Fed's Yellen: We'll avoid a recession
From Bloomberg:
Feb. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Janet Yellen said the U.S. economy will probably avoid a recession and policy makers' interest-rate cuts should help the expansion pick up pace later in the year.``The Fed's policy actions should help to promote a pickup in growth over time,'' Yellen said in a speech today in Honolulu. ``I consider it most probable that the U.S. economy will experience slow growth, and not outright recession, in coming quarters.''
Yellen said risks are that growth turns out worse than forecast, and that policy makers must be ``prepared to act in a timely manner,'' echoing last week's Fed statement. Investors anticipate the central bank will lower its benchmark interest rate by a further half point by mid-March after five reductions to 3 percent since September.
