic growth is needed to produce significant improvements in the job market.
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Reuters
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke at Thursday's congressional hearing.
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"The crisis in Europe has affected the U.S. economy by acting as a drag on our exports, weighing on business and consumer confidence, and pressuring U.S. financial markets and institutions," Mr. Bernanke said. U.S. banks are stronger than they were several years ago, giving them some protection from the turmoil in Europe. "Nevertheless, the situation in Europe poses significant risks to the U.S. financial system and economy and must be monitored closely."
He acknowledged that policymakers in Europe have taken some steps to address the sovereign debt crisis, but said they would likely need to do more to stabilize the region's banks, calm market fears and "achieve a workable fiscal framework for the euro area." The Fed is prepared to do more to protect the U.S. financial system as needed "in the event that financial stresses escalate," he said.
Given the risks to the economic outlook from the European crisis, uncertainty about U.S. fiscal policy and a high unemployment rate, the Fed has continued to keep its easy-money policy in place, Mr. Bernanke said. Fed officials have said they expect to keep short-term interest rates near zero until at least late 2014.
"With unemployment still quite high and the outlook for inflation subdued, and in the presence of significant downside risks to the outlook posed by strains in global financial markets, the [Federal Open Market Committee] has continued to maintain a highly accommodative stance of monetary policy," Mr. Bernanke said.
A stream of disappointing economic data, including last week's disappointing May jobs report, has Fed officials speaking more openly about the possibility of taking further action at their next policy meeting on June 19-20 to support the economic recovery.
Ms. Yellen said in a speech Wednesday night that risks to the economic outlook may require the Federal Reserve to take additional steps to "insure against adverse shocks."
Mr. Bernanke said the recent weak jobs data may in part be connected to the unusually warm winter pushing up hiring earlier in the year. It may also be the case that employers who cut back during the recession moved to hire back some of those workers in late 2011 and earlier this year, he said.
"If so, the deceleration in employment in recent months may indicate that this catch-up has largely been completed, and, consequently, that more rapid gains in economic activity will be required to achieve significant further improvement in labor market conditions," Mr. Bernanke said.
He also urged lawmakers to put the U.S. federal budget on a sustainable path. The Fed chief has repeatedly warned about the consequences to the economy if lawmakers allow a series of tax increases and spending cuts to all go into effect at the start of 2013. Fiscal policy should be used to strengthen the economy in the medium and long-term, he advised.
"To the fullest extent possible, federal tax and spending policies should increase incentives to work and save, encourage investments in workforce skills, stimulate private capital formation, promote research and development, and provide necessary public infrastructure," he said.