Sponsored Links

Recommended Newsletters

Reuters U.S. Top News
A quick-fix on the day's news published with Reuters videos and award-winning news photography and delivered at your choice of one of four times during the day.
Reuters Deals Today
The latest Reuters articles on M&A, IPOs, private equity, hedge funds and regulatory updates delivered to your inbox each day.
Reuters Technology Report
Your daily briefing on the latest tech developments from around the world from Reuters expert tech correspondents.
Full List of Available Newsletters

Bernanke: low rates still needed to help economic recovery

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reacts as he testifies before the House Committee on the Financial Services semi-annual monetary policy report on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 18, 2012. REUTERS/Jason Reed

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reacts as he testifies before the House Committee on the Financial Services semi-annual monetary policy report on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 18, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Jason Reed

WASHINGTON | Tue Aug 7, 2012 3:40pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Tuesday the U.S. economic recovery is still fragile and low rates are necessary to promote stronger growth and bring down the jobless rate.

"Interest rates are low because our economy is still in a fragile recovery," Bernanke told a town hall meeting in Washington with educators.

"Lower rates are intended to restore more normal levels of employment and growth."

In addition, he said "the European crisis is slowing our economy," along with other factors.

(Reporting by Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Neil Stempleman)
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (6)
tmc wrote:
“Lower rates are intended to restore more normal levels of employment and growth.”

Not working as intended dude! How about trying somthing else so I can get at least 1% on MY savings?

Aug 07, 2012 3:51pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
QuidProQuo wrote:
In past situations based on theories long embraced as “the way”, maybe
this is true. But this is kind of different than any trough seen. So i guess I don’t really agree that this time using this theory is working out so well. Low rates should have validated his higher employment, higher growth rate theory 5 quarters ago. There is not a lot of excitement anywhere about borrowing and taking on installments in order to purchase equipment or upgrade facilities. We are overly injected with cash yet we aren’t seeing much power in the velocity of money going on. These very low rates are really hurting more people than they are helping. Have you tried finding a decent fixed rate annuity these days? I guess he’s got his magic crystal ball and he sees low rates as being the right way to go. I just think we are in need of some creative analysis of the yield curve.

Aug 07, 2012 4:25pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
Willie12345 wrote:
When will the government and media do something about this ??

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mhastings/exclusive-the-pentagons-shocking-cover-up-of-the

Aug 07, 2012 4:48pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.
See All Comments »