Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke offered a relatively glum view of the U.S. economy, acknowledging that it is growing more slowly than the Fed had expected, but predicted improvement later this year.
“The U.S. economy is recovering from both the worst financial crisis and the most severe housing bust since the Great Depression, and it faces additional headwinds ranging from the effects of the Japanese disaster to global pressures in commodity markets,” Mr. Bernanke said Tuesday, seeking””as he has before””to moderate expectations that the central bank can solve the economy’s lingering problems on its own. “In this context, monetary policy cannot be a panacea.”