Bernanke says US economy likely to slow

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday that economic growth will slow noticeably in coming months while surging oil costs will raise inflation pressures. But he said the economy is nowhere close to the stagflation nightmare of the 1970s and he predicted an economic rebound by mid-2008.

Bernanke stressed that the central bank, which has cut a key interest rate twice over the past two months, was closely watching developments and would be prepared to respond as needed. However, he stressed that the central bank believes economic risks are roughly balanced at present between the threat of weaker growth and higher inflation.

The Fed sent a clear signal that last week‘s rate cut may be all that is needed to deal with the economy‘s problems, a disclosure that sent financial markets into a slump that has deepened as a number of corporate giants — including General Motors, Citicorp and Merrill Lynch — have announced huge losses in recent days.

After falling by as much as 200 points, the Dow Jones industrial average closed out another difficult trading session down 33.73 points at 13,266.29. That decline followed a 360.92-point plunge on Wednesday, which had been the third drop of more than 350 points in the past month.

Read Complete Story