WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The transitions in financial markets to the termination of the Federal Reserve's purchases of government debt and mortgage-backed securities has been "relatively smooth," Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday. In testimony prepared for delivery to the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, Bernanke stuck to his forecast of moderate economic recovery. Consumer and business spending should fill the breach left by waning government stimulus, Bernanke said. Growth is being held down by a weak housing market, state and local government budget woes, and a decline in bank lending, Bernanke said. Overall, the financial condition of banks has strengthened in recent months, he said. Bernanke did not mention the Fed's statement that exceptionally low interest rates will be required for an "extended period."
io sono di parte, ma mi sembra ci sia scritto "fine dei giochi".