NEWSMAX: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday that the Fed can’t take additional steps to try to ease high unemployment without escalating high inflation.
If inflation were to accelerate, the Fed would have to raise rates to slow borrowing and spending and blunt price increases. Hiring might then slow.
Speaking at a news conference with reporters, Bernanke sketched a picture of an economy growing steadily but still weighed down by a prolonged period of unemployment, now at 8.8 percent. He acknowledged the pain that is causing, noting that around 45 percent of the unemployed have been without a job for six months or longer… (more)
