Bernanke: economy suffering 'severe contraction'
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Tuesday the economy is suffering through a ``severe contraction'' and pledged to use all available tools to lift the country out of the recession that already has cost millions of Americans their jobs.In testimony prepared for the Senate Banking Committee, Bernanke said the economy is likely to keep shrinking in the first six months of this year.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke delivered a bleak assessment of the US economy to lawmakers on Tuesday, citing a slowdown in economic activity this year and a stubbornly high rate of unemployment.