Bernanke’s Next Easing May Not Aid Jobless Americans
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will probably try to spur economic growth this month by cutting near-record-low borrowing costs, economists said. His new stimulus may not aid the 14 million Americans without work.
Hiring stalled in August in the worst month for U.S. employment in almost a year, the Labor Department said yesterday. The unemployment rate remained stuck at 9.1 percent.
The Fed may decide at its Sept. 20-21 meeting to replace short-term Treasury securities in its $1.65 trillion portfolio with long-term bonds in a bid to lower rates on everything from mortgages to car loans, said economists at Wells Fargo & Co., T. Rowe Price Associates Inc., Barclay’s Capital Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The Fed’s influence on the economy will probably be muted as sagging consumer confidence, depressed home values and 6 million workers unemployed for six months or more weigh on demand.
“The problem is that rates have been low for three years now and that isn’t spurring people to buy,” said John Silvia, chief economist at Wells Fargo in Charlotte, N.C. “Companies won’t hire unless demand is there. The Fed can lower the cost of credit, but it can’t force companies to create jobs.”
Silvia predicts the economy will grow at a 1 percent annual rate in the second half of this year, little changed from the 0.7 percent pace logged in the first six months, the weakest stretch since the recovery began in June 2009.
__________________
GPS PN-60w access ladders
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
