Bernanke: Recovery Still "On Track"

Testifying before Congress, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke assured legislators that the economic recovery was still "on track".  The AP reports:

The European debt crisis is likely to have only a "modest" impact on the U.S. economic recovery as long as Wall Street stabilizes, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Wednesday.

Testifying before the House Budget Committee, Bernanke struck a more confident tone that the recovery will remain intact despite problems in Europe as well stubbornly high unemployment and a fragile housing market here at home.

"The economy ... appears to be on track to continue to expand through this year and next," Bernanke said.

However, the pace of the expansion — 3.5 percent this year by the Fed's estimate — won't be strong enough to quickly bring relief to the 15 million Americans who are unemployed. The unemployment rate now at 9.7 percent would likely see only a "slow reduction," Bernanke warned.

Click here to read more.