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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Bernanke hopeful for US recovery | Bernanke hopeful for US recovery |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The head of the US central bank, Ben Bernanke, has said he expects America's recession to end this year. | The head of the US central bank, Ben Bernanke, has said he expects America's recession to end this year. |
| "This decline will begin to moderate and we'll begin to see a levelling off," the Federal Reserve chairman told the CBS 60 Minutes TV programme. | "This decline will begin to moderate and we'll begin to see a levelling off," the Federal Reserve chairman told the CBS 60 Minutes TV programme. |
| But he said the world had come very close to financial meltdown last year, before governments stepped in. | But he said the world had come very close to financial meltdown last year, before governments stepped in. |
| Mr Bernanke warned that the biggest risk to recovery would be a lack of political will to solve problems. | Mr Bernanke warned that the biggest risk to recovery would be a lack of political will to solve problems. |
| The BBC's Sarah Morris in Washington says it is unusual for the Federal Reserve chairman to talk to the media in this way - but Mr Bernanke said he decided to go ahead with the CBS interview because this was an extraordinary time. | The BBC's Sarah Morris in Washington says it is unusual for the Federal Reserve chairman to talk to the media in this way - but Mr Bernanke said he decided to go ahead with the CBS interview because this was an extraordinary time. |
| Unemployment factor | |
| Mr Bernanke told the US Congress in January he believed that the recession that took hold at the end of 2007 would end this year. | Mr Bernanke told the US Congress in January he believed that the recession that took hold at the end of 2007 would end this year. |
| He stuck to that view in the interview while suggesting that recent developments may have set confidence back. | He stuck to that view in the interview while suggesting that recent developments may have set confidence back. |
| "We'll see recovery beginning next year," he said but added recovery could be put in jeopardy if "we don't have the political will". | |
| He said a government fund of $500bn was stabilising the mortgage market and business lending was picking up. | He said a government fund of $500bn was stabilising the mortgage market and business lending was picking up. |
| The benchmark Dow Jones index rose by about 10% last week after plunging to 12-year lows. | The benchmark Dow Jones index rose by about 10% last week after plunging to 12-year lows. |
| However the US jobless rate jumped to 8.1% in February - the highest rate since December 1983. | However the US jobless rate jumped to 8.1% in February - the highest rate since December 1983. |